A Day in my Teacher Life

Today is Wednesday December 7, 2016. I published my post about a Day on the Camino yesterday and I came home from work today with the best intentions - to put away the organic produce from my weekly delivery and to then work out. However, I felt my energy draining and my push waning as I sorted and organized the vegetables. It was almost 5 o'clock and all I wanted to do was sit down and be quiet for a few minutes, in ears, body and mind.

While I took a break under my blue mosquito net I reflected on the day. I hadn't had a moment to myself unless you counted while I was getting ready in the morning, going to the bathroom or checking email during my prep period!

Anyway, I thought I would share today, as a complement to the other post and for my non-teacher friends who wonder what I get up to all day.

6:30am - The alarm goes off! Here we go the day is starting! I feel pretty rested and I'm happy when I wake up. I put on Chvrches, make coffee, blend a smoothie and get ready for the school day.

7:30 - I arrive at school. The commute is amazing; I walk across the street. I drop my stuff in my classroom, switch on the air conditioning and go to fill my water bottle, pick up copies and order sushi for lunch.

7:40 - A Spanish 2 student finds me in the main office placing my lunch order... oops! I was supposed to meet her to show her part of a film that she missed. I rush back to the classroom and get the movie started so she can get caught up. A few other students wander in and also watch. I check my work email, load my gradebook and answer a few What's app texts from friends.

7:55 - Spanish 2 begins. I let the whole class watch a repeat of the first few minutes as they settle in. Then, we move through a warmer, I return their Diaries and Classroom Citizenship evaluations and we move into questions about the final. This is a high-achieving class - they have a lot and some good ones! For almost an hour, we have a back-and-forth of questions and clarifications. They are really focused and I love Spanish. It's a good time.

Just before 9am we move into a game which reviews verb conjugations. It's a lot of fun and this leads us up to the end of class at 9:29. Yes, that is what time first block ends. At this point, I have a whole seven minutes to transition between classes, take care of personal needs (water, bathroom) and touch base with students.

9:36 - Spanish 1 begins. I return their Diaries (Yes, there has been a lot of grading lately, and, yes, there is always a lot of grading.) and we move into homework correction. They've been working through a review packet in preparation for the final exam. We do a review activity and play a game in this class as well.

11:10 - Class finishes and it's time for lunch. Today I have a lunch meeting with some Student Council representatives and any high schooler who wants to pop in and give feedback about the uniform. We can't promise to make changes, but part of StuCo's role is to hear the student body's voice and present opinions and concerns to administration. I pick up my sushi delivery and help moderate the meeting until 11:50. After the meeting ends, I chat with my three StuCo reps about how it went. Then, they move on to class. I eat a few more bites of my lunch and look at my email.

12:03 - My colleague, former language teacher in the Chinese department, stops by for a Professional Learning Community. We discuss our recent integration and field trip, book ordering, plans for next year and more. I type up our notes and post them to our Google page.

During my "free" period, I float between emails, grading some late work, an impromptu meeting with my principal and refilling tea and then deciding to go for a small cup of coffee.

1:35 - Here comes my second Spanish 1 class! We repeat much of the previous lesson, but it is later in the day and every class is different, so I differentiate.

3:10 - School's out! I organize my room a little and my StuCo kids begin entering for our meeting. A Spanish 3 student stops by to make up a quiz and then we are rolling into our meeting. It's an intense one today, with one member resigning (we knew she was going to) and a lot of wrap up from first semester.

4:40 - The meeting wraps up and I pack up! I stop on the ground floor of the school to pick up my Fresco deliver box and run into some of the seniors who are excited to be finishing a music/choir rehearsal. I remind a Spanish 4 student about our coffee plan for tomorrow and carry my box home. I text my neighbor and she comes down so that we can divvy up the beautiful locally grown and fairly purchased products: carrots, potatoes, leeks, fennel, basil, radishes, zucchini flowers, rocket and more. I store this away.

5:15 - I flop down on my bed and do some of the thinking that I mentioned at the start of this post. :D
I love my job, but I would also like to have a little energy left over at the end of the day. I opted to read for a little bit, write this blog, cook some healthy food and finish watching A Day Without a Mexican instead of pushing on to the gym. It's important to me to have some quiet time.

Anyway, that's just one day. A lot happens besides teaching and I hope that it was informative for you to learn a little bit about what goes on for me at school. A busy day, yes, but not untypical. It's 8:37 now and I am going to shower, stretch, tidy up a bit, read and c-r-a-s-h. Tomorrow will be same-same, but different.

And please do grant me some extra credit points for two posts this week! :)

More on Yangon

And this post takes us back to life in Yangon!

Secondary school faculty - I'm in the back shady spot wearing my sunglasses!

One annual event in my life is traveling to Bangkok for my visa renewal. Yes, I have to visit the Myanmar embassy in Bangkok, Thailand in order to renew my Myanmar work visa... The good news about this yearly errand is that I get a trip to Bangkok! I usually shop, seek out health food stores for hard to find items, take care of doctor appointments, eat great food and sometimes sit by a pool, if time allows! This year was special because my former colleague, J, who now lives in Chiang Mai, Thailand, met me. It was so fun to catch up, do yoga and discover a great new health food store and restaurant, Lemon Farm, together. We weren't very good about taking pictures (we were having too much fun) and Bangkok isn't "new" to me anymore, so I guess I forget, but here is what captured my interest enough to pull out the camera.

My iced Americano, with a dash of rice milk, served in a pitcher! 

The cafe had cute cat art. Can you see me in the reflection?

A few days after I returned (one year visa in passport!), quarter one ended. This means grading, writing individual narrative comments for each and every one of my students and submitting everything for report cards. There is always something to do when you are a teacher. 

Playing bananagrams with my students!

Quarter one finishes with a Myanmar tradition: Homage Day. Students and teachers don traditional dress and students honor their teachers at a special assembly, featuring speeches, music, dances and singing. The culminating moment is when students' voices join in unison to thank their teachers and ask them to forgive them for any mistakes (in Myanmar language).

You already know what happens next! I book it to the airport and jet off to Bangkok to meet Y for our reunion on Koh Chang.

Upon returning to Yangon, there was a new quarter to start, parent-student-teacher conferences to have and friends to catch up with. The school community here is special. Our social committee is very active, sponsoring all kinds of events to explore the city and for us to just hang out with each other. However, a few times a year we celebrate our support staff, the cleaners and guards who help keep our school shining and safe throughout the year. These photos are from our Potluck and Bowling event at the end of October.

Right Track Bowling is a 30 minute walk from my apartment/the school.

Playing a game, yes, betting 3,000 kyats was involved!

In this winner-takes-all game the final rolls of the dice are intense!

I came upon this cute little church while wandering in downtown one weekend. Somewhere in here I also saw a great Italian movie at the international film festival, La grande bellezza. An epic story set in lovely Italy.

This coffee store is in my neighborhood, but it is never open. Can you see why it caught my eye?

Another social committee event - watching old silent films set to Radiohead.

And then came Halloween! My favorite holiday was celebrated with a Vegans Anonymous potluck and dress-up days at school.

Gluten free vegan witch finger sugar cookies

Vegan potluck spread

Alice, on her way to school. No getting distracted by white rabbits allowed!

Teachers dress up like students day! Sporting the school uniform.

Just finished reading:
Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool; a children's book recommended to me by a friend/former colleague. An entertaining story with a spirited young protagonist, historical fiction.

Twilight Over Burma: My Life as a Shan Princess by Inge Sargent; her autobiographical account of her marriage to a Shan Prince and her time in Burma. This one is up for discussion at book club next week! There is also a film and a quick internet search displays a lot of articles about the controversy this book has encountered.

Just finished eating:
If you knew me when I was a kid... or teenager... or, okay, okay, a young adult, then you know my favorite food is/was Macaroni and Cheese. Since going gluten and dairy free in 2009 for health reasons, there has not been a lot of carb-y, cheesy goodness in my life. Which is absolutely worthwhile because I no longer suffer from daily stomach pain. However, I am always looking for creative ways to get my old fix. This vegan gf version of my old favorite does the trick.

Oh, and the witch fingers!

What I'm Listening to:
Cat Power! I had the pleasure of seeing her live at Cruilla this July in Barcelona and she is my favorite discovery from a weekend full of amazing live music.

Interview of the Week:
Conor Oberst (Bright Eyes, Monsters of Folk, Desaparecidos) and Matt Berninger (The National) get together to talk about the song-writing process and music in general! I felt like I was at a bar overhearing an intimate chat at the next table. This is also one of my new favorite podcasts. 

A Worthwhile Cause:
One of my colleagues and friends is trying to enact real change in the population of stray animals in our neighborhood with a catch, neuter and release program. It's the season of giving, so why not chip in a little to help the pups and kitties? A few US dollars goes a long way in Myanmar!

Ha ha, definitely not in Yangon! A throwback to Thanksgiving weekend last year in Ngwe Saung...
Photo credit to T and her fancy camera!

I hope everyone has a happy Thanksgiving! I am already starting to think about the end of the quarter, finals and holidays with my family!

Meanwhile Back in Yangon...

My last lots of posts have focused on my travels, so I thought it would be good to circle back to life in Yangon. While Myanmar is very foreign to most of my friends in the west, it has come to be my familiar place, my home for now, over the last few years and a lot of what I do here is routine. In this post, I'll share a little of what that looks like!

I returned to Yangon at the end of July, the weekend before teacher meetings were set to begin and just over a week before students would return to school. It was a bit of a quick turnaround, but I had wanted to maximize my time in Spain. :)

It's not too fun to write a post about all the planning I do to get my four Spanish courses (six classes!) off the ground each August (though I do love the creativity of teaching and the newness of back to school always!), so this post focuses on what I am doing in my precious teacher free time.

First things first, I bought vegetables! Being able to cook healthy meals is a treat after traveling and having to rely on restaurants for most of your food. Beans, tomatoes, coconut milk, fresh cilantro, tofu, sweet potatoes, limes, ginger root, a lemon, green beans, purple cabbage and dragon fruit pictured below!

I love the variety and availability of great local produce!

I gazed at the familiar glowing golden-ness of the Shwe Dagon Pagoda, while meeting and catching up with friends (this shot is from the Alfa Hotel's rooftop bar).

I enjoyed some teacher social events... My school's social committee hosts a lot of get-to-know-you events for the new teachers and it seems there is always somewhere to go or something to do... I never get bored!

K and I in the school bus on the way to a teacher appreciation dinner.

The parent association president (standing) with a table of teachers.

All school photo! Can you find me? ;)

Dance party! One of the many events hosted at a teacher house.

I ate some delicious Burmese food! I love Rangoon Tea House!

My Eggplant Curry, with sides, rice and soup...my friend's samosas and chicken wrap.

The rooftop bar tour was a bit of a theme in August... Here is Sule Pagoda from Yangon, Yangon.

I hosted a former student from Seattle who had recently graduated and done volunteer work, teaching English and sex ed, to community leaders in northern Thailand. B came with her friend C after their program ended and they visited me  for exactly one week. They made the most of their short visit as only young people can, doing a whirlwind tour of Myanmar, bussing to Bagan, scurrying all over Yangon and catching up on sleep in my extra bedroom (it is available for YOU too; email me to book!).

Though B and C were on a pretty tight budget, we decided to splurge on a fancy brunch at the Novotel. Brunching is a cultural experience and serious pastime among foreigners and well-to-do locals alike. 

B and I fancied up for brunch

Brunch complete with sushi chef.

My selection!

I made friends with the geckos in my apartment. We are buds; they eat the mosquitos and sing to me. Nothing tops my Desi-cat for at home company, but seeing as she is snuggled in with hew new family in Seattle...

Just one of the parade or processions that pass by in front of our apartment building on a daily basis. This is Myanmar!

And, on a long weekend in September, I snuck away to the gorgeous beach town of Ngapali!

This is what the coast of Myanmar looks like... in rainy season!

Yes, I work hard during the week, go to bed early and spend time on weekends grading and planning... but I do have lots of fun too!

This post is one day early! Remember to vote tomorrow, US friends! I already submitted my ballot from here.

 What I'm Listening to as I write this post:

Carla Morrison - A current student recommended her to me and I love her! I bought her Amor Supremo album and I really like it. It's a solid late at night or Sunday chill album; she has a beautiful voice and the lyrics are poetry.

What I'm Eating for Breakfast This Week:
Though this recipe is called Raw Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites it seems mighty healthy to me!

Around Yangon: Special Events and Routine

Although I have settled into routine and many Myanmar occurrences are now part of my new normal, I still find myself struck with awe for this place. I love riding in taxis (when we are moving, not stuck in traffic) and just taking in the city from the window.

Selfie with my new glasses inside a taxi.

One of my favorite routines is swimming in the school's pool. Summer is in full swing here and it's hot!

One of the things I like about my school is the great community of international teachers that are here. Our students are respectful and hard-working and my job is fun everyday. One of the annual events is Fun Fair. It had a great turnout of teachers, students and parents. 

View from above.

The event I helped chaperone was this giant ball. I did not get the chance to try it out. The lines rivaled Disneyland! 

I volunteered for the dunking tank, which didn't actually work, so I had to "dunk" myself when a student hit the target.

A couple of the teachers are working really hard to get one of our lovely and loving local street dogs adopted.

And here's a video of the organized chaos which is a school event.

This shot is of the Shwe Dagon Pagoda, from a park at one of the city's lakes. During a holiday, a friend and I decided to explore; you can walk almost the entire way around. It's technically a park, but much of the path is right next to the road, not exactly a break from city noises. 

My Spanish 2 class has been begging for a field trip all year. Well, all Spanish classes beg for field trips all the time... Needless to say, there aren't many Spanish activities or places to visit in Yangon. However, we just finished an animals unit and we were beginning a food unit, so with the help of a couple of student organizers, we planned a trip to the Yangon Zoo and then Sai's Tacos, which, although not up to Dad's standards, is one of only Mexican-ish options here. 

We scheduled the field trip on a professional development day; I couldn't justify missing class for these activities. The field trip was optional, but I had 10 students sign up. It was cute to see them at the zoo - many had never been or hadn't been for years and it was interesting to take in a zoo through the lens of a different culture. The safety features we have in the states (high fences, solid dividers, plenty of zoo attendants) do not exist in such full form here!

Look how close we are to the hippo! All fingers returned home safely.

 The animals seemed well-cared for, but many of the zoo's visitors did not behave! We saw people giving the monkeys candies and cookies... and no zoo employees did anything about it!

Next to the monkeys.

El cocodrilo.

Los elefantes.

The elephants seemed particularly happy and I couldn't object to the visitors feeding them bananas. Humans and elephants have a long history together in Southeast Asia. 

The cats did make me sad. There were a lot of tigers at the zoo, including one beautiful white tiger, and two lions. Their concrete cages did not seem like quite enough space for them. 

El tigre triste.

All in all, it was a fun day - Spanish was spoken, we saw lots of animals and we ate Mexican food! For some of the kids it was their first time encountering a taco or burrito, so I had to teach them how to hold and approach these items. 

Speaking of food, I continue to enjoy my Vegan Gluten Free food club. We recently updated our name to Vegans Anonymous! We get together about once a month and share food items, sometimes for brunch, sometimes for dinner. Here are a few shots from our last get-together. 

These look like REAL crepes!

From top, moving clockwise, the toppings are: powdered sugar and lemon juice, maple syrup, cashew nut frosting and homemade peanut butter and banana!!! 

Jessica shows off her creation - thin mints!

Do you want the recipes? I bet you do! Here you go:

Vegan Buckwheat Crepes

Vegan Cheese

Vegan GF Thin Mints

And ending with another cool Yangon video. Check it out and then come see this place for yourself!

My friends and I debated the reasons in this article (some do not care for the cuisine here), but the fact remains that Myanmar is a fascinating place and I recommend coming to see it for yourself!

What I'm listening to: new Modest Mouse (Strangers to Ourselves), new AWOLNATION (Run), new Bob Dylan (Shadows in the Night)

What I'm reading:

You + Me: A Collection of Short Stories & Poems by Leslie Li Hikida, I'm lucky enough to call this author my friend! Check out her blog and buy this collection on Amazon.  

Just finished: 

We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo

Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Blog posts I still owe you:

• Bagan
• Chiang Mai
• Mandalay and Pwin Oo Lwin
• ...and probably one from my upcoming trip to Taiwan!

"It's more fun in the Philippines!"

Once again my blog posts are dragging behind my travels, so here goes a different format to let you know some of my adventures. Holiday break here is almost 3 weeks so I decided to fly a little farther away and explore the Philippines. I was excited to experience the beaches, visit Palawan and Bohol and see how much Spanish language influence I would encounter (turns out not a lot, but there are words here and there I can understand).

10) Getting a haircut before I left... The prep for a trip can be almost as exciting as the actual traveling! I had been nervous about having a trim, but really needed one. I decided to be brave and visit our local hairdresser. She does a hairwash, neck and shoulder massage, hair cut (without scissors - she used a razor!) and blowout/straighten for about $12. She only understands a little English, but I learned the word for "a little" and tried her out. I think it turned out pretty well!

Tired, but happy with new hair and for first day of vacay during layover in Bangkok.

9) Traveling light! This was my luggage for the trip - all carry on! And my blue backpack has my laptop inside. My fan burned out just days before the trip (I had backed up onto an external hard drive the day before which eased much anxiety) so I dragged my pc around 4 Philippine islands to eventually bring it to Bangkok (stop at the end of my trip), only to be told that the part would have to be special ordered.

I was pretty stressed out about the computer situation (luckily there is a desktop in my classroom I can use) after spending an entire day running around Bangkok, visiting four different stores with no luck. In the end I got an email address for a shop here in Yangon and the manager had a store in Bangkok order the part and then took my laptop for repair during one of his weekend business trips. I don't think that this was really his responsibility, but he seemed eager to help and I decided to trust him. It turned out to be one of those strange but wonderful events that happens when you are abroad. My computer is now back and running!

I recommend traveling light!

8) Manila - I wouldn't say that Manila is a "must visit" if you go to the Philippines, but I enjoyed the old part of town. The Spanish architecture feels familiar to me and having a day here broke up my travel to Palawan (I spent an entire day to get here... Yangon - Bangkok - Kuala Lumpur - Manila).

Cathedral downtown

Park inside the old city wall

Part of the wall

7) Walking to the Beach in Palawan - I stayed at a Yoga Retreat center called Bahay Kalipay and they are located a short walk from a nearby beach. More on Bahay Kalipay below!

Flying in I couldn't believe I was here!

Dirt road leading to nearby beach

I visited for sunset

And sunrise...

It's a mangrove beach so not great for swimming, but beautiful

6) Exploring Palawan - there is a LOT to see and do on this island. I could have spent my whole trip here and been happy. I did not make it as far as El Nido, but I did see the underground river and get in some beach time. Palawan definitely merits another visit...

Beautiful Palawan

A day at this beach...

On the way to the underground river

Wildlife at the park!

Beach at mouth of the river

Christmas day at the underground river

Navigating out of the cave

5) Reading! Buying a kindle in March 2014 as a birthday present to myself was one of my best purchases for my traveling lifestyle! It is so powerful to have so many books in one small machine. With flights, some delays and lots of beach time, I checked quite a bit off of my reading list.

• Za Za, emperador de Ibiza - Ray Loriga (this author's works were the focus of my thesis and he's still a favorite)
• The Glass Castle - Jeannette Walls
• Lullaby - Chuck Palahniuk
• Into the Wild - Jon Krakauer
• The Lowland - Jhumpa Lahiri
• Super Sad True Love Story - Gary Shteyngart (Thanks for the rec, Y!)
• I started The Omnivore's Dilemma (Michael Pollan), but got distracted by the novels. 

Not bad for 21 days, right?

4)  Yoga Retreat, Bahay Kalipay - This is an amazing space and the owners have a fantastic story; they built the entire place themselves with a careful eye on design, community and sustainability.

My simple room.

One of the resident cats relaxing near the yoga space.

The "lobby"

Path through the property

Our Tai Chi classes were held here

Coconut storage house

Yoga practice space - second floor has a treehouse feel.

3) Raw Food at Bahay Kalipay - I have been gluten, dairy and egg free for years now, but my experience with a raw diet was fairly limited. Bahay Kalipay is a great place to experience raw food - the meals and snacks are prepared with local, organic ingredients and lots of care.

Buffet dinner

Cold miso soup with apple and salad

Carrot pineapple salad, curry and fresh greens

Dessert!

Ingredients for our raw vegan dessert cooking class

Treats made by guests - Banoffe Pie with Meringue, Fruit Cobbler, German Chocolate Cake and Chocolate Pudding!

A typical breakfast: loads of fresh tropical fruits, topped with coconut, chocolate sauce and a side of chocolate nut milk.

I am not planning to add the raw component to my diet full time, but I enjoyed learning more about this approach to food and tasting all the wonderful dishes at the retreat!

2) Escaping the flood in Loboc - This is a better story now that it is over and I am safe. I arrived into Bohol 24 hours late due to a delay at this small airport (an airplane had a flat tire and that stopped all flights for the rest of the day...). After spending an extra night at an airport hotel in Manila I was so happy to get off the plane and find a taxi to take me inland to Loboc, despite the rain. Since when does a downpour stop a gal from Seattle? My plan was to stay two nights, touring the interior of the island, home of the chocolate hills and tarsier monkeys. I had also booked a stand-up paddle boarding nighttime tour to see the fireflies. Sounds lovely, right? I was so excited that I even snapped some rainy photos of the inn.

For more "before" pictures, check out Stephanie Grace's website or Trip Advisor's page.

Already a swelling river when I arrived to Stephanie Grace. 

Hotel in Loboc - my room is on the far right, perfect river view.

I confirmed my car and driver for the following day, settled into my room, ate a delicious fish dinner and went to bed early. Around 11pm I was woken up by noises in the hall. When they didn't stop, I got up feeling slightly annoyed that the other guests were being loud and so I wandered out to see what was up. No one else had gone to sleep - they had watched the river rise up, filling the lower level of the inn. The owners had not been worried at first, saying that the water never got too high. We found out later that they had opened a dam upstream and that Typhoon Seniang was passing right through Loboc. Water came through the entire first floor of the hotel, filling roads behind the hotel and trapping us.

Muddy water filling the reception area and dining room (view from second floor).

Floating furniture downstairs.

View from my room the after one long and rainy night.

I don't have a lot of photos of the event because I needed to conserve my iPhone battery to send updates to my sister (and it eventually died). I did take the following video, though. 

The pool is to the left of the flags and the right side is the driveway.

I was never seriously concerned for my safety and I feel incredibly lucky to have been at this hotel, with its sturdy foundation, second floor rooms and caring family. The Philippine family that owns the hotel live on the second floor also and they went out of their way to take care of us (swimming to the neighboring homes to bring back mangoes and rice, diving into the dirty water to bring back bottled water from the underwater kitchen, never mentioning a worry about their own property and livelihood).

We were trapped two nights and one full day. We couldn't believe it when we walked out on the second day. The water had receded, but the village was flooded with mud, homes and businesses destroyed and the locals were beginning to attempt to clean up the mess. The government even sent in workers with food and water donations. I felt so lucky to find a car and continue on with my vacation. As a tourist, I had the luxury to leave; most people in the village did not have the same situation.

If you would like to help the family that took care of me in their effort to rebuild their business, then visit their page and make a donation.

1) Beachside accommodation in Anda - I decided to splurge on accommodation here before the typhoon incident and it was definitely a treat to escape to tranquil Anda after the flood. Not a lot of tourists make it out to this side of the island, so I'd definitely recommend it if you want to get away from the busy beaches in other parts of the Philippine islands.

I spent my time reading, catching up with family and friends (phone re-charged and wifi connection!), wandering on the beach, walking to the nearby village and swimming.

My home for 5 days!

Beach!

Sunset from the second floor restaurant

Breakfast with this view

Typical fishing boat

Pool and property grounds

This feels like vacation!

Sunset walk on the beach

Of course many more stories, but I hope you enjoy reading about my highlights!

If you are missing Yangon, here is a neat time-lapse video.