Assignment:
Vocabulary:
phrasal verbs connect to family
grew up
look after
tell off (hah!)
carry on
get on with (we say get along in America . . .)
look up to
take after
Wish me luck!
Danke sehr, mahalo, merci bien, kapu kah (how it’s pronounced, don’t know how it’s spelled ; ~ )
-sj
Hi Everyone,
As you can see from the shot above, I won’t be making a lot of long and involved entries to my glob over the next 4-weeks! My job tonight is to organize all the many papers for this-and-that, read an assignment, look through my notes to make some sense of all I learned today, and just generally, get my head on straight!
The school’s in that building across the way.
From the Skytrain, I can walk directly into the building. Upon arrival early this a.m., it looked a lot like the Kuhio Mall of days gone by. Tones knows what I mean. : )
So what the heck am I doing typing this to you right now? Well, I wanted to let you know what’s up, and that all is well. We each already stood in front of a group of students (who we’ll be teaching this week) to introduce ourselves and practice the very first points we were taught. And what were those points? Don’t talk too much; keep what you say simple and concise.
But we want to know more, I can hear you saying. So I’ll give you Susan Jane’s down-and-dirty-off-the-cuff list of FAQ’s:
1) Where are the other students from?
Australia, England, Malaysia and the U.S.
2) Do they plan on teaching in Asia after the course?
Yes, some have jobs already; some have family here; some have boyfriends or girlfriends here.
3) What are their ages?
Most are in their 30’s though my unofficial guesstimate is that they range from the mid-20’s to the mid-40’s (with moi being an exception : ). One guy’s wife just had a baby boy on the 21st of May; yes, they live in Bangkok.
4) What are the teacher’s like?
Two males and one female—all from England. The guys make a perfect mutt and Jeff set of bookends. She’s got lots of energy and makes teaching English to Thai students look easy!
5) Who are the students?
Here’s a quick run-down of the few I met today.
One young lady wants to be an airline attendant.
One young lady moved here from Japan and wants to be able to talk to the foreigners in her apartment building.
One young lady is in college and is planning to go to grad school in Psychology.
One young lady studied English is school and now, 10-years later, wants to improve her English since she teaches computer classes.
There are a few guys, but I just didn’t meet them yet.
They seem to range in age from the mid-20’s to late 30’s.
6) What’s the school itself like?
It’s on the 7th floor of this building just off of a Sky Train stop on the Silom line. The rooms are narrow and FULL of students. It’s a hopping kind of place with classes taking place all the time, even on the weekend. Three or so beautiful young Thai ladies greet you once you enter. The restrooms are not in the school area, but rather outside just past the elevators. Fortunately, I remembered to carry some of my own tissue with me today. If you don’t know what I mean, just think about it for a moment.
Okay, I think I need to get going and busy with my school work.
Below are also some shots I took this weekend when I went to play golf with my girlfriend’s *husband and a German couple, all expats working here in Bangkok. And yes, I had fun speaking German with them. The golf? It was fun, and I definitely got my money’s worth, if you know what I mean . . . yep, think about it for a moment and you’ll get the picture.
Until the next post,
Sawasdee kha
At 6 p.m. every day, everyone stops while a short version of their national anthem is play.
Looks like he’s happy with his game, and there is a lot of the same foliage as on Kaua‘i.
The golf course was a 45-minute drive north of Bangkok. And yes, we each had a caddy! That was a first for me. I can hear some of you saying, I didn’t know you played golf. Exactly, I don’t; hence, I got my money’s worth!
The golfers said that balls often land on these huge lily pads!
So beautiful! I couldn’t resist stopping during the game and smelling the roses, I mean hibiscus.
Aloha my Friends in all parts of the world,
Happily, I can say that I arrived in Bangkok safe and sound. Met by a friend at 2 in the morning is surely something to be celebrated. Who’s the friend? The husband of a former college buddy, who I met while studying in Bonn, Germany. Her work is in Singapore at the moment, but we’ll meet up as soon as possible.
They’re generously putting me up while I study here for a month and are letting me use their home as “base-camp” during my subsequent travels. Yes, my sister told me already, and I agree; I’m a very lucky girl.
Their spacious apartment has beautiful views of the city,
and, perhaps best of all, a swimming pool ! : ) I already checked it out today, swimming lap after lap working out those sitting-on-a-plane-for-hours-and-hours and jet-lag cob webs. I think it worked because I seem to be fairly well “switched over.” Okay, you just wait and see, I can hear some of you experienced travelers saying. Perhaps, but for the moment, it feels like I made my first date-line crossing all in one piece.
I’ve pretty much been just taking it easy today, unpacking and getting used to the fact that I’m far, far away from my Kaua‘i home. But I did venture out for lunch and managed to snap a few shots of this area. Not sure how often I’ll actually add to my glob once school starts, so for now, this gives you an idea of what it looks like here. Enjoy!
lunch place
Veggie curry & papaya salad at table 10
Yum! (though I don’t think you would have liked it Mark)
Mango sorbet from another place down the road . . . Delicious!
Lots of vendors like this with assorted food items
Scooters galore! That’s the sky train above; I’ll be exploring that soon.
Now comes the study of electric lines . . .
Aloha Everyone,
I’m sitting in the lovely airport in Taipei. Why lovely? They have free internet access and a comfortable place to sit during my 6-hour layover.
And, I might have just met my first client.
Client? you ask. What are you talking about?
Well, I’m heading to Bangkok to attend a four week CELTA course in order to earn a certificate to teach English to non-native speakers. I’d love to have a group of clients from all over the world, clients with whom I can have private lessons using Skype. And yep, who would then mahalo me using paypal.
And after I struck up a conversation with these nice young men who work here at the airport in security, one returned to give me his contact information saying that his friend might like to take English lessons. Now wouldn’t that be cool. : )
Meanwhile, here’s my itinerary:
I’ve already taken the 8+ hour flight from Honolulu to Tokyo.
And the 3.5 hour flight from Tokyo to Taipei.
I’m in the world of the 6-hour layover.
And here I’ve already met some very nice people. B i g S m i l e. The journey has indeed begun.
And, I ran into some acquaintances from Kauai. Yep, here in Taipei on the sky train I struck up a conversation with a man who looked so very familiar to me.
“Are you from Kauai?” I asked.
“Yes,” he replied.
“And your name, pray tell?”
“Brower.”
“We made a video with you and your wife years ago . . . for Ameritech . . . you were mountain biking . . . ” “Yes! with you and Thomas.”
Uh-huh . . . the world is indeed small. And standing right next to him? Me from the former Mema restaurant. Remember the one? In Kapaa? My husband and I had dinner there the night before Iniki struck September 11, 1992.
: ) And it’s just started! This journey of ours, for I do feel like it’s your journey too. I can feel you here with me walking by my side.
I love you all and appreciate your kind notes that keep trickling in. My friend Mary Hunter sent this precious prayer which was included in the May 24th edition of The Writer’s Almanac:
Flannery’s Angel
by Charles Wright
Lead us to those we are waiting for,
Those who are waiting for us.
May your wings protect us
may we not be strangers in the lush province of joy.
Remember us who are weak,
You who are strong in your country which lies beyond the thunder,
Raphael, angel of happy meeting,
resplendent, hawk of the light.
And for your viewing pleasure, some photos I snapped since I left beautiful Kaua‘i.
Ran into Marti at the Kauai airport
Big B747-400 plane in Honolulu
Highlight of Tokyo airport
Taipei airport
New friends
Hawaiians enroute to Bali
Blessings can come from the most unexpected places. A smile from a stranger. A friend’s warm caress. A plumber who’s free right when you need him. Blessings. They make up so much of our day, if we just take the time to notice.
Two months ago, I received one of the most extraordinary blessings ever. My husband and I had just arrived in Idaho, where we were going to spend several weeks honoring our 25th wedding anniversary. “Boise,” I thought to myself as I rode the short escalator to the lower level, “Never thought I’d be going to Boise.” He went to the right to the rental car counters, and I to the left to baggage claim. In only a few minutes, I had our bags and was completely alone in this quiet little airport. In the waiting area was a wall of photos, a display of the most important people in Idaho’s history of aviation. After reading about some fascinating women, (yes, I chose to just read about the women : ), I glanced to my right and noticed the most classily dressed business woman I’d ever seen. Black jacket, slacks, briefcase. She had the crispness of a well-put-together-woman, without any air of pretension. Doing a double-take, I realized I knew her; it was Liz, one of my absolutely best friends from college. (And now, as I think about it, I realize probably my best friend from college. She’s who I think of first when I think of those days, *first after my older sister, who resides in that special place in my heart reserved for blood sisters—I have two.)
“L i z. Liz is here in Boise. In baggage claim. Liz!”
“Susan!,” she called out, “It is you! What are you doing here in Boise?”
“I think I’m here to see you,” I replied.
She gave me that “get real” look and asked again, “What are you doing here? Well, I can see that you’re going skiing by your luggage,” she replied in answer to her own question. “But what are you doing here? And where’s Tony? Is he here with you?”
“Yes,” I nodded in reply, “He’s getting our rental car.”
And with that we hugged, and hugged, and hugged.
“Oh, now I know why I just had to bring Dad’s quilt!,” I said as I pulled it out of my backpack.
Less than one year after my Dad died (and at Thanksgiving), my oldest sister presented me and my two other siblings each with a one-of-a-kind quilt made from Dad’s favorite shirts. Yes, I cried too when I first saw it and felt it against my skin. Liz had known and loved my Dad. Being from out of town, she would join our family for Easter practically every year while she was in college. She too remembers Dad’s bear hugs and laugh-out-loud enthusiasm for life. She too would appreciate this quilt.
Liz. I ran into Liz in Boise, Idaho. At baggage claim. I’d just received an email from her earlier that day. She hadn’t mentioned where she was. The last time I’d seen her in the flesh was approximately 11-years prior. And here she was in Boise, on business, on a short day trip, and leaving in two hours. My husband and I were there to honor our 25th anniversary and draw this chapter of our life to a close. Why to a close? Because we are taking a break from our “work” life and beginning our personal journeys into our heart-selves. Journeys to explore the deepest parts of ourselves. Journeys to parts unknown.
The next week as I was skiing in beautiful Sun Valley, I remembered something important. Something that added even more meaning to running into Liz the week before.
Twenty-five years ago, newly married and excited to start our life together in Hawaii, my husband and I traveled across the country in our 1971 VW bus. And when we landed in California, we stayed with Liz. She had recently moved to Long Beach to begin her life after college; she had just started dating a former high school friend who would eventually become her husband. It was Liz who picked us up that auspicious day as we were walking down a desolate road at Matson’s vast shipyard; we had just left all our possessions behind to be shipped to O‘ahu. We were moving to Honolulu to begin our video production company and business life together.
Liz.
And here we are, starting another phase of our life. And Liz magically appears.
I called her an angel that day at the Boise airport, and she laughed.
And now, as I begin my journey with a first-stop in Bangkok, I realize that she indeed is an angel. And that her unexpected appearance that day was the perfect Blessing on which to launch our solo-yet-not journeys.
Please join me on this adventure. My glob will be exactly that, a glob of this-and-that. I too will be observing how it unfolds. I too will be expecting blessing after blessing, as I give thanks for one after another, and for all of Y O U wonderful beings who are joining me on this ride. May the Light of God guide each one of us on our solo-yet-not journey.
: )
*Yes, lots of firsts. It’s actually possible to have several firsts that happen at the same time. Fun to think about, isn’t it?
Susan Jane’s Journey.
Yep, I’m on a journey (aren’t we all???).
I’d love it if you’d join me. ; )
Updated May 2023:
After blogspot, I went to susanjanesjourney.com. Then came sjlehoven.com.
C’est la vie.