January 18th--New
Year- New Post- New Perspective
Where do I begin? As soon as school was out for the term I am
at my house packing for my trip back to the states (the fact that I am packing
the day of my trip will surprise some, but that’s just me). I do not have much to pack because I am
taking mostly gifts home and I have been packing them in my suitcase as I
purchased them. I carefully make of list
of what I have and for whom I made the purchase. It does not matter how much I
have- I still feel like I need more gifts. I throw in a few personal items, a
pair of jeans (I have not worn jeans much over here and find that the new ones
I purchased too small before I came, now fit beautifully- yay me), and the one
long-sleeve shirt I have and I am at 50 pounds in bag number one. Since I can have two pieces of
luggage, I go ahead and pack my carry-on to check and stow my electronics in my
Vera Bradley bag. With the flight at midnight, the airport is empty so getting
through is easy and I end up watching a soccer game on TV with the locals. I'm off! I watch
three movies, land for my Seoul layover, wait and I'm off again. My drug induced sleep is awesome and before I
know it I am in the city of my childhood hugging my best friend. (I will not write anymore about the airline food; I am so over it.
Within the first hour I
am visiting with another friend over lunch, catch up and head for the
house. Of course the first thing I do is
unpack and show Sandra my finds. I think
the cache of gifts is a hit and I am excited to get home and share the rest
with family. Of course we go out for Mexican food with a group and by the time
I get back to Sandra’s house I am told I was talking in tongues. Jet lag
finally gets the best of me. Twelve hours of sleep and we are off again doing "whatever you want."
Two days later, I have a
wonderful drive with Dylan (and Bentley- my cute little King Charles Caviler
who would not sop licking me) on the way home to Austin- oh how I missed this
wonderful young man. He is so nice to be
around- insightful, funny and just a breath of fresh air. We arrive home and I have plans to join two
friends an hour later for shopping Austin style- live music, beer, and handcrafted
goods from local artisans. I am about to cancel the excursion due to my late
arrival, but instead give Joshua a few “ideas” of what would make my homecoming
better (mopping and dusting), leave and come home to a fresh smelling abode. It
is good to be home.
I will sum up my visit
quickly- the movie theater six times (May I recommend Philomena? And I will just say Anchor
Man II was horrible), Mexican food six times (oh chips and creamy jalapeno how I have
missed you!), five different parties and lot and lots of warm hugs from
friends. People asked me what was the
best about being home and I will have to say, besides the obvious, I think
getting in my car, turning on the music and just driving to where I wanted to
go did not seem like a luxury before but now in retrospect, I guess it is. A comfortable bed is number two. What I wish I
were writing about is veg’ing out on the couch watching mindless TV, but there
is none of that. Ironically, Joshua in an attempt to save money disconnected
cable and the Internet. WHAT THE HELL???
I come from a country with sketchy service at best to a house with
nothing. I guess I am not to go back to
old habits (or spend a million dollars downloading stuff). No SYTYCD; No Grey’s Anatomy; No Parenthood.
Bummer. As i think back on this, we certainly got some quality time in while I was home.
My next favorite thing
was watching my nephew and niece open the gifts I got them. They were so
fascinated and it was like all my efforts in shopping were worth it- who am I
kidding- I love shopping.
Oh- and water
pressure. There’s nothing like a good
shower with the water beating down on you. I told Sandra it was a good thing I
was only at her house for two days or she would never get rid of me.
I must not forget my
wonderful hair consultant- Charlie at Carter T. Lund Salon. I think I spent more time with her than
anyone else. The second day after I got home I went in for about three hours
(cut, color and style) and then the day before I left she insisted on treating
me to a Brazillian Blowout. My hair has
never looked so good and perhaps it will be that way for a while since the
humidity is down for a few more weeks.
Packing my suitcases to
come back to Myanmar was a... trip. After
shopping sprees at Bath and Body Works and Target I had quit a few heavy items
(Rotel tomatoes, two big bottles of lotion, homemade Italian seasoning, spices,
corn tortillas, three bags of American candy for the students, flash lights,
thermos coffee mug, cool water bottle), so getting it all in and under 50
pounds was not happening. So I packed all the heavy stuff in my small bag
(managed to get 35 lbs. in there) and the rest in my huge bag. I say I but
really it was Sandra- Thank you! So I
figure one bag has 60 lbs. and one 35lbs- it will all even out. It does not work that way I learned, but at
the ticket counter I just smiled and used my powers of persuasion and walla- I
am home with it all.
New perspective: I will
say that in leaving my thoughts were off the charts. At times I would think, “I don’t have to go
back. If I never want to work in the
international arena anymore who would be the wiser?” Other times, I would think, “ As long as I
can see family and friends at Christmas and during the summer, I can do
anything for six months.” And then
reality would hit and I would say, “Tricia, you are having an amazing time,
seeing amazing people, teaching amazing kids- snap out of it.” The next day I walk the tarmac to the plane. It
ended up being easier to leave than I thought it would.
The good news is the
weather in Myanmar is great right now.
It is like autumn in Austin. It
is so funny to see the natives all bundled up- they think it is so cold (as
well as the teachers here who have zero body fat). I, on the other hand, love
it.
The bad news it's the
population of mesquites has increased. I
have asked the maintenance crew to install screens on the pipes that lead to
the outside and I think what they have done is now going to cause a drainage
problem which nullifies the whole screen because now the water drains so slowly
we have standing water. I think they call this, “Can’t win for losing.” The population has decreased indoors I have
noticed so perhaps it was a good idea.
I will say hanging out
with these younger people makes me laugh so much. To remember where I was in my twenties and to
recall some of my wild stories is fun. I be the person who can relate to their
stores and also be a sage at times is invigorating. To see the trials of their
dating woes (I have heard it is hard for the boys to get lucky since this
culture is so protective of their daughters).
The girls on the other hand have a cultural cornucopia (they tend not to
have names and are identified by country of origin- I guess this is one way to
see the world without ever leaving) from which to choose. Oh, to be in my
twenties again would be horrible. One observation is that there to be a double
standard and a dorm-like environment.
One would think the dating habits of grown adults would be a private
affair; however, it seems that the school has eyes and ears everywhere and more
than once I have heard of people being “called in” to discuss these private
matters. This is one strong reason to
stay in the house around the corner rather than in the apartments- although
there is nothing to report in my world-one can always hope.
Saturday, I am bored. I
put our four emails and end up at the zoo. Pictures ahead. I lost all my pictures from my Christmas, so
no pictures there (insert sad face here).
Many complaints are
going around the teacher apartments about the chanting of the monks. It is donation time so they chat continuously
for a few weeks-that's 24 hours a day. One of the monasteries is right next to the apartments. Jody and I live around the corner so we just
hear it in the background and it is quite soothing. I copied the following off one of the
teacher’s Facebook page (this teacher does not mind the noise):
The
Maha Patana Sutra is being recited by monks at the monastery on Thingangyun
Main Road, and for several days and nights now, the rhythms of a single voice
on loudspeaker resounds throughout the neighborhood and into the every room in
our apartment…and just what is this teaching of the Buddha? The "24
Conditions" - the 24 ways we are all related, or rather, the
interrelatedness of all things…this important truth in Buddhism is chanted over
and over in a beautiful way for an hour by one monk, and then another
immediately takes over and this continues night and day…the idea is that we
will be surrounded by this idea and knowing that because we are all related, or
that is everything is connected, no one will do anything bad to each other. Reason number two to stay in the big yellow
house next year.
This semester holds many
plans for me. I will go to Bangkok
twice- once for a workshop with the author of Book Love, Penny Kittle and once for the international EARCOS
convention; hopefully, I will get to see some of Bangkok since the first time I
was there was when I first arrived and I was wide-eyed and clueless. Next, I
will go to Inle Lake for Week Without
Walls with the whole eighth grade class.
I also have an April break where I will get out of Asia proper and spend
some quality time as a tourist.
That’s all for now--Off
to a birthday party and then perhaps some mischief. The young ones are bound and determined to
get me dancing.
Reflections so far/ new
perspectives for the New Year:
1.
For the last week I have
watch a man who is working in the weeds across the street from my house. He meticulously pulls the tall green weeds,
piles them up and then at the end of his session stacks and rolls them into a
ball. He then ties them up so that they can be carried on his back. My question is- where does he take them? Is he doing it to get rid of the weeds or to
have greens to feed farm animals? And…why this patch of weeds? It is so
interesting watching the habits of another culture. I constantly wonder. How great it is to open up that part of the
brain again. Like a child, I am hit with
new images, new sounds, and new tastes.
Like that same child, I am constantly asking questions of my students,
my co-workers and of my self. I think this quotation by William
Allen White
sums it all up, “ I have never been bored an hour in my
life. I get up every morning wondering what new strange glamorous thing is
going to happen and it happens at fairly regular intervals.” That is not to say I have never been bored
over here, but those moments are few and far between.
2.
At home in Austin I turned on my phone for the first time on
five months. It was so nice to be able
to call people and not worry about the lag time on Skype. I will say, however, that I forgot my phone
more times than I had it. How quickly,
we get out of habits. I know it was
frustrating for my kids, but for me it has somehow become normal not to cling
to the device.
3.
As long as I have the money to come home twice a year, I can
do this for a while. “Distance makes the heart grow fonder” is sometimes a
truism. It was so special the time that I had with friends and family. Sometimes,
I think we take these relationships for granted. I do not think I ever will again.
4.
Right before I came home, I got the news that my favorite
aunt had passed. Aunt Ada was a
character that made my life richer both as a child and as an adult. She spent
91 long years on this Earth and for the most part lived her life with
passion. I can only hope that in my old
age I am still as independent as she was because she was an inspiration.
5.
I am a dork! The
other night I was trying to download the Golden Globe Awards. I could not find one on You Tube that did not
send me the message, “This video is not available on your country”. Such a
disappointment. Then I found one. Pleased
with myself, I popped popcorn (yes, I brought back some fancy red kernels), and
sat down for an evening of mindless celebrity fun. I was 1.5 hours into the show when Jodie
Foster got some big award for her accomplishing career. Then it hit me; these
were the awards from last year- and I had already seen them. I think more embarrassing
than the fact that it took me so long to come to that conclusion was that I was
just laughing and enjoying my night even though all the jokes and awards were a
repeat for me. I hope I do not become
that person who repeats stories and who does not remember doing things. Age is
a double-edged sword.
6.
As I drive down the main rode to our houses we usually turn
left to go into town. To go to soccer
practice (yes if you have not heard I am the new assistant to the assistant
soccer coach), we turn right. As I peer
out the window, I see so many new sights. A whole other world exists. Last night the Yangon community awards
occurred. Of all the “Bests” I had not
been to very many. I think this
semester, I will mindfully explore what Myanmar has to offer and try not to
repeat my jaunts to eateries, cafes and bars. It is quickly that we seem to get
into habits.
