Cycling in the Country

We met people preparing to visit the local temple; it was a once a year celebration we were told.

At the 25 km point; we were hot, sweaty and hungry!

On our last full day in Chiang Mai, we joined a half-day bicycle tour in a rural area approximately 30 minutes outside of the city. On the way we saw one snake, one lizard, a local market, a temple, a kindergarten school and numerous rice fields. The route was 27km long and it was a hot, sunny day but everyone made it to the end without any problems. We all agreed it was a great way to see another side of northern Thailand.  

Doi Suteph Temple

Thursday we visited Doi Suteph Temple, one of the most lavish and popular temples in Chiang Mai. It is located 20 minutes from the city on the top of a small mountain. The temple itself is very beautiful and many people visit each day to pray. Many monks also live at the temple and one can pray with them as well. Not only is the temple spectacular but so are the views from the mountain as one can see the entire city of Chiang Mai sprawled out below. 

Cooking Class

On Wednesday we all took part in a half-day Thai cooking class. After arriving at the cooking school we had a tour of the organic garden. Here we sampled and learned about many common Thai spices such as lemongrass, basil, Thai ginger, chives, eggplant and peppers. Next we walked to a local market to view and pick up some of our other ingredients including chicken, sprouts and glass noodles. Upon returning to the school it was time to cook. We each cooked three different types of dishes: a curry (green, Penang or Massaman), an appetizer (spring rolls or Papaya salad) and Thai fast food (Pad Thai or Chicken with cashew nut).  Our instructor would demonstrate the steps for each dish and then we were on our own. All of the ingredients were fresh and fragrant and we even had to make our own curry paste from scratch! Danielle volunteered to cook the ingredients for everyones spring rolls and she did an excellent job of cooking in front of the group! The best part of our experience was that we got to eat everything that we cooked.  We also received a detailed recipe book so that we can recreate our dishes back home.

Ready to cook!

Danielle prepares filling for spring rolls/

Rolling the spring roll

Elephants!

We spent Monday at the Elephant Nature Park. After we were picked up at our hotel we traveled north of the city for approximately 40 minutes. Upon arrival, we received an introduction to the park from our guide and then we got to feed the elephants. Each elephant eats about 200 kg of food/day and there are thirty-two elephants at the park so you can imagine how much food that is.  Each elephant would get a huge basket of bananas and gourds and it was our job to hand them to the elephant. The elephants wandered freely around the park but they showed up to the feeding station on masse when it was feeding time.  After feeding time was over, we went on a walking tour of the park to meet some of the elephants and to learn more about them and the care they receive. This allowed us to get up close and personal to these beautiful and powerful beasts. Daniele tried to hug as many elephants as possible!
We had a huge buffet for lunch and we could sit near the observation platforms and watch the elephants as we ate.
After lunch it was time to get wet and for the elephants to get clean. Everyone received a bucket and we walked down to the river. The elephants waded in the water and we proceeded to rinse them from top to bottom. After a thorough soaking we used river rocks to give our elephant a good scrub.  After their bath, most of the elephants wandered over to the mud pit to get all dirty once again!

Danielle bonded with this Grandmother elephant

Bath time!

Everyone got wet!

Time for a scrub.

After bath time it was time for another feeding. Emily and Danielle each fed their own elephant another basket of fruit.  Overall, it was an incredible day for us all.

Chiang Mai, Thailand

This past week was fall break at the school so we headed off to Chiang Mai in northern Thailand. Our first full day had us exploring the city, specifically the Sunday walking market. This market had everything from food to clothes to souvenirs.  Most of the food was fantastic but there were a few items that only the brave would attempt. The cool thing about Chiang Mai is that you can always find a market to do some shopping. There's a Saturday market, a night market and a bazaar to name a few others. 

The fruits and vegetables in Thailand are so fresh and fragrant

We didn't have any of this stuff!

Danielle loved all of the bling.

Autumn Update

It's been a busy fall here in Macau so this is a good time to update everyone on what has been going on.  Emily has been a busy girl! She is currently a member of the Jr. girls volleyball team and the swimming team; these require three practices a week total (not including any competitions). See is also a member of the middle-school leadership group at TIS. This group meets regularly to plan middle school events such as dances and fundraisers. Two weeks ago the leadership group spent the day at the Venetian hotel, meeting and working as a group.
Danielle has also been keeping busy. She is also a member of the swim team and has joined the primary choir again this year. These activities keep her busy for two days of the week. On top of these, she is back taking piano lessons once a week. She is excited as her grade 5 group travels into China for a four day, three night field trip next month.  She is very excited but she tells us that she will miss us! In her spare time, she manages the fish tank and plays with her lego.
Jackie is busy with her new job at the school. While she had filled this role before, it has been three years; many changes had taken place. Her main foci are the school newsletter, social media for the school, organizing events, and major school publications.  She is also heading up the schools' yearbook committee so yes, she has been busy. She keeps active, spending three days of week running or working out in the fitness centre.
Myself, I have been quite busy as well. I'm teaching a new course this semester (CALM 20) so there has been a fair bit of planning and prep with that. I'm also back coaching volleyball (Jr. Boys) and that keeps me busy 2-3 days a week. I'm also working hard to improve my technology skills - I attended a Google conference in September in Singapore and had the opportunity to share my new knowledge with staff at the last PD day. I'm signed up for another technology conference in January in Hong Kong; there I will start the process of becoming a Google certified teacher.  We all depart tomorrow to Chiang Mai (Thailand) for the fall break. We're excited for a change of scenery and a chance for some rest & relaxation.