Greece: Four Islands Down 5,996 to Go
Ancient Greece …
Marble statues. Fistfuls of gyros stuffed with fries. Shops tempting you with fresh cones and heaping spoons of delight. My love for Greece began in 1995 when we drove through Thessaloniki and Florence on our way to Albania. This was my first experience with a "water closet." My first time seeing tomatoes the size of apples and experiencing the juiciest peach on the planet. I couldn't stop trying to decipher the Greek alphabet, hoping to be fluent in the blink of an eye.
Even as a 10 year old, I was whisked away by the stories of ancient Greece. Devastated when I learned Sparta wasn't some place I could visit, I threw myself into the gritty city of Athens. I never understood why there were so many naked statues but I stood in awe of the towering columns, the remnants of a mighty culture. Those memories of windy roads through the hillside, the monasteries peering at us barely holding onto the cliffs above.
Parthenon, Athens 2004
I fell further in love in 2004, when my family and I joined a few others for an outreach program during the Olympics. Maybe it was the hustle of thousands coming together to celebrate their country's achievement. Those memories are deeply etched into my minds, the smells and sights still fresh.
This is why I was beyond excited to take Nate to a place filled with history, laughter and street cats. Actually, the street cats are a new thing, but I digress.
As hardworking teachers and a childless couple, we have the luxury of traveling with loose plans. A home base is all we need to throw our packs and then head out to explore the neighborhood. Yes, we center our trips on food, but mainly look for those places that beckon to you as you walk by. Not with sun-faded pictures but with the laughter of old friends—the kind of place the homies spend hours talking shop or remembering the past. We've come to adopt the rule of 4. That is, if a place has four old dudes sitting together day drinking, it's like a Michelin star. We've got to stop.
We purchased our tickets over a year ago but life got in the way and we postponed this trip a few times. So when we finally landed and hopped onto the metro, I was relieved. 10 days to experience the richness of Greek life and culture.
Our itinerary was simple. Athens and then some islands. Four days in the city flew by as we mobbed through the city, made guesses about where Socrates stood, and met up with colleagues for a glorious dinner of wine, Greek salad and grilled meats. The Parthenon and the Agora still held the wonder I felt as a child.
Korinthos
After galavanting around Athens for a few days, we hopped on a train for a short day trip to Korinthos aka Ancient Corinth—a significant village where the Apostle Paul kicked it.
The Fam, 2004
After a little Googling we decided to spend a couple nights on Aegina, a quaint little island an hour out of Athens. To our joy, some grad-school friends joined us for a few days bumming around. When we docked, I immediately remembered this iconic church and our family photo.
Aegina, Saronic Islands
From there we hopped a ferry to the Cyclades, a handful of islands East of Athens.
Most folks know about the instagramably views of Mykonos but not about the 600+ churches on this island. Turns out, this island is very small and pretty boring unless you like to party on yachts. It’s also insanely windy as evidenced from all our pictures. Thanks to a Greek ferry strike, we had plenty of time to drive the winding roads and eat a few more Greek salads drizzled perfectly with olive oil. We also popped over to Delos “Where Light Was Born”--perhaps one of the most intact and untouched archeological sites in all of Greece.
Our favorite stop of the trip was actually the shortest, the port of Tinos. After dropping our backpacks at the AirBnb and testing out grandma’s cherry liquor, we wandered through charming downtown. As we made our way towards the center, I glanced down main street and noticed a type of bike lane covered in green carpet. It felt important and like a normal Birkenstocks-clad person shouldn’t be stepping on. But we soon realized this was the road leading to the Church of Panagia Megalochari which it turns out everyone, who considers themselves a dedicated Greek Orthodox believer, makes a pilgrimage to. As a show of faith, you can buy a 6 foot tall candle to light inside the sanctuary.
From getting lost in gritty Athenian alleyways, visualizing the birth of democracy in the Agora, drinking another .5 liter of house wine, or witnessing the power of organized labour strikes, our ten days in Greece flew by. Maybe next time we’ll get an Anthony Bourdain tattoo that says "Be a traveler not a tourist".
Generation Carmen Sandiego Goes to the Expo
Only the real 90s PBS nerds will remember this banger:
Well she sneaks around the world from Kiev to Carolina
She's a sticky-fingered filcher from Berlin down to Belize
She'll take you for a ride on a slow boat to China
Tell me where in the world is Carmen Sandiego?
International escapades run deep in those of us who grew up trying to catch Carmen. So naturally, when we moved overseas, we were looking for opportunities to travel. Miss Rona certainly put a damper on our plans, but it seems we’re at the tail end of this crisis.
In the UAE we’re down to fewer than 120 cases per day nationwide from 300,000-ish daily tests (a 0.0004% positivity rate). We now have over eighty-five percent of the country fully-vaccinated; Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed said last week we're exiting the emergency phase. A notable sign we’re entering the “post-emergency measures” era is the pandemic-delayed opening of the Dubai 2020 Expo.
For many Americans we know this as the “World’s Fair.” Old heads back home might remember the 1962 Century 21 Exposition which brought us Seattle Center and the iconic Seattle Space Needle.
Last weekend, we hopped in our car, this year a Mitsubishi Attrage, and booked a room at the DoubleTree (#ThatCookieLife) much like we would for any other trip. Donning an overnight bag rather than my 40ml hiking backpack, we headed to explore the world--one pavilion at a time. This year’s theme is “Connecting Minds and Creating the Future through sustainability, mobility and opportunity.” The Expo grounds are divided into five massive sections, each populated with 30-ish countries showcasing their interpretation of one component. Scattered throughout are ginormous, Jetsons-esque pavilions that feature artificial intelligence, intricate stages, concert halls, live art installations, and much, much more.
Our strategy was simple. Pick a region and explore it. Well, it wasn’t that simple. We had slightly opposing strategies. I, Hope, was on a mission to visit the entire world. Nate, on the other hand, was more selective about his time (“I ain’t got time for no minnow states!”). We did however agree to eat our way through the regions as best we could. After two days of wandering, eating and learning, we realized the pavilions could be classified as follows.
Hey, Come Visit For a Good Time
The Bahamas (btw, there are way more Bahaman Islands than you think there are)
Dominica (no, we are not the Dominican Republic)
Dominican Republic (they called us out for only knowing about the touristy parts of the island)
Costa Rica (we almost made it through the pavilion without hearing pura vida, almost)
Madagascar (feels hella slept on, honestly)
Peru
Incredible greenery, kind people, and Inca cola.
Tanzania
There’s a direct flight from Abu Dhabi to Zanzibar and they have an incredible female president who is currently the only female head of state in all of Africa.
Ya’ll Need to Invest Here
Algeria (they’re taking a ton of Chinese FDI)
Azerbaijan (extremely underrated national anthem)
El Salvador (really courting Bitcoin miners and crypto investors)
Sudan (looks kinda weird on the map with South Sudan removed)
Mexico (lots of talk about deep water ports, proximity to “global markets,” and infrastructure)
New Zealand (still flexin’ that Covid success)
Romania (they say they have 60% of Europe’s freshwater; this feels like a made up stat)
Croatia (they completely skip any mention of the entire Yugoslav era but they brought a 200 year old olive tree to showcase!)
Hey! Hey! Remember We Exist
Albania (like Greece, but majority Muslim, much cheaper, and the world’s best flag)
Czech Republic (the duck rillettes were delightful)
The Kingdom of Eswanti (aka Swaziland, note the name change)
Laos (you know, the landlocked spot everyone forgets about)
Turkmenistan (they obviously love horses)
Tajikistan (the Tajik drip tho!)
Just Flexing And Reveling in Our Awesomeness
Spain (sadly, their cafe was closed and we didn’t get to eat any bocadillos)
France (honestly, we went here for the cafe which was filled with cheese, croissants, and crepes)
Germany (they are developing autonomous, laser-zapping drones to reduce dependency on herbicides and pesticides)
Singapore (the focus on sustainability and plants)
Thailand (a 5-senses experience that made us want to move there immediately)
Republic Of Korea
K-pop dancers, free swag, and access to an incredible restaurant.
Russia
We were disappointed to not hear the Russian anthem; it’s a banger.
Philippines
Designed for all the Pinoy-expats in the UAE, this was complex, thoughtful, and smelled liked all the iconic Filipino dishes offered at the adjacent cafe
Engineered shade gave us a respite from the heat
We thoroughly enjoyed our visit and will return later in the fall when the heat is a little more manageable. Our “where do we want to retire/where do we want to teach next” lists are filling up. If you want to get deep into the Expo world, check out Bureau International des Expositions for a full picture of the process.
From Dams to Dumplings
School years are cyclical, even remotely. You begin the year on an emotional high. But at some point and rather predictably, the buzz and newness wear off and everyone’s energy level dips a bit. The answer to this at our school is fall break. It’s like spring break, but ten weeks into the school year. Last year, we spent fall break in Istanbul, but thanks to the coronavirus (Ms. Rona, you really suck) like in our last post, we kept it domestic.
While our home emirate of Abu Dhabi is actually the largest emirate in the UAE, Dubai is by far the most densely populated (thanks to its popping metropolitan area) and it is home to not only a thriving city but some incredible natural sites. Hope plotted a perfect route via E11 to E102 which eventually dropped us down into the town of Hatta, situated in the Al Hajar mountains, just two minutes from the Omani boarder.
Whenever we go on a road trip, we have a habit of listening to audiobooks or extended podcast series. This summer we drove up and down the Puget Sound listening to Slow Burn: David Duke from Slate. The sweet spot is an engaging narrator and something that blends levity and social commentary (yes, we’re nerds). This go-round, we downloaded Eddie Huang’s Double Cup Love which perfectly filled our 5 hours of expected roundtrip drive time.
So we packed our roller bags (and yes, Hope did bring the kitchen sink because--why not when you aren’t limited to kg and overweight baggage charges) and hopped back in the Micra. As we rolled along, high rises soon gave way to sand. One of our favorite things about driving in the UAE is the stark contrast between the highly modern freeway system that divides the desert. The contrasts are wild. One moment, high rises, ten minutes later--camels!
En Route
Because Nate loves dams but hates research, I meticulously planned our route to Hatta to stop along 3 of the 114 dams in the UAE. What I did not anticipate was the fact that there might not actually be water in many of the reservoirs at the moment. Thus, my surprise when we found ourselves off-roading in our subcompact across a rocky dirt road to what Google declared a “tourist” site only to discover wandering camels and some palm trees.
Hatta
Al Hajar mountain range
After winding our way through the mountains, we dropped into the unassuming town of Hatta--a popular destination for domestic tourists. It reminded us of Moab, the town outside of Canyonlands National Park. Hatta offers an opportunity to camp, hike or enjoy water activities at Hatta Dam. For a town with a population of only 12,000, Hatta’s food scene is popping. From Syrian and burgers to Italian food, you can always find something delicious to eat.
Still feeling like 95F was a dash too hot for a hike we opted to drive around town noting the traditional-style grocery stores, a cultural heritage site, several beautiful mosques, and a Honey Bee Discovery Center.
As the temperature dropped, we climbed up a small hill at Fort Hatta and basked in that golden hour lighting.
Usually Nate hates water based activities, but on the last day I sweet-talked him into renting a shaky paddle-boat. He struggled because the seats were too close to the pedals, driving his knees nearly under his chin. We peddled our way across the reservoir, mostly laughing and secretly grateful for the lifeguards patrolling in their motor boats.
Dubai
Burj Al Arab
Unlike some places (where we may be citizens), the Emiratis take this Covid thing very seriously. In order to re-enter Abu Dhabi we needed a negative PCR test within the last 48 hours. So we went for a test and some quality time in Dubai. We stayed on the Palm Jumeirah, not realizing its massive size and how far away it actually is from everything else in the city. Think about that time you stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel in Vegas and realized you had a 25 min cab ride to get onto the strip.
The drive inland did not put a damper on our culinary exploits. The Secret Garden for a late lunch, Pai Thai for dinner, Puerto 99 for brunch, and eventually Hope crying over mutton xiaolong bao at Din Tai Fung.
Needless to say, we felt lucky to escape the grind for a few days, and grateful to live in a country with excellent healthcare and public health programs. Things aren’t normal—there is still a virus, but government competence and the levels of testing give us a modicum of confidence. It’s not life as usual, but we feel safe here and that’s priceless.
160kph In a Nissan Micra
We’re travelers by nature (technically, it is by nurture -- no one is born loving to fly economy class across the Atlantic, but “by nature” reads better). This is one of the factors that drove us to try teaching overseas. The value proposition with teaching overseas is that you are away from your family, your loved ones, and your comfort zone and in exchange you get to travel and experience life somewhere else. But that equation is currently unbalanced. Thanks to Covid our travel opportunities have been limited since March. You can exit the UAE, but you have to quarantine (no, like a real quarantine, not the “CDC recommends you self isolate” non-sense) for fourteen days upon re-entry. So a weekend trip across the Oman border, for example, will earn you 14 days of quarantine and at least two giant Q-tips shoved into your frontal lobe. We realize these are bourgeois complaints, but that makes them no less real.
So instead of looking outward for international adventure, we’ve turned our sights domestically. We are embracing the opportunities right here at “home.”
This weekend, after our first two days of in-person teaching since March (and getting the negative results from our bi-weekly Covid test), we took a 135km trip to Al Ain. Al Ain is the cultural heart of UAE. Much in the way that Guadalajara, home of mariachi, tequila, tortas ahogadas, etc., is the most “Mexican City,” Al Ain feels like the most “Emirati City” in UAE (no shade to Sharjah; we haven’t been there, yet). It felt freeing to be on the road, especially with the 160kph speed limit.
Since this was our third trip to the “garden city” (we’ve previously enjoyed wandering the Al Ain Oasis and the Al Ain Palace Museum, we focused on relaxing.
It felt good to unplug from work and most important of all it was good to see all of the CAMELS!!!
Did you know that a baby camel WEIGHS 36kg or 79lbs for those who can’t use the Metric system?!!!!
On the way out of town, we stopped by Al-Fanar to enjoy some Emirati cuisine. Pictured below: meat samboosas, thereed laham and machboos laham. Yes, “meat” means lamb and we’ve come to LOVE lamb.
Living through the Rona Outbreak, 7500 Miles from Home — An Irregular Edition of Nerd Farmer Podcast
Originally posted on Nerd Farmer Podcast by Nate
April 7, 2020
Man, we really picked a helluva year to move twelve timezones away…
I am amazed watching the various efforts to confront Covid-19 in the US. In particular, I am blown away watching people I care about on social media forced to jerry-rig masks, after being told for months by the CDC that they weren’t necessary or helpful. The toilet paper shortages, the lack of PPE for medical professionals, the inability of the President to articulate a coherent strategy about any it…
It’s also really jarring to look homeward in contrast to what we’re seeing from leaders elsewhere, who are having more success combatting the virus (shouts to NZ, South Korea, and Singapore). The dire situation in the US could and should have been prevented. This irregular episode is a pandemic-centric conversation with IWL host (and my wife) Hope Bowling.
By the way, don’t worry about us. We are safe here in Abu Dhabi but we definitely are anxious about friends and family back home. So we decided to record some personal observations, takes, and reflections from here.
Stay safe and stay home, if you can.
Here’s a link to the conversation…
Blade Runner 2020: Eating My Way Through Shanghai
By Nate
I’m not a foodie, I’m an eater. If left to my own devices, I’ll find something simple, butter chicken, pho, carnitas, even Costco Pizza and I’ll roll with it four days a week. Same with restaurants... if you own a spot and can skillfully pull off a style of food I'm into, you'll see my face in your joint repeatedly, eating up & down the menu.
In my prior visits to China, I developed an affinity for Sichuan style food. It’s spicy, full of those peppercorns that make your mouth numb and vibrate. Our first meal in town was at a spot called Lost Heaven. It was the real deal, hot AF, pieces of coagulated blood, full of chunks of fatty beef and flavor. Think of it as the buck-wild cousin of Vietnamese pho. But with this soup, if you try to eat all the broth you’ll melt your face.
My conference was in an expat heavy enclave, dotted with Starbucks, Ramanda Inns, and Marriots. I was jonesing for something authentically Chinese. Well, into my life walked Lanzhou Lamian -- a style of cuisine centered around knife-cut noodles and wok-fried veggies from the predominately Muslim region near Xi’an. We went for lunch on day one -- I loved it! I hit the same spot three times in 36 hours.
Each meal set me back about 20 Yuan or about $2.92 US. The highlight of the three meals was the beef noodle soup. The noodles were thick, knife-cut with beautiful irregular edges that soaked up the flavor of the broth.
Eating Nemo. I’m usually up for anything food-wise. One night I was on my own and ended up in a Japanese Restaurant. I was expecting sushi, based on the signage. I was seated at a table the size of a 1980s station wagon. It had a burner in the center like a Korean BBQ spot. There was no sushi on the front of the menu or page one… or two. I was annoyed. Ain’t no way I was gonna sit here and grill my own meat at ten pm by myself. Finally, on page 8 I found the sushi. I ordered the whole fish, an option I first encountered in Vegas a few years back. This is where things went very sideways.
My fish arrived alive. I noticed its tail moving and thought I was imagining things. Nope, his tail moved again. Then his head started to move. I was like “is this mf’er gonna jump off the plate?" They had placed a banana leaf over his eye, I lifted it. I swear Nemo looked at me. The body meat had been cut away and I was supposed to eat it as the fish slowly expired in front of me. Bruh... I contemplated adopting veganism for a moment. Then I thought to myself, not eating him won’t bring him back and muttered: “what would Tony Bourdain do?” So I ate it. It was definitely fresh, it was definitely good, but not an experience I ever, ever need to have again.
Our final day in Shanghai was a guided bus tour around town. At each stop we'd pull into a new district, the kids would go see the sights, I would just eat: Crab dumplings, yep. Spicy tofu, duh. Steamed pork bao, twice. Savory crepes, waxed. Soup dumplings, I promise you. Dumplings in broth, yeah fam. All of it.
We finished our visit with a pilgrimage to Din Tai Fung. It was literally our last stop before going to the airport. Words cannot describe the joy there, so I'm not going to try. I started with an incredibly clean tasting chicken broth soup to open; more soup dumplings: pork & truffle; then my first vegetable dish of the entire trip; we finished off the meal with spicy shrimp & pork dumplings. So many things get over-hyped nowadays but Ding Tai Fung is as good as billed.
I gotta tell you, Shanghai is a whole food mood. Days later, I think I'm still full.
Jambo, Wanna Go to Kenya?
Like most people our age, the mention of Kenya evokes images of The Lion King, wistfulness that Barack Obama is no longer president, and the sweet refrain of the “jambo song.” Little did we know those three elements would characterize our 7 days in the Tsavo region of Kenya.
The opportunity to chaperone a school-sanctioned trip fell into our laps unexpectedly. For the last two years, our school has offered Viper Ventures— curated experiences that give students an opportunity to travel abroad, serve a community, gain a life skills such as cooking or even dig into career options through a job shadow. Originally, we intended to stay local and supervise the cooking class or game design program. But when we learned we could chaperone together and didn’t have to be in charge, we couldn't resist.
3 adults, 27 teenagers. 2 travel days. 5 days in rural Kenya. Let’s GO!
The Journey
Our trip was organized by Camps International, a British agency that specializes in building global citizenship through service-oriented experiences, and coordinated by expedition leader, Amy, who’s infinite patience and expertise on avoiding sun-stroke was greatly appreciated.
Home Sweet Home
Camp Kenya is located in the Tsavo region roughly halfway between Nairobi and Mombasa. This was our base camp where we ate, slept, and fought beetles the size of a baby’s fist.
Goat Deworming & Elephant Deterrent Fencing
Day #1: On our first day we traversed the local community on a de-worming mission. The purpose of this process it to promote goat health which will impact the local farmers’ livelihood. We also built elephant deterrent fencing (cutting corrugated steel & creating strings of metal that make such a loud noise, elephants won’t trample a farmer’s garden.
Panoramic Hike
Day #2: A team of park rangers lead us up a neighboring mountain and nature preserve. For the Brits, it wasn’t even strenuous. For the rest of us, it required a few breaks and numerous bottles of water.
A Neighborhood School
Day #3: We spent the day learning about the Kenyan education system and helping build a nursery for next school year. Most of our students were unaccustomed to such physical labor involved.
Mama Mercy
Day #4: This day was centered on on learning more about the culture and traditions of the region. We spent half the day with Mama Mercy and the other half visiting a Maasai village.
This is Mama Mercy who is sharing her 25 years of community activism. From creating a micro-lending program for women-owned businesses when banks wouldn’t lend to women, to starting a co-op that trains women in beading & elephant dung paper-making then sells their crafts so they can support their daughters in school, Mama Mercy reminds us what it means to live your life for others.
Going on Safari
Day #5: On our last day, we went to Tsavo East National Park for a safari. Despite the gloomy weather, we saw over 21 different animals.
Dik diks, giraffes, monkeys (including baboons!), elephants (did you know these ones are usually red because they roll around in the dirt!?!), pumbas (yeah, that’s a warthog), maritobou stork, various species of eagles & ground birds, and antelopes (which we learned includes oryx, waterbucks, impalas & some others).
Our Reflections
One of our favorite moments was slapping freshly mixed cement onto a wall for the new nursery at a local school. We listened to a couple of students (it was likely one of their first brushes with manual labor) work their way through some realizations they were having about how schools get built and how hard construction is without modern industrial equipment. This is the power of travel. It pushes us beyond our comfort zones, learning new ways of living.
The ability to travel is a privilege and it is a privilege that we’ve had over the last decade, as a couple. Our travel has shaped our world-views and is a crucial element of who we are as a team. It has helped us be more empathetic to others and is why we see ourselves as a part of a larger global community.
So Wait, a "Homerun" Counts the Same as a "Touchdown"?
We both love live sports--the din of the crowd, the energy, the feeling of seeing athletes up-close and personal. It doesn’t matter if we have no clue who any of the athletes are. It’s the thrill of the game and the joy of the experience.
Brazil fans represent at #BrazilWorldTour in Abu Dhabi, UAE
The Familiar
On Tuesday evening we went to Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium for an international soccer friendly. It was Brazil versus South Korea. We didn’t expect both teams to bring full-rosters, but were pleasantly surprised by the lineups: Son Heung-min (Tottenham), Coutinho (Bayern), Firmino, Fabinho, and Allison (all from Liverpool), all balled out of their minds. The crowd heavily tilted towards Brazil -- the match was part of their #BrazilWorldTour, but every South Korean person in the city seemingly came out and they made a ton of noise all match. Coutinho hit one of the nastiest free kicks you’ll ever see. He basically had a window the size of a cereal box and beat the keeper to the near post from 20+ yards out. Our seats were directly behind where he struck the ball so we could see the nasty spin he put on it.
Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium Entrance
The Unfamiliar
We don’t know cricket -- not even a little bit. But on the car-ride to the Sheikh Zayed Cricket stadium we brushed up on essential knowledge we needed to enjoy a match in the Emirates T-10 league.
We still don’t really understand everything we saw, but we liked it. Alot.
Reading the scoreboard was like solving a puzzle…
T-10 is a modified version of the game where matches are basically ninety minutes, rather than the five-day (marathon) test matches you may have read about. If I understand correctly, in a test match players tend to try to avoid getting out, but T-10 is like late 90s baseball, dudes were stroking long-balls (or sixers as we learned they’re called). My friend Big Dave compared it to a baseball Homerun Derby.
Fans trying to catch selfies with an apparently famous cricketer
Beyond the game, the stadium atmosphere was lit.
Cricket, like soccer, was born in England and exported to their colonies. Hence, South Asians are wild for the game. No, like it’s their jam. It’s like how a certain brand of white women™ love PSLs and Ugg Boots... but worse.
There were cheerleaders, mascots, a DJ/MC/Hypeman/Host starting chants and bumping Bollywood music. At numerous points throughout the day, the DJ roll called.
Bangladesh, make some noise… ROAR
Afghanistan, make some noise… ROAR
Pakistan, make some noise… ROOOOOOAR
India… he didn’t even get to finish… the ground just shook.
The Food
One of our favorite on-going jokes is to compare the food experiences at sporting events in different countries: the Corona Big Gulp & nacho cheese gun at Estadio Azteca, the baguette delivery at the 2019 World Cup Final in Lyon, the seemingly bottomless well of 3 Euro beers consumed at the Esprit Arena in Dusseldorf.
Having experienced 3 different football matches in completely different stadiums (BYO snacks at one, no-snacks, applesauce sized cups of water served at another) we had no idea what to expect at a cricket match.
There were three cricket matches played, back-to-back-to-back. The fan zone offered a half-dozen food trucks bursting with samosas, halo-halo, and shawarma. Inside the stadium, the concession dudes made it rain chicken sandwiches and personal pizzas. There were Baskin-Robbins pushers and even a chaiwala!
What’s Next?
Who knows? This is a year to try new things.
We’re headed to Kenya on Tuesday to chaperone a student service project. We’ll see what kind of sports shenanigans we get into there.
A Desert Dispatch: the Road to Abu Dhabi
Each pin is where one of my students calls “home”
Republished from “A Teacher’s Evolving Mind” posted Sept 28, 2019.
Each pin is where one of my students calls “home”
I was on a very crowded bus in rural Thailand transiting between Surin Beach and Ao Nang. It was July 2018. My wife Hope and I are travelers; we have made summer sojourns to 6 continents and over twenty countries throughout our teaching careers. That day, we were on a long, hot bus ride. We always pick cheap transit and sometimes we regret it. I was sweatily DM-ing my boys Zach Powers and Dave back home about NBA free-agency from the back row of the bus. At a stop along the road, a dozen Thai middle schoolers jumped on board. The young boys were wearing ties and blazers, the girls, dresses and their hijabs. From their uniforms, I assumed they were going to a British School. I turned to my wife and whispered, “Yo, I would teach the s**t out of them.” We both laughed.
About two weeks later we were in Kuala Lumpur, the bustling Malaysian Capital. On a crowded train heading back from a Buddhist shrine, I turned to Hope again and said, “I want to live here.” Something about it just felt right: safe, English-speaking, good infrastructure, real cultural diversity. Thus began our odyssey into the world of international teaching and our eventual arrival this summer in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.
I’ve opined before about the liberating feeling I get from being abroad. Being black in America is often… complicated. When you get distance from home it brings these complications into sharp focus. Sometimes it’s jarring: In 2015, we taught in a summer program in China. We were watching CTV (Chinese State TV) with our host family and the evening news led off with the murder of Samuel DuBose, by a University of Cincinnati campus police officer. I was speechless. In 2017, after getting battered by a tropical storm and binge-watching Season 1 of Ozark in Mexico, we watched Charlottesville unfold and saw the nation collectively shrug-off the violent, Klan-fueled white supremacy on display. I was saddened. In 2018, while riding in a taxi to the Killing Fields Museum in Phnom Penh. I received a half-dozen texts from back home about my hometown newspaper; the editorial board published a piece equivocating between white supremacists the everyday community activists, like myself, that oppose them. I was enraged. Obviously, none of these are why we left the US, but being away from home gives you distance and a different perspective.
Fast forward to August 13th of this year. Hope and I boarded an Etihad flight bound for Abu Dhabi with a one-way ticket and basically a full-reboot of our careers in front of us. We’re are now immigrants (I prefer that term over ex-pats). I’m teaching AP US Government & Politics and Global Studies at the American Community School. My students, 60% of whom are US citizens, are fascinating. The range of skills in the room is comparable to my students, back home but the range of life experience is not. I have several students who identify with complicated hyphenated backgrounds that I’ve never encountered (or even contemplated) back home: Haitian-Sudanese, Palestinian-Jordanian-Canadian, Uzbek-Texan, Italian-Iranian-American, and because of the presence of the oil industry, there’s a surprising number of kids who call Alaska home.
There are some obvious differences. School starts at eight and I have longer classes because of our A/B schedule. I have a better sense of work-life balance. I am less tired at the end of the day and at the end of the week. I have more manageable class sizes, my largest classes are in the low 20s, and more time for planning helps me take less work home. My students have access to technology. They have access to delicious, nutritious food before school, during breaks, and at lunch. These seem like little things, but they make a world of difference for students. None of it is rocket science, every student in the US could have these things—we choose not to provide them.
The Dhabs at night, photo by Kevin Ponce Villaruz
My life feels less hectic now. We live in a high-rise in a dense urban village called Khalidaya. I can see the Corniche, the most famous beach in the Gulf, from our balcony. We’re surrounded by over a dozen restaurants and three grocery stores within a three-block radius. We walk to and from school each day, often passing and chatting with students. It’s an urban planner's dream.
This is our life for now and for at least the next twenty-two months, this will be our home.
Post-Script: If you’re a fan of the podcast the first #BowlingsAbroad episode of my Nerd Farmer show will be recorded this week. Keep an eye on your pod-catcher of choice.
Where All the Cute Kittens Go
Republished from “An Educated Guess” posted August 12, 2019
According to Garfield, “Abu Dhabi is where all the cute kittens go.” Although, I’m allergic to cats and Nate hates animals, we’ve decided to leap into the known, unknown.
We know that we while we are both thriving in our schools, at the top of our teaching games, and heavily embedded in our community, we need a change. We know that certainly the unsustainable conditions of public education and the impractical demands on public school teachers is oppressive. We know that the current political climate and the rise of white supremacy in our country takes a physical, emotional, and mental toll. We also know that we desperately love our Lincoln Community are trying hard to stuff down the feelings of grief and loss we feel with this move.
To be clear, we aren’t moving because teaching in America is “too hard” for us. We aren’t moving because we are unhappy with our district or our school. We aren’t leaving because we’re burned out. Nate explains this decision well in his post “Our Departure & A New Chapter” and I’ve shared some of my reasons in this interview.
Teaching overseas was always on the docket for me. I chose this profession for its versatility, its predictable unpredictability and its consistent ability to make me change. Every year, I challenge myself to embrace some new adventure--a leadership role, a new course to teach, new instructional practices. Teaching abroad is a way for Nate and I to merge two loves--teaching and travel.
So last summer, while traveling through Southeast Asia, we decided to throw our apps into the ring for the 2019 school year. Teacher Tinder, I mean Search Associates, worked better than imagined and after numerous Skype interviews we accepted positions at the American Community School of Abu Dhabi. It is the oldest international school in the city. Our course assignments are basically what we teach here. Nate will launch AP Government & Politics and teach Global Studies. I will launch AP Literature, teach senior IB Literature, and Sophomore English. Our students are from over 60 different countries and yes, everyone speaks English!
Fun facts:
25% of our school is Canadian
80% of the UAE is from somewhere else (over 200 different nationalities!)
Abu Dhabi hosts both Louvre and Guggenheim museums
From a shipping stipend to a partially furnished 39th floor two-bedroom apartment in a multi-purpose building in the heart of Abu Dhabi, we're well taken care of. My plan to wean myself off my Starbucks addiction went straight out the window! ☕ More importantly our new school champions values that align with our personal and professional pedagogies. For my teaching nerds, the school prioritizes job-embedded professional learning and weekly time allotted to meeting with grade level teams. With a multicultural student body, we have no choice but to be culturally responsive in the what and how we teach. I’m eager to see how my background working with ELL students comes into play in this new context.
Are we nervous, scared, or anxious?
Sure. The Nate and Hope farewell tour was more difficult than we envisioned. It’s hard to say goodbye to close friends. It's especially heart wrenching to say goodbye to 92 year old grandparents and aging parents. 😭
We deeply appreciate everyone who met us for breakfast, brunch, lunch, dinner, coffee, drinks, soccer matches and church! A special thanks to those of you who helped us finally use the gift cards we found while packing our house.
One thing I've learned from my mentors and experience is that there isn't a perfect time for anything. The kids will be too young or too old. It will always be expensive to buy plane tickets. There will always be a reason not to leave that job, that neighborhood, or that relationship. So, you can't wait for the "perfect" time. It doesn't exist.
This is where we enter the unknown.
What about your house? Your cars? Your furniture? Will you ever come back? 😬
One of the ways we know this leap comes at the right time is the way it's unfolded.Throughout the laborious visa application process, I met kind, helpful, and compassionate people who answered my questions, rush mailed documents and even offered to pray for our move! Btw, most people pay an agency to do this. I refused to shell out 💰 so I did it myself. Yay me. In April, shortly after we announced our departure, a colleague from my days in Clover Park SD committed to renting our house indefinitely. In the last month, over 25 different neighbors (shout out Buy-Nothing community) picked up household items and furniture from our porch. In the last two weeks, my mom fielded a jillion phone calls asking for advice on what to pack, what to get rid of and whether or not moving is the right decision. My dad piled his truck high with boxes, mattresses, and whatnot. Last week, a friend posted she needed a car--she now drives my Kia Rondo. Other friends are storing Nate’s Kia Soul in their garage so we have transportation when we visit. This week, many of you opened your trash cans and recycling bins for our garbage needs. Yesterday my neighbor, Sarah, graciously laughed every time I pounded on her door with an armload of produce or toiletries. We cannot express our gratitude enough for everyone who supported this process.
As far as returning is concerned, our teaching contract is a two year commitment. Staying longer depends on how well we both adjust and contribute to a new school, how our parents are doing without us, and who is elected president in 2020.
Are you allowed to drive there? Do you have to wear a head-covering? How can you go to a place that _______ ?
First of all, I’m not nervous about adjusting to cultural differences. Having spent the first 17 years of my life overseas (Philippines, China, Hong Kong, and Albania), I’m used to the exhilaration and fatigue of adjusting to a new environment. I know what it's like to not speak the dominant language and to be the only white person in the room.
Second, I want to challenge my readers to remember that #notallcountries are the same. The United Arab Emirates is quite different from its neighbors like Saudi Arabia (who now allow women to drive). There are no requirements for ex-pat women to wear head coverings (except in mosques). I find it telling that many a white woman has asked us about the rights, roles, and treatment of women in the region. While I appreciate the allyship and sentimen, I’m struck by the Orientalism that underlies these questions not to mention the fact that travelling as an interracial couple is far more significant than whether or not I need to wear a hijab.
Lastly, before we go pointing fingers at someone else’s home, we need to examine our own. “Black men and boys still face the highest risk of being killed by police”. We put kids in cages and mass shootings are a rising epidemic. For those that know us, we have no problem commenting and critiquing American society. As James Baldwin puts it "I love America more than any other country in this world, and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually." We want the United States to live up to all it's possibilities. Nate and I will continue podcasting and writing from afar.
All that to say, we're excited about the new adventure and what lies ahead. I'm addition to teaching duties, Nate’s planning to join Kite Club and I’m looking forward to taking falconry lessons at Abu Dhabi Falconers Club.🦅
And no...we will not be getting a cat any time soon. No matter how cute it is. 🐈
Our Departure and a New Chapter
Republished from “A Teacher’s Evolving Mind” posted April 9, 2019
I was twenty-seven when I started teaching. George W. Bush was the President, I had hair, and the Mariners playoff drought was only five years-long. I've been doing this long enough that when I started I had an overhead projector with a jar full of Vis-a-Vis markers in my classroom.
Teaching is my profession and I love its moments: first days, conferences, graduation, the staff meet-up after Homecoming. When I got into teaching, my goal was to have a positive impact on my community. To help create better, smarter students as well as neighbors. This is the origin the “Nerd Farmer” moniker.
I'm a grump, but I'm an idealist. When I co-founded Teachers United in 2011, one of the criticisms of the organization was that we were a gaggle of newbie, idealistic, pie-in-the sky teachers. I remember one commenter on an early Seattle Times op-ed I penned saying, “let’s see what you think when you’ve been in a classroom for a while.” The implication was that we would lose our idealism and passion for equity and justice. Well, here we are, bub.
This is my thirteenth year in the classroom. I’m proud of my work as a teacher. I think I've made an impact on my students and the city. For the last several years people have constantly (and annoyingly) asked me “what’s next for you?” The implication was that I should run for office (hard nah), become a principal (nope, nein, never), or do policy advocacy full-time (not for me). I pride myself on not having to please voters, foundations, or funders. If I don't need your vote or grant money, I don't have to soft-pedal my truth to you. I’ve always loved teaching. I’ve never wanted to lead a school or push paperwork. I just want to teach and feel like I'm being successful and fully supported in doing it.
By my reckoning, I have taught well over fifteen-hundred students in Tacoma. I’ve started my teacher tree: Alex, Ty-isha, Janelle, and Corey with AJ and several others on the way. That's the work. The next generation is better than us. I see it everyday. I look forward to living in the world they and my students want to build. I think about this world often.
But it’s time for a change for me, a new chapter. I've shared my deep frustrations about the state of the teaching profession in the US elsewhere. I've worked at Lincoln for a decade. I love the school, the staff, and especially my students. But I realized at some point this year, that in order to stay in the classroom, I needed to do something different. One of the most consequential books I've ever read is called “Quitting America” by Randall Robinson. It's his story of leaving the US and relocating to Saint Kitts and Nevis. Frankly, given the state-of-affairs in the US, I'm not sure I want to break-up, but I do think I want to see other people for a while.
This summer Hope and I will move abroad. In August, we’ll be joining the staff of the American Community School, an international school in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. I'll continue teaching AP American Government and ninth grade social studies. For years, we've taught students to be global citizens, now I'm going to be one. That's kinda dope. We’ve already researched and adopted a new soccer team, Al Wahda FC.
My new colleagues at ACS
Don't worry though, you’ll still hear from me. My Twitter Fingers ain't going nowhere, Nerd Farmer will continue (once we get settled), and I'll likely be writing more. You may see me again when President-Elect Inslee is putting together his Cabinet in 2021 (mostly kidding) or if the Seattle Sounders open a residency academy (deadly serious).
But for now, for me, it's time for a new challenge.
Excelsior.