Monna McD

MonnaMcDiarmid.com: The UnLaunch

noreply@blogger.com (Monna) — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 05:26:00 +0000

{Follow me!}

First, my deep apologies if you are one of the small handful of people who has faithfully followed my adventures over the years: from Barcelona Moments to Teacher Meets World to Monna McD. I am moving blog-homes again and, hopefully, I'll be staying put for a while!

You will now find me at MonnaMcDiarmid.com

Since late 2006, when I began blogging in Barcelona, Blogger has been my platform of choice and Blogger has always been good to me. I know my way around Blogger and we've always been a good fit... so much so that the move to Wordpress feels a bit like cheating. The bottom line is if Blogger had made it this easy as for me to register my own domain name, I'd never have left.

Life (and blogs) moves on.

I'm calling this an "un-launch" because, frankly, I am a bit weary of big announcements about blog changes. My blog is basically the same: a white background and a minimalist appearance. I have imported all of the posts from my past blogs... the whole damned collection. There is a lovely new header, designed by DP, which reflects our recent move to Japan. There are also some little glitches that I am fixing as I find them. (Yup... I am trying to let "perfect" go!)

In the days and weeks to come, I'll be posting more about Japan... which, thus far, has felt quite a lot like living on the moon.

I'd love it if you'd follow me over at MonnaMcDiarmid.com - either through a reader like Google Reader or via e-mail.

Please let me know if there is anything I can do to help you subscribe!

Happy Sunday!

The Charms of Barcelona Guest Post

noreply@blogger.com (Monna) — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 14:38:00 +0000

DP and I were in Barcelona for a glorious week this summer and all I wrote for you was one (just one!) post about our photo session with Kyle and Seba.

Until now, that is.

I've written a guest post on Dry as Toast and you can read it here.

Dorkys, the blogger, is in Barcelona right now so I am, of course, a bit envious.

The Sunday List (15) The Yokohama Edition

noreply@blogger.com (Monna) — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 05:06:00 +0000

{This girl has a face like a poem.}

1. Listening
Melody Gardot.
Listen, I know I've said it before but her voice is extraordinary. She kills me.

2. Watching
We don't have cable television yet. I mean we do... but we don't... don't get me started! So DP and I have been watching movies and a bit of television purchased from i-tunes.

Last Night is a beautifully written film about love, longing and fidelity. The art direction is gorgeous and the interiors are sumptuous. (Warning: We really liked the film but it made us feel sad.) Here's the trailer.

3. Reading
Snow Country by Yasunari Kawabata
Shimamura, a wealthy Japanese man goes to a mountain resort and meets a geisha named Komako.
Nothing happens.
Everything happens.

We have lived in Japan for just a month now but I am already starting to see how the art of subtle communication works in real life. Traditionally, a Japanese person would never turn down a social invitation but would say yes in such a way that the person offering the invitation would hear a gentle no. I find this both lovely and infuriating.

4. Quoting
“The fact is that very few things have so much effect on the feeling inside a room as the sun shining into it.” ~ Christopher Alexander, A Pattern Language

What's got your attention right now?

Blue sky-views from the 69th floor

noreply@blogger.com (Monna) — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 03:32:00 +0000

From the 69th floor of the Landmark Tower in Yokohama, you can see forever.

It was an Africa-hot Tuesday afternoon and two of my colleagues and I had taken the group of new new high school students to the Minator Mirai 21 district of Yokohama for lunch and a cool scavenger hunt followed by a trip to the top of Landmark Tower which is the tallest building and third tallest structure in Japan. (A quick aside for teachers: If you want kids to bond quickly, take them to the exact place that they would choose on their own... a mall!)

My group piled into the elevator and a young female guide began to speak in Japanese. I gathered that she was talking about the speed of the elevator as twenty heads leaned back to get a better view of red numbers on a screen just above the elevator doors. The elevator reached a speed of 12.5 metres per second which meant that the elevator came to a gentle landing on the 69th floor in just forty seconds. My ears popped twice!

About halfway to the top, one of our students whispered, "Can you imagine being in here during an earthquake?" Twenty people inhaled in perfect unison and were then completely silent for the next twenty seconds.

Even on a hot, August day the views were astonishing. When the weather cools off a bit, and the Yokohama-skies are at their bluest, I'll take DP so that he can see forever too.

What have you been looking at lately? What are your new views?

Jellyfish on the walk home

noreply@blogger.com (Monna) — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 12:47:00 +0000

I bought a new i-phone. I know that's not really big news compared with moving to Japan but it is news, nonetheless, and said i-phone is allowing me to capture all manner of Yokohama moments via Hipstamatic and Instagram. (If you don't have an i-phone, it doesn't matter what those are. If you are an i-phone person, perhaps you have experienced this particular app-addiction or are, at least, slightly sympathetic to my plight.)

The good news is that I have taken some photos of my walk from school. Pretty, no?

Walk with me... down the street, around the corner, past the Foreigners' Cemetery, through the park, down the elevator (yes... an elevator), through the metro station, out onto the shopping street and, finally, across the canal where the jellyfish live.

I swear that the jellyfish bow to us as we walk by.

We bow back. It's what you do in Japan.

Did you spot the jellyfish? (Look closely!)

Dreaming of (another) home

noreply@blogger.com (Monna) — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 13:22:00 +0000

This is Yokohama, Japan.

We live here now. (This is a relatively new thing; we've been Yokohama-people for just over 14 hours... 8 of which were spent sleeping.)

This morning we start work at our new international school. It's a gentle beginning in which we'll get a tour of the school and city and receive our new laptops. Then, this afternoon, DP and I will meet an agent who will show us some rental properties so that we can choose a home.

I love new beginnings!

{Note: I wrote this post on August 2nd but didn't post it. Perhaps I was waiting until I had more news.}

Strawberry Jam Days

noreply@blogger.com (Monna) — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 19:13:00 +0000

This is my mom. She worries that people of my generation (and younger) have forgotten or simply did not learn how to make jams and preserves. (She's right.) About a week ago, on a gorgeous mid-July day, she gave my niece and me a refresher course.

So, in the spirit of keeping jam-making alive, here is my mother's tried-and-true recipe.

strawberry jam
Ingredients:
- Approximately 5-6 cups of strawberries (The amount needed will depend on the size of the berries. Your goal is to have 3 3/4 cups of mashed berries when they are hulled and mashed.)
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 7 cups white sugar
- One packet of liquid Certo or Pectin (Please check the best before date on the box.)

Directions:
1. Hull (take out the stems) and mash strawberries until you have 3 3/4 cups.
2. Mix strawberries, lemon juice and white sugar. Put ingredients in a large pot on your stove top.
3. Bring to a boil while stirring frequently so that substance doesn't stick to bottom of pot.
4. Add one packet of liquid Certo. Bring this to a full rolling boil for a minute to 90 seconds. (A full rolling boil occurs when nothing disrupts the boil including your stirring motions with a wooden spoon.)
5. Take pot off stove and stir occasionally for 5 minutes.
6. Remove top layer with a spoon and place it in a bowl. This layer will be lighter in colour. (My mom calls this the scum and we always eat it on our toast the week that she makes strawberry jam.)
7. Make sure that your bottles are sterilized with boiling water. Then fill the bottles with your jam.
8. Melt parafin wax in a tin can in a double boiler.
9. Pour enough wax on top of jam to seal it from the air. This layer is quite thin - perhaps half a centimetre.

Notes:
Makes 5 small bottles of jam.
To make jam with other berries, use 4 cups of mashed berries and leave out the lemon juice.
My grandmother said that you should never make jam when it is raining. (I'm just saying...)

What is the most useful thing that you learned from your mother?

Halfway around the world

noreply@blogger.com (Monna) — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 05:01:00 +0000

It seemed like a good idea at the time.

When planning our trip home this summer (Ottawa for me and Calgary for DP), the cheapest plane tickets we could find got us from Bangkok to New York City via London. So, I was thinking... if we were going to be in London, why not spend a few days there? And if we were going to be in Europe, why not fly to Spain and see our friends in Barcelona? Why not see some shows in London and New York City? After four nights in Manhattan, we'd take Amtrak's Adirondack route from Manhattan to Montreal and then, the following day, we'd take Via Rail home to Ottawa. We'd rent a car and drive to Toronto and Kingston. What could be easier?

So that's what we did. We traveled halfway around the world. (The other half - the half that leads to our new life in Yokohama, Japan - begins in just two weeks!)

We visited ten cities and many small towns in five countries and slept in 11 different beds. In Barcelona, we had our photos taken. We've seen many dear friends with whom we shared stories and some extraordinary meals. (Unfortunately, there are some friends we won't have a chance to see this year. This always makes us feel a whole host of emotions situated along the sadness/guilt spectrum but not seeing everyone is one of the few drawbacks of our mostly-lovely nomadic life. Knowing and loving many people is not always compatible with our strong need for rest, recovery and some time for ourselves at the end of each school year.)

The journey has been:
a) heart-warming
b) exhilarating
c) delicious
d) exhausting
e) all of the above (and still a very good idea!)

Today, exactly one month after our Bangkok departure, I had my first full day in my jammies. In short, I had a vacation from my vacation. To say that I have enjoyed this day without commitments would be an understatement of criminal proportions. I even loved the scary wind storm and ensuing power outage that gave us a reason to light our seldom-used, big red Christmas candles. I felt a bit disappointed when the power came back on and the bright lights ruined the lovely mood. That's exactly how I used to feel as a kid... like "Why is everyone so excited about the power? It was more romantic with the lights out."

I have so much to share but after a month on the road, I got stuck and wasn't sure where to start. So I'm just starting.

Hello! How have you been and what have you been up to?

Un-wedding Photos, Barcelona

noreply@blogger.com (Monna) — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 07:50:00 +0000

I confess.

I totally talked him into it.

This is actually the second time that I have coerced DP into playing along with this particular scheme; the first time was a few years ago in the Tuileries in Paris.

I am speaking, here, of having our photographs taken by a professional photographer.

As non-conventional souls, we have opted out of many things including marriage. That's not a big political statement on our part; we have just never felt the need to have our relationship recognized by church or state. (In our case, how would we begin to figure out which nation state's blessing is required?) I do, however, love wedding photos especially when they are taken by photographers as talented as Kyle Hepp and her husband Seba.

When I saw that Kyle and Seba would be in Barcelona at the same time that we were visiting in June of 2011, I contacted Kyle about the details for an un-wedding shoot. When I knew that it was possible, I asked DP if he was interested. He said he'd think about it. He thought about it... I encouraged him... he caved. This is no small thing as DP would always prefer to be on the other side of the lens.

This is what love looks like, folks.

On June 16th, we met up with Kyle and Seba at the train station in Gracia and retraced our walk home through the neighbourhood of Gracia to our former piso (apartment) on Carrer Seneca (Seneca Street).

I felt nervous. Nervous and overheated. And then my head started to sweat. (If you know me, then you know that I'm a famous head sweater from way back!)

Then Kyle and Seba arrived at our meeting point and they were so friendly and accommodating that I soon forgot about my nervousness (my head, however, continued to sweat) and we walked through the favourite parts of our old neighbourhood having our photographs taken. This is a seriously surreal endeavour which I highly recommend to single people and married people and happily unmarried couples.

Yes, if you have been wondering, people do stare. They are trying to figure out who you are and why you are having our photographs taken. Mostly, they are just curious.

The surprising thing about having our photographs taken in Barcelona, where we lived for three years, was that people on the streets were much friendlier and accommodating than we had imagined. I have a saying about Barcelona which tickles me to no end... "You don't go to Barcelona for the hugs." (Catalans are notoriously suspicious of outsiders which is completely reasonable given how they were treated by Franco!) When we were having our photos taken, however, people stopped and waited patiently for Kyle and Seba to do their thing. A couple of people on a moto actually apologized which made us all laugh.

With some guidance from Kyle, we had chosen 7:00 to 9:30 p.m. and we were well rewarded with the most delicious light. As Mara says about Florence, "You could eat the light with a spoon."

We totally recommend Kyle and Seba who have created an amazing photography business by being intentional and professional about every aspect of their business. They are warm souls with whom we felt immediately at ease and they made it a priority to understand who we are and what we wanted as clients. They are both amazing photographers and DP and I love their aesthetic. Amazingly, less than a week after our shoot, Kyle had already posted the preview of our photographs. Oh, the photos!

You can check out our un-wedding photographs here on Kyle's site.

What's the lesson here?
1. Do what you want.
Do it even if it feels goofy or you think other people might not approve. Live all over the world. Move to Japan. Have your photos taken on the light-filled streets of Barcelona by two strangers who are no longer strangers. Do it! What do you have to lose?
2. DPs love for me is an awesome thing. I totally owe him one.

Very Thai Moment 2

noreply@blogger.com (Monna) — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 00:00:00 +0000

{Photo Credit: Edith McDiarmid}

Click on photograph to see a larger view

My mother took this photograph when she and my cousin visited us in February. The shot was taken downtown and it captures, perfectly, the chaotic vibe that characterizes the streets of Bangkok. Thanks, mom!

The Best of Bangkok

noreply@blogger.com (Monna) — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 07:18:00 +0000

{Photo Credit: Sippanont Samchai}

We were having dinner with friends last night when the conversation came around to our favourite local framing stores, Bangkok blogs and etsy vendors.

This reminded me of a trip to Phuket with this same group of lovely friends shortly after we arrived in Bangkok two years ago. We were sitting on wooden lounge chairs on a white-sand beach, staring out at the Andaman Sea, when that conversation led to favourite Bangkok restaurants. "Wait!" I said, grabbing my moleskin and a pen. I made a list of 18 restaurants - almost all of which DP and I have tried over the past two years.

Each time I move to a new city (and Bangkok has been my sixth city-home), I feel like I've bought a ticket to an enormous museum. A museum so large and complex that it will take me years to explore and, eventually, become comfortable in. Different people take very different approaches to this experience of being new to a city. Some leap with wild abandon, content to explore the city on their own while others (myself included) need more information and less ambiguity. I would happily line up for hours in order to get a detailed map of this metaphorical museum. In real life terms, that means that I seek out and am deeply grateful for my friends' recommendations and strategies; in that spirit, I offer my own list of Bangkok favourites below.

Best Bangkok Blogs:
Newley.com (News and other cool stuff)
Austin Bush (Photography and food)

Best Lower Sukhumvit Restaurants:
Kuppa (International and Thai + great desserts + beautiful interior)
Crepes and Company (French crepes + great ambiance)
La Monita (Best tacos we've had outside Mexico/Texas)
Greyhound Cafe at Emporium and Central Chidlom (We LOVE their bruschetta with tomatoes, the spinach and cheese dip and the pad thai)
Duke's Express on Fifth Floor of the Emporium (Extremely yummy comfort food from "home")

Best Bread:
Urban Pantry (This small company is producing the yummiest bread we have eaten in Asia)

Best Bagels:
BKK Bagel Bakery (Real New York bagel shop located in Maneya Center, next to the Chdlom BTS statation on Sukhumvit Road)

Absolute Best Meals in Bangkok:
Please note that the first meal is incredibly cheap while the rest will cost you some $$$
Pad Thai, spring rolls, mango sticky rice and lime soda at the shaded cafe in the art section of JJs
Sunday Jazzy Brunch at the Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit
The Cheese Room inside Flow at the Millennium Hilton. See a video of the buffet at Flow here.
Le Normandie at the Mandarin Oriental (Phone for reservations and ask about their special set menu for lunch on weekdays and Saturdays during the off-season)

Best Thai Guesthouse:
Pak Chiang Mai (Khun O and Khun Noon will make you feel like a member of the family at this lovely little guest house in the old city)

Shopping:
Jim Thompson - Retail stores at Emporium and Central World and the twice-annual Jim Thompson sale
Paul's Antiques (Thai and Burmese wooden furniture)
Chatuchak Weekend Market (also known as JJs)
Zsiska (Funky designer jewellery shop in Central World)

Best of Etsy.com:
The art in our Bangkok apartment has come primarily from JJs Weekend Market here in Bangkok and from Etsy.com, an online marketplace where artists can sell their own homemade goods. Here are four of my favourite Etsy shops:
Irene Suchoki
Alicia Bock
Tush Tush
Keep Calm and Carry On - poster from sf girl by bay

Best Framing:
UThai Framing, Sukhumvit Soi 21 (Excellent and affordable framing shop recommended by an Art teacher)

Best map to the Museum known as Bangkok:
Nancy Chandler's Map of Bangkok

What are your favourite spots in Bangkok? Please share them in the comments below.

Very Thai Moment

noreply@blogger.com (Monna) — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 07:53:00 +0000

{Click on the photo to see a larger image.}

For me, the photo of this beautiful food vendor symbolizes Thailand. This is as Thai as downtown Bangkok gets.

Today, walking home from school, I stopped and smiled at the woman who runs this food stall. Not so unusual, right?

I then proceeded to do something I have never before done in Thailand. I asked her if I could take her photograph. Before you begin formulating the thought, "Wow, Monna's Thai must be so good!" I must come clean that I had my camera in my hands and I raised it and then raised my shoulders. International sign language for, "May I take your photograph." The woman smiled back at me which is international sign language for "Go ahead, you crazy foreigner. I'm just cooking lunch here."

So I took her photograph.

I love her entire outfit including the white rubber boots, jaunty white hat and blue floral apron. I love the guy sitting behind her at a table covered in a pink plastic tablecloth that reminds me of Mexico. This moment was what both Thais and foreigners would call, "Very Thai."

With just a week left in Bangkok, I find myself more patient with this city I have not loved.

Yesterday, DP and I watched as five tiny Thai men in canary yellow shirts packed up our entire life. "57 boxes!" the supervisor told us proudly. 57 boxes. Our apartment is now empty and we are sleeping in a mattress on the floor; it's like being in university again.

The good news is that we have lots of space to dream about Japan and to reflect on two years spent in Thailand.

I'll try to bring you several more Very Thai Moments before we go!

Mondays are for Dreaming: Chiang Mai Market

noreply@blogger.com (Monna) — Mon, 16 May 2011 14:00:00 +0000

These pics are from Nonghoi Market in Chiang Mai.

DP and I went to Chiang Mai for the weekend. We worked at our school in Bangkok all day Friday, hopped on an Air Asia flight at 6:15 p.m. and were in our hotel - the lovely Pak Chiang Mai - by 8:00 p.m. We spent the evening at the Night Market and ate dinner at The Duke's which serves what might be the best burgers and ribs in Thailand. We really wondered why we didn't take this little trip more often over the last two years.

One of my agenda items for Chiang Mai was to buy a mortar and pestle. We e-mailed Yui and Kwan who are the owners of A Lot of Thai cooking school; they recommended Nonghoi Market on Chiangmai-Lampoon Road. While we were at the market (actually buying my mortar and pestle), we ran into Chef Yui with a group from her cooking class. When she saw us, she embraced us and gave us each a big kiss. (She is the coolest Thai person we have ever met!)

With just four weeks left before we leave Thailand, I'm so happy we made it back to Chiang Mai for one last visit.

Mara at The Mother of All Trips is dreaming of a spring Saturday in Washington D.C.

What travels are you dreaming of today?

Postcards from Japan (2)

noreply@blogger.com (Monna) — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 00:00:00 +0000

{Square postcard. Extra postage required.}

Dear mom,

Everyone has their own idea of being pampered. In Thailand, many expats love getting a massage, manicure or pedicure. Partly that's because these services are inexpensive and they are everywhere. You'll probably recognize these massage mats from Pak Chiang Mai in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

These particular luxuries are not important to me.

Perhaps it's because we're Canadian (and that I was raised right!) but the way that I want to be pampered is to be treated with courtesy and care.

During our week in Japan every desk clerk, waiter and store clerk did their best to help us in a polite and efficient manner.

I get that this might not be everyone's idea of sexy but, for me, Japanese courtesy is heavenly. (I think you'll like it too when you come to visit us next year!)

Love,

Monna

P.S. For Postcard 1, click here.

Postcards from Japan (1)

noreply@blogger.com (Monna) — Sat, 23 Apr 2011 05:30:00 +0000

Dear mom,

Given the three weeks that it normally takes for mail to travel from South East Asia to Canada, this seems like the best possible way to share my postcards with you. (Having said that, the Japanese are so amazingly efficient that they may have invented postal time travel that allows post cards to arrive at their destination before you have actually sent them!)

We arrived in Yokohama on the afternoon of Monday 11 April to visit the city and school that we'll start calling home in August. This is the lovely view of the harbour and downtown Yokohama from our hotel room. About an hour after we arrived, we experiences our first earthquake - a 7.4 in the North. This was my fourth earthquake; the others were in Cali in Colombia, Ottawa and Bangkok just a few weeks ago. Do you remember how you and I both felt shaky after the earthquake in Ottawa last summer? Weirdly, I didn't experience the same fear/relief in Yokohama. DP and I opened the door to the hotel room and stood in the hallway outside our bathroom where there was nothing that could fall off the walls or tip over. The shaking lasted for about 30 seconds.

A few minutes later, the front desk called us to check that we were okay. DP said, "Yes, we're fine. Should we come down?" (We were on the 9th floor.) The front desk clerk assured us that it was perfectly safe to stay in our room.

Shortly afterward, we met a friend and went out to dinner and to an IB art exhibit for our new school.

In spite of experiencing one of the strongest earthquakes felt in Yokohama since 11 March 2011, we have both begun to fall in love with Yokohama and with the Japanese people who treated us with great respect and care.

Love,
Monna

Ronald McDonald in Thailand

noreply@blogger.com (Monna) — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 12:31:00 +0000

Even after two years, I still smile when I see a statue of Ronald McDonald making the sign of the wai.

For more Friday Photos from around the world, visit Delicious Baby.

What's making you smile today?

two thousand words {bangkok and paris}

noreply@blogger.com (Monna) — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 11:14:00 +0000

{Above: Crepes & Co in Bangkok, Thailand as seen by Monna

Below: A bistro in Paris, France as seen by DP}

two thousand words is a (sometimes) weekly post featuring one photograph from Monna and one from DP.

Would you be able to guess which one of us took which photograph if I didn't tell you?

Dreaming of Cherry Blossoms

noreply@blogger.com (Monna) — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 12:23:00 +0000

{Photo Credit: Another side of yukita}

This photograph makes me so happy. I went looking for a photograph of cherry blossoms on Flickr's Creative Commons and found this gorgeous shot which, coincidentally, was taken by Yokohama photographer Masayuki Takaku. You can check out his photographs of this year's sakura (cherry blossom) season here.

Why is the image of cherry trees in bloom so universally appealing? The blossoms signal the beginning of spring and symbolize new birth... a fresh start. After the long winter, the world explodes in a riot of pink softness and abundance. I believe that the new blossoms inspire feelings of hope in us and that sign of hope is particularly significant for Japan this year.

DP and I leave for Yokohama, Japan on Sunday; we have an amazing opportunity to visit to our new school. I will spend a few mornings with the current Grade 11 and 12 counselor and possibly meet some of the current students. (Wow... I have butterflies of excitement and nervousness about meeting the new kids!) In the evenings, we'll hang out with friends, get acquainted with Yokohama and perhaps we'll even see the apartment that we are taking over from the same lovely woman whose Bangkok apartment we moved into when we arrived in Thailand two years ago.

Of course, while we're in Japan, we'd love to see the cherry blossoms. I've read that the cherry trees are blooming a bit later than normal because of the cold weather. According to this site, the estimated best viewing dates in Yokohama are April 6-14.

Although I'm an optimist by nature, I honestly don't know if the cherry blossoms will be able to wait for us. It's okay. A year from now, we'll be living in Yokohama and perhaps we'll be sitting beneath a light pink hanabi-awning with friends we have not yet met. I feel hopeful... about the blossoms and about living in Japan.

{Photo Credit: domat33f}

If you're going to be in Tokyo in the next week, Time Out Tokyo recommends the following locations and creative spots for your hanami party:

Tokyo's best sakura spots, 1-5

Extraordinary hanami spots

For more Monday dream, visit The Mother of all Trips.

What or where are you dreaming of this week?

Buddhist Wisdom at Wat Phra Singh

noreply@blogger.com (Monna) — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 15:52:00 +0000

On the grounds of Wat Phra Singh in Chiang Mai, we were delighted by these signs (and many more) painted with Buddhist truths. (My favourite is the last one!)

What are your favourite proverbs for living a good life?

Eat, Pray, Love in Chiang Mai

noreply@blogger.com (Monna) — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 13:47:00 +0000

Above:

1. Chef Yui at A Lot of Thai
2. Thai monk at Wat Phra Singh
3. My (very cute) mom at Pak Chiang Mai

With just ten weeks left in Thailand, we're thinking that we'd like to get back to Chiang Mai for one last decadent weekend. It is without question, our favourite corner of Thailand.

For more Friday Photos, pop on over to Delicious Baby.

Where is your favourite place to eat, pray and love? Is it one place... or three different cities?

5 perfect moments in Bangkok's early-morning

noreply@blogger.com (Monna) — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 00:52:00 +0000

{Photograph by DP}

It is a little before seven o'clock in the morning and I am sitting outside my building, waiting for the tuk-tuk to school. I'm seated on a row of navy blue plastic bucket seats from some long-closed waiting room; the seats are bolted to a piece of metal running between 2 cement columns. It's cool and I know there are mosquitoes dangerously close by although I can't see them. A thunder storm threatens quietly.

one
In the apartment building across from me, a long-legged young man comes out onto his balcony in white boxer shorts. He is tanned and blonde. He drops into a chair and lights a cigarette, inhaling deeply. He does this every morning although he doesn't always wear the boxers.

two
One of the maids who works in our building, a very hip young woman who reminds me of a close friend in Singapore, adds several small garlands of gold-coloured chrysanthemums to the spirit house. While she prays, she pats the flowers gently - like little pets.

three
The driver arrives and we pile into the tuk-tuk: me, the super-smart talkative boy from the building with whom I have developed a friendship, the precocious little girl and her nanny and, at the very last possible second, another boy. "You're getting so tall!" I exclaim after he tumbles into the back seat. "Am I?" he asks. Then he smiles.

four
In the old wooden house at the corner of sois 13 and 11, two women wait for the monk who passes by about this time every morning. The lady of the house is tiny and white-haired. Her dress is simple but elegant... a fuchsia pink and white floral-print. She is in a wheelchair. A maid from the household stands beside her with an aluminum bowl of food for the monk. They are standing on the other side of the gate and they seem as though they are very far away... from a different time, perhaps.

five
A young man on a bicycle passes us on the right and speeds ahead, weaving his way through the morning traffic. On both sides, and at the back, of the bike are tied large blue plastic milk crate filled with eggs. What a perfect metaphor for life... all of those gorgeous fragile eggs - white and brown mixed together - nestled precariously on the bicycle of a young Thai boy in Bangkok.

{Photograph by DP}

For more Monday Dreams, please visit The Mother of All Trips.

What are you dreaming of this Monday?

The Sunday List (14)

noreply@blogger.com (Monna) — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 15:15:00 +0000

{Wat Phra Singh in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Photo was taken on Makha Bucha or February Full Moon Festival}

listening
1. Adele's Albums 19 and 21
You can watch the video for Make You Feel My Love here.

2. Debut album Sigh No More by Mumford and Sons (Thanks to Megan for the recommendation!)
Check out the video for The Cave here.

3. Dog Days Are Over - the Glee Cast Version!

4. Alanis Morissette's most recent album Flavors of Entanglement. Here's the video for Not As We.

5. Songs For Japan
If you are looking for a cool way to donate money to Japan, this album is listed on the home page of i-tunes. $9.99 buys you songs from 38 different artists including Bob Dylan, Katy Perry, Sting, U2, Elton John, Bruno Mars, Michael Buble, and Sade.

reading
1. I'll Never Be French (no matter what I do) by Mark Greenside

2. The Sweet Life in Paris: Delicious Adventures in the World's Most Glorious - and Perplexing - City by David Lebovitz

3. Halfway to Each Other: How a Year in Italy Brought Our Family Home by Susan Pohlman

4. A Week at the Airport by Alain De Botton

watching
1. Bones

2. Treme (New Orleans in the days right after Katrina. John Goodman is amazing.)

3. American Idol (We are loving new judges Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez)

quoting
"I mean - here I am in this sacred place of study in the middle of India, and all I can think about is my ex-boyfriend? What am I, in eighth grade?

And then I remember a story my friend Deborah the psychologist told me once. Back in the 1980s, she was asked by the city of Philadelphia if she could volunteer to offer psychological counseling to a group of Cambodian refugees who had recently arrived in the city. These Cambodians had suffered the worst of what humans can inflict on each other - genocide, rape, torture, starvation, the murder of their relatives before their eyes, then long years in refugee camps and dangerous boat trips to the West where people died and corpses were fed to sharks - what could Deborah offer these people in terms of help? How could she possibly relate to their suffering?

“But don’t you know,” Deborah reported to me, “what all these people wanted to talk about, once they could see a counselor?”

It was all: ‘I met this guy when I was living in the refugee camp, and we fell in love. I thought he really loved me, but then we were separated on different boats, and he took up with my cousin. Now he’s married to her, but he says he really loves me, and he keeps calling me, and I know I should tell him to go away, but I still love him and I can’t stop thinking about him. And I don’t know what to do…’

This is what we are like. Collectively, as a species, this is our emotional landscape."

- Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

What cool art are you currently listening to, reading, watching and quoting? Please share!

Rear Window

noreply@blogger.com (Monna) — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 22:03:00 +0000

{A neighbourhood in Chiang Mai}

This photograph was taken in Chiang Mai on one of my favourite, ever Thailand days. My mom and cousin were visiting from Canada and we had embarked on our Best of Thailand Tour (Bangkok, Phuket and Chiang Mai). On this particular day, we had been picked up at our hotel, Pak Chiang Mai, by Yui and Kwan from A Lot of Thai cooking school in their amazing van. DP and I both fell a little bit in love with Yui... she was a great teacher and is also incredibly cool. We highly recommend their cooking school.

We had stopped at a local market to buy some ingredients for our class and were then making our way to Yui and Kwan's home for our private class. DP asked about the gorgeous tall trees we were driving beneath; Yui said they were rubber trees. I turned around and snapped his shot.

For me, this photo perfectly captures South East Asia.

I am finally, with less than three months left here in Bangkok, really enjoying the city and the country. I want to be clear... we have definitely made the right decision to move on at the end of this school year and we'll be proud to call Japan our home.

The difference is that I now feel completely free to enjoy what I want and am far less bothered by the less appealing aspects of living here.

In the past few week, DP and I have been incredibly social (for us); we have celebrated my birthday at a posh hotel, had dinner with a friend visiting from Japan, gone to our school's drama production of Peter Pan, and enjoyed a movie night at the home of friends. We've even gone out on a few week nights!

I remember this same phenomenon from the end of our time in Barcelona. With just eleven weeks left, it is fancy jam time in our household; we take advantage of every opportunity that presents itself. We're busier and more content than ever.

What's on your tourist-in-your-own-city bucket list? What's stopping you from enjoying the city where you live?

We're still going!

noreply@blogger.com (Monna) — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 06:22:00 +0000

"Fall down seven times, get up eight." - Japanese Proverb

Here's how things have unfolded:

We visited Tokyo and Kyoto in June of 2010 and fell deeply in love with Japan and its people.

In November of 2010 we were hired to work at an international school in Yokohama. DP and I were absolutely ecstatic.

On 11 March 2011, Japan suffered an unprecedented earthquake and tsunami that triggered the beginnings of a nuclear crisis.

Shortly after the earthquake, we received word that our friends in Yokohama were safe! They stayed in touch via Facebook and shared lovely stories about how people had worked together to keep everyone safe and calm during the earthquake. (God bless Facebook!)

Over the next few days, I watched far too much CNN coverage and felt increasingly paralyzed by the terrible images of devastation and loss of life. When Anderson Cooper showed up in Japan, we finally turned the television off. A sensationalist approach to the reporting of these tragedies helps no one.

A friend living in Japan recommended that we follow @TimeOutTokyo on Twitter for a more balanced account of life as it is currently unfolding in the Tokyo/Yokohama area.

We sought out more information about the nuclear crisis and find that not everyone is predicting the end of the world. Read more here.

Friends and family expressed concern about our move to Japan and our visit in April. (Thank you for your kind messages... we know that you love us.)

We assured others that it's okay to feel whatever you feel in response to the events unfolding in Japan. Fear, loss, empathy, anxiety, confusion and anger.

But we're still going!

The people of Japan are graceful, gracious and resilient. They are profoundly committed to the communities to which they belong. I'd like to learn how to be more like them.

When we move to Japan in four months, we hope to help in some small way. Moving and working there... spending a portion of our salary on groceries and travel in Japan will help.

The students at our school in Bangkok helped by working together to make thousands of paper cranes; they also donated money to the Japanese Red Cross.

Ultimately I believe that optimism helps. Having hope helps. Caring and praying and tweeting and blogging and sending your thoughts and best wishes to the people of Japan helps them know that they are not alone.

Breathe

noreply@blogger.com (Monna) — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 15:56:00 +0000

Some days we need a little reminder...