One thing about expats - we are shameless about pursuing friendships when we intuit it might work out. And nothing forces a friendship to cement or break like traveling together. As the philosophic movie "Anchorman" taught us, 60% of the... Continue Reading →
this guy has seen it all. I’ve been teaching for fifteen years, all ages and subjects, in four different countries, and at a certain point, you kinda think you’ve seen it all. You think you’re prepared for any emergency or... Continue Reading →
For now, I just have to get through two days of wrangling the sugared-up and feral creatures formally known as my students into a three minute choreographed line dance to “You’re a Mean One, Mr Grinch,” (it’s adorably awful) . . .
As an educator, I will be a hollow shell of myself every year from August to October as I adjust to a new group of kids. For fun, now when I collapse onto the couch every day, I also get to wonder, “Ooohhhh . . . is it dengue?”
I couldn’t have ordered a more Rachel-esque day to get here to my new home in Panajachel, Guatemala. Moving out of my home in Hong Kong to the temporary spot at my parents in California for six weeks was wild enough. I was waiting on boxes still from Hong Kong . . .
me and bestie Everyone has a morning ritual. In this long six-week summer between teaching jobs, I’ve cozied into very different morning routines than from when I’m teaching. Those were usually "AH!/Coffee/get dressed/teeth/out door/try to not forget anything/forget something/AH!" mornings. But... Continue Reading →
The author shares the emotional turmoil of leaving Hong Kong after unexpectedly losing their teaching job. Despite initial challenges and rejections, they secured a teaching position in Guatemala. The new role comes with unique challenges, including teaching fifth grade without a partner and adapting to a different lifestyle. However, they express excitement about the opportunity, reconnecting with Spanish, and fulfilling a long-held desire to live in Guatemala.
north stars There’s a long list of things that can be painful or annoying about being single; getting a zipper up on the back of your dress, applying sunscreen in the right spots, opening a stubborn jar of pickles, a... Continue Reading →
me, very cool, through almost all of my birthday, crying at anything nice said to me. (literally 90% of the pictures are a version of this.) The soundtrack for this blog can be found here. And I recommend the heck... Continue Reading →
a moment from last year's birthday! It is birthday week! Around lunchtime, seven days from now, I will officially have been out of the womb and in the world for 40 years. That's 14,610 days. What the heck does that... Continue Reading →
hassan II mosque. gorgeous. I’m lucky that my schedule as an international teacher allows me to travel a lot, and my income teaching in Hong Kong supplements this desire, and my sometimes dangerously (I like to think comically) low levels... Continue Reading →
Sunglasses Always Fit 