Rainy Season Starts With A Bang

After a hot sunny Saturday I was happy to see some clouds slowly rolling in about 4:30 p.m.  I’ve been looking forward to the end of the dry season, where the sun always shines and dust is everywhere.  We’ve had a few showers recently, so things are beginning to cool a bit and the dust has settled.

What turned into an overcast late afternoon sky quickly changed as the wind picked up.  Rain started, coming from the east.  Lightly at first, with thunder in the distance over the mountains.  Then the wind really increased and the rain intensified and the lightening and thunder were close enough that counting to 1000 after each strike didn’t get out before the thunder boomed.

The power was off and on every few minutes and I stood in the corner of my living room, floor to ceiling windows on both walls giving me a perfect view of the spectacular storm.  Suddenly the wind shifted violently and instead of typical strong winds from the east that accompany a thunderstorm, the rain and wind were coming from the west, in a horizontal line.  At first it appeared to be heavy rain blowing by.  Or was it dust?  No, it couldn’t be dust, with all that rain.  As I was trying to decide the wind grew even stronger.  With a noise like a jet roaring past, I watched the small building used to hold construction materials rip apart.  The tin roof flew about 40 yards across the soccer field.

Lightening, thunder, torrential rain, a steady roaring and objects being blown around the school campus made me finally realize that standing between two large plates of glass might not be the best place to be if this really was a tornado, which is what I thought it might be.

I headed into my closet to avoid shattered glass, if it came to that.  After a couple of minutes, the noise and storm continued but then I started to worry about flooding in my room.  I grabbed a couple of towels and put one under the one window which leaks and another under the front door, where rain was being blown into my apartment.

Since things seemed to be calming a bit, and I heard yelling, I opened my door a crack to see if everyone was alright.  In front of my door was the garbage can which is normally around a corner and about 15 feet from my apartment.  How it got around the corner is a testament to the wind shift.  I also found a shattered plastic shelf and a variety of shoes.  Normally kept next to the front door of another teacher who lives at the other end of the building.  I rescued as many shoes as I could but as she inched her way down to me, we saw more had blown down into the street, three floors below.  I say “inched her way” because the hallway was completely wet, as it is after every rain, and because they used the slickest tiles in the world (the same as at the school), they make walking a treacherous adventure every time it rains.  Lucky for us (sarcasm), the stairs are made of the same tiles.

The power went out yet again and this time the generator didn’t kick on.  Although it wasn’t quite dark, I got out my headlamp just to be on the safe side.  I also contemplated the tuna casserole that I’d placed in the oven about 4 minutes before the power went out.  Damn.

About 30 minutes later, though, power was back and there was a break in the storm.   I ventured out to see how everyone was doing.  The few of us in residence gathered to admire the view of the now crystal clear mountains and assess the damage.  At least one window blew out from an apartment.  Teacher Matt, glad you changed apartments and weren’t in your old one when your front window blew!

AAT and Tr. YC came over from the main school building to check out the situation and told me that all the large metal lockers at the main school had been toppled.  I’m not sure what other damage occurred.  The main school building took the brunt of the storm when the wind shifted and came out of the west, since the main school building blocked our apartment building.

Things continued to remain calm, even as the rains returned.  Gently now, with less wind.  The lightening was a treat to watch in the distance as the storm moved away.  No internet, of course and I think my satellite dish needs to be recalibrated since I now receive only two channels, but no one at the school was hurt.

I met a woman Saturday morning who is visiting Mandalay and interviewed this morning for a teaching job.  She’s staying at a hostel nearby, which, I imagine, is not nearly as well built as our new apartment building.  I hope the storm didn’t scare her off.

The storm was scary for us in a strong, well built apartment building.  I can’t imagine what it was like in the typical local houses with sides made of woven bamboo and roofs of wood, tin or thatch.   I do not take for granted that I live a very luxurious life compared to 98% of the people in the country.  Whether due to luck or good behavior in a past life, I was born into a status that has given me comfort, security and safety. 

I had a bad day at work the other day.  Not horrible but frustrating.  Then I left the air conditioned classroom to walk home past women who’d been shoveling sand and carrying bricks for 8 hours in 100+ degree heat.  And would have to then walk home and do all the household chores and take care of their families.  Perspective.

UPDATE:  I just heard that according to the news (someone else heard, since my satellite dish was a victim of the storm, at least temporarily) the wind strength yesterday was 201 km per hour – considered tornado strength although it wasn’t a tornado.  I hope not to experience anything like it again.  I also discovered that the wind broke a small piece out of one of my small windows.

Successful Shopping

It was hot and sunny yesterday, May 10.  Typical weather.  Not as blazingly hot as April, but hot enough to start sweating after about three seconds in the sun or an enclosed space. 

I spent a couple of hours in the afternoon doing some work and personal errands.  I went with the school driver and the head Admin guy to go to the printers to check on the status of our summer school materials.

We stopped first a few blocks from the printers at a small store that sells all things plastic.  I wanted to buy containers to help keep my classroom more organized.  No, I’m not keeping each student in a large plastic bin, although on full moon days that has some appeal.

I bought a large bin to keep all of the games and puzzles I use for the after school club and for the kids to use during free time (before school, after lunch, etc.)  Thanks to an idea from Pinterest.com, I bought plastic soap dishes to hold all of the card games.  Even though I’d taken them out of their boxes and put them in Ziploc bags (yes, we have that brand here), they still got tattered and I went through the Ziplocs on a regular basis.  I also found a plastic thing designed to help drip dry utensils in the kitchen that I think will serve nicely to hold my whiteboard markers and eraser (or, duster, as it’s called here and in Samoa).

I also found a cylindrical metallic vase that is now working perfectly to hold my spatula, spoon, ladle, scissors, etc. in my kitchen. 

When we pulled up to the printers, I was expecting…a print shop.   Back in the dark ages, I was responsible for a magazine that went out to all the bank’s customers where I worked.  I’m familiar with silver prints, editing, layouts and the printing process.  This was not a print shop.  It was a tiny space, with walls on three sides and three very dusty copy machines.  And three guys busy making copies.  The SNL jokes were racing through my head.

Andrew, the Admin guy and my buddy, introduced me to Theory (I’m 100% sure that spelling is incorrect but that’s how her name is pronounced.)  She and her charming husband own the copy place.  She used to be an assistant teacher at AIS but left last year, very soon after I arrived, due to health reasons.  She and her husband showed us samples of what they’d done so far and showed us the progress that they’ve made.  I was very relieved to see that they should have everything done before school starts.  And, it appears to be quality work.  Given what they’re charging, I can’t imagine how they are able to make a profit.

After concluding our business, Theory insisted we head next door to a tea shop so they could thank us for our business.  She and her husband treated us to a beverage and we had a nice chat.  Theory and I hit it off immediately.  I think that was in part because she looks like she could be a sister of one of my best friends, who is from Guam. 

After 15 minutes of chatting and drinking coffee, or in my case, fresh orange juice, we headed off.  An aside, as I was drinking the delicious, fresh squeezed juice, with ice, I couldn’t help but wonder what that might do to my innerds.  On Friday morning, I’d developed a “bad belly” not bad enough to go home, but enough to ensure I didn’t eat lunch.  By the time I got home that afternoon, I started getting concerned.  I had a fever and spent more time in the bathroom than the bed.  I figured Saturday would involve a trip to the doctor.  But, I got a decent night’s sleep and by Saturday morning I was feeling much better.  I did not want a repeat performance thanks to bad ice.  Ah well, it was hot, I was thirsty and it would have been rude to decline.  (It’s now Sunday and my iron stomach has prevailed.)

As we were driving, I’d asked Andrew if he knew of a place where I could buy a cake pan.  I promised to bake a cake for each of my four ESL classes to celebrate our last class.  Last week, debate class ended and I made cheesecake brownies, which were well received by the students.  This week, I’d need four of them, using my one pan.  If I had more pans, that would help.  I brought the one pan from the US but figured as many bakeries as there are in Mandalay, somebody has to sell bakery supplies.  I also haven’t been able to find baking powder or soda in the last several months.

We took a quick detour to a place he’d found when he’d helped a visiting Science teacher find Cream of Tartar, something else not available in grocery stores.  It seems that people in Mandalay love baked goods but they do not make them at home, even in the wealthiest families.  When I baked cookies for my kids in class their reaction would have been no different if I had levitated in front of them.  It was magic.  Better yet, it was edible magic that they got to help make.

Anyway, we pulled up to the store that clearly supplies the bakeries.  I was in heaven.  Huge, industrial sized mixers, giant cake pans and all the chemicals required to make commercial baked goods.  I immediately spotted a small cake pan, the type you’d used for the top layer of a wedding cake.   Surely they must have pans for the next layer down.  Finally, they found one.  A bit beaten and dented, but a round 10” pan.  For $3.20.  They also had baking powder, from China.  I now have an industrial sized tin, which cost less than $2.00.  They had two colors and sizes of cupcake papers so I snagged those, too.  $1.10 for each and each has about 200 papers.   I like to use them for crafts with the kids and planned to bring them back from FL, but when I saw the prices, even at the Dollar Store, I refused.  This was a score.

By the time we left the store, I was a happy, dripping-with-sweat, woman.  Ready to head back to my apartment to relax and contemplate the logistics of cake making this week.

Note:  my new cake pan is a bust.  It is too dented/bent to hold liquids without leaking like a sieve.  One cake at a time it will be.

Sunday Shopping

The bus took us shopping this morning.  It was nice to go in the morning, rather than the evening.  It was just me, Robert, Aye Aye Than and Myint Naing, the driver.

We parked near Ocean, directly in front of Skywalk.  Robert had asked me about the fancy new mall in town and I had no idea what he was talking about.  I've been walking right past it for the last month.  It's not finished yet and looks like it could be pretty nice when it is done.  It also looks a lot like the next door mall, Diamond Plaza, which is still largely empty of stores.  There's an Adidas store, a kids' clothing store and a variety of purse, jewelry, clothing stores and some hair salons in Skywalk.  $4 for a shampoo and massage.  I'll be going back.

Vendors at the Chinese market.  Open from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.  These are hardworking people.

Mango season!

The market is several blocks long and extends a bit sideways, as you can see here. I was standing on the main road of the market looking down a side street.  And these are streets, not a formal market.  I have to remind myself not to step out in front of a truck or car or motorbike without looking.

Before going to Skywalk, we walked down the street to the Chinese market to buy produce.  I got mangoes and apples.  I was tempted to buy so much more but I've been to the market a lot lately and really didn't need anything.

Skywalk isn't done.  We weren't allowed past the first floor.

Lots of baby, kids clothes.  This red dress was $21 USD.

Adidas!

We started at the top of Diamond Plaza so Robert could get an idea of what was available.  Top floor is the movie theatre ($1.50 for current 3D movies that are playing in the US).  There's also a chocolate store that also sells gelato and sandwiches.  There are a couple of other fast food type dining options, including one place with free WIFI.

The fourth floor has furniture stores, restaurants and spas.  Tucked away in what appears to be a deserted area is an AFC.  Think KFC - fried chicken that is good but pricey, by Myanmar standards.

At one point Robert and I found ourselves in a deserted, dark corridor.  It says something about how safe I feel in Myanmar that my only concern was that I was with an American guy who I really don't know.  Of course, he was a gentleman, not a serial killer.  It never occurred to me that I could be mugged or harmed by a Myanmar person.

On the third floor we checked out the Sony store for televisions.  Then we hit Super 1 which is sort of like a Target, only smaller.

The second floor has a variety of clothing stores and we passed those by on our way to the basement to Ocean, the grocery store.  The bad news is that there's still no cheese.  The good news?  Oatmeal is back after about 5 months without it.  I hope it doesn't take that long to get cheese back.

Instead of heading right back to the school, I asked Aye Aye Than and Myint Naing if we could take a quick tour.  We drove past the moat around the Palace and headed toward Mandalay hill.  We passed several of the monasteries and the Buddhist University.  We stopped briefly at the oldest monastery in Mandalay so I could take a picture.  What I really wanted to do was shop for the amazing looking curios that were for sale but didn't want to hold everyone up and am trying not to spend money.

Now I'm enjoying an overcast afternoon, watching movies.  A perfect Sunday.

The oldest monastery in Mandalay.  Close to the Largest Book and Mandalay hill.

Last Day of School

I found a bunch of photos on my camera of the last day of school.  I don't think I ever posted them.  It was crazy - a party for my class, administrative details to wrap up and I was flying out the next day for the USA.  Fun, but crazy.  Here are some photos of the cray cray.

I was standing in the gym, working on the final rehearsal.  I noticed a billboard.  I was one it.  The photo was taken after a 30 flight and I had a cold.  Swell.

I put up a sign up sheet for parents so we could coordinate snacks for the kids.  Didn't work.  They brought enough beverages and snacks so that each child had 3 drinks and 3 snacks.  And then we gave away all the extra to siblings, etc.  We could have fed a village.

Not healthy snacks, but popular.

More snacks.

And candy!

Just a few of the dumplings.  We had dozens and dozens.

Hey, Mia - this post is for you!

The school has been hiring a lot of new staff and one arrived this week.  Robert Fielder is going to be the new Assistant Principal of the secondary school.  Mia, his wife, along with their two sons and baby girl won't be arriving for awhile.

I'm especially happy because Robert brought with him some cloudy, rainy weather.  Instead of temps around 111, today is an almost chilly 92.

Robert and I went shopping this morning.  He seems pleasantly surprised that there are more nice restaurants and shops than he expected.  He seems like a terrific guy and clearly is a family man.  I can't wait until they get here so I can meet them.  It will be especially cool, because it looks like I'll be teaching their youngest son next year.

We went to a grocery store, which also includes Angel Bakery.  I was excited to see the "restaurant" next door.  I'd never paid attention to it before, thinking it was just another tea shop, of which there are hundreds in town.  But the last time I was driving away from the store, I looked at the sign and it appeared that it was actually an Asian food court, with Indian, Japanese, Vietnamese and Myanmar food.

After shopping I went to check it out while Robert patiently waited.  In addition to the types of food already mentioned, they also have a tiny stall for CP Chicken, which is a Thai business which sells good fried and rotisserie chicken.

The sad news is that most of the stalls didn't have most of the food advertised.  But I got some traditional Myanmar noodle soup with a chicken/coconut broth ($.80) and 3 large Thai spring rolls ($1.50).  I'll definitely be going back.  The soup in particular was delicious.

We stopped at another bakery, BB Cakes, on our way back to school.  Robert was excited to see the large birthday cakes and is already planning to buy them for his boys and their classmates.  It seems that usually their birthdays happen when school isn't in session so he's excited for them to experience a "school" birthday.

It's nice to have someone new here.  Mia, I can't wait to meet you and show you Mandalay.  I'm working on filling in Robert on places in Mandalay and Bangkok that are family friendly and would be fun for the boys.  I've also warned him that I'll be showing you where to buy some beautiful silk clothes and great stuff for the baby.  Please know that Robert seems to be settling in well and getting to work, but clearly misses his family.

Spring rolls and soup.  $2.30 for everything.

Next time, I'll try the pho.

Say "yes!" to rotisserie chicken!

P.S.  The weird Tucson connection continues.  Three of us used to live there.  One teacher is going to retire there.  And Robert's mom lives in Tucson.  Weird!

I'm Smokin' Hot

Yes, it's true, I'm sexy as all get out, that's a given.  I'm referring, however, to how hot I feel because of the weather.  It is really, really hot here.

Yesterday I made a HUGE mistake.  Instead of just going into Ocean and buying my groceries and leaving, another teacher and I decided to walk a couple of blocks to the Chinese market to buy produce first.  I heard it was 108 (and humid) yesterday.  It felt more like 1,008.

I discovered how many onions you get for a dollar (about 10 pounds) and had to carry them, along with asparagus, carrots, cucumbers, spring onions and, best of all, the first mangoes of the season.

I'd planned to drop my purchases at the bus on the way to Ocean but the driver wasn't there so I dragged them another block in the sweltering heat.

Once in Ocean it felt just as hot as outside, even though I think they have air conditioning.  I smiled back at the people staring at me and started shopping but quickly realized that people were staring at me not just because I look different but because I was a bit purple.  Seems I'd had too much heat. 

I was considering the best place in the store to upchuck and then where I might sit down.  Luckily, I held all bodily fluids in, except for the sweat that was dripping off me.  I made it back to the bus in one piece and was fine once I sat down and used my Samoan ili (fan) to cool off.  It did take a cool shower and an hour under air con to stop sweating.

I will never, ever, ever again shop on the street in the middle of the afternoon during the hottest month of the year.  The mangoes are mighty tasty, though.

Quiet Easter Weekend

It's very quiet on the compound today.  One teacher left this morning for the US.   Another is due to return but I'm not sure when.  That will make five of us here.

I cleaned my apartment this morning and love that everything is spic and span.  I also rearranged the furniture a bit and am really loving this apartment.

I also made brownies with a cheesecake topping.  Delicious.  I shared with the guard on duty and the only other teacher around.

I've been in touch with some folks who've recently been invited to work here, to answer their questions.  One is from Tucson, AZ.  What are the chances that there would be three of us from Tucson working together in Myanmar?

It's a quiet weekend and I'm loving it.  Reminds me a bit of quiet weekends in Faga.  But with air conditioning.