Summa Summa Summa Time

                                          

At the end of June, Jeff and I made the long trek back to the USA. We flew from Phnom Penh on a late night flight, through Korea, and on to JFK. When we landed at JFK we just stood there, clearly in the way of other people, but unable to move for the beauty of it all. The people. The colors. The food! After getting our bearings, we shuffled off to the side and made a game plan. There was no time to spare. We still needed to get through security and onto our JetBlue (my favorite!) flight to Boston. There were so many dining options and such little time, but we quickly made up our mind that a quality sandwich was what we had missed most. There was an actual Boar's Head deli counter where they would make to order any sort of sandwich you desired. And desire we did. Within fifteen minutes we were grinning like two little school children who had just tattled on the mean kid in class. We had cold Diet Coke, we had two delicious sandwiches to share and we had potato salad. Heaven. We couldn't even wait until we boarded -- we ate them at the gate.

As we got in line to clear security, I checked my Facebook for the first time since leaving PP. I gasped as I read the news that my Mom and my step-father, Tom had gotten a call (not their first) from the Cleveland Clinic and were on their way to get a pancreas. What?! I immediately texted my sister to confirm and she told me that unfortunately, they drove 99% of the way there (about three hours) before receiving a call telling them the organ was not viable and turning around. Brutal. But since Tom is one of the most upbeat people ever when it comes to such crushing defeats, I did not let it dim my newly-arrived-home light.

After an hour-long flight to Boston, during which I fell in love with the MTV show Girl Code (side note: I would typically be embarrassed to admit I gave that channel more than a glance, but this shit is GOOD), we landed in Boston. Even after the travel we had just experienced, we were feeling good; the potato salad didn't hurt either.

We then proceeded to launch ourselves into 43 days of whirlwind travel, up and down the East coast, with our home base being Boston. Here are some highlights.

1. Buffalo. After about five days spent relaxing and reconnecting with friends in Boston, I left early on a Sunday for Buffalo. Jeff planned to fly in to meet me Tuesday night and we were going to spend the week of the Fourth of July with my family. My sister and her husband flew in from San Fran, and both of my brothers were home, albeit working a lot (and generally behaving as handsome, young males in their early 20s do). Little did I know that my dear boyfriend had designs to turn the week into more of a party by proposing at 9am the day after he landed. Woo! So, I left Boston a (theoretically) single lady and three days later was saying yes to a very emotional and authentically-Jeff marriage proposal. He had respectfully filled in my entire family before asking, and it was a great chance for us all to be together to celebrate. I had thought that we were going to wait until the following summer when we would potentially be finished living abroad, but he had other plans. That night we kept the news a surprise and were able to get some pretty good reactions from people as we slowly spread the news. At this point there are no serious plans on a wedding as we first need to figure out what next year will look like. Our party line is that we are taking our time, enjoying being engaged, and will let everyone know when we have decided something.

It was a great time to spend with family, of which I have plenty. I also got to see my nephew, Theo, for the first time in a year. He will be two in August and is absolutely adorable. He is also quite clever and very sweet. One of the things I regret most is not being around for his babyhood, but the time we had together was great. 

2. D.C. - After a week in the Buff, I flew directly down to Washington, D.C. where I spent a lot of time with Lindsay, one of my best friends from college (and future bridesmaid -- what what!). The main purpose of my visit was to attend a conference/training on a language program called SIOP, which I am going to be implementing at Liger this year. Collectively, we made the decision to transition from translation-based learning to English immersion, which basically means we are no longer going to teach content by having our Cambodian TAs translate. Instead, SIOP planning and strategies are going to support our students' language development in lieu of having content translated. Stopping translation is a pretty contentious topic among schools in general, and even among our small staff, but we have faith (as well as a lot of logical, reliable data from last year) that our students will rise to the challenge. Furthermore, we are not going to a black and white system where there is absolutely no translation allowed or any sort of punishment for speaking Khmer. We are instead going to use common sense to determine when and where the use of Khmer is appropriate. Learning English has to be our first priority if we want these kids to be competitive with same-age peers for college acceptance in 6-8 years. Anyway, the conference was fabulous and I learned a lot, despite being the youngest teacher there with the least amount of experience with SIOP. I made some good connections with other participants and had a good time. It was also nice to catch up with D.C.-based friends (Lion Pup) and I am sure Jeff enjoyed the time in Boston by himself, post engagement whirlwind.

3. South Carolina. For those of you who know me, I am sure that you have heard a lot about Pawley's Island and the family reunion that we have there every year. When my grandparents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary, my Mom's nine brothers and sisters contacted each other and set up a reunion. I had just turned eight years old. Our family at the time numbered around 30. We lived in Canada, Buffalo, New York City, Florida, New Jersey, California and Chicago. We didn't get to celebrate holidays together because we were so spread out and because no one's house could really hold us all, and so, Pawley's Island began.

18 years later, Grandma and Grandpa are celebrating 67 years as a couple, and in Grandpa's heart-wrenching words, "are going to try and hang in there as long as we can." We know how rare and special this type of family gathering is, and this year was no exception. Seriously though, how cute are they?
                                 

This was Jeff's first year attending, so we were able to celebrate our engagement with everyone. We also celebrated the engagement of my cousin Dan to his boyfriend Josh, the high school graduations of my cousins Chelsea, Timmy and Oona, the birth of five-month-old Rowan, my uncle Paul's donation of his kidney to Tom earlier this year, and the college graduation/acceptance to med school of my cousin Meaghan, who unfortunately couldn't attend. Even with that extensive list, I am probably forgetting something else monumental in the life of one of my family members. Sometimes its hard to keep track with so many people! This year we numbered 69 total, overtaking six different houses on the small island. Jeff and I were only there for four days out of the week, but it was absolutely amazing. I don't think I have ever been so proud to introduce Jeff around, knowing that everyone he met means so much to me and has had a hand in making me who I am.

Grandpa, with the five girls of 1999

The Ten and Grandpa (Daws is there in spirit): Mom, Jerry, Kathy, Timmy, Terry, Susie, Andrew, Meg and Tom

4. Speaking of the kidney donation, shortly after Jeff and I left Buffalo, Cleveland called again and this time the pancreas transplant actually happened. Tom and Mom only spent six days total at the Clinic before being sent home. Medical miracles do happen and Tom has now experienced more than his fair share. The patient is at home and doing well, although unfortunately he had to miss Pawley's.

Doesn't it look like he chose the leopard print scrubs? So handsome post-surgery!

Overall it was an absolute blast of a summer. At times we sort of felt like drifters, unattached to a house of our own, lacking a car, not working, etc.. Jeff's parents/brother and my best friend Bridget (another future bridesmaid -- this part is so fun!!) were our main hosts, and all were incredibly helpful in arranging things so that we could get around and see everyone. Now we are back in business, with school starting Monday. Unbelievable, but so exciting!

Last year we accomplished A LOT. We established that the students we have are not the students we expected when we took the job (gifted), but are teeming with curiosity, adapting to daily challenges with a smile and astonishing us with their developing personalities and intelligence every day. This is a group of kids that I doubt I will ever be able to match or even come close to if I were to teach in a different place every year until I retire. Their enthusiasm, wit and sheer happiness is unparalleled. Even when I have had a zero day on a scale of ten, there is undoubtedly a story that Jeff can tell me about one of the kids that can make me smile. They are like our fifty new best friends and what I am going to say next is going to sound cheesy and trite, but we absolutely DELIGHT in them. They are why we returned. They are what drive us. We are so excited for this second year with them.

More to come on observations about being home and Italy!

Alphabet of Emotions

Cambodia has stolen our hearts? No...

We have fallen in love with Cambodia? Sounds lame.

Cambodia, we love you!? Mehhh..

It is so hard to put into words the way I feel about this country now that the first year has come to an end. Nothing I say could adequately express all the nuances and layers of this experience.

Let me try to explain.

First of all, Cambodia is dirty. On the whole and in general, it is a dirty place. The streets are dusty and there are piles of trash on many a street corner. Often, out towards our house, farther from the city, said trash is lit on fire. On the flip side, in the city, there are people searching through these garbage piles with headlamps on, looking for anything salvageable. There are men urinating in public constantly, just on the wall or on a tree, making me wish I had a blow dart kit with me at all times.

Cambodian streets are unsafe. There are potholes, deep puddles marked only by a reflective CD (yeah, they are creative...), random trash, a million dogs and this is not to mention the traffic. There are limited to no traffic rules that locals consistently obey other than 'try and avoid the cops,' who stand en masse around corners, trying to pull you over and weasel two bucks from you. I would wager that 80% of the people on motos are without helmets, and often they are accompanied by three to five family members, a propane tank, a newborn infant attached to an IV and a live rooster. Mom also has a bag of cucumbers on her head.

Cambodia has poor customer service. What is on their menu is not actually what they have.

Episode one: "I'll have the Caesar salad." "Sorry...we are out of that." "Out of salad? Why don't you tell me specifically which ingredients you are out of and we can try and make this work." (awkward smile) "We are out."

Episode two: "Can I please have the burger with onion rings instead of fries?" "Onion rings?" "Yes, onion rings. Can you do?" "Yes." (ten minutes later, a burger and fries arrives)

Episode three: "Three mojitos please!" (waiter brings over indistinguishable light brown drinks with chunks of some sort of citrus floating in it)

Then there is the fact that Cambodia smells. There is the smell of bright yellow, homemade-recipe gasoline on the side of the road, sold in old, glass Coke bottles. There is the smell of the fish and shrimp paste factory down the road (we often take bets on how much someone would have to pay us to live in this area). There is the smell of trash fires. Dogs. Wet dogs. There is the smell of the many different food vendors selling their wares on the side of the road. And don't forget the smell of the fish market where live fish are clubbed over the head fresh to order!

Cambodia's weather is brutal. It is either stiflingly, all-consumingly HOT, or it is stifling, all-consumingly HOT and RAINY. The roads flood. The power goes off and on.

There are animals and bugs everywhere. I had a large lizard, longer than your hand, crawl across the ceiling and then poop on my bed. ON MY BED. Day in the life. You walk across the room at night to use the bathroom just praying that the huge brown spider you saw earlier is tucked away somewhere for a snooze and not scuttling at top speed toward your toes. Mosquitos. Frogs that chorus louder than the Rolling Stones, keeping you up. Roosters crowing at all hours. Trucks of pigs oinking by.

This is not to mention the absurdly loud music and Buddhist chants that are played over loudspeakers for the entire village to hear whenever there is a wedding or funeral. Which there seems to be one of every few days in our part of town.

Oh, and the main dish here in this obscenely hot country? HOT SOUP. Enough said.

So. Wanna come visit?!

But my point is that despite all this, despite the newness and the challenges, the smells and the wet jeans. Despite dripping sweat from all parts of your body on the two minute walk to work, I love it. I love that gasoline smell and the fish market. I love the policeman who is stationed right outside that fish market with the biggest smile you've ever seen, waving people by with a baton in the heat. I love the little man with one regular leg and one half a leg farther down our major road who occupies that same role, simply because he enjoys it and not because he gets paid. I love crossing over the Monivong Bridge from our side of town and looking down at the water (brown on its best day), with the whole city in front of us. I love the annoying call of "tuk-tuk? tuk-tuk?" no matter where I walk in the city. I love the restaurants with heavily-adjectived names (Lucky Bright Restaurant). I love seeing the reject tee-shirts from the factories that everyone wears with English sentences that barely make sense. Once I saw a shirt with just an eagle and a muffin on it. One of my students wore a "name brand" Abibas shirt to school.

Just as with everything, you adapt, you figure things out and you succeed. We have succeeded in finding things to love in every part of this stupid place. And we are happy to return for another year.

Sushi Conveyor Belts and Ramen Galore

This is not a food blog, but I love food. And Japan really knows their food. From the start, we were excited simply by the idea that we would have access to former favorites including Starbucks, McDonalds and Subway. But that was just the beginning, evidenced by the fact that out of those three we only made it to Starbucks (twice).

Beer:

This is a sore spot for us, as Jeff and I are both lovers of good beer. I would never turn my nose up at a Blue Light of course, but give me a delicious IPA any day. In Cambodia, the beer choices are limited to the lukewarm, watery cousins of Miller Light and PBR. Japan, on the other hand, offered us a glimpse of our old, hoppy, flavorful, cold, beer-drinking lifestyle. They have a decent number of craft breweries and we went to three different craft beer bars. Despite the steep prices (about $9/beer), it was well worth it for those tastes that we have craved for ten months. Lower Depths, watch out. We arrive home in less than a month and we are coming for you...

                              

Snacks:

Rice balls covered with tempura flakes, seaweed and sauce. Steamed pork buns. Green tea Kit-Kats. Turkish gyros. Pork and veggie gyoza. Baby octopus on a stick with dipping sauce. Vanilla soft serve smothered in yuzu honey. You name it, it was plentiful. And indulge, we did.

Pork buns and tea in the geisha district of Kyoto.

Weird looking, but surprisingly delicious fish-ball in Tokyo.

Sushi:

Every student I have taught in the past five years has known with certainty my favorite food: sushi. It is one of those questions that you eventually get to when teaching elementary school. At first, sushi was the primary reason why I was so excited to go to Japan (I know, I should be ashamed). Upon arrival, we found that their sushi was mostly just a piece of raw fish served over rice, instead of the variety of sushi rolls (maki) that I am used to. However, the fish was so fresh that it was just as good, if not better. 

Our favorite sushi-eating experience occurred in Tokyo. We had paused on a street corner near an incredibly busy section of the city, known as the Times Square of Tokyo (or maybe we just called it that), and were perusing our map, trying to locate a sushi place from our guidebook. A Japanese man in a crisp suit, briefcase in hand, stopped and asked if he could help. Seconds before he looked like he was rushing to a meeting, I swear, but in Japan the most unlikely-looking people stop and help all the time. He was unable to point us to our desired restaurant, but did us one better and suggested his own personal favorite, about three blocks away. What we arrived at minutes later was an actual sushi conveyor belt (pictured below). Dreams come true people, dreams come true. We sat at the bar and as the plates came by, grabbed whatever we wanted. In the end, the cost was determined by the number and type of empty plates we accumulated. Horse meat was on the menu, but we didn't try it. We each had six or eight dishes and came in at right around $8/person. It was such a cool experience. 

Fast food:

Even Japanese "fast food" is delicious. Their manner of ordering involves entering money into something that looks like a slot machine, choosing your menu item by pressing the correct keys and then handing a welcoming, smiling waitress the ticket that emerges. You then choose a seat and your piping hot meal arrives within seven minutes. Since Japan is pretty expensive, especially compared to Cambodia, we tried to budget on lunches to save money. We ended up at a few chain restaurants and were more than pleasantly surprised each time. From their steaming bowls of veggies and thick noodles with broth, to their roasted pork fillets over sweet rice with a side of soba (pictured below), we ended up full and happy for less than ten bucks. (And as you can see, the portions were almost always big enough that we couldn't finish everything.)

Japan, I miss you. Sushi, we will meet again soon.

Japan 2013: They Really Thought of Everything

Flashback to my last post: I was writing from the hallway outside our hotel room in Kyoto, Japan, mid-way through the most amazing, food-filled, beautiful, cultural, fun trip we have ever been on.

Now let me introduce you to today.

Wednesday, May 15, 2013.

Thirteen more school days.
Two more planning days before the technical end of the year.
Four weeks into our "plan for next year" bootcamp, run efficiently and passionately by our fabulous new captain, Mr. Jeff.

Today alone we spent roughly five and a half hours (for the second Wednesday in a row) planning for next year.

Let's just say next year is going to be a gecko of a different color (ha, sorry, that was bad). But before I get into that, which I am sure will expand into a candid and emotional reflection on this whole year, let's dig into Japan.

We had the best time. It is an incredibly easy country in which to travel, due much in part to its fabulously clean, efficient and expansive public transportation system. Coming from Cambodia, where the only "public" transportation is tuk-tuks and moto-bikes for hire, it was a welcome relief. Additionally, the Japanese have thought of everything. And I mean everything. Their entire country, or what we saw of it (three cities of varying size), was neat and clean, organized and clear. There were people at every wrong turn to give us directions, offer their advice on a great local restaurant or walk us 12 blocks to the bar we couldn't find (not a joke). They used maps, their phones, other people...whatever it took; these strangers went out of their way to make sure that we had a positive experience traveling in their country. And we did.

I could go into extreme detail, as I am prone to do, but I am going to play it differently this time. And that is all thanks to Nica, our little, tiny, budding photographer. Her eye for beauty coupled with her high-powered camera were all we needed to document our trip.

I shall, however, split the trip into three major areas: beauty, food and weird. First, I give you beauty, of both the natural and cultural kind, in no apparent order.

Enjoy.

This was in Tokyo, and one of the first gorgeous spaces that we visited. We walked and walked and then there it was, right in the middle of the city.

Cherry blossoms! One of the reasons we were so excited to visit Japan in the spring was to experience the cherry blossoms. Although the weather was unseasonably cold (especially for us, having come from temperatures that don't dip below 85), we managed to find some really beautiful trees.

This was part of an extensive garden, which was created for members of the royal family long ago.

Before entering certain temples, we had to ceremonially wash our hands and mouths. One of them offered these dippers to help with the task. Keyword: ZEN.

                                                       Kyoto. The view from our hotel.

                The geisha district in Kyoto. Cobblestoned streets and real geishas. So effing cool.

                                                                The Bamboo Forest.

This is not a postcard. It's right on the edge of a perfect gurgling river, and it was a beautiful day for a picnic in the sun. Minus the rocky ground.

                                                  We win awards with those smiles...

                                                               Oh, hello Mt. Fuji.

                                                               Lake Kawaguchiko.

Stay tuned for food and weird.

Is it April already?

I want to start by saying that I have exponential thoughts in my head and feelings in my heart related to the bombings in Boston, and while I typically express these things through writing, I do not feel that this is the appropriate platform to do so. All I want to note for now is that hearing the news about our city while half a world away was shocking, sickening and deeply saddening; it made us feel isolated and helpless, missing our families, our friends and our home more than ever before. It will be a very happy day when we land back in Boston, and thankfully that day is just over two months away.

_________________________________________________________________________________

The last time I posted was January 30th. I sat down to write many times since then, but it didn't feel like I had much to say. The months of February and March were speckled with weekend getaways (Jeff's birthday beach weekend in Sihanoukville) and fun nights out, but for the most part consisted of the necessary meat and potatoes of every teacher's year. Those long, uninterrupted weeks after Christmas and before spring turns to summer when you begin to hit your stride with curriculum. The time when you look at your kids and say, "Okay guys, it's time to get down to business." And in our case, after requiring six months just to get our feet under us, it was time to dig into everything we needed and wanted to teach our students. Anyway, below are some pertinent updates related to Liger specifically, as well our general life from the past two months.

Liger News:

-Robert, our school director, and the person who interviewed and hired us in Boston, announced shortly before Christmas that he will not be returning next year. While it was initially a shock, especially because it was not yet public knowledge (parents, students, other staff members), I have come to see it as a positive move both for the school and for Robert and his family. The majority of Robert's previous experience has been in much larger school settings. He anticipated that his position with Liger would involve recruiting staff and students in Cambodia, before moving on to do the same at the next Liger Learning Center. At this point, the location of and timeframe for LLC #2 has been put on pause while we look for other possible investors; therefore, Robert does not have a second school to jumpstart. He has decided to take a job in Singapore next year, which means he will still be close enough to visit.

-Along with Robert, we will also be losing two teachers and one intern next year. Nica, our best friend here, is returning to the states to take a teaching job in the D.C. Public Schools. She has serious aspirations to affect change in educational public policy, and sees this location as being the most beneficial to her career; having grown up in Virginia, it will also allow her to be closer to family and friends (Jeff and I acted as both family and friends for her this year -- she was our Little Baby Nica. Ha, Nica, I hope you're reading this.)

-Telling the students about the upcoming departure of a third of our teaching staff, a third of our intern staff and Robert was not easy. The relationships that these students develop are so intense and trusting that it felt like we were somehow betraying them. It was hard to remember their strength and resiliency based on their challenging life experiences. In the end there were a lot of tears (adults and kids both), but we handled it as best we could, ensuring that the news was delivered entirely in Khmer before people began speaking personally in English to avoid any sort of information lapse between our more proficient English speakers and those who still struggle.

-The day after we delivered the sad news, the students participated in their second football (soccer) game against two other schools. It was the first game ever for our girl's team, and apparently the first girl's football games ever played among the international schools in PP. It was such an amazing event, covering three fields, with our entire staff present to cheer them on. And we actually scored a lot of goals! Additionally, Trevor, Agnieszka, and Joanna were visiting, which only compounded the excitement and overall celebratory atmosphere.

-Liger has hired a Head Teacher named Jeff. He has an exemplary resume and comes, most recently, from Robert's last school -- the Western Academy of Beijing. His job will be half administrative and half teaching. He arrived in PP the first week of April to begin looking for an apartment, etc. and will start full-time after the holiday. I am beyond excited to begin next year with new leadership, especially in the areas of curriculum development, assessment, consistency and connection across subject areas and accountability.

-Trevor has invited all the returning staff to his home in San Guistino, Italy for a beginning of the year staff retreat/planning session. This means that when we leave the U.S. at the end of our visit, we are only facing an 8-hour flight to Italy instead of a 24-hour one to Cambodia. Woo! We will only be there for three or four days before flying back to Phnom Penh as a staff and it is going to add some travel, but should be great.

-The Friday before our holiday, Liger hosted almost 150 family members for its inaugural Family Day. It turned out to be an absolutely amazing day, beginning with a student-led assembly and ending with student performances, including original songs played on the guitar, a hip-hop dance, a gymnastics routine and an authentic Khmer dance routine. The morning and afternoon sessions allowed each teacher to speak to the parents about their subject area before turning it over to the students to show their families what they have learned. There were so many high points to the day, but the best part for me was sitting in our huge, domed sports court first thing in the morning and watching each family arrive and walk down the path toward us. As soon as they got close enough for their faces to be discerned, the child whose family it was shot up, dashed down the length of the court, slipped through the door and bounded down the path to meet their family. It is not common for Cambodian parents and children to embrace, but rather bow with palms pressed together, but the love, pride and excitement was palpable. And when it came to younger brothers and sisters -- forget it -- the embraces were long and bouncy and amazing to watch. In the moment I likened it to watching kids win the lottery...

Dalin with her mother, brother (behind her), cousin (middle) and half-sister.

Sreyleap and Thiny before the morning assembly.

Vornsar and her little sister, who made herself the star of the show whenever there was a crowd.

Sreynith and her little sister. Can you tell?

Families waiting on the sports court.

Other news:

-In March, Jeff and I went to the Sofitel, one of the two five-star hotels in PP, for a five course meal prepared by a visiting Michelin star Italian chef. We had never been to the hotel itself, and it was like stepping into another world, very opulent, cold, clean, etc. The Swiss restaurant manager/hotel sommelier took care of us as the place was mostly empty and we ended up exchanging info to meet up at some point for drinks as he has only been here two months and doesn't really know anyone. Not a bad friend to have...

-I trick myself into thinking that I miss the cold weather and the snow (days) when I see it all over everyone's Facebook, but the reality is that its such a pain and lasts so long, I really don't. Although to counter what you all have experienced, we are in the belly of hell, a la "hot season," which is really a joke because it's been hot season for us ever since we arrived. Recently, however, we are talking about consistent temps right around 100. At one point I wasn't feeling well (circa 8:30pm), and when I took the thermometer out to take my temperature it registered the temp of the room. Yes, it was so hot in my apartment that the thermometer thought it was in my mouth....

-I am writing from our hotel in Tokyo on our penultimate day here. We flew into Tokyo (along with Nica) and spent two nights before taking the train to Kyoto for four nights; from there we trained to the Mount Fuji area where we stayed in a traditional Japanese Ryokan hotel for two nights. This morning we returned to Tokyo. We have one more full day here tomorrow before heading back to PP. More about the trip to come. And this time it won't take two months, I promise.