in the midst of my coconut-crazy frenzy,
i overheard some people talking about the "paleo diet"

and i became re-intrigued by the idea of

eating only fruits, vegetables, meats & nuts

and avoiding preservatives/food coloring/additives.

so i went on pinterest, found a paleo recipe and made

this "coconut milk chia seed walnut banana 

breakfast custard." my roommate said it
was "seriously one of the best things [she's] ever eaten!!"

last night, she made us burritos + guacamole for dinner

and it was sooo good!

hooray for co-cooking/sharing meals!

during our short time (15 minutes) at the dole
plantation on oahu, i discovered that unripe pineapples
are hot pink.

i invited my colleagues to anonymously

contribute their thoughts and feelings about the

debrief to a google doc. then, i used handy wordle.net
to make something tangible to begin monday's
student generated lunch conversation part II.
here is the creation:

siva afi

you thinking eating popcorn for dinner is bad? 

i ate crackers + brie with raspberry jam

plus a slice of dark chocolate cake for dinner..

:X

hanauma bay 

is a volcanic crater with a tropical reef inside.

this place seems too good to be true.

spam for breakfast

spam musubi for lunch

 we had a nice view of diamond head volcano.

i've never had other people acknowledge and

thank me for being brave before.

it all feels like a blur now, but
i somehow led my cohort into what i consider to
be the most authentic, honest, emotional
and vulnerable but powerful
conversation of the entire program so far.

in that moment, i decided that i wasn't going to
continue letting people use their privilege of
"discomfort" as an excuse to silence others anymore.

 ~  ~  ~  ~

"what's the news? what happened?"

"well, linda basically started a revolution in class today."

today, we made interactive cards that "hug back"

for FRIENDSHIP/VALENTINE'S DAY

[note the teeth along the mouth, to the right]

it's a nice feeling

to see how these dots/people/ideas
are all starting to connect, finally.
.... ... .. ......  ...   .. .

woohoo for productive snowy days at cafes!

how to nurse yourself back to health within 2 days:

1). eat mini saltine crackers

2) swallow cloves of garlic on a spoonful of honey

3) take 7+ naps (hopefully, your sickness

falls on a weekend)

4) make ginger, honey & lemon tea
5) watch snow falling outside~*~*~

once, morgan and i lived amongst chickens and
didn't see any other humans for 4 days.

my CT went to an all day Professional Development

so... i taught an entire day of
kindergarten by myself!

~*~*~*~*~

"i just love watching you grow."

- cathy, my CT
:)

waiheke island

we had a guest speaker who

shared with us concrete strategies/ideas

for culturally responsive teaching.

she had asked her students' parents to come in
to share their own "survivor stories."
one mother who survived living
in the amazon rainforest came into the classroom
and told stories of what it was like to
live off the land, hear screeching monkeys all day,
and travel across raging rivers.

i think i'm doing to do something

inspired by this for my

COMMUNITY, FAMILY, POLITICS ACTION PROJECT~*~

"if you bite the head first, you'll be smarter.

if you bite the tail first, you'll run faster."

i am way too comfortable right now to study..

---> sleepytime

happy lunar new year!
新年快乐

year of the horse (my year!)

to prevent my passing out in class,

i drank a cup of coffee.

it tasted like bitter foam >____<

then natalie and i wandered around the

drama department, trying to find the

pool that is supposedly in the basement.

it wasn't.

the highlight of my day was when
i got to draw a tomato boy on our
poster for kindergarten math standards..

the nasturtiums my sister and i planted grew flower buds

and my lobelias & johnny jump up violas germinated!

 as i was walking to class this morning,

i found this slip of paper on the ground.

it asks: "what nourishes you?"

finally after 8 hours of unproductive classes,

we had 2 panel talks where we learned some

things that i actually feel interested in:

1. CIAR (Council on Islamic-American Relations)

came and gave an insightful and relevant overview

of prayer norms, holidays, and Muslim families'

attitudes about schooling, the role of teachers,

& practices to be more inclusive of Muslim students

in our classroom. then, i realized i should stop
feeding my kindergartners marshmallows.

2. D. led a workshop about healthy gender learning

& how purple crayons can cause trauma/identity crises.
~ ~ ~ ~
on days like these, i can think to myself:
"this is exactly what I want to be learning
right now and these are the exact conversations
i've been craving to have."

i went jogging for the first time in months.

as i was trying not to get hit by a car,

i suddenly re-realized how GREEN it is here. 

/\/\/\ moss breathes + grows on every surface /\/\/\

i don't actually have a freckle by my mouth.

i kinda want one (a small one).

compliment circle

puget sound on a stunningly clear day.

i led a compliment circle this morning and

was so touched by the kind and thoughtful words

5 year olds can choose to say to each other.

~ ~

later, as I walked them to lunch:
"you won't ever forget me, right?"

i.a. looked at me with glittering eyes and said

"no! i will think of you at night and and and

then say your name."
O____o   :P    :)

"Are you interneting?"

“I had the epiphany that

laughter was light,

and light was laughter,
and that this was the

secret of the universe.”
― Donna Tartt, The Goldfinch

finally got a pair of rainboots

& a biscuit with strawberry balsamic jam~*~

the earth breathes.

for dessert, we had:

problem: trying to peel stickers/labels off of

glass bottles and leaving a residue of stickiness

solution: use a hairdyer to heat up the edge

of the sticker for 10 seconds;

the entire label should peel right off.
~
problem: cut flowers wither and die too quick
solution: put a penny & sugar into vase.
~
problem: struggling to put duvet cover

back onto a comforter after doing laundry

solution: use hairbands to tie the ends of the

comforter inside the duvet; then shake it

out and the entire process shouldn't

take more than 15 seconds.
~
problem: dry skin in the wintertime
solution: honey aloe + sugar mask!
1. cut a piece of aloe in half + rub your face with it.

2. mix RAW honey and sugar in a bowl and

GENTLY rub your face with that too.

3. let it all crystallize for 1 hour.

4. wash off.
~
problem: your lotion contains too many
sulfates & chemicals you can't pronounce
solution: use a cocobutter stick ($1.98)
or coconut oil ($6.99-15.00) instead.

"Our lives begin to end the day we become

silent about things that matter."

- MLK, Jr.

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/m/martin_luther_king_jr.html#yCte8K4vkFTGRQB1.99

according to buzzfeed,

the city I should actually live in is
Cape Town.

"You have never been able to sit still

a single day in your life. An avid adventurer

you are always looking for the most unconventional

way to do things. You love city life,

but couldn’t imagine life without getting out

into nature every once in a while."

ashley loves cleaning bathrooms.

i love cleaning kitchens.
we both love vacuuming.

we are a MMIH (match made in heaven~*~)

ate a popsicle, then went into the sacrifice courtyard.

95% of my kindergartners speak one of the

following languages:
1. Somali

2. Cantonese
3. Amharic

4. Vietnamese

5. Mandarin

6. Arabic

7. Spanish

for my inquiry action project for the

Community, Family & Politics strand,

i'm interested in drawing upon the amazing

linguistic diversity in our classroom to create

something. i just don't know what yet.

any ideas?

 

& cambodia

write one thing you did for yourself over winter break:

"i climbed a mountain with my childhood friend and

we had a picnic and watched the sunset."

 sometimes, suddenly, i'll

remember that i live in seattle.

in every city i live in, i always find one food
item from a specific cafe that I become obsessed with.

Santa Cruz --> italian sausage sandwich from Z's.

Beijing -> zajianmian from laobeijing

Wellington --> salmon teriyaki from SUSHINOW

 Seattle --> this artichoke sandwich:

ashley accompanied me today & watched me

stuff myself while she drank her juice.

chai tea, ginger snaps and

a documentary about sushi

= the best way to spend a friday night after a

week of 10-hour classes/11-hour days of kindergarten.

after the bell rang and

all the kids got picked up,

cathy and i just sat there,

in an essentially TRASHED classroom,

and stared into space until

she commented that we both look shell-shocked.

T.G.I.F

the day i spent 3 hours wrapping presents