Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Finding Nemo
After three days of lessons I can now officially say that I am a certified scuba diver. The experience has been like nothing else, 5 dives over two days in some of the most beautiful sites in the world. Among thousands of unidentifiable yet incredibly beautiful fish we also spotted several large moray eels, a huge barracuda, some lobster, flying fish, and, my personal favorite, a lazy sea turtle. After today's three dives I can still feel the rock of the boat and water, but it was all worth it. The underwater visibility was about 15 meters, and we spent time about 18 meters under. Exhilarating!
Adventures
Kata Beach, Phuket, Thailand:
For what it's worth, I'll quote here from an email that I sent earlier to the fam.
Before I start this story, please know there is nothing to worry about. We were woken in the middle of the night by me getting a very painful bite on my leg. We ripped the sheets off the bed to find a dime sized bug running away. Imagine my horror! We spent the next hour (at four am) trying to find it as I freaked out. We ripped the entire room apart (including lifting off the mattress) but we think it ran under the door frame. Other than the immediate fear that I was going to die we watched me closely. No bite mark, no swelling, no rash, no feeling funny. We also did internet research AND talked to our dive instructor ( a Thailand resident of 12 years) and he said there was nothing dangerous fitting this description and that the only dangerous bugs here we would definitely KNOW by swelling/rash. So, after a sleepless night we are the proud inhabitants of a room at a new hotel. Let me repeat that I am better than fine. It's funny looking back because we were both half asleep shaking out sheets and blankets with sandals raised above our heads, ready to attack and yet scaring each other with jumps at every piece of paper or dust that fluttered in the fan's breeze.
Such is life in South East Asia.
For what it's worth, I'll quote here from an email that I sent earlier to the fam.
Before I start this story, please know there is nothing to worry about. We were woken in the middle of the night by me getting a very painful bite on my leg. We ripped the sheets off the bed to find a dime sized bug running away. Imagine my horror! We spent the next hour (at four am) trying to find it as I freaked out. We ripped the entire room apart (including lifting off the mattress) but we think it ran under the door frame. Other than the immediate fear that I was going to die we watched me closely. No bite mark, no swelling, no rash, no feeling funny. We also did internet research AND talked to our dive instructor ( a Thailand resident of 12 years) and he said there was nothing dangerous fitting this description and that the only dangerous bugs here we would definitely KNOW by swelling/rash. So, after a sleepless night we are the proud inhabitants of a room at a new hotel. Let me repeat that I am better than fine. It's funny looking back because we were both half asleep shaking out sheets and blankets with sandals raised above our heads, ready to attack and yet scaring each other with jumps at every piece of paper or dust that fluttered in the fan's breeze.
Such is life in South East Asia.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Worth It
Siem Reap, Cambodia-
The road here was just as bad as all the travel authorities said it was: across the Cambodian border from Thailand the highway begins as deceptively smooth asphalt and degenerates into red dust pock-marked with craters and hundreds of incomplete bridges that require short detours of the bumpier persuasion. We did it in a share-taxi from the border and I can not imagine doing in a large (and more expensive) bus, as many get scammed into. Despite its unabashed dilapidation, the views from either side of our car were stunning. The red dust, blue sky and green-brown vegetation projected stretched for miles, at times seeming desolate, others having a quiet dignity.
In the morning we departed for the Angkor Wat temple complex. I have nothing really to say on the matter other than wow, and that you should do it yourself. There are dozens of temples, and even with our own tuk-tuk driver taking us around and a very ambitious plan there was still much we could have enjoyed. For the most part, I'll let the pictures speak for themselves, although, as usual, they do not do anything justice. I will point out that in the midst of spectacular views, I got to feed a couple of elephants, and let me tell you, it was amazing.
The road here was just as bad as all the travel authorities said it was: across the Cambodian border from Thailand the highway begins as deceptively smooth asphalt and degenerates into red dust pock-marked with craters and hundreds of incomplete bridges that require short detours of the bumpier persuasion. We did it in a share-taxi from the border and I can not imagine doing in a large (and more expensive) bus, as many get scammed into. Despite its unabashed dilapidation, the views from either side of our car were stunning. The red dust, blue sky and green-brown vegetation projected stretched for miles, at times seeming desolate, others having a quiet dignity.
In the morning we departed for the Angkor Wat temple complex. I have nothing really to say on the matter other than wow, and that you should do it yourself. There are dozens of temples, and even with our own tuk-tuk driver taking us around and a very ambitious plan there was still much we could have enjoyed. For the most part, I'll let the pictures speak for themselves, although, as usual, they do not do anything justice. I will point out that in the midst of spectacular views, I got to feed a couple of elephants, and let me tell you, it was amazing.
The view of Angkor Wat from outside the moat.
I know it looks fake but I swear it isn't.
The entrance to Angkor Thom
I'm thinking of getting one
There are so many hundreds more pictures, but I guess you'll have to wait for more of them.
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
Proud to be an American
Today I didnt leave the house a single time and I spent the entire day in stretch pants. It is Monday. I am also classy.
Ok, ok, it is true that Kristen, my sister slash wardrobe designer, refers to them as "leggings" (fact #1: the tag labels them 94% cotton), however, this does not mean that there is any centimeter of breathing space between them and my flesh. What I mean is that I feel every square inch of my badonkadonk flapping in the frigid MI breeze (fact #2: the other 6% is made of something called elastane. I have no idea what that is, but I bet I could find a lot of it at Wal-Mart. (fact #3: bending to see the fiber blend via tag of said leggings without removing them was neither a comfortable nor proud moment)).
Regardless, as I am at least temporarily unemployed I have decided to commiserate with so many of my fellow Mid-West Americans and embrace our situation to its fullest. This means a lot of Budwiser, double chins, and, of course, stretch pants. And here you thought Asia would change me!
Seriously though, I'm the same as always: fashion excludes me and travel excites me. With this in mind, check back for updates of vacation insight from South East Asia and then the big transition to life in France.
The latest hijinks begin January 14-ish. (ish in this case signifying that there may be a slight delay due to 24+ hours of travel time)
Happy 2009! (Especially you Mom, as I think you are the only one that still reads this)
Ok, ok, it is true that Kristen, my sister slash wardrobe designer, refers to them as "leggings" (fact #1: the tag labels them 94% cotton), however, this does not mean that there is any centimeter of breathing space between them and my flesh. What I mean is that I feel every square inch of my badonkadonk flapping in the frigid MI breeze (fact #2: the other 6% is made of something called elastane. I have no idea what that is, but I bet I could find a lot of it at Wal-Mart. (fact #3: bending to see the fiber blend via tag of said leggings without removing them was neither a comfortable nor proud moment)).
Regardless, as I am at least temporarily unemployed I have decided to commiserate with so many of my fellow Mid-West Americans and embrace our situation to its fullest. This means a lot of Budwiser, double chins, and, of course, stretch pants. And here you thought Asia would change me!
Seriously though, I'm the same as always: fashion excludes me and travel excites me. With this in mind, check back for updates of vacation insight from South East Asia and then the big transition to life in France.
The latest hijinks begin January 14-ish. (ish in this case signifying that there may be a slight delay due to 24+ hours of travel time)
Happy 2009! (Especially you Mom, as I think you are the only one that still reads this)
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Teachable Moments
I suppose that, as I am a teacher, my life should be filled with teachable moments, those tender and heartfelt exchanges of wisdom that are so often chronicled in after-school specials. Alas, after almost 15 months of teaching, I have realized that in some classes, especially upper-level reading skills, I should consider myself lucky if everyone stays awake. The program design for these classes leaves little room for conversation in the strict regiment of skill-practice-review-practice-review ad nausem. For example, yesterday's topic for the three-hour class was distinguishing between fact and opinion. An important ability, yet not something that's easy to get fifth and sixth graders excited about.
Yesterday, one class's perpetual quest to take us on a tangent (a practice I don't quite discourage) broached yet again the topic of the Presidential election. At first I had been surprised by the number of Barack Obama supporters among these Korean students. They are young and are likely to be getting their opinions from their parents, a group that I don't always find to be accepting of things considered "different". Initially, I had shied away from discussing my personal views with the students, thinking that they should be free to form their own opinions, however, I have since changed my mind. Korea is largely affected by what goes on in the US, and I now think that in my role as cultural liaison, that they should know how a real American thinks.
Anyway, despite overwhelming Obama support, one student mentioned, "He talks like a white person". Now, as far as diversity in Korea is concerned, I am the diversity. At least in Daejeon white Americans and Canadians make up the majority of the foreign population. There is a smattering of other races mixed in, especially around the universities, but not many that my students would encounter.
Suddenly, I found myself in Teachable Momentville. I would like to think that I handled the situation as responsibly as, say, Danny Tanner, although I would tend to think it was far less graceful. We deconstructed what it means to "talk white" or "talk black" or "talk Korean" and were actually (gasp!) able to relate it back to a fact/opinion discussion.
So anyway, I guess what they say is right about these moments. They do sneak up on you. They can't be planned and they are fleeting. It is also true that the news chatter in the states, the cries of "terrorist" or hints of racism have an effect that is greater than the election itself. They are not only working to the detriment of our own country, but also to that of a much greater reach.
Yesterday, one class's perpetual quest to take us on a tangent (a practice I don't quite discourage) broached yet again the topic of the Presidential election. At first I had been surprised by the number of Barack Obama supporters among these Korean students. They are young and are likely to be getting their opinions from their parents, a group that I don't always find to be accepting of things considered "different". Initially, I had shied away from discussing my personal views with the students, thinking that they should be free to form their own opinions, however, I have since changed my mind. Korea is largely affected by what goes on in the US, and I now think that in my role as cultural liaison, that they should know how a real American thinks.
Anyway, despite overwhelming Obama support, one student mentioned, "He talks like a white person". Now, as far as diversity in Korea is concerned, I am the diversity. At least in Daejeon white Americans and Canadians make up the majority of the foreign population. There is a smattering of other races mixed in, especially around the universities, but not many that my students would encounter.
Suddenly, I found myself in Teachable Momentville. I would like to think that I handled the situation as responsibly as, say, Danny Tanner, although I would tend to think it was far less graceful. We deconstructed what it means to "talk white" or "talk black" or "talk Korean" and were actually (gasp!) able to relate it back to a fact/opinion discussion.
So anyway, I guess what they say is right about these moments. They do sneak up on you. They can't be planned and they are fleeting. It is also true that the news chatter in the states, the cries of "terrorist" or hints of racism have an effect that is greater than the election itself. They are not only working to the detriment of our own country, but also to that of a much greater reach.
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