impulsive, yet indecisive

Don't you want to help others?

2012-01-24T06:01:00.000-08:00

Hi friends,
I know that things I usually post are 6 months old news, but this is current!

For this year’s Spring Break a group of teachers, including myself, from my school (Dubai American Academy) are headed to Cambodia to build some houses! On March 31, 2012, we will fly from Dubai to Phnom Penh to begin a week-long house-building project with the Tabitha Foundation. The Tabitha Foundation is a benevolent trust, founded in 1994 to support aid efforts in Cambodia, whose people were decimated in the 1970s and 80s by Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge regime, which promoted enforced starvation, mass executions, slave labor and wholesale dislocation to such a degree that the social, moral and economic fiber of the country was left in tatters.

Members of my team will pay their own travel, food, and lodging expenses, but we are fund-raising over the next two months for the cost of materials to build ten to fifteen houses. We know the village where we will work: Kompong Thom. We selected this village because it is further from Phnom Penh and has, consequently, had less support over the years from other Tabitha house-building teams. If you are in a position to make a small donation to support the team, I would be very grateful! I promise a full account of the adventures (and misadventures) sometime after my return to Dubai.

It’s easy to make a donation to my team, either by personal check or by using Tabitha’s secure website. Please visit http://www.tabithausa.org/Tabitha_USA/Donate_Now.html

then click DONATE NOW.

In the SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS area please include the following information:

Donations for the Dubai American Academy Team April 2012.

I am pretty sure that they will give you a document so you can get a tax break.

Remember every little bit helps. Thank you for all of your support!!!

Katie Bird

Barcelona

2012-01-10T09:14:00.000-08:00

The rest of Sring Break:

5 April

Began with a cappuccino and atartletta (coconut pastery) and then a walk to the SAGRADA FAMILIA!! TheSagrada Familia was begun in 1882 and designed by Antonio Gaudi. When he died in1926, only about ¼ of the building was complete and it is still underconstruction today. The projected date of completion is 2026, but only timewill tell. Gaudi joined the project in 1883 when the original architect,Villar, resigned from the project. Gaudi then redesigned the building, althoughhe kept to the original Gothic inspiration. The main nave was opened tovisitors after 2001. When the spires are complete the SF will become thetallest church building in the world. Josep Maria Subirachs completed the Passion façade where oneenters the building (1950’s).

This is a building unlike no other. The detail is overwhelming andpartially explains why the building process has taken so long. The outside isamazing because of the detail and the legend. Once you cross to the inside, youare blown away. There are beautiful stain glass windows and the walls arepristine white. The columns are beautiful because as they ascend, they split tobecome branches of trees; the ceiling becoming a canopy. As you sit and soak itall in you realize what a genius Gaudi was. Your neck begins to hurt fromadmiring all the circles above you. Then you exit to see the Nativity façadewhich was the first façade to be completed and while working on it, Gaudirealized that he would not be able to complete the church in his lifetime andso meant this façade to set a precedent-and it does. You could stare at thefaçade for hours, it seems, as it is so intricate. The Sagrada Familia is afantastic illustration of architecture that has stood the test of time andstill amazes today. If I had to sum it up in one word = overwhelming.

A short stop away we sit at astreet café and enjoy two bottles of the local wine, pizza, and views of theSF. Then for a walk down Passeig de Gracia to take a look at Gaudi’s Perderawhich sits on the corner with its wavy exterior and iron balconies. On fartherdown we find Casa Batllo where a cheesy audio tour is part of the experience.Casa Batllo sits on the Illa de la Discordia (the Block of Discord), so namedfor the eclectic architecture found on this street. Gaudi remodeled thisbuilding at the turn of the 20^th century for the Batllo family,completely reconstructing the façade. (Visitors were not allowed until 2002.)The exterior is covered with mosaics. The windows and balconies are the mostprominent addition which also gives the building its second name: The House ofBones. The interior uses a lot of blue tiles that fade as they descend toaccommodate for the light streaming in from the skylight. Once you reach theattic you feel like you are inside a whale’s ribcage without the hassle ofbeing eaten. Pristine white arches frame every room and then open up to therooftop. There are strange chimneys that are covered in beautiful mosaics andlots of space. Gaudi does an amazing job of creating spaces that you want tospend a lot of time in and this is no exception.

On the way back to the Hostel Goya we stop forsome tappas and sangria. Rest and then Allison and I went for a quick walk tosee Casa Batllo at night. For as beautiful as it is during the day, it is evenmore wondrous at night. The façade is all light up and looks like some sort ofcastle that belongs under the sea. Thenout for a late dinner of tappas including: meatballs in sauce, patatas bravas(thick cut fries with a sauce), cured ham (so delicious), “spicy peppers” (thatwere not spicy), sautéed asparagus, assorted cheeses, bread with a tomatopaste, mushrooms in a garlic sauce and some sangria. From here we went to asmall bar that was rumored to have the “best mojitos”. The bar was empty whenwe arrived and by the time we left, it was packed- it was us. We were intriguedby the notion that we could draw a crowd to an empty bar and tried our theoryabout four times that night, and we prevailed!

April 6

Churros & Hot Chocolate

Wake up and head to La Rambla, acrowded touristy street complete with a flower section and MANY streetperformers. They are lined up, one after another. We saw an great acrobaticshow that was making its way down La Rambla. Made a stop at the algae coveredand smelly Font de Canaletes which tourists are supposed to drink from toensure that they will someday return to Barcelona; we kinda just washed ourhands in it. Quick stop at Esglesia de Santa Maria to see the beautiful stainglass and continued our search for Roman ruins! We finally found the columnsthat were once part of a Temple dedicated to Augustus in the 1^stcentury B.C. What was really interesting was that they were underground. Thenwe stopped in the ______ Church which has tall vaulted ceilings and aJesus statue that dodged a bullet. Next we saw the city walls which were alsobuilt by the Romans. No wonder I love Barcelona-the Romans were here! They areso wide that there is a church within the walls! Our hunger got us and westopped for some churros (fried dough) and hot chocolate (thick like in Italy).Then we went for a wander and some shopping. We made a stop in the Mercat de la Boqueriawhere we walked around and enjoyed fresh strawberries and raspberries, ourappetizer before a late lunch. We made our way completely down La Rambla andthe water. La Rambla ends with a statue of Christopher Columbus pointing toItaly (most people think he is pointing to America). We take a cable car up toParc de Montjuic. The views of Barcelona are amazing with the SagradaFamilia rising above the city. We spent some time in the park and then walkeddown the hill and back to our hotel to reserve the evening’s entertainment:Flamenco Dancing!! I have never seen anyone’s feet move so fast.

April 7^th

Most of this daywas spent wandering around tiny streets and shopping. Many Spanish designersuse bold designs and bright colors in contrasting combinations and I love it. Ifinally found a small overpriced boutique that I liked and purchased a fewpieces (later, back in Dubai, when I was looking at the tag for washinginstructions I noticed the Made in Thailand . . . they got me). We picked up croissants with the ends dipped inchocolate and went to drop our loot and take a siesta. Then for a late dinner(10pm) and an even later night out. We tried our theory of popularity as wellas Absinthe. We had a blast! Enjoyed some late night pizza upon our return homejust as the sun was rising.

April 8^th

We woke up afterthree hours of sleep and took a bus to Guadi’s Guell Park. The park is not asgreen as I thought it would be. It’s more like a giant partial circle ofawesomely mosaicked wavy benches with dirt, and many vendors in the center. Ithas great views of the city and two funky buildings. It was really cool, but socrowded! We took the bus back and returned just in time to catch our taxi tothe airport. The t.v.’s didn’t work, so I finished reading Water for Elephants and then read Burned Alive by Saoud.
Sigh. . . I wish I lived in Europe.

SPRING BREAK in SPAIN!

2011-12-16T06:58:00.000-08:00

31 March

Fly from Dubai to Madrid Allison, Megan, Nicole, Adrienneand I arrive the morning of April 1^st. We check into our hotel and head for breakfastwhere ordering is confusing, but the food is good. The streets are beautiful,but I have a feeling that is just because I love European streets. Greatarchitecture and we are able to walk everywhere (a novelty after living inDubai). We wander and go shopping along the Grande Via. We stop at the Plaza deChueca to sit and enjoy people watching and some sangria. We saw a peacefulpolitical demonstration involving setting balloons free.

We have dinner in an empty restaurant with strange saladsand good sangria (ok, well I’m going to day that we did not have bad sangria inSpain-they know what they are doing).

2 April Art, Art, Art, Do you want to look at some more art?

Breakfast of salmon and tomato on toast. Then to the Pradoto see a wonderful collection of art including:

· Fra Angelica: The Annunciation

· Durer: SelfPortrait, Adam & Eve

· Rafael: TheHoly Family

· Francisco de Goya: Boys Picking Fruit, The 3^rd of May, The Colossus, and Saturn from the Black paintings fromhis house “la Quinta de Sordo” where he painted directly on the walls. It wasreally interesting to see the progression of his work and I wonder if towardsthe end of his life he became a bit of a crazy recluse. The Colossus which is rumored to be painted by his follower, Asensio Juliá beacause of the initials A.J. in thecorner.

· Peter Paul Rubens: Rape of Europa (copy of Titian’s painting), The Three Graces and another SaturnDevouring His Son Rubens’ figures showed many highlights using pink.

· Diego Velazques: The Family of Felipe IV or LasMeninas which was so large that the canvas had to be patched together!

· Titian: Venuswith the Organist and Cupid which compositionally reminded me of Manet’sOlympia

http://www.museodelprado.es/en/the-collection/online-gallery/

Small lake in the Park

We saw so many amazing classicworks by so many artists! Then we ate lunch at the nearby La Cocina de Neptune.Then for a wander past the post office which took over 13 years to complete.Then onwards to the large (350+ acres) Parque del Buen Retiro that is composedof many twisting paths and many teenagers enjoying spring and PDA. We keptwalking to the Reina Sofia. This is a large contemporary museum with lots ofbad contemporary art (t.v.’s on the floor with blinking screens), so skip therandom and go right for the good stuff. A few by Dali and of course the reasonfor going: Picasso’s Guernica! Guernica isnot to be missed. It is giant and exquisite! On the opposite wall there arephotos of the progression of the painting, which is really interesting.

Then Allison and I walked back tothe hotel to meet up with the other girls for a dinner of tappas including:Basil, tomato & mozzarella cheese salad, squid, shrimp on a stick,prosciutto, bread and an omelet (people in Madrid must LOVE omelets). Then offto Huertas for a few drinks.

3 April - More Art!

A perfect day begins with a coffeeand a crossaint at a bakery and then to Museo Thyssen-Bornemiza! The museum hasexcellent variety, from Hans Holbein to Degas to Mondrian. It is set upchronologically and is very easy to follow. We take a wander and as it startsto rain we find it difficult to find a late lunch. The rain lets up and wesettle and enjoy sangria and a pizza. Afterward we head to the bakery we hadbeen eyeing and I got a personalized cheesecake which is never disappointing:). Walk to Plaza Mayor to enjoy some history and then it really starts topour! So we head the hotel for a siesta. When we wake up it is time for dinnerat a flamenco place. The dancers are quite impressive as they twist their bodiesaround and rhythmically stomp to the beat. They were beautiful to watch. Therewe had the traditional food from Madrid: pallela slow cooked rice dish withseafood. There is a light rain and so we agree to the first place we happenupon, it smelled like a sewer and there were lipstick prints on the walls. Wesucked down our free drinks and leave. Then we find a good ol Irsh pub,O’Conells and settle in for the night. On the way home we stop for some latenight pizza.

4 April From Madrid to Barcelona

Wake and slowly make our way tobreakfast where I made the excellent decision to get a chocolate flauta. Thenwe walked to the Palacio Real (no photos allowed). There were many decadentrooms which included walls made out of porcelain and ceilings that were 3D (notmy favorite palace). We enjoyed a small lunch at nearby Plaza de Oriente andthen retrieved our bags and boarded the fast train to Barcelona, passingbeautiful countryside along the way. I enjoy seeing the countryside from atrain. Checked into Hostal Goya where the front desk clerk was quite helpfuland gave excellent recommendations. Had real tappas for the first time andlearned about the culinary delights that Barcelona can bring to the table. Iwas surprised that the food was not spicy at all. Back to the hotel where weplayed some Phase 10 (I won!).

Countryside on the way to Barcelona

SRI LANKA take two

2011-10-22T06:59:00.000-07:00

We had a small break in February and so Allison, Sharon , Megan and I went to Sri Lanka.

Feb 15, 2011 Fisherwoman?

Fly to Columbo and wait for our bags. Mine never comes out, I find someone and tell them, then it comes out on the belt, torn completely open with holes! I go to complain and people just shrug their shoulders apathetically. All I could think of was if I was in the states right now this would not be happening. I make it apparent that I am not going to go away and they tell me they can fill out paper work but that I have to follow up in Sharjah, they can’t do anything. Long story short, neither could Sharjah, R.I.P. Nike bag I’ve had since high school :(.
Anyway, drive three hours to our hotel in Unawatuna and hit the breakfast bar which gave birth to the baby of a pancake and a crepe. They were heaven. Then we spent some time by the pool, lounging and sleeping and reading. I was reading Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell and I have to say that I am not taken with him. He makes semi interesting points and then continues to make his point repeating himself over and over again. (I am currently giving him another chance and reading What the Dog Saw.) Girly and I are both feeling a little sick and so relaxing seems like the best plan. Eat lunch which was a pizza with –surprise- an egg in the center! Then we walked to a pharmacy on a road that had a mass of traffic for its size and we had to run to the side quite often. After we narrowly escaped traffic we jumped into two tuk tuks which took us to where the pole fishermen are. We recognized two of them from our trip last year.

One guy asks me if I want to fish and I say yes! So one guy hoists me up onto his back and another one runs alongside steading me by the arms. They get me onto the pole and facing the right direction. They then place a pole in my hands and one comes rushing back with a bright green wrap which he fashions into a type of turban. Now I look authentic! I spot a fish and try to spear it with the end of the pole when I hear one of the fishermen yell, “No mam! Wait!” I hold the pole up and he attaches a small piece of bread to the end of the line (haha – I hadn’t noticed the line and hook). The fish were biting, but I couldn’t seem to catch one. I step down and admit once again that I am not a good fisherman. They are more successful and catch two fish. They tell us they are too small and throw them back. We throw them some money and head back to Unawatuna Beach Resort ready to shower and lounge before dinner. When we tried to get into our room the key didn’t work and so they spent the next 30 minutes trying to break in. They eventually have to go through the room next to ours and then jump from one balcony to the next, we went to the bar. We enjoy the buffet dinner and head to bed early

Feb 16th Whale Chasing

Wake at 5am and stumble into a car which takes us to Mirissa where we board a boat for whale watching. It is supposed to be a four hour boat ride. We leave at 7am and I am so excited to see my first whale I spend the first 30 minutes standing and actively looking for whales while the others were sitting. Then I am sitting, then I am sleeping. After 2 ½ hours at sea someone finally spots a blow hole spray in the distance. Excitement! Full steam ahead! But by the time we get close enough to actually see him, he has gone under. But look to the right! We chase again, this time the whale is much closer and we see him as the boat pulls up next to him, then he spouts from his blow hole and he turns and goes right under our boat! All you could see was this giant dark mass go under the boat. It was my first sighting of a blue whale and it was amazing! They can grow up to 30meters/100 feet long! We saw a few more surface, blow water and then dive under and then you see their tails peek out from the water just before they go under for anywhere between 10-30 minutes.

We spend probably another two hours chasing whales and then head back to the dock. On the way back everyone was napping and trying to escape the sun. It was really fun, but if I went again I would bring sunscreen and snacks – we were out there for 8 hours!

Eat a really late lunch at the hotel and spend some time on the beach. On this beach you will find MANY old people, particularly old men in speedos and old women in small bikinis. Makes you feel good about yourself and glad that you already ate lunch. There are not too many people selling things on this beach and they are pretty laid back and don’t pester you. The water is crystal turquoise and beautiful, but drops off quickly and has a nasty undertow which I remember from my last trip. Then we shower and after dinner we play Phase 10.

Feb 17th $2.00 snorkel?

Breakfast with the delicious pancrepes and then get ready for snorkeling. Team America was snorkeling and Team Canada went diving. The boat was small as was the area we had to explore. The current was really strong and there were boats that came closer than was comfortable. Despite that we did see a few trigger fish, butterfly fish, yellow and black fusiliers and one parrot fish that had beautiful bright orange fins. Totally worth the $2.00 it costs to go snorkeling. Then we carefully loaded back into the small boat and returned to dry land for some lunch and then back to the beach. We ordered some custom made shirts ($5.00) from one of the vendors and then got ready for our romantic dinner on the beach. Candle lit dinner right on the beach. It was a really nice dinner.

Feb 18th Galle

Went from breakfast straight to the beach. Found the lady who made us our shirts and then packed up to check out of the hotel. Then we took two tuk tuks for a 15 minute ride to nearby Galle. We went for lunch where the server folded our napkins into a person, a shoe and many other things. Then we walked around the wall of the city which saved the city from natural disaster. We bought some jewelry and stopped for a milkshake. Then we made our way back to Unawatuna, had a shower and went to Norlanka for a fantastic meal. We drew pictures on our postcards (highly recommended after a few drinks). Then back to the hotel to play more Phase 10 and enjoy some Old Arrak, some things don’t change.

We had some time in the airport so we made friends with some of the local cricket players before heading back to Dubai.

Art Abu Dhabi & Dubai

2011-09-07T10:22:00.001-07:00

So back in November Girly and I went on something called the Art Bus. It is a bus that picks you up in Dubai and then drives you to Abu Dhabi. It took us around town to see several small galleries and one big one. It was so nice to spend a day looking at art.

This was made entirely out of rubik's cubes!!

The large part was in the Emirates Palace, which is as extravagant as it sounds. Inside there were walls in place to make room for galleries from all over the world to showcase thier goods. Pieces were usually local artists that you never heard of before, but there were also some famous names: Frank Stella did a huge painting and we saw a Matisse and Robert Indiana and many more!

A few months later and the same thing was in Dubai. Except this time there was not a bus, but a taxi ride involved. There were a lot of galleries represented again and I am glad to say that even if a gallery was in both Abu Dhabi and Dubai, they showed different work. There was A LOT of reflective pieces and so I decided to create a series of self portraits in reflections. Who could pass up this opportunity? Not me! There was also one jeweler who forbid you to take photos of thier pieces, but I don't think that photos would have done the pieces justice. First of all the area you walked through was an elaborate installation that was impressive on it's own, but then inside the glass cases were giant gems set into beautifully crafted settings.

When I'm having a bad day

2011-06-02T09:43:00.000-07:00

I look at this and smile . . .

This bee was made by one of my KG2's (which is like kindergarten here) and I love it. We used fadeless paper and then stamped paint on them. Then using their own combination of stencils traced and cut the shapes for their insects. They were studying insects at the time so it worked out really well. Then they glued their pieces and added details with crayons. The results were great! Oh, and of course we looked at Eric Carle :)

I have realised that although I am a teacher who travels, my blog has thus far mostly been all about me. So I will make an effort to talk more about my babies that I teach . . .

Christmas in summer?

2011-05-20T03:22:00.000-07:00

AUSTRALIA!

For winter break this year I went down unda to Australia where it is summer, well it was supposed to be anyway. Turns out they had a freak cold snap and I was prepared for a Texas like summer, so not prepared actually.

Dec 18th 2010

AUSTRALIA . . . but first a 4 hour stopover in the Beijing Airport. We landed and they gave Neng his boarding pass. Then the lady asked me for my visa. I thought that I could get it upon arrival in Australia-wrong! "Go upstairs and they can help you" "Take a train to terminal E" "Go downstairs" "Go to immigration to use their internet" "Go through the Special Lane and down stairs" "The internet here isn't working, try upstairs" and so on. Every person we asked, told us a different story. ALL over the airport there are these huge signs claiming four easy steps to get on the internet:

LIES! Let me tell you about those steps. If you are using an ipod you can't open the webpage until you are connected to the internet, and you can't connect to the interenet until you open the webpage. So we used Neng's computer only to find out that for step #2 you need a Chinese SIM card.
We try to use the machines where you can scan your passport to get the password instead, but all of them are broken! We present our problem to many people who all direct us to someone else who directs us to someone else. After an hour and 1/2 we approach the Air China counter and beg. She send us to the Bussiness center where the internet is not working! I go into Starbucks and beg random people who have computers on if I can use their computer, but they are either not connected or don't speak English and think I am crazy. The Air China girl tells us that we can use her phone to call "our friend in China to help us". I tell her we have none and she offers us to call anyone that can help. I call my mom who I am sure is asleep at 2am. I ask if we can use her phone to complete the second easy step. She agrees and just as we open the laptop it dies, and oh yeah, the oulets are not compatible. Are you kidding me? I begin to succumb to the idea that I will be in the airport for the week rather than Aus :( I keep trying to use my ipod and magically it works and I am on the website, making the phone call and then they send me the password so that I can get online! I fill out my form and after 3 1/2 hours of running around I get my boarding pass. We buy the girl thank you chocolates and run to our gate! Oh and by the way, the internet is free, so I really don't understand the whole system. Lesson learned: double check VISA's and if you keep looking, you will find someone to help you.

Dec 19th
Arrive in Sydney! Meet up with a bunch of N's friends for breakfast and walk around Sydney because they appreciate sidewalks. Went to see Ben play a set and check out Bondi Beach at night.

Dec 20th
N and I set out for a touristy day. We went around Sydney and took the ferry to Manly Beach. Australia was supposed to be in the middle of summer. I checked the weather the week before leaving and it looked to be sunny and warm. Come to find out that the day before we arrived there was a "freak cold snap". It was freezing and of course I packed for what I thought would be summer. It was one of the coldest summer days I have experienced. Then Darling Harbor for dinner. We hit the casino and I learned how to play craps. It was fun!

Dec 21st
We went to the airport and rented a little car and set on the road for Canburra where N spent his college days. We met up with one of his friends and I saw my first kangaroo in a neighbor's backyard! It was magical. We did some last minutes shopping and then met a bunch of people for Korean BBQ. From here the night was riddled with some poor decisions, like me trying to rap and everyone pretending we knew how to dance Irish jigs. It eventually ended with three of us going into the woods looking for kangaroos.

Dec 22nd
On the road again towards Willongong. We stopped at a deserted restaurant that overlooked the ocean. The owners were the forgetful sisters who messed up everyone's orders, although, the food was good. Then we surprise N's brother at work -he is a chef- and hang out with him and his gf that night.

Dec 23rd
Drive further south to see the farm N grew up on. Being from Texas one might think that I am familiar with farms, but honestly, I am not. Ranches, yes, but I am not even sure I know anyone who grew up on a proper farm. We had a quiet night in, ate oysters and wrapped presents.

Dec 24th
Help to clean up and then go into town to see the tourists sight: Nanny Goat Look out point. Here there is a statue of a goat and you can see most of the town of Cooma which if I remember correctly has like 8,000 people. Back to the farm for a few minutes and then we head back to town where every Christmas Eve there is a huge gathering where everyone who is over 18 goes. It is what I imagine a high school reunion would be like. I couldn't pretend to blend in because upon saying hello my accent quickly gave me away!

Dec 25th Christmas!!!!
Call the family back in the States to wish them well. My grandpa hung up on me four times. I love how he questions weird numbers :)Play some Australian Monopoly which is similar to regular Monopoly except the denominations of money are way larger and the places are places in Aus. We spend all day preparing and then the feast! I always find it interesting what different people eat on holidays. My family eats tamales for Christmas. If you try to explain what a tamale is, you are going to have a hard time. Anyway there was bacon wrapped cherries (yum), stuffed chicken, oysters, roasted veggies (from the barbie), and so much more. I finally learned where those paper crowns come from. It is a thing called a bon bon and it looks like a small cylindrical gift. You and another person pull on the ends and it pops open. Inside is a crown, a bad joke, and a small toy. Then we opened presents and even though they hardley knew me, each person got me something. It was very sweet. Then more Monopoly.

Dec 26th Boxing Day
We head to a friend's house where they were watching a big cricket game. I was under the impression that cricket was similar to baseball. It is not. I tried to figure out what was going on and when I asked, they seemed astonished that I did not know. Immediately we went out to the backyard and they had me play cricket! Then we putted some golf balls and played a very competitive game of Jungle Speed and I won! Then we set out for the cabin. A legitimate cabin in the woods. It has an out house and everything. Every year people show up at the cabin on Boxing Day to catch up. On the way to the cabin it was pouring rain and we saw 10 kangaroos! Kangaroos are to Australia as deer are to Texas. You see them on the side of the road and sometimes on the dinner table. There were many stories to be told and some singing to be done.

Dec 27th
Big delicious breakfast and then played a crazy version of Scrabble. Then we had a home made Aussie roast and hit the road back to Willongong. This time I drove! It is weird because they drive on the wrong side of the road and the driver's seat is on the opposite side. It feels like there is too much space on your left and not enough on the right. I drifted a bit at the beginning, but after that it was okay because I was mainly on small highways. Turning is the strangest. This time I was frightened rather than excited to see kangaroos-luckily I didn't; but I am pretty sure I saw a huge wallby walking on the side of the road. We stopped to see the giant ram in Marino and then Parliment House at night.

Dec 28th
N's brother made us breakfast and then we made our way back to Sydney. It was a very enjoyable day walking around downtown Syedney near the Harbor Bridge. Then we went to have a snack with a great view of both the bridge and the Opera House. The Opera House is so beautiful! The outside is covered with tiles, but is looks so smooth from far away. Then back to the airport.

Dec 29th
We had a LONG layover in Beijing and so we hung out in the lounge for the day. Grazing on food, watching movies, reading books and the best part: there was a shower. It was a great way to pass the time.

Aussies. . .
are VERY friendly people
LOVE games of all sorts
believe it is not a true visit with friends unless there is beer involved, even if it is 10am.

Tourists in Dubai

2011-04-13T07:38:00.001-07:00

Can we back up the story to how this happened?

Summer 2011

My mother did not even own a passport prior to this trip. She is afraid of flying and whenever I would ask her about visiting Dubai, she would respond, "But that ocean is sooo big". I understood the fear and respected it. Then one night Janak (my beloved high school art teacher), my mom and I went for dinner. Janak and I got sushi and my mom got some sort of chicken stir fry thing. I have been trying to get her to try sushi for years. Janak asks her if she would like to try a piece and she says, "Okay, which one?" Are you kidding me!! Then Janak brings up visiting Dubai, and my mom says that she is thinking about it. Janak gets hee to agree to visit and says that she and Artie will join. My mom agrees. I don't believe it until my mom orders and recieves her passport. First sushi, then taking a trip half way around the world, those are the steps.

November 18, 2011

Thursday night Neng and I rush to the airport to pick up my posse and an hour after their flight arrives I decide to call my mom. Incredulously, she answers. I say "Where are you" "I'm driving" "WHAT? Driving! Why are you driving?" (I'm thinking she rented a car and is battling the Dubai drivers.) "I just got my haircut, and I'm on my way home." "Say whaaa . . .? Why aren't you in Dubai?!" "My flight doesn't leave until tonight. . . " Then it clicks, I forgot to add one day to the flight information. It usually says +1, but this airline decided that was not important. Oh well, back to the airport again and this time I walked away with three visitors! They flew in Friday night and were pretty tired, so we ordered Indian food and feasted.

The next day we went for breakfast at Lime Tree Cafe (one of the top breakfast places in town). From here we split up: boys to golfing and the girls and I scarfed up and went to check out the Jumeriah Mosque which gives an excellent tour. Just across - an impossible to cross as a pedertrian street - is a great beach where we spent the reast of the day.

Sunday I had to teach and so the visitors spend the day getting aquainted with the city on the Big Bus Tour. That night my mom and I go to watch movies on the roof of one of the malls here. The mall is built in an Egyptian theme.

The next day we went to the old part of Dubai near the harbor. It was a gorgeous day to walk around. We explored the Gold Souk and the Spice Souk and had lunch/bought jewerly at one of my favorite places to eat: Basta Art Cafe. My visitors were introduced to the deliciousness that is mint lemonade. Mmmm.

We scheduled a Desert Safari. They pick you up right from your apartment and take you into a neighboring Emirate, Sharja, for some dune bashing. Dune bashing is where you attempt to climb large, shifting, dunes. This sometimes causes your car to slide sideways down a dune. Going sideways in a car is very disconceriting, as they are not meant to go that way. Our driver was funny and thought it was his personal misson to be the fastest and go the highest. Janak was a little sick, but by the time the belly dancer was on stage, she was feeling better. Saw a few students and then ate traditional food, flat bread (which they let me pull out of the oven), falafel, rice, well all sorts of things that I don't know what they are called with good sauces. The girls got henna done by a young woman who worked very quickly and did a great job. I was so inspired I bought a tube of henna from her. We took a short ride on a camel, dressed in traditional dress (the first pic), and took a less eventful ride back to Dubai.

Wednesday night we went for dinner at Jumeriah Beach Hotel and had excellent views of the Burj Al Arab.

The next day we found ourselves inside the seven star hotel enjoying "tea". This is no ordinary tea - okay well maybe it is because I have never been to a tea, but I am guessing here. As you walk up to the Burj, it is huge and beautiful. The inside lobby is beautiful because it is so open. There are dancing fountains as you enter and more throughout. I love how the designer really used his color theory when planning how to paint the ceilings. Before you go into the restaurant you pass through a robot hallway. It looks like the interior of a computer, but it makes for a cool picture :)

Tea began with a glass of champagne (bet you didn't know that) and then several courses, all delicious. There was the fruit course, salmon with a tasty sauce, a tiny sandwhich round, a cake round (pictured), a variety of biscuits and jams, and a chocolate tower. In case that was not enough food for you, they walk around with trays of more food. All you do is eat and drink for three hours! I tried several teas, a cappucino, and a fruit something. It was extravagent!

From the only seven star hotel in the world to the tallest building in the world and the largest mall. We spent some time walking around the mall that houses an icce rink, a three storey fountain/waterfall, and a giant aquarium. We then went up the Burj Khalifa. I was very proud of my -afraid of heights- mother.

This is a picture of Shiek Zeyad Road. You can get an idea of the skyscrapers and the cool architecture.

The Burj Khalifa.

The next day we celebrated Thanksgiving and then my visitors made their way home. I hope that they enjoyed their trip as much as I did!

Turtle Beach

2011-03-10T22:58:00.000-08:00

November 13th 2011

Fly into Muscat, Oman with four other teachers. We booked two cars through Europecar to make the rest of the trip, although, when we got to the counter and gave the reservation number they claimed to have no record of such bookings. We stared at our “confirmation numbers” in disbelief as they told us that not only do they not have our car, but they do not have any car to rent! We started checking with the other companies and they told us the same thing, there were no cars to rent. We began stalking people as they returned their cars to see if they were returning an SUV. We find one and somehow another one comes available. I’m pretty sure that it was the clerk at AVIS’ personal car as the antenna was held on using tape. We grab the keys and hit the road to find Neng who was there for an Aussie Rules competition. Once we picked him up we traveled along the coast. By the time the sun set we were ready to stop for the night. We set the tents up and had a delicious dinner of pineapple, chicken and rice rolled in a pita. We spent some time watching for shooting stars and began to wonder what campers do to pass the time. . . so we went to bed early.

Nov 14th

One of our cars had to head back as they were sick and so it was just one car and the open dessert. There is a Turtle Beach Resort where you can stay, but we were on a quest for the beach that was discovered by a teacher a few years ago. The beach we were looking for didn’t have a real road or any markings to indicate where to go, and none of us had ever been there. All we had were some GPS coordinates. We finally found the steep, scary cliff that we had to drive down. We made it down the cliff and then the land opened up and there was the beach and we were the only people there. We set up camp and went to enjoy some time on the deserted beach. The beach is beautiful and is stretched between two cliffs. We tried to go in the water, but the waves were really rough and the undertow was really strong. The sand is ½ shell and sticks to you like no other. This day was spent relaxing and reading, later that night some more teachers arrived.

The mother turtles are supposed to arrive on the beach late at night to lay their eggs and the babies are supposed to arrive early in the morning. So we went to sit on the beach and wait for them. We were chatting when someone noticed something . .
-is that a turtle?
-No I think it’s a rock. I saw it there earlier.
Minutes pass.
-It’s getting bigger! It is a turtle.
We get quiet and really excited. The thing is . . . turtles move VERY S L O W L Y so the anticipation builds and then drops a bit as she takes a while to get out of the ocean. Eventually she does and then she starts digging. She digs two decoy nests and then the real one. We creep closer and when she passes us to go back to the sea we are about 1 yard away from her. It was magical.

Nov 15th
A group of people went down super early in the morning to watch for babies, but none were hatching. When I woke up and headed down to the beach there was one moma who was finishing laying her eggs and making her way back to the ocean. Another day at the beach spent reading, lazing, drinking and exploring. We did not find too much besides rocks and played some Frisbee golf.
All along the water’s edge there are large, yellow crabs and Neng decides that he is going to catch one. I follow behind trying to scare them towards him. Then he starts yelling. I can’t tell what he is saying and think he is yelling about crabs and walk over. He was really yelling about baby turtles!! So I run to get my camera and then run back scared that I am going to miss it. In his quest to catch a crab he stumbled upon the one nest that was uncharacteristically hatching in the middle of the day.

As the babies make their way to the sea they risk getting eaten by seagulls and crabs and if that wasn’t enough of a threat, if there is uneven ground (ie: sand) they get stuck. You have to scoop your hand under –making sure there is sand between you and the turtle as you cannot touch them – and help to flip them out of the rut. We started dragging our feet along to clear a path for them to follow to the ocean. They move much faster than the mothers, but their movements are all over the place. Their front legs do not move in sync and their back legs just drag behind them. It was exhilarating and went by in a flash.

After the excitement died down we made dinner and joined the other campers in some games. Then another teacher and I went down the beach and saw another mother arriving to lay her eggs. Then we played some Canadian Uker. I can’t tell you the rules, but I can tell you that I am quite bad at it.
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Nov 16th
We awoke to two mothers on the beach (again no babies) and we watched as one mother finished laying her eggs, ate breakfast and climbed into the car and returned up the narrow ridge and onto the highway.

After a long drive we checked into the hotel and asked for a good food recommendation. We had already spent time trying to drive around Muscat and found it to be confusing and stretched out. The man at the front desk gave us directions to the city center. This pleased us as we were looking forward to seeing some of Muscat. To our disappointment, the city center he gave us directions to was a mall called City Center – so we had some food court food and took a long nap before our flight in the morning. The turtles were amazing, Muscat proved to be confusing even with a GPS.

a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Zm_kEHSdRrk/TXnfA8N8R-I/AAAAAAAAAsM/rJ5k6Jp4sFU/s1600/IMG_1806.1.JPG">

View of Dubai from the plane's window.

Jordan!

2011-02-27T22:55:00.001-08:00

From Jerash to Petra and then the Dead Sea . . .

Doorway in Jearsh.

Jordan!
Sept 9th Eid break with Allison
I miss the first week of school as I had laryngitis. It is better, but I am not allowed to talk as much as I would want. So Allison and I decide that I would be the silent driver and she would entertain as passenger.
Arrive at Queen Alia Airport and locate the Sixt car rental guy who told us that he was going to give us a free upgrade to a Chevy Aveo that had a hole in the driver’s seat and a tape player. The car we booked was a KIA Picanto with a CD player (we brought one cd) we graciously declined the “upgrade” which I am convinced was really just his car. And we began our trip across Jordan. We drove to Jerash, an ancient city built mainly by the Romans during the second century. It was hot, but not unbearable. There was an awesome restored theatre and many columns along the main road, a slight indication as to what once was.

There are a few stubborn Romans still hanging about looking for a fight.

From here we set out for Madaba and along the way we needed gas. . . so I pulled into a gas station that actually had cars –vs. the several we passed that looked abandoned- only to find out that it was more of a car repair shop. No gas to be found. On down the road the gas light comes on and I am convinced that we will soon become one of the many hitchhikers along the road. We enter a giant roundabout and almost get into two different accidents! We finally make it to the next petrol station and it is open and everything! Whew. Getting back to the highway proved to be another adventure as Jordanian drivers are insane! They drive really fast and sometimes slow in the middle of the road, sometimes the wrong way down a one way street! Stop signs don’t mean anything and stop lights are more of a suggestion as I noted most cars just rolled through as I sat and waited at the red light. Most pedestrians walk in the road and there are packs of boys all over who are either holding a snack or a toy gun. Older boys run at cars and try to hit them. The girls on the other hand are precious with their well thought out fashion choices and sparkly purses, most of them even wave.

Mt. Nebo (where Moses died) is supposed to be on the way to Madaba and so we put it into our navigation system – who we nicknamed Rita – and wound up driving up, down and around a few neighborhoods. Allison got really frustrated and cussed out Rita. We kept seeing signs for Mt. Nebo and then figured out that we were actually on Mt. Nebo, which is more of a rolling hill than a mountain. We drove until we saw –as Moses did- the Promise Land across the Dead Sea and watched the sun set. We eventually found Madaba and our hotel. After we checked in we took a wander through town to find Mystic Pizza – a place Lonely Planet describes as “hip and trendy” . . . sure. The pizza was bad and there were strange spices in the sauce. Then one in the states is much better and way hip. We walked back to our hotel and passed out from exhaustion.

Sept 10
I awoke at 6:30 from a delightful sleep. We went for breakfast and then set out to see some of the mosaics Madaba is famous for. We tried the Archaeological Museum and the Apostle’s Church – neither of which was open. Back on the road again we pass through Wadi Mujib and see some fantastic desert landscape. The desert seems to go on forever and the King’s Highway turns out to be a two lane road (with four cars across) that twists and turns and climbs and dives but never too much for this little Picanto! We make our way to Karak to see the castle. The castle is definitely in ruins and was built in the 12th century by the Crusaders. We then ate a mediocre lunch and was Petra bound. *Note: the food in Jordan is mediocre at best. Our hotel had the nicest and most helpful desk clerk. She even planned out itinerary for Petra.

View of the Tombs.

PETRA: made of sandstone which erodes with wind, water, and salt, creating some interesting formations. Petra means rock in Greek and was built by the Nabataeans who settled in the area in the 6th century BCE. They were unsuccessfully attacked by several groups including the troops of Alexander the Great. They were wealthy and taxed caravans within their area. They even wound up buying off the Romans in 63 BCE, the Romans did take with them the architectural style and in 106 CE the Romans finally took Petra. After this Petra experienced a great decline and in 363 there was a great earthquake which destroyed most of the buildings. Through the Middle Ages, people were curious about this city and there were many rumors of the Red City. It remained unknown to the rest of the world until Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt was introduced to it in 1812.

The walk into Petra during the day is hot! 800 meters along an open path an then the 1.2 km through the siq. The siq is a pathway with towering rocks on either side of you that were ripped apart due to tectonic movements. Around every turn I expect to see the famous Treasury peeking between the siq. The anticipation builds and make the walk that much more exciting. After about 30 minutes, we turn a corner and there it is! The Treasury is just as amazing as expected, and much larger than I thought it would be. We then moved on to see the theatre and the Colonnaded Streets where you can really see the Roman influence. We hiked up to the Royal Tombs and my favorite was the Urn Tomb (<--) because of the fantastic color of the rock. Most of Petra has an orange-red sandstone color but every so often there are stripes of white or blue that are really unique and incredible (never thought I would say that about a rock). There is nothing inside the tombs today as they were pillaged long ago. If you stay until sunset the exit from Petra is empty as all the tour buses have left and you can get a great shot, without hundreds of people. Back at the hotel we enjoyed a decent meal. We tried the pool and found it to be a bit cold. We retired early as the plan was to wake up at 5:30am!

The Treasury

Sept 11
Girly and I downed breakfast and made it to Petra at 6:30, which is highly recommended as again, there are hardly any people. We made our way up to see the Monastery. Little did we know it was an hour hike uphill. This is not an easy trek and most people take a donkey to the top, but we –who don’t hike- thought we would be badass and walk the whole way. ¾ of the way up we began to question if this thing we were hiking to would be worth it, then we passed three people who said that it would be all worth it once we were up there. Just then we passed a small café offering drinks and it made me wonder if the owners hike this everyday . . . and how do they get their goods up here? All by donkey I guess. We finally make it to the top and see the Monastery , the best part was that at 9am there is no one up there. The Monastery’s beauty lies in it’s size, it’s symmetry, it’s place at the top of a mountain and the relatively good condition that it is in. amazing to me is that without cranes or any of the modern day tools, this was carved from the mountain side. We sat at a café opposite to enjoy the view and our well deserved ice cold Gatorades – nothing could have quenched our thirsts better. I bought a lapis necklace set in silver and then we were told that the best view in Petra was just up the next cliff top, so we pressed onward and upward above the surrounding mountains to see Wadi Araba open up below us. It was incredible, you could see mountains for miles and even see all the way to the five trees that were growing at the bottom.

We then began the decent passing many people who were on the way up including a very angry man and his friend as well as a Rastafarian donkey who came complete with a sound system = the boy leading him was carrying a speaker, he said that the donkey liked the music. Later we saw the same boy and he told me, “Don’t worry, be happy”. Along the way we stopped at a ladies “shop” where we enjoyed some delicious hot black tea and I bought a rock and ceramic necklace. (The shops along many times are simply tables set up.) We spent some time along the Colonnaded Street. After walking 11km, we took a break and had an interesting lunch where tiny kittens pranced and bounced around under our feet. We decided that if we were in Petra, we might as well make the most of it and see as much as possible. So in mid-day heat we began the Wadi al-Farasa Processional Route. The 1st stop was the High Palace of Sacrifice which was a bit disappointing. At this point we figured we would cut our losses and turn around when we run into angry man (who has lost his friend and asks if we have seen him); he tells us that the most spectacular sights are on this trail and so we carry on. 25 minutes later we come across the Lion Monument which was once a fountain and there is a lady selling postcards way up here! Along the way to the Garden Temple Complex there are stairs that are in pretty good condition, however at some points it is more of a scramble. Just past this is the remarkable Roman Soldier Tomb and across from there was a Trinclinium which you could enter and see the fantastic colored rock on the ceiling. We once again began passing people and went for a great view of the tombs. Then we headed out. After 18km = 12miles, we were done. We jumped into the cold pool, took a hot shower and had a nap before dinner. We then played cards and passed out.

Sept 12
We figured that in 24 hours we walked 25 kilometers = 15.5 miles. Sore does not fully describe the feelings in our calf muscles.
We got an early start stopping for petrol and some local pastries. We left town intending to take the Dead Sea Highway, but Rita had other plans. We wound up driving through Wadi Araba in a KIA Picanto the road started out a little narrow, but paved. We were passed but a truck with two men in the back who gave me a thumbs up. I thought he was just proud that a foreigner was driving in Jordan, but really he must have known what lay ahead. Pavement gave way to a road that was paved maybe 20 years ago. Then the road becomes more snake-like, whipping back and forth. Then there is no more pavement, only gravel, then gravel with giant pot holes. There are drop offs very close to the road on one side and I am beginning to understand why the locals were impressed. We catch up to them and one offers to drive, but I am 1. Determined 2. Can’t imagine how fast he would drive. Every time I can’t see around the corner or over the top of a hill I slow down, petrified that there will be another car whipping around the bend and we will have to share this one lane road. Luckily we only passed four cars on our journey down the mountain. My poor co-pilot –who gets nervous driving in taxis- is white knuckled with a death grip on the ohshithandle and on the verge of tears. I wait to tell her that I am nervous as well. I have never driven on a road like this and was nervous that this might be beyond a Picanto’s capabilities. An hour later we reach the bottom, the road opens up, flat and paved and you can see for miles! I have never been so happy to see the open road!

We continue for some time passing only the occasional Bedouwin tent and I am glad we got gas this morning. There is no town by the Dead Sea, only resorts. We make our way to the Marriot resort where security checks under your car and then your bags get scanned like the airport. Once inside it is lush. We scout the premises and eat lunch . . . then it is time for the Dead Sea! The Dead Sea really is AMAZING! As you enter you soon discover how salty it is (33.7% salinity). You begin to float immediately. Even if you stand up, you can’t touch the bottom, but you can “run” through the water. It is tough to float on your side because you just turn one way or another. You can lay flat on your back and ½ your body is floating above water. It doesn’t feel as salty as I thought it would, but you quickly discover every little scrape on your body. And whatever you do DO NOT get any in your eyes! It is awful and lasts much longer than it should. Then we got out, rinsed off and spent some time in the 18+ infinity pool that overlooks the Dead Sea. A great dinner at the Italian restaurant and then to bed.

You can see the salt build up on the rocks.

Sept 13
We woke up early to make the most of our last few hours in Jordan. We covered ourselves in the thick Dead Sea mud and then went into the Dead Sea for another float = bliss.
Then we drove back the airport, said goodbye to our little Picanto and set off back to Dubai.

Bangkok, Kanchanaburi, KhonKaen & Ayuthaya

2011-01-28T01:08:00.001-08:00

Aug 18
Fly from Chiang Mai back to Bangkok. Met up to eat with a few friends at an Israeli place and then walked down the infamous Kohsan Rd where all the falungs (foreigners) stay. Went for an afternoon swim and then went to a local football/soccer game to support Thai Port. They tied the game which made it very exciting. After the game the boys kicked around the ball with some local youngsters. Then we went to Cabbages and Condoms, a restaurant that advocates safe sex. A good cause and good food. Then we went and sat at a “street pub” which is really just plastic chairs and a table literally on one of the side streets. There was an unsuccessful pimp very close to us. The Boss Lady was kinda of dry until I danced with her and then she was laughing with us instead of just staring at us.

Aug 19
Wat Po where there is a GIANT reclining Buddha that fills the wat completely. It is the largest golden Buddha I have seen. Then onward to the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew where the auspicious Emerald Buddha is. It was soooo hot! And my stomach was angry; but the Palace was splendid. We had good timing and just as we were about to leave, we got to see the changing of the guards. These guards are not allowed to move while they are on duty (like the British?).
After the Palace we stopped for mango sticky rice and went back to Pat Pong where they were just beginning to set up the night market. It is such a big production to set up they begin at 3pm, then stay open until the early morning and then clean it all up so that people can get to work in the morning (how do they get home?). Back to BMK to get a haircut. My first haircut from a man (and hair washing from a lady boy). Street food dinner and then to the train station for our nine hour train ride up north to Khon Kaen. The train was HOT!

(Grand Palace -->)

Aug 20

Arrive at 6am and meet some of Neng’s family at the train station. Ride in the back of a pickup truck an hour to the village. Eat a fantastic breakfast and then go to the local school. There are only two teachers. While the teacher is teaching one class another class is (supposed to be) working in their books. We played a few games with them and had them guess where we were from. Americans are so lucky. We leave and go meet more family. The old ladies were fantastic! They were beautiful and so hospitable, they spoke no English and so I tried my best to speak some Thai. . . hi, I’m Neng’s girlfriend, Katie. How are you?
Our mode of transportation was a motorbike with a type of suicide seat that was constructed out of mesh metal. It was quite a sight and quite bumpy. On the way back to the house we come across a pre school playground and say hello. As we are leaving we cross paths with an ice cream truck. Neng convinces him to follow us and we lead him to the preschool and bought them ice creams. Back at the house we had lunch and then a hammock nap. Back in the pickup to travel to Udon Thoni (1.5 hours away) to meet up with cousins and have a feast of a dinner.

Aug 21
It’s raining, it’s pouring, it’s never going to stop. Monsoon rain was in full swing and so this day was spent writing post cards, eating and reading. Auntie made three seafood dishes and the best fried chicken, rice and Thai omelet (it’s different, I think it is friend as well) for breakfast, then dragon fruit and mango sticky rice. I am really not sure how Thai people are so tiny. Her kitchen is attached to the house, but open air-there is only three walls, two are partial. It is huge and a really interesting set up. Around 5pm we head to Khon Kaen to eat dinner and then watch Entorage until our overnight train arrives. The train is so bumpy I hardly sleep.

Aug 22
Back in Bangkok we head to the weekend market: Chatuchak to do some shopping. There is really everything here including an animal section complete with tons of cute puppies, rabbits, so many different kinds of birds, an impressive fish section and even an illegal reptile section. As we passed through another section there was even a cock fight! Thailand is crazy! Back to the hotel for a quick rest and then back to Kohsan Rd to pick up a few things. We stopped for dinner at the worst restaurant in Bangkok. Everything we ordered was awful. My stomach was tired of Thai food and I was craving foreigner’s food so I ordered macaroni and cheese. I figured the worst that would happen is they use sliced cheese. I was wrong. How to ruin mac n cheese: use thin pasta like fettuccini, smother it in ketchup, toss in some scrambled eggs and then top it with sliced cheese. Even the Thai food we ordered was bad. Lesson learned: do not choose your restaurant based on the availability of t.v.’s showing a soccer match.

Aug 23
We were going to take the train, but that was before the slowest, crazy cab driver got to the station 10 minutes after the train left. So instead we took a minibus and two hours later we were in Kanchanaburi AKA the Death Railway Bridge. The only original part of the bridge that remains is the outer curved spans as it was destroyed by Allied bombs in 1945. We stopped for lunch with a view overlooking the Bridge over the River Kwai. Then we rode to the well maintained grounds of the Allied War cemetery where many who died during the construction are buried. I didn’t see one age over 39.

We rent a motorbike and head towards the golfing resort and the big waterfall. After about ten minutes it began to rain, but we rode on. Then it started pouring and so we stopped for some 15bhat noodles (15bhat = 0.50) that were really good. –Side note- other things you can buy in Kanchanaburi for 15bhat: white rice, 2 sweet teas, or 1kg of clothes washed. The rain cleared at the golf course so we set out back to town. It rained the whole 30 minute ride back! We were soaked to say the least. We ate dinner and cozy-ed up to some more Entourage (by this time we are addicted).

Aug 24
We upgraded the motorbike for a truck as two friends were meeting us. We picked them up and checked into the golf course and then Neng, Katherine & I went to check out the 7 tier Erawan Waterfall. It is a 1.5k hike up to the top tier-some of us in flip flops. The waters are crystal clear blue. So clear that you can see the creepy little fish that are just waiting to eat the dead skin cells off your feet. Some people like it and even pay money for this, I think it tickles and sometimes hurts depending on the size of the fish. The rain holds out until we are on our way back. The boys golf and I take a nap. Maybe partially due to the fact I couldn’t find the light switch or figure out how to turn on the tv; but also exercise is hard work. We ate dinner at the hotel where we are the only people there besides the six bored ladies who work there. They basically join us for dinner.

Aug 25
Woke up early to hit the green. I had my first crack at hitting a golf ball outside of putput, then spent the rest of the time driving the golf cart which was fun. The course was beautiful and even had a miniature Bridge over River Kwai. Then we caught a bus to Suphanburi and transferred to the slow bus to Ayuthaya. We checked in and within 10 minutes are on a boat tour of the city. Our first stop was Wat Phanan Choeng, a Chinese temple home to the 19 meter high seated golden Buddha. Neng bought some bread and we fed the very large catfish that were almost jumping out of the water for food. Next was Wat Buddhai Sawan and then onto the impressive Wat Chai Wattanaram which was a beautiful sight with it’s 17th century Khmer-style central prang. As soon as we hit land it began to pour. After the rain let up we went in search of Wat Ratburana which gets lit up at night and I read was not to miss (you can miss it). The restaurant I read about did not exist (Lonely Planet! Published March 2010!!) so we both took the same motorbike taxi back to our hotel. That’s right I became one of three on a bike, and let me reassure you, it is crowded! Street food for dinner and ice cream from 7/11.

Aug 26
As we arrived late in Ayuthaya we didn’t get to see much of the historic town and this was our last full day in Thailand, we began early and hit our first stop as it opened at 8am. Wihaan Mongkhon Bophit , a sanctuary hall housing one of Thailand’s largest bronze Buddhas (17meters). It is impressive because it survived both fire and a lightning strike. Onto adjoining Wat Phra Si Sanphet which has three beautifully intact chedi (stupas).

It was built in the late 14th century and once contained a large golden Buddha which was melted by the Burmese conquerors. Back on the bike we rode past elephants and onto Wat Na Phra Meru. It is a well preserved temple because during the 1767 Burmese army attack they used this temple as a base. One of the sanctuaries has a 1500 year old green sandstone Buddha in the Dvaravati period from Sri Lanka. It also has an amazing tree growing right out of a chedi. There is also a Buddha face in the roots. We cruised past a few more wats on the way to Wat Phra Mahathat where there is a fantastic, auspicious Buddha head at the bottom of a large tree. Most of the Buddhas at this site are headless and the temple is in ruin due to the Burmese attack. No one really knows how the head got there, one theory is that the Burmese was trying to steal the head and dropped it and the tree grew around it.

Chiang Mai

2011-01-07T01:09:00.000-08:00

Thailand part II

Aug 14
Wander around Chiang Mai and stumble upon Chai Mong Kol Temple which was a large complex and sits right on the Mae Ping River. You could purchase different animals (birds, eels, frogs, snails, etc) to set free. And so we get a tiny pair of turtles to return to the river.

We then made our way to the Baan Thai Cookery School where we learned how to make green curry paste from scratch (what a pain), papaya salad, hot & sour soup, pad thai and green chicken curry. It was three hours of eating and cooking. We then stopped at the Saturday Night Market and bought a few things . . .

Aug 15
Flight of the Gibbons. One hour ride out of town in to the hill country of Chiang Mai. The trees were amazing and so tall. Neither of us had been zip lining before. But by the end of the day we had gone on 34 zip lines, the longest one was 300 meters. Zip lining is exhilarating! The guides strap you in and then you sit down/hang and then he pushes you and you are flying through the air. It is a bit disconcerting the first time, but it is soo much fun!! You are flying over the trees, I guess like Gibbons, we never actually saw one. We were there for hours, although it went by very quickly. Then they fed us a great meal and we stopped at the hot springs on the way back. Neng and I were excited for the hot springs and wore our swim suits in anticipation. Well, when Thai’s say hot whether it be spice or springs, they mean it. The springs were so hot that they cook things-like bamboo and eggs- in them. So it was too hot to swim.a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_sJUV4fQAv5Q/TS3Vovx961I/AAAAAAAAAlM/bzExX1ZuCTg/s1600/Summer%2B2010%2B346.jpg">

Aug 16
American breakfast and then a 16km motorbike ride up the mountain stopping once along the way to check out the view and enjoy an ice cream sandwich. As it turns out, and ice cream sandwich is two pieces of white bread, sticky rice on the bottom, and then ice cream on top. It was strangely delicious. Continue onto Wat Phra That Doi Suthep, the final resting place of the white elephant who was carrying Buda’s relics. The grounds were lush with detail and I got a fortune that told me I should respect my elders. Then we went further up to the peak of Doi Pui and a Hmong Village that had a beautiful garden. Then we head downhill to the palace gardens of Phra Tamnak Phu Ping where the royal family goes during the winter. It was full of rose gardens and fern trees as well as giant 5 storey high bamboo. There was also a large pond with fountains for the princess. Then an hour long ride down the mountain full of twists and turns. I think that I prefer going uphill. Steak dinner and a Thai massage. Thai massage does not use oils and they basically just beat you. It was excellent.

Aug 17
We followed the Lonely Planet walking wat tour. It began at Wat Phra Singh and hten to Wat Chedi Luang where there is an amazing ½ ruined (through earthquake), ½ restored Lanna style chedi from 1441 in the center of the complex. This is where Phra Kaew (Emerald Buddha) once stood in 1475; it now resides in Bangkok. Around the chedi are elephants and narga at the bottom. Then onto Wat Chiang Man which is considered to be the oldest in the city, although, the chedi at Luang looks much older. It was still cool as it had elephants all along the bottom. It is always amazing to me how cities grow right up around ruins and will be tucked behind a modern building. Chiang Mai is still surrounded by the ancient city walls. We ended our walk with a massage at the Women’s Prison/Correctional Facility. Here you can get a foot massage from an inmate as part of their rehabilitation program. This was followed by Lychee yogurt and mango salad and it started pouring down rain. This could have put a damper on our plans to see baby tigers, but instead we bought ponchos and hopped on our bike (just like everyone else in town :)

We rode the 20km in solid rain to get to tiger country in Mae Rim. Here we got 20 minutes (was supposed to be less!) with not one, but four tiger cubs; three of which were playful and one that was very sleepy. We took tons of photos slapped me with his large paw (he didn’t use his claws). Their paws are really big in comparison to their body, much like puppies. Then we had to say good bye and went to spend some time with two two year old, full grown tigers. It was a very different experience from the cubs due to the sheer size of these majestic beasts. I began taking pictures and one of the trainers told me to back up as I was getting too close. I was so wrapped up in getting the shot that I forgot how vicious they could be. You can only pet them from behind and should not make any sudden movements. T hey are so regal and absolutely massive . . . it was amazing! On the way back we stopped at the artsy district of Nimman for dinner. When we got back to the hotel Neng decided he wanted ice cream and so we went for a walk. He wound up getting a greasy sandwich and I got a milkshake. It was chocolate and quite tasty.

Thailand part I

2011-01-06T23:18:00.000-08:00

THAILAND!!

For three weeks in August 2010 I was lucky enough to go to Thailand for three weeks!

Aug 5

Sleep as jet lag has caught up with me finally. Woke up around 6pm to street pad thai on the way to meet my aussie where he was playing a few songs at Nomads. We are walking down the street trying to find this place. We call him and say, ”There is a 7-11 in front of us.” “On the left or right?” “We are standing in front of it, wait, there is also one across the street . . .” Needless to say there are 7-11’s EVERYWHERE and you should not use them when trying to give directions. We eventually found him and then a Mexican food place that had good food and a man singing songs on the guitar. Our group joined in on the drums and sang backup. I might have sung LaBamba in a Mexican restaurant in Thailand.

August 6
We switch hotels and head for -what I have decided is Neng’s favorite place in Bangkok- a huge indoor 7story shopping center, MBK. A good place to escape as this is the rainy season and it pours for a few hours every day, usually in the afternoon.

Aug 7
Fly to Ko Chang (Elephant Island) where we fall into the beach life quite easily. We rent a bungalow sits right on the beach and our friends adopt one of the stray dogs that are all over.

Aug 8
Eat breakfast and hang by the pool and swim in the sea. Then we rent motorbikes. I have never been on a motorbike before so I had my aussie drive everywhere. This turns out to be really convenient, because then I can do things like drink coffee and take pictures. We explored the area and drove to the pier. The pier is covered and on either side there are small shops selling trinkets and seafood. Back to beach. That night I was seriously dehydrated. I never knew bring dehydrated could make you lethargic and sick.

Aug 9
Woke up early so that we could walk to the nearest island before the tide came in. Then we head for the national park and hike to the Klong Plu waterfall. The water was crystal blue, crisp and chilly even in the August heat. We had lunch along the river and then back to the bungalow at Kai Bae beach.

Aug 10
Motorbike to White Sands and buy a hammock to add to our island life and a place to rest when Frisbee gets to be too much. We stop for goi dill (sp?) street soup. This lady is a one woman restaurant on a bike. Her noodles were delicious and I was amazed by her set up.

Aug 11
Another typical day: coffee, glass noodle salad and mango sticky rice, Frisbee, movies, beach, reading and motor biking. As this is elephant island, there are places to ride elephants all over. I get really excited when I see one and about once a day we stop to say hello, pet and feed the elephants some cucumber and pineapple. And we eat in the same restaurant every night.

August 12
To leave Ko Chang we catch a song tao, ferry, bus and taxi to get to Fozzies (I was a little disappointed he was not a bear). He took us to a restaurant that was “true” Thai. (I’ll spare you the details.) and then drank until morning.

Aug 13
Back to MBK for lunch and a movie. We made a stop by the Bangkok Art & Culture Center which had a variety of art works. One thing I love about Thailand is the food that you can get on the street. Just walking along any main road there are so many options. One of my favorites is the many fruit options. In less time than it takes me to pick out a mango in the store the street vendor can peel and slice the mango for me, or a dragon fruit along with many other fruits. Or you could get a chicken skewer (I was too scared, but you could), or bugs on a platter or pad thai. Then we went to the smaller airport where they keep the ugliest clothes in Thailand – and maybe the world- along with books that had blurry pictures and titles like Your Child With Arthritis! What? Anyway, we got into Chiang Mai late that night.

Summer Time and the Livin's Easy

2010-11-18T05:04:00.000-08:00

Ahhh summer. Such a prized time for teachers! Time to make the TO DO lists longer, travel, read books you didn't have time to because you were lesson planning, make art, maybe take up jogging . . . oh wait. These are the dreams. Some of these things came true, others were never going to and I think everyone knew that. Ambitions are so high at the beginning and then you wake up one morning and August slaps you in the face and you think . . . "what did I even do this summer?"

Well here is some of what I did:

I did the above painting for my Aussie man

I began the summer with three weeks of relaxing in San Antonio with my mom.

I started a travel journal to document where I have been and it is basically like this, but in print. It takes forever but I have high hopes for it.

And I did read a book: Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts. A big, fat, highly enjoyable adventure story based on a true story. I gave Atlas Shrugged another run, but have since lost it. . . have you seen it?

My mom, Uncle Mike and I took a road trip to see my maternal granparents in Oklahoma/Kansas for a few days. It was nice to see them and to spend some time in a little town. The pace is different and enjoyable.

A quick stop to see my sister & my niece.

Then on the way back to Texas I had them drop me off to see Queen Baby Noor Noor in Plano. To my surprise Sarah Bean learned of my plans and came to visit Noor this weekend also. It was just like the good ol college days, but better without the MAT homework.

Bean and I (QBNN hates photos) atop a giant bell pepper.

Eileen & baby Dylan

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Then I flew in to San Antonio at 9pm, just to turn around and fly back out in the morning to see Eileen & co in Marietta, GA. Peyton is getting so big and she is so smart! During this time, my heart was stolen by a little man named Dylan. He would wake up from naps and we would play the smile and laugh game - which is just what it sounds like. He has the most adorable curl in his hair and beautiful eyes. While here we spent a day at the Children's Museum and even went to the aquarium where they had two impressive whale sharks.

Peyton was an avid shopper.

Then back to San Antonio for a few more days to visit some dear old friends and then back to Dubai - but not to work, mainly as a stop over before the next journey. . .

Aquarium inside & out

2010-11-10T00:51:00.000-08:00

Inside the largest mall in the world (Dubai Mall) there is a HUGE aquarium that is two stories tall! It has over 400 rays and sharks and hundreds of other living creatures. Every time I walk by it I must be dragged away from it. It is one of my favortie places in Dubai.

Normally we just view it from the 38.2meter wide viewing pannel; but in May we went inside. There is a tunnel you can walk through. From underneath you can see where all the sharks hang out. It is splendid and very creepy to see so many sharks swimming over your head. You see giant specked rays swimming past . . . and once through the tunnel, you can go onto the Underwater Zoo.

There is a beautiful octopus.

And creepy little worms.

And an awesome tank with tons of lion fish complete with a bubble you can climb into.

Then for my birthday I had to complete "Katie's Amazing Race". It was a fun week long of running around trying to figure out whose jeep I was supposed to draw, doing difficult yoga poses, giving CPR to stuffed animals and singing Journey. My friends agreed to join in and gave me no clues. It was worth it in the end as my present from Neng was diving in the aquarium in Dubai Mall!!!

I have never been diving before and so I had a short training session and was introduced to the hand gestures and basics of diving before going into the tank.

Diving is a very strange feeling and the tank is soooo heavy until you get into the water. It was fantastic being so close to all the aquatic life.

Don't worry they feed the sharks at 1:30 and we went diving at 3:30.

This guy was so HUGE and I remember seeing him and being frozen and he started swimming toward me and he seemed much closer than this picture shows.

It was a great experience and someday I plan to get my PADI. . . someday :)

Out and About in Alexandria

2010-10-31T05:19:00.000-07:00

Founded by Alexander the Great, home to Cleopatra, the place where the legendary lighthouse, Pharos and the Great Library once existed: Alexandria. Although these things have sunk/disappeared without a trace –how does one loose a library?- I still was drawn to Alexandria and since I had a long weekend, I thought that I would pop in for a visit.

The view of Dubai as we flew towards Egypt!

The view from the top of our hotel.

<- Our hotel was beautiful

We left at the crack of dawn and when we arrived we started with freshly caught lunch at the Fish Market Restaurant. Then onto check out the catacombs of Kom Ash-Shuqqafa where I got the group of us in for the student price using my teaching ID. Hmm. Just say that you are a student with confidence and smile, and you will get far, or at least a discount. The catacombs are the largest known Roman burial site in Egypt and they are a good mix of creepy and beautiful as once again you see Greek myths beside Horus and Anubis. The bottom level is completely flooded, but the other two are still cool. And we discovered that ancient Egyptians and I fit into the same size loculi.

Then we walked along the Cornish and stopped to enjoy fruit juice. Now when Egyptians say fruit juice, it has the taste of eating a mango, without all the work. Chucks of mango get stuck in your straw kinda thick. Quick trip through the slums where I got yelled at for taking a picture of sheep and onto Pompey’s Pillar. We stayed in the Windsor Palace Hotel and it was beautiful complete with an exposed elevator in Anfushi.

The weather was Mediterranean perfect all weekend. The sun was shining and there was a wonderful sea breeze which made wearing pants in May quite comfortable. We went to go check out Fort Qaitbey. It has been there since 1480 and stands on the ground where the lighthouse once was. It is rumored that the rubble from Pharos was used to build the fort. It is also a great place to run around and make fake gun noises.

I was pleased to see that Alexandria had many big, beautiful mosaics like this one.

Checked out the Alexandria National Museum and saw actual hieroglyphs carved into stone, some of which still had their color. It is always more impressive to see art in person. There is some things that a camera just can’t capture. We got to see a real mummy! It was really cool to see the change in artwork from traditional Egyptian to slightly more western as the Greeks and Romans made their way here.

Brazilian Coffee House. Wander some more. Juice.

I am convinced that KFC is the most widely known chain, well at least I see them everywhere!
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Bibliotheca Alexandrina. Shortly after Alexandria was founded in 331 BC by the Great himself, Ptolemy ordered the building of the great library. It then became the goal of the Bibliotheca to collect a copy of every text, over 700,000. Alexandria was set aflame several times, the last time in the 4th century AD by Christian Roman Emperor Theodosius as a gesture again the pagan, destroying all that was left of the great library. The new library opened in 2002 and is a beautiful building complete with several art galleries inside, with some pretty good stuff.

From here we set out on a journey to see a bridge I heard about in a part of town which does not get many visitors. We found the Stanley Bridge and the hardest road to cross. It is not really a part of town that is easy to walk around in, but there are lots of people walking about. We stopped for dinner and were the only non locals there. Back to the hotel room where we hung about playing cards until our early morning flight back to Dubai.

Going to Goa

2010-10-17T04:19:00.000-07:00

INDIA!!!

this post might have begun in July . . . I have been busy??)

Fly all night, exchnage in Mumbai where we rode three differnet busses in the airport.

Arrive and drive/nap (don't worry someone else was driving) for two hours to the back.

Sidenote/a small piece of advice: If you are thinking of bringing along some Cadburry Bunny Eggs for your friends because you will be away for Easter, DON'T. It will end with everything covered in fake, sticky egg yolk. And that stuff does not come off easily!

We arrive in Kerela and are spending the night on a house boat.

So we spend a few hours cruising the canals which are all palm tree lined. All along people are doing their everyday activities: laundry, swimming, brushing their teeth in the waters. We chose some giant tiger prawns for dinner and GM teaches us a family card game called ME! (which is similar to gin) and I am inherently bad at. Once the sun goes down the place is covered with mosquitos and we are encouraging the gekos to eat as much as they can. I have never seen so many mosquitos!

April 3
As our fan only had one speed: turbo, we woke up freezing and I had a sore throat. We enjoyed good coffee and a delicious breakfast on the boat before docking and heading to Fort Cochin where we stayed at Ann's Residency (if you happen to forget a painting here you will eventually get it in the mail :). Ate at Teapot where they had tasty drinks. Did a bit of shopping and hired a tuktuk for all of us = three in the back and me in the front with the driver. The only problem with this is everytime he went to change a gear I had to get out! He took us to St. Francis church where Vasco deGama was once burried; then Santa Cruz Basilica and Mattan Cheery Palace which would have been a bust because the only good thing was one room with a mural, but it was only 5 Rs (10 cents). Then onto a ginger factory where ginger tea and candy (kinda weird) was thrust upon us. On the way back to the hotel the tuktuk driver told us that if he takes us to a shop he gets a free litre of gas, so we agreed. He even let me drive! As we pulled into the drive I yelled brake and recognized the the man I almost ran over - we had already been to this shop earlier.Nap and then walk over to dinner at Dal Roti, my new favorite restaurant. Girly and I split the Paneer Makhani and ate lolots of nan, good peach ice tea, took a photo on a donkey and then when we asked the owner where the nearest pharmacy was he insisted on taking one of us there personally.

GM volunteered and hoped on the back of his motorbike and just as this occured a huge group walked into the restaurant making the tiny establishment instantly busy. We told him he should stay and was needed in the restaurant, he replied, "Your health comes first." They returned in a few minutes with some meds that the owner paid for (and would not let us pay him back). Then we palyed hours of UNO and ME curled under the mosquito net.

April 4

We ate breakfast at the hotel and they had really good porridge which was nice on my sore throat. Fly to Goa and check into our hotel/resort.Ate dinner at the local Poco Loco (serving Mexican and Indian food) and played a version of me where you don't shout. Had a local doctor make a house call as I could not even speak. This is after trying home remedies including: eating entire cloves of garlic, drinking lemon juice straight, and drinking ginger tea with burbon. The doctor arrived and after 2 seconds of looking down my throat said, "That is a really bad infection, everything is swollen . . ." turns out I had follicular tonsillitis. How do you get this? By breathing in the air = awesome. He gave me a shot and four different pills and some powder drink (see above). All in all it was 1,800 Rs ($20.00) for the house call and the meds! Then we went to Calangte Beach which was packed. Tons of stares and some not so discrete photographs in our direction. Bought some beautiful handmade things. Ate dinner at Poco Loco and tried Honey Bee (brandy, another local remedy) and now my voice is comming back. Ended the night playing carron with the locals.

It is constantly surprising to see the women in their bright, beautiful saris. I love it!

April 5

We drove to Panjim and began our morning with delicious dosas = fried ;bread wrapped around potatoes in curry. Then we saw Se Cathedral and Basilica of Bom Jesus which contains (most of) St. Francis' body and had one decadent wall completely covered in gold, as well as two small temples. Then onto a spice plantation where I learned several things: saffron is the most expensive spice, followed by vanilla; pineapple plants only produce one pineapple per plant;and always hold onto your sunglasses when in the bathroom because if they fall off your head they will inevitably land in the toilet. Came into brief contact with an elephant and ate a lunch that consisted mostly of watermelon. I was then overtaken by a nap and awoke for a fantastic dinner of butter chicken and margaritas (which go well together :).

April 6
Went to a secluded beach, meaning it only had a few burned Brits. Apparently most of the people who travel here are British and travel for two to three weeks = lucky. It was relaxing and then we had dinner at a French restaurant where three of us had the best steaks. Great irony . . . delicious steaks in India. Then drinks by the ocean and GM and I stayed out on $6.00. The locals were quite impressed with his dancing skills.

April 7

Scalp, neck and back massage is a great way to start the day. Then back to Panjim where we wandered the streets in serach of the Portugese architecture that is said to be in the Fontainnas area of town. There is such history in every building, layers upon layers of paint, some falling away to reveal bits of the past.

We stopped for drinks to pass the time and escape the heat. Then we set out on the hunt for hte dock where the boats for hte Bollywood cruises leave from. We board one and feel bad for the MC as he unsuccessfully tries to get people to come on stage and dance. There was one semi-nerdy 13 yr old boy who wowed us with his moves. There were some traditional dances and even some done by mascots.
As we returned to the dock we noticed the people on the nearby

Princessa boat were all on stage dancing and we thought, "we want to be on that boat" and so we bought tickets for our second Bollywood crusie of the night. The crusie began and ended with us dancing all over and stopping only for photo shoots along the way (possibly because we were the only non locals there). Then sweaty and gross we piled into a cab back to Baga where we enjoyed the best Dominos pizza I have ever had. Then I went home and passed out on the couch, exhausted at 9:30!

Three people on a motorbike = no big deal.

April 8

We went to the Mapusa Market where you can find women in amazing traditional dress as well as the beautiful saris. They sell everything from food to jewelry to clothes, to everyday items . . . like sponges. The bartering game was on and I made friends with one of the locals and GM traded his phone for a wall hanging. The colors and the atmosphere are fantastic! P>Then back to the hotel to drop off out loot and refuel. We tried to order from old faithful: Poco Loco but were informed that it was closed - no, we can order only Mexican - no, only Indian. We did get food and then onto Anjuna, which lies on cliffs right along the beach. I bought a wall hanging from Alexandra and we ended the night in Baga once more.

April 9

Leaving India: Easier said than done.
We arrive at the small domestic airport only to learn that our flight has been delayed four hours meaning we would miss our connecting flight back to Dubai and thus would not be home in time for school! We got wind of a rumored 1:35 flight (it's about 1 o'clock now) and so we wait in a line only to be told that we were in the wrong line and would have to wait in a -now- long line. I asked if there was any way we could be bumped up as we had been told the wrong line. He said ok, but just one, so I jumped at the opportunity. When I reached the front of this line I am told that I actually need to be six lines down (are you kidding me?!) So I push my way perpendiculaly through five croweded lines, over luggage and squzeed past to get to a woman who can see that I am desperate and determined to get on a flight that leaves in 15 minutes! She says ok, one. And I say no actually four. She needs passports and so I yell and my friends toss theirs forward. One friend has two passports stuck together for visa purposes and so she says, five? No, only four. Two of my friends have the same last name as coincedence would have it. Three? No, I promise you, it is four! She says nothing and types away for several minutes. I am really nervous and finally she is printing tickets. "Did we get on the flight?" I ask. She says nothing and hands me four tickets and we run as fast as we can as we have about 7 minutes to get on the plane. We made it and were in Dubai that night!
Whew!

Makes me smile

2010-06-02T05:12:00.000-07:00

So I noticed that my last post was April 12th (thanks Blogger for making me feel guilty) so I thought I would post a little something just in case people are still reading this :)

In the class of four year olds they were drawing "When I grow up I want to be a . . ." We were sharing them and when I asked one little boy what he wanted to be, he answered - with all seriousness - I want to be a monster! No joke.

Then we were painting elephants, and this one breaks my heart:

long weekend in Lebanon

2010-05-04T23:17:00.000-07:00

Well since we had a three day weekend six female teachers and one lone male teacher set out for Beirut. We took our suitcases to school and left straight from there!

We arrived tired and hungry and went to discover that the best bread is baked in Beirut! So good that it might have wound up in purses. . . After dinner at Café Blanc we went to find a small corner store and on the way found out local bar. . . The Rabbit Hole. As the name lends itself, it is quite small, but the best thing about TRH is that you instantly feel like you are a local. Ralph the bartender is hilarious and makes the tastiest drinks. We even had some birthday cake!

Café Younis had a pleasing combination of great coffee, ambience and delicious food. Fueled up we headed for the American University of Beirut where the population of cats rivals that of Istanbul. That and there was an amazing variety of different flowers, which is not usually too common considering it is February. Then we once again walked for literally kilometers exploring Beirut. This is what happens when you live in a place where sidewalks are a joke and it reaches 110. We walked along the Cornish and saw the famous Pigeon rock, which turns out, has nothing to do with pigeons. Make a stop at Petit Café and have more delicious bread.

There were some amazing trees in Beirut. They were huge and their roots were phenomenal. Then when we were in Byblos I spied a tree that looked like I could sit into it and take a picture. . . which turned out to be easier said than done. I wound up upside down before I could get right side up; if that makes sense. My friends rather than help took a series of pictures documenting my climb.

Went to Martyr’s Square and saw a beautiful monument. It is kind of strange, because the monument is in the middle of a median and the street is really busy on both sides. After some successful traffic dodging I ran into the Mosque and had to Abaya up. More walking around, then back to the hotel. Then out again for dinner at Ferdinand’s, Rabbit Hole, then to Geymayzeh for a bar crawl in which ended at a tiny place where we took over and made it our personal dance floor and SLP watched some Olympics and cheered on the Canadians.
Much needed coffee at Café Younis again. Then onto the nearby breathtakingly beautiful Byblos. We picked up possibly the funniest man in Byblos as our guide. He used to be a history professor and so he was both informative and hilarious. Saw some ruins and played around in the amphitheatre. We learned that Lebanon has been taken over by 19 different civilizations! We froze/ate lunch and then I tried to climb a tree. . .

Back to wander around Hamra where we found a store called Moustache. I really wanted to buy something from this store, but alas, the best thing about the store was the name. Then we had bagels at Bread Republic. Beirut what is your secret to scrumptious bread? Beirut does do bread, but not Italian food. Disappointing. Don’t do it, even if all of your friends want to. Then I fell into a serious sleep.

Breakfast at De Prague. This convinced me that -minus the military presence- Beirut is my kinda town. Brunch is amazing and there are just so many good options here they cannot be explored in one weekend. Hop a Plane (amazing song by Tegan & Sara) back to Dubai.

A mixed bag of emotions

2010-03-29T05:41:00.000-07:00

that's right I used the E word. You know that I am not much for sharing or even thinking about emotions, but in an effort to be better at this I'll give it a go . . .

The Burj Dubai, was renamed the Burj Kalifa at the opening.

It is the tallest:

Building

structure

free standing structure

After returning from a two week non stop travel through South East Asia at 4am and then teaching that day I was invited to attend the opening of the Burj. How could I say no to this?? Construction began in 2004 and is now completed? My old TA lives with a view of the building from her balcony. Getting downtown was a the worst part of it. I took the metro, which is still more of a luxury ride than a mode of transportation. Once we got to the stop guards kept holding us back and I could feel the tension of a crowd that was loosing patience. Got downtown, found Trex in the crowd and found our friend's apartment. The show was breath taking. I missed out on New Year's Eve thanks to Thom Long and this defiantly made up for lack of fireworks. Even though there were 6,000 people attending the opening, it was quite roomy.

Out of the 10,000 fireworks, this was probably my favorite. Looks like a Christmas tree to me. After the smoke cleared we headed to our friend's apartment to enjoy home cooked Indian food. It was amazing and if her kid wasn't my student I would sneak in and sleep on the couch and steal food in the night.

On that note, a rant: it is strange teaching abroad. Incestuous if you will. You live in the same building as the other teachers. You go out with them and then see them in the hallways the next day. I find it strange mixing so much personal with professional, but being in an international setting, I find it vital. Previous to this I made efforts to separate my two lives: Katie's life was all over bmore and Ms. G's life and students were a comfortable hour commute away. And while I do enjoy the now 10 minute ride to work, I find it disconcerting to go to the mall for dinner and know that I will see at least one -if not seven- of my students. They are at the grocery store, the mall, the beach, the airport at 2am, in short, they are everywhere. The flip side is that I am not sure that I really mind having mostly teacher friends. I mean teachers are awesome people with great passion and I am not that great at meeting new people anyway.

Back to the point:

A few weeks later, we got tickets to the observation deck which sits on the 124th (out of 160) floor. The Burj in total is over 800 meters, and there is another whole building over your head as you stand out on the observation deck. It was closed shortly after our visit, and as far as I can tell, is back open now.

Dubai is quite an amazing city to see in general and seeing the city you live in from above is pretty awesome. Part of the observation deck is outside and this was my favorite part. You can see the pyramid that marks WAFI, the Burj Al Arab, which marks my neighborhood, as well as the desert which lies beyond it all. It is crazy to think that all of this sprung from the desert. I mean, if you drive 20 minutes outside the city you are surrounded by nothing but sand dunes that stretch for miles.

Dubai is home to many impressive architectural feats, many of which are still in progress. One of which is my next door neighbor. I wonder what Dubai will be like in 20 years . . . ghost town, or completed wonderland of buildings?

Dubai is many things if not complicated. It is amazing that so many cultures live together in harmony. I mean literally people are from all over the globe. Some are making millions, while others work 12 hour shifts and hardly ever see the family that they are sending money home to. Makes me realize how lucky I am.

Below the Burj Kalifa lies the largest mall in the world, Dubai Mall. And in that complex is also home the the largest fountain in the world. It stretches 900 ft in length and the water shoots 490 ft into the air. To my delight, they change the songs regularly and so when we stop to enjoy dinner around the fountains, I am impressed every time.

Every place has it's good points and it's bad, that it just how things are. That is how people are, but you have to take the good with the bad. They do not coexist separately, so must be accepted together.

Camping . . . yeah I do that

2010-03-29T04:55:00.001-07:00

February 2010, Oman

This kind of camping is not the type that I am used to/prefer. I prefer stepping out of my tent, smelling the fresh air and then taking a shower . . . oh right.

Instead . . .

we arrived at our campsite in the middle of the night, it was on the side of a cliff, and it was WINDY:
this is me trying to hold down the tent while trex is looking for more things to put in the tent. Along with me there is already a giant water container and several large rocks. And rather than help when you yell, Girly will find the nearest camera and take your picture first. This has happened several times. We eventually moved a bit farther from the edge, this worked better, although the wind was relentless and kept me up most of the night.

Went for a hike in the morning armed with the necessities: water, camera and cheese puffs.

On the way back we found this guy poking his head out. Lesson to be learned: never leave your tent open. Geeze even I knew that.

This is the view from the hike. I mean, we were literally above the clouds. It was amazing.

Camping on the edge. Good thing we arrived in the middle of the night.

We packed up and left Jebel Shams and were on the road to a place called Snake Canyon, named because of the overall shape and not the inhabitants. The inhabitants would be goats anyway. In Oman there are A LOT of goats.

The roads were the most frightening I have ever come into contact with. Driving along edges where the bottom is way too far away. But it was like driving through a national park. There was so much untouched land that stretched for miles, with nothing but a road cutting into the landscape.

We stayed the night in Snake Canyon and had a great cook out. That is one great thing about camping, the food. Somehow things just taste better. Maybe it is because you have to fight the goats for your hamburger bun, or perhaps it is finding the stick that was born to roast marshmallows.

The next morning I found out that we left some juice out. Initially, I was just going to toss it, and then I thought, these goats are trying to eat everything in sight . . . maybe they like juice. .. and guess what? They do! Well this guy maybe more than the others.

Oman: a sight to see, a sight with many goats.

My mom is the cutest mom in the world.

2010-03-24T05:07:00.000-07:00

My mom is the cutest mom in the world. You can try to convince me otherwise, but at the end, I would still resolve that she is the best. When I send her pictures in the mail I will find them on the fridge when I go home to visit her. I will find the birthday card that I made her hanging in her room. Her house is a gallery of my work with every room in the house bulging with ceramics and paintings. Even the watercolor I did in middle school you will find framed in the computer room. She sends me on the plane with sour gummy candy in hand and makes sure that we stop for breakfast tacos and Big Red no matter what time I am leaving. She makes me cherry pie and enchiladas when I visit and I eat them for breakfast. She tells me how proud of me she is and I know that she really means it. She supported my dreams of wanting to go to art school when she knows that this will send me to the other side of the country. When she came to see me graduate, she went out to party with the graduates. She still supports my dreams when I want to move half way around the world. She is understanding when for the first time I am not coming home for Christmas and mails me my Christmas presents early so that I can have Christmas on December 9^th, before I leave for my trip. She wrapped said Christmas gifts and even put labels on them saying To: Katie From: Mom. She has a beautiful smile and the best laugh that always makes me laugh. I have said that I want to be just like her but with better taste in men, and I mean it. I would not change anything about her. She is sarcastic. She is funny. She can make me laugh when I am crying and she makes me laugh until I cry sometimes. She knows exactly what I like and what I need, even if I don’t. She loves the gifts I give her, truly. She is adorable. She is cool. She gave me a good appreciation for classic rock. She taught me that being happy is a choice. She has great sayings, like “Brilliant minds think alike”. Her favorite color is purple. She is honest and will tell you when something is not right, or that an outfit needs adjusting. She collects things like sunfaces and bears and say things like, “Look at the face on this one.” When I was in high school she would proof read my ten page paper. She is really fun to shop with. She will play the game: Find the Most Ridiculous Outfit. If she sees someone who is unattractive she will say, “Hold me back.” She loves tea like I love coffee. She leaves post it notes with words of love. She makes lists and therefore, I make lists. She is the best mom in the world and I am glad that she is mine.

Crawling Around Cambodia

2010-03-10T03:23:00.000-08:00

Cambodia, where the cutest kids in the world live

We stayed in Siem Reap during our stay in Cambodia.

Dec 31 Kompong Phhluk

We took a boat trip that explored several small villages that on are the river that leads to Tonie Sap, the waters here rise and fall significantly throughout the year. The first village that we passed through was a floating village. The houses rise and fall with the river. They are independent villages and their mode of transportation is boats. There are “market” boats that travel around with fish, vegetables, clothes and other supplies. It was amazing to think about the way these people live their lives. What is important to them: family. I feel like sometimes in this crazy, busy life we sometimes forget the simple, wonderful things like that. They work and spend time with their families and don’t worry about a 401k because they take care of each other until the end. Although, our guide informed us that most houses have a tv that runs on batteries.

We stopped for lunch on the balcony of one of the houses in the village where the houses are built on stilts. At this time, the waters are low and so the houses rise sometimes 30 feet out of the water. This village is home to the cutest kids in the world. I thought that the kids in Laos broke my heart, but that was just an introduction to what was to come. They know one word in English and it is bye. But they say it upon your arrival, as well as your departure. They wave and yell bye bye, and then run up to you and stare with their big eyes. They were playing outside when we arrived. They pose for pictures and then want to see their picture and will swarm you to do so. The children wave a lot and I had an idea -possibly my best of the trip- to teach them how to high 5. It worked and it was one of the best moments of my life when one little boy high 5ed me, and then another. I saw him upon leaving and we high 5ed again, my heart busting.

Back in Siem Reap 6’4”and I walked around the town and he made me have a fish foot massage. This is where you put your feet into a pool and hundreds of small fish eat the dead skin cells off of your feet (TMI?). It is weird and I didn’t like the feeling. It tickles and is a bit disconcerting. But I have done it once and plan on doing it again, never.

Thom Long was angry and so I was taken to sleeping while others were out celebrating the new year.

Jan 1^st Happy New Year! Koh ker

The “roads” that we traveled this day were all dirt and if you can imagine potholes on top of potholes in between holes, this is the road. After three hours of being smooshed between two 6’ boys in the back of a small car we made it to Koh ker. Koh ker has 96 temples and was the original capitol before Ankor was built. Most of the ruins were covered in beautiful moss. The moss was thin and shades of green, white and even a reddish tone. We stopped for lunch on the grounds of Koh ker in a tent like situation and I had what was equivalent to Ramen noodles (but way better) and lychee soda. Then I asked the owner if I could and then took a nap in his hammock, clutching my soda all the while.

Our tour guide was quite knowledgeable and I picked his brain. Many of the openings to the Hindu temples are quite short; this is not because the people were my height, but rather so that you bow your head upon entry, showing respect. From 1181 – 1218 the change was made from Hinduism to Buddhism. People lived in houses made of wood and that is why there are not any ruins of homes. There were many fertility temples, one of which smelled like fresh flowers. The ruins were constructed of volcanic rock on the bottom and limestone, making it easy to carve into.

Onto Beng Mealae which was built at the same time as Ankor Wat, but from 1979 until 1998 the Vietnamese attacked and destroyed most of the temples. The largest temple was built for Vishnu and there were many Narga to be found throughout Cambodia. The Narga is one of my favorite, they are a multi headed snake and always have an odd number of heads, as odd numbers are lucky. The thing that is so amazing about these ruins is that you can climb ANYWHERE! These are giant ruins and parts are toppled over so we followed our guide. But you can climb all over the ruins! There are no ropes and nothing is sectioned off. It is a giant king of the mountain. I was glad to see over the entrance to the library there were elephants.

More lychee soda and delicious food.

Dear Fanta,

Please bring your lychee soda to the UAE.

Thanks,

Katiebird

Jan 2 Ankor Wat

The boys convinced me that sunrise was the best way to view Ankor Wat, so we got up and took a tuktuk there. As soon as we got off the tuktuk we were approached by a small boy who wanted to know if we wanted to buy coffee, and you can guess how excited I was to see him.

Then onto Ta Prohm, a Buddhist temple built in memory of Jayacaman VII’s mom. It is stunning. (Tomb Raider was filmed her, guess I should watch it now.) There are massive trees that are growing right through the temples, essentially causing them to crumble even more. Therein lies the query, do you let the trees grow naturally, destroying the temples; or should you tamper with nature and preserve the temples? Maybe visit soon and to avoid missing it.

Back to explore throughout Ankor Wat. The temples of Ankor were started in the 9^th century and construction took about 600 years to complete! They were built by the Khmer empire and were forgotten about until a Frenchman by the name of Henri Mouhot published his findings of them in 1864, and it has since then become a place flocked by literally millions each year. They were built by Suryavarman II (1113 – 50) and they were designed to represent the universe in miniature, four towers in a square and the fifth in the center. to They honor the god Vishnu, the creator and protector of the universe. It is incredibly detailed. Every column, every wall, has a carving. Ankor Wat houses the largest series of reliefs in the world, and with 1200 sq. meters of sandstone, I guess this is the best venue for that title.

Then onto Ankor Thom (meaning “Great City”). The beauty of this complex is the entry way which is lined with 54 giant guardian statues who are churning the Sea of Milk. Ancient Hindu legend has it that during the creation of the world, the gods mistakenly lost the elixir of mortality while churning the cosmic sea. It took 1,000 years of the demons and gods working together with the help of Vishnu and Sesha, a sea snake who volunteered himself as a rope. This enabled the gods and demons to twirl the stick – Mt. Meru (represented by the tower) – and save the Universe.

Within Ankor Thom is the Bayon, which rivals Beng Mealea for my favorite temple. It has over 200 faces that emerge from the towers, each over 9 feet tall! They are immense and stunning. While wandering around I got separated from the herd and approached by a woman who was holding a camera. I assumed that she wanted a photograph of her and the man she was with, but no. She instead asked if she could get her photo with me. I obliged and then the man asked the same, I felt famous.

Our last stop was the Terrace of the Elephants is a Royal Terrace is where royalty would stand to address to commoners. Below the stage are giant elephants emerging from the wall with their giant tusks. We then climbed a nearby mountain and watched sunset. I have decided that I enjoy sunsets more than sunrises, as they are 1. Never disappointing, and 2. I can sleep in and still see the sunset.

We ended our night once again with the market and great food.

Jan 3

10 hour layover = one more stop

We woke up early and flew to Kuala Lumpur where we going to have a 10hour layover. Well the budget area of the airport here is certainly a place where a sane person would go nuts. So with some encouragement, we figured out where to store our luggage and headed into the city (which is a bus, train, and cab ride away).

We attempted to go in the infamous Petronas Twin Towers, but all of the tickets were gone, so we went to the Kuala Lumpur Tower and saw them from the observation deck. Previous to this I had never been in a building for the sole purpose of seeing the city from above, and it was really awesome. The great part about this was that our tickets included a visit to an animal viewing, and F1 experience and a pony ride. To my astonishment, the boys were not interested in any of this! I told them I wanted to ride a pony and then they walked to the cab stand. I had to tell them again and insist (like a 10yr old) that I get my pony ride. They stood like irritated parents to the side as I tossed my camera and yelled take my picture and ran to get in line (with the other 10yr olds). As I have never ridden a pony, I could not let this chance slip through my 25 year old, Texan born hands. I made friends and was able to go around twice! I felt like I was going to fall off. I don’t know how anyone rides a horse.

We then stopped in Merdeka Square who boasts the tallest flagpole in Asia (not the most exciting thing), and some good architecture. We tried to get to the National Mosque, but this proved to be a futile attempt, and as we were tired, hungry, and irritable, headed back to the airport. One more plane ride, get home at 4 am, hit the pillow for two hours and then back to teach. All day long I was looking forward to sleeping, until I found out what was going on that night in Dubai.

There was a storm a brewin'.

KL Tower

*Honestly, there were more photos, but they disapeared . . . check fb for more soon

Lovely Laos

2010-02-24T20:43:00.000-08:00

Dec 25, Merry Christmas

Fly to Luang Prabang. We wandered around the city and found amazing frozen coffee, friendly people, a crazy sandwich, tons of monks and hippies also wandering about. Laos is the most laid back place I have ever been with the largest concentration of hippies I have ever seen. They have discovered this place and flock here in large groups. Baggy pants, dreadlocks and hemp bags are seen on about every other person. Luang Prabang also has tons of Wats and therefore, tons of monks, as a result of this, the streets are dotted with their bright beautiful orange robes. We saw Wat Sop Sickharam and then wandered to Xieng Thong Temple which is made up of several buildings each covered with ornate details of mosaics and golden designs inside and out. There was even a large golden dragon boat! After this we climbed up Mt. Phousi to watch the sunset on a quiet little spot with about 200 other tourists. I had to stand on a bench to see anything. The sunset over the Mekong River was lovely though.

Dec 26

We started the morning with a giant breakfast which included the best coffee on the trip and an omelet that was far too large for one person. We then took a boat across the Mekong River and to find Wat Long – Khoune and then followed our tour guide, and 11 year old boy named Bird, into a cave. In the cave there were some stalactites and remnants of of Buda statues all over. We then stopped at the Royal Palace and National Museum. The interiors were covered with glass mosaics, except the ceilings, which were oddly bare. One more wat, Wat Mai, which took 70 years to complete and then a stop for mango sticky rice and ice cream. Then we caught a tuk tuk to see Wat Poan Pao. The outside of this Wat was painted gold with some red accents. We ended the night with some Korean style barbque.

Dec 27

Wake up early and take a slow boat to visit LaoLao, a small whiskey village where you can see women weaving the pashmenas that they are selling and cute kids running around. Then further up the Mekong to the Pal Ou Caves. When our boat pulled up to the caves, the dock was so crowded that we actually just tied to another boat. To get to the caves we had to climb through five other boats! More caves and wandering about with a flashlight. Then on the way back our boat broke down when we were literally across the river from our stop. We waited and were eventually rescued by a tiny boat that had water at the bottom, and I tried to ignore that . Then I went in search of a haircut, and found the edge of town and some cool dragons. I stopped in a barber shop to find out where I could get my hair cut. The directions that I received were a wild gesture to the left. So I headed out and turned at the first street I saw and found a lady cutting hair. There were some more gestures and one lady who was helping to translate, tomorrow there would be a haircut.

Dec 28

Wander down the small street near the edge of town and look for the shower curtain, inside you will find the best haircut ever. Being that all I knew how to say in Laos was hello and thank you, I was settled on being okay with whatever I walked out with. What followed was amazing. My hair was washed four times, including a scalp massage. Then my hair was dried, I pointed to a picture on the wall, motioned to make that look, but longer, and hoped for the best. During the hour and half I was there several people stopped in and were very curious as to what I was doing there as well as a small traveling one woman market. The whole experience was amazing.

Ate my crepe for the day (at this point the crepe lady recognizes me) and meet the boys to head to Khuangsi Waterfall. On the way to the waterfall there was a bear rescue refuge. And then onto the waterfall which was so blue it looked fake. I kicked off my shoes at the first opportunity and walked on, eventually following 6’4” into the jungle for a hike. We hiked until we came across some private property and an old German man who was confused as to why I was not wearing any shoes. . . There was a rope swing and the water was pretty cold (but not as cold as Halong Bay).

Back in town we stopped for some wonderful street food magic. Well, we thought it was magic. Either the waterfall held some bacteria or that magical street food did us in because . . .

Dec 29

Ensue sickness. I couldn’t even keep water down until around noon. Around 7pm I had some dragon fruit, probably the longest I have ever gone without eating – almost 24 hours. This day is pretty much a blur.

Dec 30

Vientiane. Visited Anousavari Monument (Victory Gate) it was built in 1969, but looks way older. It was finished using concrete from the US (guess we felt guilty) which was intended for construction in the airport, thus it is known as the vertical runway. Then onto That Luang, which has a 45m golden stupa. It was originally built in 1566. This was also where my favorite building was:

Every inch was painted and it was beautiful.

Then fly to Cambodia and sleep, thanks to Thom Long – Big Dragon – my parasite.

Good Morning Vietnam!

2010-02-14T04:04:00.001-08:00

So it is apparently February, I'm not sure exactly what happened to the last two months, but I am still trying to catch up on things from December so . . .

6’4”, Trex and I hit the ground running December 18th and began the trip that I refer to as too many cities in two weeks. But we did it and I survived!

First stop was Vietnam and yes, I began each morning by sitting up in bed and saying

"Good morning Vietnam!" some days with a little more enthusiasm than others.

We flew to Ho Chi Minh City and I have to say that the coffee was amazing and the first pho (soup, soup a tasty soup) that I tasted was the best. I could not get over how many lines were attached to one pole. There are also sometimes smaller poles just leaning against the larger ones, I believe for support. But that is still not as insane as the traffic. There are no stop lights, you just proceed slowly into the intersections. This is true if you are a pedestrian or a bus and anything in between. Crossing the street the first time was frightening and I might have used 6’4”as a personal shield. You start walking slowly into oncoming traffic and they swerve around you, you have to refrain from quick movements and running across the street as this is how you will get hit (or so I am told). I am really not sure how it works, but this system of organized chaos does.

We went on a tour of the Cu Chi Tunnels and were able to climb about in them. Quarters were cramped, but I could actually stand up in the living area. The openings to the original tunnels were 19cm, but they have since been widened for fat Americans. :) On the way there we stopped in a workshop where people were creating these beautiful pieces using crushed . . . eggshells! They were so intricate and beautiful.

We then flew to Danang, but did not spend much time in the city and we drove to Hue early in the morning. It was raining - which is a nice change from Dubai- as we explored the Imperial City, which is modeled after China's Forbidden City. It was built in 1833, but looks much older due to the bombings and destruction. It is under renovation and smelled like an artist’s studio. The driver let me borrow his umbrella and the boys bought purple ponchos and looked like Grimaces. From here we went onto the Tomb of Tu Duc.

On to Hoi An. One of our favorite cities. This is a smaller town with a historic section that is breath taking. There is the Japanese Covered Bridge, where after crossing it I was speaking to a woman who was impressed with my blue eyes and told me that previously, she had only ever seen blue eyes on tv. She then told me her life story and gave me some peanut brittle (or something). True story. We then went to the Cantonese Assembly Hall (18^th cent) which had some of the most awesome mosaics I have ever seen, because of the scale and because they were 3D!

We saw the Old House of Quan Thang, the oldest in Hoi An and where the cutest man in Vietnam lives. We stopped at the saddest ceramics museum in the world (possibly), and then we hit up happy hour which included homemade mango ice cream.

Then we headed back to the hotel where we made three new friends who were determined to teach us some Vietnamese and we were determined to teach them more English; this involved many gestures and even some Pictionary.

Dec 22, Hoi An

Woke up early because 6’4”and I were taking a cooking class. I have never taken one before and was pleasantly surprised to see that 1. Everything turned out edible 2. They eliminate the bad parts of cooking such as prep and dishes, making cooking quite enjoyable. We made fresh spring rolls and pancakes as well as eggplant in a clay pot. We also made tomato flowers and the instructor told me mine looked scary (not my pride & joy). Then we drove to Marble Mountain and went into several large caves that housed large Buda’s. At the bottom there were many places selling and making large marble sculptures and it was like a large crowded sculpture garden. Then we flew to Hanoi, and by the time we arrived everything was closed for dinner. 6’4”and I went in search of food. The only thing we found open was a little old lady who was serving street soup. She had a whole set up. She was surrounded by the ingredients which she pulled from bags that were hanging from trees, under tables and in her cart. She even had a small table with the tiniest stools. We got our soup to go and I have to say, that was one of the tastiest soups I have ever had.

Dec 23, Halong Bay (which means descending dragon)

Bus ride and a stop for “the most delicious coffee in Vietnam” and for the first time, their sign was right! Generally when I see signs that make proclamations such as this I lower my expectations, because of previous disappointment (if you see a sign for “Baltimore’s best bagels” keep walking). Then we loaded onto something called a junk boat, which was our home for the next 24 hours. We ate seafood that was so fresh and delectable! Then we cruised around the bay and stopped for a kayaking experience in which 6’4” and I almost lost our cool and our friendship. It all turned out in the end and we resolved to never again get into the same kayak. Then Trex jumped into the bay from the top of the boat. I asked if it was cold, he said not really, so I jumped . . . into . . . FREEZING waters!! Apparently our definitions of cold are quite different. I jumped a few more times and then ran and took a warm shower which flooded my room. We stopped for the night with about 200 other boats and floated between some of the 1,969 islands that make up Halong Bay. The islands are uninhabited, aside from the one with a resort, and they are massive and breathtaking. It is so surreal floating in between these things, it is so quiet and you feel so small (I mean, even tall people). We went into one island which had a few caverns complete with great stalactites and mites.

Here is an intersection that we had to cross, the large masses of balloons are actually people who are selling the balloons standing in between traffic.

Dec 24 night, Hanoi

After dinner, Trex and I headed toward the lake in the middle of the city, but we found much more. We found a small carnival complete with a carousel, tons of kids sporting their santa suits, Christmas decorations everywhere, vendors selling popcorn and I bought mango slices covered in chili powder (mmmm, wish I had one now). The streets – and everywhere else – was covered with people. Locals, who were just as amused with us as we were the whole scene. They would ask to take a picture of us and then we would take a picture of them. It was a crazy awesome scene.

Things:

- Coffee is delicious

- Spring rolls are something that should be eaten everyday in Vietnam

- Mickey & Minnie Mouse are well loved and widely seen

- Drink lots of yogurt drinks in SE Asia

- Eat/drink anything with mango in it

- The old men are seriously adorable

Taking My Breath

2009-12-15T23:35:00.000-08:00

view of the Blue Mosque from inside the Haghia Sophia. This shot was out a window, I was actually too short to see out the window, but Girly held me up and I took pictures, so that's the same right?

December 3

Haggghia Sophia

We are walking towards the Haghia Sophia when we pass one of our new friends, we have been here for one week and we are already running into people we know! It is hard to believe that this is a city of over 12 million.

No matter how much you read, or the stories you hear, you still cannot believe how massive the Haghia Sophia really is, it is breathtaking. Before you enter there are tons of Roman scraps, a graveyard of what once was. Tons of partial columns that once belonged to who knows what. There was one column in particular that I fell in love with, he is Corinthian and massive, and beautiful. Inaugurated by Justinian and then converted into a mosque in the 15^th century, it has a bit of everything and has been built upon many times. We spent two hours here. We saw some amazing mosaics, and great views of the Blue Mosque, got some stares from lying on the floor (to look at the ceiling), met the cat who lives there, tried our best to capture the greatness with our cameras, failing at this and loving every minute of it. One of the best examples of Iznik tiles are found around the corner in the mausoleums. They are crawling with tiles and paintings. Then it was time to buy some stuff and head out. My bargaining technique worked: Girly and I put what we wanted on the table, and I said, we have 40lira. He took out his calculator and did some computing. I stood firm, “We only have 40 lira, you can do that” smile and nod. Then he smiled as well and agreed. I joined Suli for one last cup of tea and was almost late for our ride to the airport.

I didn’t want to leave! This city is so amazing and we had such an awesome week. Back to school for two weeks and then I’m off again. This time I am headed to Vietnam, Laos, & Cambodia. I am traveling with two adventure seekers, so I imagine this next trip will be about exploring and hiking and less about wandering a city and soaking in the history and the art like this one was. I’ll let you know how it all turns out.

Dolmabahce, oh yeah, We Walked There. You Did What?

2009-12-12T20:55:00.000-08:00

December 2

We walked all over this city! Through Sultanhamet, over Galata Bridge which is packed with locals fishing over the edge, past the University and to the Istanbul Modern Art Museum. It was nice to see some art, there were many non objective paintings as well as a few landscapes and a very strange installation. Before we went into the museum we spent some time laying on the floor of the Nusretiye Mosque, and after the museum we enjoyed a coffee/chocolate drink on their terrace which over looked the Bosphorus. On the way to Dolmabahce Palace we stopped for some tea and toast, our lunch on the go. The grounds of the Dolmabahce Palace are incredible, there are so many fountains and since it sits right on the Bosphorus, beautiful gates which are still manned by guards today. You have to wear pink plastic booties over your shoes to preserve the carpets and you must take a guided tour (and no pictures L). The word that I kept saying once inside was “sick” because this palace is so over the top. To say that it is decadent is an understatement. It wa

s built in 1856 by Sultan Abdui Mecit and no expense was spared in creating it. Thousands of artists worked on the palace which is evident as every ceiling is painted and most have gold leaf. There are several great halls, every one with a chandelier made of English crystal, one of which weighed 4.5 tons! It hangs in the Ceremonial Hall which was designed to hold 2,500 people and has the largest rug in Turkey. It was used only for a short period of time as a palace, when Ataturk died here in 1938 it was turned into a museum. On the way out we saw a beautiful peacock and chased after him for pictures. We then took a cab back to Sultanhamet and wandered about the restaurants that lie behind the entrance to the cisterns. Outside every restaurant there is a man who stands and tries to convince you that his restaurant is the best and this is where you should dine. This varies from them asking you to take a look at the menu to them sitting next to you on a bench and kissing your hand. Sometimes it is too much and they inadvertently wind up driving you away. We decided on The Cozy and I ate Turkish ravioli which had yogurt on top and was quite rich. We walked about and wound up passing Our New Friend’s place again and so we had some more tea and he told us funny stories about how in the Turkish baths, the hamam, a fat woman will sit on you. We left and had a few drinks on the rooftop terrace of Pierre Loti, form which you could see both the Blue Mosque and the Haghia Sophia. We then walked to the Cemberlitas Hamam which was built by Sinan in 1584. It is a bit confusing as to what you are supposed to do at first. You change and they give you some slippers and a pestemal. You enter into a steamy room and lay down on a gobek tasi (a HUGE, hot marble slab)and while this is relaxing to most people I am having difficulty breathing as the oxygen is thick with water. I am telling myself over and over again, you can breathe, you can. Then a large woman creates a pillow and from this pours forth huge amounts of suds and then she scrubs you down several times. You move to a separate area and she pours cooler water over you and washes your hair. Then we move to the hot tub, there are two and I could only stand to dangle my legs into the cooler one. I stayed for about ten minutes and then I decided that I could no longer breathe in that room. Then I half ran half walked across the piping hot floor – I lost my slippers long ago. Then in another room I poured cold water over me and that was refreshing. When we left I wanted nothing more than ice cold water and to put my face against some cold marble. I found some cool water and settled for putting my face against the side of a cool building. The next part is a bit of a blur as I was still reeling from being so hot. But we wound up with ONF’s friend Sarcasm who shows me where I can find some delicious baklava and then gives us some sage tea (my fourth cup of the day!), luckily Girly poured most of it out when he leaves the room. And then we head to Taksim. Locals love Taksim at night and I cannot even tell you how many invitations we declined to go here. We went to a small, crowded bar with a tiny stage for the band, and where everyone knows each other. Sarcasm and ONF taught me a few Turkish dances and I even did a salsa. It was a lot of fun.

Cat count: 65? I lost count ))

The Oldest I've Ever Seen

2009-12-12T20:43:00.000-08:00

December 1

We began our day by wandering towards Suleymaniye Mosque which was built by the great architect of Istanbul, Sinan, who built 131 mosques and 200 other buildings in his life! To our dismay, the main dome was closed for restoration, but the grounds were still quite lovely. We then cut through the Grand Bazaar quickly down streets where they had loads of name brand fashions and searched for the small Fez Café where we had delicious drinks and a cheese toastie. Fueled up and ready to bargain, we dove into the Grand Bazaar which was built by Mehmet II after he conquered the city. Most of it is covered and it is so easy to get lost as all of the shops look the same and there are pashmena’s on every corner. The shop keepers say funny things to get you to stop and look. Some of our favorites include:

Are you from Texas (how did they know?!!?).

Is it my turn?

Can I tell you my life story?

Can I take your money?

I’m going to change your life.

Are you sisters?

Don’t break my heart.

And my personal favorite: You have found your destiny. To which I replied, “How wonderful.”

Between a shop owner and Girly: Can I help you? No. Can I take you to lunch? We just ate. So then dinner? No I can’t. Katie, walk faster. Too bad we passed by this shop three more times, not on purpose.

We sat in the area that was once the Hippodrome. What is amazing about this space is that they have excavated down around the Egyptian Obelisk and around Constantine’s Column so you can physically see how much the city has been built up over the years. The Egyptian Obelisk dates back to 1500 BC and was brought from Luxor to Istanbul by Consatantine and is possibly the oldest thing that I have ever seen. We then took a walk along the city walls at sunset and saw the remains of the Grand Palace, of which there is not much left. We wandered to the area between the Blue Mosque and the Haghia Sophia and sat on some benches, writing and sketching when #46 crawled up into Allison’s lap and took a little nap. We walked to the Arasta Bazaar and haggled some more. We were a bit like bulls in a China closet, breaking small plastic pieces and knocking into displays, but we were told, No sweat. We met up with B & K again and had dinner at Adonin where I enjoyed some delicious stuffed chicken and when the server brought out our tea I exclaimed, “I love apple tea!” our server said, “You love apple tea, but not me?”to which I replied “I have known apple tea for five days, I only just met you.” After this B decided that I could work in the Bazaar. Then off to Cozy, where I made another friend, who was quite sarcastic despite the language barrier.

Cat count: 82

From Asia to Europe

2009-12-09T22:59:00.000-08:00

November 30

We went on a tour of the Bosphorus, which is the body of water that

divides Asia from Europe and is connected by the Bosphorus Bridge. We passed under the aqueducts and past the ancient city walls. People have built right on top of parts of the city walls and it is amazing to see the new structures built right over the old parts. We rode a cable car over the Pierre Loti. The sun was exceptionally bright this day and you could not capture the view with a camera though we tried. Then we took a boat up and down the Bosphorus past Bebek to the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge. Along the way we passed many palaces with intricate facades facing the Bosphorus, including the Dolmabahce Palace. We also passed the Fortress of Europe built by Mehmet the Conqueror in 1452 which is situated on the narrowest part of the Bosphorus. We were then taken hostage to see a fashion show, more tea and then offered leather coats.

After lunch we went to the Kariye Museum, which is the Church of St. Savior in Chora the orginal church was built during the time of Constantine, but the present day building dates from the 11^th century and was then remodeled in 1320 by Theodore Metochites who covered the entire place with mosaics. The mosaics illustrate the life of the Virgin Mary, and of course, Jesus. It was an amazing church, it was converted into a mosque during the Ottoman reign and they covered the mosaics, and so they had to be uncovered. They were beautiful, intricate mosaics that were still impressive. Then we hopped onto a bus and drove over the Boshphorus Bridge and crossed to the Asian side of Istanbul which provided another breath taking view and

delicious Turkish coffee. There were some interesting people on the tour, two women in particular: a crazy Pakistani woman who had the worst outfit I saw in Turkey: a touristy hat, a scarf with sequins and bright colors used as a scrunchie, touristy purse, and an Asian dress over pants. The other was a woman from Colombia who wins for the most cliché tattoo: imagine if you can a rose over a barbed wire Celtic knot trimmed with fire, a mistake forever on her chankle.

We went for dinner at Mozaik and I had a delicious tuna salad. After dinner we saw a few of our new local friends who tried to convince us to eat another dinner, but we said we needed to walk off our dinner and wound up drinking some more tea with our new Turkish friends. They were hilarious .

Cat count: 66

Cisterns & Treasure

2009-12-08T23:00:00.000-08:00

November 29

We made our way through the rain

what is this stu

ff falling from the sky?) t

o the Blue Mosque where I talked Girly into laying on the floor with me to loo

k at the ceiling. This really is the best way to enjoy a decorative ceiling, you get some stares, but it is worth it. From the Blue Mosque we stopped back by Omar’s for a midmorning snack of ice coffee and baklava = a little slice of heaven. While we were enjoying our coffee a creeper came and asked us where the WC was, we pointed, as it was right behind him. He tried the door a few times but there was someone in there, so he sat with us in an awkward silence for a few minutes. We then head around the corner to the Basilica Cistern. It is a huge underground cistern built under Justinian in 532 in order

to hold

water for the Great Palace. It was forgotten about until much later and now you can walk through it. It is totally amazing as the columns are about 26ft high and walking around in something that old is just amazing. You can hear the water dripping and see fish swimming around under your feet.

We carried on to Topkapi Palace, which is no

w a museum. Mehmet II built Topkapi Palace between 1459 and 1465, he built it as a series of pavilions rather than one large building, so there are four courtyards. We explored the Harem where the sultan’s wives, concubines and children lived. The sultan’s mother, the valide sultana, was the most powerful woman in the Harem. There are Iznik tiles all over the place and the amount of space is immense.

In one hall we saw the imperial costumes and discovered that the Turkish were wearing fur as trim in the 16^th century and were the first to use sequins (our speculations). The Treasury is unreal. The amount of literally treasure is amazing, there is diamond encrusted everything from flasks to cribs. An 86 carat diamond (Diana!), a box that has a pile of emeralds, a golden candle stick weighing 49kgs (about as much as I do!), a 500lb golden throne, they even had jewel encrusted golden covers for the Koran. All over Istanbul you can find mother of pear inlay in doors and wooden tables. There was the crowded Pavilion of the Holy Mantle where some of the holiest relics of Islam are on display and as we were there during Eid it was a bit crazy there. We saw the Prophet Mohammad’s PBUH beard, sacred mantle by which night and day there is someone reading the Koran, and an impression of his footprint. All in all it was beautiful to say the least.

By this time we were starving as we spent a few hours at Topkapi Palace, so we went on a hunt for lunch. We wound up at Ayasofya Bufe where I ate my favorite lunch consisting of flat bread similar to tortillas, chicken, spicy red stuff, garlic yougurt, and rice and of course apple tea. The bathroom for this place was upstairs and tiny, even I had to duck to get inside! We then went though the smaller bazaar that is on the way to our hotel, the Sarnic. On our way we were stopped by a local, Hamit, who reminded us that we promised to have tea with him earlier. We tried to make excuses, like the fact that we had just had tea, or that I would not be buying a carpet from him, but he persisted, so we sat and chatted with him for a bit. Back at the hotel I taught Girly how to play speed (I couldn’t believe that she didn’t already know!) and then met up with two teachers for dinner and some drinks. I had a bianco martini which was like lemon flavored vodka and I had them throw in a few olives and then I tried the local drink: raki which has a liquorish flavor.

Cat count: 65

Cisterns

love at first sight

2009-12-07T02:56:00.000-08:00

ISTANBUL!

We have a one week break from school for Eid and so Girly and I head to Istanbul for one week:

November 27

I’m in love at first sight! We are staying right in the heart of Sultanahmet near the Blue Mosque and the Haghia Sophia. The streets are covered with history, hot men, art and stray cats. There are small shops and street vendors all over even though it is the end of November. We wander about the city and into a park that looks like a Klimt painting (Gulhane Park). We get a few strange looks for wearing flip flops and jackets and we also dole out a few strange looks and giggles to the locals and their embellished jeans. We eat at a small hole in the wall and head to bed, it has been a long day of traveling.

November 28

After our showers in the tiny stall there is a puddle and so we create a towel mountain in order to dry our hair and avoid electrocution. Eat breakfast at our hotel which includes fresh yogurt, cucumbers, delicious tomatoes, dried apricots, hardboiled eggs, cheeses, bread and sometimes chocolate cake. We decide to walk to Taksim and ate a small lunch where stray cat #16 spent most of the time trying to climb into my lap. The term stray cat takes on a whole new meaning in Istanbul. The cats here are very well fed and fluffy, most of the restaurants have certain cats that they take of, and the owners give them names and put food/scraps out for them. Sometimes the cats are already so full that they do not even eat all of the food. So we have taken to counting the cats that we see every day.

We then walked the crowded Istiklal Cadessi where a rabbit choose my fortune which told me basically that self confidence will get me far in life. We stumbled upon what we thought was Taksim square and watched and old man who was sitting with the pigeons and making shady deals with the locals. His cover being that he sold bird feed. Then we headed to Miniaturk where all the important landmarks and buildings of Turkey are presented in miniature. We felt like giant monsters (see video). Headed back to Sultanhamet and ate dinner at Omar’s where our server, Antonio, was hilarious. I ordered a large water and he presented it as one presents wine and I followed suit, swirling and tasting it. He taught us how to say thank you: tea sugar a dream, but all smooshed together. I say it too slowly and was told that if I continue to say it this way I will get “some tea and sugar, but will have to provide my own dream.”

Quotes:

Me: “50’s outside”

Girly: “50 cent?!” (I was referring to the cat count)

Cat count: 57

Snow in Dubai?

2009-11-22T22:39:00.000-08:00

Well not real snow I went to Ski Dubai which is an indoor ski place inside one of the malls here (of course). Now, as you may know: I am A. not athletic and B. have never been snow skiing before. I was going with SLP and she was helping with an after school group thing for sixth graders. I arrive and I am starving (even though right after school I ate a granola bar and several other snacks), and one of the 6^th graders befriended me. He told me that if I run into trouble to just yell for him! Then he offered me some fries. Stone cold McDonalds French fries. Did I eat them? You bet I did. Now as I confirmed with SLP, you know that you have truly reached a low when you are eating a 6^th grader's left over cold French fries. . . then I suited up and headed back to where everyone was putting on their boots; only my pants were falling off. Even though my new friend said that this was a small, so then I had to go back and ask for a kiddie size, so that worked. Next problem: I had my camera, SLP was ready to take a picture, she asks: did you charge your battery? Of course I did! Did the battery make back to the camera? Words words words. Luckily SLP had one back in the locker room and thanks to her there are videos to document my great skiing skills. SLP taught me a few things on the bunny hill. The first run down was frightening, you are going so fast and can’t control where you are going, well at least I can't, and I nearly ran someone over. I then asked if there was an abandoned bunny hill somewhere, and we found one. SLP taught me how to stop, or at least slow down and a bit how to turn. I encouraged her to head to the actual hill and to leave me on the bunny hill as I was perfectly content where I was and would most likely remain here for the rest of the time. She left after I made a successful run down the BH. After her departure, however, my runs were a bit of a disaster. There were two men who were just learning how to ski and had an instructor and they were in and out of the BH area. I tried to avoid them as much as possible. The run went something like this: ok, here we go, down the hill . . . can’t stop . . . going to run into instructor . . . must avoid . . . stop . . . because of . . . fence. I then look at the instructor and kinda smile/laugh. She politely shrugs her shoulders and I head back to the magic carpet (a rolling thing very similar to the escalators here that I am afraid of – no joke- at another time you can hear that story). I am ready for my second run with no help . . . going fast . . . try to turn . . . ha . . I did it! I am going towards the right . . . I am going too fast . . . can’t stop . . . stopped. I am lying on the ground, feet in boots, boots on skis, skis on the ground meaning my legs are bent in an unnatural position and they are . . . crap . . . they are under the fence on the other side. . . the other side where actual people who actually know how to ski are skiing down the hill, really fast! I am petrified that someone is not going to see my legs and run right over them, leaving me an amputee! I am scrambling trying to back up, but this is a challenge since my legs – as previously stated – are under a fence. Struggle. . . stuggle . .. wonder why you have not seen any pictures of me from the waist down since? No, but I make it out alive and with all of my limbs. I continue my rounds on the BH although the other people move on to bigger and possibly better hills. I can now turn in one direction, but cannot turn left and then right, so I created my own technique of turning in one direction, hitting a pile of snow, backing up, then heading in the other direction (stay tuned for a video someday). Now let me just say that skiing is so much more frightening than I thought it would be. I have been water skiing and was successful at that the few times I tried, but that part that frightens me when snow skiing is that I don’t feel like I am in control and the speed. If ever I do find myself snow skiing again, I don’t think that I will ever make it off the BH, but I am okay with that. I ended the adventure with a cheesecake ice cream with oreos crushed and mixed in from Marble Slab. Good combination.

This weekend was especially wonderful as there was another birthday party, a little chi time, and then on Friday we went to the beach just in time for FIFA = international beach soccer! sweet. We saw Portugal vs Japan and then Italy vs Brazil, and even though Brazil won, it was still exhilarating. Then on Saturday we went to see the Jumeirah Mosque, the only one in Dubai you can visit as a non- Muslim. Then ate at adorable cafe-hollandaise sauce you never let me down- and that night we had a thanksgiving feast complete with post-it-note thanks and a viewing of the Grinch. Meaning that for lunch on Monday I had leftovers. Now I am aware that some people do not like leftovers . . . what I like about them (granted you have a microwave, a convenience not found in my apt) is that all of the work is done. You can have mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, stuffing, turkey, etc without all of the work and all of the dishes = yes please! t.

. . .Ten reasons to teach elementary

2009-11-12T00:29:00.000-08:00

I'm sure that the list will grow, but for now . . .

ONE: I am taller than most of my students.

TWO: Their drawings are precious

THREE: You don't have to tell them to go to class

FOUR: You can paint with your fingers

FIVE: To them, you are the best artist there ever was and you should be famous!

SIX: They love dinosaurs too!

SEVEN: The way kids get the giggles and cannot stop laughing

EIGHT: The smell of crayons

NINE: They say thank you.

TEN: This little one blows me a kiss when she leaves my class!

kids say the meanest things

2009-11-04T03:02:00.001-08:00

Are you a boy or a girl"?

I mean I guess I asked for it as I was wearing a mustache. . . my TA was Lady GaGa.

Then today on a not so endearing note: I was talking about symmetry and how a face is not symmetrical from profile, then I turned toward the class and asked: now is my face symmetrical. Most said yes, and one boy said, "no because you have pimples on the one side".

Awesome. This is the point where I want to crush his self esteem, like he did mine. But I didn't and I am still quite proud of myself.

2009-11-02T03:54:00.000-08:00

I hope you enjoy this picture, because the next one is sideways and there is nothing I can do about it

! --- >

*Sidenote: Patty, I am going to try to post one thing a week, maybe just a picture,and it might be sideways, but that is part of what makes me endearing.

Oct 24

Alright, this week was much better. Quite lovely actually.

Saturday we went to Aquaventure and that was a blast. I was able to giggle at some ridiculous swimsuits –which I love- and ride something called the Leap of Faith, it was incredibly fast and fun. Sunday night was movie/date night with Girly, we go to this mall called Wafi and she can’t say it without giggling, which then makes me laugh. We ate some fabulous Italian food and then went to the roof of the mall where they show mov

ies on a big screen. You sit outside on bean bags that look like giant M & M’s. We saw Catch Me if You Can. It was good, and it is getting cool enough so that it is pleasant to sit outside and I don’t pass out from the heat (might have happened). Monday was a quiet night and I was able to get some good work done, plus this was the day that Erin’s coffee arrived in the mail and I was filled with love in my heart and the smell of coffee in my nostrils (too much?). Tuesday after school we went with the beach club and spent some time on the beach. Watching the sunset I thought: I live here. And it was the first time I thought that and liked it. Then went to the pub for a bit, Tuesdays are ladies night. What a wonderful idea. Wednesday night Girly and I went for coffee, and then pedicures and I got to see some art in a sma

ll gallery. I miss having an art museum near me, not that I went all of the time, but they are nice to have around. I have been told that there are some not too far from school, I just need to seek them out. Then we went for dinner and I got sushi which I didn’t realize how much I missed sushi until I saw it on the menu. I discovered a new idea in art: Notan, the balance of light and dark with some symmetry mixed in. It is totally awesome and I can’t wait to do this with the little ones. It was a good week.

A Bit of a Rant

2009-10-19T04:57:00.000-07:00

13 October 2009

I miss this place -->

I am having a rough day. One of those days where you question everything. Questioning the choices that you have made, everything from major life decisions all the way to what you are having for lunch.

I severely overslept this morning. I awoke at 6:44 hoped in and out of the shower, threw on the first clothes that I saw and ran out the door. Our bus leaves at 6:55, and the bus driver does not wait, though not polite, he is prompt. I am not sure what time it was when I ran out of my apartment, down the elevator and across the construction site, where the bus was headed toward me. I made it, but just barely. Luckily I have found a good Italian coffee shop across from our school, of which has recently been providing me with my breakfast brownie and a good cappuccino. I then took another school bus to go and get blood work done. It was a lot of waiting with people who I believe did not have time to shower this morning. . . why was I there you ask, well the government requires a blood test for you to be able to get your VISA.

After this we head back to the school. A lady stops in my classroom and asks me to sign five documents, which are in Arabic. When I notice this I ask her what I am signing, she laughed. When she realized that I did not find this funny, she said it was about a work VISA. So I am pretty sure that I am now working for the next fourteen years with no pay. . . jk. When I arrive in the classroom 5^th grade has just arrived and my TA looks relieved. She had to teach the 3^rd grade this morning, and they were apparently misbehaving. Yesterday she questioned whether she would be able to discipline them. She told me that when I am disciplining them, ”you get this look in your eye and a certain tone in your voice, they know that you are serious and they listen to you. How do you do that?” I laughed and told her that she has to work on her game face. I guess that she still needs practice. It’s not that the students were bad, they are darling. It’s not the school; they are much more organized than my last one that is for sure. It’s not the people here; I have found people that I get along with well, etc. It is something else . . . something that I cannot quite put my finger on. It is a strange feeling, living here. Well first of all, it still doesn’t feel like I live here, not fully. I am in this strange land full of construction zones and malls, a land with a lot of free time and then sometimes I teach . . . it’s not that I regret moving here. I think that it is bigger than that. I think that it has to do with what my mom pointed out to me this summer:

I am not content to be content.

I was talking about moving to Dubai and saying things like “who does that? Who picks up and moves half way around the world?” She smiled and said, “You do.” She then pointed out that I am not content to be content. But why not? Plenty of people are. Before this I was living in Baltimore, I had two jobs that I liked; I was surrounded by good people and enjoyed my life. I was content, and this apparently is a problem for me. Leaving Baltimore was strange, and what is even more strange is the thought that I am not going back there next week, or the week after. Some people live their entire lives in the same city and are perfectly happy, they have the same job in the same place for thirty years, and they are content. And they stay that way. I can’t imagine that. I am too curious; I want to know what I am missing. But what if what I am missing is the happy, the content?

Posh

2009-10-14T04:53:00.000-07:00

Thursday night (my Friday), we went out to dinner. We wound up going to a Chili’s. I was trying to boycott American chains like that here, which there is a surprising amount of, but the Canadians were quite excited about dinning there. From there we went to a bar that is attached to the Jumeirah Beach Hotel, which is one of the main ones and is shaped like a wave. We walked into the hotel and decided immediately that we were underdressed. To get to the bar, you ride in a golf cart because it is actually out on the water. The bar is called 360, because it is shaped like a doughnut. This is a bar without whiskey, so I was going to order a dirty martini, but this bar also does not have olives! What?! So I was at a loss and ordered a martini of sorts, well it turned out to be the most expensive drink at 60 durhams! Yikes, good thing I didn’t pay for it. . . I spotted a couple of jorts and immediately felt better about the dress I was wearing. We met a friend of a friend who was celebrating her birthday here and had a table.
Sitting there, 6’5”related where we were to places that you see often on tv, where someone winds up doing something a bit ridiculous by the end of the night and he said that I was in charge of that. . . We left to wander about and check out the sweet views of Dubai that this place had to offer. The place was quite crowded and I wound up having to step backwards to avoid being crushed, and wound up stepping onto a low lying table, and had to proceed walking on said table for about six feet. How embarrassing, and I wish that I could say it stops there. We stopped to take a photo op in with the purple Burj Al Arab in the background. Right after the photo, Girly gave my butt a slap, which startled me and I jumped, between the waxed floor and my slippery shoes, I took a fall, briefly landed on one knee and then popped back up, drink still in hand, really only my pride injured. I was told that this was an impressive move, of the likes seen on the football field. I was embarrassed, but was soon able to laugh about it. I felt that we should probably leave soon and that I could pull off that maneuver because I fall quite often. Examples: In Sri Lanka I tripped in the waterfall and came out with several cuts on one leg and my other foot bleeding. There was definitely one day teaching I had asked for my student’s attention and then slipped and fell completely on my butt. It is a good thing that I am able to
1. Make a decent recovery and
2. Am able to laugh at myself in these instances.

10 things to do this weekend

2009-10-02T01:41:00.000-07:00

often on the weekend i am not productive. especially since this morning i have found an unsecured wireless network that has lasted more than two minutes. . . what?! so i am going to make a list of things to do and post it as inspiration to really do them.
so here it is, possibly with the numbers on the wrong side and many mistakes as i try to post this before the internet cuts out:
1. write postcards, the key here is to actually send them and not just carry them around in my purse for one month. what?! who does that??
2. call my mom and actually get to talk to her, this is tricky with the time difference and the jobs that we have
3. lesson plan for 5th grade, who knows what they will be doing, not me!
4. make a budget, one that i might actually stick to. this hurts my head a little, because i have to keep converting so that it makes sense and so i know what i am actually spending. also it was easier when i had two jobs. now i just get paid once a month in cash. weird .
5. crap. which reminds me that i need to call the bank to set up my account
6. clena my apartment. i have been promised that someone is going to remove the mirrors and fix the other small things in my apartment tomorrow. and i can;t let him see my stacks of papers, art supplies and dishes which are slowly taking over my apartment.
7. iron. ew.
8. draw some boats
9. read other people's blogs, i might have already done this, see i like to have at least one item on the list that i may immediately check off. it makes me feel like i have a good start.
10. clean out my purse. the other day i found a fourtune cookie fourtune (not the whole cookie) in my bag. indicating that i didn't even clean it out before i left america. now, this fortune did come in handy, but that is not the point
well, this list is a bit embarrasing, which is why i ususally just post the things that i have been up to in a removed manner. but since having completed # 9 already i have since been inspired. thanks bitches.

5 days of awesome, 2 days of not

2009-09-26T07:37:00.000-07:00

We had a one week break for Eid, so I went with four other teachers to Sri Lanka . . .

Animals seen:

Elephants!!!
Many mangy dogs, a non mangy one unexpectedly liked my leg
2 cats
Large lizard
Monkeys, many monkeys, one that got too close
Chickens
Cows in the road
Water buffalo
Hermit crab
Crab
Fish
Deer who got fresh with Megatron

Sharjah airport:
The best coffee I have had in the UAE came from a gas station. Go figure.
When patting people down, they do not take chances and let’s just say that they do a thorough job.
Tip: DO NOT take any photos

Day one: the day there was almost too much excitement
We arranged for a van and a driver to take us around Sri Lanka this week.
Arrive at 5am and head for a traditional Sri Lankan breakfast = everything I got was spicy. Wash the food down with hot coffee (which is very gritty) and some watermelon juice. Then onto the elephant orphanage!!! (Side not about Sri Lanka, if you are a native, then everything is free, if you are not, then you have to pay for everything you do.) It was amazing to see so many elephants! There were two small elephants who escaped the heard and I was enamored. I went over and the first one was touching my hand, and the second one got a little fresh! We then went down to the river and the elephants were to follow shortly. When we get there, two small elephants are in the water already and one guy asks us if we want to bath the elephants. 6’5”and I jump at the opportunity and go splash around with the elephants. It is amazing how something so large can be so adorable and how quiet they can be. Back in the van and when we wake up we stop to ride an elephant! I rode an elephant when I was eight and I still remember it, this was just as amazing as I remember! After the ride we went to the river and gave Tikka, the elephant, a bath, and then she gave us a bath. Elephants really, really love the water.

Day two: 1,997 steps

We started at the museum and then roamed around the huge ancient city of Polonnaruva with our tour guide, Ferma, who was hilarious (sometimes inappropriately so). You have to take your shoes off when in a temple area which was usually outside and so you circumambulate quickly from shady area to shady area. At one point, I looked over and Megatron was surrounded by about thirty Sri Lankans who were taking pictures and posing with her. From this point on we called her the Sri Lankan Princess. The fascination with her continued throughout the entire trip.
After walking all day we decided to climb Sigiriya (the giant rock in the background of the elephant shot). 1,997 steps to the top (or so I’m told, I was going to count and then I forgot).Around the middle somewhere there were paintings in a small cave. At the top of the rock there is a big flat area where there was at one point buildings and such. I would like to know the crazy who thought it was a great idea to build things there, I mean it is amazing, but getting the supplies up there must have been crazy. The wind was absolutely ridiculous and we played at the edge quite a bit, funny how no one else really did. . . we also saw the sunset from the top. Brilliant.

Day three: Ma legs
We went to see the Golden Temple, which was at the top of more stairs. You are kidding, right? My calves were super tight and I was in a skirt. However, Sri Lankans might make you climb up quite a ways, but they always make it worth the trek. There were several caves that were covered top to bottom with paintings and filled with hundreds of Buda’s. I am convinced that the Sri Lankans who lived hundreds of years ago had calves of steel. Ate some fresh cut mango on the way down and a few people touched SLP’s arm in creepy wonder.
Moving along the country side and into tea land. We visited a tea plantation and factory, where our tour guide told me I was pretty (I think that she was my favorite Sri Lankan), and also made a joke about me having leeches on my legs after I ran in between the tea plants.

We went to bed early in a seriously creepy hotel.

Day four: the End of the World As I Know It

We woke up at 5:30 am to hike to the End of the World, a 9 km hike. I don’t know how many miles that is, and I don’t want to know. If I didn’t know better I would say that the people I was traveling with were trying to find my breaking point. We sat at the edge of the world and T-rex and I may have spit over the edge (I don’t know why, it seemed exciting at the time). We saw some gorgeous waterfalls and Smunn fell into the cold water, I came out of the water bleeding. We stumbled back and hit the road for about eight hours, stopping only for spicy doughnuts.

Day five: the beach
Slept in and when I awoke in the morning, I found out that our hotel was right on the beach! Unawatuna is one of the most beautiful beaches voted by Lonely Planet. I vote this day the best beach day for me personally. 6’5”was boogie boarding, and came out of the water bleeding, and I thought, well that looks like fun. So I rented one and headed for the water. It was a blast and I learned the hard way that once you ride the wave, get out of the water asap, if you don’t the undertow will whisk you back in and pummel you into the bottom of the ocean. I came out of the water expecting half of my face to be torn off, it was not as bad as I had feared, it was bad enough to warrant a break and some rationed ice. I went back in for a bit and I think I almost got the hang of it.
The girls went to do a bit of shopping and then rode in a TukTuk to find the pole fishermen. The sight was breathtaking. It was raining while we were in the TukTuk, and when we arrived, the rain stopped and the sun was setting. Ensue ridiculously gorgeous scene:

We ended the night eating a delicious meal of several curries, rice, beets, prawn, chicken, etc. Side note: when you go out to dine in Sri Lanka, do not be surprised if you are the only ones in the restaurant, also don’t expect your food within the hour. They do however, turn their heads and ignore when you pull out a snickers bar or ice cream and eat that while waiting for your food.

Day six, etc: I’m done
I woke up to see the sunrise and have since then decided that I like sunsets better, and you don’t have to wake up at 5:45 am. I went back and took a nap, when I awoke, I felt so sick. I think that this was body saying enough is enough, no more. This day was a blur and so was today. I spent most of today in bed with Atlas Shrugged. Okay I guess I admit that school is starting tomorrow and I should get to some lesson planning.
Pace.

The Coffee Situation

2009-09-16T23:01:00.000-07:00

September 6

We were supposed to get coffee makers, iron & ironing boards with our apartments. Well they were ordered, but did not arrive on time. When they finally did arrive, you had to pick them up from an office, the man who occupied this office is nearly impossible to track down. I would rather my apartment not have, say chairs, but the coffee maker, this is crucial. They have coffee at the school which is instant, and looks like motor oil, and tastes. . .well you can imagine. The superintendent sees me and offers me real coffee. How lovely. And then Ramadan starts a few days later and you cannot eat/drink in public until about seven pm. My downstairs neighbor winds up scoring a coffee maker before I do and he brings me coffee in the mornings! (The people here are just too nice for their own good.) If you do find a coffee while you are out, be prepared because it will cost you more than a shawarmah(a pita with chicken, pickles and a few French fries inside).
Well for some stupid reason, I get a coffee maker and now have to make it myself, and it was gross. The coffee is crap to begin with. It is from New York, now nothing against NY. I mean I would love to go there and get a cup of coffee, but I don’t want coffee from there. I try to make it again the next day after picking up the closest thing to cream I can find. It says 100% full cream laban and was next to the milk. So I pour this in the coffee, and promptly pour the entire cup down the drain. I do not know what laban is, but it is not cream, and it is not meant to go in coffee. A few nights later when on my way to the dhow cruise Girly gets a call, and it is for me, one of the other teachers is standing in front of Illy coffee and wants to know if I would like her to pick me up a can. I say yes before she even tells me how much, some things are worth it. So now I am okay and used the last bit of my water to make coffee this morning (they are supposed to be delivering water this morning.) and I am staring at the laban wondering what it tastes like straight out of the bottle. I just tried my mango milk and it is so sweet, I can’t drink it. Well, it says it is rich in vitamins. Okay, it smells like yogurt and tastes like drinking. . . sour cream, yes I think that’s it. Where is that water guy?

Busing it

2009-09-15T05:30:00.000-07:00

I take the bus to school. That’s right the bus. Until the last person’s VISA has arrived the school provides us with transportation to and from school on a bus. The veteran teachers lovingly refer to this as the loser’s bus - sweet ey? The bus is still a bit of a novelty item for me as I never rode the bus to school. True, I could rent a car, but for now the between buses and cabs, I seem to be doing okay.
I have fallen into the habit of going out on school nights (well, okay if you know me then you know that this part is not new), waking up an hour later than my alarm, chuggin coffee (because you cannot eat/drink in public during Ramadan), stumbling through the construction site and onto the bus. I have recently been the last person on the bus, and ride said bus in a daze to school. Then when I return home, I pass out for hours, and wake up with ten minutes to spare before dinner. This is why I hate napping, it is out of control and I must stop. Any advice?
Now when I say construction zone, I literally mean that I walk past men in wearing hard hats and there is always a lot of pointing at things that are flying over head. The foreman usually gives me a look like, “what is this crazy woman doing walking through the construction site?”. Then there are the workers who stare at you like they haven’t seen a woman in years (when they definitely saw me yesterday). And tonight I had to stand there and wait while one cement truck blocked half of the road, and the other half was blocked by another cement truck that was backing up, once past this I had to dodge yet another cement truck that was pouring cement. It’s really not that bad and I think I am getting used to it, which is strange in and of itself.

No Effort, No Entry

2009-09-15T05:16:00.001-07:00

Aug 28
No Effort No Entry
This is what the invitation said, so Girly and I went to the mall to find her a dress, got all gussied up and when we arrived, we saw some interesting outfits. Outside of our group, most of the people on the boat were Brits, and I tend to think that Brits are classy people, but somehow, these people um, I don’t know missed that boat. There was one girl, who we are pretty sure is a cheerleader based on all of the clapping that went along with her dancing, whose black dress was so short, we saw her white undies. Thanks. Also the men. Most of the men were wearing polos over jersey shorts. The thing is, their collars were popped, so you know that they thought they looked good. (Kake, it was a tool fest if I ever saw one.) It was fun and we were able to play a fun game called “identify what you just ate.” The food was good, but I really don’t’ know what I was eating. I would go again, but not when it is so hot.

Aug 29
So we went to a GEMS awareness day to learn more about the company we work for, yes the company. This is what I learned summed up in one sentence: GEMS is a corporation. Meaning that they are interested in money first and foremost, keeping up an image, keeping the parents happy, and then the students. I mean the school district I was in last year was not great, but at least their motto was “children come first”. I guess it is just because I am not used to private schools, but who cares if there is a giant spiral staircase and a waterfall in the entrance way of the high school if the school isn’t even certified IB! This school costs as much as state tuition (well, okay I’m guessing here because I went private, but you get the idea) and I heard a rumor that they had to send some of the kids to my school last year, because we are certified!

A city built on malls

2009-09-11T05:28:00.000-07:00

Aug 26

If you need anything, you go to a mall. If you want to walk around to get some exercise, you go to a mall. If you want to ride a carosel, or see two story waterfalls, go skiing, go to the aquarium (I'm pretty sure that I could stand infront of the giant aquarium all day. People have to litterally drag me away). . . you go to the mall. As a result, I have been to a mall everyday since I have been here. I mean today was nice because they took us to IKEA and a place called Festival City. The thing is the malls are huge and much nicer than malls in America. Also, I have come to love shawarma. Shawarma is seasoned chicken (or lamb), wrapped in flat bread, and there are pickels and a few French fries inside as well.

Aug 27
I finally have sheets. Now this was a feat. I brought some, but they only covered about half of my bed. The other thing is that I could not get the temperature right. I would go to sleep hot and then wake up around 3 am shivering. So I would turn the AC off, put on a sweatshirt and then use my towel to cover my legs. I finally decided enough was enough when one night I was piling clothes on me to keep warm. The thing is, my bed is huge. It measures 76” or 200cm squared (about a king I think). So when you go looking for sheets, there are two options, one with hideous bright pink flowers and the other which is a man print. I didn’t want to settle on sheets unless I really liked them. I figured since the living area was taken hostage by 20 mirrors (the person in the apartment before clearly had great taste), I needed one room that I didn’t have to apologize for. Eventually I found some that I like. Here are a few snaps of the apartment: I tried to create a distraction from the mirrors by hanging some art inbetween, but i don't know that it is really working.

Mini Bus Tour

2009-09-07T03:12:00.001-07:00

August 20
I figured that I should do the touristy things here before I got settled and then never got around to it, so I went on the schools mini bus tour. We went to see the Burj, which is so absolutely ridiculous in size (you can see the other buildings next to it that seem dwarfed.) and into the largest mall in the world! Yes, they like to have the tallest, the largest, the best whatever it is here (and they can afford it). There is a huge aquarium inside the mall that has sharks, giant groupers, a flock of man rays and of course tons of rando fish. Let’s just say that I had to be dragged away, otherwise I would have stayed there all day. We went to the Dubai Museum, which was ridiculous for a few reasons. First of all the museum is actually a fort that was built to protect the city, well that is pretty cool. I’ll let you read a sentence about the museum:

Yes, “The historic Al Fahaidi Fort, dating from about 1800, is thought to be the oldest building in the area.” That sentence to me is just hilarious. Also in this museums there are plaques which tell about the history of Dubai, the year they begin: In the early 1900’s. That is cute. There are also tons of mannequins around and so we took pictures with them. Then we took an Abra across the creek. This is where most of the products come in and they sit on the docks, unguarded and no one steals any of it. Amazing. Then we get out and walk a bit. I then decide that this is the second hottest day of my life (Tulum being the first). We go to a couple of souqs and then head to the Burj Al Arab. This is so much larger than I thought it would be and you can actually see it in the distance when you are at my school. Then back to another mall where we are having a meet and greet for the new teachers.

Getting To Know You

2009-09-07T03:10:00.001-07:00

Monday, August 17
Wake up four hours later for a shopping trip to the Mall of the Emirates. When I arrive on the bus I am glad to not only meet two Americans, but they live in my apartment as well. Excellent. We arrive at the mall and immediately I am looking for coffee. The barista is visibly irritated that I only have a 500dhm bill, but breaks it anyway. We then warder the giant mall. When I say giant I mean it. They say that things are bigger in Texas, which being from Texas I have to agree, but I would say that things in Dubai are even larger. Malls are enormous. We visit the indoor skiing slope and then head to Carrefore, a Target sort of place. I am overwhelmed and underby, whereas Choir boy’s basket is filled to the brim and I have to carry his laundry basket to the check out for him. We head back to the apartment and I crash. I awake to Choir boy ringing my door bell and asking me to join him and CA for celebratory first night drinks, I agree, groggy, but up for just about anything. I discover that I do like scotch and wind up going to bed around midnight, only to wake at 4am. This is why I hate naps.
Tuesday, August 18
To the school!! Which is on a campus in the city, not too far from the apartment (they bus us to and from school until our VISA is complete- take your time Dubai). It is great and people are very friendly, there are sooo many couples here. We take a tour of the school and have an informal meeting, where I decide that my administration is way better than last year and gave an audible “Yes!”when the assistant principle informed me that there was no PA system in the school (sorry k-dog). We then went to the grocery store and I bought some questionable produce and had to fight for hummus. We then met some returning teachers who were here last year. They are awesome people and they took us to the local pub. Now when I think of my local pub back in b-more I think of the small, dingy CVP. As all of the bars are in hotels, this is not the case. People get decked out, men cannot wear shorts or flip flops to the local pubs (women can, oh the double standard). So the men change and we head out to the only place that is walking distance in the mists of the construction site that we call home. It is ladies night, there are many of these as there are way more men than women in this town, it’s about 75% male. I met a loud British man who lives on my floor and is one of the two people that I have met that is not a teacher. His accent is brilliant!

*I have seen what other bloggers have done about names, many give code names, i think that i shall do this, but inconsistently.

The Day of Departure

2009-09-02T23:39:00.000-07:00

August 16
Breakfast with the Grauke’s. Went to Jims where the pancakes are as delicious as I remember (I hate when things taste better in your memory.) Rushed packing, drop off Eileen and the bambino at the airport. Rush back home to try to make my suitcases weigh less than 24k. Have to stop by the post and mail a box before I head to the airport. Mom drops me off and I can feel the tears welling up in my eyes. More thoughts of “What the hell am I doing?” fill my head. I push them down and wait in anticipation for my 22 hour adventure to begin. Plane to Chicago and then I grabbed dinner in the airport. I then board and watch 30 Rock and a few movies (including I love you man, which I recommend). Nap for two hours. I hate sleeping on a plane; I always wake up with my neck stuck in one position and angry for falling asleep. Frankfurt airport: the first person who speaks to me asks me if I speak English. She is an American teaching in Dubai (what are the odds?). Find my way to the terminal and meet a few more people who are teaching at the same school, but I get the idea that they already know each other (true story). On the way to Dubai I sat in the baby aisle. No joke there were four of them (but they were really good babies). I actually met an Emirati, which is rare as they only make up 13% of the population in Dubai. He said that he did not really speak English, but when non Americans say that they do not really speak a language, they don’t mean that. They mean that they could not give an hour long speech in English, but for common conversation, they do quite well. Our plane lands unexpectedly in Kuwait and we are delayed. We arrive in the airport where we are picked up by a greeting service with a person holding a sign that says “GRAUKEN”, close enough. They take us through customs and then to our apartments. I am not only the only American, but also the only person in the Greenview apartment complex. Everyone else is Canadian (isn’t it too hot for them here?) and living in the Saraya apartments. Great. Greenview party of one.
I get into the apartment and walk into the bathroom where I see a sink, toilet and a hose. I think “is this really my shower for the next two years???” (If you have ever traveled in Italy, you are familiar with this type of shower.)

Walk around and into the bedroom, where I see the master bathroom attached. Ah ha, a real shower, silly sleep deprived me. Try to rip the tape off of the new mattress to no avail and wind up sleeping on the couch.

*Note: I might be 8 hours ahead of you, but expect my blog to be about two weeks behind. Thanks.

lets play catch up

2009-08-30T06:15:00.001-07:00

Ok, you had better appreciate this: school ended four hours ago and this post took, well, much longer than it should have.

So this summer, I picked up a few shifts bartending, taught a class at MICA, and did some stuff and things, lots of things. So here are a few highlights:

I met Elvis and learned how not to apply sunscreen.

I I turned 25 and learned about the wonders of duckpin.

.
Ramasaur! Jodi and I rocked trivia pretty much every Monday night. Not only did we impress people with our (if not correct, then surely) endearing responses, we also entertained them by providing them with a glimpse into their futures. I mean if Santa Anna was going to invade your living room, or say if you are going to get hit in the head with a mango, you would want to know so that you could prepare. Right? Lady Trivia, I still think that you should follow our lead and have a Shirty McUgly night.

I went camping (yes, really) in West Virginia and climbed over 1,000 ft. I was petrified for the first 40 minutes (out of five hours) and had images of my Roos slipping and me falling the seven feet, slamming into rock, and then having to drag my mangled body the rest of the way. Luckily, it got better when I turned the corner and saw the swoop of the valley and the mountains. Talk about beautiful.

Dani & Justin tied the knot and Jodi won my heart once more. Seriously, this is one of my favorite pictures, it makes me laugh every time.

I went with My Ace to Long Island to participate in the Wet Paint Festival. Where you paint Fri & Sat and then there is an auction on Sunday. My Ace saved my painting from going into the water, and then it fell on top of me several times. It turned out allright as it did sell, and when the auctioneer said "sold"the little boy in the family started jumping up and down and yelling, "Yes! Yes!"so it was basically the best respoinse. Ever.

Went to Little Havana with Jose and then he made hommade sushi ( what a pain, i mean I just watched, but it looked like a lot of work!)

I was sad to say goodbye to b-more. . . then my mom and I went on a road trip to Texas!

Schmileen and the bambino came to visit which was awesome.

Um, no really I would bet money that my goddaughter is cuter than yours.

Eggshell

wait, what?

2009-08-30T04:48:00.000-07:00

So I made it to DUBAI!!!
Um, wait, what?
So you might have heard, and if not then I am sorry you had to find out this way . . . Back In February I went to an international job fair for teachers and was offered a job athe Dubai American Academy as an elementary art teacher. I accepted and am now living in DUBAI!!!! I know what you are thinking: wait, what? (I told you I was impulsive). ?
A bit about the school: DAA is about 2300 students, with about 1300 at the elementary. i am one of three art teachers in the elementary. i will be teaching all 4th, 5th and two sections of 3rd grade. in total, 16 classes. We are ona strange six day rotation that sort of hurts my head when
trying to organize things.Luckily, I have a teacher;'s assisstant. Wait what, classes max out at 27 and you are giving me an assitant, and you say that there are no PA system to interupt me 20 to ltimes a day, the students are goof, really good and they want to learn , um, please stop lying to me. I'm not entirely too sure what to expect, but I hope that I can kick butt and be one of the best damn art teachers they have ever seen.

So I finished the year, watched my babies grow up and graduate.

*disclaimer: the keyboard is different, and type keeps going to the left. basically i am thrown, and if things are strange (like how everything is now in italics(), please forgive, follow my second expectaion and be patient.