I'm currently sitting in a conference in Hong Kong, listening to a lovely Chinese gentleman talking about the special needs network in Hong Kong local schools, interesting - but not enough to keep my attention after 3 days of sitting in a conference. I've been attending the Special Education Network in Asia conference since Thursday, which has been informative on the whole - if only to realise how pitiful my departments funding is compared to some other schools around. It has also been great to network with with other special needs teachers, and have little bitching sessions about how under appreciated we are, how hard our job is... Oh poor me, seemed to be the catchphrase. Although I must admit compared to people working as the only special needs teacher K-12 in a school in the middle of nowhere China I have things pretty good. However I do have ideas, so ISKL needs to watch out when I get back!
I have had a chance in the evenings to see some of the bright lights of Hong Kong (I'll add the photos when I have the download leads with me), and eat some amazing Chinese seafood. Loving the lobster, prawns and squid! Tonight I'm also hoping to get to see the rugby as the Malaysian sports channels are so addicted to the EPL that they don't show the All Blacks. Heathens!
Unfortunately the Sunday sessions of the conference have been cancelled so in a few hours time I will have a day and a half to explore Hong Kong at my leisure - catching up with a few of my friends who live here and hitting the markets. Tomorrow I'm going to cross the border to Shenzhen in China and do some shopping at the big 'knock-off' market there. It seems amazing to me that it is now possible to get a visa on entry to China and go there for a days shopping. However I am more than happy to try it out and get a little Christmas shopping done while I'm at it.
25 November 2006
19 November 2006
New Friends/Old Friends
I got an email from one of my oldest friends who has recently headed off to do the expat thing with her family. She was talking about how good it was to hear from old friends when there aren't many of them around. I was already in a bit of a home sick funk (it doesn't happen often, but I have discovered that one often appears just before a planned trip home), and I was pondering this and thinking about all my old friends I really don't get to see enough or have lost touch with.
However last night I got a little reality check, and was reminded that while my old friends aren't so close I do have some pretty great new friends. Sitting chatting over frozen margaritas with some of the girls last night I re-realised what a great group of people I have made friends with here. None of the people around the table are people I think that I would have been likely to get to know well at home, but they are great friends that make my life richer. Age and experiences seem to become less important when you are away from home, perhaps you see the true person a little more. I guess along with broadening geographical boundaries, my friendship boundaries have also been broadened.
Needless to say today the home sickness has passed, not that I aren't itching to get home and see my old friends and family. I was just reminded that I have my own 'family' here made up of some pretty amazing friends.
However last night I got a little reality check, and was reminded that while my old friends aren't so close I do have some pretty great new friends. Sitting chatting over frozen margaritas with some of the girls last night I re-realised what a great group of people I have made friends with here. None of the people around the table are people I think that I would have been likely to get to know well at home, but they are great friends that make my life richer. Age and experiences seem to become less important when you are away from home, perhaps you see the true person a little more. I guess along with broadening geographical boundaries, my friendship boundaries have also been broadened.
Needless to say today the home sickness has passed, not that I aren't itching to get home and see my old friends and family. I was just reminded that I have my own 'family' here made up of some pretty amazing friends.
16 November 2006
Saved by a floating digger!
I recently spent 10 days travelling in Myanmar with Leanne (my old roommate). I'd ummed and ahhed about going to Myanmar because of the human rights issues going on there, and not wanting to support the powers that be there. However after talking to friends that have lived and travelled extensively there I reached the conclusion that it was possible to travel there, and contribute much needed income to the local people without lining the government coffers too much. Lets just say it was a decision I'm pleased I made.
Myanmar is an amazing place (I seem to say that a lot!). Yangon must have been a stunning place in its time, but is more than a little run down - I guess 20 odd years of corrupt management will do that. However the Shwedagon Pagoda is still the most spectacular temple that I have ever seen. Gold as far as the eye can see, and unlike many I have visited there were hardly any tourists, just locals doing there thing.
From Yangon we caught a flight to Bagan. A place that I had never heard of before but that was the highlight of the trip. Life in Bagan was like stepping back in time. About 800-1000 years ago the inhabitant built 4000 stupas, temples and pagodas over the space of a couple of hundred years, and today there are still over 2000 of them left. Sight seeing in Bagan consisted of hiring a horse cart and driver and setting off to explore. Leanne and I were lucky enough to get Naing Naing and Honey as our team. Naing Naing was an amazing guy about my age that spoke English perfectly and knew a lot about the area. Honey on the other hand was a little old and slow, but she managed to haul the two of us around for two stressful days of sightseeing in the morning, lazing by the pool in the afternoon and then heading out for sunset and dinner again in the early evening. It was pretty magical to lie back in the horse cart and watch the millions of stars in the sky as you rode back from another amazing dinner costing less than US$5.
Besides the amazing temples and sunsets, which provided a million photo opportunities for the both of us, there was also shopping! The art on sale in tiny little shops or laid out on temple grounds was stunning, so although I'm running out of wall space I was compelled to support the struggling local artists (that's my excuse anyway!). You will be very proud of me however that I managed to control myself when it came to buying gemstones. However when they are being sold to you in the middle of a field of canola flowers by a man that comes up to you with a business card holder which he opens up and holds up suspiciously semi-whispering "gemstones?", it isn't too hard.
From Bagan we flew to Inle Lake, where we spent two nights staying in a floating cottage on the lake. We spent a day out on the lake in a boat travelling through some of the floating villages and visiting crafts people. It was amazing to see life carrying on in the middle of a lake, school, blacksmiths, and even pigs in pens! So after a little more shopping and several (hundred) more pictures we started out way back.
Unfortunately that is where the problem struck. Our driver decided to take a shortcut back, spurred on I'm sure by the threatening thunder storm and driving rain. The shortcut took us through a field of floating water lilies the size of about 4 rugby fields. As would be expected it didn't take long for the thick covering of water lilies to block our path and tangle in the outboard motor. As Leanne and I took the opportunity for some nice close up shots of the fauna, our driver muttering to himself (and I am sure cursing in Burmese) walked back and forward up the narrow boat trying to clear a path. After every 5 or so minutes of work he would return to the motor and jet forward another foot or two. As we prepared to be drenched, we suddenly heard another motor in the distance, coming towards us was a house boat, with a digger attached to the front. It slowly dug its way through the flowers and cleared a path (see the photo documentation of the entire rescue). Finally a path to freedom appeared and after what I assume was some good natured ribbing of our driver by our rescuers we jetted off before the rain hit us. Saved by a floating digger!
Back in Yangon, we decided to make the most of our luxury hotel and the tips from our expat friends - enjoying the high life, and of course a little shopping!
Add it to your list of places to go - stunning, untouched and amazing locals who need the support of tourists!
Myanmar is an amazing place (I seem to say that a lot!). Yangon must have been a stunning place in its time, but is more than a little run down - I guess 20 odd years of corrupt management will do that. However the Shwedagon Pagoda is still the most spectacular temple that I have ever seen. Gold as far as the eye can see, and unlike many I have visited there were hardly any tourists, just locals doing there thing.
From Yangon we caught a flight to Bagan. A place that I had never heard of before but that was the highlight of the trip. Life in Bagan was like stepping back in time. About 800-1000 years ago the inhabitant built 4000 stupas, temples and pagodas over the space of a couple of hundred years, and today there are still over 2000 of them left. Sight seeing in Bagan consisted of hiring a horse cart and driver and setting off to explore. Leanne and I were lucky enough to get Naing Naing and Honey as our team. Naing Naing was an amazing guy about my age that spoke English perfectly and knew a lot about the area. Honey on the other hand was a little old and slow, but she managed to haul the two of us around for two stressful days of sightseeing in the morning, lazing by the pool in the afternoon and then heading out for sunset and dinner again in the early evening. It was pretty magical to lie back in the horse cart and watch the millions of stars in the sky as you rode back from another amazing dinner costing less than US$5.
Besides the amazing temples and sunsets, which provided a million photo opportunities for the both of us, there was also shopping! The art on sale in tiny little shops or laid out on temple grounds was stunning, so although I'm running out of wall space I was compelled to support the struggling local artists (that's my excuse anyway!). You will be very proud of me however that I managed to control myself when it came to buying gemstones. However when they are being sold to you in the middle of a field of canola flowers by a man that comes up to you with a business card holder which he opens up and holds up suspiciously semi-whispering "gemstones?", it isn't too hard.
From Bagan we flew to Inle Lake, where we spent two nights staying in a floating cottage on the lake. We spent a day out on the lake in a boat travelling through some of the floating villages and visiting crafts people. It was amazing to see life carrying on in the middle of a lake, school, blacksmiths, and even pigs in pens! So after a little more shopping and several (hundred) more pictures we started out way back.
Unfortunately that is where the problem struck. Our driver decided to take a shortcut back, spurred on I'm sure by the threatening thunder storm and driving rain. The shortcut took us through a field of floating water lilies the size of about 4 rugby fields. As would be expected it didn't take long for the thick covering of water lilies to block our path and tangle in the outboard motor. As Leanne and I took the opportunity for some nice close up shots of the fauna, our driver muttering to himself (and I am sure cursing in Burmese) walked back and forward up the narrow boat trying to clear a path. After every 5 or so minutes of work he would return to the motor and jet forward another foot or two. As we prepared to be drenched, we suddenly heard another motor in the distance, coming towards us was a house boat, with a digger attached to the front. It slowly dug its way through the flowers and cleared a path (see the photo documentation of the entire rescue). Finally a path to freedom appeared and after what I assume was some good natured ribbing of our driver by our rescuers we jetted off before the rain hit us. Saved by a floating digger!
Back in Yangon, we decided to make the most of our luxury hotel and the tips from our expat friends - enjoying the high life, and of course a little shopping!
Add it to your list of places to go - stunning, untouched and amazing locals who need the support of tourists!
13 November 2006
A blog beginning
So... I have decided it is time to enter another more modern age of communication and start to blog. I've been inspired by several friends that have great blogs, and i'm hoping it will let those close to me keep up to date with my life more frequently than they currently do. Yes I am a crap emailer!
Why 'Vagabond Educator'? I have to give my apologies to a fellow international educator I met in Nepal earlier this year (during rooftop sunset drinks overlooking the monkey temple - Thanks Chip!) for stealing his phrase. His business card read Vagabond Educator, to which those of us sitting around immediately identified with. It sounds so much more exciting than International Educator, a little more daring, a little but out there, and way more cool. So as I sat and tried to come up with inspiration for a non-cliched blog name inspiration hit, and plagarism quickly followed.
So what am I hoping to blog about? I'm guessing that travelling and those day-to-day trivias of life in Asia are likely to dominate. But I apologise in advance for any random musings that may bore those of you who are reading, feel free to skip ahead whenever you feel your eyelids drooping.
Coming up soon some stories from Myanmar. Just got to figure out how to add photos first!
Why 'Vagabond Educator'? I have to give my apologies to a fellow international educator I met in Nepal earlier this year (during rooftop sunset drinks overlooking the monkey temple - Thanks Chip!) for stealing his phrase. His business card read Vagabond Educator, to which those of us sitting around immediately identified with. It sounds so much more exciting than International Educator, a little more daring, a little but out there, and way more cool. So as I sat and tried to come up with inspiration for a non-cliched blog name inspiration hit, and plagarism quickly followed.
So what am I hoping to blog about? I'm guessing that travelling and those day-to-day trivias of life in Asia are likely to dominate. But I apologise in advance for any random musings that may bore those of you who are reading, feel free to skip ahead whenever you feel your eyelids drooping.
Coming up soon some stories from Myanmar. Just got to figure out how to add photos first!
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