Five Fabulous Fotos

Last spring, a colleague and friend suggested that we all bring five photos from our spring break adventures to a happy hour and project our memories onto the wall. Five is enough to get an idea of what your friends did, but not so many to overwhelm the viewers, especially if the gathering fills one of our apartments.

Thus, the 5 Fabulous Foto Fests were born and the tradition has continued. After summer break, we decided on five categories in which to share pictures:

1. Family
2. Food
3. Friends
4. Fun 
5. Fiscellaneous (you get it, right?)

What follows are the five pictures that I selected for the Foto Fest and a few stories about them.

I was fortunate to visit lots of family over my break, but the family member who was most exciting to see was one I had not met before: my niece Jozy! Isn't she adorable?

Jozy n me

Although there were many great meals this summer, the food shot that wins the selection comes to you from Antigua, Guatemala. I spent the last few days of my three week trip to Guatemala in Antigua before flying back to the states. This was my second visit to Guatemala and it proved to be an amazing country once again. Beautiful nature, friendly people and plenty of Spanish!

Gluten free vegan falafel on pita bread in Antigua.

Friends was a hard category for me. There were so many fun moments with dear ones and it was challenging to choose a favorite. I hope your feelings won't be hurt if you aren't here. :) Really this photo was my selection because it was an amazing shot, showing my three new Spanish friends and it gives you a glimpse of the beautiful Lake Atitlán in Guatemala.

This picture won the best all-around photo by popular vote at the Foto Fest!

Sara and Violeta look on as Pablo back-flips into Lake Atitlán, near Santa Laguna

In Seattle, my friend Yasmin was kind enough to allow me to use her house to host an afternoon reunion my second day in town. This was a great chance to see a lot of people in my former home city. I love the light and sense of fun in this picture...and of course all my friends! I deem it runner-up in the friends category.

Like the previous categories, there are plenty of pictures in my library that could be classified as fun. This shot of me (photo credit: Violeta, who has a fancier camera than I do) is another one from the lake, at a jumping spot near San Marcos. I like the way it looks like I'm stepping on a cloud. We spent a weekend in San Marcos and a lovely afternoon in this national park. After jumping and swimming we hiked to the top of the ridge, to take in views of the lake and check out Mayan offering sites. The evening ended with live music at our hostel. It was a pretty perfect day.

Doing something a little bit scary is good for you.

For the Fiscellaneous category, I chose a panorama shot of Lake Atitlán, my home for three weeks this summer. I spent two in Panajachel, living with a host family, attending four hours of language school a day, making new friends and exploring. This photo was taken from a hike out to some Mayan caves on a ridge above the lake. My Spanish teacher and I hiked out here during my last day of class. You can see the lake, the town and one of the volcanoes; these sights filled my view and my mind during my time in Guatemala.

Guatemala, I miss you!

School is well underway at the time of writing this - we are almost finished with first quarter already in Yangon. I took the Foto Fest idea as inspiration and created an assignment for my Spanish 3 and 4 classes in which students brought in pictures from their summer and shared them with the class, describing them in Spanish, of course!

My next Foto Fest with work friends is scheduled for early November. I'll let you know how it goes. 

What camera am I using for all these great photos? This Olympus Tough one.

What I'm Reading:

• Just finished Girl in a Band by Kim Gordon, her memoir is fascinating on music, fashion, art and feminism levels.
• Also just finished We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Everyone should read this short essay, especially folks with kids.
• Working on the young adult novel by the author who I obsessed over during my thesis-writing days at UW, Ray Loriga, El bebedor de lágrimas.

What I'm Listening to:

• The Mynabirds, What We Lose in the Fire We Gain in the Flood
• Sonic Youth (inspired by Kim Gordon's book, mentioned above)
• The New Division - awesome LA-based band that I discovered on a night out in Seattle
• Screens, The Pink Hooded Falcon, another Seattle-discovery (Yes, I miss the live music scene in Seattle A LOT.)
• Desaparecidos, Payola

Some Food I'm Eating:

• Thanks to my sister for these healthy breakfast cookies! Peanut butter vegan and gluten free and protein-packed.
• Another one from my sis, to-die-for-vegan FUDGE.
• Loving the tropical fruits in Yangon: pineapple, mango, papaya, pomelo...

Where I'm going next:

• Bangkok, for a visa renewal, shopping and hanging out!
• Ko Lanta: beach bound for Fall Break!

Stay tuned to hear about these trips!

Temples and temples... Bagan!

Bagan is a special place. I visited in November with a friend and I've had this post in draft ever since. It is probably one of the most photographed and visited places in Myanmar, so perhaps it's been a little intimidating to find my angle.

Anyway, it's about time I get this post up! I was lucky to be able to take a personal day, so we made the one hour flight from Yangon early on a Friday morning in November. Bagan had been on the top of my list of places to go, ever since I found out I was moving to Myanmar. I'll walk you through my adventure in Bagan.

Day 1:

I had arranged a car and tour guide for our first day of exploring and they were waiting for us at the airport. The guide helped us purchase our pass to the "Bagan Archaeological Zone" - the pass lets you into the whole area. Then we were off to see our first temple!

Glistening gold in the early morning sunshine.

Path to another temple, note sand paintings for sale on the right side. 

Because Bagan covers a huge area, it's helpful to hire a car to get around. Our guide spoke great English, gave us lots of background on the temples and answered all of our questions. We explored several temples, weaving our way down dusty roads.

Meandering around Bagan.

We got to climb up this one!

Shoes stay outside; these are holy sites. 

View from the top!

Taking a rest to take in the view.

I'm in Bagan!

You are always wondering what it looks like around the next corner...

So what's inside these temples? Lots of images of Buddha. 

After a busy morning of exploring, we opted for a traditional Myanmar lunch. They call this a "buffet," but you don't get up and serve yourself. Many meat, vegetable and fish dishes are brought to the table, along with rice and various sauces. Then, you serve what you like, adding sauce and sides to personalize your dish. If one of the plates empties, a fresh and full one is soon soon replaces the empty dish.

Cheers to a successful morning of site-seeing. 

After lunch, we checked into our hotel to rest and refresh. However, it wasn't long before our ride was back and our organized guide explained that the next stop would be a lacquerware workshop. After this visit, I have a whole new appreciation for how much time and work goes into a single piece!

First stages of lacquer ware. Check out how he uses his toes.

A display showing the steps to finished piece. Start with the bottom left and follow the pieces around in a backward "C" shape.

Close-up of the end result. Truly an art form!

Women working in the shop. Traditional lacquer ware is all made by hand.

Before long, it was time to see more temples. The artifacts inside varied, as did the state of each one. Some were well-kept, but many are crumbling. 

Next up was a temple climb to take in the sunset view. It is gorgeous, but most tourists have the same idea, so it's not a quiet or calm temple stop.

Sunset over Bagan

Hanging around after the sun goes down and crowds disperse. 

Day 2:
The next day my friend and I decided to go exploring independently. One of the amazing things about Bagan is that you can get lost in the fields of temples and discover rarely visited ruins. Bagan is a living archeological zone; the caregivers of the smaller temples live behind them and are continually adding to, or keeping up the structures and the art they contain.

Turn down a dusty road, find a temple

One of the first stops in my wanderings brought me to a small temple and the owner showed me the art inside and then eagerly supplied a bamboo ladder so that I could climb to the roof.

Selfie on top of a temple

Next, I caught a horse cart ride and bumped my way towards another of the bigger and more visited sites.

Approach from the horse cart

Most temples have one, or many buddhas, inside.

This spot is especially famous for its mystery: secret corridors, walled off tunnels and hidden windows are just some of its surprises.

Climbing up a hidden staircase

View looking out at Bagan

Walking up to a ledge; remember, no shoes in temples!

Dark hallways give the impression that you are in an Indiana Jones movie.

Another angle.

Secret staircase - I had to climb it!

View down the steps.

Next I rented an electric bike, an absolutely great way to get around! (It comes with a helmet, Mom!)

The Irrawaddy River. Just going around on my bike!

Another rooftop view.

This passage is locked. Oh, the mystery!

As the sun drifted down in the sky, I knew exactly what my sunset plans were. I pointed my bike in the direction of my friendly morning host and his temple and made my way to my own private sunset viewing from the morning temple. It was such a contrast to the noise and crowds from the night before, but the sunset was equally breathtaking. 

The next day I took a day trip from Bagan to Mount Popa and then flew back to Yangon in time to log in to my virtual class by 7:30pm. It was a very full weekend and you must visit Bagan when you come to Myanmar! 

Mount Popa is a topic for another post! I hope you enjoyed seeing a glimpse of Bagan. And, I hope to be more timely with my blogging as my second year in Myanmar begins. 

Here's what I read this summer (the plus side of lots of flying time!):

• Wild by Cheryl Strayed (Loved it!)
• The Art of Asking by Amanda Palmer
• Bagombo Snuff Box by Kurt Vonnegut (he's still one of my favorites!)
• Sons and Lovers by D. H. Lawrence (somehow I got out of high school without reading this one)
• Tijuana, crimen y olvido de Luis Humberto Crosthwaite (keeping up with my Spanish)

Still working on:

• Millionaire Teacher: The Nine Rules of Wealth You Should Have Learned in School by Andrew Hallam (Good advice for anyone, not just teachers!)
• Change Your Mind by Paramananda
• The Great American Detox Diet by Alex Jamieson
• Diary by Chuck Palahniuk

That's is an interesting combination... I bet you won't see these three titles together anywhere else!

A Week in Chiang Mai with the Class of 2018!

One of my favorite parts of my job is taking experiential education trips each year. In the past, I have helped organize and lead trips around the Pacific Northwest, Mexico, Washington DC and last year's finale at Eastside Prep: Cuba.

My new school groups students together by grade level and I was excited to find out that I would be accompanying the 9th grade and 3 other teacher-chaperones to Chiang Mai, Thailand. We worked with Traidhos, which is an awesome organization and school, should you ever need a host for a school trip in SE Asia.

Day 1: Traveling 
It took most of Sunday to get to Traidhos due to a layover in Bangkok. Still, we were all excited to be traveling. The students went crazy for fast-food chains and duty free shops during the stop (none of those items are available in Myanmar...yet).

Passport, Boarding Pass, Coffee = 3 of my Favorite Things!

Traidhos welcomed us with a barbecue and bonfire after we settled into our apartments.

Day 2: Team-Building and Ropes on Campus

One of the goals for the week was to help the students gel as a group. This first day of low ropes and challenge activities required the students to work together and think creatively and critically to solve problems. It's really fun to sit back and watch them grapple with these challenges.

Challenge #1: Get ALL students up to the platform.

They did it and in record time!

Low ropes challenge course.

The next challenge was an especially interesting one. Students received ropes, plastic barrels and an oar. They had to create a raft to cross the river and each take a turn rowing across to retrieve a scroll. The first team to collect all scrolls, wins.

Figuring out how to keep the raft together. 

I survey the teams working from a nearby bridge. 

Paddling towards the scrolls!

Staying dry was a challenge!

And in case you'd still like an idea of what kind of experience these kids were having, here's a quick video clip. My job is entertaining on a day-to-day basis, but events like these stand out.

The day ended with the long-awaited trip to the Chiang Mai night market, full of art, clothes, souvenirs, food. Thai markets are the best I've seen in Asia. Who knows? Maybe I will bring you a souvenir from here...

My co-chaperone shows off her market spoils!

Day 3: Market and Elephant Nature Park

Our next day began with a road trip out to the Elephant Nature Park. It is a ways outside of town, so we stopped at a local market on the way. 

Thai desserts

Lots of snacks!

Chilies and spices.

Why are there pink and green eggs? I don't know, but they are pretty. 

A variety of insects... want to try?

After a long morning drive, we arrived to the Elephant Nature Park. This is an amazing spot and the owner really cares about the elephants and has invested a lot (time, energy, money) into creating this space for the animals. You can stay and volunteer at the park, or at the nearby cat and dog shelter. If you are looking for a place to live and volunteer for awhile, either of these would be wonderful options!

We received a lot of information about the elephants at the park and most are there because of injuries from humans. The park has only one rule - they don't use the traditional hook when caring for the elephants. 

Feeding the elephants!

Does it look like she is waving?

Our next stop was the river, where, yes, we got to bathe the elephants!

View of the park from the restaurant.

Group pic by the river.

Mama and baby

We returned back to a Thai arts and crafts lesson.

Painting umbrellas

Decorating paper lanterns

Evening Muay Thai lesson

Days 4-5: Biking, Kayaking and Boat House
Our next day began with a bike ride through the Thai countryside. We rode by farms, small houses and out to the edge of a national park. It was beautiful! I don't have more pictures to share because I'm not very good at biking and doing another activity, like snapping shots, at the same time.

Biking to the lake

Temple rest stop

Resting and lunch by the lake

Beginning our kayak journey!

It took about two hours of rowing to get to the boat house inn. We stopped to jump out of the boats and swim and cool off. Unfortunately, one of the students lost his Go Pro camera... But, we all made it to the small hotel and restaurant where we would stay the night. We jumped off of the diving boards, swam, ate a homemade Thai meal and played games before calling it an early night.

View from the boathouse

Playing at the boat house

Sunrise

After a short motor boat trip out of the park, we traveled to a small village to participate in community service. We worked to continue building a new school building. The students worked diligently, kept great attitudes despite the hot conditions and hard work. 

The new school will have four rooms.

Mixing cement

Slow, but steady, progress

Group shot at the end of our workday 

After we returned to campus, we had a short break to rest and clean up. Unbelievably, it was already time for our last night's activities! We had a special Thai dinner, followed by dancing, music and fire-blowing! The highlight for the students was releasing the lanterns that they had previously constructed. 

Traditional Thai dancing and music

More dancers

Fire throwing...

And fire-blowing!

Countdown to lantern release

Watching it float away

Are you thinking what I was thinking? As the daughter and sister of wildland firefighters, I wondered, "Isn't this a fire hazard?" I asked our group leader and he explained that when the lanterns burn out they are very high above ground and that any flame is completely extinguished by the time they return to earth. 

Day 6: Goodbye

Our last day was a travel day back to Yangon. The kids were sad for their adventure to end, but we were happy to return them to their awaiting parents upon arrival. 

What I'm reading: I just finished Tina Fey's Bossypants (Yes, laugh out loud funny!) and The Great Gatsby (I'm not sure how I got through high school English without reading that one... but I did!).

Where I'm typing: I'm finishing this post in Hong Kong - I have a long layover on my way back to Yangon from Taipei! Yay for great fast free wifi!