Saturday, May 18, 2013
Vietnam Reflections
I just posted our events from Vietnam, but I wanted to also share our reflections on the trip, not just what we did. I learned so much during these 4 days and my perspective on things changed too.
First, let me say, Vietnam is NOT Thailand. Sure they are neighboring countries, but that is the extent of their similarities. I guess to be fair, we did go from a semi-small city to a large bustling city, but still. VERY different places. I assumed that since we have been in Thailand for awhile Vietnam would not be that bad/different... WRONG.
As soon as we stepped out of the airport we knew we were no longer in Thailand. People were honking their horns (never happens here), yelling (not here), and traffic was flying. We also noticed that people drive on the right side of the road rather than the left, and drive much faster. Immediate culture shock.
Hanoi, and Vietnam in general, is a mixture of French and Chinese culture. There were dragons and Chinese architecture mixed in with European colors and arches. Baguettes were sold almost everywhere. The variety of food was amazing. And the buildings were beautiful.
Also, USD was commonly discussed which was bizarre for us. People would give us prices for things in USD and we would have no clue what that meant. We had Vietnamese Dong, which is crazy prices. 1 USD = 21000 VND roughly. Since USD was used things would actually be in American prices too. So a bottle of water would be 2 dollars, whereas in Thailand it is like 20cents. We were spending 400,000 dong on dinners. That is almost 20 USD. We are NOT used to this. So that was a change and a challenge for us.
Motorbikes were everywhere, again because the city was so much bigger I understand that. One of our tour guides was explaining that cars cost significantly more in Vietnam than elsewhere because the government does not want people to own cars. The motorbikes do not have rear-view mirrors because they stick out and get in the way. People park and drive very close together so there is no extra space. Plus, most drivers do not wear helmets and those that do only cover the tops of their heads. A lot of people in Thailand wear whole face covering helmets.
People on the streets were haggling us and following us trying to get us to buy their things. One man tried to pull Moes shoe off his foot to fix it. The pressure and nagging is definitely not done in Chiang Mai. It was new to us, but again, might be a result of the large city. It was yet another reminder of how different the world is.
For me, I realized that no 2 places are the same. Sure every place has similarities. Some of the people we met in Vietnam were amazing just like the people here. Our tour guide in Ha Long Bay, and our hotel man at Hanoi were both amazingly kind, helpful, and generous. I was truly amazed at how different the places were. I guess I was ignorant about it but my desire to travel has only increased because of this new perspective. I now cant say well Laos is right next door so I dont want to go there because it is the same. Even in America, each place has a uniqueness of its own that is waiting to be shared with visitors. I hope to continue to explore the world and learn from each new place that I visit.
Vietnam April 2013
I am finally getting around to writing about our Vietnam trip. We had a blast in Vietnam and very much enjoyed travelling. We were in Vietnam for 4 days. We spent 2 days in Hanoi, the capital city, and 2 days in Ha Long Bay, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Both places were fabulous. Here is a run-down for what we did and our favorite experiences.
Day 1: We arrived in Hanoi at 8am and had a driver pick us up from the airport to take us to the hotel. I can not imagine having to get to the hotel on our own. Traffic was crazy and it was quite a drive (50 minutes). Our driver was nice and we got safely to our hotel and checked in (they allowed us early check in!).
We then spoke to a staff member who helped with tours and site-seeing. He suggested a few places to visit and places to eat lunch. He was wonderful and very very helpful. He made the trip much more enjoyable and safer for me! Anyway, we looked at our room briefly and went out to explore the town.
We had lunch at a French restaurant, which reminded Moe and I of France! We explored the tiny roads and walked around Hoan Kiem Lake. We then took naps as we were quite tired from travelling. Later we went and saw water puppets, which is one of the things Vietnam is very famous for. We had dinner at a fancy Vietnamese place that was delicious. I had beef in a red wine sauce with rice of course.... mmmmm-mmmm, it was good!
Day 2: We got up very early for the 3 hour bus ride to Ha Long Bay. The countryside was beautiful. Rolling plains of rice fields, small villages and towns, mountains here and there, were beautiful. When we arrived to the port we got onto a small boat, put on life jackets, and then rode to our cruise ship. I was joking with Moe pointing at the largest boat saying, I hope that one is ours.... and IT WAS!! It was so fun to board the ship.
First we got served lunch, settled into our room, and explored the boat. The rooftop was the best with lounge chairs and beautiful views of the scenery. I will never be able to fully explain how beautiful the limestone islands are. It was majestic gliding on the water through these enormous islands of rock and trees.
Just like any cruise, we got off the boat at a few places to explore. We explored Surprise Cave, which was truly a surprise for how vast it was. It started very small and then opened up to this giant chamber. It was beautiful. Then we went to Titop Island where we climbed to the top, 430 stairs :(, to see another panorama view. Again, beautiful, but tiring. By that time we were ready to head home for dinner, a 9 course Vietnamese dinner. It was a nice thing to experience but definitely not our favorite meal. We played cards and went to bed.
Day 3: We woke up early again for an amazing international buffet breakfast. Moe ate until his heart was content and found a new passion for buffet breakfasts. We got off the boat again and went to a small fishing village. People actually live on the water, in the middle of no where. We got to ride in a small paddle boat past houses and see how people lived. We rode under arches made from the islands and got to feel how large these islands really were. Again, breathtaking experiences.
We then got back on the boat, packed up, and went back to the marina. We boarded our bus for the long 3 hour drive back. I read, Moe slept, per usual. We got back to our hotel safely ready for another nap! When we woke up we went souvenir shopping and explored the town some more. We had dinner across the street from the hotel, recommended to us by the hotel. We ended the night with hot stone massages at our hotel. It was glorious!
Day 1: We arrived in Hanoi at 8am and had a driver pick us up from the airport to take us to the hotel. I can not imagine having to get to the hotel on our own. Traffic was crazy and it was quite a drive (50 minutes). Our driver was nice and we got safely to our hotel and checked in (they allowed us early check in!).
We then spoke to a staff member who helped with tours and site-seeing. He suggested a few places to visit and places to eat lunch. He was wonderful and very very helpful. He made the trip much more enjoyable and safer for me! Anyway, we looked at our room briefly and went out to explore the town.
We had lunch at a French restaurant, which reminded Moe and I of France! We explored the tiny roads and walked around Hoan Kiem Lake. We then took naps as we were quite tired from travelling. Later we went and saw water puppets, which is one of the things Vietnam is very famous for. We had dinner at a fancy Vietnamese place that was delicious. I had beef in a red wine sauce with rice of course.... mmmmm-mmmm, it was good!
Day 2: We got up very early for the 3 hour bus ride to Ha Long Bay. The countryside was beautiful. Rolling plains of rice fields, small villages and towns, mountains here and there, were beautiful. When we arrived to the port we got onto a small boat, put on life jackets, and then rode to our cruise ship. I was joking with Moe pointing at the largest boat saying, I hope that one is ours.... and IT WAS!! It was so fun to board the ship.
First we got served lunch, settled into our room, and explored the boat. The rooftop was the best with lounge chairs and beautiful views of the scenery. I will never be able to fully explain how beautiful the limestone islands are. It was majestic gliding on the water through these enormous islands of rock and trees.
Just like any cruise, we got off the boat at a few places to explore. We explored Surprise Cave, which was truly a surprise for how vast it was. It started very small and then opened up to this giant chamber. It was beautiful. Then we went to Titop Island where we climbed to the top, 430 stairs :(, to see another panorama view. Again, beautiful, but tiring. By that time we were ready to head home for dinner, a 9 course Vietnamese dinner. It was a nice thing to experience but definitely not our favorite meal. We played cards and went to bed.
Day 3: We woke up early again for an amazing international buffet breakfast. Moe ate until his heart was content and found a new passion for buffet breakfasts. We got off the boat again and went to a small fishing village. People actually live on the water, in the middle of no where. We got to ride in a small paddle boat past houses and see how people lived. We rode under arches made from the islands and got to feel how large these islands really were. Again, breathtaking experiences.
We then got back on the boat, packed up, and went back to the marina. We boarded our bus for the long 3 hour drive back. I read, Moe slept, per usual. We got back to our hotel safely ready for another nap! When we woke up we went souvenir shopping and explored the town some more. We had dinner across the street from the hotel, recommended to us by the hotel. We ended the night with hot stone massages at our hotel. It was glorious!
Day 4: Moe woke up with food poisoning :( It was awful. We went upstairs to the 8th floor for continental breakfast and Moe got sick again up there. The staff was all so kind to him constantly asking if he needed anything or bringing him their concoctions of fixes. We went back to the room and waited to see if he would get better.
By 11 he was still not better so I ventured out on my own (in the area that I knew) to shop a little more and find some lunch for me. When I got back to Moe he was sleeping but seemingly not much better. He insisted that I continue to explore the city, because we had saved a lot to do for this last day. I was nervous about exploring without him. I talked to the amazing staff man (I dont know his name or position) and he said I would be fine and ordered me a taxi. He gave me a phone number to call for a new taxi and told me to show them the map and they could get me here. He made all my fears go away.
So, I went to the Ho Chi Mihn Mausoleum and the Temple of Literature. I saw the Flag Tower, the One Pillar Pagoda and other places that I forget. I felt brave and adventurous for doing this alone but truly enjoyed my time. I wish Moe could have seen it with me though. The Temple of Literature was by far my favorite. Maybe because I am a teacher, but still. It was the first official school in the area and had relics of clothing and tablets and all kinds of things. There were statues of Confucius and other gods. It was also very much Chinese which was new for me and fun. After the Temple, I grabbed a cab that was right outside the entrance and headed back to my love. We had a small dinner and went to bed.
Day 5: We woke up early again for the trip to the airport for our 8am flight. Again, the hotel took us safely. We were so blessed by them. Because we scheduled our 2 flights at different times we did not end up home until 9pm. It was a long day of travel but we enjoyed it.
Our trip was great. We will never forget it! Thank you for all who thought of us and helped us on this journey.
Saturday, March 2, 2013
Busy happy life!
This weekend has been another productively busy one and so has this week. We had Elementary Sports Day on Wednesday. Basically this is field day. Our wonderful P.E. teacher organizes the whole thing and the teachers help with games and what not. Moe came in and helped me run a game called Ninja Time. It was quite fun, but made for a long day, even though it only went until lunch! Thursday was a fairly normal day and then Friday we went to see the first 'showing'or dress rehearsal of the musical the school is doing. There were a couple elementary students in it, one from my class, so it was very fun to see it as a class!
Thursday we got Chico neutered so we have been busy with him as well. Total cost for it and for medication for his ears that are still gross was 1000 baht, or 33 dollars! woot. He has a cone on for our protection! Thursday he was quite droggy (ha! doggy!) and we were worried. But since then he has been his active self. Playing with his ball is HYSTERICAL now because he often loses it and cant see it! We are definitely blessed to have a great puppy. I shared this on facebook but think it is too funny not to share again. Chico now has a place to store his toys!
Anyway, this weekend is productive as well. I had brunch with a friend and then we browsed around for awhile. I asked if she knew anyone who could sew and she did!! I am hopefully going to have a few skirts and/or dresses made, since buying things in my size here is Oh so fun! I will say that I have been able to find some cute and cheap tops so that is great. So we browsed for supplies. Depending on labor I think I could get a simple skirt made for less than 100, or 3 dollars!! Definitely like that!
Today, I also had a better appreciation for my Grams. She often goes to the salon to get her hair done, shampoo and dry. Well I did just that today! (actually they did trim it but I wasnt expecting that!) When I walked in I saw people lying down getting there hair washed and was quite surprised. This was a Thai place so I was not able to communicate much myself. I went with someone who spoke Thai and has been there often before so I wasnt too worried! I lie down and get blasted with cold water. (Hot water is a rarity here.) so I was surprised by that. Then she was roughly scratching my head while washing it. Now I was worried. Suddenly she began massaging my head in a way I had never felt before. It was beautiful. My head felt amazing. She even rubbed my neck a good bit too! It was lovely. I then got a trim and my hair dried. Oh funny part, she 'curled' my hair as well. I had at least 5 round brushes in my hair holding my hair so it would curl. I looked hysterical. Also, I had to slouch in my chair so the woman could see the top of my head and work with my hairs. Final cost of this adventure 220! 7 dollars. It was beautiful.
Finally, for dinner tonight we had tacos. Originally, Moe wanted to go to the grocery for Mayo for his Ranch dip, but we ended up splurging on lots of things. We made tacos with real ground beef. We haven't bought or knowingly had beef in a long time! We were thrilled! And it wasn't too expensive. We had chips and salsa as well! mmmmmm mmmmmmm! It was delicious. We were so so SO pleased. We ate it all! Even though now I wish we would have saved some for leftovers. OH the other thing we got at the store was HONEYCOMBS!!! I am stoked. I might eat some now... yep doing it. It was a little costly, but Moe let me do it since I looked so pretty today... ha!
Ok off to eat cereals and play with Chico. Then read and bed! Have a great day ya'll! UPDATE: Moe wants it to be known that the box of cereal was (I say Only) 285 baht. That is almost 10 dollars. Yes expensive!!! But there was a box of Rice Krispie Treats and something else that were 450 baht! Also, Moe wants me to mention that it is HOT here. Today my phone said it was 99*F. And it is only the beginning of March. We could not see the mountain today because of the pollution. We are fearful of a LONG hot season... ugh.
Anyway, this weekend is productive as well. I had brunch with a friend and then we browsed around for awhile. I asked if she knew anyone who could sew and she did!! I am hopefully going to have a few skirts and/or dresses made, since buying things in my size here is Oh so fun! I will say that I have been able to find some cute and cheap tops so that is great. So we browsed for supplies. Depending on labor I think I could get a simple skirt made for less than 100, or 3 dollars!! Definitely like that!
Today, I also had a better appreciation for my Grams. She often goes to the salon to get her hair done, shampoo and dry. Well I did just that today! (actually they did trim it but I wasnt expecting that!) When I walked in I saw people lying down getting there hair washed and was quite surprised. This was a Thai place so I was not able to communicate much myself. I went with someone who spoke Thai and has been there often before so I wasnt too worried! I lie down and get blasted with cold water. (Hot water is a rarity here.) so I was surprised by that. Then she was roughly scratching my head while washing it. Now I was worried. Suddenly she began massaging my head in a way I had never felt before. It was beautiful. My head felt amazing. She even rubbed my neck a good bit too! It was lovely. I then got a trim and my hair dried. Oh funny part, she 'curled' my hair as well. I had at least 5 round brushes in my hair holding my hair so it would curl. I looked hysterical. Also, I had to slouch in my chair so the woman could see the top of my head and work with my hairs. Final cost of this adventure 220! 7 dollars. It was beautiful.
Finally, for dinner tonight we had tacos. Originally, Moe wanted to go to the grocery for Mayo for his Ranch dip, but we ended up splurging on lots of things. We made tacos with real ground beef. We haven't bought or knowingly had beef in a long time! We were thrilled! And it wasn't too expensive. We had chips and salsa as well! mmmmmm mmmmmmm! It was delicious. We were so so SO pleased. We ate it all! Even though now I wish we would have saved some for leftovers. OH the other thing we got at the store was HONEYCOMBS!!! I am stoked. I might eat some now... yep doing it. It was a little costly, but Moe let me do it since I looked so pretty today... ha!
Ok off to eat cereals and play with Chico. Then read and bed! Have a great day ya'll! UPDATE: Moe wants it to be known that the box of cereal was (I say Only) 285 baht. That is almost 10 dollars. Yes expensive!!! But there was a box of Rice Krispie Treats and something else that were 450 baht! Also, Moe wants me to mention that it is HOT here. Today my phone said it was 99*F. And it is only the beginning of March. We could not see the mountain today because of the pollution. We are fearful of a LONG hot season... ugh.
Monday, February 25, 2013
Productive weekend
This weekend was fabulous. Because of Thai Day and a Buddhist holiday, we had a 4 day weekend!!!!! Thursday was also Moe's last day of full time subbing, so the weekend was celebration of his 'freedom'. He is actually quite sad about being done and has said he will miss the kids!! I am so proud of him for making it through and learning so much.
Anyway, we had discussed going away for the weekend but I am so glad we didn't. I was so so SO productive. I think we should have 4 day weekends more often.
Friday, I went to the market by myself, shopped and then went to school to work. I reorganized my library. Thankfully I inherited a fully loaded library but it was unorganized and the kids destroyed it :[ so I needed to intervene. It was driving me crazy how it was. So I spent the day there Friday working. It is now beautiful and I can't wait for my kids to use it!! Hopefully it stays beautiful for a little while. If you really care here are before and after photos!
This photo was taken Thursday, Thai Day. You can sorta see Moe and his Thai shirt! Yes those are elephants! It buttons up in Thai style.
Friday night we stayed home and watched Doctor Who together. Yes Moe has got me hooked on the show!! I am just finishing season 4. It is fun to watch the show together. We also discussed a motorbike that was for sale. We decided we were interested enough to set up an appointment to ride/see it.
So Saturday morning first thing we rode 40 minutes to look at and test drive a motorbike. It is an older bike but it is reliable and cheap, which is really all we wanted. It is the style of bike that I want, has a floor board and is an automatic. We were pleased with it but wanted to talk it over some more.
On the way home we explored some new areas and got some good sun... or burnt! We went out to brunch and then went shopping. We bought a new external hard drive to share, since we now have so many pictures and movies and teacher things from me. Both our laptops were full so we needed more space! Now we have space for years! It was fun exploring the electronic store with Moe though. He gets so excited but still has to find the best deal. I was and am pleased with our purchases.
Oh back up a few days. Wednesday both Moe and I realized how WHITE I was/am. I was saddened by the fact that I live in the tropics but am equally as white as I would be in America. So I have decided to take more of an effort to lay out after work and work on my tan! So I laid out both Friday and Saturday. BUT I am burnt from the motorcycle ride on my neck and arms. It is a little depressing!
Anyway, the rest of the weekend we relaxed and enjoyed it! I have been a reading machine. I have read 2 books that I will use for school. Sure they are 5th/6th grade reading level but they count right!?! I have finished my current James Patterson book and am now on to book number 4. Thanks Momma and Daddio for getting those for me! They have been so fun and a great escape!
After searching for a semi-long time for the bike that we wanted and in our price range we have decided to go ahead with the bike that we looked at on Saturday. Right now Moe is on his way to put a down payment for it!! The owners are not leaving Chiang Mai until March so we have a little bit of time before it is officially ours, but it is so exciting! I can't wait to use it. I am very pleased. I will post pictures when I can. This is the type of bike but not the actual one. It will have a little basket on the front too.
Anyway, a productive weekend all around. Hopefully school will be much better this week than last. I am trying to stay positive and focus on the good things that are happening at school rather than the behavior issues and stresses. This quote has helped!
Anyway, we had discussed going away for the weekend but I am so glad we didn't. I was so so SO productive. I think we should have 4 day weekends more often.
Friday, I went to the market by myself, shopped and then went to school to work. I reorganized my library. Thankfully I inherited a fully loaded library but it was unorganized and the kids destroyed it :[ so I needed to intervene. It was driving me crazy how it was. So I spent the day there Friday working. It is now beautiful and I can't wait for my kids to use it!! Hopefully it stays beautiful for a little while. If you really care here are before and after photos!
This photo was taken Thursday, Thai Day. You can sorta see Moe and his Thai shirt! Yes those are elephants! It buttons up in Thai style.
Friday night we stayed home and watched Doctor Who together. Yes Moe has got me hooked on the show!! I am just finishing season 4. It is fun to watch the show together. We also discussed a motorbike that was for sale. We decided we were interested enough to set up an appointment to ride/see it.
So Saturday morning first thing we rode 40 minutes to look at and test drive a motorbike. It is an older bike but it is reliable and cheap, which is really all we wanted. It is the style of bike that I want, has a floor board and is an automatic. We were pleased with it but wanted to talk it over some more.
On the way home we explored some new areas and got some good sun... or burnt! We went out to brunch and then went shopping. We bought a new external hard drive to share, since we now have so many pictures and movies and teacher things from me. Both our laptops were full so we needed more space! Now we have space for years! It was fun exploring the electronic store with Moe though. He gets so excited but still has to find the best deal. I was and am pleased with our purchases.
Oh back up a few days. Wednesday both Moe and I realized how WHITE I was/am. I was saddened by the fact that I live in the tropics but am equally as white as I would be in America. So I have decided to take more of an effort to lay out after work and work on my tan! So I laid out both Friday and Saturday. BUT I am burnt from the motorcycle ride on my neck and arms. It is a little depressing!
Anyway, the rest of the weekend we relaxed and enjoyed it! I have been a reading machine. I have read 2 books that I will use for school. Sure they are 5th/6th grade reading level but they count right!?! I have finished my current James Patterson book and am now on to book number 4. Thanks Momma and Daddio for getting those for me! They have been so fun and a great escape!
After searching for a semi-long time for the bike that we wanted and in our price range we have decided to go ahead with the bike that we looked at on Saturday. Right now Moe is on his way to put a down payment for it!! The owners are not leaving Chiang Mai until March so we have a little bit of time before it is officially ours, but it is so exciting! I can't wait to use it. I am very pleased. I will post pictures when I can. This is the type of bike but not the actual one. It will have a little basket on the front too.
Anyway, a productive weekend all around. Hopefully school will be much better this week than last. I am trying to stay positive and focus on the good things that are happening at school rather than the behavior issues and stresses. This quote has helped!
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Thai Day at school
Today was Thai Day. Every year the school has a special cultural day. It rotates with International Day, so next year we will have international day. It is a celebration of culture, music, dance, games, crafts, food, and more. This year Thai Day focused on the coming together of the ASEAN community, southeast Asian countries.
Brief schedule of the day:
Normal first period... yea right!
Second period get ready for ceremony - changing and make up
9:30 head to ceremony
9:45 ceremony
11:15 (An hour and a half LATER!!) ceremony ends. Back to class to change
11:30 Lunch
1:00 Games/activities begin
2:30 LEAVE
Ok I am going to be very honest... I was very nervous for this day. The whole school was involved plus parents plus community. New things happening when I am supposed to be in charge scare me! The day did not go as I thought it would. I was frustrated most of the day. Looking back on it though I realized my outlook affected my kids almost as much as it affected me. I now know that I need to be energetic and try to enjoy things no matter what so that my students can try to do the same thing. Lesson learned for sure!
Anyway, we separated guys and girls for changing. The guys had pants and shirts - easy peasy!! The girls were a whole other story. Skirts that needed pinned, tops needed pinned, scarf things worn like a sleeve, hair, makeup the works!
I jumped right in pinning things saying over and over "I have no idea what I am doing!" At one point I was not doing anything and asked a Thai mom what I could do. She suggested makeup. I was nervous. So I carefully put some simple eye shadow on a girl and some lip color stuff. The girl thought it was fine. Later I noticed it was not fine because the mom took over and put more, LOTs more makeup on. Make up was on almost, if not all, of the girls in K-6th grades.... crazy-ness! OH and I had one of the Thai moms put flowers in my hair. She thought it was so fun!
Then we headed to the ceremony. Here are some pictures of the students who performed. Each performance was in honor of something and all quite meaningful for the Thai folk. For me, just seeing the costumes and the styles of dance were so fun! The ceremony was quite long and warm but we made it.
After lunch, we did some activities. Each elementary class went to three different stations. There were lots of stations with kids everywhere. It was so fun to see what everyone was doing. We did: Making Thai food, Muay Thai, and Painting Bags. At the food station, we watched them cook a simple meal and sampled it (right after lunch might not have been my choice but thats ok!). At Muay Thai (Thai boxing) we learned three simple moves, punching, kicking, and kneeing (is that a word?!). I am sure my students would have rather learned more though! Painting Bags was probably the favorite! We were in the shade - Thank goodness! - so that always helps. Each student got a small draw string bag and painted it however they wished. They turned out great!!
By the end of the day we were all exhausted and ready to go home. It was a day to remember for sure.
Sadly Moe and I did not get a picture together.... I guess we will just have to dress up some other time too! I did get one picture with a kid, so here it is cropped and what not.
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Sorry for the super long post full of pictures, but hopefully you enjoyed it!
Brief schedule of the day:
Normal first period... yea right!
Second period get ready for ceremony - changing and make up
9:30 head to ceremony
9:45 ceremony
11:15 (An hour and a half LATER!!) ceremony ends. Back to class to change
11:30 Lunch
1:00 Games/activities begin
2:30 LEAVE
Ok I am going to be very honest... I was very nervous for this day. The whole school was involved plus parents plus community. New things happening when I am supposed to be in charge scare me! The day did not go as I thought it would. I was frustrated most of the day. Looking back on it though I realized my outlook affected my kids almost as much as it affected me. I now know that I need to be energetic and try to enjoy things no matter what so that my students can try to do the same thing. Lesson learned for sure!
Anyway, we separated guys and girls for changing. The guys had pants and shirts - easy peasy!! The girls were a whole other story. Skirts that needed pinned, tops needed pinned, scarf things worn like a sleeve, hair, makeup the works!
I jumped right in pinning things saying over and over "I have no idea what I am doing!" At one point I was not doing anything and asked a Thai mom what I could do. She suggested makeup. I was nervous. So I carefully put some simple eye shadow on a girl and some lip color stuff. The girl thought it was fine. Later I noticed it was not fine because the mom took over and put more, LOTs more makeup on. Make up was on almost, if not all, of the girls in K-6th grades.... crazy-ness! OH and I had one of the Thai moms put flowers in my hair. She thought it was so fun!
Then we headed to the ceremony. Here are some pictures of the students who performed. Each performance was in honor of something and all quite meaningful for the Thai folk. For me, just seeing the costumes and the styles of dance were so fun! The ceremony was quite long and warm but we made it.
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| 4th Grade |
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| 4th Grade boys |
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| 4th Grade again - I couldn't resist! |
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| 5th Grade |
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| 6th Grade |
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| Pre- kindergarteners. They were SOO cute! |
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| 3rd Grade |
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| Kindergarten |
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| 2nd Grade |
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| High School Dancers |
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| Models from fashion show... |
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| food making |
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| Muay Thai |
Painting bags
By the end of the day we were all exhausted and ready to go home. It was a day to remember for sure.
Sadly Moe and I did not get a picture together.... I guess we will just have to dress up some other time too! I did get one picture with a kid, so here it is cropped and what not.
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Sorry for the super long post full of pictures, but hopefully you enjoyed it!
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Valentine's Day
Valentine's in Thailand is very different. Only similarities: Everyone goes out to dinner and everyone buys flowers. Both are quite cheap here. Other than that it is different. Valentine cards (for kids) are not possible to find here. There are some "Happy Valentines Day" cards like what 'grown ups' send. Limited special Valentine's candy is made, but chocolate is popular to buy. No fun heart candy or sweet hearts or anything like that.
Anyway, at school we had some fun. Last week I had no idea what to do but was suggested to do the felt heart weaving basket. It was fun! I learned a lot about my kids while doing it!
My school is blessed to be able to order some supplies for crafts and things. I had them order me felt. I got way more than I needed. I had about 100 pieces of 5x12 in. I am so sad that I forgot to take a picture of the GIANT stack. It was silly how much felt I had, and still have. I gave half to my buddy teacher. After her class and my class did it and a few mistakes, I still have 35 pieces left.
Anyway, it turned out great. It is hard to tell in the pictures but the hearts do open. I hot glued the edges a little so candy and things could stay in it without falling out. I'm not really supposed to share kids pictures but I wanted you to see their crafts and the only pictures I had were with them!
Finally, my Valentine/February bulletin board in our hallway. Each student made a heart and wrote what book they LOVE reading and why. I think it is so cute!
Anyway, enough about school. Moe and I came home from work and relaxed for a little bit. I took a nap. Moe played games. Then we went out to a nice dinner and went grocery shopping. Nothing fancy. We enjoyed time together that is what really matters right! ;) Holidays aren't as important for us right now, especially Hallmark created ones as Moe says constantly. I will say I was slightly sad that Moe did not buy me flowers since they are so cheap here. But he made up for it the following night by insisting I buy some clothes that I really liked.... I am trying to be adventurous with this whole clothe shopping thing here! More on that later though!
Anyway, at school we had some fun. Last week I had no idea what to do but was suggested to do the felt heart weaving basket. It was fun! I learned a lot about my kids while doing it!
My school is blessed to be able to order some supplies for crafts and things. I had them order me felt. I got way more than I needed. I had about 100 pieces of 5x12 in. I am so sad that I forgot to take a picture of the GIANT stack. It was silly how much felt I had, and still have. I gave half to my buddy teacher. After her class and my class did it and a few mistakes, I still have 35 pieces left.
Anyway, it turned out great. It is hard to tell in the pictures but the hearts do open. I hot glued the edges a little so candy and things could stay in it without falling out. I'm not really supposed to share kids pictures but I wanted you to see their crafts and the only pictures I had were with them!
The other thing that we did during our party time was play Valentine's Bingo. It was a huge hit. Even for my boys who HATE Valentine's Day as I was told so so SO many times!
Monday, February 4, 2013
Random moments in 4B
So my class has been testing me a lot lately. It has been frustrating. But we are all working on it. Some of them are very cute and clearly notice when Ms. Brittany is frustrated so they try to help! It is sweet. Here are some fun things that I have had to deal with!
Today, I had a student carted out of my classroom in a wheelchair. He had tremendous pain in his side. Nurse sent him home/to the hospital to check to see if he has kidney stones :( poor kid. My whole class cared for him though. We had a moment of silence/prayer for him after he left and hopefully he will recover quickly and be back soon!
Today, I had a student tell me that I was a bad teacher because I had to look at his spelling list paper to give him the next word for his spelling list. He was appalled that I did not have his list memorized. Additionally, he did not care that I have 4 spelling lists to work through, teach, prepare for!
I have a girl with mega ADD. She gets distracted by everything, literally even her fingers distract her. One day I was quite frustrated because I felt like she (or lack of learning support) was holding up the entire class. It took her 90 minutes to complete 10 of the 21 problems of the math quiz. I stopped her there and the class had to move on. Friday, she completed 11 problems in 40 minutes!!! We are making progress folks!
I had to explain paper cuts to half of my class.
Valentines Day, the word 'love', romance books, guys playing girls parts in a play, etc. make almost my entire class pretend hurl.
Some of my boys were fascinated by my painted toes during read aloud time Friday. So fascinated that they were touching my toes.... which in this culture is brave.... or rude, depending on how you view it!
We had a journal entry entitled: "While you were at school your mom turned into an alien. What happens when you get home?" Six kids asked me if this really happened and asked if what they wrote had to be true. Creativity is NOT their strong suite.
I had to explain what a pair of something was.
Subject verb agreement is torture for ESL or ETL (English as a Third Language) students!
We are doing Country Reports. One child is researching Canada. They have to find 2 famous people from their country. I learned that many many famous people are from Canada!
Google is a website with information on it. Google is the only way to use the internet. Not using Google is like death.
One day I said "4 on the floor" twenty times in a matter of 80 minutes.
I have a student who every morning responds to my "Good morning!" with 'Hey Bro!'
Last Wednesday, after our assembly, I played basketball and poison with my students. We had 15 minutes left of school and they were shot and so was I. We went outside and played. I played too! It was loads of fun.
I know there is more fun stuff to share but currently my mind is away from me. I will try to keep track better for you!
Today, I had a student carted out of my classroom in a wheelchair. He had tremendous pain in his side. Nurse sent him home/to the hospital to check to see if he has kidney stones :( poor kid. My whole class cared for him though. We had a moment of silence/prayer for him after he left and hopefully he will recover quickly and be back soon!
Today, I had a student tell me that I was a bad teacher because I had to look at his spelling list paper to give him the next word for his spelling list. He was appalled that I did not have his list memorized. Additionally, he did not care that I have 4 spelling lists to work through, teach, prepare for!
I have a girl with mega ADD. She gets distracted by everything, literally even her fingers distract her. One day I was quite frustrated because I felt like she (or lack of learning support) was holding up the entire class. It took her 90 minutes to complete 10 of the 21 problems of the math quiz. I stopped her there and the class had to move on. Friday, she completed 11 problems in 40 minutes!!! We are making progress folks!
I had to explain paper cuts to half of my class.
Valentines Day, the word 'love', romance books, guys playing girls parts in a play, etc. make almost my entire class pretend hurl.
Some of my boys were fascinated by my painted toes during read aloud time Friday. So fascinated that they were touching my toes.... which in this culture is brave.... or rude, depending on how you view it!
We had a journal entry entitled: "While you were at school your mom turned into an alien. What happens when you get home?" Six kids asked me if this really happened and asked if what they wrote had to be true. Creativity is NOT their strong suite.
I had to explain what a pair of something was.
Subject verb agreement is torture for ESL or ETL (English as a Third Language) students!
We are doing Country Reports. One child is researching Canada. They have to find 2 famous people from their country. I learned that many many famous people are from Canada!
Google is a website with information on it. Google is the only way to use the internet. Not using Google is like death.
One day I said "4 on the floor" twenty times in a matter of 80 minutes.
I have a student who every morning responds to my "Good morning!" with 'Hey Bro!'
Last Wednesday, after our assembly, I played basketball and poison with my students. We had 15 minutes left of school and they were shot and so was I. We went outside and played. I played too! It was loads of fun.
I know there is more fun stuff to share but currently my mind is away from me. I will try to keep track better for you!
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