In the States I was used to getting called to the playground to chase away a rambunctious dog or two every year. Once had a parrot, escaped from a nearby home, landed in one of the trees. Lots of earthworms and occasional garter snakes…but never too much beyond that. Imagine my surprise when I get a call Saturday evening saying an 8 foot Malaysian Reticulated Python had been captured outside my office door. The guards and maintenance crew were pretty stoked upon catching it and promised to save it for me to view. I have to say, it is a pretty beautiful creature but definitely not something we want crawling around our little three year old preschoolers!!!

This little fella weighed in at 9 lbs. Doing a little research I found they are the longest snakes in the world…the record stretching a whopping 33 feet long. And besides the Anaconda, they are about the heaviest of all snakes. At a resort this year near the Thai border, a maintenance worker found a 20 footer near some of the rooms. He attempted to remove it himself and wound up being squeezed to death. This was just another little reminder that we live right in the middle of a jungle!!!

We are pleased say our water rationing is over. We had an extended drought and the entire city was put on water rationing….two days with water, two days without. Imagine going to take a shower and no water comes out? Or you forgot to fill up your water dispenser and you have no water for drinking or cooking? Or worse yet, you didn’t fill up buckets in order to flush the toilet? Makes you realize how precious and necessary water is in our lives. We were lucky to have a large water tank at our building that sustained us through the ration days. We only lost water twice in the two to three months of rationing. Others were not so lucky. Water will definitely be the next great resource battle.

This weekend we are heading to Singapore. Heidi is attending a math conference and I am visiting United World College (a world class international school) to see what they do for service learning. We hope to tour around town a bit….as always I hope to take a few pictures to share with you later.

3:00 am Saturday morning. Heidi and I are in the Waja. Celery sticks, peanut butter, and grapes in our little cooler, our clothing and personal effects stuffed into one large duffel bag, Daniel, our GPS angel is plugged in and set course for the town of Mersing to catch the 9:30 ferry to Tioman Island.

Going for four open water dives to certify scuba, Heidi to sit on the beach and catch some sun. But first the 5 hour drive. Decided to start by going under the SMART Tunnel. This is not a tunnel where you make one of those “make a wish and it will come true if you can hold your breath” type things. This is a major league tunnel….it must be over 5 miles long. But when you come out you have bypassed the entire downtown area and are right on Highway 2 heading south. Whoo Hoo…..why did it take us so long to discover this beauty???

The 240 kilometers on Hwy. 2 were pretty uneventful. . . . a modern three lane highway filled with trucks and trucks and more trucks. Seems they like to drive at 3:00 am…go figure? When you finally get off the highway, the roads became a bit narrow and very curvy, VERY CURVY. To top it off it was foggy and our windows kept fogging up, inside and out. Then the large orange juice I drank at breakfast worked its way through me and do you think we could find a bathroom? Finally found a nice palm grove I could hide behind…I know, too much information, but there are NO rest stops along this stretch of road. Instead of having to watch out for deer, raccoons, or possums…we dodges monkeys and monitor lizards…same-same but different!!!

Finally made it to Mersing and the ferryboat jetty. No where to park. Out of the blue a grizzled old guy on a scooter tells us the lots are full but to follow him. Down the road about 1/2 a mile we go to another lot. Parked, paid our 40 Ringit and loaded our stuff into the “transport car” We do believe it was held together with duct tape and chewing gum but it got us back to the ferry. Grizzled man reappeared and suggested we forgot to tip him. Wanted our car when we returned so gave him a nice RM10 tip. Grabbed our ticket with the name of the boat we were to catch scribbled on it. Three boats arrived with no visible name. We held Pink Boarding passes and we heard the word PINK at the B gate. Scrambled over the rail, got in the Pink line and were packed on board the ferry to Tioman. “Remember”, we tell ourselves, “this is Malaysia, go with the flow!!!!”

Our first views of Tioman were breathtaking. Tioman is a rather small island, about 40 kilometers long and 12 kilometers wide. With the exception of small villages hanging onto the coast, the island is pretty much dense jungle. Its claim to fame was to have some of it’s beaches filmed for the 1958 movie, South Pacific, and was named by TIME Magazine in the 70’s as one of the world’s most beautiful islands. Today it is best known for diving.
Here are some views of Tioman from the ferry –

The little village at ABC Beach (where else would educators go???) was really quaint. The village is supported by the dive industry. About 4 or 5 dive shops are sprinkled along the 1/2 mile stretch. Little stores, bars and restaurants are usually attached to small bungalow style cabins for rent. No cars what-so-ever. People walk, ride bikes or scooters. You can walk up and over the south headland, follow a trail for a mile or so and find yourself in a neighboring village. To get anywhere else, you go by boat. All along the pathways are mango trees and banana plants. The Mountain Apple tree was drooping with fruit. Our little room was just perfect for us. We have shared some nice 5 star resorts with you…this was not one of them. A simple room, two beds, a bathroom with a big bucket to flush the toilet with and a nice porch. The giant (like three inches across) spider Heidi found next to the toilet didn’t even faze her. Is she getting tough or what???

I took four open water dives on Tioman in order to complete my scuba certification. I think I was born to be underwater. To be able to stay underwater and not come up for air for up to an hour is pure heaven. All you hear are your bubbles. The rays of sunlight filter down. The reef so full of life…and you can hover and just watch. A wise looking green turtle, swam right up to me, less than 6 inches away and just looked at me…spectacular!!! It is hard to smile when you have a regulator in your mouth but you can’t help it when you watch the clown fish. I sat and watched this gorgeous Tomato Clown Fish dart in and out of this brilliant orange anemone found only in Malaysia. I dare anyone not to smile when watching clown fish. The blue spotted sting rays were everywhere. I watched one glide up this long, narrow channel in the coral, just effortless. The fish don’t seem to be frightened..they swim all around you. I think my favorite sighting was this amazing juvenile bat fish. Bizarre and beautiful. A whole new world has been opened for me. I spent almost 4 hours underwater, went down 10 meters, successfully completed all my skill tests, and now I can seek out reefs around the world. WOW. Two teachers at our school are PADI instructors and they are simply the very best. I think over 60% of our staff have been certified by them. So unselfish and just get a kick out of introducing this watery world to all of us.

The evening brought cheesy pizza, chicken wings, cold drinks, and their famous fries covered with pizza sauce and mozzarella cheese. You watch the sun set and the stars appear. Good company, great food, amazing diving, more memories.

Our first year in Malaysia is coming to a close. And just like at home, the last couple months are a cacophony of activity. Evaluations to finish, classes to set up for next year, end of year grades, summer works schedule to finalize, end of year classroom and school events . . . so much to do and not enough time. Sound familiar??

One of the hardest things at International Schools is saying goodbye. We have ten faculty members at our elementary school leaving at the end of the year. One has been here 10 years, another 8, five here for 6 years. You get to know these people, they become part of your “family”. You shared good times and hard times . . . babies born/adopted, marriage unions, trips together, after school functions. . . and then off they go to another posting or retirement in another country. One is headed to Johannesburg, South Africa, another to New Dehli, India, a third to London, England. Three coming home to Canada. Four returning to the USA.

It’s a hard time for our kids, a good fifth of our population will take off to other parts of the world. It is really hard on the kids, the ones staying as well as those leaving. Having your best friend in the whole wide world take off, perhaps never to see again, is very trying on our students. The leavers leave behind a culture they just acclimated to, goodbye to the maid or au pair who were like a parent to them, goodbye to pets, to a school they loved and all their teachers (and principal), and they may go to a completely different environment, all unknown. We see behaviors erupt that we never saw before. Emotional roller coasters all over the place. The end of the school year. An interesting study.

Yesterday Heidi and I were walking on the overhead walkway between two large malls when all of a sudden the walkway ahead of us was closed. The otherwise bustling street below was devoid of all cars and pedestrians. And then about twenty or more police motorcycle zipped by followed by police cars and SWAT vehicles and then the limos. In one of them was Barrack Obama. The closest we have ever been to the President !!! Shortly after the walkway opened up and street below was immediately filled again with cars a honking and jostling for position….back to normal.

Our Head of School was able to attend a special function with Barrack, the King of Malaysia and the Prime Minister . . . pretty heady stuff. The elementary principal did not receive an invitation.

Went to dinner at one of our new favorite spots. It’s called La Boca, a latin restaurant specializing in Argentine beef. Soooo good, so tender you can cut it with a fork. The fajitas are spectacular. We sat next to this lovely Malaysian family. The kids were in a band called Saturday Afternoon. While they performed we struck up a conversation with the mom. Lovely, lovely lady. She was a librarian and now just volunteers storytelling tales from the Koran. We exchanged phone numbers and have been invited to her next Hari Raya celebration. It is nice to have some local friends.

Just finished my last pool session for my scuba class. Next week Heidi and I are heading for Tioman Island. I’ll get to take in four dives in the clear, warm waters around the island. Hopefully will complete all the necessary skills to finish my certification, and after that I’ll have a whole new world to explore. Heidi will get some beach and book time. She is looking forward to it. We’ll post again after our island time.

We hang tight to the little threads of contact to home . . . phone calls, e-mails, Facebook, comments on our blog . . . threads stretched half-way around the world. But when our kids came to visit, when our friends came to visit, when the children of our friends came to visit, it was like those threads were all pulled back into a spool and we were pulled closer to home. In two shorts months we will back in Wenatchee for a bit . . . and then we will have the threads connecting us to our friends here in Malaysia stretched again half way round the world. Such is life.

Here are some images of our recent visit with our dear friends; Kathy, Kim, and Cindi

Balinese Dance
Balinese dance if very traditional, angular, and expressive. The girls all seem to have these lovely large eyes that dart back and forth. Their arms, hands and fingers are forever at odd angles, quickly moving from one position to the next. Quick movement, hold position, flit eyes back and forth, quick movement…on and on. Costumes extremely colorful, head pieces elaborate. The Gamelon music to our Western ears tended to be a bit monotonous, but unique to this area.

Youtube video of part of the dance we watched. Dance starts part way through.

Ogoh-Ogoh
The Ogoh-ogoh are statues demons built to help in the purification of the island. Each year there is a parade of these statues through the streets around Bali. After they have been paraded about town, they are burned to ashes. We left the island one day before the Ngrupuk parade, but were able to see the demons about town as they were being prepared for the journey about town. All the statues are placed atop a bamboo grid and will be lifted upon the shoulders of 8 to 12 men.

More food and drinks

More Flowers

Various pics of the visit by Kathy, Kim, and Cindi

Bob’s Version:
Bali again, the island that blends spectacular mountain scenery and beautiful beaches with warm, friendly people, vibrant culture, and feelings of contentment. Kim, Kathy, Cindi took leave of Kuala Lumpur for five days on Bali with Heidi and me. Instead of fighting the crowds of Kuta and Sanur Beach or the art scene in Ubud, we headed to the north of the island to a tiny village near Singaraja for a stay at Villa Manuk.
See here: Villa Manuk

We were met at the airport by our driver, DeWa, loaded our luggage into a separate car, piled into the van, made a quick stop in Denpasar to exchange money, and we were off. DeWa took us the scenic route, by-passing Ubud, skirting the rice terraces, and stopped for a pit stop high above the huge Mt. Batur caldera at about 1,500m above sea level. Dramatic views here of the active Mount Batur volcano and serene Lake Batur. Simply spectacular!!!

The girls all needed to use the restrooms. Okay, not as clean as you might hope, but really, is a feces smeared toilet reason to put a damper on such a trip? I think not, but the jovial chatter that was abundant at the beginning of the journey somehow became terse. I’m guessing it might have been the toilet, or perhaps the narrow, narrow winding roads, or maybe the 3 hours on the road, not really sure but onward we trek!!!! Only two more hours and all will be forgotten. Down we go, hairpin curves, tea groves, little homes clinging to cliffs, villages, deep jungle, views of the ocean . . . time to soak in the views, to gather images on the emmulsion sheets of our minds . . . making memories to be sure. Finally we ventured into the tiny village of Desa Bebatin. Streets wide enough for only one car, children running barefoot, clothes hanging to dry, stands selling durian and rambutan, chickens daring you to pass.

We stop in front of a narrow alley, push our bags over cobbled stones, through a rustic gate and into a little bit of paradise. Only four rooms at Villa Manuk, each one unique. No air conditioning – it’s cooler up here. Beds are enveloped with mosquito netting. Bathrooms are half indoors/half open air. Porches with views of the rice fields and mountains. Natural spring-fed swimming pool between the buildings, outdoor dining facility and a small “spa” area. The grounds behind include fruit trees, a working garden, a turtle pond and even several durian trees.

The owners own a restaurant in Singaraya and bring up the dishes for our meals. Delicious, washed down with wine. Early the next morning, just as the sun rose, I went walking along the road. I stopped and helped a farmer weed his rice paddy (just had to get my feet muddy) He thought I was quite funny. Watched another man climb a palm tree to cut down some young fronds. Stopped by an elementary school just as it was starting. Everyone eating breakfast out of wooden bowls, dressed in their uniforms. They all practiced their English on me. “Hello Mister” “Good Morning Mister” “You have any money?” “Goodbye, goodbye” I think I could stay here forever, buy a little place and just melt into the village life.

Heidi, Cindi, Kim, and Kathy’s Version
Are we there yet?

One of the highlights of our trip to KL was the chance to visit the exotic island of Bali. “It’ll be great,” Bob told us, “I picked a highly recommended place to stay, only an hour and a half from the airport.” Imagine our surprise when we asked our driver how long it would take to get to Villa Manuk, and he replied, only 3 hours.

Our road trip began on a narrow, windy Bali street with motorcycles zipping in and out between the cars. We soon learned the Bali signal for here I come…a gentle beep of the horn was all it took to warn drivers we were passing by. We think the “Bali Beep” will come in handy when we get home. Entertainment along the way consisted of counting the number of people a motorcycle could hold, and judging the creativity, variety, and enormity of items one is able to carry on a motor scooter. Did you know that five people or one kitchen can fit on the back of a bike?

Three and a half hours later, the entertainment factor was waning.Our driver stopped at the top, and we mean top, of the mountain to see the breathtaking view, use the tanda, and grab some snacks. Cindi and Heidi had to make two attempts completing their bathroom mission. Heidi, desperate as usual, covered her nose and forged ahead. Cindi retreated and had to wait for the snack stop in hopes of finding a cleaner restroom down the road. And on we went, because what goes up must come down. We began our descent down the mountain, through the terraced rice fields, and past small villages. Cindi and Kim’s faces became greener, due to lack of cool air and being thrown side-to-side in the back seat of the swaying van. As the countryside became more remote, our facial expressions began to show concern. “Just where is this place?” We asked as Bob maintained his stoic composure. We thought he was avoiding our questions as he chatted away with our driver. Four hours had passed when the Villa’s owner began a series of phone calls, wondering where we were and if we wanted dinner when we arrived. We ordered our meals in hope that we must be getting close.

Finally, we turned off a nice blacktop road and in a matter of minutes we encountered a rain forest, rice fields, and primitive villages. The roads became narrower, steeper, and rougher right before we entered an even more primitive village. We all laughed when Kim exclaimed, “Now this is what a Bali village in the movie Eat, Pray, Love looks like.” A few meters later, the van stopped in the middle of a dirt road and the driver said,”Here we are.”

We looked at each other with concern, glanced at the small houses by the Villa Manuk sign, turned back to the driver and said, “Where?” He pointed toward the narrow, grassy path between the two houses. We started down the path, past the chicken in a basket, beyond a homemade shrine, and opened a creaky metal gate which led to our final destination, Villa Manuk.

Our first impression of our rooms left much to be desired. Bob was apologetic and very patient with four women who were extremely hot, tired, and hungry.With a nice glass of wine, and a little time to cool off, we were able to see the rustic charm of the Villa. Soon we became enchanted by the quaint rooms, the unique open air bathrooms,the delicious food, and the warmth of the staff. Exploring the surrounding fields and the lush, green hilltops, we witnessed Bali life, including men hand-building a rock wall and a woman washing her family’s laundry in a nearby stream. In the end, we feel blessed to have experienced the unspoiled beauty of the authentic Balinese culture. Good job, Bob, and thanks for the memories!
(written collaboratively by Kim, Kathy, Cindi and Heidi)

So lucky we are . . . to have such wonderful children. Three of our kids were able visit us and stayed for 10 days. Not nearly enough but it filled our “buckets” for a bit. We asked the kids before they left what they liked the best about their visit.

Jeremy – It was Jalan Alor. Part of the reason is at first there was this uncomfortableness with the entire area, but little by little it grew on me until it became amazing. Loved the Chicken Fish, the cold Tiger Beer, the “craziness” of the place, trying Durian, the energy. Simply amazing.

Amanda – The drive across Malaysia to Tanjong Jara resort. Seeing the sights, being crammed into a car with loved ones to talk and talk, to laugh at the monkeys, to laugh at finding the right “power station”, to watch Bob run three red lights, to ignore “tired butt”, to drive down the Genting Highlands in the dark not knowing what we would find around the next corner, eating at the “Black McDonalds”.

Jamie – Two things
1. The food – all the dishes that Chef Anne kept throwing at us, trying Durian and actually liking it, purple Dragon Fruit, mangos, La Mexicana, fries and bacon at Brussels, and numerous alcoholic beverages.
2. Feeling different – so many cultures, different ethnicities, VERY few Americans. It felt nice to just blend in with everyone from all over the world

And for Heidi and Bob . . . well, that is easy. Having time with our kids, sharing this corner of the world, hugs, laughter, talks, making memories. PRICELESS !!!!

Each day for the past few months Heidi and I would wake up and say, “Only x more days til the kids come.” So far away it didn’t feel real . . . but as the numbers crept into single digits the excitement grew, and then the last week time seemed to slow down. Why is it that happens???

We got to the airport a good hour early and just waited at the arrival hall . . . tears of happiness filled our eyes when they finally crossed into view. We were so proud of them . . . they fearlessly navigated all the international airports, the changes of planes, finding their way, sitting on those “luxurious” airline seats for 20 plus hours. They were exhausted but we still peppered them with questions, caught up on news and grabbed a bunch of laughs on our hour long drive to our home.

Tanjong Jara Resort
Woke the kids up bright and early the next morning, grabbed a quick bite to eat, piled into the Waga (sardine-like) and took off on our five hour drive across Malaysia and up the Eastern Coastline to Tanjon Jara Resort. (see here for website: http://www.tanjongjararesort.com )

Driving across Malaysia was a hoot. So fun to hear the kids reactions to the acres and acres of palm orchards, to the wonderful well maintained highways (surprise, surprise), the crazy drivers, the beautiful scenery. When the E-8 cross-country highway ended in construction, we decided to ignore Daniel, our British GPS voice. Of course we got a bit “disoriented” but in doing so the kids got their first view of monkeys. “Look!!! Look!!! A family of monkeys!!! Oh, the little one is riding on the momma monkey’s back. Look how they hop about . . . so cute. Oh, look at those monkeys . . . they are, uh, they are, uh, fornicating”. Oh those monkeys, you never know what they will do next!!!!

Made our way back to the highway and about two hours later, our backsides all but numb, we pulled into Tanjong Jara Resort. We were welcomed with a GONG and brought into the reception area, served delicious, ice-cold rose infused tea. Our bags were taken to room 401 and 402 . . . a cottage with two adjoining rooms with an amazing view of the South China Sea. Tanjong Jara is a YTL resort, a sister resort to the one Heidi and I stayed in last July, Pangkor Laut. This one is smaller and has a more Malaysian feel. For the next four days we ate too much, rested, slept in, swam in the pool, and just made memories. Heidi, Jamie and Amanda all had a relaxing Malaysian massage. Jamie’s first ever!!!! Jeremy and I went for a snorkel trip to Tengol Island. It is a good 45 minute motor boat ride to the island and we snorkeled to our heart’s content. Wonderful coral, black tip reef sharks, clown fish, porcupine fish, barracuda . . . Tengol is that perfect little island you dream about. Back at Tanjong Jara we also took a batik lesson, a LOT harder than it looks. And I don’t care how many laughs we get, I’m framing them and placing them on the wall !!!

The food was spectacular. Chef Ann took us under her wings and brought out dish after dish for us to sample. Jeremy commented, “This was the best meal I have ever had in my life.” (What does that say about Heidi’s cooking all those years????)

Five people crammed into a Waja, Four days at Tanjong Jara Resort, three kids in Malaysia all the way from the states, two parents in heaven, one happy family.

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.

I was born in the year of the horse, the wooden horse. I am suppose to be strong and energetic and fond of adventure and travel. Horses are the nomads of the Chinese zodiac.

Heidi, was born in the Year of the Water Tiger. Water Tigers communicate very well with others and through their vast range of capabilities and convincing nature will usually achieve what they want in life. The Tiger is a natural born leader and can rise to the top of their workplace. The understanding Water Tiger has a firm interest in helping others and subsequently may take to a humanitarian career. In this sense, the Water Tiger does well in teaching or counseling.

Tigers and Horses are very compatible and make good partners!!!

Rather uncanny, if you believe in astrology.

What I do know is how amazing my wife is. Even with a most demanding job, she put together a birthday I will always remember. This wooden horse turned 60…ouch!!! And for this sixth decade celebration, Heidi treated me to a most wonderful weekend in Malaka. If you have been reading this blog, you’ll remember the trip I took with the fifth graders to Melaka…fun that may have been, this trip was soooooo much better. We stayed at the Casa Del Rio…a wonderful resort right on the river and next to the old town. This is a place to go if you want to be pampered (which we do) and have time to yourself. When you drive up, your bags are whisked away to your room, car parked for you, you are seated on cushioned chairs and served iced lemon-ginger ice cream. The room was spacious with a balcony overlooking the Melaka River. Turn down each night brought a special dessert and one night a room filled with roses and rose petals. We had a candlelit dinner served on our balcony…Australian Angus ribeye steak, roasted vegetables, Caesar salad, and passionfruit parfait for dessert…and a bottle of Merlot. At breakfast, seated outside, we were serenaded by the entire kitchen staff and served a dessert of chocolate swirled cheesecake. Our couples massage was “professionally” completed…no Bangkok suggestions here!!! The pool is on the rooftop and is one of those infinity style pools where you look out toward the Straits of Malacca. Happy hour mojitos were delicious. They even washed our car for us for our return trip home to KL

We toured the town, enjoyed the night market on Jonker Street, ate a Geographers Cafe and enjoyed its funky, laidback atmosphere, and took the boat up and down the Malacca River. And, I got a Malacca Hard Rock Cafe pin !!!

When we returned to KL, I spent the day getting ready for my trip to the Boston Career Fair. Heidi suggested we go out to eat…both of us too tired to want to cook. So off we went to La Mexicana. On the way I told Heidi how much I appreciated what she did for my “big birthday” and thanked her for not putting together a big gathering. We then walked into La Mexicana and there were all our co-workers there to celebrate my birthday….I surely spoke too soon !!!

A day to remember. A day to thank my lucky stars for the amazing woman I am lucky enough to call my wife. Turning 60 was actually hard for me. I know I am on the downward slope of life, my body tells me that regularly. I have hair growing where I don’t want them, pains in every joint, and my arms are too short to read the newspaper. On the drive back from Melaka, Heidi and I talked about our lives…about our family, how blessed we are with five amazing children and seven, yes SEVEN grandchildren, each one unique and oh so beautiful. We talked of our friends, new and old, each one a treasure. We talked about our chosen careers, of how we do make a difference in this world, we “affect eternity”. And we talked how much more we still have to do, how much more we still have to give. I’m ready to march on, ready for new challenges, treasuring every moment I have with family and friends and hopefully making a difference in the lives of others.

Bangkok is big. New York big. Bigger.
You could live here for years and not see all of it. My goal is to try and see a bit more of the city each time I come. This time here for two recruiting fairs.

Finally visited the Bangkok Hard Rock Cafe…I always need a pin. I did a little trading with the waitresses and in addition to my Bangkok guitar pin, I snagged ones from Venice, Stockholm, and Moscow. SCORE !!!!

From the HRC we wandered over to Soi 11. Parked up and down this street were volkswagon vans all converted into bars…some quite elaborate. Sometime after the sun sets, the vans begin to arrive on the street. They park next to the curb and set up. Everything is jammed into these van….Chairs, tables, table cloths, music boxes, lights…crammed to the gills they are. Once the chairs and tables are set up on the sidewalk, transformer-like the vans become bars….the tops lift up, the walls flip down to make counters, the bottles of alcohol are proudly displayed, music cranked up, lights turned on…they are ready for business. You pull up a chair, order a drink . . . no need to worry about a dress code or cover charge. Fun atmosphere to just sit, sip, chat, and people watch.
Nice thing about these bars…if it starts to get rowdy, they just pack up and move somewhere else.

Whenever we hire someone at the recruiting fairs, we always try to take them to dinner. We hired a lovely couple, middle school PE and Humanities, and went to The Blue Elephant Restaurant and Cooking School. This restaurant is in a century old building and you feel like you have traveled back in time . . .back to the colonial period. The restaurant specializes in authentic Thai cuisine. In order to sample as much as possible we ordered the Royal Thai Symphony Menu and the Royal Thai Banquet Menu . . . this gave us samplings of most of the main courses….Phad Thai with crab, Crab Curry with Betel Leaves, Pomelo Salad, Tom Yan Koong (A spicy and sour soup with tiger prawns and eryngii mushrooms), Tamarind Duck, Panaeng Nua (a rich red curry), on and on and on until our stomachs were about to burst. And then came desert. I was working my way through the samplers and saved the cheesecake for last. For those of you who know me as Cheesecake Bob, you know I had to make a comparison to my own creations. So, there it was, the very best for last, the cheesecake, perfectly cooked, an off-white, creamy texture sitting on top of that wonderful graham cracker crust. All were watching as my trembling hands guided this wonder of desserts toward my now salivating mouth. I bit down and began chewing. I expected mango flavor, perhaps lychee or vanilla. You can imagine the look on my face when I discovered it was Durian Cheesecake. I had to swallow, all were looking, or should I say laughing. Note to all: placing Durian into other food forms does not change the taste.

When the recruiting was done for the day and our plan for the next day solidified, dinner and touring complete, we went for massages to tend to our weary muscles. There is a plethora of massage places to choose from. Walk along any street and they will be there. Many are reputable. Cost usually about $20.00 USD for an hour and a half massage (Thai, oil, aromatic) At one place my masseuse asked where my wife was. I told her at home in Kuala Lumpur. She then asked if I also had a Thai wife in Bangkok. Thought that was kinda funny. At another place, one we had been told was very reputable, part-way through the massage I was asked if I wanted a certain part of my anatomy massaged, I think you can guess the part I’m talking about. I politely declined. I’m glad she asked and didn’t just assume . . .wonder what “Reputable” meant to our recommender??? Hmmm. I am not including any pictures of the massages . . . camera left in the locker.

Recruiting
The majority of our hiring is done at the large recruiting fairs held around the globe. Our school attends the SEARCH fairs in Melbourne, Australia, in Bangkok, Thailand, Cambridge, Massachusetts, and San Francisco. We also attend the ISS Fairs in Bangkok and in Boston (San Francisco in odd years) We have been talking about attending the London Fairs and a large one in Iowa. . . we’ll make that decision later this year. While we are doing an increased amount of Skype interviewing, there is nothing like a face to face meeting.

These fairs are pressure cookers . . . for the candidates and recruiters both. The candidates are all without jobs. In the International World contracts are signed by December. If you are leaving then no contract is offered. So the candidates coming to the fair are counting on getting offers, hopefully to favorable locations. I think them very brave. The recruiters are all vying for the same top candidates, in essence competing against each other all during the day. Then at night over a beer we compare wins and losses.

After the registration day comes the large sign-up day. The ballroom of the hotel is set up by country with the schools from that country set up behind tables. Large signs noting the name of the school and the listing of openings are placed on the walls behind the tables. At the designated hour the doors are opened and in they come. At Bangkok it was over 500 teachers all rushing to the school of their choice trying to snag an interview appointment. Ahead of time, the recruiters sent invitations to their top choices requesting them to come to the table to sign up for an interview time. This process takes 1 to 2 hours. The rest of the day and the next two are filled with interviews, second interviews, and hopefully offers. Some candidates get multiple offers. They are usually given 24 hours to decide.

It is truly a dance. . . the recruiters and candidates moving across the dance floor. . . sometimes you don’t know who’s leading. In the end, you win some, you lose some. You lick your wounds and move onto the next fair. We hired one in Melbourne and 6 in Bangkok. Hoping to complete the rest in Boston. We take the hired candidates to dinner, get to know them better, answer questions, and toast to our success.

Stressful, tiring, sometimes frustrating, rewarding!!!!

Next year in Bangkok I hope to get to some of the markets, perhaps try a scorpion and grasshopper, tour the Grand Palace, and perhaps have some shirts or a suit made.

Til then I’ll leave you with a description of Bangkok . . . from the Musical CHESS, Murray Head and the song, One Night in Bangkok

One night in Bangkok and the world’s your oyster
The bars are temples but the pearls ain’t free
You’ll find a God in every golden cloister
A little flesh, a little history
I can feel an angel slidin’ up to me

One night in Bangkok makes a hard man humble
Not much between despair and ecstasy
One night in Bangkok and the tough guys tumble
Can’t be too careful with your company
I can feel the Devil walking next to me