Archive for April, 2008

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From one mother to another.

Posted in Andrea's Adventures, California Casual by April, Travel With Kids with tags , , , , on April 28, 2008 by aprilcole

This is a letter Andrea sent to me regarding my upcoming trip. I found it very helpful and comforting. Although I am terribly excited for our trip, I must admit I have been a bit stressed about traveling with a two year old and fearful of not having our creature comforts readily available. Below is the letter.

Dear April,

From one mother to another: As you get ready for your big trip to Asia next month I wanted to send you some friendly advice mother to mother. For the last two weeks we have been in Vietnam and it has reminded me that traveling can be hard work and traveling with kids can be downright exhausting. Here are some helpful tips that have made this trip go smoother for us and that I wanted to pass on to you, they are in no particular order…

  1. Start giving Gavin rice with at least one meal a day. My life and traveling with my kids has been made so much easier because they are always happy with rice. It fills them up and while it might not be the most nutritional food in the world, it is great when they are tired, cranky and just need something in their stomach. Rice is always available and can be at the table fast. If we’re running late for a meal I will often ask for the rice as soon as we sit down so the kids have something to snack on while we order.
  2. Take something with you from home. This trip I brought a jar of Marmite with me because Callie will always eat crackers or toast if I put Marmite on it. Peanut Butter and Jelly would be another option. You can always get bread, and this means you can always make a comfort meal for him.
  3. Don’t be afraid of room service. Kids can get wiped out traveling and some nights it is good to just stay in, eat dinner and have an early night.
  4. Bring some treats with you. Callie gets gum on the plane and we have M&Ms in the car, it makes them look forward to the not-so-fun times.
  5. Everyone is going to touch your baby, it can be tiring, but it is part of the culture. There are a few ways to handle it. When I have a kid asleep in the stroller one of us pushes and ones runs interference (walks next to the stroller and heads off would be cheek pinchers). I also have told Callie to just say, “Please don’t touch me”, at least it gives her a way to ask nicely and has cut down on the screaming. You can be firm, when my kids are tired or just not in the mood I have them walk next to me and just tell people no if they come in for the grab, people look at you like you’re crazy, but the kids get a break. When my kids are happy though they really like the attention and I will let them go and play with waitresses and security guards and other random strangers. I like to keep them in sight, but it’s nice to have a break.
  6. Asia is grubby, bring hand sanitizer and wet wipes.
  7. A portable DVD player can be a lifesaver. I travel with my computer so we watch a lot of movies on that, but having a way to watch DVDs in the car or on the plane, or when it’s bed time, it helps bring them down a notch. They are worth the money!
  8. Fast food is not a sell-out! We ate KFC tonight and it was great. There are McDonalds in Thailand and trust me, you will have enough Thai food and Cambodian food to feel like you did your duty and a night of familiar food can be really good for them.
  9. Take mental health breaks. I get up early in the morning with the kids and let Brandon rest and then later Brandon takes them to breakfast so I can have some time to myself, this way we both get our time.
  10. Have fun and don’t stress the small stuffJ

Can’t wait to see you in Cambodia!

Andrea

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Song kran Festival!!

Posted in Waew and Jeab Thai it up with tags , , , , , , , , on April 24, 2008 by aprilcole

Here are some photos from Song kran festival. At first we weren’t planning on playing in the water, but two of our friends were visiting and have never gone to a Song kran festival so we made sure to do our best to make our friends enjoy Thailand more… so into the water we went! Joel said “I’ve never been so wet like this…all my life” You can see the photos before and after and see just how wet we got! Every time when someone would throw the water at him, Joel would scream…very loud…which only made it more enjoyable/tempting for people to throw more water…and so we got even more wet! We tried to stay away from him :) but he kept running to us to stay close to the group. Anyways, we really had a good time and I enjoyed this weekend very much. I love Song kran festival. Everyone there is very happy and you are surrounded by smiling faces…

see you next year!!

Waew. 

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ROCK for JWOC!

Posted in Journeys Within Our Community with tags , , , on April 22, 2008 by kristinae


The big night is almost here! On Sunday, May 4, we will be throwing a benefit concert, ROCK for JWOC, to raise money for Journeys Within Our Community (www.journeyswithinourcommunity.org) and their new projects in Laos.

The event will be at the Highline Ballroom in New York City at 7:00 p.m. Advance tickets are $10 and can be purchased through the Highline Web site (www.highlineballroom.com). Tickets purchased the day of the show will be $15 at the door.

The fundraiser will feature local rock bands, an improv comedy set, a raffle with prizes donated by local businesses and a DJ set to finish off the night.

Nicole and I will be celebrating our imminent departure for Southeast Asia and raising money for a great cause.

If you’re in the NYC area come join the fun on May 4! If not, please pass this link on and tell your friends about this wonderful event. Hope to see you there!

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Laurette’s Volunteer Experience at Wat Chork

Posted in Journeys Within Our Community with tags , , , on April 21, 2008 by aprilcole

This past February, Dr. Laurette Poulos Simmons volunteered to lead a week long ESL Workshop for the Journeys Within Our Community Language School Teachers. All 12 language school teachers attended, learning how to create dynamic powerpoint presentations and engage their students in many activities. “I was so interested in her teaching technique and how she explained the lessons to us. All the lessons were simple and easy to understand for the second language learners”, said Chorm Ley, one of Wat Thmei’s English teachers.

One of JWOC’s newest language school teachers, Sann Tola also said, “She had given us the experience that is very important for our job as English Teachers and that also we had lacked before. I am most interested in her methods of how to get the students’ attention in the lesson.”

With the generous sponsorship from Laurette, Chamm Sela, a teacher at Wat Chork, will be attending the annual Cambodia TESOL Conference in Phnom Penh in 2009. Laurette is excited for Sela to attend.

posted by Melissa 4/21/2008

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Through Their Eyes – Cambodian Photo Workshop

Posted in Journeys Within Our Community with tags on April 21, 2008 by aprilcole

To get a more intimate glimpse into the lives of each of my students, I gave them a self portrait assignment. For each photo, I asked them to explain why they took it to the class the following week. Most interesting is the wide variety of photographs I have received thus far:

Biv Brom: One of the monks that live at Wat Chork reveals his comic side by taking photographs of what he sees is humorous.

Sreilin tells us about the beautiful sunrise she wakes up to: “I get up early every morning. I took this picture because I love all the colors when the sun rises: Red, Pink, Yellow, Orange and Blue.”

Sara chose to photograph her family, focusing on her siblings in particular. Her little brother stands next to the many water buffalo of Cambodia.

Lai Rathmana, another monk that lives at Wat Chork, was the only student to take a series of photographs at night, having fun with the vibrant lights of carnival rides.

posted by Melissa 4/21/2008

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Ouch!

Posted in California Casual by April with tags , , , , , , , , , , , on April 17, 2008 by aprilcole

Today Chris, Gavin and I went to get a Typhoid vaccine before we go on our trip. Although I’m a grown woman who has endured the pain of childbirth (well, let’s be honest I got the drugs) I still fear the doctor. In the back of my mind I kept saying, “Do I really need to go and get this shot?” And then I heard myself over and over telling guests we do recommend being up to date on your Typhoid vaccine – so the little voice in the back of my brain said ” You need to follow your own advice – silly!” So off to the doctor we went….

When I stepped inside the Travel Medicine office I was pleasantly surprised. It was as if I had walked into Andrea and Brandon’s home or the Journeys Within office. The room was beautifully decorated, with accents of local art and pictures of families traveling all around the world. On the coffee table in the waiting room was the copy of Conde Nast Traveler which Journeys Within was featured in (like that?!). I was instantly calmed and actually excited to meet the person who would be piercing my skin with a very sharp needle and injecting me with a dead virus (yes, I’m always this dramatic).

The Dr. came out of her office and welcomed us with a hug and excitement to hear more about our upcoming plans to visit Thailand and Angkor Wat – a place she said “she hopes to visit sometime very soon”. Of course I indulged her with our day by day itinerary and went on and on and on and on, but she actually seemed to be very interested (I liked her!). She kindly went into details about how to make our trip more enjoyable and healthy. Some things I had heard before – for example bring mosquito repellent, and some things I hadn’t heard – for example, apply sunscreen first and then apply bug repellent and also to bring diaper rash cream for Gavin (so happy she told me this).

Next came the shots – eek!  Being a brave little soldier I went first. I pretended to not be afraid and continued chatting about my trip (as talking is something I can do no matter what the distraction) while she proceeded to stick a giant needle in my arm. I still pretended to be brave as I didn’t think it would be exceptionally helpful if I screamed in pain just before Chris and Gavin received their shots.  Next Chris got his shot in his giant manly arms (I have a big crush on my handsome husband). Last it was Gavin’s turn. Dr. Vivian asked me to lean over Gavin and hold him down while she gave him the shot (apparently she has dealt with quite a few wiggling and screaming toddlers…). I leaned over Gavin and prepared to be a sad mommy as my son received a painful shot. Here came the countdown “One, two, three!” and the needle went in. Cue screaming baby. Not exactly. Gavin went on chatting about the book he had read today (in his little toddler language that few people actually understand) and didn’t flinch – not even for a second. “He’s the best toddler I’ve ever met,” said Dr. Vivian. I knew this lady was smart :) – ha ha ha!

So I must admit, after all my fear and build up of anticipation, getting our shots was an almost pleasant experience. Let’s be honest, we all got shots and my arm hurts today – so it wasn’t like going and getting ice cream, but it wasn’t bad either.

ummmm….. ice cream…

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Posted by?

Posted in California Casual by April with tags on April 14, 2008 by aprilcole

So you may have noticed that almost every post says “posted by aprilcole” – then you may have noticed that at in the body of the post there is a note saying “posted by Waew or Kristina or Jeab”… well,  you are very observant!

:)

I just wanted to let you know that while we are starting out this blog I will be posting blogs for people, reading your comments (which I am very excited to do!) and forwarding on comments for specific JW staff members. Our entire staff is equally involved in writing their own blog posts and sharing their personal stories and pictures – I’m simply going to be the one entering their stories onto on the blog for them for now.

I just felt I had to share this with you because it’s kinda different and you might have been curious.

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Great Expectations

Posted in Journeys Within Our Community, Laughing out Laos on April 14, 2008 by kristinae

I was born with an overactive planning gland. That, coupled with my acute case of perfectionism, can be a diagnosis for disaster. Especially when it comes to organizing a last-minute benefit concert in the midst of the spring album-release-avalanche/tour craze.

It all started when my roommate, Nicole, and I found out we were moving to Southeast Asia. We decided our going away party should be a fundraiser (“Rock for JWOC”), and what started as an excuse to get all of our friends together and raise money for a good cause, has evolved into something far more complicated.

We got Highline Ballroom—a music venue in Manhattan that can hold 700 people—donated for our event (thanks to Nicole’s boss). However, along with the blessing of having a large space comes the curse of filling it.

After weeks of e-mailing with bands, publicists, booking agents, and managers, I’m no closer to getting a headliner than I was when I started. Big names have shown interest, but there is always something standing in the way: they’re in the studio, on tour, or contractually obligated against it because they have a local date booked near our event.

I’ve become so personally invested in making this a huge fundraising extravaganza, that I’ve lost sight of why we planned this in the first place: we’re leaving for a year and this will be our last chance to spend time with our friends before we go.

Luckily, some of our friends happen to be amazing musicians and they’ve agreed to play the benefit for free. Unlike the bands that can actually afford to play something like this for free (who were asking for thousands of dollars to play for charity), our friends want to help us get this fundraiser together and play for the benefit of others.

I need to let go of my grand hopes and plans to make this the fundraising event of the decade and just do what I can with the time and resources I have. According to Psychology Today, “A desire to do well, to do your best work and to explore your full potential can give you sense of satisfaction and personal fulfillment, but you have to learn when something is ‘good enough.’”

My overwhelming desire to do well and my tendency to be a planaholic may not be useful when it comes to certain things, but it sure will come in handy as a Tour Director in Laos. When you’re traveling across the world to a foreign country THAT is when you want someone fussing over every last detail.

I think I’ve found my calling.

posted by: Kristina (April 14, 2008)

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Koh Samet Surprise

Posted in Waew and Jeab Thai it up with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 14, 2008 by aprilcole

Samed Trip : 29-30  Mar’08

When I first heard about this trip from my friend Joel…I said NO thanks…because at that time I was at Rawai beach in the south of Thailand on vacation. But when I heard my friend P’Tang (Martin) was coming and all my salsa friends were going too, my decision changed. I think it’s not the place that is important but who we are going with!!

Koh Samed is not too far from Bangkok—just 3 hrs drive.  We took a van from Victory Monument (in front of Pong Lee building) and then took a ferry for about 35 minutes to get to Koh Samed…then we hopped on a small open-air bus just 10 minutes to get to our Bungalow. The room was fine but there was no toilet in the room…but the food was great!!! The services were more than fair for the price we paid, you could not find a place for so inexpensive with such high quality in the world!!!  Actually we did not expect to get such good service.

But I haven’t mentioned the most important thing—the BEACH was more beautiful than I thought…(as you can see the pictures).   We had a great time! It was fun playing volleyball on the beach, but my skin turned dark from the sun :( …we are Thai we love to be white :)

I would go there again…

posted by Waew (April 12, 2008)

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‘aroi mak mak’ means delicious!

Posted in Waew and Jeab Thai it up with tags , , , , , , , on April 14, 2008 by aprilcole

One of the things I like most about living in Thailand…is eating!  We are very lucky here that there is a great variety of exotic fruit and vegetables that we can make into so many different dishes.  One of my favorites is Papaya Salad, which we call Somtum. Its basic ingredients are shredded papaya (obviously), green beans, tomatoes, sugar, fish sauce and lots and lots of chilies, which are then pounded together using a pestle and mortar.  Somtum is the most famous food from Isaan, which is the Northeastern part of Thailand, but I think that most Thai people have a special place for it in their hearts…and the spicier the better! 

If you hear a Thai person say ‘aroi mak mak’ then it means delicious, and for a true taste of Thailand I would recommend that you try if yourself from the many inexpensive roadside food stalls that line the streets, especially in Bangkok.  I like Somtum so much I made it myself at home this weekend with rice noodles (called Somtum Sua), and as you can see from the photos you also get good exercise while mixing it together!  Enjoy!

posted by Jeab (April 14, 2008)

 

 

 

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