Visiting China and SCIS
Who would have thought we would ever be visiting China? How great it has been. Last minute we thought we would take advantage of our recruiting days off to visit our new home in Shanghai China. Let me just say we loved it. It was so good to get a feel for what the big city had to offer. Modern, clean, efficient are all ways to describe Shanghai.
It was great to see Don and Jane Macmillan, our former principals at ASK, and to hook up with our friends Eddie and Eva, whom we know from TTC in London. Our new school campus is incredible. Students and teachers will be making the move to the new campus within 2 weeks. So as you can imagine, everyone was quite busy. Very tech oriented and geared towards a learning environment. All we can do is make the appropriate arrangements and simply wait for fall of 2009 for the big move!
So hopefully this video can give you an idea of what life in Shanghai will be like. Unfortunately, I did not take very good footage this time around but it will do. The first half of this video will show you Shanghai. The second part will give you a tour of the new SCIS campus where Karin and I will both teach from. I have included small captions to explain what everything is. Again, SCIS will be making the move within 2 weeks to this new campus! It is incredible.
Prague: Charles Bridge, Prague Castle, & Stare Mesto - Day 4
Day 4 was a bunch of walking in the cold. We first started by heading to the famous Charles Bridge to find it half under construction. But that’s ok. It was still nice. Of course every building on the way was a sight to see.
We walked on uphill towards the Prague Castle. This was impressive. A massive gothic church was inside the castle walls. We really didn’t have much time because we had to make it down the hill for a scheduled tour but while leaving we saw the exchanging of the castle guards.
So we met our “not so favorite” tour guide who took us on a fairy to see the river at night. Several of us made it to the top deck to take pictures of the beautiful Vltava river by night.
Well, we could have ended our night after the boat ride but come… we were in Prague. So we continued to walk towards Stare Mesto, the famous yet not so impressive apostles clock. This was a great city square with the Church of Our Lady Tyn in the background. Again another massive and impressive church.Also, a huge Christmas tree lit up the square demanding attention.
While most decided to head back to the hotel after some shopping, Paulo and Patrick decided to get a fix of jazz once again. This time they enjoyed a jazz trio (piano, bass, and drums). After the musicians were finished with there sets, Paulo found out that the piano player was a teacher at the conservatory. It was outstanding… who knows, maybe another night of jazz will be in the works! [photos below]
Prague: Jazz, Pork Knuckles, Breweries And Good Friends - Day 1,2,3
Well we finally did it. After 3 years of trying to do a trip with our close friends, we finally did it. Last year we took at trip with Omar and Mira but this year we were a party of 6 with Patrick and Jennifer adding to the group. And yes, it was a party. We had such a nice time wondering the streets of Prague with its cold and wintery feel. It gave all of us a task for the holidays. Hot apple cider and Christmas tree lights added to Karin’s excitement.
Below you’ll see pictures from our first day arriving in Prague and heading out to dinner where Karin and Paulo both ate a pork knuckle. Paulo could not get over the hard skin that covered it and the dark hairs just waiting to get stuck between his teeth.
Unfortunately, on the way back to the hotel all of us were fined about $40 for not buying a metro ticket. The metro guards appeared out of nowhere and pulled their badges on us as if it was a speed trap. We were not necessary trying to be deceptive we just could figure out where to buy tickets. Oh, well, it made for a good story.
The next day we simply wandered the streets enjoying the many sights. The boys enjoyed taking photos while the girls window shopped - well, the guys wish that’s all they did. At night Paulo, Omar, Mira, and Patrick took in some excellent vocal jazz at one of Prague’s exclusive jazz clubs. It was excellent. Great musicians… we knew we would need to go back.
On our 3rd day, we played it simple. The girls headed to a crystal factory while the boys studied up on how beer is manufactured at one of Prague’s oldest breweries. They gave us free samples at the end of the night. Seriously good beer and very interesting to witness the process.
Judy and the Birthday Camel
So who says you don’t get what you wish for on your birthday. Apparently my mom wished to ride a camel. So on her birthday we decided to first drive down to the Saudi Arabian boarder, which is only a 40 minute drive, and then we simply went off-roading into the desert. Suddenly we came across a man and his herd of camels. After a couple smiles and a friendly tip my up on her camel.
Checking out the Heritage Sauq and Husain’s Carpets
Another fun day with my parents as they explored the Kuwaiti Heritage Sauq. As a birthday gift, Karin and I treated my mom to a Persian carpet. So we stopped by Husain the Carpet guy and let her pick out her very own carpet. As you can see, Amira enjoyed walking all over the many carpets.
Taking the Fam on a Dhow Ride
What a great day for heading out into the gulf. My parents had a nice time seeing Kuwait from a different perspective. Some teachers from our school where nice enough to set up this ride for us and other teachers. We had great catered food as we enjoyed the ride. Amira was very well behaved as she sat with grandma.
The best part was when my dad of 69 decided to jump in the water along with the other teachers. Way to go dad!
A Photo Day
Today my friends and I decided to head out simply to take pictures. We started off by going down to the local mall where there is a marina with dhows and fisherman. The fisherman were nice enough to allow us onboard to take pictures until the security guard from the mall told us we were not welcomed there. After that we headed into the market area of the mall where they have fresh meat and fish for sale. And yes, not only is that goat you see but camel hanging!
To escape the smells we decided to head out into the desert for a real camel experience. For the first time we were chased by an alpha male camel. We had to quick run around the car and jump in for our lives!
Finding Valenza
On our last outing in the city of Torin Italy, it was only fitting to do what any true Italian family would do… Look for your family name wherever you can find it! So we punched in Valenza to our GPS and came up with two quick finds. A jewelry store named Valenza’s Gold and a 2 block street named Valenza Ave. Ah, the pride!
Bath and Bubbles!
On my last night in Torin with Grandma gave me a fun bath. She gave me many baths at her house. It was always so fun. She would blow bubbles while I was in the tub! I love my Grandma!
A Day In The Park
What a great way to end our time with Paulo’s parents in Torin. We spent our last day wondering this huge beautiful park full of grassy fields and colorful flowers. The four of us attempted to peddle our way up windy hills in a monster bike that allowed for all of us to ride. Amira took advantage of running freely, walking in the streams, and watching the duckies. We all had a great day relaxing and enjoying the sun along with each others company. All this made for some fantastic pictures!
So Much More To Torino
After resting up from our family road trip, we thought it might be a good idea to take advantage of what Torino has to offer. We gotta admit, at first neither of us were really impressed with the city. After all it was known for being a factory city. We kept asking how could this be a city where the Winter Olympics visited? But after a day exploring, that opinion quickly changed.
First we checked out the National Cinema Museum. Truly amazing. It was built inside the tall dome looking building (the one in the picture above), which Torino is known for. What’s so incredible about this dome is that it is completely hallow. The museum surrounds the outer walls of the building and then the a glass elevator with no shaft takes you up the center to the top for a birds eye view of the city. This elevator ride and the view is just as impressive as the museum itself.
Next we visited the Egyptian Museum, which my mom was real excited to see. Great place but they really need a/c throughout the place. The rest of the day we wandered the streets and took photos of all the amazing building and plazas. Definitely a nice day.
All Roads Lead To Rome
So if you know Paulo at all by now, you will know that it is impossible for him to be in close proximity to any major historical city without attempting to convince everyone to continue on for a visit. When we were 200 km from Cairo he just had to press on - and so with Rome. But who can blame him. As it turns out, it felt right for everyone as well.
We pulled in with the goal to see as much as we could in one evening. So, right after parking the car we grab a sight seeing bus that gave us a quick look at the major sights in Rome. Karin and Amira listened to the history lesson provided by the buss while Frank and Paulo took as many pictures as they could. What a fascinating city. It was so worth the quick glance.
After leaving the city we drove back to Torino. At 3:30am with two hours left in our journey, we were blessed with a flat tire. Gotta love road trip!
Art Center of Italy - Florence
After leaving Pisa, we headed to Florence. At first I’m not sure if any of us were that impressed with the city. It seemed to simply be a tourist trap and an expensive one at that. While the ladies all stayed back at the hotel, the men decided to wonder the streets of Florence at night. This changed everything. To our surprise, the city center just lit up with lights, life, and live music.
We enjoyed taking pictures of the great architecture and incredible statues which surrounded the city. Artist drew perfect replicas of Mona Lisa on the sidewalks and orchestras performed free concerts for the public. carousels gave children rides and opera singers sung arias as if they had just been written.
While we did walk through the famous art museum, we really were not that impressed. If you are into seeing two stories of art with Mary in it, than it’s the place for you.
And how could we leave out one of the greatest moments in the city was being able to hook up with Geoff and Erica Moulton once again. We went out to a great Mexican restaurant. Unfortunately after our night with them in Florence we ended our stalking of the Moultons.
Leaning Towards Pisa
After enjoying a bit of nature, we were on the road for Florence. So how could we not make a quick stop by the famouse Leaning Tower of Pisa. And guess what? They are right. It’s leaning!
Anyways, were are some great pictures from this sight.
The Coastline of Cinque Terra
Starting of our road trip with our parents, we decided to head south-east from Turino straight to an area called Cinque Terra. It’s a scenic coastline of 5 little towns connected by train or nature paths for hiking. We mainly did the train for riding up and down the coastline but between two of the towns we decided to walk. What an amazing view!
If you are ever in Italy, make sure you check this place out. Especially if you enjoy being out around nature. What made the leg of this trip real special was that we were able to hook up with our friends Erika and Geoff Moulton, former teachers at ASK in Kuwait. They now are in Hong Kong and love it. While Paulo was in London, he was able to hook up with them for dinner while they were traveling through Europe. During the dinner, they discovered that Italy and Cinque Terra were both on the couples agendas, so why not hook up! What a great time! We are hoping to stock them a bit more along the trip, maybe we can meet up in Florance.
Geoff kept saying how impressed he was with my Mom and how she could walk so well with just haveing had a dual hip replacement this year! And she did. She can put some speed on those things!
Cooking Italian
After Karin and Amira arrived in Torino, my parents arranged for some Italian friends of theirs to come over and cook Italian food for us. Karin helped out in the kitchen trying to pick up on some of the secrets of the trade. We had some food with all proper Italian courses: Antipasti of wine, cheese, sausage and crackers along with figs; Primo course was a great pasta; Secondo of rabbit, (which Paulo had a real hard time with considering he has had 2 pet rabbits sorry Thumper and Floppy); and a light Dolce of fresh watermelon, the reddest we have ever seen, along with a sweet digestive (after drink commonly served).
Antonelo and his girlfriend, Donatella, were so kind to us. They bought all the food and wine and stayed past midnight chatting with us.
Visiting my Grandparents in Italy
Yesterday mommy and I arrived in Torino, Italy to spend some time with my grandparents. This was a good day ’cause I also got to be with my daddy again after two weeks of him being gone in London. Actually, I don’t really remember my grandpa even though I guess he visited me in Kuwait when I was just a couple of months old. But this was a special week because I was meeting my grandma for the very first time! She’s really nice to me.
Today Grandpa and Grandma gave me two gifts. A big yellow tent with a tiger on it and a tape player with two microphones attached. I love playing with both. It took me a while to figure out how to use the tent and that I can put all of my other toys in it. And I love singing into my mics. It’s fun being at my grandparent’s place.
Berlin in two days
I know, it’s just not right to do Berlin on such a short time frame but I had a couple extra days and I thought it would be a really cool place to visit. Well, I was right. Berlin is a city unlike anything I’ve ever seen. With its old and modern architecture, graffiti decorating its walls, and its historical content, I had plenty to see in such a short amount of time.
The weight of its history was mind boggling, consider all the turmoil Berlin has seen since the beginning of its existence. I wised up and took advantage of a free tour that is commonly offered in Berlin. Because of this, I was able to hit almost all of the important places in one day. I even walked over the parking lot which laid over the Hilter’s bunker. The one he committed suicide in. My tour guide was great and really new his stuff.
After 4 hours of walking tour, I still hadn’t seen enough. I decided to go far into the East, just to see if there was still a difference from the West. I heard in some places, it was very obvious. Well, I think I found one of those places! I got of the most east point and boy, I thought I was in a concentration camp! Plus there were a bunch of young punks surrounding me. Well, my walking disease kicked in again and I chose to walk all the way back into the center of town. I think I walked for another 3 hours. I can’t say I saw much but I really just enjoyed being around the city.
The next day I got up early and headed off to Turin, Italy to visit my parents and reunite with Karin and Amira. I had a flight out of Frankfurt so I took the train down from Berlin to Frankfurt. That alone was an amazing experience. Sorry Amtrack. You’ve got nothing on Germany!
Check out my photos below. I think I was able to capture some great ones! Hopefully soon I will have a shortfilm of my trip as well!
Wandering London
So I don’t really know what got into me. It might be that I knew it was my last full day in London and since I had been in class most of my time there, I wanted to take full advantage of it. This prompted me to get up early and head out into the great streets of London. I started out in Hyde Park and walked all the way up past Harrods. And then to the Natural Museum and beyond. After that I took the Tube a couple stops up to Notting Hill. I knew Karin really liked it there with all of its street markets and cute stores. I was hoping to find something special for her - but I zeroed out. Well, it made for a nice walk and I was able to capture some great photos along the way.
You would think after all of that walking I would just go back and pack for my journey the next day, but I wanted to say I to Karin so I jumped on the tube one more time and took it a couple stops down to the Apple store. They have nice theater chairs available and free wi-fi. Well I closed with store and realized it was time for some food. From my last trip to London, I remembered a little Brazilian buffet just a couple of blocks up from the Apple store. Even though it ended up being much further than I remembered, it was worth it for the 2 coxinias and guadana I had. Plus, I need the energy, cause once again, I just continued to walk, walk, and walk. Basically all the way back to the dorms in Islington. I had blisters all over my feet. But I really had a nice time.
TTC in London
Today I finished my 4th Teacher’s Training Class course. This year I took Technology Integration and an Assessment class. Now only one more summer with two more classes and I will have an International Teaching Certificate. In addition, the courses I am taking will apply towards Mater’s degree. I will only need to complete 4 more additional courses and I will have completed Masters (2 courses are online; the remaining 2 courses: though attending conferences for credit or by attending 2 more TTC courses).
Beyond enjoying the TTC content and material learned, I have also really enjoyed sharing experiences and connecting with other teachers. It gave me a new level of anticipation and confidence for beginning the search for a new school Karin and I can teach at. I have meet so many teachers from so many different countries. Some near and some far. Shanghai, Hong Kong, Switzerland, the Gambia, Japan, Lebanon… you name it! And there was even a Brazilian teacher from the school that Karin and I interviewed at three years ago in Campinas, located in the state of Sao Paulo. Many possibilities for our near future!
The craziest connection was when I was sitting next to Noriko, a Japanese teacher who spoke flawless english. In between our school work, we were chatting about Japan and the USA. She proceeded to tell me she attended college in Michigan and was esthetic to find out that was where I lived. When I mentioned Grand Rapids she about fell over! She said she attended a small catholic college in GR named Aquinas College. So I whipped out a paper and drew a map showing her how we had lived a block away from her on Mayfield Avenue! Crazy! Of course the conversation digressed as we talked about all of our favorite places in GR such as Kava House, Eastown, and Reeds Lake. What a small world. From London to Japan to Mayfield Ave.
Visiting Wales and Fiona
On the 25th of July I started taking my second summer of TTC courses in London. Unfortunately, unlike last year, I had to travel alone without Karin and Amira. On the 29th, with my first course done, I had 2 nights and one day free to do some sight seeing. Through Facebook, I was able to connect with Fiona Marr, a good friend who taught at ASK our first two years in Kuwait. While she just came from teaching in Venezuela, she has a house in south-east Wales. Kindly she invited me to come up and visit her and see some sights.
I had a great time even though I started off my trip very poorly. I had just left a pub with some teachers from the TTC, where we were having a conversation about the iPhone and how it could be a disadvantage to have everything important on one devise. Of course I would disagree. Well, arriving at the buss station, I realized how my laptop, with a dead battery, had my confirmation number for my eticket. My mobil was also dead with Fiona’s number in it and even if I had a charge I had just ran out of minutes! There was no where in the station to get a charge and everyone I talked to that day was really rude. Obviously everything worked out but I really had to work to find an outlet to get my “life” back up and running and in time to get on the bus!
Once in Wales, I made my way in a taxi to meet Fiona at her friends house in the city of Newport. Her friends, who where extremely hospitable to me, had a great chicken dinner prepared for me on their backyard patio. There, I was educated by her friend of the differences between being Welsh and English. From their accents, governments, different english word meanings, to yes, even their beer, wine, and cider. It was a great evening of meeting new friends.
Wales was beautiful. So green and peaceful. Fiona said I was lucky that the whole time I was there it was sunny and bright. I guess this is not the norm. We spent most of our time strolling around her village, looking at the local castle (Raglan), taking a buss to the nearby town of Manmouth and having a picnic in the park with Fiona’s favorite UK food, Mark & Spencers.
On our second night I had the best chicken pie I’ve ever had at the local pub. To top it off, we watched “The Man that Went Up a Hill and Came Down a Mountain” staring Hugh Grant. A classic movie that depicts Wales and what I had been seeing and “hearing” all day.
The best part of Wales was simply reconnecting with Fiona. We had many great talks over such a short visit. It was definitely a nice change of pace from the course work I had been doing.
Thanks Fiona!
THe Adventures of David Romero
Here is a collection of movies that you can enjoy. Filmed and edited by David, you will see Kuwait and the Middle East through a different lens. Please take the time to watch these great short films. For more photos and video from Cuban Viking Productions, head to VidaRomero
After 5 months of having our friend David with us, he has now left Kuwait and headed back to the States. We had a really great time showing him around the sandy desert and watching him dive into understanding the Middle East culture. He kept himself busy by tutoring, subbing, co-directing play productions, traveling, and meeting new friends. We will all miss you!
Last Day In Turkey
Well like most things good, our time in Turkey had to come to an end. But before that, we spent a day at the Palace which had been converted to a museum for old artifacts. Lots of cool weapons, jewelry, and pottery. The most impressive part about the museum was the grounds within the Palace. Lush grass with beautiful trees, great for a nice stroll.
Coming back in the airport we were reminded how expensive Turkey was. As you will see in the photos, a value meal at Burger King is $15. Crazy!
Well, what matters most is that we had a wonderful week with our close friends Omar and Mira. They are great people and are going to make great parents to their soon expected daughter! Thanks for traveling with us guys.
The BIG Island, The BIG Waffles
So we decided to jump on a ferry once again, this time for 1.5 hours to the island of Buyuk Ada. This means “big island.” For the most part it reminded us of Mackinaw Island… only bikes are allowed, lots of summer homes, and great snacks like waffle sandwiches. Mira had remembered these from when she was here 6 years ago, and it was by far the highlight of the day for all of us! Basically it was a huge waffle with any kind of topping your heart desired. Then, they would fold it up allowing all of the chocolate, carmel, nutty, fruity yumminess to mix all together. Unfortunately, we were so caught up in this delight that none of us took a photo.
We walked around maybe a quarter of the island enjoying the outdoors and burning off the calories.
