wherethehellismatt?

one of the other kindie teachers showed me this video yesterday. i LOVE it. we were laughing and crying and had goose bumps. it's so good!! i want to share it with you. if you haven't seen it before, watch it and then you'll be obsessed with his website and want to watch all the videos. if you have seen it, shame in you for not sharing it with me earlier!!!!

go to:
http://www.wherethehellismatt.com/
and watch the 2008 video first.

there are others which are good too. this guy has traveled around the world and taped himself dancing badly and then stride gum saw his video and sponsored him to do it again and go to more remote places to dance badly. it's just fun and reminds us of what a wonderful world there is out there! and as international teachers, it reminds us how lucky we are to be having this experience!
enjoy! i don't know how you could not!

i heart sleep

i love sleep. there are no two ways about it. all week this week i have been fighting to get up out of bed in the morning because i love sleep! my bed here is fantastic and i like to turn on the air conditioning really high and get all snuggled up under the covers. i love sleep.
some people say that sleep is for the week or that there's no sense in living if you sleep half your life away. to them i say NO WAY! i LOVE sleep! and you don't want to mess with me when i haven't had enough of it! goodnight!

arts and crafts

have you ever had one of those moments where you're like, "that is such a great idea!". and then you follow through with the plan and you're like, "what was i thinking?!". i had one of those moments today.

we are studying SPACE in class - my favourite unit - and we are learning about constellations. so i decided it would be a great idea to use white paint to make a splatter painting on white paper and then when it dries, we can connect the stars to make constellations.

so the stars look great, but the room - not so much! the table and floor are covered and so is ms. emily's dress!

but we had fun!! :) i'll let you know how the constellations look when we're done!

from the fishies...

the fishies at "fishy love" would like to thank uncle Sean for feeding them while mom was away.

they appreciate the food...and the love!

xo the fishies

my new baby

here she is. my new baby. we have a lot to learn about each other. many roads to travel together. isn't she beautiful???

a long time coming

I have been wanting to write this post and thinking about this post since Christa was here and we traveled to Hue for the weekend. I know, I know, I haven't even blogged about Hue yet but this is even more important. So, we were in Hue for all of an hour, and after breakfast we were off on our first walk of the day. In the elevator, I proclaim, "this is a NO SHOPPING weekend people!" Because after all, I had spent far too much the previous weekend in Hoi An. And my "friends" (yes that is right, the term is being used loosely here) are less than supportive in my attempt to save some money!

Anyway, we are walking along for about four minutes when we find it. The place that is sure to make me spend money! How convenient?! But when you hear about this place, you'll understand why I was quick to spend.

It's called "Healing the Wounded Heart Shop" - part of the SPIRAL foundation. And everything that is made at this shop is WONDERFUL. Why? You ask. Well let me tell you why:

1. Everything is made from recycled materials. We're talking chip bags, noodle packages, telephone wires, and more!
2. Everything is hand made in Hue, Vietnam or Nepal by disabled artisans. We met some of the Vietnamese artisans who are young adults who are mutes and are now able to be contributing members of society when ordinarily, their country would see them as a burden.
3. All proceeds go to fair salaries for the artisans, social and medical insurance for the artisans, and heart surgeries for poor children in Vietnam!

See?? Told you it was wonderful! So, here we are, learning about this wonderful organization and browsing the goods when the founder of the p0roject, Marichia, comes to tell us her story. She is Italian but lives in the U.S. and funded this project to give back after seeing the devastation of the was in Vietnam when she was a teenager. She was so passionate and wonderful that it made our shopping experience even more memorable. And needless to say, it was definitely not a NO SHOPPING weekend! I bought table runners, napkins and napkin rings, bags, bowls...all kinds of great things! And, all throughout the store there are pictures of famous actors, actresses, etc. that have also bought some of these wonderful goods. Even Johnny shops SPIRAL foundation ;) P.S. the bowl he is holding is made by this really cute Vietnamese guy, I would say early 20's who is a mute. He was very proud of his stuff! And it's made entirely of old telephone wires!


Anyway, if you want more information on this fantastic foundation, please check out their website: http://www.spiralfoundation.org

the simple things

so you know how there are just those little things that make you laugh or smile? simple, silly little things that brighten your day. my friend S once shared her "simple joy" with me and to this day i remember how much we laughed in that moment. you know the pilsbury rolls that you pull and as it unwraps around the roll, all of a sudden it POPS! well that's her little moment. it's nothing special to many people but we even got the camera out to try and capture the look on her face at that second.

well today, i made banana muffins. only a few people have witnessed the banana muffin making process but my "simple joy" is definitely a part of this process. so today, as a peeled the frozen bananas and they PLOPPED out of their skin and into the bowl, i laughed out loud thinking of how many times that simple act has made me laugh.

i feel like this is the point where my dad would say "simple things amuse simple minds!" but it's so funny! you will have to try it for yourself to experience the simple joy! there are people out there who will vouch for me, i know it!

rain, rain, go away!

my class really is fantastic. i've been thinking more and more lately, just how lucky i am. and i really have nothing to complain about that's for sure!! people often come into my class and are so impressed with how well they are working and with what they have accomplished this year. other teachers come in and comment on how quietly they work or how independent they are and sometimes i wonder what the heck they see that i don't see. but if i take a moment and look at the big picture, it's true. they are amazing. and i guess it's because of my high expectations of them that i don't see it as often as i should, but my kids rock!

so that brings me to today's story. well actually it happened yesterday. we have swimming on friday at 1:35 so we are ready to go around 1:25. they had their swimsuits on, towels over their shoulders, goggles in hand by about 1:22. at approximately 1:23 it started to POUR! like we are talking full-fledged, rainy season is BACK, pouring cats and dogs, RAIN. this is of course followed by thunder and lightning. so i had to make the "bad guy decision". sorry boys and girls, no swimming today!

but it's been such a long time since it rained here and they were all so interested in the rain so i took them outside under the shelter of the covered sidewalk and we watched the rain. at first it was raining really hard and they were squealing with delight. then there was a huge crack of thunder and few of the timid ones took a step closer to the building. some were building up their courage to step up and stick their hands out into the refreshing rain. and i had an urge. i really, really wanted to take them out to play in the rain. imagine how fun it would have been to take 16 five year olds out into the POURING rain in their bathing suits!! however, my logical side kicked in to remind me that the parents here would NOT love that. they are big on the "change in weather causes colds". i am more on the "germs cause colds" belief but who am i to say?! anyway, i was sad that we couldn't play but there wasn't much i could do.

i was just about to take them inside when they had a moment. a "man i love these kids" moment. they all started singing together, "rain, rain, go away, come again another day!". over and over. and they were so happy and hopeful that their chanting would make the sun come out so that they could go swimming. it just reminded me how cool they are and even though it didn't work, and it kept raining, they gave it a shot!

as we went back inside and i had them change back into their uniforms, one boy asked me, "ms. emily, is it raining because the sky is crying?" "yes, it is!" i replied. how could i say no to that?

my stars

so i was sitting here thinking about some of my friends. i was thinking that the mix of people that come and go in our lives is so strange but obviously they have been sent to us for a reason. i have so many wonderful friends and i am truly thankful for that. for all of them. friends on different levels. friends for different reasons. friends for a long time or a short time. the trouble is that in this international lifestyle that i have chosen, friends come and go a lot more than i would like them to. it makes me think of that quote about having all the people we love in the same place at the same time. and its true. i wish i could have you all here. all together. being friends.


anyway, so i went to look for an image to put on this post and this one came up. how perfect is it?! it's exactly what i wanted and needed in this moment. my friends are really important to me and even though i sometimes don't stay in touch as much as i should, i want to tell you that i think of you more than you know.

now this got me thinking. when you hear the word friend, what comes to mind? i think of the friends that i cherish and hold dear to my heart. i think of "friends". that i thought were friends, but it wasn't quite so. then of course, there's the tv show. friends. what about you? what do you think of when you hear the word FRIEND?!

I'm a GLEEK and I'm proud of it!

After being on hiatus since December 11, this Tuesday (April 13) marks the return of my all time favourite show - Glee! If you haven't seen it before, you really should give it a try! I'm told that I watch a lot of TV and I definitely claim Glee as my FAVE!

Let's discuss the reasons that we should all watch Glee:

1. The music selection is awesome! I challenge you to watch Season 1 - Part 1 and NOT find a song that you love.
2. The actors and actresses all do their own singing! And they are great at it!
3. Many of the stars have previously been on Broadway and it shows! Their singing and dancing is fantastic!
4. Cory Monteith, the leading male who plays Finn, is Canadian!
5. It has really sad moments and really happy moments and really funny moments. All in the same show!
6. It really is unlike anything else on TV. A positive change in television today. (aka it's not a reality show or a hospital show).
7. I love it. And if you watch it, then we can talk about how much we love it together!

So, if you haven't watched it before and you are considering it, give it until episode four at least "all the single ladies" will have you rolling on the floor laughing! You'll probably have some tears that episode too! That is of course if you aren't hooked after "Don't Stop Believing" on episode 1!

Just trust me on this one okay?! You won't be disappointed!

"and i'm going to miss you like a child misses their blanket..."

well, as you know, sean and christa were here for a visit, what you don't know is that i tried to kid nap them so that they couldn't leave but it didn't work :(. i really stand by my earlier statement that when i have visitors, i should get to decide when they leave! but for some reason, no one is following my new rule. apparently sean has this OPP thing to get back to and then has a trip planned across canada and the states. who would choose that over being here with me?! and then there's christa. something about that rock (newfoundland) that she lives on i tell ya...once you leave there, apparently it is not so easy to get back! she tried to change her flight but then she wouldn't have been able to get back home until the end of april! seriously newfies, let's work on this! the good news is that i will be home for about 7 weeks in the summer and christa has planned to come visit. i had mentioned to sean that he should come visit too and as we were saying goodbye and i was crying, he said he would come to wawa this summer. therefore, i will make sure he stays true to that little promise :).

so, how about some highlights of our time together?!

• me, kel, c and sean all in my bed, having story time. definitely good for a laugh!
• on sean's last night, we had a "fruit platter" picnic in the courtyard at our apartment. it included pomello, dragon fruit, star fruit, mango, asian pears and the ever stinking durian. the first bunch of fruits were fine....the durian was so smelly!!! even outside. kelly claimed to like the smell up close. and kel and sean both claimed to like the first bite of durian. i think it was when they went back for seconds that they both decided their time with the durian was over.

• dinners and drinks at the tavern. our local "watering hole" if you will. sharing stories and drinks with old friend and school friends. lots of laughs.
• our trip to hoi an of course, which you have already read about.
• our trip to hue with christa which you will read more about soon.
• my afternoon of girl time with christa. we went shopping at Ben Than market and the Tax Centre, then had manicures, pedicures, and had our hair washed, blow dried and straightened! (all for the low, low price of about $20!)

of course, these are only the highlights and all the time that we had together, although it wasn't enough, was great! i'm probably forgetting some funny stories but you'll have to forgive me, it's late (almost 9 pm!) and i'm still trying to catch up on my sleep!
anyway, the thing is, i am so glad that my two super, fantastic friends were able to come to vietnam and share in the craziness with us. it's a really great place and i want others to experience it with us. it's strange because you never know how people from your "home life" will fit in to your "away life" but it was great. i was so happy that they were happy. sean said that on a scale of 1 to 10, egypt was a 6.5 and vietnam was a 9.9! so if that doesn't make you want to come and visit, i don't know what will!

just a thought...

this is something a wise lady once shared with me. i came across it again today and immediately wanted to share it with you too. just something to think about...

A Complaint Free World

you're going to love this. i promise!

so at our school, we have started a new initiative as part of our character education. by the end of the week, all of the students at CIS will officially be part of an attempt to make a Complaint Free World.

how it works. everyone, teachers and students, gets a purple bracelet (like the liveSTRONG bracelets), and if you complain, you have to move the bracelet to your other arm and start over. The goal is to keep the bracelet on the same arm for 21 days - that's NO COMPLAINING for 21 days!!! scientists believe that it takes 21 days to make something a habit, so after 21 days you will have established a habit of being complaint free!

i think it's a great idea and a big challenge for teachers - maybe even more than the students!! however, i've read some reviews from schools that have tried it and they all comment on what a positive change this program has made in their schools.

so, we started on monday. my bracelet has moved everyday. i'm going to keep trying though. someday i hope to blog about my 21 days of being complaint free!!! and i'm working on my SK's. "that's complaining!" we'll get there. just think of it... a complaint free classroom!

if you want more information on the program, check out http://www.acomplaintfreeworld.org/

i told you you were going to love it!

snow angels in vietnam?!

Every year (well for the last two years anyway), Curel (the mosturizer company) holds a fundraiser for the Children's Starlight Foundation (http://www.starlightfoundation.org/). The money from this fundraiser goes to seriously ill children and their families.

So, at CIS Vietnam, we wanted to help. All you have to do is take a picture of a snow angel and send it into curel. For every snow angel, one dollar is donated to the foundation. What an easy way to raise money for a great cause!

If you want to check out our pictures, go to http://www.curel.ca/, choose your language, click "learn more" and then "see all snow angels". When it asks for a keyword or email, type in Vietnam and all of the pics from CIS will appear! Voila!

Please enjoy! :)

A great little town to get lost in...

As you know, we have guests from home visiting and so for their first weekend in the nam we were off to Hoi An. I had been there once before but it is an amazing little place. Now, when I say "A great little town to get lost in..." I don't mean that literally. I mean you sort of get lost in it's beauty. Lost in it's charm. Lost in it's history. Just look at the pictures, you'll see what I mean.

So we left Friday after school and arrived in Hoi An just in time to have a drink and hit the sack. The next morning we were up early and off to the tailor. Hoi An is known for it's millions of tailors that produce clothing for tourist in a matter of HOURS! It's crazy. Anything you want tailor made, you can get it there. In a weekend. And for a very reasonable price. So of course we spent some time picking out designs and fabric and having our measurments taken. When we finished there, we walked all over and I mean ALL OVER Hoi An. There wasn't a road left unvisited. The old city is great because all of the streets there are blocked off so only pedestrians are allowed. We also ventured out of the touristy area for a bit to find a "cache" with Sean. He is a Geo Caching enthusiast...I'm not sure what they call themselves... anyway, it was really cool and I can see Kelly and I getting hooked too!

What else? Oh yes. The shopping. On both Saturday and Sunday, it is safe to say that we made a few shopkeepers' days! We bought jewlery, art work, pottery, and clothes of course! We also ate in some fantastic restaurants along the river and at "Good Morning Vietnam" for a delicious Italian dinner! YUMMY!

Sunday brought us back to the tailor for fittings but it was kind of rainy and dull outside so we just continued to do what we do best - SHOP! Then, in the late afternoon, Sean and Christa were off for Hanoi and Kelly, Kristi, Tammy and I were headed back to Saigon for work on Monday morning. Overall, a great weekend. Lots of fun in a super little town. I can't wait to go back...but my wallet is hesitant!

Random Thoughts...

• Sean and Christa arrive in less than 48 hours. That's right - we're down to hours, not days! So excited to see them and it's going to be like Christmas when they arrive cause we've asked for so much stuff from home!
• I just finished writing my article for the newspaper from back home. I'll post the link when it's available.
• Lindsay and Phil got engaged! and two weeks ago Kathleen and Simon got engaged! Seems that love is in the air! Blow some of that air my way... ;)
• The Japanese dollar store - which I love - let me down tonight. I wanted something for my class, I had seen it there before, and tonight it was all gone. Why dollar store, why?! I always spoke so nicely of the dollar store!
• We are going to Hoi An this weekend. The "tailored clothing" capital of Vietnam. I should be looking in magazines and picking out stuff to get made....maybe I'll go do that now.
• Tonight we watched an episode of "The Rules of Engagement". It's hilarious. If you haven't seen it, you should watch an episode. So funny!!
• This Friday we have student led conferences with our SK kids for the first time. I'm sure they will do fine but we have a lot of work to do before then and I feel like there is never enough time! This week we are studying Australia and Korea and will go for a field trip to do Tae Kwon Do. There is no time to prepare for meetings with all this fun happening!
• We have a week long holiday in May and haven't decided where to go yet. Suggestions welcome!

All of this running through my brain. Maybe I'll just go to bed and ignore it all for now. I love my bed! Goodnight!

I've got a feelin'...

...that today's gonna be a good day.

that today's gonna be a good, good day.

I've got a feelin'.

*wink wink*

it happened again. i was cranky today. again no explanation. maybe it's that time of year? maybe it's that we have no break until may? maybe it's a need for change. maybe it's that i am excited that sean and christa are coming next week. who knows. anyway, i had some guests in my room who saw my morning message that my students are now writing on their own. they were very impressed.


which got me thinking, how can i be cranky with these brilliant kids? then i saw this face...how can you be cranky with this face?


hope you have a good day. and if you start to get cranky, just think of him!

Memories

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!!

Last year ELK Lodge hosted the third stop of a very fantastic-dance party- St. Patrick's Day apartment crawl. It was so much fun I think it deserves to be remembered...
I Miss all you crazy "Egyptians"!! Thanks for the memories! xo

Christa, Meghan, and Linds with Papa Cairo

Kathleen and Simon - the newly engaged couple xo

Bonnie, Me, Kelly P., Kathleen and Christa

Trina and Christa. Can I get a WOO WOO!

Ma and Pa Cairo

The girls and white Peter

ROOMMATE pajamas!

Me and Kevin

mr. bright side

urg. today was not a good day. i have no explanation for it. i was in a bad mood. period. everything that anyone said to me just got under my skin. finally, the school day ended, after school clubs were over, and it was time to go home. thank goodness. so i get my stuff together, find kelly and we are off on the bike. or so we think. just as i got on, one of the drivers at our school points with a "oh la la" at the back tire of our bike. a flat. great. and turns out that kelly is having one of those days too so we decide to just go for it on the flat and see if we can get home. this is where things got a little bit cheerier. we pulled over on the way home at the main intersection near our house where we thought we had seen a man with a pump before. sure enough, the man with the pump comes over, puts air in the tire, finds a leak in the tire, and fixes the tire. all in about 5 minutes and for a whole $2.50. it was one of those moments where i wished i had my camera. it was so easy. it was so quick. oh and did i mention that he did all of this with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth? now that's talent. thanks mr. tire man for making me see the bright side of an otherwise dreary day.