Monday, May 2, 2016

Work Like A Captain, Play Like A Pirate


King of the Rock
The annual holidays of Children's Day and Tomb Sweeping Day gave us a four day weekend at the beginning of April. I went with three others teachers down to the south beaches of Kenting to celebrate spring break. We stayed in a great little hostel that overlooked the ocean where all the water sports were residing. Not only a gorgeous view, but a quick trek down to the beaches where I ran into this crab pictured above. Actually, yes, he was a dead crab.
Getting some Taiwanese grub before 
hitting the main streets of Kenting!

B & I met these beauties on the beach and spent the night dancing with them! 
"It's going down, I'm yelling TINDER!"
On the last day I found my own little private beach and
enjoyed the clear water and laying out under the sun.

Don't forget the sunscreen!
Our ACP theme was "Life Under the Sea!"
Jo, James, and Coco worked together to teach us about the food web starting with the killer whale! Jo also read a poem about Coral Reefs on her own and gave a mini report on sea turtles. James came to us late in the year, leaving his Jungban class early because of his high level of English. He knew all of his lines after one weekend and gave a great mini report of butterfly fish. Coco, who is normally the shyest in the class, really blossomed and surprised us all with her mini report on octopus! 
Christy, Steven, and Sophia taught us all about the food web starting with the dolphin. Christy was an excellent speaker and praised for this by many parents. She gave a great report on crabs. Steven taught us about lobsters and Sophia taught us about coral fish.
Bella, Andy, and Cindy did a great job of explaining the food web of the blue whale. Many great singers and dancers in this group, with loud voices too! Bella gave a great presentation on jellyfish, as Andy did with whales, and Cindy did with dolphins!
Curtis, Annie, and Ryder had to work the hardest to remember their lines and learn about about the great white shark and its importance to the ocean food web. I was very proud of all of them. Curtis later taught us about clown fish, Annie taught us about shrimp, and Ryder taught us about sharks. 
Overall we had a tie for the 
Most Dedicated Pirate to their ACP performance:
Congratulations, James and Jo.
Our Best Overall Speaker, Congratulations, Christy!
In between ACP practices we spent two weeks learning and listening to fairy tales. 
We also wrote our own fairy tales. 
Then we used recycled paper, foils, and streamers to design our own castles. 
We have many creative castles in the Pirates class! 
Welcome to Yoga Thursdays in the Pirate's class!
They really enjoy showing off their skills in the king cobra pose. 
Working on the warrior II pose, Cindy is feeling the burn! 
I was highly impressed with their first attempts at the side plank.  
Focus. 
Cindy and Curtis getting caught up in giggles doing the pigeon pose.
Namaste 
Brittany and I on our way to Bangkok, Thailand
for our overnight transfer to Koh Phangan, Thailand! 
"Home Sweet Home"
A spirited Thai beaut with the Cindy-Lou-Who hair.
We arrived in Bangkok around 7:30 or so. From the airport we took a taxi, in quite a rush, to catch our overnight bus/boat combo to the island of Koh Phangan. Once we arrived, within what we thought was minutes to spare, we came to realize we'd have to wait an hour. This was perfect for us since we hadn't eaten since breakfast.
We were sitting at dinner with some fellow travelers from England, Scotland, and Colorado, on KhaoSan Road.
Once described as "the center of the backpacking universe." If you could sit through a meal without being offered a bracelet with some hilariously inappropriate phrase or some scorpion on a stick, or see at least a dozen beautiful people, and a half a dozen more drunks, you'd be disappointed.
Arrived at this boat dock ahead of schedule at 5:50 A.M.  It was a nice hour long stretch and coffee, but after a whole night on a double decker bus, you just want to get there. I quickly passed out on the two hour boat ride to Koh Tao and again on the one hour journey over to our final destination, Koh Phangan, Thailand! 
Leaving the mainland of Thailand. 
Having left the apartments at 11: 30 on Saturday morning, it was excellent time to be on the island by 10:45 Sunday morning.  We took a van to our hostel, The Nomad House. Being one of the biggest party hostels in the Baan Tai area, right next to another huge party hostel, Blue Dream. You are able to rent scooters through the hostel or at anytime while on the island, just hand over your passport and don't you dare get a scratch on it. 
We were recommended to the AMSTARDAM  bar before even arriving on the island, for its spectacular sunsets and laid back atmosphere. When a crew from our hostel headed that way, we quickly tagged along. I personally loved how quickly we were fully submerged into a tuk tuk taxi van full of travelers who were knees deep in there own adventure in SE Asia. It was a perfect way to spend the first evening on the island. 
Britt and I with two of our other classy hostel gals! 
As bright as it seemed to be, there were still enough clouds to drown out the beauty that the sun would have had on the islands nearby and the oceans blue. 
Although it did provide this peek-a-boo spotlight. 
The best shot I took of the sunset, 
and the last light of day my iphone5s ever saw. 
First night with the buckets. 
This one was called "Surfer on Acid." 
SO many delicious Thai dishes, I have quite a few favorites now!
This was a chili and green pepper chicken that was a delicious first choice.
We also had some spring rolls with most of our meals.
Some other favorites I had were green curry, yellow curry, and Thai noodle soup.  
Day 2 was spent relaxing, napping, and sipping on margaritas
under these gorgeous coconut trees at the Infinity Bar 
Caption this.  
"If you are lucky enough to live by the sea, 
you are lucky enough."
sunset.
I attempted to rent a scooter on the fourth day. After 15 minutes I reached some hills, or what I would prefer to call island slopes, that slanted (in my mind) at a 45 degree angle. After safely making it back, Brittany and I walked to a beach parallel to the hostel. The water around much of the island is fairly shallow. You would have to go out nearly a football field in some places before reaching deeper waters. The sand is soft, but you had better watch out for glass. During our stay there were at least five people whose foot was badly cut by some kind of glass. Eeek. Of course with the dangerous driving there were also several accidents. A friend from the hostel had stitches from one, and once we stopped to help a woman that had fallen and was badly bleeding. I remember seeing her knee scraped down to white. Ek!
We went to a Loi Lay Floating Bar Party, a Pool Party, a Jungle Experience, spent many nights seeing the ocean and of course we attended the Full Moon Party on April 21st. Every night kicked off with a pre-game at The Nomad House from 9 to Midnight. Full of beer pong, flip cup, fire shows, dare or drink Jenga, ladies nights, and a few rounds of shots. One night they had all-you-can-eat pizza, and I think it was the most food I ate the entire vacation. When you arrived you were given a form to fill out and on it was one opportunity for a song request. Something I truly always wish for during a night out. But at that moment of arrival, after 24 hours of traveling from bus to flight to taxi to bus to boat to van, I couldn't place my mind on one artist, let alone one song. There were a few songs that were guaranteed to play every night. "Miami" Will Smith, "Hypnotize" Biggy,"Because I Got High" Afroman, just to name a very few. The bartenders / travelers / expats / solo stars / partiers / backpackers / rappers / dancers / drunks / locals / Americans / Latin Americans / Europeans were endless, thrilling, and all together some of the most beautiful people I have ever been able to accompany. 
With the gals from the first night, to the last!
It's the night of the Full Moon Party.
Buckets galore.
This is the one and only pic I have from the night thanks to Leanne.
One of the first things we did in Bangkok at Terminal 21
My, what a big lucky-cat you are. 
After returning from Thailand I gave my boys some Thai elephant bags and elephant bookmarks. 
For my seven beauties I got elephant purses!  
Class pictures.
Just missed them with little graduation gowns on!
Christy and Andy 
Second field trip of the year! To the wood shop to paint some wooden music makers.
Ready to paint! 
Pirates!
Following our leader out to the wooden playground. So many cool new gadgets to play with,
jungle gyms to tackle, and even bunnies to watch!
The masterpieces made by these little works of art! 
Great teamwork, creativity, and so 
much fun at the wood shop! 
AIT Storytelling at the Taichung Public Library! There was some great participation by the local kids from nearby neighborhoods. I was also very proud of the Pirates for their leadership in learning.
We sang the song, "No One Else Is Just Like Me" to the tune of "London Bridges Falling Down." Then we read and discussed the book, I Like Me by Nancy Carlson. The great audience members of parents, toddlers and preschool aged kids from around the area, including my Pirate's class helped to match up 14 things we can do to take care of our bodies. 

All of the kids were given a chance to glue on four pictures of their favorite activities. The part the students enjoyed the most was getting to draw themselves on a blank body image, and include the things they liked most about themselves. 
A lot of thought, discussion, craftiness, and fun went into these portraits! 
Sophia was another later start to our Daban class, leaving Jungban and coming to us as an extremely shy girl. It has been wonderful to watch her make friends, read in class, and most importantly speak and share in front of others. 
Some of the wonderful artists both in and out of Cornel! 
This little boy came up to share his favorite activities and what he likes about himself.
He said "I like that my body is full of cookies!"
Dentist came by for the bi-yearly check-up! 
The year is wrapping up, this school year is on a fast track towards graduation, and another summer is upon us. The last two months have been a thrilling ride, which always seems to make it go that much quicker. As the school year is ending, another round of teachers will leave and stay and go. I will be becoming the Head Teacher at the sister-campus, Shang-An, and for the first time since I graduated with my teaching degree, I will not have a class full of kids to start my mornings with each day. I can't even begin to tell you how much I will miss my all-star Pirates class and getting to work at the NanMen campus with all of the incredible NanMen staff and teachers.
If someone had come up to me 3 years ago and said, "You know this 1-year teaching job you are taking out on a beautiful little island called Taiwan, that you know almost nothing about, well you're going to be one of the school's head leaders, living there for nearly half of your 20s!" I would have never believed it. If they said, "Your life will be changed forever, your mind will be stretched further than you can imagine, you will learn more about yourself in those few years than you have in the last ten. You will become a skilled traveler and realize your beliefs and passions, how much they mean to you, and how strongly you can inspire others when you wish to. You'll also realize that you are not as patient as you thought you were, and your listening skills could really use a tune up. You will come to know that you are no where near as outgoing as everyone in your hometown thinks you are. Out here you will meet all walks of life, rich, poor, young, old, some with the biggest hearts, others with the biggest scowls. You'll experience things you think should definitely be caught on camera or put into a book. You'll experience some of your loneliest moments, as well as your most hectic. All the while knowing that that drive inside of you, that you always knew was there and caused you to cross the world, you followed it for a reason.

Love to you all,