i needed 2 more containers,

so i bought mini ice cream & yogurt tubs

and ate the contents so tomorrow morning

i can plant my seed babies 2013!

i decided to try a new variety of violas

(they are edible and can be put into salads!)

i also got purslane & feverfews (!?!)

and lobelias (my favorite to grow).

while living' the wellingtonian life,

nick introduced me to LONGREADS.

today in the middle of class,

sammie (a 5 year old girl) stands up,

starts wailing and looks terrified.

"what's wrong?" susie asks

"i ..i i'm scared that i'm gonna swallow my tooth."

i love botanical interests!
now that is the end of january,
i can start my windowsill plants :D

some essays topics i have written on in college:

+african bush meat trade

+honey bee disappearance in india
+moral economies of salmon

+mark rothko's no. 3/13

+the emerging tongan middle class

+pentecostalism as ritual in fiji & tonga

+haunani kay-trask as intellectual whakapapa

+warrior tattooing in the marquesas

+postcolonial american tourism in hawai'i

+interracial dating (why more asian girls date white guys than asian guys date white girls)

+"saving" muslim women

+intimate encounters/film analysis of joy luck club

+homo floresiensis in Indonesia

+a discussion and critique of current approaches to multicultural education
+paulo friere's education for liberation

+fat porn..

+aztec archaeology-ceramic dolls & female agency

+japanese-american k-12 education

\\w e l l i n g t o n , n e w  z e a l a n d \ \
t e w h a n g a n u i- a -t a r a

fried plantains & cheese at may's

 her pet mushroom

"permaculture revolution

disguised as gardening"

M made me an origami squid!

we are going to make hundreds

and hang them in our bathroom
~*~*~*~

first organism discovered
to be guided by the milky way

>>dung beetles!<<

"the croaking of frogs is often described

in terms of drumbeats. But that night it sounded

to her like human cries, almost as if thousands

of newborn infants were crying"

-莫言

it's snowing

(on my blog)!

our bathroom gets the most natural light

(skylight) so my plants live in there now.

i discovered these collapsable

squishy colanders today.

they are perfect.

(i resisted buying one though.

first i have to do something great,

so i can justify getting one as a reward).

if i get the entire set & visit new mexico,

i will the happiest person alive!

straining berries and wandering around
white sands natural monument= my dream.

i really want to visit new mexico.

baloo

keys keys keys

1. pavlova, the national dessert of new zealand

2. wooden manta ray! (birthday present from maryna)

3. house key

4. anthropology writing center key

5. kufic square from islamic arts museum, kl.

6. vibrating totoro from japan-city in wellington ^__^

7. swiss army knife!

8. pepper spray**

michelle, i am sending you good vibes

as you sail to polynesia!

pa'ipunahele!

then japan, china, singapore, burma,

india, south africa, that island

off the coast of madagascar,

ghana, morocco and spain!

the best birthday gesture given to me

was by my classmate/friend kathy.

last quarter, we stayed up together

until 5 am finishing our project assessing

k-12 bay area teachers' attitudes
towards multicultural ed.

she commutes to school only on T and TH.

my birthday happened to fall on a wednesday,

but she drove 2 hours just to take me

out for lunch between my 2 classes.

right before i got out of the car,

she handed me a bag with a

fluorescent pink cupcake with heart sprinkles

from kelly's french bakery :-)

early birthday celebrations~*~
at nana san.

eggplant, lotus root (AO!), mushrooms, salmon

^^my favorite things.

we had the entire fiords
to ourselves that day.

punakaiki; aotearoa.

oh the places you'll go!
the new people you will meet,
the new sunsets you will see,
the new air you will breathe,
the new lands you will explore,
the new ideas, perspectives and knowledge
you will gain! 

don't be nervous, everyone will

be on the same boat (literally).
it will be amazing, a once in a
lifetime opportunity! so, 
go forth michelle!