I finally finished planning my next vacations. Over the holidays I will go to Cairo (maybe learn to dive? Alexandria also) and Athens including some islands.
For Chinese New year in January it will be New Zealand for an adventure vacation. I start with half arthon in Auckland. Then: Skydiving, tough kayaking and hikes, hot springs, abseiling into glow worm caves, hobbiton, and beaches… Lots of adventure. Excited for both now that they are planned..
Glad I finished planning these before my tough week.
This last week was long….
Parent teacher conferences run two days and it is like speed dating with teachers. Non stop. Parents are generally positive and receptive. Some students and parents want to question predicted grades for their IB students. As my kids are now 12th graders it can count towards college acceptance. I find it difficult as this is my first time predicting and no past experience to draw on. I sought out advice and made my best predictions.
As usual, my school provides breakfast and lunch which makes getting ready for school easier.
On the first day of conferences, the other student council advisor, Katie Dean, made this beauty. Tasty… As usual… Yummy!!! Marshmallow, caramel, chocolate ganache… Teachers hyped on sugar!
The simplest meal near my apartment is where you choose the veggies, proteins and noodles. You pay by weight and they make a noodle soup from it. You then add seasonings at the end to your liking. On weeks like this, it is easy, fast, cheap, and yummy.
At the end of the week, a school from New Zealand visited and demonstrated Maori dance and culture. New Zealand is one of the few countries whose native inhabitants are actually mainstreamed into the culture. It is not forgotten there. It was fabulous.
Here are two dances that I recorded:
Now I am sitting in an airport ready to fly to Shanghai for the last meet of the year for cross country.