One year later...

Wow, it's been almost an entire year since I wrote on this thing!  Well, here it goes.

It's been a pretty busy and not so rewarding year at work. I've been trying hard to consolidate and finalize my curriculum, which means I've been working way too hard. This year felt like the first time I really understood all of the the things I needed to do; the difficult part was finding the time to do it. I basically wrote five textbooks this year (borrowing prodigiously from a variety of sources) in an effort to distribute everything digitally. Now that's done, and I can use three of those classes again, and only have to worry about two new ones for the coming year. I also completed a three course certificate program for teaching English language learners and a workshop for teaching IB mathematics. I've committed to seriously reducing the amount of coursework I attempt next year and concentrating on doing my job well. School's also in a big transition phase, with our founding director leaving and a lot of new staff coming in next year.

Mixed in there, Rani and I traveled home to Michigan to meet the parents, siblings, and nieces and nephews and traveled to the Philippines and Malaysia with some friends from work. Anyway, blah blah blah, it's been a long year, and I'm happy to have some time now to decompress and relax.

Right now, I'm sitting on the west coast of Sri Lanka. We're here for a month, and we started it out with a few days in a pretty fancy place to chill out before we start the real adventure.

Relaxing by the pool in Sri Lanka

Before arriving, we spent five days meeting Rani's extended family in Kuala Lumpur. There was lots of visiting with uncles and aunts, great uncles and aunts, first cousins, second cousins, and a few we weren't completely sure of. There was also lots of FOOD, glorious food! Banana leaf restaurants, Hawker stalls, and home cooked meals with a mix of Indian, Chinese, and other asian influences probably only found in a melting pot like Malaysia. Special thanks to Auntie Sheila and Uncle Hardev for hosting us and showing us around.

Banana Leaf lunch in KL

So, we're here, we're ready for some adventures, we're relaxing with lots of sun, sand, swimming, reading good books, and lazing around. I'll do my best to keep up with this and let everyone know what's going on. Happy summer, everyone.

Buying a 沙发

We're back in beautiful Dongguan after a relaxing break in Florida.  

Rainbow (and moon) at the beach on our last day in Florida.

It's good to be here and start settling in to our new apartment.  We moved in just a few days before we left for America, so we had some sorting and organizing to do when we got back.  Yesterday, we got the bags unpacked, sorted out the kitchen and the bathrooms, and got together a list of things we needed. Today we did the Walmart thing to get some household stuff (and re-acquaint ourselves with the oppressive heat and humidity).  Then we went to a furniture market to get a new couch, and that's where the fun began.

The store was huge, with two entrances off of an alley, one to the right and one to the left.  We went left, and pretty soon picked up an employee who tried to tell us (we soon found out) that we should have turned right.  Apparently, we were in the office furniture section, so we eventually got headed in the right direction and were joined by Jared, who spoke some pretty decent English. We went up to the third floor, where they keep the fabric couches that are "so soft" (sofas here can be as hard as the beds; ever try to relax on a church pew?). 

It was HOT. No AC in this store, so whenever I leaned back and rested my head, I left a little wet spot on the cushions. We found a nice couch, figured out the configuration and colors, and got outta there to the relatively cool first floor, where we managed our way through the paperwork and payment.  As we got up to leave, Jared told us we got a free prize, so we picked up a nice little upholstered footrest and started walking out the door... But wait, there's more! 

We went back across the alley, where there was a table set up. Around the table there were assorted women and a man with a microphone. On top of the table was a box with a hole in the top and a bunch of coins that the women were counting.  Eventually, we figured out that I was supposed to reach in and grab as many coins as I could. Some were actual 1RMB coins, and some had Mickey Mouse (or at least some fake Chinese Mikey Mouse) on them.  I got three chances (after I realized I wasn't just supposed to pick one coin), and the ladies sorted them, and I ended up with 79RMB, which is like 13 bucks, in cash! They were not ready for my big American hands (we looked at what some of the other contestants got, and the next highest one was 34).

I'm figuring that this is China's way of welcoming me back.  Just another weird, slightly confusing, yet surprisingly easy outing in Dongguan. The couch will be in our apartment in a couple of weeks, after a bit of China magic, just in time for school to start.

I hope everyone is having a great summer.  Take care.

Dive and Hover in Key West

So, I'm in Florida, staying at Rani's parents' house in Bradenton. It's a great spot, with a nice pool in the back yard.  The weather is beautiful, if hot, and I've been running through the sleepy neighborhoods here to try to get over the jetlag; I'm told there are houses that PT Barnum built specially for the little people in his circus nearby, but I haven't found them yet.  The second day we were here, we had a nice party with a bunch of her extended family where we cooked ribs and made salads. It was a great get-together, if a little overwhelming on my second day in the states.

The next day, we set out with Rani's parents and an aunt and uncle for the Florida Keys, an 8-hour drive through the southern part of the state. We arrived at the end of Highway 1, got situated in our tiny little cottage, and went out to see what Key West had to offer.  I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the scene there; Key West is a pretty unique place, full of interesting people, quirky little shops, and some really exceptional food.  While there were definitely elements of an American tourist destination like t-shirt shops and trolley tours, there is also an underlying freedom and laissez-faire attitude that I appreciated. The people watching was excellent, from drag queens on Duval Street to fire-breathing, juggling stilt-walkers at the nightly sunset celebration. We caught a few World Cup matches at the local watering holes, had a couple of really excellent meals in the courtyards of old buildings, and did a lot of walking back and forth.

Sunset on Key West

We also had a nice dive on the third day, where we got to see a couple of rays and some big lobsters, along with tons of tropical fish. The diving was different from what I've become used to in the Pacific, but definitely worth the time.

Scuba Zen

My big first on this trip was flyboarding.  I've been watching videos about it for the past year, and finally had the chance to try it out.  It was a strange feeling, and it took awhile to get used to, but after awhile it started getting really fun.  And then my time ran out. I'm thinking about trying it out again while we're here.

Who's Iron Man?  I am Iron Man.

Here's a long-ish video that is a little boring, but gives you an idea of what it's like: hard to balance at first, and nothing like the promotional videos (yet), but seriously, you're hovering on jets of water!  What could be more fun?

I meant to do EVERYTHING in this video just the way I did it...

The whole album should be shared with you, so feel free to browse all of my falls.  I hope everyone is having a great summer.

macAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAu!!

So we're spending a few days in Macau for spring break.  Mostly, it's a big expensive shopping mall, with casinos full of high-limit Chinese games.  But I did get to do this

And it was so much fun I went back up and did it again. Backwards.

What a rush!

Avast, ye scurvy dogs!

Please pardon the pirate speak.  We are slowly recovering from a four day diving trip on board the MY Bunmee II, a liveaboard diving ship.

Our cabin on the boat

Even after a couple of days off the boat, we're still getting our land legs back, and feeling the effects of four days of diving four times a day (especially in our ears, which constantly feel like they need to pop).  I've been sleeping very well, since it was difficult to get any sleep on the boat, but when I wake up, I have to be very careful walking to the bathroom, as everything feels like it's swaying back and forth.

Send-off ceremony with fireworks

Chillin on deck

Me and Mathieu (he's probably finding something I did wrong)

The trip was amazing.  We were nervous about committing to four days on a boat with people we don't know, but we got lucky and got a group of interesting diving travelers who were mostly around our age (and, thank Poseidon, no kids). The dive staff was also great.  Our dive master was Mathieu, a cool, reserved French guy with a lot of expertise and experience.

One of the staff preparing satay and other treats

As usual, the local staff were friendly, helpful, knowledgable, and relaxed.  The food was excellent, with big English breakfasts and Thai lunches and dinners.











The schedule was basically "eat, sleep, dive, repeat", as we dove at 7am, 11am, 2pm, and 6pm daily. It was EXHAUSTING, especially when you're trying to sleep on a boat.  However, it was worth it, because we got to see some beautiful dive sites in the Similan Islands, Koh Ban, Koh Tachai, Richelieu Rock, and the Boonsung wreck.  After 14 dives (more than any previous trip), I'm up to a total of 40 and am now an "advanced" open water diver with enriched air certification!

Eel hiding in some rocks

Turtle eating

Me getting ready to punch a fish that was looking at me funny

We are now relaxing and recuperating in Khao Lak, eating and drinking too much and waiting for our ears to heal and our equilibrium to return.  The weather is Thailand perfect, and we hope to be fully recovered and rested by the time school starts up again next week.  I hope everyone is having an excellent holiday season.

The only time we touched dry land for four days on one of the Similan Islands

Sunset on the Andaman Sea

Well the weather outside is...

...pretty nice, actually.  I'm in Khao Lak, Thailand, about to get on a boat for four days to do some diving in the Similan Islands.  I just wanted to say happy holidays to everyone before I leave, and remind you all that I have this blog (since I haven't updated in quite some time).  I'll get an update on here sometime in the next few weeks.
I hope everyone is doing well.  Let me know what's going on with you this season.
I'll leave you with this creepy Chinese saxophone department store Santa:

April Showers Bring...

...well, I don't really know yet. but they do have some serious April showers here.

This morning the weather is actually beautiful, sunny and a little chilly.  I just had a little "wow, I'm in China" moment on my Sunday morning run.  I decided to take a turn I hadn't before, and I noticed some big metal structure in the distance, which usually means a park.  I made my way over, dodging cars and bikes and slow-walking groups of people, and found myself on a sidewalk path by a river, with little duck boats and paddle boats in the water.  The path was lined with impressively straight rows of trees, and there was a great deal of foot traffic.  Over the sound of my own music in my earphones, I could hear some Chinese music from somewhere.  I rounded a corner, and bang: I'm in the middle of 50 women doing a synchronized dance routine.  As I continued on the path, I came on groups and groups of them, everywhere the pah widened, some with fans, some with pieces of costumes, and some who looked like they were just walking by and said "hey, I'd like to join that dance."  Little moments like that keep me excited about being here.

Last night, we were invited to the wedding of our school's graphic designer/[fill in one of the 40 other things she does for us].  It took place at a beautiful restaurant complex, across the street from another park with dancing water fountains.  It was a pretty western-style wedding, but with some interesting Chinese twists thrown in.  My favorite part of the evening was probably people watching.  The styles of dress here are incredibly varied and interesting; people really spend some time creating unique looks for themselves.  And the shoes...  Right before I left for China, I really started getting into shoes for myself, and since I've been here, I'm constantly being surprised and delighted by all of the different varieties (yes, I feel a little weird about admitting this).

The wedding was beautiful, and it was fun to see all of the staff from work dressed up, hair done, having a great time.  During dinner, we got to see a video of the traditional ceremony that had happened the night before.  The groom and groomsmen have to break through a wall of bridesmaids to get through to the bride, showering them with confetti and bribing them for entry along the way.  The groom, one of the nicest guys I've ever met, really hammed it up for the video, too.

Thursday was the Qing Ming festival, which I hear is meant for the sweeping out of ancestors' tombs. I didn't see much going on that day, but we got a day off of school.  The week before I was in the Philippines at a beautiful little resort in Dauin.  Only did one day of diving this time, but it was a perfectly relaxing holiday.  I feel ready to buckle down and finish off this school year.  This week, we have a whole mess of professional development scheduled during school with an English language learning strategist, so that should be interesting.  We also have third quarter reports to finish, and student-led conferences to get ready for.  I got a little ahead of the paperwork/planning game on my vacation, so I'm ready for new things.

Only a couple of months until the end of school, and most likely a trip back to the states.  I'm looking forward to seeing the family and friends again sometime soon.

Peace,
Jon