Daily Schedule for a First Grader

About 1/2 of my kids attend not just a full day of school at Ayeyarwaddy International School, which is based on an American curriculum, they also attend Chinese school.  Here's a typical schedule.

5:00 - Wake up
5:30 - leave for Chinese school.  Sometimes have something to eat in the car
6:00 - Chinese school starts
8:15 - Chinese school ends
8:45 - American school starts
3:30 - American school ends
4:00 - Chinese school starts
6:00 - Chinese school ends
6:30 - Dinner
7:00 - Private teacher for two hours to help with homework
9:00 - Bed

Bed time is varied.  Many of the kids stay up to midnight or later to do homework.  Chinese school focuses on math and Chinese language but covers all subjects.  On Saturdays, they just attend Chinese school.  All day.

This schedule could explain why I have to continually work on keeping students awake in class.  It could also explain yesterday morning.  10 minutes into the day, one of my boys was looking very sad.  I took him outside and asked what was wrong.  His eyes welling with tears, he said plaintively "I wanted to sharpen my pencil but Susie was using the pencil sharpener."

"Why didn't you just wait?"

"She was taking too long!"  That's when the sobs started.

Think you've got stress in your life?

Halloween!

Halloween may be new to Myanmar but it's a favorite with us American teachers.  I coordinated trick or treating among some of the classes and my kids made skeletons and masks to wear.  It was great fun and a day filled with chaos!

One of the other first grade teachers went all out.  Next year, the challenge is ON!

Teacher Matt's second graders came to trick or treat. 

I gave the kids a choice of 6 different mask templates.  Most chose the vampire mask.

They also voted that I be a vampire.  I made a couple of the tiny Montessori kids cry.

I love you, too, Jack.

This girl added pigtails and bows to her skeleton.

The Montessori babies.  Ages 3-6.  The older ones will be my kids next year.

My kids heading to another class to trick or treat.  I had given up having them in line.  Chaos prevailed but a good time was had by all.

Photos of My Life in Myanmar

My apartment.  Kitchen is on the right, living area with no furniture straight ahead, bathroom on left and you can see the foot of the bed.

My bedroom.  Shopping today for a lamp.  Can't wait to find some stuff for the walls.

Front door and the kitchen.  No counter space!

They're building this across from the school.  I was told it's a house.  There are 2X4s sticking up everywhere.

Gate and wall just outside my apartment building.  Since the recent bombings they've increased the number of guards.  I feel very, very safe.

My after school club - Cards and Games.  Uno, chess, parcheesi, connect 4 and more.

These are 3rd graders playing chess.  They are trilingual.  They want to go to a University in the United States and become scientists.  They are amazing.

I did a Saturday training session for the school's Montessori teachers on how to teach phonics.  I showed them a kinesthetic way to teach the sounds of the alphabet.  They were making x's.

Their approach to the X.

Phonics Twister, anyone?

After the training, a few of us headed to U Bein Bridge which is a famous landmark near Mandalay.  It was rainy but fun.

One of the teachers and I enjoyed a snack.  This is traditional - whole, unpeeled shrimp deep fried in a batter.  That's deep fried corn underneath.  Very good stuff.

Teacher Kanaki is from Singapore and teaches Montessori pre-school. 

After the prawns we went for a plate of fried whole small fish.  Very much like eating smelt.  All that was missing was a cold beer.

I asked the kids to bring a bag for trick or treating.  Jack brought in a Coach bag.  He's wearing the traditional tanaka on his face - it's decorative, keeps sunburn away and is supposed to be good for the skin.  The majority of people wear it daily.

The stairs to my apartment.  Not sure what they were thinking when they designed the building but when it rains water pours down the slippery stairs.

Birthday gifts.  My assistant teachers brought me roses and the most beautiful handmade purse and change purse.  Made of black velvet and hand beaded.  Made by one of the most famous artisans in Myanmar.  On the right is an eco-mug from one of the kids who found out it was my birthday.

My Idea of Fun

As I said in my last post, I’ve been working a lot and not getting off the school compound often.  But since the school compound houses my apartment building which is home to about 20 other teachers, it’s not lonely.  Actually, it’s very much like living in a coed dorm.  With residents aged 25 – 73.  Most are American but we also have a South African (she just started this week), an Italian, a Singaporean a woman from London and a guy from Wales.  We’re a diverse group, which makes conversations lively and fun.

My typical day starts between 5 and 5:30 a.m.  I get ready for work, which includes packing a lunch since I don’t care for the food provided for us.  Which really says something if you know me, since I’ll eat most anything.  I prefer to take a sandwich or salad and eat and work at my desk during my 30 minute lunch.

I get to school between 6 and 6:30 a.m. and head to reboot the servers to turn on the internet and intranet.  Then down to the second floor where my classroom is.  I do personal internet stuff until about 7:00 a.m. and then get busy creating materials for lessons along with the four weekly tests the kids take.

At 8:00 a.m., my first students arrive.  They want to chat and have me use the computer and Smart Board to play math games with them.  By 8:45 a.m. school has started and the day flies by until 3:30 p.m.  On Thursdays, I host the Card and Games club for grades 1-3 with another teacher and that lasts until 4:30.

I usually head for home (about a 2 minute commute) about 4:00 p.m.  Often other teachers will also be heading back.  Or, we meet in the open area in the apartment building to vent and talk about our days in the classroom before heading to our own apartments.

Many evenings, I just stay in, make dinner, watch tv, read and relax.  Sometimes someone will stop by to chat – for five minutes or a couple of hours.  Sometimes I’m the one dropping in.  It’s not unusual for several people to drop by individually.

My birthday is on Halloween.  I hadn’t mentioned it to many people but said something when I got home that evening.  I was planning a quiet night of Mexican food and tv.  I was in my robe (actually a mu’u mu’u from Samoa – think baggy housedress) and had just finished eating when there was a knock at the door.  It was three of my neighbors, coming to help me celebrate.  They brought wine and one of the guys immediately started stripping and announced he and the other guy (both less than half my age) were my birthday present.

After I persuaded Matt to keep his pants on and put his shirt back on, we settled in – they were sitting on the mats on the floor and I was relaxed on my twin bed.  While we were enjoying the wine and conversation there were a couple more knocks on the door.  These folks didn’t know it was my birthday and were just stopping by to say hello.  At 9:00 p.m. I was pooped and thinking about my 5:00 a.m. wake up call.  The group of 8 partiers headed next door to continue the festivities.  It was a fun night and typical of the impromptu gatherings we have.

Yesterday was Saturday.  I got up at my normal time and headed to school to do lesson plans for the upcoming week.  I hoped to be done in a couple of hours but spent more time than expected trying (unsuccessfully) to take care of a finance issue at home and then gossiping with my assistant teachers when they arrived.

I was finished by 10:45, just in time to head back and get cleaned up to go out with one of the other teachers.  We’d planned lunch and a massage.  Things didn’t start well, since I asked the guards to call a taxi to come at 11:30.  There was a communication breakdown and it didn’t happen.  At 11:35 we asked them to call again and they tried but couldn’t seem to find anyone available.  At 12:45 a taxi finally arrived and we headed out to “Wilburs”.  The teachers talked all the time about going to Wilburs, mostly for happy hour.  I’d never gone.

Wilbur is actually the name of the owner of the restaurant, which is called Central Park.  It is small, open air and charming.  Wilbur is Myanmar and used to work at the school.  He wisely recognized that foreign teachers (from our school and others in town) were willing to spend their paychecks on liquor and western food.

The weather in Myanmar has cooled and yesterday was delightful.  Very hot in the sun, but perfect in the shade.  Gretchen and I enjoyed the breeze as we waited for our lunch.  Mine was a cheeseburger and fries.  A bargain at $3 USD and really delicious.  The conversation and ambiance of the place made it even better. 

Travel is my passion and it’s wonderful to work and live with people who share that.  Name a remote city and it’s a safe bet that one of us has been there or knows someone who has.  Gretchen and I were talking about our upcoming travel plans.  She used to live in Malaysia and had the name of the owner of an eco-resort in Sumatra that has great jungle trips.  I plan to do that on a visa run early next year.  We also talked about Guatemala, where I spent three months and she spent three years.

After lunch our driver, who waited patiently for us, took us to GGG for a massage.  He bargained and got us the locals’ rate instead of the typical foreign price by explaining we worked and lived in Mandalay.  We headed into a small room and stretched out on two mattresses where two young Myanmar men went to work to get our kinks out.  Myanmar massages are done full clothed and the ones doing the massaging use their hands, feet and whole bodies for some of the stretching/popping.  It was great.

As we were leaving I pointed out an alley next to the massage place.  I’d read on the internet that two of the best restaurants in town were there.  We headed down to investigate.  The restaurants, one an Indian vegetarian and the other Thai, were across the alley from each other.  Both were upstairs over stores filled with carvings and art work.  While we were poking around one of the men in the family (the stores and restaurants seem to be owned by the same family) started talking with us.  He explained he’d just come back to Mandalay a year or so ago after 40 years living in Manhattan.  An interesting guy and I hope to run into him again when we go back to the stores and restaurants.

On our way back to the school, we stopped at CP, which all the teachers seemed to know about but me.  They sell rotisserie chicken.  $4 USD for ½ a large chicken.  That’s pricey by Myanmar standards but I’ve struggled to find fresh meat here and love rotisserie chicken. 

We got back to school about 4:30 p.m.  It was a great day.  Several teachers were hanging around talking but I excused myself to go in my apartment and chill.  A few hours later, one of my teacher friends stopped by.  We chatted about Peace Corps life (she served in Thailand) and life in general and she left after a couple of hours.

I suspect that some people think I lead this glamorous, exciting life in Myanmar.  After all, it’s Burma – on the other side of the world.  Actually, my day to day life is very tame.  But, a day of lunch and a massage and a little shopping have a little more spice because all the people we were interacting with are Myanmar.  Some, like the guys at the massage place, spoke no English.  The taxi driver, like most here, was happy to practice his English and told us about his family and his career in the Myanmar army.  And how proud he was that both of his daughters have university degrees.

It’s not the tourist sites or big festivals that make me love living here.  It’s the small daily interactions with people who are curious, respectful and friendly.  That, combined with friends who share a similar lifestyle and mindset along with the creature comforts I have in the city and my apartment make it easy to live here.

Time Flies

Typical Myanmar holiday food - it was a gift from the mom of one of my kids.  Tea leaves (they eat them as salad here), fermented shrimp, peanuts, ginger, garlic  and other goodies.  Tasty.

My birthday treat - local bread, like naan, cheese and green chiles I brought back from Bangkok.  Very tasty.

It seems like just last week that I was writing about my experience in a Bangkok hospital.  But it’s been weeks.  I sound like my grandmother when I describe how time is just flying by.

When I got home, I was still puny and had to keep my leg elevated as much as possible.  Luckily for me I have two amazing assistant teachers who volunteered to be my legs in the classroom.  But if you’ve ever taught, been in a classroom or just know a young child, you’ll know that it’s virtually impossible and very frustrating to teach 28 first graders from a chair.

Since my return, the leg is much better but did require two additional doctors visits.  The first was to a clinic which had patients waiting (patiently) in the street, yard and foyer of the small house which is used as a clinic.  I was given VIP status and immediately given a chair while everyone smiled and nodded.  I smiled and nodded back and waited.  After ten minutes I was with the doctor and his assistant, both of whom spoke English.  Ten minutes later I was out the door with three prescriptions, all for a whopping $11 USD. 

The next time, the clinic was closed so I was taken to the Palace Hospital.  That would have been very intimidating but the school driver snagged someone and explained (apparently) what an important person I was, although I was too stupid to speak Myanmar.  I don’t think he actually said that last part but should have.

I was again given VIP status and after 25 minutes was back in a taxi with 3 more prescriptions.  The price was higher this time, $16, but the doctor spoke better English and also seemed to really get what was happening with the leg and changed the diagnosis from just an infection to something a bit longer lasting.  Seems the Dr. in Bangkok was correct in his initial diagnosis that it was more than just an infection.

The point of all this medical talk is that the unexpected time off work put me behind and I’ve been working overtime to catch up.  Today, November 3, 2013 is my first full day off in 3 weeks.  Which is another reason that so far my sightseeing has been mostly limited to the grocery stores.  There are three of them now, by the way.  Ocean, in Diamond Plaza, the only mall in Mandalay; CitiMart which is in what used to be a mall until all the other stores moved to Diamond Plaza; and a new store whose name I can never remember.  All the stores carry pretty much the same products (although the new store carries only some processed cheese slices rather than the real stuff) and have similar prices.

I have a week off at the end of November for a visa run.  I have to leave the country every 70 days so I can reenter Myanmar to get a new visa.  I opted to just stay in Bangkok.  The school pays for my flight there and since I was sick during the last trip I didn’t get to do the sightseeing and shopping that I wanted.  And, I figured I’d use the over two weeks off over Christmas to visit one or two new countries.

But I couldn’t decide where to go.  Not that there’s a lack of places I can’t wait to visit, but it’s the high season.  That means both crowds and prices are at their peak.  After thinking of how little I’ve seen of Mandalay let alone the rest of Myanmar along with the desire to protect my pocket book and avoid crowds, I’ve decided to stay home for the holidays.

I will likely be the only teacher in the apartment building and I assume the only staff working will be security guards.  That isn’t all bad.  Plus with the money I’ll save on airfare and hotels I’ll be able to take taxis around town and really have time to explore.  I do plan to take the 19 minute (!) flight to Bagan which is second only to Angkor Wat in Cambodia for tourists wanting to visit amazing religious sites in Asia.  I’ve heard nothing but great things about Bagan and look forward to a few days there.

I don’t want to give the impression that I don’t have fun here and only slave away at school.  I do have downtime and enjoy it, but between illness and busyness, which makes me tired, I’ve opted to just hang out mostly on the school compound.

Read on in the next post for what the other teachers and I do for entertainment.

Mandalay, Here I Come!

Sunset view of the moat around the palace in Mandalay

Everyone at Camellian Hospital was so nice to me.  They were empathetic, professional and friendly.  It was nice to go in and have everyone know my name.  Having said all that, I hope I never see any of them again unless we happen to run into each other on the street in Bangkok.

I spent several hours at the hospital this morning before getting the good news from Dr. P.  I'll take oral antibiotics for the next couple of weeks and he told me to spend more time prone than upright to keep the pain and swelling down.  Whatever, I'm free and I'm heading home to Mandalay.

I've been touched with the number of messages I've been getting every day from my fellow teachers at the school.  We all live in a new apartment building on the school compound.  It's a congenial group and while we each have our own apartments, it feels a bit like living in a dorm.  The good news is that people are sensitive to let others have their own space or socialize, as they choose.

After a school day that starts at 6:30 a.m. and ends at 4 or 5 p.m. and is filled with very energetic (and loud) first graders, I tend to prefer evenings of solitude and silence.  After almost three weeks of solitude and silence I'm ready for some conversation.

One of the challenges of our living situation is that we live together and work together.  On a daily basis there's not a lot of new stuff to talk about.  That will be different when I get home, since most of us were on vacation at the same time and went to a variety of places.  I can't wait to hear stories of trips to Bagan, Angkor Wat, the USA and others.

My flight leaves at 10:50 a.m. tomorrow and arrives in Mandalay at 12:15 p.m. (with a 30 minute time difference).  For practical reasons, I'm hoping that the driver will be willing to stop at the grocery store so I can pick up fresh bread, veggies, etc.  But on the other hand, if we head straight back to school, I should get there in time to pop in and surprise my kids.  I can't wait to see them.

I'm planning not to teach again until next Monday.  After the travel tomorrow, I suspect my leg is going to be ready for some "up" time on Friday.  Plus, I have report cards to finish (overdue) and lesson plans for next week, after I figure out what the assistant teachers covered in my absence.

I'm taking back some things I bought here.  I didn't shop much my first couple of days and then was bed bound so was thrilled that my last hotel is right next door to the Villa market.  It has American prices (or higher) and imported food geared toward foreign tastes.  I'm taking home taco seasoning, Italian seasoning, cumin, several cans of green chiles (at about $4 for a small can) and a couple boxes of Kraft Mac and Cheese for those moments when only over-processed food from my poor college days will soothe the homesickness.

I'm also taking back gifts for my assistant teachers.  They work very hard.  They make my life so much easier.  They are smart, sweet and caring.  And, not on purpose, I dumped the class on them for two weeks.  The gifts are small but I hope they enjoy them.

What is amazing to me is how I've felt about this whole experience.  I didn't want to go to the doctor in the first place but sucked it up and went.  Then I had several very difficult hours after he broke the news that I needed immediate treatment while I tried to get my hands on money to pay for my care.

Once I had the money in hand, I wasn't worried, scared or sad.  I just felt relieved that I could turn myself over to someone to take care of me and help me feel better.  The doctor, nurses, priests and other staff at Camellian did that perfectly.  For the six days in the hospital, I just relaxed and went with the routine.  Once out, I didn't like having to change hotels three times but got into the routine of IV treatment in the morning followed by bed, television and internet for the rest of the day.  I was amazed at how content I was to be a slug.

Having said that, I'm ready to go back to my school and life routine in Mandalay.  I promise to take more photos and upload them regularly.

Haircut in Bangkok

I've been very good about following doctor's orders.  It's in my own best interest to do whatever it takes to get better and get back to Mandalay.  I was very excited when he told me yesterday that I could walk a bit, as long as it didn't increase swelling or pain.

I didn't want to overdo but am getting a bit stir crazy.  Plus, after just lying around for almost two weeks, I need to get moving to get my energy back.

Luckily for me, I'm staying at the Dubliner Place on Sukhumvit, which is close to everything I need.  Yesterday I walked the 50 yards or so to a Chinese restaurant.  I was extremely happy with the quality of the food.  On my way back, I noticed a small beauty salon advertising full hair services.

Today, I decided to stop by and see if they could fit me in.  No problem, it was just me and two charming young stylists.  They seemed a bit surprised that I wanted a cut but were up for it.  The treatment started with a lovely shampoo.  About 15 minutes of head massaging.  Lovely.

Next I moved to the chair for the cut.  We started to discuss what I was hoping for.  I told them I wanted them to make me "look like her - young and beautiful" and I pointed to the woman holding the scissors.  Both ladies burst out laughing.  Seems they don't do magic.

She did do a fabulous cut, though, followed by almost 20 minutes of blow drying.  I love to have my hair blow dried.  Actually, I enjoy it almost as much as a good massage.  On the rare occasions that I can't get to sleep, I'd love to have someone on call to blow dry my hair.  Puts me out, every time.

It wasn't the biggest outing, but I enjoyed being off my back and out of my hotel room for an hour.  It was nice to have someone other than a doctor or nurse touch me, plus it didn't involve needles.  And, I look beautiful.  I hope that doesn't make my doctor want to keep me longer in Bangkok.  I'm really, really hoping he'll clear me to fly to Mandalay on Thursday.