My First Full Day in Yangon

It felt great to wake up in my own place. I got up early and worked on a few more settling in chores and then headed across the street to school. The director told us more about the school, gave some reminders about living in Yangon and then we took a tour. 

The new high school principal is also gluten free and he brought me a box of muesli that he likes and you can get here. So far, (knock on wood!) I haven't had any issues with my dietary challenges. 

My classroom is room 101, near the faculty lounge. I have my very own classroom, which is new to me (at Eastside Prep we shared spaces and most teachers moved between several classrooms). I'll teach all my classes there and use it as my office during my prep periods. 

There is no furniture yet, but here I am in my classroom!

The main school building has 9 floors so there are some great views of the surrounding areas. 

Looking back at the teacher apartments. Mine is the building in the middle. 

Neighborhood around school.

You can tell by the sky that it's monsoon season!

The school's pool. 

The afternoon and evening were both full of excursions out and about in Yangon! Lunch was at Alamanda, which is also a fancy hotel that you might like to stay at when you visit if you want a step up from my guest room.

Teachers at lunch

I had the fish cooked in banana leaves and veggies.

Next we stopped at Market Place, a grocery store that has some international options as well as household items. I bought fruit, veggies, a little plant and some things to help me settle in.

Rows of rice at Market Place.

I bought a Dragonfruit - isn't it beautiful?

We had a little time to bring our shopping spree items back and then it was out to dinner at Monsoon. This restaurant has a HUGE menu with sections, each representing the cuisine of a different country in Asia. I had some coconut mushroom soup from Thailand, pumpkin leaf greens from Myanmar and I tried some of the classic fermented green tea leaf salad (Lahpet) from here too. Learn more about this dish here.

After dinner, some of us opted to check out a few of the nightlife spots, 50th and The Lab...there is a lot to explore!

Things are getting busy with prep for the start of school (one week!), but I'll update you again soon. :)

License Plate

Landing in Yangon

Yesterday it was finally time to make the trek from Bangkok to Yangon! Exactly six months ago I accepted this new job and my life has been building to this moment in big and small ways ever since.

We flew Thai Air, which is a very nice airline! Make a note if you are planning to visit.

First view of Myanmar

Window seat was definitely the way to go!

The international airport is just one year old; it's small but nice and it didn't take long to collect bags, go through customs and make it to the other side! It felt like Christmas to be reunited with my two checked suitcases again; I always worry about luggage getting lost and having this happen on a move (when I am stocked with all my favorite products!) would be unfortunate. The school director and high school principal were waiting to greet us.

Yes, I'm here!

I pulled 50,000 kyat from an ATM at the airport. The largest bill here is a 10,000 kyat note. Can you guess how much that is? (Answer below.)

A sampling of the bills. 

Soon white school buses arrived and we were whisked off to our new homes. Teacher apartments are located across the street from the school. I can see the campus (and pool!) from my living room window.

My apartment is simply decorated and spacious. It feels huge after my 500 square feet in Seattle! There is a master bedroom, one bathroom, kitchen, laundry room, open living/dining area, small balcony and two guest bedrooms - come visit!

AC and TV were on when I got here. They also put out roses and some basic food items in the kitchen.

My kitchen is purple! Rice cooker included. 

Master bedroom, that's me!

We had some time to settle in, then we met at one of our host teacher's apartments. It feels great to finally be getting my things out of my suitcases. It was a long and busy day so I went to bed early (but not before Skyping with Mom and Dad; aren't I a good daughter?).

Well, that about sums up my first few hours in Myanmar! Stay tuned for more...


What I'm listening to: alt-j - An Awesome Wave, Conor Oberst - Upside Down Mountain

What I'm reading: Still working through A Tale for the Time Being, but I also have lots of new reading material!

Our host teachers gave us a map, tourist guide and binder full of information.

Answer: Thanks for reading this far... the answer to the above question is $10. The approximate exchange rate is 1,000 kyat to $1. When I pulled out about $50 the ATM gave me a total of 42 notes: forty 1,000 kyat notes and two 5,000 kyat notes. It's pretty wild. I guess here I'll be a millionaire. :)