Apologize for not writing in awhile . . . been a tad bit busy, Heidi has been sick, sick, icky sick, and we just haven’t found the time. On the way home from Heidi’s haircut today she said, “We better write or else everyone will stop following.” So here goes.

First….THE FRUIT OF THE WEEK
Not that exotic, you can find these at home in Washington
The POMELO!!!

The Pomelo is native to SE Asia and is literally a grapefruit on steroids!!! If you pick a good one it is sweet, sweet, sweet. A bit tough to peel, but once you get the rind off and the pith, you have a citrus feast!!! I love a good pomelo for breakfast. I included below a video of how to open a pomelo. (please excuse the creepy music) I wish I had found this video before I attempted mine . . . I had to muster super human strength to peel off the rind and hacked away with a knife on the pith for quite some time. There were a few moments where I was cursing and wondering if the effort would be worth it. . . it was!!!

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BEST PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT EVER
I mentioned before that we send our teachers all over the world to find quality professional development trainings. But the very best happened this past Friday. We put on what we call TTT (Teachers Teaching Teachers). All 200 plus faculty, our substitute teachers and many of our classified staff, converged upon our high school. We start the day with a big breakfast . . . anyone who knows anything about setting up a training know you need to feed the masses, and not with Costco Muffins!!!! We had a full range of breakfast options .. .. fresh fruit, yogurt, noodle dishes, eggs, sausages, fruit juices, coffee, etc. We then made our way to the auditorium for inspirational words from our Head of School and an overview of the day. Next came SPEED GEEKING. Similar to Speed Dating, you have a group of 5 or 6 people per group and about 35 stations. You only get about five minutes at each station before the bell rings and your group moves on to the next one. The presenters have to present to about 12 different groups. It was so fun…quick, fast, informative, left you wanting more. Next came the workshops. These were 50 minute workshops on numerous topics. Groups for these were a bit larger . . .wonderful, timely topics, many coming from conferences people attended during the year. Everyone was able to attend two workshops of their choice. Lunch was an hour long, fried rice, salad, veggies and dips, chicken dishes, fish dishes, fruit, juices, pop, delicious. At the end of the day were the Round Tables. Each table was a different topic, about 6 to 8 sat at a table and discussed the pros and cons of the topic for about 20 minutes. Great discussions. Before lunch, we also had what we call, “Energizers”. Sessions revolving around the arts, 30 minutes of art, or dance, or sport, or music. Heidi learned the Charleston. I took creative calligraphy. Others took golf, or singing, or water polo….many, many activities to try. The day ended with more food and reflections. A GREAT day of learning, a day of enjoyment, a day of highlighting the many talents and knowledge of our faculty. All homegrown, all pertinent to our school goals and mission. And when it was all over we went out for beer and frivolity!!!! Best professional development EVER !!!!

FUNDRAISER
Our PTA put on a wonderful fundraiser. It is an annual event called QUIZ NIGHT. Teachers and parents sign up as teams of 8 to 10. Each participant must pay the registration fee of 50 ringit (about $17.00) Each team must come up with a theme for their team. We were the Rockers. Others chose the Signs of the Chinese Zodiacs, the Lord of the Rings (they were all Kiwis, of course), the Master Chefs, etc. etc. The judges were dressed as nuns and the MC as a priest. There were 14 rounds of anywhere from 10 to 20 trivia questions on specific topics. (general knowledge, geography, music, sports, the 80’s, famous people, etc. During the night the PTA sold bottles of wine, champagne, beer, and pop. Each team brought their own treats. A wonderful night full of fun, went from 7:00 PM to midnight. Our team came in 3rd place (missed it by four questions!!!) Wait till next year. The PTA earned over $5000.00. Not bad for one night!!!! The money goes toward grants for teachers.

Chinese New Year
A big celebration in Kuala Lumpur. Heidi said every night for two weeks straight there were fireworks exploding late into the night. At school we had a tremendous assembly
complete with dancing lions.

Lions with myself and our Head of School….who happens be be from Colorado!!! Sweet.

After finishing up at the Boston Job Fair, I snuck home for just a few days. Had to visit my arm surgeon in Bellevue, my doctor at home, made a quick trip to Pullman to see Jamie, stayed with Heidi’s wonderful parents, got to see all the kids and grandkids, and popped into most of the Eastmont schools, ate at McGlinns three times!!! So good to see family and friends. Was only home for five days and as hard as it was to leave, it was so good to get home to KL. Hadn’t seen Heidi for three weeks.

Next up: In three weeks we will welcome Amanda, Jeremy, and Jamie. Going to take them to a resort on the South China Sea, Tanjong Jara Resort. A wonderful spa, world class snorkeling, white sand beach, hiking, peace and quiet. Here is the web site, take a look:

Tanjong Jara Resort

As soon as the kids leave then here come Kathy Schwab, Cindi Lolos, and Kim Browning. We are heading to Bali to an “out of the way” resort, Villa Manuk. Just a small boutique hotel, four rooms only, spring-fed swimming pool, up in the mountains surrounded by rice fields. We will take in Ubud, the rice terraces, the volcanoes, and as many other sites as we can possibly see.

Here is the web site for Villa Manuk:

Villa Manuk

It will be so fun to show family and friends around this adopted home of ours. Will try hard not to have such a blogging dry spell like this past one.