Moon Cakes

Let's play a game, shall we?  I say a phrase, you say the first thing that comes to mind...

Ok, The Mid-Autumn Festival.

Moon cakes. 

I never knew it was the first thing that came to my mind until I searched for it in my memories tonight.  It was like holding down Ctrl+F, encoding 'moon cake', and coming up with this first memory in a folder I've long since forgotten I had.  In this memory's movie, I see my hands flattening out dough into small squares and wrapping sugar in it and folding it just-so to make moon-shaped cakes.  My fuzzy memory knows I made this with a Korean co-teacher of mine - I know she taught me how to make it and told me why it was made.  I can almost feel the place the memory was set in, almost breathe in the smells of the house, almost see her... but memory will not allow more than that in this snippet.  And so I content myself in this thought: I have good memories of a festival I do not celebrate.  And that gives me warm feelings and all is well.

About a decade later, I find myself in another country with another set of teachers, celebrating this festival.  More people, less intimate, and no food.  No actual real food for my tummy - but, boy, did my soul feed!

It fed off beauty showcased by smiling students as they filed past wearing their sweet Chinese clothes.  It fed off beauty as the melodious voices of the presenters recounted the story of the man and his wife and the pill which led to the festival.  

It fed off beauty as another teacher, in another country, in another life showed me how love for her country, her culture, her people, allows her to shake off all reservations as she performed for her students.

After today, I would think, I wouldn't know which to say first when one says "The Mid-Autumn Festival."  There is no way I can find a way to decide which one is a better memory: the quiet making of moon-cakes with a girl in an old kitchen in Vietnam or the passionate display of dance & culture as a dancer moved onstage in Jakarta.

suspended animation

savoring the present is more complex than being present in the here and now. 

~ Chie Sipin-Bjarenas

the last part of the week felt like it went past me in a blur:

classes on top of each other;

a session on reflexology for my dying feet;

time out with a friend to a (disappointing) photography shop; what felt like two days of workshops on re-inventing the teaching whee;

and a sunday night out with my two sweethearts.

i enjoyed it all - the time spent re-igniting my passion for teaching felt too little (i always have something to do after this and after this and after this) and it felt too much (i missed a whole day with my son and another day with my husband).  again, the toss up between my love for teaching and my love for being a mother and wife.

teaching has been such a part of my life that i no longer see it as a separate creature.  it is part of my identity.  it is who i am.  i might stop teaching in a conventional school one day, but i will never stop teaching.  and this weekend has definitely re-ignited some fire, some thing.  it has left me with a feeling of expectation and excitement.  i am currently thinking of ways to engage my students fully.  a way to bring be with them in this world i enjoy as well: the world wide web.

perhaps this blog will find a sibling soon.  or siblings - if all the teachers harness the power of blogging, i won't be surprised if this little community grows.

sunday rolled in with the morning filled with ideas and thoughts on constructive thinking, more of the 21st century education, and short lessons on patience.  to say i was interested and in a rush to leave would be a paradox - but would definitely be the truth.

i needed my time with my boys.  they've been lazing the day away waiting for me and i wanted to be with them and spend whatever was left of my weekend.

so we played.

and we had sunday family dinner.

and we had a haircut.

and we played some more.

i savored each sweet morsel we had together.  it was my favorite dessert served with ice cream to top a rich dinner!

and as i finish the crumbs while my little one sleeps and my sweetheart snuggles with me, my mind moves within itself and finds little post-its filled with ideas for what to do next in school.where do i find the time ?

Altering Life by Holding It Still

An invitation to capture someone's soul should never be turned down. So when a person I work with pulled me aside this morning and whispered excitedly that she'd love for me to take her photos, I did not hesitate.

This same invitation also causes some nerves for a non-professional (yet?) photographer like me. But when the time came for me to take my camera out... the moments came to be taken and held still. The fifteen minutes sure packed a few good treasures for us. I also love the way the model let herself go and allowed her soul to peek through.

So which little bird tweeted into her ear so she'd know to ask? Ah, these chicks and their life-stills from yesterday chirped loud enough.

One of these chicks just wouldn't allow the day to go without capturing a bit more of her.

These moments begged to be captured, too. (Without me nor the not-so-hesitant model knowing, that is.)

Photography takes an instant out of time, altering life by holding it still.

~ Dorothea Lange ~

I agree.

Apples & Laughter

A smile is the light in the window of your face that tells people you're at home.

-- Author Unknown

Apples. Got a few apples today from school. I picked them up when I was chatting about photography with another enthusiast. I simply grabbed my camera, showed her what it can do, and promptly grabbed a few fruits from her table. It's not like she was going to eat them - yet.

We were joined by the producer of our musical show at school and then we started having more fun! Chatting the way only girls can - with loads of flair, extravagant gestures and loud laughter! Afternoons are not often this sunny where we're at. The vocation to enlighten the next generation's minds is not always this kind of interesting.

Ah. The next generation. Sometimes they amaze you by differentiating "green air" and "yellow air" in a breeze; sometimes they inspire you as they whisper to each other "don't give up" when they've forgotten words in a presentation; and sometimes they remind you of your passions by a thoughtful present wrapped in a plastic bag and shoved towards you as you start to teach.

It was quite coincidental that I decided to merge my two other blogs to this one just this morning. Maybe it's a message. Maybe I should pick up my pliers again as I re-ignite my passion for capturing images. Tomorrow, I'm going to check my torch and help a young jewelry-maker with the final tweaks of a design she put together for a friend. Maybe the stones are calling me back. Maybe it's time for a visit.

So all in all: as for first-days-back-to-work go, today was quite enjoyable. Though I surely missed this...