After spending a significant portion of last weekend curled up in bed bemoaning my lack of pumpkin pie, things turned around and I ended up having a wonderful week.

Last Sunday's adventure was that a group of my students invited me to the mall to go see the new Twilight movie with them. The final one in the series. My last chance to see sparkly vampire skin and that hunky werewolf walking around without a shirt. Of course, I never would have wanted to see the movie had it not been a chance to spend time with my students (of course.....), and the fact that they took me out for McDonald's afterwards made it an oddly endearingly American-style afternoon.

The week has been great since then. I was really proud of my lesson plan this week, and I felt like a good teacher in the classroom.  We talked about how to express sympathy, and then my students wrote and acted out their own "sad dialogues." We also played antonym bingo. I taught an English class at the hotel where I go to the gym and that went really well too. I lectured about good and bad conversation topics:
travel, weather, sports, movies = good
religion, politics, asking if I'm married, have kids, and how much money I make = bad.
I even guest-starred as a teacher at an elementary school for an afternoon; I got to shake hands with all the 6 year olds and re-enact all the old Kasintorn favorites: "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes" and "5 Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed".  It reminded me of all the fun parts of teaching English to little kids who just mimic everything I do and made me yearn for the carefully drawn, home-laminated picture cards and masking tape that were the staples of my Thai teaching.

Outside of teaching, I can't say that anything thrilling has happened, except that I bought tickets to head out to Flores and Komodo the first week of my winter break. But I had an English conversation hour with some of the university students. I went out for dim sum. I logged many many miles on the treadmill at the gym. I did a little home yoga. I read some books (yup. books plural. I have thousands of books on my kindle and I end almost every evening with a book and a cup of tea). And I finally got my laundry done, which I think everybody who spends much time around me will appreciate.

I have one more week of teaching before winter break begins. My first trip will be out to Flores where I plan on hunting komodo dragons, diving, and hiking up to a mountain to see some rainbow lakes. Then I'm flying back to Samarinda for a wedding, which I get to dress up for in my brand new kabaya! (the traditional costume of long songket skirt and lacy beadazzled tunic top) And then I don't really know what I'm doing. My plans for Christmas and New Years are still unknown, but I'm excited to see what they turn into. Maybe taking a batik class? Maybe more beaches and sunburns?

Its funny to me to remember that last year at this time I was trudging through snowbanks followed by herds of children who didn't understand why I wouldn't let them touch the snow with their cotton gloves on.  I imagine the world back home is starting to turn into a Christmas-shopping-extravaganza land, and while I can't say I'll miss the never-ending carols on the radio I will miss the datenut pinwheels, the Tom and Jerrys (the drink), and the smell of fresh-cut pine trees.

Here's a smattering of the better photos I've taken lately:

baskets!

inside the biggest Islamic center in Southeast Asia

a delicious padang feast

buaya! (crocodile! and don't worry, I took this photo through a fence, a chicken-wire fence, but better than nothing)

...and this is pretty self-explanatory

Happy Thanksgiving from Samarinda!

I had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner with a group of students, teachers, and friends. We had Indonesians, Americans, and even an Ecuadorean. Our Thanksgiving feast was a delicious spread of roast chicken, potatoes, mushroom soup, roasted veggies, and fresh rolls. No cranberry sauce, stuffing, or pie, so it wasn't as good as celebrating at home, but since nothing is as good as celebrating at home, I think we made the best of it.

Thanksgiving is my absolute favorite holiday and calling home that evening to get in on the "Do we really need more bread?" debate made me miss all the friends and family (and food!) back home. The phone call didn't last nearly long enough, and when I got cut off I resigned myself to imagining the smell of sauteed celery and onions, mushrooms, and sausage while watching the bowl of bread overflow.  Soon many hands would reach into the two (because there is too much to mix in just one) bowls of stuffing for the time-honored taste-testing tradition. More poultry seasoning. More salt. My mom always gets the final decision on when its ready, and then we turn ourselves to the next task of overcomplicating a giant game of Cat's Cradle so we'll be able to lift the turkey out of the pan when its ready. Thanksgiving is a time to be surrounded by people you love and to be very very full of food but still save room for pie.

As I write this blog, I know that having slept off the initial feast, everybody at home is waking up to that perfect breakfast of coffee, stuffing, and pumpkin pie. So I'm drowning my sorrows in my sister's homemade biscotti (best care package ever!) and remembering that I am hugely grateful for the job I have and the place I'm living right now. I am so lucky to have this opportunity to live in Samarinda and make my small way as a member of this community. I am thankful for the beautiful places I get to see, the incredible people I get to meet, and the fact that I touched a giant sea turtle last weekend.

 Thanksgiving dinner. Smiling, hungry faces.

For all but 3 of us, this was the first Thanksgiving.

The feast.

Thank you!!