Day 24- Day 29: the last days; homeward bound

This is it! The last days of the TEFL training course. Portfolio is complete, test is finished, just awaiting my course certificate to be presented to me in 30 min. What a great adventure! I definitely feel quite accomplished and ready to teach abroad. Every moment and experience here has been absolutely fantastic. And memories to last, for sure.

Homeward bound I go, just in time for the trick-or-treat season of candy.

Can't wait to see everybody!

Day 23: How often is God good?

All the time.

Today was yet another day of teaching, this time to a fresh new batch of chillens. New school, new students. I prayed especially hard last night and this morning that God would get me through this ridiculous new model of teaching. Prayer works guys. No way on earth could I have gotten through this lesson plan by myself. Strength, Confidence, and Passion for teaching were the gifts I was blessed with today. Absolutely. Speaking of strength, God gave me little energy for a run this morning before class. I loved it! God IS good y'all.

Day 19- Day 22: Chatuchak Market; Bangkok

Thursday and Friday were observation days, where us, as students. would observe as the teachers taught; showing us how the next lesson model should be done. How crazy it is that with just 2 hours of sitting on our bums, our minds are tired. Exhausted is more like it. Well after two days of exhausting mind-work I went to Bangkok with a friend of mine who is currently teaching in Laos where I will be teaching, and is actually the one who had mentioned and helped me through this teaching opportunity, thank you Rebecca! :) While in Bangkok we walked around Chatuchak Market and window shopped for hours.

( http://www.intoasia.com/bangkok/markets/chatuchak.php ) This place is huge. Despite the amount of time we were out and about we didn't even double-track once. Amazing! Later that evening we went to the night Bazaar, which is another market that takes place in the evening. Everything is full of color and the whole market lights up the senses. Definitely worth more than just a look through.

Bangkok is a great place, but the serene essence of Ban Phe is where it's at for me. A little ocean-side breeze is all it takes to fall back into that wonderland feel.

Nothing feels quite like home though, 6 more days.

Day 17 & Day 18: Practice Makes Perfect

Teacher practicing take 2 & 3 were on these days. The teacher practices were at a local charity school just a 45 min. drive from Ban Phe where orphans and children that don't have the money to go elsewhere go to learn English. Its a good feeling. An hour long session in a very warm open-air classroom is enough to take your breath away, literally. Sweating buckets we're all putting our heart and soul into getting these children to understand the context that we are modeling. So far we have all succeeded, and its all well worth it. Life is good :)

Day 16: Forever Grateful

30 thai students, 3 observers, 1 teacher. me. Nerve-racking as all get-out, but overall what a fantastic experience! I was placed in an outdoor classroom with a magnificent view of a overly large pond surrounded by flowers and cattle. The peaceful scenery helped to calm my nerves as I trudge through my lesson plan. Not bad for a first-timer. I do have to admit, the amount of lesson planning put into just an hour of teaching is TREMENDOUS. But as many already know, hard work reaps great reward. 5+ hours I have spent for tomorrows lesson and I am stoked for the outcome. It does take some sane brains to endure the time-consumingness of it all, therefore, for any teacher who I have ever known, will ever know, or will never get the privilege to meet; hats off to you. high-five. two thumbs up. I admire everything you do for the sake of passing your knowledge onto the deserving and helping to better this world, whether it be English, Spanish, Math, Science, Horse-back Therapy, Fitness Instructors, and the list goes on and on and on, because the truth is there is always something to be learnt and, fact: there is always going to be someone to teach it, whatever it may be. I am forever grateful for those who have taught me, you know who you are, and you know that you have helped me to become the person I am today. Thank you.

Day 15: "Hello, My Name Is Kelsea. What's your name?"

Working on lesson planning is incredibly time consuming, not only that but the teaching is going to be impeccably repetitive. The mandatory warmer for the Basic Lesson Model of teaching goes as follows:

Teacher/Teacher (Teacher is in front of class room swapping places with herself making like she's having a conversation with another person.)

"Hello, my name is Kelsea. Whats your name?"

"My name is Laura."

"Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too."

(Repeat 4x)

Teacher/Student (Teacher motions for a student to stand, and engages in dialogue with student)

T: "Hello, my name is Kelsea. Whats your name?"

S: "My name is ____."

T: "Nice to meet you."

S: "Nice to meet you too."

(Repeat 8x, w/ 8 different students)

Student/Teacher (Teacher motions for a student to stand, this time student starts off the convo.)

S: "Hello, my name is ____. Whats your name?"

T: "My name is Kelsea."

S: "Nice to meet you."

T: "Nice to meet you too."

(Repeat 8x, w/ 8 different students)

Student/Student (Teacher motions for 2 students to stand, and have them engage in warmer dialogue.)

...you get it

(Repeat 8x, w/ 8 different pairs of students)

U (Horseshoe- # students off 1,2,1,2,etc.- 1's stand and rotate around the u-shape formation of students and engage in warmer dialogue with the seated 2's)

(students continue this until they get bored and sit down...)

Repetative yea?

And this is just the warmer.

Oh the joys of repetition.

Day 14: Missin' Out on Paradise

No Koh Samet island for me today. I didn't go to bed until 4am due to some tedious class preparation, I wanted to be readily prepared for Monday (first day of teaching gahhhh!). I woke up at 6am... my stomach had finally discovered I was in a foreign country. Woke up again at 8am, then 12pm. From then I slept until 4pm. Feeling better, I stumbled downstairs into the classroom and finished up on my lesson planning. It gets dark around 6pm here, so by the time I had finished what I needed to get done there was no sign of light. I decided to go to bed since there was obviously nothing else I could do, given that the internet was out and everyone else was at Koh Samet enjoying paradise. No regrets though, thankfully I was able to go to that paradise island the week before, and this absence saved me money as well as gave me time to make a swift recovery. That and Ban Phe could be a paradise of its own... just with a lot more dogs...

Day 13: Monk See, Monk Do... Monk Learn English??

This morning was a glorious morning as we woke up and got gussied up to observe at a school for monks. Departure time was set for 9:00am, and at 9:00am we left. We bounced around in a Baht Bus ("somthrop"- pretty much a pickup truck with an awning tossed up in the bed, complete with a few padded benches) on the way to the school. Once we arrived we slipped off our shoes before proceeding up the stairs into the classroom. We were greeted by 9 children dressed in robes of a brown hue - that covered one shoulder and were floor length. We observed as one of the interns of TEFL taught 2 lessons in 2hrs. After we finished with our looong observation we loaded back up into the Baht Bus and headed back to the school. *LUNCH BREAK* After lunch came the hard stuff. Not necessarily difficult but more of the meticulous sort. Lesson plans. Ohhhhh lesson plans. 7+ pages of detailed descriptions of what you plan on teaching, and how you will go about teaching it. d.e.t.a.i.l.e.d like crazy. Taking a little over 3 hours to finish, not including another 3+ hours for the materials that need to be made up for the ie; recorded tape, pictures (9 double-sided), cheat sheet (helpful), worksheet of four 4-line dialogues to be written up and copied (20). I have a new respect for teachers, FOR SURE. But, hey, no complaints here. Truth be told, Im excited. A new journey has begun.

AaaH-Ra-Ra-Boom-Dee-AiY here I come.

Day 12: Last Day Man...

The days of tedious classroom note-taking and seemingly endless chatter are finished! - for the TEFL course that is... Today was the last day of mind-numbing nonsense, and now onto the real deal. Its showtime baby! Starting tomorrow our class observes a classroom full of young adolescents being taught by a TEFL intern. We will observe and take note of how the class is being taught, what is being taught, and what we can take away from this experience. Next week comes our own opportunity to teach, starting Monday the magic begins. Prayer would be much appreciated, Its definitely a new book I haven't read and i'm kind of just diving into it. Prayer for confidence, courage, compassion, organization, strength, and magnificent teaching skills would be fabulous ;)

Love to all!

Day 11: My Life Is Not My Own

Late into the night, as the skies opened up and continuously rained buckets, I had a great conversation with a guy who is also a student here @ TEFL. He began explaining to me how he has made some mistakes in the past and according to what he’s told me he has stumbled upon many unfortunate scenarios, and wrong-place-wrong-time kind of deals. Now, Im not going to delve into detail here because that’s his business not mine, but during a part of our conversation I was struck with such a revelation where for a moment I could definitely relate. After his stories of tragic past events he started explaining to me that despite all that he has done and all of the misfortune that he has endured whether out of consequence or just plain bad luck; his father, unjudgingly, has always been there with unconditional love and no matter the circumstance, he was there... ALWAYS. He then continued saying how he would do anything just to make his father smile - give him something to be proud of, and to do something with his life that will somehow repay his father. As he was saying this, immediately, one thought came to my head, “aren’t I in the same situation?” I owe myself to MY father, Jesus Christ! The one who died on the cross, in unfathomable love for his children, to bail me out from a sentence of death and forgive me of all the sins i’ve committed (past, present, and future), yet I don't deserve any of it. I owe him my life. And just listening to the booming thunder and watching as the lightning flashed upon the entire ocean in the cool, black night, I felt the sheer presence of Jesus Christ, and I was filled with such a raw loving passion. I serve a powerful God. My God is here with me, and I am not alone. I want to make my Jesus smile.

Day 10: ...and spiders, Oh My!

Another long day of classes followed by Pad Thai and a noncompetitive game of billiards. Nothing eventful until later in the evening as I was getting ready for bed a HUGE spider trickled from the ceiling, spiraling down his web. As I was getting ready to smash him with my slipper, mid-air, he jumped from his string of silk and began scurrying (the fastest I had EVER seen) across the floor towards my feet. I then laid my slipper so hard on his rear end, that I broke two of my nails (I hadn't noticed until after the fact). Praying with all of my might that there would be the body of a dead spider under my slipper, I lifted it up, and sure enough a crumpled lifeless arachnid lay in the middle of my floor. Using my slipper I shoved him under the bed. Feeling accomplished and powerful, as well as a little squirmy, I hopped into bed very proud of myself.

Day 9: Grammar sucketh, it do

Class begins again! It is monday, and weather has set the tone for today; overcast with a very high chance of dull. Our lesson today - grammar. Just the thought of making the English language even more complicated than it already is send chills up and down my spine, and back up again. I never liked grammar and I never will, and thats that. Good news though; I wont be needing to teach it when I go over to teach in Laos. Thank the Lord Almighty!

Another interesting experience (having absolutely nothing to do with grammar); last night after I had fallen asleep I awoke to find that the power had gone out, the only reason I knew this was because my air-conditioner wasn't making any noise, and there were flashes of lightning sparking outside my window, so I could only assume... anyways, thought this would be blog-worthy.

Now, I believe I will finish off my day with a banana smoothie, and thanks to computers with DVD slots, a visit from my personal trainer Jillian Michaels.

I love her.

Day 8: Lockdown

Thats right. Its lockdown time. Meaning my door is locked, and Im lying down. Its time to get down to business and get this class work finished. I have devoted all day to get this done and by-golly ima get it done. So "la gon-ca" for now. Time to get busy.

Day 6 & Day 7: Koh Samet Island

After today's student profiling, the majority of our group had planned for going to Koh Samet which is an island just a boat ride away from Ban Phe that takes only about 15 minutes. The whole reason for our Koh Samet trip is that some of the students had met with a man who works for a resort located on the island who had promised 3 free rooms for one night. The catch? We were the inspectors, so no catch. at all. SCORE! By them having us as inspectors of the resort they treated us absolutely amazing, and of course they got a fabulous review out of it. Upon our arrival to the island we were greeted by Roy (man who gave us freaking amazing deal) and were showed to our rooms. After depositing our gear we walked out to the beach where lo and behold was a candle-lit dinner table set up under the stars. Free dinner. Course after course loads of food were spewing out of the kitchen; rice, curry, potato chowder, the moistest bread-rolls you'll ever eat, prawns, sweet&sour chicken and veg, complete with your own personal foot-long fish. And if this weren't more than enough, there was a fire show during the meal, where men with sticks light them on fire and do all sorts of stunts and tricks. A-maze-ing. How lucky am I to be with such great people and get to experience all of this? Just another day in paradise.

Day 5: Banana Shakes

During class today we had one of the students come in late because he was apparently attacked by a dog earlier that morning. The dog had bitten just above his heel and one of his canines had hit the bone. Pat was pleased to inform us that he didn't need stitches, was told he'd have a swift recovery, and he was only due to receive a 6 course shot for rabies (!). I had considered myself fortunate because just the morning before I had been on a walk when a dog had come out of nowhere and nipped at my ankles then ran away. Lucky for me, he only bit the air around my feet. But its just something to keep a on look-out for, pretty much the only danger in Ban Phe are the dogs.

Today for class we did student profiling, this is where we go to a Thai school and have an interview with a Thai student that supposedly can speak conversational English. No. When we arrived at the school we each had a student come up and pick us to interview. The girl that I had been chosen by was in uniform, had short, black hair, and only to be found out later did not speak much English whatsoever. Her name was Wanisa Wongong, I called her Fon. Following the lesson plan that I had constructed earlier we went through a series of simple questions (ie. whats your name? how old are you? when is your birthday?) I am learning to be more like Mr. Bean in that the majority of the time conversing with Fon is used using hand gestures, silly facial expressions, and a pen & paper. Whatever skills I have I use towards better helping her to answer the question. It is amazing the thrill I get when she answers my question correctly or is so very close in figuring out what I am trying to convey to her. The raw exhilaration of overcoming an obstacle and succeeding in something is, more than anything, what will keep me going throughout this course and my year spent in Laos.

That night myself and two of the guys from the course went out to the night market to spec out all the goodies. From chickens feet, to the whole half of a pigs face there was an array of food selection. I went for the vegetarian choice of Dim Sum and was quite satisfied. After the market we stopped by Christies for a banana smoothie; this is my new thing now. Forever and always will I live in a place where banana shakes are accessible for my consumption. These are the most delicious things on this planet that you will ever taste. nuff said.

Day 4: Karaoke sunset

Today I decided to venture out into town for breakfast, 2 min. later I was seated in a restaurant next to the school sipping a banana smoothie. Delish. The restaurants closer to the school are actually the houses of the family that owns the business. Very welcoming indeed.

During class we had another lesson in the Thai language; the 8-line dialogue that we had translated yesterday, we were to speak it, in front of the class. We did this by using the teacher/teacher method, meaning you would read the first line of the dialogue as one person then step forward spin a 180 and read the second line of the dialogue as a different person. This is quite an entertaining method and made for a fun class.

Lunch was Pad Thai w/ prawn on the beach and dinner was spent at a little westernized pub called Christies. I opted for something with some twang, so I ordered the Green Curry w/ seafood, like a party in my mouth it was. VERY delicious, with just the right amount of spice. Dinner was a great time of bonding with a few of the classmates and went long into the evening. After dinner as we walked to the school we passed by a karaoke bar. The sound of the music drew us in, and before we knew it we were up on stage belting out lyrics to "I will survive". Another great day in Ban Phe.

Day 3: Invisible Elephants? "No Problem"

There's a saying here in Thailand, in fact it is the unofficial motto of this island of paradise; "mai pen lai" meaning "no problem" or "no worries". They obviously swallow what they chew with this one, as their personalities always reflect. Slow-paced and 'lax are how these folks roll. And every turn I take, I am greeted with a "sawadeeca" and a smile. However, the living conditions they endure has you wondering why they even have a smile on their face at all. Well, here's the dish; here, life is not about material possessions (which it shouldn't be anyway, but people get so wrapped up with unimportant business and things of which should have no right of being held above another human-being that they become blindfolded from the things that should really matter). Friendship is far more valued than any tangible object, and they would do absolutely anything thing to help a buddy out (even a stranger for that matter). A complete 180 is what I have experienced, coming from a fast-paced lifestyle which what i've always known. Even living out it the country of the NorthWest cannot shield you from the hustle and bustle. No, more will I be ungrateful for a hot shower, a roof over my head, a car to drive, numerous numerous etc's... I have taken advantage and not realized EVERYTHING, absolutely everything that I've got going for me. I challenge anyone to just take a look at all that they have and count your blessings, your many, many blessings. Mine are infinite! Thank you Jesus

Today was spent learning the Thai language by writing an 8-line dialogue in English, and then going into town trying to get a translation. The people I was with, including myself, would have just gone to the few locals that we knew spoke English, but decided we were up for a challenge and ventured to the pier where we hadn't gone before. After many try/fail attempts we finally found a woman patient enough with us, between stick-figure drawings and hand gestures, to gives the interpretations of our sentences. After class the school took us on a complementary trip to the Rayong mall and night markets. Not much to be said about the mall other than it was really like any other mall. But the market would be much like you'd imagine a street market to be. White tents lined a lot near the mall, and made for much like a maze; in which I was the mouse. I would be so entranced in the uniqueness of the Thai clothing that I would lose track of the group and have to skuttle my way around searching for them. I finally met up with them back at the bus where we were to meet. APPARENTLY they had all gotten to see an elephant that had walked right through the middle of the tents in the market! Amazing. I missed him. How??! "mai pen lai" right? Im sure ill be seeing one in the very near future.

Day 2: Work Work Work

This morning class started at 9. But me, I was up way before then. My awakening all started when I had a very vivid, almost realistic feeling dream. In this dream I was laying in bed and it was very dark. I hear a knock at the door. In all stupidness I open the door and see a coal black silhouette of a man, standing there, just standing there. All of a sudden I get a gut wrenching feeling in my stomach. Then I wake up. creepy right?? I obviously woke up right away, then after taking a couple of deep breaths I decide to try sleeping again. If this dream weren't bad enough as it is as soon as I fell asleep the same. exact. dream. had reacurred. efffff!!! I want sleep! I then stayed wake because I was not about to dream that again... so at 4:40 in the morning I decide to turn on some tunes and wait out for the sunshine. As soon as the sun rose I was out the door and on a run, a nice, long run :)

Class was from 9a-4:30p. The object of this class was to experience how it felt learning a foreign language. By doing this the teaching taught a class entirely on Korean, which nobody knew a lick of, without speaking any English whatsoever. This is done by writing out the word, saying the word with emphasis on pronunciation, and using whatever pictures, gestures you need to get the word translation across to the students. very enjoyable. The latter of the class consisted of writing down at least 25 Thai words or phrases that you were wanting to learn and going out and about in town asking the locals how to say them. THIS was fun :) We got to converse with friendly people and got to sit down for some drinks as we chatted it up with the waiter, Tom.

At 6:30 the school hosted a 'Welcome dinner' for all of the students. Many dishes were available, fried fish, shrimp, a sweet/spicy soup, vegetables, pork and of course rice. Dessert was fruit and custard like squares wrapped in banana leaf and if you so chose, sprinkled with coconut.

Now here I am, after dinner, and incredibly sleep deprived. So I will have to say "ra te sawat"! (sp???) ( Goodnight in Thai )

Day 1: fabulous night, fabulous people

Before I get going on telling about my evening, i'll start y'all out with the start of my day.
Today was spectacular! This morning I organized my room and put all my gear away, and then took a walk along the Ban Phe beach. Beautiful. beautiful beach, beautiful people, just an overall beautiful place. Even the ridiculous amount of dogs roaming the street laying wherever they so darn please add a sense of rugged beauty. @ 4:30pm was the orientation at the school. This lasted about an hour and a half. After class the students went out to dinner and shared stories of experiences over slices of pizza. My evening ended after having to read 20 pages of text about teaching methods for English. yaaay. Its actually great to be learning again and staying busy. Especially in a place as beautiful as this.

Awaiting A Plane

... not yet, but in 24 hrs i will be!
All the excitement of just, EVERYTHING, has me sleepless. Despite that I have a list of anything I could possibly ever think of to pack, I am still worried that i'll forget some sort of necessity, pondering what is absolutely needed and what I should leave behind. What if I forget something? Will my checked bag be too heavy? What if I miss my flight? or Lord forbid I cant sleep on the plane! Questions rolling about in my mind like an unsteady sickness rolls about in the gut. .....breathe...... & pray :) I know that God is with me, and will be with me. Worrying should be out of the question. Whom/what shall I fear but him alone? He is my protection. My provider. My Jesus. Ask and it shall be given, right? Lord Jesus please be everything you are to me, please wrap your arms around me for protection, whisper in my ear when I don't know what to say, wipe my tears if I cry. Please let me trust you.

I will do my best not to worry, because I know i'm not going on this trip alone, my fathers coming with me.

oops...

soooo we definetly arrived home on May 4th, just in time for our dear fathers birthday on cinco de mayo :)
My excuse for not writing since we've been home... well life. since i've been back life has just grabbed me by the ankles and started swinging me around. This does make it nearly impossible to force its release... Its grip; tight. Doesnt it always seem that life always grab hold of us?? One moment your enjoying the primetime of youth and before you know it you've aged terribly and got 5 babies hangin off your hip. while im in no place to talk (since that has obviously has not happened to me... yet) i've still noticed that i need to slow things down a bit, and take a breather. take time to meet new people, spend quality time with family, and write a gosh-darn blog for golly sakes.

Days 14, 15, 16

Day 14: Much needed grocery shopping was done at the Naval Base. We snagged up some brown sugar for more of Dominiques baking needs and headed back to Tony's flat. Later that day we 'walk down to Exihibition Avenue' and take pictures as we pass the mosque, the kings old castle, and enjoy the beautiful weather and arabian sweets that we picked up on the way.

Day 15:
Tree of...life?
The day was spent driving from the far west coast of Bahrain, across to the East. This trip took a good 6 hours to accomplish (about a car ride to Canada from Seattle non-stop). Along the way we stop by the 'Tree of Life' which is thought to be THE 'Tree of Life' grown by God in the Garden of Eden, due to its location and the hypothesized location of the Garden of Eden. Whether or not this is the actual Tree of Life, it was highly disappointing.
The tree itself shows signs of wear and tear, not naturally occurring, but obvious vandalism; giant limbs have been broken, and its covered in grafitti and "Harold was here's". Surrounding the tree are scattered plastic bags and bottles which careless sight seer's have strewn about. What others have done in disrespect to such a monument is what is disappointing. The hope's one has for seeing a 'Tree of "life"' have been scribbled on with 'T+L=Forever' and 'Henderson 9-5-2001'. It is, however, most impressive to witness a tree that has survived so much destruction. The constant stuggle it takes to heave the weight of the slightly obese visitors as they scamper up its limb for a photo has earned this tree the right to the title 'Tree of Life'. Despite the violent weather and felt tip markers, despite all this tree has endured it remains alive. It remains standing. And probably (without much more damage) could remain so for a hundred more years.

Camels!
After such a shocking visit to the 'Tree of Life' we followed directions to where a camel farm was located. The buddy that had given Tony the directions obviously had no more of an idea where the camels were kept than Tony did. This was the majority of our trip, trying to find the camel place. It was, however, most amusing to watch the newlyweds-to-be handle such a situation (map in hand). With many "Babe what are you doing?"'s and "Honey, its THIS way"'s we eventually stumbled upon the camel farm. We got out of the car and were greeted by the camel attendents (no English) who, knowing what we had come for, showed us in the direction of the camels. In order: Dominique, Me, and Tony were able to sit on the camels. The camels didn't move around much, perhaps because of their inability to. Their front feet were cuffed together with rope, hindereing them from escaping out the front gate (which was wide open). After the camel ride, excuse me, "ride" we were about to board our vehicle, when one of the Arab men signalled for us to follow and mumbled "come". He lead us to a mat where all the men took off their shoes, so (being polite) we removed ours as well and proceeded barefoot. All the men sat down cross-legged and motioned for us to do the same. In the next few seconds a bowl of dates were set before us and coffee had been poured. With what little English they knew we continued to sit and silence and take pictures (they insisted). The fact that they knew no English and invited us for a sit on their mat to enjoy coffee (though black, possibly the most deliscious coffee i've tasted) and dates completely contradicts the word language "barrier". It's amazing how much can be communicated through a simple friendly gesture. A great cultural expeience was unravelled through a thermos of coffee and a bowl of dates.
That night after much driving about, we returned to the flat and reflected on the day over slices of homemade (thanks Dom) pizza.

Day 16: Tony had a fitness test early in the morning (he finished 2nd out of 66, congrats!) so Dom and I stayed at the flat. When he came back he crashed on the couch as Dom and I made nachos then ventured out and went to the Carrefour (market inside the mall). We finished the evening off by going to get freshly made schawarma's at...Schawarma's. (schawarma's are delicious filled wraps, chicken or beef?)

Days 11, 12, 13

These three days Tony had work so this left Dom and I unsupervised...with a kitchen, and baking ingredients.
Before our baking binge Dominique and I spent an entire day critiqueing Tony's movie collection, pre-watching all of Tony's DVD's, making sure they were up to movie watching quality. We watched 7 movies in one-sitting: 50 First Dates, Step Brother, Anchorman, Get Smart, Mr.Deeds, Bruce Almighty, and Elf. All of which surpass the standard of funny.
The next day Dom and I (mostly Dominique) rolled up our sleeves and began our twirling and whirling of baking utensils. The result? 2 batches of brownies, banana bread, banana muffins, sugar cookies, sugar cookies with kisses, and oatmeal cookies. The latter, I must admit, was (obviously) my only contribution to Dominiques bakery.
Dominique and I have also become very fond of Indian cuisine (I know, wrong country. Another travelling adventure perhaps?) We can't help ourselves. This was our second dining there and the food was absolutely mouth-watering and the service was fabulous. The name of this fine place is 'Ashas'. We are first greeted with a smile by a kind, short-haired woman who shows us to our booth seats which are covered in pillows. Once we get comfortable the woman places napkins on our laps and assures us that our waiter with be with us shortly. Within the minute a spunky little man is at our table with a basket full of Indain crisps and a bottle of water. This is Rahul. He is an Indian native who we strike up conversation with at the end of our meal. He was born and raised in India and lets us know that the people there are far more friendly than the Bahrainians. He tells us of his travels to South Africa, London, and other European countries, and his dreams of venturing to Greece. After we're done speaking with him we say our goodbyes and let him know that we'll be back for my birthday dinner. He smiles and bids us good day and lets us know that he'll be celebrating with us :)

Days 7,8,9

These past three days Tony has been off work so we've been able to get out a bit more and do some fun stuff, here it is:

Day 7:
We went wakeboarding!!! Dom and I went out with Tony and his buddies and rented a boat and jet ski's. The water is VERY salty here, we found that out reeeal quick. After many attempts at "getting up" on the wakeboard my parched gob hole tasted as though I had eaten a certain cultural restaurant full of sodium-injected tortilla chips, but in good news, we all eventually got up wakeboarding! This couldnt have been a more perfect day weather-wise to be out on the wake. After soaking up much sunshine we returned to the flat and replenished our raisined body's with electrolytes and water. That evening Dom and I created a mexican fiesta, rolling beans and cheeses into our grande burritos and making homemade tortilla chips (Bahrain lacks the selling of tortilla chips in their grocery stores :( ... )
By overcoming our minor setback with genius thinking dinner was muy delicioso!

Day 8:
can...not...move. Obviously wakeboarding uses much more muscles than thought. Our soreness however was much forgotten after the decadent breakfast made with great culinary skill by the one-and-only Chef Dominique. The day was spent vegging out, I mean, recovering on the couch. That evening we decided to step outside and show a bit of our competative sides. Go-carting! Twin-engine. Super-fast ;). For the majority of the race Dominique was in the lead, with me in clooose second. Yup, we left the boys to eat our dust. However I was soon passed, and finished in very close third. In my defense my right tire stopped touching the ground and the axles were, uh, not cooperating... yea.

Day 9:
Thursday evening was spent at City Center including dinner and a movie. Dinner consisted of Asian food at 'Memories' and language barriers between staff and customer, that however did not keep us from enjoying the delicious food. After dining we had almost an hour before the movie started. Hmmm... how to kill an hour in a mall? What to do? A scavenger hunt of course! :D We created a list from items selected at random, divided ourselves into teams of two, and set out to rumage through the mall.
OUR LIST:
-ice cream cone
-kayak
-giant teddy bear
-'DD' bra
-nike shocks
-bible (english)
-frying pan
-cartman doll
-akon c.d.
-4k diamond necklace
-american flag
-green socks
The way this scavenger hunt was conducted was that once a team found an item they must take a picture of it with whatever photographical device they had, then they could cross it off their list. The team with the most items wins. The team with the least, well, the male of that team had to eat something from a bucket full of random sea creatures caught by a fellow Navy bud.
The movie we saw that evening was 'Clash Of The Titans' in 3-D. Very good movie! Very 3-D! I must say, well spent evening :)

Days 3,4,5,6

Day 3:
Definetly jet lagged. I woke to a sunshiny day and meandered upstairs to the workout room. When I walk in I'm hit with the smell of artificial rose slash hospital. Its barely tolerable, but i suppose it beats B.O... It is however a beautiful room with all the machines and weights necessary for proper excercising, complete with a fantastic view overlooking the city and beyond. This gym doesn't even look like its been touched, im sure it has, but Bahraini's tend to keep everything so spotless (hence the febreeze spritzer mounted on the gym wall that automatically spits the intoxicating aroma of floral anesthesia every like 20 seconds)
But yes, they are a tidy bunch.
My workout went well and i was feeling amazing and was totally pumped to start my day. When i came back to the room everyone was still asleep so, of course being the gentlewoman that I am, I quietly curled up and started reading my new book. Not even halfway through a page i was passed out . Bam. Nxt thing i knew, it was evening. My day was lost in my sweet dreams. Little did i know that, in addition to this trip, i would be travelling to the Land of Nod quite frequently. Thanks time change...

Day 4,5,6:
These 3 days Dominique and I were left to our lonesome while Tony worked. What ever us women to do?? Well i say "if the suns ashinin' why be whinin'??". And here, the sun definetly be ashinin'. Dominique and i have acquired quite the routine:

10:00am - Awakwen (must not be waken prior to...or else (Tony knows better))

11:15am - Tony leaves for work (very punctual. MUST BE 11:15!)

Noonish - Bikini time. Soak up much needed sunshine! Thank Jesus for rooftop pools. :)

1:00pm - Hike a good 5 miles (roundtrip) to the City Center mall, sprinting through intersections and avoiding the drivers from hell(pedestrians are not yeilded for here, however, rare occasion, we were kindly let cross by 3 people today...yay us.)

2:00pm - Arrive @ City Center (yes...it takes an hour.) aaannd shop :), this mall has 3 levels and is HUGE! We still have not covered the entire mall after 3 days of wandering through and spending money. Apparently the American people are not trusted much when shopping, we've been noticebly followed and stared at by employees, its very uncomfortable. It gets to the point where you feel awkward because you know their staring at you so you dont want to look guilty, but come off looking guilty anyways because your trying not too. We just end up leaving. Kudos employee, you win. Oh yes i WAS planning on pocketing that maniken, but now that your standing there, well...
oh, and they have a grocery store in the mall, whooda thunk. We've had very interesting finds at this store where we've goggled at quail eggs, copious amounts of rice, and enough fish to start an ocean.

4-5:00ish - Leave City Center. It gets dark aroung 7:00 here so we give ourselves plenty of time to head to the flat before dark. Its usually much cooler by this time, and it feels amazing. Theres still that warmth but a cool breeze adds just a touch more of paradise. I am in LOVE with the weather.
The walk home also includes numerous palm trees and the occasional after work cricket match or volleyball game. Both played like all sports should be played; barefooted, in the sand.

6:00 - HOME! Who knew walking used so much leg? I have muscles on the back of my knees what? No, doubt we will have the finest legs when we come home ;) that and our tan to compliment.
But yes, we are sore, tired, and ready to veg on the couch for the remainder of our evening. movies and food.
Could i ask for a better way to spend my day? i think not.

Keep posted more to come of course!
- oh and as a side note, it's Doms fault theres no photos. she left her camera cord at home so no way of downloading. Bummer. We are making sure to take lots of pics though. Will definetly post and show everyone when we get home!

Day 2

soooo, we didnt work out last night... instead we made up for that this morning. After getting all squeeky clean we headed to the mall, which by the way has a waterpark INSIDE OF IT! We of course didnt buy anything because all of the good stuff costs to much, why does it have to be that way? After the mall we ventured over to the Bahrain Museum and got my picture taken with my matching shirt twin (on his insistence) heehee. We then finished our evening with a fancy dinner where they served our food on swords. preeeetty sweet :)

Day 1

Today was our official first day in Bahrain. We got in safely last night, and didnt fall asleep until 5a.m. Bahrainian time The sun was juuust peeking up over the city buildings and in Bahrain everyones day was beginning when our late evening was coming to a close. Our day began at 12p.m. :)
Today we went grocery shopping at the navy base and got lots of fruits and veggies, yummo! I am now watching Dom and Tony make cookies and tonight we plan on working out in the gym upstairs in Tony's apartment and polishing the day off with episodes of "the office". Honestly, cant get any better than this :)

Carlos

O'Hare (chicago) -> Abu Dabi:
17 hour flight. Need I say more?
But before I complain, I would like to introduce everyone to Carlos. The little Mexican baggage boy for Etihad Airways. Now Carlos was somethin'; Slicked back hair, a killer suit, all that and a bag of beans. He also stood no taller than my shoulder... and boy did he have the hots for the pretty blonde lady in the sweats ;), as Dominique handed him our passports, he took them with a grin. His shaky hands flipped through the pages, and he furrowed his brow in confusion "Visa ma'am?" (apparently handing him the passport flipped RIGHT to the page of her visa wasn't helpful enough) Dominique kindly flipped back to the page where her visa was and pointed, "ahhh!". Yes Carlos.
We met up with Carlos a little later at the gate where we were due to departure. He asked us when we were planning on coming back... what the heck. As we boarded the plane we joked about our little carlos, and how he'll probably switch up his work schedule to where he'll "just happen" to be working on the day we arrive back to Chicago. Just as we are getting comfortable in our seats a small, dark man comes running onto the plane... oh dear. Its Carlos. His hands (still shaking) extend toward Dominique with a piece of paper. "When you get back" he grins. As he departs dom and I look down at the piece of paper. It was his number. Cute.
Our 17 hour flight consisted of 3 new releases (All About Steve, some movie set in the 1800's where one lover ends up dying and the other strolls about the forest mourning the rest of her days, aaaand another one. T.V, hindu food (yum?), "cheese crackers" which were dubbed cat food by Dominique Kaplan, the only brave one to try them (she did however end up eating the whole bag...)and lack of sleep. I still don't remember when the last time i've slept was and due to my forgettfullness its probably been awhile. We've lost a day; travelling to Bahrain, which is 10 hours ahead from Oregon time, but only to gain one back when we travel home. And actually sleep doesn't sound like a bad idea. So night for now y'all. Keep readding up cuase i'll keep the blogs coming.

BAHRAIN! what??

Yes. Bahrain. For me personally this is a much needed vaca. but to Dominique this trip is much more than that... a surprise visit to see her fiance. And why am I here you ask, well to blog about it of course. ;)

Here our adventure begins...

PDX -> Midway (chicago): The fam takes us to the Portland Airport and says their temporary goodbyes. Dom and I make it just in time to get into the baggage checking line before a herd of college track and fielders come shuffling in behind us. (mind you we would not have been so lucky if it were'nt for our fathers satanic driving). Despite our luck it still took a good 45 minutes to get through the line. By then it was almost time to board, so we booked it to (and through) security. We started running to our gate only to be slowed by "someone" who decided to wear heels to the airport(judging by the massive blister on her bunion I doubt she'll be doing that again...) We finally make it to check-in and (thank you Jesus!) are the last, flying standby, to board. Because of our lack of time perception we are split up on the plane. There I meet a very interesting middle-aged man who, during our conversation, shares with me that "its best to travel while your still young" (duh.)
and why not?? I'm young, I'm able. I believe this is something that I should snatch up before its too late. Celebrate my youth before its taken from me. But wait, does this mean I have to stop having fun when I turn "old". Hell no. I'm a big fan of "life's too short" but I say life's too long to not do anything but wallow in "over-the-hill" excuses. Why not live life to it's full potential? live it! We got time. But we have to start right now.

Gone Travelin'

You ever feel like your destined to do something, yet have no idea why you have such a passion to do it? Thats me. I'm going places, lots of places, warm places! I'm going to travel. My life is just beginning and I want to start living! My motto is to make every moment count, and when you look back, have no regrets. Whats the point of regretting something when its already happened... Life is a learning experience, and it should be enjoyed!