Koh Rong Sanloem 🏝

View from the Lighthouse 💡

Two weeks of island living was restful + restorative~ 

After Siem Reap, I flew into Sihanoukville Airport [KOS]... from there I had to hire a taxi and head west to the coast, which took about 35 minutes. The person next to me on the flight was also heading to the pier to catch a ferry to Koh Rong Islands, so I invited him and his friend to share the taxi with me. The boat ride was a bit rocky, but eventually I arrived to Koh Rong Sanloem (KRS). It is the smaller and quieter island compared to Koh Rong.

I stayed in a bungalow right on the beach next to the pier. 

Every morning and throughout the day I could hear the ocean waves lapping up against the white sandy beach. 🌊

Home for 2 weeks~

For some reason, I forget that prices on the island are higher than on the mainland... I was not surprised that food and water was pricier compared to Siem Reap... I just did not think about it until I saw the prices. It wasn't extremely expensive. A 1.5L bottle of water cost $1.25 on KRS, as compared to $0.50 in Siem Reap. The cheapest place I found coffee without milk + sugar was $1.00 compared to $1.50 at other restaurants on the island. Being there for 2 weeks allowed me time to explore several areas around the island:

Lazy Beach

Sunset Beach

Sunset Beach

Light House {$1 to go up}

Saracen Bay Beach {main side of KRS}

Majority of the hotels/ resorts/ restaurants are along Saracen Bay Beach, and is where the piers are for boats to drop off and pick up island hoppers. It is a lot dirtier (trash everywhere!!😞) on this side compared to the other side. On the west side of KRS is Lazy Beach (~30 minute walk) and Sunset Beach (~40 minute walk). South of the island is the light house (~1 hour one-way walk). I preferred going to Lazy Beach, and only there I would get in the water since it was less windy and the beach and water was cleaner.

I did a boat trip ($15) one day from 2-7:30PM that included:

• snorkeling
• fishing
• M'Pai Bay
• bioluminescent plankton

M'pai Bay

Getting fishing reels ready!

It was neat to see the north side of KRS at M'Pai Bay, and prices over here were cheaper compared to places along Saracen Bay.

I did play with the idea of going to Koh Rong (the bigger island) for the day, but there aren't many boats that do day trips... most just drop off and then go back to Sihanoukville. When I left KRS we did stop by Koh Rong at Kaoh Touch Beach to drop folks off and it seemed like a busier place to be, so I am glad with my choice of staying at KRS. We stopped at another beach called Long Set Beach on Koh Rong, and that seemed more chill than Kaoh Touch Beach.

☺I did meet some nice folks on the boat trip day!!
☺I also was warmly welcomed by the owners of the place I stayed at too!!

Sophy from Seoul!! 🇰🇷

Birthday dinner party with my hosts!! 🍓

Fulbright International Field Experience Placement!!! 🗺

 

I'm excited to share that I have received word about my International Field Experience (IFE) placement, and it will be Peru!!! June 17 - July 3, 2o23!!!

More details to come!!

Some folx asked if I'm okay with this placement, since I have been to Peru back in 2o16... YES, I am totally happy with my placement!!! It will be a new and different experience going to Peru with Fulbright. I'm looking forward to learning + experiencing what the IFE has planned for us! There will be about 19 of us going. The one teacher who I collaborated with last fall has the same placement!! I'm excited to get to meet her in person and travel with her. 

The first group went to Finland last month. I heard that other Fulbrighters are going to Senegal and India in 2o23 as well!! 

Here's the Facebook post from Fulbright Finland:

សៀមរាប siem reap ✨

 

1 week in Siem Reap was a welcome change in environment compared to the metropolis busy life in Saigon. Even though Siem Reap is the second largest city in Cambodia, it was still calmer in comparison to Saigon. Saraswati and I stayed near the central area near the Old Market, and it still wasn't super busy or overcrowded. We actually didn't even walk inside the Old Market! 😅 So what did we do with our time in Siem Reap?? 

• We found a gym that was a 5 minute walk from our hotel. It only cost $1 for a day pass!! ⁨💪

Angkor Muscle Gym 

• We celebrated Saraswati's 33rd Birthday at a restaurant that trains young adults in hospitality and restaurant service!! Check them out here → https://www.spoonscambodia.org/

Dinner at SPOONS 

                                            

• We watched the FIFA World Cup match with Morocco vs. Portugal!! Go Morocco!! 

• We chilled by the pool and/or swam some days! 🏊

AND of course we saw Angkor Wat (*see previous post).

The people at the hotel would greet us every morning and ask us everyday what we were going to do. And we would respond, not much! We didn't do any shopping, and we mainly walked a lot and would find yummy places to eat. It was a lot more chill, and I really enjoyed the change of pace.  Saraswati and I said our "goodbyes" for now... until we meet up in New Delhi, India on January 5th with another friend named Aditi!! Our plan is to go to the Taj Mahal!! 

But before I head to India, I'll be spending 2 weeks on an island called Koh Rong Sanloem, and 1 week on the mainland of Sihanoukville. I am luckily within my dates for my Cambodian VISA!! I did NOT think about how long my visa would allow me to stay in Cambodia before I booked my flight for Delhi. I was a bit nervous when we arrived on December 7th, but once I saw it expires on January 6th I immediate felt a sense of relief!!  Spirit of Adventure!!! 🗺 

 

angkor wat ☸

 

Angkor Wat

Absolutely fortunate to be able to walk around this complex of temples again!! ❤☺

Last time I came to visit was July 2o17.  

I came alone, and stayed in Siem Reap for about 1 week before going to Bali to meet up with Michael. 

grateful ✴☪

Saraswati !! ♥

➼ Even though I do enjoy solo traveling, it is nice to be able to share travel experiences with others. I'm very fortunate to be able to do this trip with my girlfriend Saraswati!! I am not sure where I would have traveled to or if I would have just stayed in Seattle for this trip... I knew I wanted to return to SE Asia, and it worked out that she was going to be in Malaysia to visit family in December. So we were able to plan 2 weeks of travel together before we meet up in India on January 5th with another friend!!  

I'm so appreciative to have this year away from my full-time teaching job. It has allowed me to reflect on many things that I pushed away while being distracted with work... I came across this post on Instagram, and I can relate a lot to it, especially when I was teaching last school year. AND yes, I'm still waiting to hear from Fulbright on my international experience placement. 𐃌

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Future Tripping (@futuretrippingwithlaura)

saigon [ho chi minh city] 🌃

 

skyline in saigon aka ho chi minh city

What comes to mind when you think of Vietnam? 🇻🇳 

• Is it the food? 🍲 
• Is it the people? ☺

This is my second time to visit Vietnam, and I have only been to the capital. I know about the other main places to visit: Hanoi, Da Nang, Ha Long Bay, and Nha Trang. AND I wish to someday visit these other amazing cities and places, but on this trip I didn't want to make a checklist of cities or places to see and visit. I kind of did that when I was in South America, and I was exhausted! Don't get me wrong... I did enjoy all the new places I saw, but I don't think I had the time or energy I wanted to reflect on my experiences at the places I was visiting...

I'm traveling with one of my girlfriends named Saraswati, and she has never been to Vietnam or Cambodia. SO that's how we decided to go to these two countries!! 🗺

Saigon is such a big city!! I don't believe we even saw 10% of this busy busy city. Luckily when we were on the food tour, we were on motorbikes that took us around a few different districts to try various Vietnamese foods. 

steamed banana wrapped in rice 

bún bò Huế 

bánh xèo

bánh mì

All the food was soooooo delicious, and we were sooooooo stuffed!! We even shared the foods, and couldn't finish it all. There was one more food stop, but we asked to skip it because we could not eat another bite. We ended with this delicious flan in coffee and the cup was a coconut jelly dessert. 

I'm glad Saraswati is on the same page as me as a traveler... we did not do a lot of touristy things, but just enough. and we also had down time to walk around, eat good foods, chill and sip our morning coffees, and watch TV. 😂

Some other highlights from our time in Saigon were:

watching South Korea vs. Portugal ⚽

exploring cà phê 

Mekong River boat ride~

Landmark 81 - Tallest building in Vietnam 🇻🇳 

Pole Dancing Class in Vietnamese!! 

Rooftop Bar in Sai Gon 📣

你好 singapore!! 🇸🇬

 

Marina Bay 

Yes, I'm back in Singapore! The first and last time I was here was in July 2017. 

I decided to come back to Singapore because it was the cheapest plane ticket I could find from Seattle to come to Asia!! I decided to stay in the same area I was last time, which was Kampong Glam. It is Singapore's Muslim Quarter, and I was on the same street as the Sultan Mosque. I enjoyed being in this area because of the various types of food in this area, and the proximity to public transportation. 🚉

Sultan Mosque

Singapore's official languages are English, Malay, Tamil, Mandarin Chinese, and Singaporean Mandarin. The mix of cultures, languages, and foods can be seen around the city. I also explored Little India and Chinatown in Singapore, which was fascinating to see and learn about.

The three nights in Singapore was the right amount of time to adjust to the time zone!! I stayed in a capsule hotel where I was in a pod! It's basically a small space that has 3 walls, and a screen that you can pull open and close as your door. It had outlets, a reading light, a mirror, and a small lock box. We are also assigned lockers that you can use! 🔒 

The most phenomenal part of my time in Singapore was the airport!! They have the world's largest indoor waterfall!! It was beautiful! I wanted to spend more time exploring the airport, but I was running late to check-in for my flight... 😬

There's always a sense of peace & comfort whenever I am in Asia... I was feeling nervous before leaving Seattle, but once I arrived... I was at ease. Grateful to be back!! ❤

Garfield High School~

 
I was at Garfield High School, for the last 2 weeks covering for a teacher friend's coworker. It went fine, and I think by the end of the 2 weeks I was ready to say goodbye and go to another school.

How would you feel if an adult, who you don't know, came up to you and was telling you what to do or what not to do?

Being a substitute teacher, now called guest teacher, has its pros and cons. 

Pros

• temporarily there: knowing that i'm only there for a short time
• less responsibility: no grading, minimal planning, do not have to attend staff meetings, do not have to be evaluated

Cons

• temporarily there: students do not know you & you do not know all the students
• figuring out what you are doing for the day and where you need to go can be a little stressful
• do not have access to grades or attendance on school apps

I did not know what to expect for these past 2 weeks of subbing, but I am grateful for the opportunity. It was comforting to be able to work with former coworkers and to experience teaching in another teacher position. I was also fortunate to see former students who I taught at Seattle World School!! and the students were so sweet and thoughtful, they asked if i could stay longer. ❤

I was covering for an English Language Learners (ELL) / Multilingual (ML) teacher position at one high school in Seattle Public Schools (SPS), which could be a completely different role in a middle school or an elementary school... AND I realized the role also could differ depending on the school. 

Google Slides & Pusheen GIFs

I am curious about some other positions that SPS has... whether that is the Academic Intervention Specialist or Reading Interventionist or even the Math Interventionist... or maybe even other positions I do NOT know that the district has...

sub life 🥸

 

i've been back home in Seattle for 2 weeks now, and i was able to sub (substitute) for 3 very different schools!! 👾

1 |   Last Friday, I was a sub at Wing Luke Elementary.

• South Beacon Hill
• Small class sizes
• New building (2nd Year)*
• I saw an emphasis on order and quietness in the halls
• I did push-in and pull-out English Multilingual Support for all grade levels (Kindergarten - 5th Grade)
  
  

2 |   On Monday, I was a sub at Olympic Hills Elementary.

• Lake City
• Small class sizes
• I saw teachers facilitate convos with students to be their best selves
• I did push-in English Literacy Support for mostly 1st Grade
• I did morning drop off duty, recess duty, lunch duty, and after school bus duty

3 |   On Tuesday, I was a sub at Garfield High School.

• Central District
• Big class sizes for general edu
• Small Multilingual English Language classes
• Created a new schedule for supports in gen. edu classes 
• BIG high school!!

🟪 I haven't been at a middle school yet, and I'm hoping to explore some middle schools after I complete my next sub job. i'll be covering for another teacher all next week at Garfield High School. i was hesitant to take on the full-time job for the full week, but... it would be nice to be in the same school consistently and get to know the students for more than just one day. 🟪

It was my first time to be in an elementary school as an adult, and it was illuminating to see how much planning must go into one day for the teachers because they are teaching everything to the young ones!! but they do NOT get much time to prepare... :(  it shows how important it is to have other adults in the class for support! in elementary and i think in all schools~

I'm not quite sure how I feel or what I think about subbing yet... i think i need more time to process these experiences and time to be in other schools... I'll be in Seattle until the end of November, and I'm curious to see how my thoughts and feelings may or may not change. 👽

for now i'll just continue floating in this space. 🚀

cartagena ✴️

 

the flag of cartagena in getsemaní barrio

it only took 15 minutes to drive from the airport to the historic center of Cartagena. the drive took me along the coast and into the walled city where you immediately saw street vendors and folx on horse drawn carriages. 

after i checked in and dropped my belongings off at the hostel, i walked around exploring the city.

historic clock tower

someone in Bogotá told me that cartagena is the city of "no gracias" | no thank you, because everyone's trying to sell you something at every moment. and i believe this is true because once i stepped out onto the streets there were folx in front of stores asking you to come look inside, and the drivers of the horse drawn carriages are telling you they will give you a good price for a tour of the city, etc. a guy tried talking to me while i was walking and asked me where i'm from... and after 2 months of traveling that's the main question i get... and i get it... it's kinda like an opening of getting to know someone, but i was not interested in making small talk. i just wanted to walk around. i wanted to see where i needed to go the next morning to catch the boat to Isla Grande. my first night in cartagena gave me a picture of what it will be like when i returned after visiting Isla Grande, even though i stayed in a different part of the city.

after 4 relaxing days on the island (see previous post*), i came back to cartagena and stayed in the Getsemaní barrio. my friend Isabel recommended this area because it's safe and there are lots of restaurants and art to see. it also isn't far from the historic center. maybe about a 10-15 minute walk. and it's also not far from the pier where the boats take you to and from the islands.

luckily my friend's boyfriend had the same days off, and returned to cartagena when i was there!! so we met up and walked around the city. i also made a new friend at the hostel i was staying at, and she joined us too!

walking on the city wall of Cartagena

i was in Cartagena for another 2 nights before i flew back to Seattle~ i would love to go back to Colombia someday. everyone says how dangerous it is, and i believe there are definitely places with a reputation of being super dangerous... and especially with the past/current history, but i felt safe. i did not wander alone late at night and i kept my belongings in front of me. the tourist visa is valid for 90 days, and i believe i could stay there for that long, if not longer!! my friend is planning to go back in January... maybe i can actually see her when she's back!! 😁

i'm still waiting to hear from Fulbright... no news yet on when or where.