Crazy, spontaneous, free spirit traveling the world. Not settling for good when I can have great. Stay hungry, Stay foolish.
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I really hate waking up early when I HAVE to. The other morning I was called at 3 a.m. to work at 6:05 flight . I hopped up and got dressed feeling super annoyed. I got to work an hour and a half later and loaded the plane. There were some empty seats in first class and the flight was long so I sat down and looked out the window . I don’t really get to do that often so it was nice. The views were amazing and it reminded me how lucky I am to get to see them. So the perks of being a flight attendant aren’t so bad!
So if you haven’t been made aware of it yet . The whole state of West Virginia has been on strike for 8 days this Monday . This strike has made history due to the fact that all 55 counties in the state have stuck together and closed every school. This strike is not only about teachers, but public employees also. That includes cooks, bus drivers , aides, and service personnel. It’s takes a lot of people to make a school run well and without one part it’s not possible to have it fully functioning.
I’ve been doing a lot of thinking while not getting called to sub here recently. Thoughts just run like a wild fire through my head at times. While teaching abroad I met a ton of different people. I’m still friends with some and others were just acquaintances.
There was this girl I introduced myself to and told her I’m from West Virginia . When you tell people your from West Virginia you usually get one of three responses.
1.) Where is that?!
2. Oh yeah, Virginia! I know where that is! 🙄
3. Oh yeah, *insert singing here* Country Roads Take Me Home!
She responded with “When I think of West Virginia I think poor and uneducated.”
I was dumbfounded by her response to say the least and highly offended! I was so shocked by what she said I couldn’t find the right words to respond.
Instead I asked her where she was from and she said Kansas. And went of to tell me she was voted most likely to not leave her bubble in high school and so on. While I seemed to tune the rest out I couldn’t stop thinking about what she had said to me.
I grew up in a low income family, but it seems I never really noticed that I didn’t have much until I got older . But for that to be someones first impression of my State was unbelievable.
If you know me and know me well you know that I would give you the shirt off my back if you liked it. I’d go out of the way to try to help you. I’d offer you anything from my house just as if it were your own. I’ll give you my honest opinion and be a listening ear when you need one.
The thing is I’m not the only person that has these characteristics. If you ever come to West Virginia you will quickly see that anyone would go out of their way to help you if needed . People come together in times of need, and people work hard … Really hard to make a living.
I was offended when I heard her thoughts on West Virginia , but it made me realize how proud I am of the people in my State, and how hard people work to get what they want. I won’t lie her comment did make me really sad at first. I’d go out with friends and we would be drinking. Out of the blue her words would come back to me and make me really upset because regardless of where people are from no one wants to hear that.
I moved to West Virginia when I was 5 years old. As I got older I like many others wondered why we moved to West Virginia in the first place . My grandpa always told me it was a safe place and the people were some of the nicest you’d ever come by. It’s sad to say I had to leave before I realized that this was true.
I was so naive when I left West Virginia . I’d wave, smile, and say hello to people just passing by and they would look at me like I was a total weirdo . People I walked with would ask me if I knew that person I was saying hello to. Apparently that’s not really a thing in other places .
So back to this strike . I’m so proud of the teachers in West Virginia . Not only for standing up for what they want but doing it with class. We have not had school in 8 days . During the state wide work stoppage these last 8 days there hasn’t been any injuries. There are no threats being made . People in the community, Churches, and Teachers themselves have came together to still be able to feed students breakfast and lunch. The Churches have volunteered to watch students who’s parents still have to work or so parents can picket. Some students if not most of the Teachers kids have been on the picket line as well.
Some people will argue that the days are being wasted by not having school. I will beg to differ. A day is not wasted as long as you don’t make it that way. Go to the library, read a book, go to the park, work on some math, go on a trip. A child can learn from anything you do . You may surprised what you may learn in this free time as well. If you haven’t heard about the strike please check out the following links below.
The state wide work stoppage has gained a tremendous amount of attention from the media and public so far . Our Governor Jim Justice proposed a 1% for the next five years raise when teachers brought this up to begin with . That paltry amount won’t even be noticed on a pay check ! That jumped to 2% when teachers disagreed . Then he wanted to give teachers a 5% raise and service personnel 3% . Then this statement was issued from WVEA . Saying that the 5% should be for both teachers and service personnel and it’s not right to take from one to give to the other. It’s sad that we do have to fight against this .
Like I said before and I’ll say it again . I am so proud of the teachers for standing up for what they believe in. I am proud of the parents and service personnel. I’m proud of the support. I hope that we are able to see some change in the coming days. I know the teachers are willing to fight for it.
I know that I wouldn’t be where I am today if it hadn’t been for teachers along the way. Think about it you are in school for most of your life in school. At least 17 years if you go on to get a Bachelors degree. You spend 8 hours a day in school with your teachers up until 12th grade. How can you say that they have no impact on your life ? Teachers are the ones who help mold you into productive human beings. They help you find yourself . They are more than teachers in so many ways. I’m so thankful I had someone stand up and guide me along the way.
Even though our state may have some of the lowest incomes . I’m proud to be from such a place. A place that cares for their own people when the going gets tough. A place that comes together in unity when trying to improves their lives and the lives of others. A place that welcomes others. A place that has made history for such beautiful scenery. A place where people want better for themselves and will work hard to get that. I’m so proud to be a Mountaineer! I’m proud to be from West Virginia no matter what other people say!
If you ever get the chance to visit Seneca Rocks in West Virginia I’d highly recommend it. This is one of the most relaxed places to go and camp or stay in their cabins. This time we stayed in one of Yoyums TP tents. For 26.00 you can’t beat the price . The Tp was 12×12 ! It also had electrical outlets and a fan inside. I would definitely do it again.
This was the view from our tp in the morning .
We also rode horses to the top of the rocks. It’s really a great experience! We got off the horses at the top and had about 15 min to take photos .
If you ever get the chance go relax at Seneca . It’s one of my favorite little get aways.
You can go on living your life and move on from fear
but the words that scarred will always be near.
We live in a society that always moves on.
People doubt what makes us tick
but little do they know the heart is drowning by a flick, flick, flick.
Damaged hearts will always be worn, some may even be scorn.
Some may say the damage makes you stronger
but what would they know, because the heart will always ponder.
Ponder the things that it’s faced, because they are things that are untraced.
You may be thinking this is all very somber.
Yes that is true, but does it not make you wonder?
Wonder how people carry burdens so freely?
How do they determine how life will be;
once they are free and no longer drowning in the sea?
Why do we pass each other so carelessly?
Maybe it’s because of uncertainty.
Regardless of how your heart may be
everyone hopes for sort of normality.
Actually there are a ton of people who are abnormal
some just try to act formal.
Internally it’s all a different game. Some may feel shame.
Some may look for others to blame.
The heart is simply amazing.
Like a rapid forest fire spreading
you run and you run to get away.
Some parts turn grey while other parts fray.
But no matter where you go those wounds will always stay.
Wounds heal and usually leave a scar.
The scar makes a story that can be shared with those who look from a-far.
Your story can make a difference and make others perspectives a little more a-jar.
The heart is truly amazing.
There is still a fire that’s blazing.
Blazing and burning for something more.
Keep your head held high, and ignore the carnivores that try to eat you alive.
The harsh words and actions that may come out;
are often a defense mechanism to survive.
These repressed feelings are something you can’t ignore.
Go on now, the crowd is screaming encore.
Below are some photos that make my heart beat a little more.
My friend Lyndel is a part of a Non Profit Organization called Football For The World Foundation. They hold camps all over the world to To improve the quality of life of children through the game of football. Football For The World Page
Lyndel was able to get over 40 pairs of football boots,jerseys, balls, and vest donated and sent to Korea so she could hold a camp. I was fortunate enough to be able to help with the camp this time.
During the camp we did drills and games with the students.
They had a great time and at the end all the supplies that were donated to use for the camp were gave to the students to keep. It was a great day.
This was a stand when we arrived in the Philippines. This lady makes skewers of chicken and pork to sell for less than a dollar. She was so kind and welcoming.
This was the view from our hostel. I was amazed that we were so close to the beach. It was beautiful.
These were some scallops we ordered. I had tried scallops before and never liked them that much. I’m proud I gave them another chance, because they were absolutely delicious.
This was right before the sun came up. There has been a storm the night before but I liked the shadow effect it left.
The day cleared up and we did an island tour. It was breathtaking.
My travel buddy Alana! Grateful we could share this experience together.
This fella gave both of us a ride with our bags.. I would imagine we weren’t the lightest of the bunch. He did this each day for his wages. It made me appreciate him even more.
This was a flower outside of a resort we went to visit. Just up the road was the gate to the exit and outside that exit was a lot of poverty. I would like to think that those who face such extreme conditions can still find beauty in the little things.
This is my little sister Mikki. She went fishing and sent me this picture of her first fish. It made my heart smile.
My heart beats with scars on it, but thankfully I can still see the beauty in all the madness.
Your heart beats the same as mine. Give someone a little bit of your time.
I was recently introduced to the term floaters… and I don’t mean in terms of turds floating in the toilet..
In between leaving Korea the first time and coming back the second time a lot has changed. In change I mean with people. It’s not really even Korea itself…well besides a couple of coffee shops, hotels, and restaurants.
I think I have grown a lot since the first time I was here. I look at things a little more logically. I don’t mind not staying out all night, and I cherish getting enough sleep haha… well saying that it seems like I am a granny…
So I am back now and teaching P.E. this time. The school provided me with a very nice apartment. I have upgraded since the last apartment.
I’ll have to work on making that more homey…but for now this is my “home”
Back to the floaters…
float·er
ˈflōtər/Submit
noun
plural noun: floaters
1.
a person or thing that floats, in particular.
This was new terminology to my ears.. these are people who just skip from group to group..I also heard they are called chameleons because they transform into whatever group they hang with.
I don’t think I noticed people doing this as much when I was here before, because I came here knowing no one and then I made all kinds of new friends. I can relate to this term the most when I went home after being away for a long time.Now that I am back in Korea again it’s like hindsight is 20/20 ….just like in all situations you go through.
Anyways I think the point of this is that people are just weird.. and I am not sure if I should care of just keep going on with my life.
I hate the way that life goes on no matter what happens. No one stops for you. You don’t stop for anyone. Life goes on. It’s sad. I like checking on people. That’s became a rarity anymore though. Not for me, but just in general… our society and it makes me sad.
Then again I can’t expect others to be like me.
But these floaters …they just come in your life and then stay for a while and maybe they will leave after a while…and then after time goes by its like you never knew those people before.. hell for all I know people could see me this way.. I hope not but you never know.
I try to stay in touch with people, but sometimes it just gets draining. These days I don’t mind my quiet time and reading a book. I love pen pals and snail mail. So I have found a different way to keep in touch with people.
But the floaters like I said sometimes they stay sometimes they go … So do I make an effort to keep them around or do I just say fuck it? I hate to think that people aren’t worth my time, but then again if it’s going be that mentally draining then maybe it’s not worth it. I JUST DON’T KNOW. It messes with my head just thinking about it honestly… then again maybe I am just over thinking like I do a lot of time.
Has this ever happened to you ? If so how does one take on this situation.
These young boys were sitting along the road with three bottles of eels that they had caught.
While in Vietnam I planned a trip to go trekking in Sapa. I had been hiking before, but this was like no other experience I have ever had in my life. It was simply breath-taking. My tour guide was Son. She was a small but cheerful woman filled with all kinds of knowledge. I was lucky to have her as my guide. While hiking, trekking up hillsides, and tip toeing through rice terraces we had a lot of meaningful conversations.
Son has a family with five children and husband. Her kids attend school and her husband goes to the hospital twice a week for his kidneys. She has been doing these hiking tours for the last five years. While doing these tours her wages have changed since she started but not by much. Son gets paid 7 dollars per trekking tour. These tours can rage from a day to 3 days, and I’m sure longer if planned ahead. When Son first started doing tours she didn’t get paid and she couldn’t speak any English. She learned to speak English from all the people she has met by doing the tours and practicing conversation. She still can not read or write.
Haha.. Can we make it across??
Why yes we can!
Son has never left Sapa. She has lived and stayed there her whole life. Can you imagine never leaving your home town? She said she loves her job no matter how much she gets paid. Each person that did this tour paid through a hotel or agency. The cost was anywhere between 50-75 per person. Son gets $7.00 per tour she does no matter what the group size is. These tours aren’t exactly what I would call a walk in the park. I am young and able to do this and it was difficult for me. We trekked 26 kilo or 16 miles in the matter of 2 days. Most of the time Son was way ahead of us and hopping and skipping over the hillsides. She was such a strong woman physically and mentally.
Son took good care of everyone in her group with an honest heart. She had no secret intentions to get us to buy things. She warned us not to buy things from the kids selling bags and bracelets along the way because they weren’t in school, and they should be. Instead they were out trying to make money for their family off of all the tourist that were passing through the mountains.
We stayed overnight at a homestay that consisted of a family style dinner with rice wine…a little too much. I really think the group I was with was something special. I have been traveling and working abroad since last September and I have never felt so accepted and welcomed by such a variety of people in my journey alone. Being the only American with a mild twang … well you know how that goes .. haha. We had people from Israel, Australia, Germany, Mexico, Norway, Belgium and France. Everyone was so open and we shared a lot of stories along with personal experiences. So thanks to everyone who made me feel so welcome and happy. Our homestay was cozy and we each had our own mattress on the floor.
Son bought us ice cream once we were close to our homestay. We were grateful.
Over lunch the next day a couple of boys asked me if I was staying longer and I said no I had to be back for my flight. Son quickly spoke up and said “If she was staying I would invite her to stay with me.!” She then proceeded to tell me that if I did a “real” local homestay things would be different. We wouldn’t have wi-fi. I would sleep downstairs and the family would sleep upstairs. Theres a bathroom and shower but they both were outside of the house. If you want warm water you must heat it over the open fire. If I ever go back to Sapa or if you ever to Sapa. I would recommend just getting the over night bus or train and then planning a local stay once you get there. The money will go directly to them and it will be a great experience with the locals. Her name is Sung Sapa on Facebook or get ahold of me and I can get in contact with her. I couldn’t recommend the trip any more. It was my favorite thing that I have done during my travels and I wish I could have stayed longer.
It was clear that Son has overcome a lot. I’m sure that there is more to her story that I haven’t heard. Regardless she has left a huge impact on me already.
She walked up beside me while I was talking to a student and said “hello” I quickly replied “Hello, how are you?” Her response like so many other people when asked was “I’m fine, thank you and you?” I said I was doing well.
I finished my conversation with my student and went over and sat down beside her. I asked her if she spoke English and she said “Verrrrrry little bit!” We got to talking and she told me her nick name was p Toy. I asked her if she had been to see the students art display she said “No I have to finish work.”
She does three different jobs at the school including washing the dishes after breakfast ,lunch, and dinner, cleaning the toilets, and working with the students to help them set up for different events.
She began to open up and thanked me for taking the time to talk with her. She always wanted to speak English, but was scared. It turns out she speaks pretty well and it was easy to understand!
P’Toy had previously been married and lived in Australia and her Ex husband treated her more like a maid than a wife constantly screaming to make him something to eat or demanding work to be done. She was criticized for not knowing much English, but who would want to learn it when your being screamed at all the time?
She divorced and moved back to Thailand. She started working two jobs for real estate and for a cleaning service in a hotel. The money was good, but she was working long hours and didn’t feel happy.
I asked her if she liked her job now and she said ” Yes, I get paid little now but my heart is happy.”
It was so nice to sit and talk as she washed dishes and I think she like it because it made the time go a little faster. When I left Thailand she gave me a scarf she had knitted and a hand made wristlet.
I left Thailand to come volunteer and teach English in Cambodia. Only this time I am not teaching at a public or private school. I am teaching in an orphanage called Aspire Orphanage. It is ran by a man named Sean and his wife. The orphanage has been open since 2006, and they have made a lot of progress in the last ten years.
Coming to Cambodia on my own was exciting. I took the train from Thailand and it had some very nice views. It was my first train ride so that was a nice experience in itself as well.
I made my way across the border ….they only tried to scam me a couple of times.. Don’t pay extra at the border! They will try to get extra out of foreigners. I had read about this before going so I didn’t fall for it.
I was mentally prepared to sleep under a mosquito net or in a shack looking place, but actually the place exceeded all of my expectations. We have a padded mat on the ground with an air-conditioned room, a kitchen, washer, and wi-fi (sometimes) . At times we lost power for the day so we had to make due. As you can imagine it got pretty hot.
This is where the volunteers stay.
It was nice being in a room with other volunteers. You can to talk and meet new people from all over the world.
With donations from visitors and volunteers they now have a watering system for a garden, a new school for the children, beds for the children, and a new dorm in the process of being built. When complete it will have 8 rooms with two bunk bed sets in each. This will be room for all the children to have a bed and room of their own.
The start of a seedling.
This is where they catch their fish for dinner.
These are the boys beds.
This is the progress of the new dorm that is being built.
This is the stage where the kids perform their traditional dances for visitors when they come. On that same stage behind the sign is where a family of five sleep on one mattress.
After the students perform the volunteers usually bring small gifts for them. This time they got bubbles and were very excited!
This next room I want you to envision standing in the middle and rotating to each wall and taking a photo. This is where the girls sleep.
The ladies at the orphanage make clothing to sell.
This is where some minimal cooking was done if needed.
The building to the left is the outside of the girls room and to the right is the kitchen where the kids meals are prepared.
They cook over an open fire so it gets very smoky inside.
These are the bathrooms and showers for the adults and children of the orphanage.
This is the new school that was built.
These are the classrooms. We hung some of their photos they made, but I would like to see it more colorful in the future.
The kids that live at the orphanage come from all over. Some have parents and some do not . Some have already over came a great deal of obstacles, but somehow still thrive on the love of volunteers and others around them. I am glad I had the opportunity to come to Cambodia to volunteer and get to meet these lovely children.
While I was there some of the volunteers did a going away party for the kids. We made pancakes for all the kids the first night and the second night they made fried rice with chicken and vegetables for over 100 people. They also bought each child at the orphanage a new outfit to wear and wrapped them for the kids. During the day and into the evening they had a dance party and had their makeup done. Then they were treated with some pop. Needless to say they loved it and put their new clothes on right over top the old ones!
One skillet …tons of pancakes… challenge accepted…
We improvised with peanut butter and jelly haha.
So happy !
Teacher me…me..me….Everyone will get some, don’t worry !
Shower caps were a hit…
I have to admit upon first arriving I was a bit concerned. Once crossing the Cambodian border a tuk tuk driver asked me why I was here. I told him I was volunteering at an orphanage. His response was ” I hate to break my chest to tell you this but only 20% of orphanages in Cambodia are good places; People do it for the wrong reasons so just be careful.” This made me have a knot in my stomach, but I went with it to see how it was.
Work Away had stated that the stay would be 5 dollars a day to volunteer. I understand the aspect of helping with the cost of things, but then I arrive and he says it’s 2.00 more dollars a day for food when it was supposed to be included in the price. I paid the two dollars, but if someone were on a tight budget for an extended period of time then it would probably be concerning. The kids had hardly any supplies in the classrooms or in general to work with so we came up with different games to play with them.
Teaching feelings with skittles . They had never had skittles before .
A maze to practice giving directions.. left, right..no your other right..back.. They loved it.
Just when they thought it was easy … we threw in some eggs .. haha!
I also wanted things to hang around the classroom to add color so we started putting their activities and drawings up on the walls. A few volunteers went together and bought pencils, coloring books, stickers,posters, pencils sharpeners , colored pencils, sticky tak, balloons, scissors, glue sticks, paint, and multi colored paper. All of these things were a little over 40 dollars. Hands on materials are essential for the classroom and learning. They will improve their motor skills, vocabulary , and learn how to take responsibility for their supplies.
John and Bexs prepared the paint and showed them an example.
The younger kids did colors and we worked on finger painting a rainbow.
The older kids were working on the weather and painted a scene on their choice. As we gave them the paint we realized they had never painted before. As one would expect total Chaos it was actually the complete opposite. The class was quiet and they slowly chose which colors they wanted and carefully washed each color off when they wanted a new color. It was amazing to watch and witness them do something completely new. The painting was a success.
Even the teacher got involved =)
As time went on I tried to understand the aspects from a Cambodian point of view. Maybe it was the buildings that were more important at the time to show that they owned something. Maybe things were that way because they genuinely thought it was best for the kids at the time. When you give people money that have never had before it tends to change people and their view of things. Although I will probably never understand what view that is, the overall value and reasoning for the place are the children themselves; and they along with the classroom aspect should come first.
The garden is great for self-sufficiency . The fruit trees will help as well. But those things won’t appear over night. Things in Cambodia are still developing as a country itself let alone trying to build up a huge orphanage. From my point of view the investment is in the kids. If you invest in them and help them learn you are automatically improving their quality of life.
The kids are fed three meals a day they have somewhere to sleep. Their circumstances are better than some. It helps with volunteers being there to give love and affection. The kids love to be around the volunteers and try whatever they are trying. (Sometimes they will ask to play on your computer or phone… okay all the time haha) In time hopefully the dorm will be built and they will have their own bed and a room to share. I look forward to seeing the progress and changes in the future.
What do you do when you get some chicken feet soup??
Like I said before I am very glad that I had the opportunity to volunteer at this orphanage. The people in Cambodia have faced a lot of hardship but they are kind and always smiling. I hope to come back in the future at some point to visit the orphanage.
I found this graffiti in a bathroom stall. Just a daily reminder of how much privileged we are.
As I prepare to leave Cambodia I feel very emotional. I once didn’t have much and I can remember sometimes we didn’t have electric or internet or another bill was shut off. My grandma would always say “I’m robbing peter to pay Paul” It wasn’t until I was older that I knew what that really meant. She did everything she could to manage but sometimes it just wasn’t enough money. Even though the bills would pile up and some of the necessities would be shut off we always had games, t.v., coloring books, and movies. I think those tangible things made up for not having other things. It fills a void that one has. It’s something that isn’t taken away at the time, and for that time even if it’s for a little while you feel happy. So I feel sad that they don’t have their “own” things. I feel bad that they always see new people and have to say goodbye. Goodbyes are hard for a young child who doesn’t understand.
For these kids they don’t have much to play with they enjoy the company of each other and make kite figures out of sticks and left over material from the clothing that is sewn.
I want to see those kids have a bright future. I want them to be able to go out of the orphanage to experience things. I want them to have a lot of things that they have never had before. It saddens me that some may never have those “things” that make childhood so memorable. So in efforts to help a little I would like to send books to them, because they have no picture books or starter books. As children we all like things we can see and touch. Books in general are a great way to learn and see new things. After all if we can’t go places at least we can pretend through books and reading. It gives hope. If your ever in Cambodia and get the chance; stop out and volunteer and teach with the kids. They will appreciate any amount of time you give them.
If you have any questions about donating things to the kids please contact the following Sean Samnang or visit the website
If you haven’t heard about the strike please check out the following links below.
Like I said before and I’ll say it again . I am so proud of the teachers for standing up for what they believe in. I am proud of the parents and service personnel. I’m proud of the support. I hope that we are able to see some change in the coming days. I know the teachers are willing to fight for it.
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