Blood, sweat, tears, and a few little green sprouts

Blood: we had our first dripping/gushing blood in K4C this week. Luckily it was only a bloody nose and it stopped fairly quickly. Bloody noses I can handle. Open gaping flesh wounds? Not so much. Praying we don't end up with any of those! 

Sweat: our morning recess is shady and cool, but lunch recess is like a little sauna. It doesn't help that we eat in an open air cafeteria so I'm sweating even before I get to recess duty, as even the shade at midday is somewhat miserable. My poor little kiddos are soaked after ten minutes. We don't stay out much longer than that and there's usually a gaggle of them following me around waiting for me to ring the bell for the last minute or two. They are sometimes resistant to drinking water earlier in the day, but no one resists when I make them get drinks after lunch! 

Tears: my morning drop off criers have pretty much stopped, but we still get some tears throughout the day from bumps on the playground or tired frustrating moments during wake up or things like that. No one has cried in time out yet, and I totally expected them too. My TA told me my time outs aren't scary, which they aren't supposed to be, though they seem sufficiently effective so far. Come to think of it, no one has gotten time out during recess yet, so maybe that's when the tears will come...

Sprouts: I've been getting more into gardening in the last few years and have enjoyed visiting my brother's community garden in New York and seeing what he grows at his apartment as well. So this summer I bought some seeds because hey, if he can grow tomatoes on his fire escape in New York, I should be able to grow them on my balcony in Bangkok, right? This week I planted tomato and radish seeds and they just started sprouting🌱. I'm so excited to get them into pots and watch them grow. And then of course, to eat them. I have some sugar snap peas too, but I wanted to try these first. 

Tomato sprout 

Radishes! Maybe not my favorite veggie, but they're supposed to be easier to grow than most of the others and I like them well enough, especially if they're from my own garden ❤️

The First Week

LOne week down, and so far K4 is everything I hoped it would be. My students are delightful. They range from shy and sensitive to spunky-spitfire independent, from well trained little listeners to 'what? you want me to sit down?'. Some look at me like I'm crazy when I tell them to draw a picture of themself, others have practically mastered the objectives of K4 already. They are excited, giggly, impulsive, silly, talkative, stubborn, eager, insistent, adorable, emotional, hilarious, and all the other things a 4 year old ought to be. When we went to the big auditorium for chapel yesterday, the chairs kept folding up on half of them because they aren't big enough to weigh it down. The little one next to me held her blankie. It's been awesome. 

I've been so impressed with how quickly they are catching on to the classroom routines. The one transition that we are really struggling with is entirely my fault and not theirs- we haven't yet found a "come in from recess signal" that is loud enough for them to hear during the craziness of lunch recess. They're great at lining up after morning recess, but it's much calmer and quieter then so they can hear. Well, that and some of them really don't like waking up after nap time, but hey, who does? 

As expected, the first week brought tears, snot, vomit, and blood, but it also brought lots of laughter and smiles. Their favorite activity is a brilliant "game" called Mokey See, Monkey Do. I say, "Monkey see, monkey do, I can ________, how about you?" and fill in the blank with all kinds of things- wiggle, jump, touch my toes, act like a dinosaur, etc.  The brilliant part is, the last line of the game is always 'line up' or 'sit quietly' or whatever else I need them to do at that time. For a movement break or a transition, it works like a charm :) 

There are things I miss about middle school for sure- the quirks of preteens and young teens, being able to send a kid to fill my water bottle for me, their independence, the five minutes between classes when I can actually use the bathroom- but plenty of my kids have been stopping by after school this week to say hi or waving vigorously at me when they see me on their way to PE, drama, or play after lunch (all of which require them to walk by the elementary building). They change so much over the summers that some of their names escape me when I first see them, especially those I haven't taught in a few years. I miss my middle school colleagues and the swagger of the 8th graders who think they rule the world, but I am comforted by a great K4 team and my new kiddos and being so busy during the day that it just flies by.  I'm glad I made the switch. 

As my days have begun to find their way back to routine, the homesickness has come too. Pictures of my family enjoying time in northern Michigan, videos of my nephew laughing hysterically, reports about how my Grampa is doing- while I want them and welcome them, they also make me miss people. It's the never ending struggle of my life and my job- my heart scattered across the globe. But as I sit with my tea and look at my balcony garden and the trees and city beyond, I know I am where I am supposed to be right now. God is faithful. 

Ready for K4!

8 months ago I sat in the elementary office talking to the principal, exploring the possibility of moving to elementary. When she mentioned that a K4 position would be open I knew it was for me.  Today we had our open house and I met most of my sweet kiddos. I can't wait for them to come tomorrow!  It's going to be such a fun year :)  

Classroom "before" pictures (what it looked like when I showed up July 23):

The classroom in progress...

Ready for Open House today!

Ready or not, here they come! And yes, I'm ready :)

Summer highlights

If I had to sum up my summer in one phrase, it would be quality time.  The last three consecutive years I've had major summer events of some sort that kept me pretty busy (Argentina, Meg's wedding, then Argentina again), making this summer feel a bit low key. Somehow though, it was still jam packed, and as always, there were things I hoped to do that didn't happen. 

The highlight for sure was the quality time that I got with so many different people.  

One definite highlight of any trip to Michigan is my time with my friends Katie and Cora and their families. If anyone wants tips on how to keep their kids connected to relatives who live far away, these ladies are great models.  It brings me so much joy to see the kids' little faces at the front window when I drive up. Despite the fact that I've lived out of the country for most or all of their short lives, their moms make sure that they know me. I am so thankful for the time I had with them this summer! 

Making and then playing our own board game with Cora and her kids. 

Another highlight was the time I got to spend with my brother Matt. Between my five days in New York and his three in Michigan, I felt like I had more time with him than I have in years.  I also loved that I got to enjoy both of my brothers' cooking this summer. I don't know many (or any!) other expats who return home looking forward to the dinner their brother is going to make for them! 

A rather unexpected highlight was that by the end of the summer, I had managed to see, at least briefly, every single one of my aunts and uncles on both sides of the family.  I think there are 20 of them, and with so many people out of town during the summer months, it was a remarkable feat.  It also meant that I got a lot of time with my family and extended family in general, and that is always awesome.  They are the roots that give me the wings to fly here.  Within the aunt and uncle highlight was the particular time I got with my aunt and uncle in San Jose.  It was really special to get that one-on-one (or two) time with them and I can't wait to go back. 

In California with Aunt Leona and Uncle Dave

A long awaited highlight was the time I got with my friend Holly in Central California.  Ever since she made the decision to leave Bangkok we've were planning this trip and it did not disappoint.  I love that we had hours and hours to talk and that I got to see a little snipet of her life in California.  

With Holly :)

My final weekend in the States brought several great highlights of food and company. My friends Katie and Amy, who I skated with many years ago and both live out of state now, we're both in Ann Arbor visiting family. We had a chance to catch up over a long dinner at Bigalora Friday night. I'm not sure the last time that all three of us were together, but I think it was in the ballpark of five years ago. Then Saturday I went out for a farewell dinner with my mom  and siblings (we missed you Matt and Andrew!) at Bacco, which was amazing. Every single course was just perfect. Then on Sunday we had a bridal shower for my cousin at Bigalora Royal Oak and I wrapped up the weekend with breakfast with Katie and Amy on Monday before a Tuesday morning departure. Whew! 

The most anticipated highlight (and it lived up to its billing) was the quality time I got with my nephew.  I got time with him at family events, time with him at his house, one-on-one time babysitting him, and time with him at Aunts and Elliot Day. It was awesome to be there to see him roll over for the first time and watch him grow and develop over the course of the six weeks.  He was definitely longer and gigglier by the time I left, and he had just learned to sit up and had started eating cereal.  He is just absolutely delightful and I miss him terribly!  In addition to the joy of meeting him, I also really liked seeing my sister and brother-in-law as parents.  They're doing a great job :)  

The day we first met. Yes, I bought him that onesie :) 

What a great mom she is! 

Too cute! 

Our last day together- sitting up like a big boy! 

There were so many other quality time moments sprinkled throughout my summer that made it a lot of fun to be back.  It's never easy to leave everyone and the adjustment back can be a bit rough, but somehow the working crazy hours has made it a bit easier in that at least I don't feel the quiet quite so much.  I'm thankful for all the quality time that God blessed me with on my trip!  

Jet lag brain

I would like to write about my time in Michigan this summer, but that would require processing that is wel beyond my emotional or physical energy right now so instead I will put my feet up, eat a Thin Mint (or two or four) and tell you about my jet lag brain. 

Jet lag brain is defined as doing stupid things all day due to a lack of sleep.  I'm an 8-9 hours a night girl and my first years in Bangkok were blessedly free of jetlag, but lately I have not been so fortunate.  It's Friday night and I haven't slept more than 5 hours a night since Sunday night. That must be a lifetime record for me.  As I result I have done laughably stupid things all day, despite feeling much better than I really should. 

1. I spelled wonderful as "wonerful". On a bullentin board. Redo. 

2. A short time later I hung a line of numbers 1-100 on my classroom wall (for counting the first 100 days of school).  Well, that I was the idea anyway. Somehow I missed 76-80 and skipped right fromm 75 to 81. I was just glad that I only had to redo the last 3/4! 

3. I chose background paper for my jungle animals bullentin board and picked yellow.  Two of the animals are the same exact yellow. So I added some green grass to the bottom so they could be against a green background. But then the animals in the yellow looked like they were floating in midair. A quick text message consult with a friend decided that the floating was just going to be okay. Then I needed to add a sun because the giraffe's neck was too long for the grass resulting in yellow on yellow again. I have lightly tacked everything up now to make sure I like it before finalizing.  I've already adjusted the elephant around 100 times.  Quick project rapidly became a long project.  

The elephant is less angled now, but this is essentially the final product. No, I did not make the animals (credit there goes to my friend Karly), but yes, I did make that grass and I am pretty impressed with myself for that! 

4. Perhaps the mostly costly oops of all- I started a load of laundry without turning the water on (you need to turn it on and off every time you do a load). I discovered my mistake 20-30 min later when the machine was beeping like crazy and flashing all kinds of lights. I got the water on, but it wasn't coming out much and couldn't restart the machine/cycle. I unplugged the washer and plugged it back in because that fixes everything, right? Now it won't even turn on. Sigh. 

Luckily there are new coin operated machines on the ground floor of my building that I can use tomorrow night. Here's to hoping that I'll actually sleep tonight!  

California Dreamin

This past week I had the privilege to spend some time with family and friends in Central and Northern California. I had a few days with my friend Holly and then a few days with my Aunt Leona and Uncle Dave. Holly and I taught together at ICS before she moved to Central California a year ago. We started our trip in San Jose, traveling down the coast through Monterey, Carmel, and the Big Sur area, before catching the sunset in Cambria and finishing our drive at her home in Paso Robles. The drive was absolutely stunning, as was the company. We had a great breakfast with Holly's family the next morning and then we spent Friday in Paso Robles and San Luis Obispo and had oceanside apps and cocktails at Avila Beach before another beautiful sunset. It was so good to spend time with Holly after just talking via Skype for the last year!

On Saturday, Dave and Leona joined us for wine tasting in the Paso Robles region. With most of my wine tasting experience coming in deep Argentine reds and Malbecs, it was a lot of fun to taste a variety of wines from small vineyards in the area. At the end of the day, We ended the day at my uncle's favorite brewery, and then I head back to San Jose with them

After a lazy Sunday morning, Dave, Leona, and I went for a beach walk and tide pool exploration in Carmel. The sunny weather was perfect and it was a refreshing change to be on a gorgeous beach that wasn't 95 degrees and humid! We explored the charming town of Carmel a bit before heading to the Monterey Aquarium for their summer live music evening. The aquarium itself was amazing, and that much more fun for the evening atmosphere (and lack of hoards of children). For my last day we drove north to Napa for a couple of tours and tastings, fulfilling a lifelong dream of mine to visit Napa Valley. It lived up to everything I imagined, and more. We had a special dinner at home that night before I flew out the next morning. 

It was a wonderful week that left me asking, can I do this every year? 

New York!

This past weekend I got to go to New York to visit my brother.  I love NYC, but I've been several times in the last few years so we decided to spend some time outside the city and rented an Airbnb in the Catskills for two nights.  I got some time in lower Manhattan on Friday before while Matt worked and then we drove north with his girlfriend, his dog, and his roommate's dog.  It was a crowded car, but it worked.  Like any good up north trip, our activities primarily consisted of hiking and discussing, planning, preparing, and eating great meals.  Our cabin was next to a pond near the small town of Walden, NY.  Almost like being at Walden Pond, almost.  The cabin had a screened in porch overlooking the pond that we found was the perfect breakfast spot. And appetizer spot. And dinner spot. 

Saturday was cold and a bit wet so our hike got cut a bit short and we had a nice big lunch in town before heading back and going for a long walk in the woods behind the cabin.  On Sunday afternoon we hiked in Harriman State Park on our way back to the city.  It was a beautiful day, gorgeous hike in the hills, and perfect ending to the trip.  On Monday I got my city fix with a visit to the Tenement Museum, Central Park, the MET, and a cafe while Matt worked and then a great evening with dinner and drinks in the Lower East Side.  Tuesday I got time in Matt's neighborhood, Ridgewood, which I really enjoy, before flying back to Detroit.  I can't wait to go back next year!  

Saturday hike to the waterfall in Minnewaska State Park 

Wildflowers and woods behind the cabin. 

Start of the Sunday hike in Harriman State Park 

Lunch in Central Park