Kim-Update

Naomi and I have been on a bit of a traveling dry spell, so to help us get through until our next adventure, we started an instagram account! Our username is teacher_nomads. Hopefully we will become very popular and people will pay us to go on trips. #Daretodream (see? Already we are getting into the hashtag game)
I shouldn't say that I haven't been doing any traveling, last April I went on a trip to see my beautiful friend get married in Cabo San Lucas. It was a super cool week, with a picturesque wedding on the beach and lots of good times by the pool. I went snorkelling and paddle boarding and explored the seaside village with my friends. But that feels so long ago! I also have another trip in the works for end of June but I'll talk about that later.
Last week I went camping with students at Strathcona Park and Lodge Educational Facility on Vancouver Island. Well, we spent two nights at the lodge and two at a campsite. The students had to sleep under a tarp, which was quite a stretch for some of them. I was so proud! They had such great attitudes throughout the whole trip. SPL really is a wonderful place. The two guides my group had were super knowledgable and enthusiastic about the environment. They also seemed to genuinely care about my students so that really resonated. We went hiking, biking, and kayaking! I want to go back to SPL for my own purposes, maybe bring my Dad and do a three day adventure vacation. I know Dad wants to try kayaking and ziplining so I think it would be a pretty cool experience for us as a daddy/daughter duo. They do weddings there as well! Since my Mom is engaged and yet to pick a venue, maybe I can convince her Strathcona is the place to be.
Corey (my bro) and Sami (his bride-to-be) are headed off today for a three week adventure in the UK. I'm super jealous. I really hope that Naomi and I can go to England and Scotland next summer. This is Corey's second time going which is just ridiculously unfair.
What else can I update on... I'm teaching full time at a wonderful school, I have an amazing dog named Chewie, and I'm in a couple different plays! Currently in two (very different) shows, one called August: Osage County, the other is Midsummer Night's Dream where I am the character Hermia. I've wanted to play her for a long time so I'm pretty excited about that.
Life is good! Sometimes challenging but overall I'm focusing on the positive and looking forward to the future. Hope you, sweet readers, are doing well, as well.
-Kim

A REALLY IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT

We are back from our hiatus!!

Boom! Your minds are blown!

We have plans to travel together again!

• Possible trip to the United Kingdom or Europe in the summer of 2017.
• and drum roll please.......AFRICA in 2019!!
• Walt Disney World in 2020

I'm probably the most excited about Africa. I went, twice, with family to both Kenya and Tanzania and it was amazing, life changing, and just all around wonderful. This is an expensive trip and we are looking at about a minimum of $5000 each. It will also require a lot of planning. Want to come with us? Start saving! 

2019, is a year of big changed for both Kim and I, she will turn the big 3-0, and I will also get older.

*cough*

One of my favorite moments from a previous trip to Africa, a large male lion out in the Savannah during a rain storm. This image is totally unedited. 

A lot of things have changed since our last adventure, Kim and I are now bonafide teachers. She is currently residing in the Cowichan Valley and I am in the Alberni valley. Kim's little red bug,Clifford, is gone. We both have pets now, I have my cat Pumpkin and she has her dog Chewie. There have been all kinds of ups and downs since our last great adventure but through it all our friendship has continued. 

Kim Shop and Naomi Shop

Kim and I have both opened shop on etsy.

You can view Kim's Shop here http://www.etsy.com/shop/TapadhLeibhCards?ref=top_trail

and my shop here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/MonkeyBall?ref=si_shop

Both of us are selling some of our photographs from our trips to Vietnam and Cambodia. I am selling off the poi that we used to teach students in Vietnam with and Kim is selling some of her fabulous artwork.
Please come and check us out.

 Also starting tomorrow we will both be participating in the Christmas in July Sale event! Big Savings :)
the more we make the more trips we can go on and blog about...think of the stories we could tell!

Almost One Year Anniversary

So, its been a while since I wrote on this here blog. But it was this time last year that we were gearing up for our trip, so needless to say I've been very nostalgic about all that is South East Asia.
Not to say that I haven't had other adventures since our "Awfully Big Adventure" and I've actually started up a new blog. It kind of felt like I was cheating on this blog... but really, I'm not. Okay? Two completely different blogs set up for two (sort of) different reasons! Shameless blog advertisement, click here if you want to read about any of my current adventures. Please note my apparent lack of creativity with titling another blog with a Peter Pan reference. Actually, I think Naomi titled the last one. Yep, pretty sure.
So, almost one year ago we were heading to Vietnam. Where was my head at? I think I was probably wondering how many pairs of underwear I should bring. Also, worrying about the arrival of my credit card. OH and I was slinging deli meat, trying to make enough cheese (heh deli jokes) to spend in 'Nam. I was also arguing with myself if I should bring a sweater or not. Which, turns out I should have.
I miss my students. I received an email a while back from the girl I tutored. It was very sweet and very short. "Hi Miss Kim, its your student, Jolie! I miss you." warmed the crevices of my heart.
I have also been wondering lately if I should go back to Vietnam after graduation. I loved it and I know I could be successful there... So maybe?
I've learned so much in terms of HOW to teach this past year. What with actually being in the teaching program and all.
Anyways, mostly I just wanted to say I MISS THE FOOOOOOOOOD. A lot. Not the traffic. Oh, and the clothes. And the price of living. And the people.
Ah, Nam.
Oh, another shameless advertisement, I've made many of my Vietnam pictures into cards and am also selling them as prints. Click here if you are falling for my oh so subtle hints. You could buy them too, because then maybe I can afford to go back to Vietnam... Just have to sell 600 cards.....
Heh. Anyways, goodnight Neverland!

Closure

And so it ends. We are clearly not updating enough anymore to keep this blog afloat. If, preferably when, Kim and I go on another adventure it will be chronicled here.
Till then, thanks for tuning in!

Photography

I'm actually not sure if anyone checks this blog anymore considering our lives are boring and Canadian now (not really but I do miss Vietnam) BUT I have news. I have finally uploaded Vietnam/Cambodia pictures onto my photography website. It took roughly 27 hours. But, its done. Anywho, here is the link:
http://www.wix.com/kp_photography89/pictures#!

I hope they were worth the wait.

And now for a brief pause

It looks as though we probably won't update this blog again until at least September. If we do post again before then we will post the link on facebook. In the meantime I hope you are all enjoying your summer!!

Now what?

Kim and I have talked about what to do with this blog now that we are home and the truth is we haven't really decided yet. It might be fun to chronicle our year and a half of education studies here or we may get very busy and totally forget about it. We might also have a hiatus and start up again next summer if we decide to travel again. At any rate stay tuned for an announcement sometime this week.

Goodmorning Canadaaaaa! (See what I did there?)

It is 5:45 in the morning Canadian time. I have been awake and just hanging out since 2:30 this morning. I'm not so down on this time change business. I have many a thing I have to do today! This just will not do. I am not sure who to contact with this complaint, but I feel as though a very long letter outlining the ridiculousness of time differences will be drafted as soon as this blog post is done. Does Ho Chi Minh have an address?
Returning home has been pretty wonderful. I gave all my family their presents. They all loved them, so that was pleasing. The air here feels different. Lighter, and cleaner. But I think that has more to do with the fact that we lived in a very large city rather than a Vietnam thing. Also, it is really quite cold. I wore jeans yesterday because I didn't want to catch a Canadian chill.
Coming back to the Island in the middle of summer is pretty fantastic though. The skies are blue, the grass is green and the birds are... being birds. I can't really say they are all singing, considering I have a colony of herrons that live by my house. They do not sing, they scream. Anyways, that is besides the point. I am happy to be home. I hugged my cat and gave my stinky dog a loving... look. She smells quite bad.
I forgot to mention how wonderful it is that I don't fear for my life when I cross the road.
So, this luggage business I was ranting about in my last post. The luggage people at the airport forgot to unload one of the containers. So, we waited for our stuff for an hour. We (of course) imagined the worse, thinking our Vietnam swag was lost somewhere in Hong Kong. But no, it was simply an oversight by the people on the other side of the conveyor belt. I was as patient as possible, but if you ask Naomi she will tell you a different story. If you ask her in person she might even do an imitation of me after 45 minutes staring at where our luggage was supposed to come through. If you see said impersonation, please note that it is NOT true to life.
Oh, the sun is rising. Yippee.
My Dad and brother waited for us at the airport for a very long time. This was partially their fault as they arrived at 12pm.... When I told them we probably wouldn't be out of customs until 2. They were just so dang excited to see me I guess. Who could blame them? But then, it was our fault too because we actually weren't out until like 4pm. I met my brother in the greeting area, hugged him and he said "You almost gave our Dad a heart attack". Such love.
My Dad was very happy to see me. He got all teary eyed, which got me all weepy. It was just a big emotional airport reunion, just like in the movies.
So, now the task of getting ready to go back to school in September is looming. But already I've started contemplating what I will do next summer. Will I go back to Vietnam? Naomi and I were offered a job. And it would be mighty nice if some of our teacher friends decided they wanted to have a go at CIS summer school. Ah, the fun that would be had, the blogposts that would be written....
I can't say for sure that this will be my last post, as I'm sure boredom will strike and I will need a space to reflect upon the summer... But I do want to say a brief goodbye (not so good at those) to those readers that have been faithful to Naomi and I over the past month and a half. It has been swell attempting to entertain you. We laughed, we cried, we killed a dog with a Tuk Tuk.... It has been pretty amazing. I have a wealth of experience now and I'm so grateful to all the people who made it possible.
So, just as I said to Vietnam I will say to you.... I'll be seeing you again, as I'm not quite done with you yet. Whether you like it or not.
Tootles!

Brief but Important Update From Kim #3

Home is where my heart is, and my bed. I must shower because I stink real bad. The flights were long, but pretty painless. Except there was a certain luggage incident that I will elaborate on later.... and you all thought this blog would end when we got home. Heh.

HK Baby

We are currently sitting and waiting for our flight home from Hong Kong. The airport is really open and you can see the beautiful scenery off in the distance but Kim and I are both on our laptops enjoying the freedom to use facebook without having to use ridiculous proxy pages or sketchy downloads. Valerie has just started reading the last of the books I bought her. I have mixed feelings about coming home. There is a part of me that would like to just keep on trucking and to go off and explore other parts of Asia. There is another part of me that totally wants a chicken burger and yam fries from White spot and to visit with friends at home. It will be nice to indulge that latter part.

Things I will miss about Vietnam:
1) The FOOD glorious wonderful yummy food.
2) Some of our students
3) The warmth
4) The prices, everything is so inexpensive.
5) The scenery
6) The really kind and contentious care I received at the Diamond Plaza Medical Center
7) The FOOD

Things I will not miss
1) The traffic
2) The traffic
3) The traffic
4) The traffic
5) The trouble it took to get on facebook

Peace Out

We are on our way home today.

A Whole New World

The traffic in Vietnam is infamous. Upon arrival in Ho Chi Minh City, we hopped in a taxi. Naomi had warned me of the traffic, but I wasn't really prepared for the actual real life experience. I immediately reached for a seatbelt... To no avail. Imagine going from controlled Canadian traffic to... THIS. Sans seatbelt.

Needless to say, it was a bit of a shock. Then, we had a Tuk Tuk accident in Cambodia. For an undefined amount of time, very instance when a car got a little too close, I flinched. Which was ridiculously often. It was like I had some kind of tick. "Hey *twitch* can you take me to *twitch* Sky *twitch* Garden?"

Then, one day we were eating delicious sandwiches for lunch and Naomi and Valerie were like "Hey Kim, you should go on a scooter down town with Kelly. Yep, you should go. Great opportunity. Go. Go." My response was a shaky smile and something along the lines of "Um, oh. Yeah. Okay. Uhhh.... Scooter... Yeah? Okay. Um, he has lived here for two years yeah? Good driver? Okay. Sure." As we were heading off, Valerie said "Kelly, watch out for her she is naive!" which was meant with the best intentions and kind of completely true. Everyone got a fairly good laugh.

For the beginning ten minutes of that first scooter ride I was terrified. I had a mortal kombat grip on the handle on the back of the bike. Death appeared to be imminent.

Clearly, I did not die. And after those first ten minutes, I began to enjoy myself a little. I started to look around, see everything from the point of view that the locals see it from. To make an embarrassing reference, I felt like Jasmine on the first magic carpet ride.... No Aladdin though.

I began to enjoy it more. Eventually I noticed that there are rules to the road. Although they still seem somewhat ridiculous to me, they are followed. You honk when you are coming up to someones blind spot. The scooters usually stay to the right of the road. You try not to hit pedestrians. The list goes on.

After spending a month and a half in Vietnam, I feel like of my naivety has lessened. This past Thursday I ventured out on the back of a scooter once more. This time, I was only mildly terrified for the first five minutes. I was on the back of the scooter with a lady named Uyen, adventuring to a fabric market where all the locals shop. It was quite clear that me and my white arse were not a frequent sight in this particular shopping area. On the way back I felt very brave indeed. I took out my camera. It began to rain and I snapped about 500 blurry photos. This first photo is just typical Vietnamese traffic. Actually this is quite quiet. We went in a round about on a street called La Loi where I almost peed my panties (good thing I packed lots) see first photo for an accurate reference.This is an incredibly typical image. A family heading home from school. The little girl had her sassy skirt on. At the very moment I took the picture, she is laughing at the funny looking tourist with the huge camera.Just a guy, taking home some eggs. You know. As you do.The things people manage to strap to the back of a scooter blows my mind. I've seen ladders, dressers, tables, chairs, dinner being balanced on one hand, giant tubes, instruments, animals (dead and alive) and televisions. I wish I had of seen more of these things whilst on Uyen's scooter, but I suppose you get the idea from the awesome guy with the propane tanks. Bet 10 dollars they are full.This picture makes it look like I've driven a scooter in Vietnam. Which is a lie. But I got Uyen to take it anyways so if I ever really want to impress someone I will show it to them while simultaneously keeping them away from this blog. Letting someone I would want to impress read any of this would one, prove that I was lying about driving a scooter by my onsey. Number two, I feel as though my representation of our adventures in Vietnam would shatter any illusion they would have of me being "cool".Finally, here is a video I took from the back of the scooter. It isn't busy traffic, but it may give you some idea of what it is like to experience a rainy season drive in Vietnam.

End of Year Extravaganza

This is why teaching is fun.




P.S. this is not the show Naomi and I took four weeks to direct. Unfortunately I did not get a video of any of the Munsch stuff we did because... Well, without going into too much detail we were just too busy to film or even watch the shows we directed ourselves. The little girl in the chicken dance though, she makes my life better.

Wildly Inappropriate

So it could be said that Kim and I share a slightly risque sense of humor, which is why we are both familiar with the Lonely Island music videos. Like a boss, is in my opinion one of the more vulgar videos from that particular band. So imagine my surprise when two of the ten year boys in Ms Kim's class would regularly reference Like a Boss and sing it during class. Nothing but the finest of Western culture for our students. Besides Jack Sparrow is way funnier.

I Better Hurry Up and Title this Post So We Can Go To Dinner

There are many things about going home I am looking forward to. One, I see my family. This is very exciting. Two, I get to sleep in my own bed. A bed of which I've moulded to very particular specifications in order to achieve maximum comfort. Three, my friends. Apparently they have missed me, which is a good thing considering how much I have missed them. Four, I will be reunited with the Canadian countryside. Although Ho Chi Minh is very exciting and different and amazing, I am a rural kind of girl at heart.
There are many things I will miss about Vietnam. Numero uno, my students. I got attached to the little buggers in 4 weeks and I would like to be able to continue to teach them. Number two is the food. My mouth has experienced a tastebud revolution. Although sometimes my stomach is behind the times and likes to stage mutiny (probably too much information, but hey it happens to everyone) I will miss the delicious food very much. Three equals the cheap pedicures and manicures and leg waxing, all of which I got done today. Getting my legs waxed is cheaper than buying disposable razors in Canada. And I'm lazy, so having someone else take care of that situation is very nice. Also, my nails are full time fancy. Pictures to come. Four, I will miss experiencing new things every day. Vietnam has been a whirlwind of elements I haven't seen or done before. Honestly, I know it has changed me as a person. Don't worry though, I don't think I am any more mature.... Just more..... worldly? Maybe?
It is hard to believe that we have been gone for 6 weeks. The day we left seems like it was both a long time ago, and only yesterday. This kind of dichotomy seems to be defining my mood right now. I want to go home, but I also want to stay. I feel like I've been here a very short time, and a very long time.....
Maybe I'm just weird in the head. I know Naomi thinks so.
Anyways, we are going to dinner at a Brazilian bbq. Then I have to do some packing. I have many other things to blog about... pretty nail art, scooter rides, the end of CIS summer camp... All of these things to come. But right now food is my number one priority.
Plus Naomi is being very pushy and making me finish my blogpost right this second. I suppose I'll miss being here with her in Vietnam. Don't tell her that though. She might use my friendly affection against me.

Well thats done...

Yesterday was our last day of teaching although admittedly not much instruction happened. The day was mostly about the big final production and making sure all of the VIPs were happy. The final show included; a slideshow of events at camp with digital music created by our students, the chicken dance with the grade one students, shadow puppets from Kim's class, the itsy bitsy spider sung by the grade threes, there is a hole at the bottom of the sea sung by the grade twos, two short plays based on the works of Robert Munsch directed by Kim and two more of the same directed by me, and an Aikido presentation that went on, and on, and on. The owners said that it was the best school show since Principal Bonnie's Christmas Pageant, I think that means they were pleased. Our rehearsals had been horrendous so of course on the day everything ran really smoothly. After my kids finished I spent most of my time gazing at the Audience. There were people taping the show on their laptops, ipads, and iphones. There were people chatting and texting on their cellphones. There is a small part in one of the plays we did in which the boys pull out water guns and pretend they are firemen while squirting the audience. I probably enjoyed that part a little bit to much.
Take that texters!
We tried to integrate some poi into the show but the two top students were to shy to stand onstage and work with the glow poi. So instead we had two of the other students do it while the audience was coming in and while they were very enthusiastic they really only knew about two moves.
I am proud of my students but I have to admit I am genuinely relieved camp is over. On the last day both Kim and I were asked if we would come back next year. We have talked about it and we are considering it. I think my bottom line is that if we were to do it again we would need either our room and board paid for or our tickets. If anyone wanted to come with us we could market ourselves as a group...

The Pisser

"Miss, I go out?"
"Miss, I go toilet?"
"Can I go out?"
"Can I go toilet?"
"Toilet?"

The above phrases were beginning to get to me so I decided yesterday to speak to my class about appropriate ways in which to ask if one may go to the washroom.

Hilarity ensued when I tried to explain the difference between Can I and May I.

Me: If you say Can I go to the bathroom you are asking me if you are physically capable of going to the bathroom. Oh, you don't know what physically means...um, ok you are asking if you are biologically able to pee or poo. You don't understand that either. *sigh* Right. You are asking me if this (wild gesturing towards groin) works!!

Students: Bah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

It worked though, no one asks me anymore if they can go to the bathroom.

The Powers of the Universe

I hate boogers. I do. Like, a lot. And feet. But today, mostly boogers.
It seems like everywhere I turn people are picking their nose. It is like the universe wants me to be grossed out and lines every moment up perfectly just so I can look the second someone is fishing for a big one.
Look, I know I want to be a teacher. I know I want to be a Mother one day. I know I will have to deal with snot. I'm working on my aversion. But it is nasty. Nasty nasty nasty. Makes my gag reflex go crazy.
You may wonder why I'm telling you this. Well, my friends... I would never write anything useless on this blog (says the girl who wrote about underwear more than once) so my description of my hatred of snotty substances is leading to something.
The something is this. In the past two days the Universe has dealt me more than just frequent nose picking.
Yesterday, in drama we had a break. I was sitting on the stage (as I often do) and one of our extra special troublemakers crawled up to me after he had been rolling around on stage for, you know... fun. Anywho he got right up near my face. Too close. On all fours. With snot running down his face. Like serious booger action. He is at least in grade 6.... You would think a 10-16 year old would know how to take care of that kind of situation.
He then proceeded to ask me what I thought was "How are you?" and I said "Fine?" and then he said "No, how mumble mumble mumble" and I said pardon me? Then he said "How old are you?" (keep in mind he still has snot running down into his mouth) and I was like "Twenty-two."
This was a good enough answer for him to crawl away and continue the rolling around on the stage he had previously been enjoying.
But that was just the appetizer to the booger bonanza that I experienced today.
Now I've spent a lot of time in a hockey arena. I know what a farmer blow is. I choose to ignore them and continue on with my spectating. But it is difficult to ignore when one of your students walks up beside the water cooler and puts a finger on one of his nostrils and blows a huge wad of snot onto the carpet of the theatre. Seriously? SERIOUSLY?!
He then wiped it with his shoe, thinking he had been so sneaky with his snot shenanigans.
All I have to say is: why Universe? WHY?!

Airplanes

Today we got a new student in our grade 3-6 drama class. I don't know what his name is yet because he doesn't speak English or respond to Vietnamese, Korean, Taiwanese or any other language that we tried today. We found out later that he is Vietnamese but that he is also special needs. He sat quietly through the first 20 minutes of our rehearsal and then he began to giggle and talk to himself. Kim tried to shush him and Ms. Thuy sat next to him and tried to get him to listen but there was no stopping him. The topper was in the midst of Ms. Kim's production of Robert Munsch's seminal work I have to go he stood up with a high pitched giggle and started dancing around the auditorium like an airplane. For a moment none of us knew what to do. He wasn't responding to anything anybody said and he had this irrepressible giggle and he just kept dancing and ducking around like an airplane. Then we started laughing, and laughing, and laughing and laughing some more. Kim was doubled over on herself and I had tears running down my cheeks.  We were trying to be professional but in the face of such oddity we were at a loss. One of the students asked me "Ms. Naomi why he crazy?" So when he was finally calmed down and removed from the classroom we had to have a talk about how it isn't nice to call someone crazy and how we have to accept people with differences. We can't keep him in the class because we need everyone else to focus on their performance which is 3 days away. Also three of our leads announced today that they would not be here for the performance so we were also trying to train our understudies. Anyway here in honour of our new friend Airplane, is, well, airplanes.