Merry Christmas!!

My first Christmas in Malaysia... no snow, no fireplace, but still a fabulous time! I spent Christmas day with some good friends here... We had way too much to eat, (as you do...) played games, and had some good fellowship with each other. Boxing day came, and worked off all those extra calories by helping Jasmane move house! Today we did some more moving, and unpacking.. it was fun - amazing what a few women together can accomplish in only a few hours! (We used the guys for their muscles:))

Now it's time for just chilling, staying up late, sleeping in all morning, napping in the afternoon... aaahh.. the life! I'm going to Kuala Lumpur with some girlfriends for the day - a quick Ikea run - 4 hours driving there then 4 hours back - the same day!! (I'll be sleeping in the back.. not driving!) It will be a fun shopping day:) Then next week I head off to Bangkok and Chaing Mai in Thailand for a week. I'll be heading to Bangkok with Lana for 2 nights then meeting up with Jasmane and Shauna in ChaingMai - there's a Joyce Meyer conference up there we're going to check out, as well as the Hillsong band! Plus we'll be riding elephants and doing lots of shopping of course! Really looking forward to it!

Lana and I Christmas day

What a spread!

King of Thailand's birthday reception

On Friday night, I went to this birthday reception for the king of Thailand... His great grandson goes to our school (He's in Jasmane's class) and this child's father is the consular general for Thailand - here in Penang. So.. a few of us went to this "do" the other night! A few speeches, a toast to the king (he wasn't there - he was celebrating in Bangkok) and after we all said "long live the king", we were able to indulge at a buffet full of amazing Thai food - Pad thai, green curry, mango sticky rice - a few of my personal favourites!

Hong Kong

I just got back on Sunday from a quick trip to Hong Kong. I attended a conference for school - ICEC - a conference for international Christian school teachers. It was a great conference and I learned a lot of new stuff that I can implement in my classroom. But the more exciting part of the trip was the sightseeing ;) There were 8 of us from Dalat that went, and we enjoyed being taken out on a boat around Hong Kong harbour, as well as a wonderful dinner at Jumbo restaurant - a famous floating restaurant in Aberdeen harbour, by a guy who used to attend Dalat and is well known in the community. He works and has lived in Hong Kong for a long time, and showed great generosity toward us!
I also got to go up the Peak - a famous look out point in the city, as well as do some great shopping!! It was surprisingly VERY cold (for us Malaysians anyway!)there, and I had to go out and buy a fleece the second day so I didn't freeze! I think it got down to about 10 or 12 degrees(?)
Anyway, this week I was brought back to reality and hit the deck running with work... Lots to do these last few weeks of school!

Out group from school at the conference

On the boat on the way to dinner...

The floating restaurant

Happy Birthday Mom!

I had a lovely visit with mom and dad - they were here for about ten days, and we were able to take a short trip to Langkawi for the long weekend. (Pics posted soon!!) Dad then went onto South Africa, and mom and I had a lovely weekend together.. Shopped a bit, went to the E&O hotel for high tea.. a pre-celebration for mom's birthday! A frightfully posh afternoon, what!

Fish Spa

It's the latest fad... the latest pedicure.. Fish nibbling on your dead skin to make it smooth... It totally freaked me out last weekend!! A bunch of us ladies went to the fish spa that opened a few weeks earlier at the mall... It was hilerious!! I thought, ok, I'll give it a go.. How bad can it be.. I thought I would get annoyed at all the other ladies screeching and squealing.. Oh but guess who was the worst of them all? Yes, your's truly. It was an experience. Something everyone must at least try. How does it feel? Not a soft touch.. It's like, hard core! These fish really have a go at your feet! It's like a whole bunch of cockroaches swarming your feet! You do get used to it, and after a while, it's fine. But not the place to relax and "chill" (like some other local Asians were trying to do when a bunch of N American ladies invaded!!)

A quick update...

Thought it was about time I updated this blog!
It has been a busy week at school this past week... We had what's called SEW - "Spiritual Emphasis Week". We had a big African American guest speaker come to our school from the States who spoke in the chapels and Tues, Wed, Thurs evenings. He was amazing, and the kids (as well as staff) were very blessed!
Other than that, work is work... I must say, though, I am really enjoying this year - my class this year is very different from last year, but I really love them and enjoy their personalities!
On a non-work note... we had a ladies night out on Friday night - went to see Mama Mia, and sang and laughed through the whole thing! Very fun! I loved it:) The weekend before I went to do some batik (traditional Malaysian painting technique on fabric) with some friends, which was also very entertaining!
I'm really enjoying having Jasmane here (some of you reading this know who she is) - it's like having a bit of family here! I lived with her for 3 years when I was in the UK, and now she's here, teaching at Dalat and living above me! God is amazing - how He brings people back into your life at the right time...

Jasmane and Dylan


Jasmane and another crazy friend, Lana :) (We were at the market last night trying on many a pair of sunglasses!)

Back in School Again...

I'm glad it's Saturday, and I'm able to chill and do nothing except catch up on laundry and emails! School has started, students came, teacher is tired! It's been a good week though, and for the first time in Malaysia, I'm feeling relatively calm for this time of year! I'm teaching grade 4 again this year, which I'm very happy about.. since I can just pull out stuff that I used last year and am familiar with all the curriculum, ect.. It makes life so much easier!! Here are a few pics of my classroom... I still have a big room, with only 18 kids this year instead of 25. (Still got to keep the big space - lucky me ;))

The front of my room...

The back of my room...

The Perhentians.. one last holiday...

Well, I managed to squeeze in one more "getaway" before school started!
After working 3 weeks of ESL camp, getting all the new staff settled in, I needed a break! Well, a friend of mine (Tracey) really wanted to go to the east coast of Malaysia - the Perhentian islands. I jumped at the opportunity, knowing that my friend Jasmane moving here from the UK would also be up for the trip before the crazinss of school started! So, the 7 of us (Tracey, her kids, Jasmane, her son, and I) set off at 5:30am on Sunday to drive across the country to the other coast. We parked at the ferry, and were on the beach by 1pm that afternoon!

It was an amazing 3 days and 3 nights... nothing to do but swim, tan, sleep, eat and read... so relaxing! We saw incredible marine life, including reef sharks and huge turtles (easily the size of a person!)The snorkeling was truly amazing.

So now, it's almost that time of year again, when everything gears up for the beginning of school. We have staff meetings next week, and then August 12 is when the kids return. It's been a great summer - not quite ready for work mode yet.. but then again, who is?!

Adventures in Thailand...

Well I had planned everything out, and it all looked perfect... Our flights connected just perfectly with Air Asia, (a low cost, budget airline..) the accomodation in Koh Lanta was booked at a price that was too good to be true... I was looking forward to an amazing 4 days away in Thailand.. Can you tell, things didn't go quite according to plan??
A few days before our planned day of departure, I get a text message from Air Asia saying that our flight from Penang to KL was CANCELLED... (did I mention this was a budget airline??!!) They booked us on the next flight - which was scheduled after our connecting flight to Krabi, Thailand..) Our only option was to take the bus to KL - at midnight the night before, since a bus in the morning wasn't going to get us there in time for our Krabi flight.. aah.. So began our Thai adventure... We got into KL at 4:30am and got another bus to the airport, where we had 6 hours to kill before our flight... painful!!

(Wendi trying to get some zzz's at the coffee shop!)

So, after camping out on the uncomfortable airport seating at a low cost, budget airline airport, we eventually get on our flight to Krabi. (only an hour and 15 min flight.) Wow, no delays, no technical problems on that flight... amazing for Air Asia..
We get to Krabi, and I had booked a transfer to our resort at Koh Lanta. Well, it took us about 2 hours to get there - since we had to go the LONG way round and take 2car ferries (which alone were scary...) because the other ferries weren't running, since it was low season.
We get to Koh Lanta, and our resort, Ancient Realm. Remember I said it was low season? Well, I have a much better understanding of that term now... This resort had beautiful villas, friendly staff, and was right on the beach. BUT... you couldn't see the sea! They had this big green mesh all along the front so you couldn't see out! We learned that this was to protect the place from the bad wind and storms that come in this time of year.

(see the green mesh?!)
The water wasn't very pretty, and basically, the island was not at all buzzing with tourists as it would be in high season! The town was like a ghost town, with hardly any people or shops open... So we made the decision to take off to Phi Phi - another island not too far away. So we gave up two nights at Ancient Realm, and headed to Phi Phi - though having to take the long route to get there... back to Krabi and then another ferry to Phi Phi - about a five hour journey in low season! (normally there would be a ferry directly from Koh Lanta... not the case in low season...)
Phi Phi was AMAZING!!! We loved it so much that we decided to abandon our flights back to Penang, and instead just take a bus back 2 days later.
We swam, read, slept, tanned, kayaked, snorkeled, went on a boat cruise, ate, ate some more... shopped, ate some more... Truly a vacation.
Time for home... We arrive back at Krabi by ferry and I give the guy our "bus ticket"... well, he gives us these ferry tickets and tells us to wait 10 mins. Something didn't seem right... So I go and ask at the counter... Well, it turns out the travel agent on Phi Phi thought I wanted to go to PHENYAN - another Thai island - and that's what she booked us for.. I said PENANG... Yeah, slight difference in spelling,pronunciation is pretty darn close, but two TOTALLY different places!!!! So our journey home became a little longer than just an 8 hour bus ride back to Penang... We had to wait 5 hours for another bus to Haidya - (a town on the border of Malaysia and Thailand), sleep in Haidya for the night, and take another bus to Penang in the morning.
We get to Haidya.. The lady who booked us the bus booked us into this guesthouse... When the bus dropped us off at this guesthouse, I knew we were in more trouble... We venture up these dark stairways, head down this dark hallway to our room.. UGH... It was disgusting - looked more like a prison cell!! (There was a reason why it was so cheap!)

I told Wendi I'd go out and see what other place I could find - cus there was no way in hell I was sleeping there! Fortunately, there was a place just down the road that was much better, cleaner, and still affordable. Thank you Lord!!!
We managed to find a nice hotel in the morning with a good buffet breakfast so we had something substantial before we got on the bus(unlike chips we had for dinner the night before!)
So, yes... in the end, it was all worth it to be able to stay on the most amazing tropical island of Phi Phi for 4 nights! Can I just say though, that I was GLAD to be home in my own bed! :)
The rest of my summer vacation doesn't hold anything too exciting.... I am working ESL camp (summer school) at Dalat for 3 weeks in July (making some extra pocket money..;)) And I'm also the coordinator for the welcome committee (let's just say I am the only person on the committee!) this summer. This means I coordinate all the stuff for the new staff arriving for the new school year. I make sure each new staff has a host family, make sure their apartment/house is ready for them, assemble welcome packets, make sure there are some basic groceries in their fridge.. ect.. It's fun - I'm enjoying it.. and it keeps me busy!
Anything interesting or exciting that comes up, I'll be sure to blog!

Thailand

Here are some pictures of my trip to Thailand with Wendi... I started writing captions on them, and then it wouldn't save it all.. So I'll try to fix it soon! In the meantime, enjoy the pics, and I'll give you the full story of my trip in a few days... no time right now! So watch this space...

Birthday!

I had a wonderful birthday with great friends.. I went for a pedicure after work, then met up with friends at Sunset Bistro - a beach bar in Batu Ferringhi , and then went to Ferringhi Gardens for a lovely dinner. It was a very memorable evening!

Snorkeling

This is my class at beautiful Pulau Payar... a two hour ferry ride to this island where we went snorkeling last week... A nice way to culminate our Science unit on oceans, don't ya think?! (A family in the class was very generous and blessed us by sponsoring the whole trip!)
We saw some amazing fish and coral, ect.. We even got to see a shark feeding! (Around the corner - a safe distance away!)
So, a good trip was had by all, but I was in bed and "out" by 9pm that night! A 12-hour day will do that to you!

May Madness

It's not March madness, it's May madness...
Four weeks to go... and then we can relax... Until then, it's all hands on deck! It's that crazy time of year again with all the end of year stuff going on... Just this week, my class is presenting their last chapel, then in the eveing I have to give a tribute to one of my friends that's leaving here at our staff farewell banquet.. which I'm dreading, beacause as many of you know, I HATE public speaking! So, once Thursday is over, I can sort of breathe again...
Then I'm helping at the South African food stand at our food and fun fair at school on Friday evening, a farewell party on Saturday night, another farewell party the following Saturday night, the elementary school musical production next week, and a few more end of year school outings the following week! Followed by all the high school graduation events all staff have to attend when the elementary school is done... Oh, and I'm throwing a baby shower for a friend somewhere in there too! Busy busy! It's all fun stuff, but really takes a toll on your energy levels!
Let's get through May without a breakdown!

Oh by the way, I made a slideshow with a bunch of my photos from Bali, (spent a lot of time on it too...) and then it had errors and closed on me!! Arggg.... I love computers... So, soon, very soon I'll try again..

JSB

This past weekend was the Junior Senior Banquet... the big end of year event when the grade 11's put on this event for the senior class. The theme this year was "Moonlit Masquerade" so we all got to wear masks... Wendi Julia and I actually got to wear the real thing from Venice! We bought masks there this summer, so it was fun to actually get to wear them for an event!

An amazing time in Bali

Well it's been a full week back at work already - Bali seems like a lifetime ago! Julia, Wendi and I headed off to Bali for our one week spring break... Spa treatments, massages, awesome shopping at the markets, eating wonderful food, and of course, soaking in some rays on the beach! Can you get a more perfect holiday! We stayed at a really nice resort - small, low key, on the quieter part of town - just perfect for us :) We got to see some different parts of Bali - We mainly stayed in Kuta, the main touristy area of the island, where we lay out on the beach and had hoards of locas swarm us to try and sell us stuff on the beach - from sarongs, to hats, to jewelry to painting your nails, to massages, to hair braiding! You had to be careful, because if you bought from one vendor, they thought you would buy from them all! We eventually got some peace and quiet!
We also went inland for a day to Ubud, an hour's drive (we had a driver for the day - negotiated a very good price!!) from Kuta. There, we did most of our bargain shopping in the markets. So cheap!
The last 2 nights we spent in Sanur, on more of the east coast of the island. It was much quieter and full of old people!! The beach was okay, but we all preferred and would definetely go back to Kuta!

I will post pictures soon... I just realized I don't have them on my hard drive but on my thumb drive (which is not with me at the moment!) So, watch this space soon..;)

Happy Easter!

I know Easter has come and gone, and I'm a little behind on blogging for it, but anyway...:) My first Easter with NO chocolate! I actually can't believe it! Mind you, there wasn't very much in the stores anyway - and what there was, it was REALLY expensive and it was Aussie chocolate... not as good...
But of course Easter is so much more than just chocolate - a time to reflect and celebrate. I went to an Good Friday service where a friend of mine got baptised in the ocean, then an Easter Sunday sunrise service where 5 Dalat students got baptised, and then the normal church service at normal time on Sunday as well! It was really awesome hearing these people's testimonies (the ones getting baptised )- of what God has done in their lives! Here are a few pics...


Good Friday evening... This was Luciana - a Brazilian woman who came to Christ here
in Penang.


These 2 pictures were on Easter Sunday morning - worship time before the sun came up and then after down at the beach for the baptisms.

Trip up Penang Hill

Some of us gals from church went up Penang Hill on Saturday for tea! There's a place up there called David Brown's Tea Garden where we reserved ahead of time. It was truly beautiful up there... and cool! The fog (as you can see) came in pretty quickly and the rain soon came pouring down! But a very "cool" experience all the same! These are pics of the garden up there, me and my friend's baby (isn't he adorable!!) and some of the ladies that came up. A very enjoyable Saturday, what!

An amazing week..

This last week at school was Missions Emphasis Week. Our school usually brings in an international speaker to speak over 3 days (one session in the mornings and one at night.) This year, we had the privilege of having Paul Young, author of The Shack - the most life changing, most awesome book I have ever read... If you haven't read it, I would really encourage you to go out and buy it NOW!! It has spread like wild fire and is touching peoples lives all over the world!
I don't even know where to begin to tell you about what Paul spoke about. He has an amazing testimony - one that would rock your world... And basically the book he wrote has been the result of his 11 years of inner healing that's taken place in his life. He is the most humblest, down to earth man I have ever met - who gives everyone a hug when he meets them! Over the next while, I will try and put into words some of the gems he threw out over the series of meetings. It takes a while to spiritually digest them! Here's one that I will never forget: If I am afraid, I should not be asking God to take my fear away, but instead, ask God "What part of your love am I not understanding?" Since perfect love casts out fear, we shouldn't be afraid if we knew how much God really loves us. Hope this makes sense in writing!
Below is a picture of Paul in my classroom - I asked him to come and talk to my kids about being an author. He gave them new inspiration for creative writing :)

Chinese New Year ... come and gone.. well, almost..

Well it's Monday and a little shock to the system after having a nice long weekend off... We had Thursday and Friday off for Chinese New Year - a very HUGE holiday here.... The only nice thing about it are the days off work!!! I don't personally enjoy the rest of the stuff... like tonnes of firecrackers and fireworks going off all through the early hours of the morning!! And the fact that no imported food comes in from other countries... I'm not talking about anything fancy...just some milk and cheese would do!! (I'm not a big fan of the local dairy stuff here... Australian milk and cheese is the only thing I buy.. Trust me...) So yes, and not to mention the LOVELY Chinese music that plays over and over in the stores FOREVER and EVER.... (no sarcasm there at all...)
So yes, the long weekend is over, but the fireworks will go on for another week or so... ugh..

Back in the groove..

It's good to be back in the warm sun again:) I thoroughly enjoyed Christmas with my family and friends - it was really good to catch up with everyone! Good-byes come way too quickly it seems! But I guess the shopping, cups of tea, eating, more eating... must come to an end sometime... :)
I'm in the second week of school now, and things are crazy busy - as it often is here in Penang. January is especially busy with loads of birthdays! Every weekend since I've been back has been celebrations! Can't complain about that now! The week before we went back to school, we all went on a staff retreat to a place an hour away on the mainland. It was a gorgeous resort and we all felt very blessed to be pampered with lots of great door prizes and a lovely place to stay for 3 days. We usually have a speaker come out from the States for our annual January staff retreat, but he had to cancel. Instead our director gave a few short sessions on encouragment. We definetely felt encouraged by the end of it! Here are a few pics of the place we stayed at...





We had a blast singing the night away with some kareoke... and doing the macerena too...



The only logical thing to do when you get back to work is... planning your next holiday, right?! For the first time ever, our school is having a "spring break" at the beginning of April for one week. So... My friends Wendi, Julia and I have booked our tickets and we're heading to... Bali! It's not far from here, and we're risking the no frills airline (Air Asia) and hopefully making it there in one piece! (flying in Asia can be scary.. Flying a no frills airline can be even scarier..) But it's cheap, and it's our last thing we're doing together, as these two lovely ladies are leaving to go back to the States in June.. :( So it's our final "hurrah" together. I can't wait.. it looks like an amazing place.. and so affordable!
Here we are - the 3 musketeers (on the staff retreat)with shirts the school gave us.

Happy new year!!

Well I'm in Canada, freeeezzzzing... but I am enjoying the cold.. it's a novelty for me, so I can't complain about it!
I had a great Christmas with my family - eating way too much as you do around this time of year! I'm in Abbotsford at the moment visiting with Christina. And I've been hitting the sales and picking up some great bargains on clothes - pairs of pants (or should i say trousers for my english friends;) for $9.99! So I got 3 pairs... have to stock up since malaysia is quite limited in that area! so yes, I am enjoying the holiday season and will be heading back to malaysia a week today. My has time flown!!