The making of the bread rolls. I can't explain how good they were.
Sunday, March 23, 2014
Pictures for the post
March
23- March Madness!
It
is Sunday after a party that Jody and I threw for ourselves since we share the
same birthday (weird huh?). I have just
watched Tom Hanks in BIG (I will
forever love this movie and laugh always at the mini-corn scene at the fancy
cocktail party) and thumbed through
an issue of Real Simple one of my
friends gave me as a gift—oh how I have missed sitting around Sunday morning
drinking coffee and reading a magazine! I
am moving a little slow and so thankful I have a housekeeper coming in on
Monday (and in exchange for the extra work- I can give her two days off this
week since we will be in Bangkok). I
made a dent in the damage after a couple of hours, but am thankful I do not
have to take out trash (I have yet to find where it goes) and wash dishes (no
dishwasher and limited counter space make this an arduous task) and you do not
even want to know what the kitchen floor looks like. All in all, I think it was a good party.
People came and went in waves, but all together there were about 50 people. I
will back up to yesterday and then discuss my trip to Malaysia.
So
Jody and have been sick off and on all week. She started Sunday and then it hit
me on Wednesday. She has a sinus infection and I have, well everything- fever,
stomachache and all that goes with that.
Needless to say, thinking about a party is not in our mind. So Friday we
both decide that antibiotics are in order. She walks up to the local pharmacy,
tells the pharmacists her symptoms and gets a prescription (scary it is so
easy!) and I find my pills my doctor gave me as a precaution for when I first
arrived and was trying to get use to the food and sanitation practices (or lack
there of). I go to sleep at 7 (or rather
I go to watch half of this season of The
Good Wife my friend downloaded for me (dang it was a great season!!) and
walla- the miracle of modern medicine prevails. I feel human again; Time to
grocery shop. I call my new friend, Mr.
My Mine, the taxi driver, and we go shopping. I think he is going to just wait
for me, but he parks and comes in and is a great help. From this I learn I should not buy chicken
from the store but rather call him and his wife can buy, clean and butcher a
chicken like no tomorrow much cheaper and fresher than the store. You might ask
why I am buying chicken- well… we have a grill and kabobs are on our party menu! Yes- BBQs are in our future. Of course it is
not like the “pull behind your F250 pick-up truck Texas pits”, but it is fine
for us. We finish shopping, unload and of course I invite my taxi driver and
his wife to the party (after they had been here awhile that night, he informs
me this is his wife’s first party).
And
we start making food. After about four
hours, Jody and I have made mango salsa, Ranch Dip and Ranch dill dip (made
with Greek yogurt), Roasted red pepper salsa, guacamole, bean dip, samosas
(bought), sushi (had delivered- 12 packages of 6 pieces for $12.00!!!), fruit
salad in a watermelon bowl, Kahlua cake, rosemary cashews, spicy crackers
(these did not really turn out because I have yet to find a cracker that does
not have s sweet taste), cheese and crackers (no cheese to be found so I
improvised and undid twelve laughing cow cheese triangles and called it a day).
Abdul came with beef for the kabobs and I had chicken marinating all day. Yummo
The
food, the music provided by Courtney “if I have to make the party playlist we
are dancing” Brainard, combined with the full bar and keg and a good corn-hole
toss game made for a fun evening. Between messages from afar and students and
new friends here, I had a great birthday week. Just two more hugs and it would
have been perfect. L
Malaysia: I do not know who I think I am. What I found out most from this trip is that I
do not like traveling alone. Ok- I said
it. I know it is suppose to be enlightening
and easy, but I found it daunting. The first day I lose several hours due to
plane delays. I guess you get what you
pay for is true, and I tried to go budget. The good news I spend my time in the
airport talking to some interesting people who had been traveling around
Myanmar; I love hearing their take on my home away from home. The first couple I speak to were lawyers
from Holland and then I meet a group who were from Canada. So interesting.
I
arrive in Kuala Lumpur around five (I think I lost and hour or two because of time
differences), go to my hotel, and just sink into the comfy bed. Then like any good woman, I head to the
six-story mall I have heard so much about.
Talk about culture shock. It is
so overwhelming that I do not even know what I need and leave empty handed-
well that is not true- I leave with this little piece of heaven bread thing
(pictures to follow), and some Famous Amos cookies (sweets in Myanmar are not
so hot). Back up- before leaving- I eat at a restaurant recommended and order
some Malaysian food. It is chicken curry, some pickled veggie salad that is
wonderful, a couple things I cannot describe and choose to leave behind and
some rice- always rice. I people watch as I eat (because dang it, I am not use
to eating alone and forget the “I am not alone, just busy” I pad security
blanket. Satisfied, I try to shop.
Defeated, I walk back to the hotel in the dark, on a secluded road clutching my
bag on my shoulder that is not close to the road because of all the warnings
around town about motorcycle purse snatchers- yes- I am a little scared and
yes, this is reason number two why I do not like traveling alone (reason number
one is eating at a restaurant and having the host say table for one and give
you the sad face look).
And
then I Skype- beautiful, non-garbled, no feedback, no “Can you hear me?” questions-
just easy conversation. I do not know if Malaysia is first world, second world
or third world, but for my technology limitations- and me it was my wonderful
world at the moment. I get to hear all about my friends seeing the Myanmar
band, Side Effects at their SXSW show. The band has an inspiring backstory and
worked hard to get to Texas. I am so glad to hear that my friends enjoyed the
show and were even asked to a private party at the home where the band was
staying. One has to love social media for reasons like this. Next on the agenda, is the wonderful two-spray shower I have looked forward to for months. All I will say to this is that someone needs
to tell these builders to pick a color and stick with it. Red should mean hot water and blue- cold
water. I wait for ten minutes for hot
water and end up taking a cold shower. I
get out and call, they send up maintenance and I am a fool for not being
patient enough when the knob was on blue because wonderful hot water comes
streaming out or the wall.
On
Saturday, I set out for the Bird Sanctuary, not because I love birds but rather
because I did not want to go to Kuala Lumpur and come back and say all I did
was stay in my luxurious hotel room and go to the mall (which really would have
been fine with me!). I try to negotiate a cab, let one go and then end up
paying a higher price. I am really not good at getting these taxi drivers to go
lower. I have been screwed several times
in this area of my “adventure”. Bird
pictures later. I thought about going to the Islamic National Museum, but
talked myself out of it (reason number three I do not like traveling alone- you
can talk yourself out of things easily), but instead tried to find the on-off
bus, but got a taxi instead and headed off to Central Market, a huge three
story “mall” of little shops with Malaysian crafts. I love my new friend the
taxi driver; from him I learned much. He drops me off, reminds me how to haggle
and I am off to find batik material or paintings.
A
crowd draws me over to what looks like a hot tub, only to discover it is a pond
of fish in which people put their feet. Upon closer observation, I find they
are not just cooling off, but rather getting a pedicure from the Doctor
fish. Peer pressure and my “damn, this
will be cool to write about” attitude gets me to sit on the edge, roll up my
leggings and plug in my feet. Well, the
whole mall probably heard me scream because I was not prepared for what
happened. These little fish surrounded my feet and started nibbling-and kept at
it until someone finally told me to move my feet around and they would back off
(yes- I wish they would have told me that sooner- or I wished my common sense
would have kicked in because it was much more enjoyable after that). I will say it was a bit embarrassing that so
many of them loved me- or my feet that is!
I
go into an Asian place to eat, see a girl alone, start to walk past and then
instead stopped to see if I could join her. It ended up being a pleasant lunch
with a very interesting girl from China who had just quit her job and was
traveling South East Asia. Now doing that (asking someone if I could join them) was something out of my comfort zone. I would not hesitate to ask someone to
I
continue shopping and I guess I am use to being overseas because my
shopping bug is dulling. I find some beautiful artwork that cost way more than
I want to spend (and a nice lady that after five hours of shopping tells me I
have my dress on inside out--reason number four I do not like traveling alone-
no one is there in the morning to stop things like this from happening). I
manage to find a few pieces of batik material but really am looking for
something bigger, so I give up and head out to the streets. It is hot-not Las Vegas dry heat hot, but
Louisiana humid drenches your clothes
hot and we all know how I love humidity!!!
So after a while of trying to locate the free around the city bus, I
duck into a McDonalds for the counterintuitive diet coke and French fries order
and sit down to cool off. I sit next to
two Muslim girls who have what looks like shopping bags of material and I ask
about a fabric store. I head out in
search of a bolt of pretty batik. And I
walk, and I walk and go in and out of stores in search of cotton, only to find
other material that I have no idea why it exists and even a harder time
understanding why woman who have to cover up so much choose such hot fabric. I
finally score and catch a taxi back to the hotel.
I
Skype again, shower again and head down to see what the
hotel concierge has in mind for me for dinner. He has nothing so I go back over to the
six-story mall and start looking. They have tons of places; I want something
that does not come with rice and choose Italian- to go. While I wait, I ask for a mall brochure and
find that this place has over 120 places to eat- dang that is a lot of food.
Had I walked a little further I would have found my craving- a burger at TGIF.
There is always tomorrow.
I Skype again, shower again and sleep. I wake up Sunday ready for breakfast and find
that not one of the five places that have in the hotel are open (I am leaving at
2:30 so I figured I would lay out by the pool day)—so I head on over to—you
guessed it—six-story mall. I soon discover it is raining so my pool day is
compromised, but the burger sure was good. My cab driver picks me up (yes, it
is the same one from yesterday) and we start talking. I explain my frustration
with the information provided (or rather lack of information) He asked if I had
been to ________, I say no and he says we have time; I’ll take you. It was
right next door to my hotel (if i had only turned right instead of left) and had the cutest things. I rush through several of the shops, bought
a couple things and am off to the airport. On the way he explains what is
happening in Malaysia now and what has happened in the past, and his former job. We talk about the
plane crash and politics. I leave after recording his contact information so I can pass it on. Thirty minutes after he drops me off at the airport,
his face pops back up and he hands me my I pad.
I hesitate to tell anyone this, but really think it is a great example
of the type of people that have been placed in my path. I was far from where he
had dropped me. He had to park his taxi,
and search for 30 minutes to find me and yet he did not give up. What a
blessing.
Reflections so far:
1.
I think a person’s mind adjust (and stomach) to what it does not see. The first pictures I took
in Malaysia was of this wonderful shop making these decadent bread rolls that
just fascinated me- we really do need these shops in the US. It is a strip of
bread rolled around a metal cylinder, baked, slathered in butter or honey and
then the customer chooses the rest of the order. I had mine with Nutella and
nuts and yes- it was well worth the calories! My point is- I am not eating much
bread. It is abundant at fancy
restaurants, but I try to limit how much I go out to eat at fancy restaurants. What I noticed is that I do not think about
missing bread until bread is all around me.
2.
As the school year’s end nears, I realize how ready I am to
come home. It is going to be a hard two
months and I am so thankful I have a couple more trips to distract me. I have
boys to hug, a new great nephew to meet, and extended family who although I did
not see a lot every year, the fact that I can’t see them makes it hard. And there
are always my friends. I have some
really good friends who comfort me, know me well and seem to know when I need a
boost. Everyone has been so encouraging,
but I have been rather selfish and cannot really return the favor. I will have a lot of listening to do this
summer and I am ready.
3.
I need to throw more parties!
4.
I had a friend drop by today (probably because there was
more keg beer to be had) and he saw another snake. I think I would rather not know. I walked to the mall twice in Kuala Lumpur
with no hesitation and then read the notice in my hotel room about the
purse-snatching ring. I found myself
scared, looking over my shoulder, and not trusting. Not that I want to be
ignorant, but I also do not want to walk through life (or through the gate in
my driveway) scared.
5.
Life is precious and we need to make sure we appreciate
those we have in our lives while they are still here. My niece, Rachel, would have
also been celebrating a birthday this month but she left us all way too soon.
She had a wonderful spirit about her and made everyone laugh. I am so glad she
was in my life, but I wish I had told her that more, called her more and
listened to her more. All I can do now
is share those desires. As my teacher friends in their 30’s try to make decisions
about their next jobs, I just want to tell them that their parents will not be
around forever and they need to remember that.
I think I would be very sad if my kids chose to be out of the country
for years on end and I only got to see them for two weeks a year. On one hand, I
admire their tenacity and sense of adventure; one the other hand, I hope they
do not regret not checking in for a year every so often.
Internet too slow right now. I will post pictures tomorrow.
Sunday, March 2, 2014
March is the best month!
March 1st- Travel time and then there is work!
I have just finished a week of travel and then a week of
trying to get back in the swing of things at work. One was certainly more enjoyable than the other. I will start the blog with yesterday and then go back to
the trips. Yesterday was a soccer
tournament for the middle school girls of which I help coach (yes, I use the
term lightly). Being on the soccer field at eight in the morning brought back
so many memories of the first fifteen years of motherhood. I have the supplies- two cool clothes (I wish I
had invented those), water, two mats for the girls to sit on, and four chairs
(I am sure it was funny to see me trying to pull those chairs through the streets to
meet the bus- needless to say, they are not the collapsible kind one hangs on
the shoulder). The dew is on the grass, the girls are trying to wake up and
enthusiasm is in the air. We tie the
first game, and win the second two. We win the whole tournament! So many smiles, hugs and screams (so
different from boys- who act like it is expected!) What a great way to end a very long week.
The end of February brought on Week Without Walls- a
tradition at many international schools that would be basically impossible for
American schools to pull off because it is such a litigious society that no
teacher in their right mind would take the risk. The middle school students
went to places within the country of Myanmar and the high school students
traveled out of country to Malaysia, Cambodia and Chang Mia (sp). I am
surprised to learn that half of our kids had never been to Inle Lake where our
trip takes place. The kids are excited but cannot act too much so while the
parents are seeing them off at the airport.
For many of these kids, school is their only form of independence
because parents tend to hold them close to the home. Slumber parties, hanging out at a friend’s
house and non-school related social activities are few and far between. As I was on the trip I did learn that a few parents followed us just in case they were needed. They stayed out of sight and I would not have know they were they had they not delivered a care package to one young lady and supplies for the orphanage to another. With
that said, I feel privileged that these parents would trust their children with
us.
We take pictures, take up passports and travel cards and
board the plane for our outside classroom. After an hour plane ride, and hour
in the bus and a small trek up a hill, we arrive to an elephant sanctuary. First, we learn from the owner that there are
seven elephants that we will interact with- all rescued for one reason or
another. He discusses their beginnings,
the sanctuary's current state, and their vision for the future. It is not even an hour into our trip and I
have learned so much and am equally inspired. We walk up and plunge into the
four huge baskets of bananas and start offering them up to the elephants. Each of the huge
beasts accept the food by either opening his/her mouth for us to plop a banana in
or curl his/her trunk around the yellow fruit. I take time to interact with
each one even although as everyone else, I am drawn to the four-year-old baby
elephant that was rescued from a trap after being abandoned by his family. The
students are cautious, yet soon know no fear.
Next, off to plant a tree.
Mahouts (the elephant caregivers) live at the refuge to stay with their
elephants. It is said that the bond
they form with their elephant is precious and so the camp invites them and
their family to live on site. It is said
the relationship between the two cannot be duplicated by a new handler. All in
all, 35 people have been housed and those people help run the camp. I mention
this because one of their jobs is to dig holes so that visitors can plant a
tree and continue a reforestation project. As we traveled to the camp, all
along the highway we see Teak trees labeled as they are protected. We also
see a bamboo forest and a wonderful tree called a fire tree. It has a bare bottom and bright red flowers at
the top- it looks like a forest fire if many are placed together. We plant and
then the new hole is watered. It is amazing to me how these people make
due with what they have. From the stream, a blue PVC pipe carries water up
hill. The young men carry buckets of
water from the end of the pipe, up hill to the newly planted area. When one has
others do most of the work, the task is fairly easy- the only problem the kids
had (or I should say their chaperone had) was balancing on the hillside.
Next, we go back to the feeding area and change into Shen
pants so the kids can get in the water and bath the elephants- finally, a clean steam. I am in heaven and do not miss the
chance to wade in cool, flowing water even if there are two huge elephants in
my path. I get wet up to my bottom yet
dry quickly because of the heat. The elephants are enjoying the bath almost as
much as the kids do. We end our morning
with a wonderful meal (picture to follow) prepared by the families who live
there. This is definitely a must do if
you travel to Myanmar.
We travel by bus to the jetty and board a boat to our hotel
(how cool does that sound??). As I write, I remember my fear that I will step
into the boat only to topple it over- this is not the clear stream of earlier
in the day but rather a lake that has hundreds of thousand people living on
it. I would not want to swim in it. The
hour-long ride is wonderful as the wind blows and as new sights are recorded in
my memory banks. We arrive to the hotel to workers playing drums and other
instruments and cool clothes being handed out along with hot ginger tea. Keys
are passed out and the worrying begins. How do we keep 44 kids occupied and out
of the hair of the other people staying at the hotel? It is not like we can send them on a
scavenger hunt because we are literally on the water. We walk over thin wooden planks to get from
on hut to the other. I am sooo scared I
will fall through one and the kids are running and hitting them hard with no thought
what so ever. Oh to be young again.
We get up the next day and are off in our boats to see the
floating gardens and visit some artisan shops.
I am in awe of the way the people of Inle have adapted to their
environment. For the rest of the
morning, we visit shops (traveling by boat) of people who have made products
onto an art form. My students tell me
that I pay way too much for anything I buy and so I begin to start letting them make
my deals. I purchase a silver bracelet,
an antique (I hope!) tattoo needle, a pipe with an elephant base, three
scarves- one made from pure silk and two made from raw silk. This was my favorite place to go. The owner, an old man who has run this family
business for many years, tours me and a couple students around the place,
pointing out each loom and labeling its thread (lotus silk, raw silk, cotton etc.). The colors of the threads are breath taking
and the patterns amazing. Hopefully, my
pictures will do it justice. I cannot
wait to get home and frame some of them.
I am a little weary of the fact that I felt like I was in a sweat shop
and worried that the weavers were being taken advantage of- and later I found
out that my feeling were correct and that one weaver shared that she made the
equivalent of .60 cents a day. Just like in everything- those that have get
more and those that do not are not educated enough to have a voice.
The next day we go to another area of the lake, Indein
Village, and I find I should have kept my money for this area. I know this is
an educational trip but I cannot help but be pulled in by the one of a kind
things that are available. I am so mad
at myself for spending too much on the first day.
I will share a link that
explains the area for those of you who would like to learn more and stop here
for those of you not wanting a travel log.
I am just glad I will come back to Inle Lake when I have visitors in
October. I missed so much and there are things I would like to repeat. http://inlelake-myanmar.com/interesting-places.html
The next to the last day we visited an orphanage and got to
set up stations for the children. At one
station we explained the story of Sadako
and the Thousand Paper Cranes because at another station they made paper
cranes with our kids. At the same
station we read them a children’s story called The Rainbow Fish. At another station they played soccer and at
another station we set up as studio and our student took pictures of them so we
could develop them later and the children would have a picture of themselves. On
this day, I had several "uh ha" moments. First, there were so many of them- kids
that is. I am torn as to how I feel
about this. Through research I have found that up to 75 % of the kids in these
homes have living parents. Because of
the fact that it is hard to provide schooling for the children in rural parts
of Myanmar, parents often give up their children so they can go to a monastery
or go with someone claiming to be opening up a school based orphanage. Here is
a website that I found that explained the situation quite well. http://www.myanmarorphanages.com/the-myanmar-situation/
Secondly, I find out how resilient children are. Each one of
these children has smiles a mile long and a spirit that would out to shame
those of us who claim ‘we do not have thing to wear”- as we stare at our closet
full of clothes, or that we are “starving” when our last meal was but six hours
ago. At one point in the day, I am introducing The Rainbow Fish and to set it up posed a couple questions to the
children that are then asked the same question in Burmese by one of the middle
school kids we brought. I ask, “Have you
ever know anyone that as so selfish that they wanted to keep things to
themselves and not share. You know…” and
then I give a couple examples. My
student restates what I ask and then the children pause and i can see them thinking. Then they all look at me and shake their head
no. I am flabbergasted. No- never in
their lives have these young children met someone selfish. As the shock of the answer hit me, and tears
start to well up in my eyes, I lock eyes with Maureen, my student (who is in my class and now knows me
well). She sees what is about to happen to me and so distracts them by asking another question. My emotions would be
hidden from these young children. I then quickly put the camera up to my eyes so they would not see the tears and work hard trying to contain my cry to a silent one and not the ugly cry we all try to avoid. It was not pity that
they would see in my face and through my tears, but rather admiration and embarrassment. What a stupid question
to ask those who knew nothing about materialism. I am humbled.
We end the afternoon with group pictures and presentation of
our donation of rice, oil and a few other staples as well as a soda and a
package of treats for each of the children. On the website I posted a link to in the last
paragraph it talks about the negative effects of people coming in for a one
visit stop. It speaks of orphanages not being a tourist attraction. It is my hope and prayer that these children
did not feel this way and that we did some good if even for a couple
hours. Here is the paragraph that gives
me pause: “We are continually learning that it brings long term damage for
children to attach and then “detach” from people who show care, but then leave.
Although people have good intentions, the children feel “put on display”
every time donors and visitors come to spend time with them. Everyone needs
uncle and aunts, but tourists do not fill this need in the children. Think
before visiting a children home. You don’t want to exploit the children.” - See
more at:
http://www.myanmarorphanages.com/tourist-attractions/#sthash.ADOPD236.dpuf
Interesting huh? Hopefully, this article is talking about people who come in for a month and
really form a bond and then leave. I think the kids were just glad to have someone new to play
with and our students learned a great deal in the
All in all, it was a great trip and I feel our objectives
were met. We wished to show the students
the beauty that their own country had to offer, introduce them to traditions they might not know while giving them a chance to
bond before they enter their first year of high school.
I am home on Friday and off to Golden Rock on Saturday. I join six other teachers on this
pilgrimage. For me it was a sight seeing
pilgrimage, but as we drive into the city, I find for Buddhists, it is a true
pilgrimage. Many are arriving with bedding and supplies so they could spend the night and receive a blessing as the sun rose. First, I am impressed with
the transportation system up the mountain. New big trucks gather in a covered
pavilion and await those who wish to see the rock. We climb up a metal
freestanding ladder and climb into the truck. We then head straight up the
mountain going way too fast for comfort (can you say roller coaster) and with
each turn, I feel as though I am going to fall out and roll off to my
death. It is a one-lane road so they
have a system of checks so a head on collision is not in our future. And we arrive. Immediately, I see men who have found a way
to make a living on this mountain. They
have chariots that have a seat in the middle and are carried by four men. They make a beeline for me- asking if I want
a ride the rest of the way. First, I think- “There is no way in hell I am going
to make anyone carry me. It would be a
comedy of errors just trying to get in it.” Secondly,” Can I not get away from
these weird means of transportation? First boats with chairs, now chairs in the
air???” Then, I thought- “Why me?”- Knowing full well the answer.
I will end here and state that I learned a lot this week and
cannot wait to explore more this country has to offer—but for now- I do have a
job and many things to grade. L
Reflections so far:
1.
I will need a great deal of time to reflect on the orphanage
visit especially after doing some research so my post would be better. Is this why I am here?
2.
I sat and talked with an attaché from Egypt the other night.
My roommate is so good about getting out of the teacher housing and meeting the
rest of the expat community and I am a benefactor of her friendships. I meet so
many interesting people when I get out and explore the night-life. I need to do it more. I think I am so intrigued by the new people
with whom I teach that this prospect was overwhelming. I just learned the other day that one of the
women who teaches with me use to work for the CIA. That another one who had her children in
Tanzania, Africa went camping and just barely escaped being dinner for fourteen
hungry lions. “How much more interesting
does it get?” … would be a good question, but I have found that news pieces of
information are out there waiting for me to learn. One is never too old to
learn from others.
3. As I post pictures I pull them from uploads from the last twelve months. I have to get past several other trips. In doing this I reflect on those trips. Since last March, I have been to Italy, four cool places in Myanmar, Nepal and all around texas. I am blessed and so glad we have cameras because my mind cannot hold all this in.
4. Reflections in pictures: One of the things that dot the city and countryside are these clay water pots. Here is this thinking behind them: "Yay Chan Sin (Water Pot Shelf) is still widely found through out the country. Though purified water are in hand for those who live in urban, traditional Myanmar prefer the pot made with sand and clay. They believe the pot makes the water colder. Yay Chan Sin is a sign of kindness among Myanmar as it is used to donate water whoever pass through it. Everybody can drink it without any prohibition." I believe it is a wonderful tradition that I hope continues and that does not become a stand for a plastic water bottle.
The looms at the Lotus silk factory.
There has to be an easier way!
Reflections in Art photography- yes- these are just random "so Tricia gets a good camera and now she thinks she's a photographer" shots
A woman is proud of her work as a weaver.
3.
The rest will be in pictures:
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