HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELLOISE!!!

Today my niece Elloise turns 4.  It's hard to believe and makes me feel kind of old, but since I love being an auntie, it's ok.  As most of you know, I have a weak spot for performers.  I think I can say with absolute truth that Elle is one of the most fabulous and entertaining performers on earth, under the age of 5.  Please see below for further evidence.  (A few of these are repeats but they're too good to omit.)

Ok, so in chronological order, this video is from when she was pretty young - only 2 I think.  Rach has no idea how she learned to do this.  Maybe she dreams in MTV.  It's my fav.  I laugh every single time I watch it.

This is a shot I took last summer before I left.  

Why just smile when you can make such an adorable face?

And here she is on an outing we took together - also last summer.  We were supposed to be painting ceramics, but Elle decided to do our nails with glaze instead.

This is also an oldie but a goodie.  

This is how a heavy metal rock star shows off her new parasol.

 Like her mother and aunties, this girl loves to dress up.  The other kids in Rachel's day care don't even notice when Elle comes out in costume anymore.  Say, as a witch.  Who poses like this?

And speaking of posing - talk about cheeky.

I absolutely love this one.  Rachel and Becky and I all played the trumpet so it warms my heart to see her showing interest.  And the foot thing is just too cute!  

What a getup.

 In addition to being fabulous, my niece is also quite brave.  I think this photo illustrates what I mean.  That's her younger cousin being dragged along behind her.

She's also very caring.  Just think how well-protected this little frog or bug or whatever it is must feel.

She's also super dexterous.  She's been taking gymnastics classes and I'm sure she'll be great at them.  With her father's athleticism and her mother's dance moves, she's going to be unstoppable.

And she's a good helper, as you can see.

Oh, and let's not forget beautiful.

Happy Birthday Sweetie!  

See you soon!

This will be my last blog post from Macau.  I'm flying home tomorrow.  Yay!!!  It's been a fun experience keeping a blog.  I'm sure there will be others.  Thanks to all my faithful readers and commentators!

Last hurrahs

 Hi everyone,
Sorry I've been a bit out of touch with y'all lately.  Got back from Beijing earlier today and we had a great time there.  I'm hoping to post photos of both my trips sometime later this week, but I have a lot of them to go through.  In the meantime, here are a few final shots of our recent outings here in Macau.  I've already put these on FB, but some of you may have missed them.  I fly back to the US on Tuesday, so hopefully I will get to see many of you in the coming weeks.  For now, though, I must keep it short.  Still have some last minute packing/visiting/shopping to do!

 First, a compare and contrast exercise.  This is us in August and again a couple weeks ago.

 Dinner in the revolving restaurant at the top of Macau Tower.

 When I came home from Vietnam, I was pleased to find Carol, Kendrick, Mary and Angie (not pictured) making dinner with Carol's pasta gear.  It was delicious!

Beth finally realized her dream of matching shirts and got us all I-love-Macau wear.

9 down, 1 to go

I can't believe it's May.  That means I only have one month left in Macau.  School's done and now I just have to finish marking and turn in grades.  Then I'm going to do some traveling with another teacher to see the temples at Angkor in Cambodia and we'll also have a few days in Vietnam to check out Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).  Then I'll take a trip north to Beijing with Beth and Angie for a few days to see the Great Wall and the Forbidden City.  Then it will be time to come home!  :)

 Angkor Wat

Now that school's done and I can take it easy again, it's been sort of funny to think back on the things I was anxious about as the year began and how long ago that seems now.  For instance, I was able to learn all my students' names relatively quickly and I didn't get them confused.  (I was really worried about that one.)  I've also gotten better at talking tough when doling out consequences, thanks in part to my coach, Angie Chong.  I've caught some cheaters, learned how to deal with last minute lesson changes and generally just figured out how to relax and get stuff done despite the chaos.  I was surprised to discover that I completely underestimated how draining teaching is.  I guess it's because of the performance aspect, because I've had stressful jobs before and did grad school on the side and none of it compared to this.  I was completely lifeless after 1st semester and so took things a lot easier this one.  But I don't feel like I have any more energy this time around, just less stress.  I'm doing way less and still feel tired.   It feels like getting old.  Yuck.  I'm hoping a summer off will give me back some of my vitality.  A summer off and some vegetables.

Luckily, I also underestimated how much I would enjoy it.  It's so nice to be treated like a professional, to have some control over the way I do things and the way I manage my time, to have colleagues to collaborate with, but most of all the students make it great.  Even the few that made me crazy are near and dear to my heart.  See how cute they are?!?

My level 2 class

My Level 0 class

 One of them even gave me this gift of chocolates with paper roses attached.

I've learned a lot in my first year and feel more equipped now to prepare myself for the next challenge. To that end I ordered a grammar book for teachers that I intend to read over the summer and I now have a better idea of the kinds of materials to bring with me the next time around.  All that good stuff you can only learn from experience.   I also managed to put together a decent teacher wardrobe, or at least the beginning of one.  It's been a busy 9 months.

So how to celebrate?

1. buy a cool hat

When I saw this hat it reminded me of the one Denzel Washington wears in Inside Man.  I am hoping his coolness will be channeled to me by wearing the hat.  Plus it's nice and light for summer and I need to cover my head in this heat.  It's already getting into the high 20s (80s) almost every day.  Being in the sun is just a bad idea.

Inside Man

2. eat ice cream

I completely underrated Haagen-Dazs.   Although I do have expensive taste when it comes to food, I'd never thought it was worth it to pay H-D prices.  However, after almost melting while running errands the other day I shelled out 53 patacas for this chocolate/raspberry sugar cone to revive me.  Wow.  I was the happiest gweilo for miles around.
 

3. beautify

Isn't this pretty?  It's amber.  I've been wanting to go to this shop for months and finally made it in.  I figured I might as well get a whole set and although it was a bit pricey, I love it!  I also got a pedicure and had my eyebrows done for the first time.  Ow!!!  But they look good.  It's more important to look feminine when you have a boy haircut.  (see below)

 4. get away with friends

A, B, C and I went to Hong Kong (Lamma Island) for the weekend.  It was a nice way to celebrate the end of school in spite of the remaining marking.  Carol got this cake made for us - isn't it sweet?

 We also stopped at the IFC mall to see the Lyuba exhibit.  Yes, Lyuba is a baby mammoth who was found in the frozen Siberian wastelands by nomads. 

The view from above of a reproduction of a male mammoth skeleton and Lyuba behind it. 

 Here's a closeup.  It was super crowded, so I didn't stay in long.  I feel about this the same way I felt at Body Worlds.  Cool in theory, gross in reality.  I'm such a wuss.

 Saw this Louis Vuitton display while walking downtown.  Can you tell they're arrows? 
I really like it!

Finally we got to Lamma and despite some rain it was a nice trip.  The clouds made for some cool photo opportunities, like this one from our balcony.

5. cut off all your hair

Taadaa!  My buzzed head, along with A, B, and C on the beach at Lamma.  (I wanted to go back to all blonde and this was the easiest way.)  The water was so warm I wanted to jump right in, but I resisted.  We hiked, ate, shopped and got sunburns and mosquito bites.  A fun last hurrah together.  More photos next time!

Time with the rents (part 3)

Well, I finished making my review game earlier than expected, so now I have some time to finish blogging about my parents' trip.  But first, there are updates.  I am now booked to come back to CA on May 29th.  Yay!!!  Then I'll head to MN on June 7th.  Yay again!!!  I'm already filling up my calendar with a lot of fun stuff for when I get back, and for the break after school ends here.  Only four days left!!!  And then I have two weeks to finish my marking, cleaning, packing, and shipping before I start traveling! 

 Ok, last round of parent photos.  First, some food shots.

Dad showing off his ability to use chopsticks and willingness to drink tea.

Our trio of beverages: beer for Dad, Thai iced tea for moi, and a coconut for Mom.

 Beth and I joined Mom and Dad for dessert at the IFT.  I had the cheese plate, even though that's not really dessert.  :)

 We spent a day in Taipa and I couldn't resist taking my photo with this guy again.

 Taking a little break to enjoy the view.

Having fun with framing on the Big Taipa Trail.

 Dad has a newish camera and spent at least 15 minutes trying to catch some butterflies in action here.  They were huge and black with beautiful turquoise blue markings.  Fast though.  I don't think he was able to get a shot he liked, but it was entertaining to watch the attempt.

Finally he settled for a shot of Mom and I instead.

 Another day we went to Coloane and walked on Hac Sa beach.  It's cool because it's got black sand as well as tan.

 It made some really cool patterns.

I've seen (and done) a lot of beach writing over the years, but never in another language!  It was fun to come upon this and speculate about what it said.

 My parents came to get a tour of the school.  Here's my cube.

 They also sat in on a review game in my Level 0 class. 

 We went out for hotpot with Miranda.  They loved it and we all had a nice time.

 Yummm.  I'm going to miss this when I go back home.

 Nice shot Miranda!

Over the weekend we took the ferry to HK again.  On the way there, we walked past the reservoir and noticed these fish coming up to the surface.  I've been walking here for many months and never once have I seen a fish in the reservoir, but suddenly Dad shows up and they decide to come out.  Coincidence?  I think not.

 Look at them all coming up to pay their respects!

 Our destination was Lamma Island, and even though we only made it for a day trip, we had a nice time.

Isn't it lovely?

And to finish, a few shots my folks and I took that I think show the essence of Macau.

 The crazy casino lighting...

incense everywhere...

maximized spaces...

 serene escapes... 

 colorful markets...

and of course, squatty toilets.

It was really fun!  So glad they made the journey!