End of the Semester Party

Last night we had our end of the semester party. We had so much fun! I love my students and am reminded how much I love them every time I hang out with them! I'm not ready to say goodbye to them for the summer :( Many of them have to do an internship away from the city for the summer. Hopefully, we'll still be able to hang out when they get back, whether or not they're in my classes next semester.

Anyway, last night...

We taught them how to play Mafia, and they actually got into creating stories, accusations, defenses, etc., which I didn't know if they would! So fun! One of my students, who was the mafia, told the townspeople that she can't even bear to hurt an animal much less a person (and that totally fits her personality!)--so hilarious!

We also did a photo scavenger hunt, making them run upstairs and downstairs and outside and inside for 15 pictures. Pretty sure that's the most exercise many of them have had since any PE class in high school! lol. They were gasping for air and dripping sweat when they were finished! It was great :)

Also just enjoyed lots of fun conversations with my students. I love them! I know I already said that, but I do! They gave me some sweet letters and a gift specific to our province...it was so sweet! I'm going to miss them a lot. Ok, enough rambling about how much I love my students :)

Sorry, I forgot my camera, so you'll have to wait on pictures from last night till I get them from my roommate.

There Should be a Law

against bringing durian to the workplace. I'm just sayin.

I'm Wondering...

...how time slips away so quickly! I just looked at the clock and it's almost 11 already! Where do the evenings go?! I ask myself this every night and have yet to find an answer. If anyone else has one for me, I'd much appreciate your words of wisdom ;)

Seriously, before this last year (thanks to someone whose name I'm not going to mention, but you know who you are), 11pm was on the late side of a normal bedtime for me. If I hit the hay much past 11, it was rare, and I hated life in the morning. Now, however, I'm rejoicing if I get to bed by 11--like it's still in the PM time frame, and that makes me happy! What?! What's happened to me?!

You might be asking, well, then, do you sleep later in the morning? Maybe that's why you don't go to sleep till late. The answer--Oh no! Still get up early! Have no fear--not THAT much of me has changed!

My consolation? Chai awaits me in the morning...no matter what time that morning might come :)

In My Humble Opinion...

these...

should not be built with these...

...but right now, unfortunately, they are.

It's durian season, and everywhere I went today, I saw pyramids of durian on the sides of the streets for sale. That means the streets reek of durian. I'm not sure how to describe the scent of durian, but it's awful. Like I held my breath every time I walked by one of those elaborate triangular structures today and hoped that by the time I exhaled and inhaled again, I wouldn't be able to smell it anymore. That worked...most of the time.

At one point in the angkot today, I smelled the following combination of smells: car exhaust, durian, rotten fruit peels that had been out in the tropical sun all day, and cigarette smoke. Good thing I'm not sick to my stomach today! lol. Hope you enjoyed a little glimpse of the smells of the tropics of Asia :)

A Window into Driving

This is not my blog or my country, but this post is hilariously true, so I thought I'd share a window into driving in SE Asia. Enjoy :) Oh, and I'm about to start learning how to drive a moto, so look forward to more blogs of my own about driving experiences!


http://lifeinthai.wordpress.com/2011/05/25/driving-in-thailand/

Another Day, Another Look

Today, the first person I saw outside of my own house looked at me like this:

(Ignore the words written over the photo...yes I "borrowed" this from google images.) Seriously, though, a guy drove by me in his car and literally stared at me with his jaw dropped and a shocked look on his face. I wanted to say, "Yes, sir, we do exist. It's not just some fabricated myth that Hollywood made up. There are in fact white people in this world!" But of course, I only said that to myself...and laughed out loud to myself as I kept walking, wondering what he was saying to the person on the other end of the cell phone he was talking on while staring at me while driving. Chances are, if both of your hands are needed for something, your brain should be in on it too, just sayin.

Oh, and today, I tried tofu pudding. Interesting.

Haven't Posted in Awhile

So here are some random thoughts and pictures.

We killed (and when I say "we", I mean my roommate!) the largest cockroach we've seen--on her bed. Gross!

MSG...I hate it. Every time I eat it, I get increasingly sicker :\ Unfortunately, there's virtually no way to avoid it, it seems.

Got some fun packages for my birthday...here's one of the things we've really enjoyed :)

We had some students over a couple weekends ago for a cookie decorating, popcorn eating, movie extravaganza! Believe it or not, 8 girls polished off 50 cookies without my roomie and my help!

We stumbled upon a new coffee shop on our way to one of my student's weddings :) So, we were a little dressed up...who cares?! And, you can all be proud--this drink had coffee in it, and I actually liked it! I mean, it was cold and wet, and I live on the equator, and that outfit I'm wearing...pretty much the hottest most uncomfortable thing I've ever owned! lol. At least I only have to wear it for a couple hours at a time!

Today I bought jeruk bali and veggies that resemble brussel sprouts, so I'm very excited :) Here's a picture of a jeruk bali. It's pretty much a gigantic (think size of junior basketball) grapefruit but way juicier and way sweeter! So yummy :)

Welp, hope you enjoyed my random splatterings of the last few weeks!