Mandalay Photos

Since I'm still stuck here in a hotel in Bangkok, thought I'd take advantage of the internet to post some photos I've taken at school/in Mandalay.  Actually, being "stuck" in a hotel isn't bad.  I have air con, cable TV, multiple restaurants/food carts within 100 yards.  This is a nice way to spend a rainy afternoon in Bangkok.  I'm not sure how I'll cope with life when I'm expected to be other than a couch potato.

This is my apartment in Mandalay...kidding.  I was feeling homesick so was looking at photos of my home in Florida.  Thanks to Patrick for staying there while I'm gone and taking care of everything for me.

I could have sworn I'd added these photos.  The next several are from our field trip to Nature's Life.  Sort of like a giant petting zoo +.

The kids LOVED riding horses.

But were scared to death of the chickens.

She loves her mom, Hello Kitty and this hat.  She's a sensitive sweetie.

Digging soil for our first planting project.

When you see smiles like this everyday, how can you not enjoy your job?  I love these kids.  That's Sam, btw, who is the one I wrote about recently who commented "Oh no!  We're not very clever!"  Yes, Sam, you are clever.  And cute.

Two Ayeyarwaddy International School flags and the Myanmar flag.

We were studying plants in Science so went outside to draw different types of grasses, shrubs and trees.

We challenged a 3rd grade class to a throw down - who could correctly classify words by part of speech.  First grade won!

We had five minutes before recess so I broke out the ping pong balls.  The goal is to blow it off the other guys side.  Very fun.

This was during the 3rd grade grammar throw down.  It's blurred because they never stop moving!

Drawing + science = fun and learning.

I'm a sticker for making the kids follow rules and not run wild.  It makes it possible for us to spend time outdoors doing studying science.

May not look like it from this photo, but this charmer is one of the most social kids in the class and is rarely without a smile.

We celebrated pirates all week long.  Here, they're making pirate hats.

Teacher May made this project happen - she's great!

We had a pirate parade to the principal's office where they greeted Dr. Gary with "Arrrgh, ahoy matey!" followed by a pirate chant.

They wore their hats for a week.

It was his birthday so his parents brought this tiny little  cake plus gallons of ice cream.  The kids were out of control for the rest of the day.

I've seen smaller wedding cakes.

The birthday boy and I cut the cake together, much like a wedding ceremony.  He was in hog heaven to be the center of attention.