on teaching first grade (never again!), being a spinster, auntie life, good friends.
One of the big desires we had when booking Laos was to visit an ethical elephant sanctuary to spend time close to these majestic animals. I’m sure there are lots of elephants with below-level intelligence, anger issues, violent streaks, etc.,... Continue Reading →
After three years under Covid regulations, Hong Kong is finally allowing quarantine-free travel. I was thrilled to be able to travel to a new country - Laos. I didn’t know many people who had been before, and there weren’t a... Continue Reading →
yes, we're still teaching in masks . . . My grandma taught first grade for over thirty years, most of it in Antioch, California at a very low-income school. Cringing, I can remember using her as “senior experience” in high... Continue Reading →
*goes on a trip to a foreign country and comes back wanting to show you pictures of the cats she saw* "What's up, I'm Rachel." I haven’t been in a serious relationship with something besides a bread recipe or tv... Continue Reading →
I did not wake up today thinking this would be the day I’d have to teach my fourth graders what sperm kinda is, alas, that was today.
finally got to change this!!!!! Day Two https://open.spotify.com/episode/3ZXc7Ofu3ZNZY5OBJe42tX?si=514f7dac18e54d3a I went into my classroom this week to regroup and set up for a return to face-to-face learning for the first time since January 13th. It made me sad to clear away... Continue Reading →
we love a fancy dress! It’s a crisp 65 F in Hong Kong. Locals are in puffy jackets, boots, scarves. The sidewalk carts roasting chestnuts over an open fire (a phenomenon which, before I moved here and witnessed in the... Continue Reading →
Having one Qtip jammed up into my brain and then another one scraped against my esophagus by a stranger dressed in a hazmat suit while I am locked inside a hotel room was decidedly not how I expected to celebrate my four year anniversary of moving to Hong Kong, but here we are. Thanks, Covid.
We saw dolphins in the surf on the second night, and I sprinted into the ocean to try and make friends (if I recall correctly, I did an Ace Ventura impression. It did not work but by golly, I felt alive). I shivered on the walk back to the dining commons, made two trips to the pasta bar, and then by silent, mutual consent, the group decided running was hard and pasta was good, and sporadic dolphin chasing missions were more fun and probably counted as cardio.
Updating the 20-something tips I wrote a year ago about surviving the "new normal." (honestly, if I never hear that phrase again . . . )
Press play. Simply to see something different than the 150 square feet of studio I call home, I booked a hotel. I wanted to soak in a bubble bath and order room service and wear nothing but a robe for... Continue Reading →
Sunglasses Always Fit 