a few more from today . . .

Today was the YWCA Siu Pong School's Chinese New Years party. Everyone dressed in the traditional silk attire, and it made for a really fun day at school. The kids looked great all decked out in their Traditional finest. They even gave me a silk blue shirt, complete with dragons and lion heads. hope you enjoy these as much as i do!

Thought these were some pretty cool shots.

Click the link "On the Beach"

Okay, forgive the corny lyrics-- Tripp's newfound photography skills are the star of this little clip anyways. Here is a quick glimpse at our holiday in paradise.


On the Beach

Yeah i can pump my own gas. . . wait a second

Thought this was so cool. We headed out for Pulau Tuba, and rented this little bike. Nevermind that they needed no deposit or ID, and it only cost $7 for the day, how bout this gas pump?!?!?

Malaysia: Payar Island

Hey Hey... Ugh well unfortunatly we ran out of money. Otherwise, I was never coming back. Langkawi, Malaysia was an amazing destination. We arrived on Thursday, Feb 11 with plans to stay for 3 days. 10 days later we had to finally booked tickets and headed home. Pictured above is Sara Beth and I, swimming at Pulau Payar Marine Park. Its a wild life reserve off the coast of Malaysia. Most importantly, its an amazing place to snorkel and scuba dive!

Chinese New Year

Bear with us as we travel through Malaysia the next two weeks and likely will not update until our return! Lots of adventures to share when we get back! Love yall!!

Well, I'm not even sure where to start. Truthfully.... the most gifted writers would be unable to convey the amount of excitement and joy i found in our latest adventure. Hopefully, i can manage make sense of it all. Nevertheless, In less than 48 hours of tramping around Bangkok, i experienced things that will stay with me for the rest of my life. SB says that expectations can be the theif of joy... This is often so true, though thankfully, I didn't even know what to expect.
The people of Thailand, their laid back way of life, and of course, thier amazing food, gave me the greatest birthday gift i could have ever asked for. In one day, we went temple touring, palace wandering, riverboat riding, and market hunting. In all, it was the greatest adventure SB and i have set off on yet. Heres just a few of our photos, ill be trying to get the rest up very soon.

Oh, the center picture of SB shows her at a stop light with our lovely Tuk-Tuk driver. whats a Tuk-Tuk.... picture a dirt bike, that seats 3, no seat belts and a top speed of Mach 1. It was as close to an extreme sport as i would like to experience.

Off to Thailand!

I resent Tripp making fun of my Amazing Race. Mysteriously he had a sprained foot so he could not compete. Probably was afraid to be beat by a girl. (Liza, ovbiously, not me.) Just kidding, he does have a pretty nasty sprain from playing pickup ball last Sunday. It was a purplish black color all week until it drifted down into his toes. Then the bruising went away but the swollen cankle remained. Picture to follow when I am not blogging from the office (the kid’s computer area at my kindergarten).

I’ve got a few things to note related to my school—one is that parent/teacher conferences were last week. I literally read my Kindle (an amazing gift if you are in the market needing a gift for a voracious reader) the ENTIRE day. No parent could really communicate with me.

The day before that, we tested out the fire alarm. Usually whenever a fire alarm goes off, even in a drill, I bolt to the closest exit. It was such a dose of reality that now I am responsible for all these teeny lives. Corrall my kids and get them out the door first, then get myself out. Conferences, fire drills… I am a real teacher!

I can’t remember if I have mentioned this to my dear readers yet, but there is an unspoken hierarchy here that is strictly adhered to. The kids and teachers ALWAYS address the pincipal, then assisant principal, then me, then Mandarin teacher, then Chinese teachers, then the sumsums (wonderwomen who cook, cleane, change diapers, decorate) [so like Mom?] when greeting parents and kids at the door. Even if the kid looks at me as he is walking in, his head whips to the people “above” me to say hello to first. Or if he sees another teacher and me, he will always say, “Good afternoon, Miss Sara”, before saying something to one of my coworkers. Just unusual and clearly there’s no afterthought from the tradition here.

That’s it for my school updates—on to bigger and better news bulletins. I was contacted by an alumni worker from Clemson who asked if I’d mentor a student interested in learning more about Chinese culture. Of course I said yes, and was absolutely thrilled to find out the student is actually living in Hong Kong this semester! I took her to dinner last night ands she’s adorable! What a small world this is, right?! Anyways, had a lovely time with Sarah and think she is meeting up with my friends tonight at the Solas reopening party! Should be fab.

Annnd tomorrow we will be celebrating Tripp’s birthday. How? By going to Thailand, of course!! What better gift than a trip to Bangkok for your 23rd right? (Except the Kindle, if you are me.) So postwork we are jumping on an Emirates plane to the Land of Smiles, hopefully to discover a new and wonderful country in a very quick weekend. Bringing the camera to share the excitement with you!

Safe weekends to yall! Love, SB

Hey Y'all, I wanted to send out some pictures from this past weekend. What we've got here is Sara Beth and Liza, doing their best to fend off the locals, in a footrace. Sunday morning in Tsim Sha Tsui played host to the annual World Cancer Charity Run. This translates into Sara Beth and Liza, preparing for this 3K thriller like Usain Bolt does for the World Finals. Pure speed folks, thats what was on display from this former Gamecock Track Standout and Clemson's speed walkers club. They were great, and it was a great way to start Sunday morning. My ribs still ache from the laughs. Thanks for reading and click on the pictures to have a better look at the magic.