Castle in the Clouds- A Teacher's Adventure in Myanmar and Guatemala: Playing catch up May end of the year

Trying to catch up- May to July

As with any school year, this one ended in a flurry. Papers lay in stacks to grade, year-end parties are on the calendar and goodbyes have to be said. A blog needs to be written, but contact with those leaving is more pressing. So as I look on my notes from May and it is now almost August, some things need to be covered but rather in story I will be doing to in reflection.

· The first thing on my notes is “Dinner with Sylvia and Nat”. A few of us went to their house for dinner. What a treat. Neither are teachers so we get a perspective of Yangon from another voice. He works for the government (I need to stop there or I might get deported), and she is from Scandinavia. Reflection: I am meeting people from all over the world. Imagine all those childhood stories, the different perspectives on government and current events. I love people and think we all have fabulous stories. I hope this blog motivates others to share and reflect.

· Trader’s brunch- Traders is a posh hotel here is Yangon. I think it has been renamed The Shangri-La so that will give you some perspective. The brunch is $35.00 a person and goes on from 11:00am to 3:00. I go with a group in our last three weeks before school gets out. We stayed the whole time. Free flowing wine, a sushi station that would put one in Japan to shame, and every other kind of food you could imagine. I am so glad I found this my last month before going home (and not at the first- it is such a nice treat to discover late in the game). It was incredible. Reflection: Food makes me happy. Most people remember events and navigation by people and street signs. I remember food served and food landmarks. I was so excited to get home to my Mexican food and other favorites that I made a mental list in my head. I am glad to say, that I think I am over it. Hopefully, this year will be one where I can be more mindful of what I am putting into my body and thus become healthier.

· Gated community: One night I was coming home and the gate was down. Imagine that- I live in a gated community. Granted the gate was one long pole and was lifted effortlessly by a guard who pulled a rope- but still, it’s a gate. I had to laugh out loud at the humor of the image. So many times we build up walls to protect ourselves. Some of these walls are real and others are in our heads. When we get right down to it, most of these times these walls keep us from being our authentic selves rather than keep others out. Most are as easy as this one to remove, we just have to be mindful.

· Replacing the outside light. Whenever we have an issue in the house, we do a work order and magically it is fixed. Sometimes better than others! One day I arrive home and I have three mean replacing the thingy that holds the florescent light bulb on my porch. One was on a metal ladder, and the other two were handing him tools. I freak- “No, no, get down!” I tried to pantomime with great urgency about electrocution. His ladder was in a pool of water. Reflection: As much as we hate the intrusion of government in our lives and of policies that are made for our protection, it is a necessary evil to keep at bay other evils that are far more menacing. Hopefully, the one of the bonuses of Myanmar coming out of developing to developed country will be protection for the masses. I am constantly shocked at the conditions people have to endure to work.

· Fish out of water. As I have written before, when it rains, my outside area becomes pond-like. I also have drainage areas around my house. One in the inner gate is small (about four inches wide) and the one outside the gate is about a foot and a half wide. Well, I guess fish live in there because one morning after a downpour, I spy this little fish trying to scoot his way to water (the water had risen, and he had become stranded when it subsided). He was not making much progress so I help him along to the big ditch. He then turns around and ends up back in the small ditch that did not have much water. Reflection: Sometimes everyone needs help. It is in our human nature to offer that help. Yet, oftentimes we find ourselves offering help to those who then go right back to old habits and behaviors. They become fish out of water and struggle for air. What I have learned is that at times it is ok to let people struggle. It is from that struggle that growth occurs. I think that my time away from my kids has been good. They are making their own way and learning to swim like champs.

· I got a package! Some of my friends got together and sent me a package. I was excited beyond belief. Upon opening it, I found that someone else was also as curious as I to the contents of the package. Yellow stuff was all over everything. A bag Mesa had been cut opened (yes, cut with a knife) and it had spilled over everything. To top it off, they had sent a citronella candle so all the mesa was contaminated with that smell. Needless to say, our tortillas went into the trashcan rather than our mouths. Reflection: I think I did fairly well in not trying to take America with me this year. Yes, I have a years worth of deodorant, hair products and medicine, but the food--I need to just get over and enjoy the tastes of this region. I thank my friends for their effort and I am sure great expense, but I think a note, a call or an email would be much better medicine for the soul rather than food.

· Choice Ted Talk—I watched a Ted Talk before I left on Different Perspectives. Although it took me about an hour to watch a seven- minute talk thanks to all the buffering, the content was quite provocative. The basic premise was we have become overwhelmed as a society because of the constant deluge of all products from which we have to choose. Reflection: I so agree with that. From my two foreign exchange students, I saw that in their eyes during our first trip to the grocery store. As I think about my master bedroom closet still full of clothes even though I purged seven bags full, I am amazed at the collection of clothes I have amassed. One of the things that is unique about living in a developing country is that those choices are whittled down to a few. Yes, while my closet here is growing, I am still nowhere near the clothes to what I have in the states. We can get by with less; we are freed to think more clearly with less. Less IS more.

· Maid no more. We fired our maid before we left for home. I use the term we, but really Jody did the dirty work of which I was relieved. She was just not good at her job and perhaps this will motivate her to try something new (I tell myself as I write this). We have hired one of the people who has been working three years for one of the teachers who is leaving. I am so excited that clean floors and good cooking might be in my future. Reflection: Guilt is a sneaky sister. It stays with a person for a long time. When I think about letting Rita go, that guilt encompasses me like a cloud. As I reflect on this, I remember so many things in my life that guilt has motivated me to do. I use to buy shoes because I felt bad for the shoe salesman who brought out five pair for me to try on. I took backtalk from my teenage son because I felt guilty he was raised without a father figure. I said yes, when I wanted to say no because I did not want to disappoint those who had faith in me. One of the good things about getting old is that guilt does not have such a stranglehold on a person. I have been told I am a little blunt these days. That I say what I mean and mean what I say- however, these truth tellers always add that I do it in a way that is not harsh. Sounds like a contradiction to me, but what I do know is that the guilt I do carry around is much lighter than it use to be and that it is about things which are much more humanistic than a pair of shoes. I think that is growth.

· Parties!!! I hate the end of the year, but will have to say, I love the parties that come with it. The one I will discuss is the party we threw for the staff. We went to an old bowling alley and all bowled together. It was quite fun to see the staff cut loose and be themselves and not feel a need to “work” for us. As the evening went on, I broke out my Right, Left Center game and made an announcement to see if anyone wanted to play. I had about 12 takers (a nice mix of teachers and staff), proceeded to hand out three one thousand khat bills to each of the staff so they could play and then started. When they figured out they could win money, the look on their face was priceless. I was excited that after two games one of the staff won. She took home about 40,000 khat ($40.00US) and was elated. What was a little to us ($3.00) amounted to a lot to them. It was a great evening. About the other parties? Just let me say, I now know how to play beer pong and I can still do a beer bong. Nuff said.

· And last but not least on my notes from May is the phrase, “He’s a star if we homeschooled him.” I have no idea where I got this quote or why I wrote it down. But it is something to ponder.

· So that’s all from my notes from May; now I am on to summer fun and my arrival back to Yangon.