Christchurch, New Zealand

 After a flying for over eleven hours, we made it to Christchurch New Zealand. Our Christmas morning included alighting a plane, fetching our luggage and making our way to our hotel. My first impressions/thoughts of New Zealand were rainy, amazing accents, and lots of white people (after living in Asia for 1.5 years, it is nice to "blend in" again).

First glimpse of New Zealand...wet.

After getting settled, we set out on foot to explore Christchurch. Our hotel use to be a government building, but due to an earthquake in 2011 the government building was converted into a hotel. Because of the earthquake, much of Christchurch was still shut down. One thing that was still operating was the trolly.

All aboard!

The earthquake, 6.3, killed over one hundred eighty people and destroyed much of the city. The National Guard (or the NZ equivalent) was brought in for relief. Aside from lives, one of the biggest losses was the Christchurch Cathedral. Even after almost three years, the Cathedral continues to crumble. Our hotel was across the street from the Cathedral, or what's left of it.

There does not seem to be much hope in full restoration

As a memorial for the earthquake, tall crates were set up. On pieces of rock and rubble, people write notes of remembrance or encouragement.

A beautiful structure that allows one to view the crumbling Cathedral

Birds have made their homes in the rafters

We continued to explore the streets of Christchurch. 

Fully operating telephone booth

The Christchurch Botanic Gardens was our next stop. It was so nice to walk through the gardens and not sweat buckets; which is a common occurrence in Singapore.

A beautiful fountain with dragon fish as decorations

Hey duckie, say, "CHEESE!"

My parents blessed me with a new camera for Christmas. Trying to make my mama proud, I began to develop my "eye" for photography. Hope I succeeded. 

Vibrant hydrangeas were everywhere. Blue, purple, white and pink - never had I seen such beautiful colored flowers.

In order to restore and continue businesses, many shops and restaurants use crates.  

Yes...yes that is a heater. And yes...I did sit next to it.

Elephant Extraveganza

The highlight of my time in Phuket was going on an elephant safari! An hour drive into the mountains brought us to a remote yet thriving nature tour. It was a four-hour tour which was spent riding an elephant, feeding elephants, watching elephants paint, and learning the "old-fashioned-way" of producing things native to Thailand.

Ready or not, here we go!

My view from atop the elephant. It was rather bumpy.

The peach freckles on her trunk are like beauty marks or wrinkles. The age of an elephant can be estimated by the presence of these spots.

Feeding my elephant bananas and pineapples. I could not get them out of the basket quick enough!

Ever see an elephant paint? One of the many "tricks" they teach elephants is how to paint. 

Say, "CHEESE!"

Phuket, Thailand

This past weekend I had the chance to travel to Phuket, Thailand for Fall Break. Phuket is an island off the western coast of Thailand in the Andaman Sea. Slightly smaller than Singapore, Phuket offers diverse opportunities; ranging from, relaxing on the beach to hiking in lush tropical jungles. Taking less than two hours by plane, this was the perfect destination for a long weekend escape.

A view of the reflecting pond which over looks the sea. 

B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L

Walking along the boardwalk

Notice the red flag on the left side - during my entire stay the flag was red. This informed us that the surf was extremely rough and no swimming in the ocean was allowed. 

A beautiful lookout 

Just a couple of snapshots of the resort. It was beautifully decorated; with cool yet welcoming colors.

Day at the River Safari

Yesterday, Saturday, I ventured off to the north part of the island to explore the new River Safari with some friends. It was a beautiful day spent seeing the creativity of our God. The highlight of my day was seeing the pandas! Last year, China gifted two pandas (Kai Kai and Jia Jia) to Singapore; an extremely important gesture. Since then, the pandas have been the main attraction and being that I had never seen a panda before, it was very exciting.

The first stop was the Mighty Mississippi River. The River Safari showcases various species from the biggest rivers in the world. I was very proud that the good ole USA was showcased! It felt like I was back on the farm.

Now, the exhibits were not simply caged animals but rather a recreated environment which allows the animals to be in the most natural of habitats. The above picture is the Singaporean view of the Mid-West. Apparently we all live in log cabins, wear over-alls and still use flannel table cloths. Nonetheless, I am sure the beavers felt very at home.

The grand entrance into the pandas.

I'm posing with Jia Jia and Kia Kia :)

Kia Kia was lounging in a tree. He was extremely playful and never paused long enough for a good snapshot. He was much bigger than I was expecting. Isn't he just the cutest?!?

In a separate "cage", I was only able to catch a glimpse of Jia Jia. Once she poked her head out, the crowd, in perfect harmony, said, "awwww...", which startled her. I was never able to get a picture of the beauty.

A quick stop for lunch lead us to the discovery of "Panda Paus". Pronounced "pow", this dumpling/doughnut/red-bean-filled-pastry, was specially created for promoting the famous pandas. 

Sneak peek into my classroom

First week of school...CHECK!

Meet with the teacher area.

Miss Jorgenson's corner

A front view of 2nd Grade

Our math corner

The Bible verse for the school year

Philippians 1:17

Our classroom map - I have students from United States, Indonesia, Korea, Philippines and Australia 

Our library

View of the classroom from the door

Bulletin boards outside our room

And so it begins

When I was in elementary school, I loved going "back to school" shopping. My mom would take Tyler, Baihley and I to Target or Walmart and load up on school supplies; carefully consulting our official school shopping list. I always knew who my next teacher was going to be since I attended a small school in which there was one class per grade. My only other memory of "back to school" time is posing for the infamous "First Day of School" picture. In fact, below is a picture from my first day of kindergarten.

Fast forward eighteen years later, and here I am. Beginning my second year of teaching. Monday is open house/meet the teacher and Tuesday is the first day of school. As I look ahead to the next ten months, I am ready and willing. Just as 2 Corinthians 5:5 tells us,

  "He who has prepared us for this very things is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee." 

Although my "to-do" list is never-ending and there are days that I feel like giving up, I am reminded of a verse in Esther. 

"And who knows whether you have no come to ICS for such a time as this."

End of the year sights

The school year has ended and I am back in the USA. It was a great last day of school - bittersweet. My students and their parents lavished me with love and precious gifts. I will spend the summer in Minnesota, with my family, and I will head back to Singapore the end of July. The day after school ended my good friend Cora arrived in Singapore. We spent two weeks touring Singapore. At the end of her time in Singapore, we hopped on a ferry and spent three days in Bintan, Indonesia. 

A look at the hotel. Lush and green.

Part of the pool had a swim-up  bar. There were stools in the water so that one could sit in the water and enjoy a smoothie, sandwich or dessert. 

My feet in the Southern China Sea.

Cora and I on a tour boat.

While in Little India Cora and I stopped at a salon and got Henna tattoos. Henna tattoo is a temporary that is used primarily in India.

Another one of our adventures was the Fish Spa. The fish nibble the dead skin off one's feet, leaving the feet rather smooth.

The nibbling fish felt like flies tickling my skin :)