The Road Less Travelled: 2011

Friday

Here we are back home in Caracas, after a shopping spree in Quito, Ecuador. We're trying out a new app for updating our blog. It would be nice to update our blog without a computer, but the iPad doesn't replace a laptop for even simple tasks, like updating this blog.

This is a test...

Thursday

Quito

After a short drive to the airport on the coast, just outside of Caracas, we board a 777 and less than two hours later we are in Quito. Our host is Clemencia Pinto who lives in the Bellavista district of Quito and we have their place for a week. Her brother Javier picks us up at the airport and whisks us away to Clemencia's beautiful apartment. The next morning reveals how beautiful Quito is!

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Quito

Soon we are off to explore the cathedral you can seen toward the south. It is magnifico, but by no means the most ornate!

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Sunday

Caracas, Venezuela

We are now in Caracas, Venezuela. Kelly is a 3rd Grade teacher and Jim is an elementary Science specialist at an amazing school called, Escuela Campo Alegre. Our school is obsessed with pictures and you can see some here. The school is located in a suburb of Caracas, called Las Mercedes. Despite the news reports, the only dangers we face in Las Mercedes is the danger of excessive weight gain. There are so many really nice restaurants within walking distance of our apartment, we could probably go to a different one each night and not have to repeat a visit until next year! You can take your pick of Venezuelan, Colombian, French, Cuban, Thai, Mexican, Italian, Chinese, or any other cuisine that you can imagine, and it is all fabulously prepared! We just got home from dinner at a brand new Peruvian restaurant called, Piska. Desire was our hostess, who is typical of many women here, (like Jim's classroom assistant, Victoria)... beautiful, young, smart, and speaks four languages.

We have actually moved to Caracas, twice. When we first arrived, our first apartment left a lot to be desired and we actually never unpacked. There were water problems, power problems, and a refrigerator that made water for the floor. The spartan kitchen had a ceiling at a nice 10 feet high, unfortunately with cupboards at 9 feet (!!) and was only 4 feet wide, along with only one counter 6 inches deep that was falling off the wall, and power problems that would not allow us to run a microwave with lights turned on in the living room and only when plugged in on opposite wall that had no counter...

These and other issues resulted in the school finding us a better place. So, after two months, we moved, again, into a new place. What a difference! We were able to unpack and have a place for everything, Kelly can reach all of the storage, and we can run anything electrical anywhere in the apartment with no problems. We don't have the fabulous views of this amazing city that other teachers have, but we have water, electricity and fresh air. We feel like we had not really arrived until now, and the new place has transformed our life in just a few hours.

On the other hand, our experience at school has been nothing but good, so far. Though professionally challenged (we are putting in five nights a week in addition to our regular school hours) we are really enjoying the camaraderie of a fabulous staff and great kids. Rather than tell you what you can't do, our school actually helps you do new things that may have not been done before. Jim's back-to-school-night presentation for Science was done outside, next to the pool, projecting the curriculum and the Milky Way Galaxy on the ceiling of the aptly named, Star Plaza! Resources are no problem and classrooms are stocked with materials that can be found in any of the newest supply catalogs. Some of us are in temporary spaces as the school completes a $15M addition that should be done by December. Even with temporary space, the school tries to make sure we have what we need to help our students learn. When we move into the addition, there will a huge shuffle that returns everyone to some of the best facilities you could ask for. A feature of the facility that we are enjoying is how you can move from inside to outside and hardly notice. There are so many plants, windows, and along with an openness inside and the weather is so nice outside (every day!)... it is often hard to tell you have moved from one space to the other. We couldn't do that in Mongolia!

We will include pictures of the school and some of favorite restaurants and our new place, soon. Until then, please know that we are well and quite happy! Until next time...

Friday

Grease in Mongolia!

ISU produced it's first ever Broadway Musical, yesterday, with our production of Grease! The audience seemed quite pleased and well entertained, despite the lightest rehearsal schedule I've ever seen for a high school musical! A couple of months was all we had, with only one music rehearsal and two stage rehearsals per week. Somehow, the kids pulled it off! Many students worked hard, but my Music Director hat goes off to students Namuun, Ashley, and Amy, from Mongolia, the US, and China. They were note-perfect in solos and harmonies, worked hard on stage, and took technical issues in stride like pros! With a total 35 students on stage and back stage, it was truly an international cast with students from another 15 countries. Many of our school's students who were in the audience, came up to me at intermission and said they intended to audition next year. So, "Mission Accomplished!" Here are a couple pages from last night's student-produced program...

Thursday

Spring Break in Japan

Despite all of the bad news, my university admissions contacts said that we were certainly invited to visit Japan, so we went ahead with our plans. Many parts of Japan are beautiful this time of year (cherry blossom time), especially Kyoto, south of Tokyo. While we were there, we got to experience the largest after shock, yet, to hit since the big one, and a couple of smaller ones. They may have rattled us, but they didn't seem to bother anyone else! Here are a few pictures from Tokyo and Kyoto...

Wednesday

Winter Break in Laos

A little before break (like a month and a half!) we surprised Kelly with a little birthday bash and a creative cake...

9 countries represented in this pic!

A few weeks later we escape the bitter cold. First, a little stop in Beijing (still cold, but a lot less, so) where you can stay without a visa for up to 24 hours. Just enough time to take the subway from the airport into town, sight see, and then check-in for the next flight.

Anna buys some pearls at the Pearl Market...

A short walk to...

Mmmmmm, lunch! And so many choices...

Now that we're full, its back to the airport, we stuff our heavy clothes deep into our bags, and we are off to Laos. We arrive to a delightful 80 F degrees, check in to our "room" and then, a little biking around Vientiane...