Getting Settled

Hi friends and family! Just wanted to take some time to update y'all on our first week in Bali, Indonesia! Sorry it's wordy tonight!

As you know, I had my first day of orientation on August 1st. The next day, we had informational meeting in the morning, and another fun activity in the afternoon-a Balinese mixed martial arts and yoga practiced in a mud pit! It was a crazy team building activity where we found ourselves wrestling and throwing instructors in the mud, dancing in a circle and doing yoga with a duck on our heads! It was a blast!

a few of the teachers after the mud fun!

The next day we had a morning meeting with our head of school. He is inspirational to any educator who hears him speak and he is so passionate about Green School. While all of these ideas and philosophies are exciting, it can also feel overwhelming in that I will really be pushing myself as a teacher. When we were done, we went for another excursion-this time we rode in the back of a truck to a place where we could climb through Subak tunnels, which is a traditional Balinese irrigation system. At some points it was really scary-you had to completely trust the person in front of you. Afterward, we went to a Hindu temple for a blessing with Ibu Kadek (she takes care of all of the food at school and is like a mom, so it was really special to attend the temple with her.)

After dinner, we hopped back in the truck to head to school. It was pretty dark and I grabbed the railing where a nasty spider was sitting. It bit me! (If you know me, you know I'm terrified of spiders!!) Thank goodness there are rarely deadly poisonous spiders in Bali. It just hurt and my hand went numb for a bit. Don't worry mom and dad, my arm didn't fall off!

Orientation since then has just been lots of programming and curriculum work. Sorry, this paragraph is for my teacher friends : ) I received 3 pieces of good news today.
1. As of right now, I only have 16 students!
2. The library is nice and is fully stocked for guided reading!
3. The other Grade 1 teacher sent me really amazing resources for our thematic units!!
I'm still learning exactly what resources are available. For example, we have math manipulatives even though they are made of plastic, because it was not realistic to make each material. I've learned there are 3 frameworks, proficiency (math and language arts) thematics (taught by me and my Indonesian co-teacher) and experiential (art, music, yoga, PE, etc. taught by specialists).

Okay enough teacher talk. This week, while I have been at work, Michael has been working really hard trying to find us a place to rent for the year and taking care of other errands. I'm really not sure how a new teacher at an international school does everything on top of a busy orientation schedule!

Michael and I keep having to remind each other that we have only been here 6 days! We are so looking forward to this new lifestyle, but we are not there yet! We need to find a place to live first and then we can unpack our things, Michael can find a job, get a surfboard, we can join a church, I can find a yoga studio, and we can spend our weekends on the beach : )

First Day of Orientation!

I had my first day of orientation yesterday, and the experience was so unique and wonderful!

It started with a bike ride that the founder of our school John Hardy mapped out. He called it a "princess ride" but it was a long 30 km ride down the Kintumani volcano that my beach cruiser skills were not quite ready for!! It was a great way to get to know each other, and I can already tell I will be working with a great group of teachers! 

view from the top

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We rode all the way to Green School and when we arrived, we jumped in the spring fed natural swimming pool, followed up by lunch and a campus tour given by the co-founder. As we were walking through, she pointed out the pineapple, papaya, cocoa and bananas. We stopped at the lemongrass to pick it and rub it in our hands-a natural mosquito repellent and of course it smells amazing! She told us the history of the school, the struggles they've had in the past 7 years, and places in the school that are not "green." She showed us the river turbine and solar panels-this will be the first year they are completely off the grid! It was a lot to take in, but I'm so excited to be working here! I can't stop comparing it to a first day at a public school in NC-how would the activities be different, the meetings, the food, the campus tour. It's night and day!

path from Grade 1 to the Heart of School

a meeting area

one of the seating areas in the Heart of School

bamboo and glass table!

quartz 

where they picked the organic lettuce for part of our lunch

the pool beside the river

eating lunch on the bridge-the very first bamboo structure built at Green School

We have arrived!

Hi friends!! It's currently 4:30AM and I am awake and ready to start the day (thank you jet lag)!!

We have arrived in Bali, Indonesia! We left July 28th, flew through Washington, DC to Tokyo, where we enjoyed a long layover in a nearby hotel. The next morning, we flew straight to Denpasar, Bali. A lot of friends asked how long it takes to get there. We broke it up, but it was 1 hour to DC, 14 hours to Tokyo and 7 hours to Denpasar.

We got in July 30th in the evening, met the driver at the airport, and made our way to Canggu (pronounce Chenggu!!) where we are staying for the next 10 days until we find a place to live. The lady renting the place to us has been so helpful! When we arrived-hangry for dinner, I asked if there were any places to eat or markets within walking distance-there's not. She said "Hold on," ran away and came back with a menu of a nearby restaurant, ordered for us, and the delivery guy came an hour later. She brought a scooter the next morning, and when I asked where to buy SIM cards, she said she would take care of it, which she did in 30 minutes!

Yesterday we went for a walk in the morning, drove the scooter to the nearby beach and ate lunch. I have never seen waves like that before-a surfers dream!! Then we decided to visit the school. I sat on the back of the scooter with Michael's phone and google mapped our way there!

The school is absolutely stunning; pictures don't do it justice-but of course I'll take lots today! I have never walked into a school and said, "Wow, this is beautiful." The classroom I grew up in, and later taught in had cinderblock walls and tile floor or carpet. And of course the grounds are amazing, so green and lush.

Well I'm off to my first day at orientation! I'll post again soon : ) 

Next Stop: Bali, Indonesia

For the past six months, I have been searching for an international teaching job. Recruitment for teachers occurs nine months before the school year begins and dive shops post jobs weeks out, so it's easier for me to find a job first, as long as it's a dive friendly location for Michael.

In December, I decided to just look up some places we would love to live, just to see what is out there. Last spring we visited Bali and loved every thing about, so I started there.

When you google "international schools in Bali" one of the first sites to pop up is for a school called Green School. 

I was struck by how beautiful the campus is-all of the buildings are made from bamboo. The school's mission is to provide holistic education for its children and is 100% committed to sustainability. I watched the videos of children singing barefoot, working in the garden, and learning at desks in a room with no walls.

Throughout my job search, Green School remained at the top of my list, and after a rigorous application process, I was offered a Grade 1 position starting in August at this innovative school!

The past two years have been unbelievable-full of travel, friendships and a very different culture, but we are so excited to be back by the water-and Michael in the water!! 

I'll be posting more about our next adventure, but until then, here is a TED talk about the school!

http://www.ted.com/talks/john_hardy_my_green_school_dream

The Job Search

As you know, Michael and I are ready to move to a different country. Kuwait has been a great place to start, but it's time we get closer to the water! International schools all over the world will be recruiting for the next few months, which means most of my weekends are spent researching schools and looking for openings. There are also recruiting sites and school reviews that have been really helpful. 

It sounds easy-we just need a location with kids and water! But, there are a ton of factors that we have to consider....

Here are the easy ones:

Is it on the coast?

Are there any dive shops or is it a place where tourists want to go diving?

How many years of experience do they require?

Do they hire teachers with a non-teaching spouse?

What benefits do they offer?

Then it gets a bit harder...

What are the accommodations like?

How large is the school?

Is it in a city, suburb, or remote area?

Is there a sense of community with the faculty/with the families?

What leisure activities can teachers do on the weekends?

Is it easy to travel to other areas/countries?

What resources are provided for the classrooms?

Do the teachers collaborate and work in a team?

Does the school use best practices? and a hundred more teaching questions!

It's crazy to think that we don't know what continent we'll be living on in 6 months!!

I do know what continent I will be on in 2 days! Europe : ) We will be meeting Michael's parents in Italy and visit Rome and Florence. Looking forward to the sights, the food and the wine! 

Kuwait will be celebrating their National Day and we're doing activities this week to celebrate their country. Here is a cool video that a company here made. They are in the huge mall-Avenues. Enjoy!

Zain Kuwait National Day Lip Dub

I also wanted to add this video that I talked about earlier. The quality isn't that great, but it does a good job of painting a picture of Kuwait. (and I love Oprah!)

Zain Al Sabah on Oprah

I just noticed they both say Zain. In the first video, the company is called Zain. In the second video, the lady being interviewed is named Zain. It also means "good" in Arabic. : )

Enjoy!

The Philippines

The Philippines: 1 L, 2 P's, colonized by Spain in early 1500's until the 20th century, located in Southeast Asia, made up of 7,000 islands and one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited.

If we spoke to you over Christmas, our original plan was to volunteer in the Philippines to help with relief efforts in places that were destroyed in the super typhoon. But our plans changed and with flights already booked, we decided to travel on the island of Palawan.

Palawan is known for its beautiful beaches, water and diving and is not visited as much as some places in the Philippines such as Boracay and Cebu. It sounded like the perfect place for Michael and I to spend two weeks!

We flew into Manila and took a flight to Puerto Princesa City. Then we visited Port Barton for 4 days, El Nido for 6 days, and back to Puerto Princesa.

Puerto Princesa is the "city" we started in. We spent our first morning walking around town. 

Tricycle-the mode of transportation in Palawan

Walking around Puerto Princesa

After lunch we decided it was time to visit one of the local beaches. As you know, we always miss the sea. It was cloudy the first day, but it was good thing or we would have been fried! 

The next day, we took a bus to Port Barton. That was an experience...after 4 hours of bumpy roads, and stopping at a hundred houses, we made it to our destination. Port Barton is a small fishing village. Not many people stop there on the way to El Nido, but we were glad we did. It's basically one cove with small cottages, inns and restaurants along the beach. The town itself is rural, relaxed and remote. Michael and I didn't wear shoes for four days! The power goes out in the morning, but we didn't need it. I read most places to stay here didn't have AC and thought that was crazy, but we didn't need that either! The sea breeze was perfect. 

Port Barton

The first day we went island hopping. The banca (traditional Philippino boat) took us to a place with great snorkeling, then to Paradise Island for more snorkeling and lunch, and lastly German Island. 

Paradise Island

During our stay the food was amazing!! Every meal we had fresh seafood, fresh veggies, fresh fruit and rice. I was in heaven! Dinners were about 10 dollars total for me and Michael-that included our 1 dollar beers! (and yes, that's in USD!) 

We spent some time relaxing on the beach in Port Barton, which was glorious. While we were on vacation I was able to finish two books (exciting for a teacher who doesn't get the chance to read!) 

Our last destination was El Nido. It's a little bit bigger, but most of the activities were the same such as island hopping and kayaking. We rented kayaks one day and made our way to two islands. The first was just me and Michael; we had the whole beach to ourselves! After some snorkeling (or as my dive husband says, dorkeling) we kayaked to the second island. I hope the photos do it justice!!  

kayaking

The second island

We also went on an island hopping tour. It was a lot busier compared to Port Barton, but the islands were incredible. We saw caves and lagoons and did some dorkeling. 

We stayed in Corong Corong Beach, which is about a 15 minute walk to El Nido. It's famous for the beautiful sunsets. Every night we sat on the porch, had a drink and watched the sunset before heading to town for dinner. 

We're very blessed to be able to visit countries like these, and I hope the job search for next year takes us in a place as stunning as Palawan! 

My plan was to write about Nepal (months ago) and Istanbul, and another post about Kuwait with a neat video I found...I'll get to it Insh'allah before our February trip when we meet Mr. Steve and Mrs. Debbie in Rome, Italy! 

Back to the Grind

I must say, writing this post feels like a difficult task. I loved hearing feedback this summer, but I didn't realize how many people were keeping up with us! Pressure is on! ; ) 

I had an incredible summer!!! Family, friends, food, drinks and of course..

the beach : )

Now we're back in Kuwait. I'm teaching first grade this year-still all boys. I never thought I would end up teaching a primary grade, but I love it!! And I have a really sweet class!

I'm really blessed this year! I have great kids, a collaborative and motivated grade level team, understanding and hardworking administration and an awesome TA!!! I think any fellow teacher understands that all of these rarely line up so well! 

As I've mentioned before, I live in an apartment building that only houses teachers from ACA. This year, I live on 4th floor with our friends. It's like a college dorm again, but instead of talking about studying for tests we're talking about making tests. Just one more reason why it's going to be a great school year!! 

Oh, and have I mentioned the travel??  We leave for Nepal in less than a week! 

We'll be doing a foot hill trek up Poon Hill. 

Fun fact: 

Mt. Mitchell (highest peak in NC) elevation: 2,037m

Poon Hill elevation: 3,210m

Yikes!! I'm used to sea level : ) But they say it's a nice hike through villages and up stone stairs-exhausting, but nice.

I'll update when we get back!