Welcome

I guess you are here because you have discovered one of my books and enjoyed it enough to find out more about the author, me. Either that or you’re a potential employer who is investigating me to see if I would be a good fit for your organization. In which case, surprise, I write books as well as teach. Some might look at that as a bad thing, and if so, please explain to me how.

For whoever finds my site, I want to welcome you, and also allow you the opportunity to follow me on a regular basis. Anybody is welcome as long as you keep your posts appropriate, and respect the other followers to this site. As long as everybody follows those two simple rules, I won’t have to kick anybody off. Let the friendly banter begin.

I am hoping to create an interactive site that everybody can enjoy. Of course, I will keep you up to date on the latest writings coming out of my head, and I will also let you know when and where I will be in the world, so someday you might be able to meet me in person. Most people regret that decision, but who knows, maybe you’ll be in the minority.

I will also tell you about my world-wide travels as this is something I do on a regular basis. I’ll show you pictures from places I have been (this one is from Dubrovnik, better known to fans of The Song of Ice and Fire as King’s Landing), and tell you the exciting stories that happen to me along the way. You are also welcome to ask me any questions you may have about the place I have been, and I will try to answer them in a timely manner.

I know it all sounds amazing, and I can see you wondering why you haven’t been a part of this fantastic experience so far, but let me tell you about the most exciting part of following this site – the interactive part.  You were probably wondering when I would get to that part I had promised you earlier. Well, I plan to create a list every month, and I want you to participate in its formation. I do love countdowns, but I am always disappointed in them. So I have decided to take matters into my own hands. You will be able to post your top ten of each monthly list and at the end of each month, I will comprise the total list to give you the countdown for that subject. Look for each new subject on the first day of each month, and the final list of the previous month by the fifteenth.

Otherwise, it is very nice to have you a part of this experience, and I look forward to all of our future posts together.

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Thank you for your response. ✨

The Day’s Departing Sun

A weird thing always seems to happen during the last couple of months of a school year in the life of an international school teacher; a bittersweet moment between those who are moving on to their new lives and the ones that are staying around for another year starts to occur. It ends up being the busiest time of the year and not just because final grades are being completed and the final units are wrapping up, but because there are gathering after gathering that happens in order to say that final goodbye. But it is part of the lifestyle, this constant first impression that is brought on by the new group of teachers that will arrive the next year while maintaining a bunch of relationships with the friends that have been created over the years that have been spent with the group that you have spent a year or two with. A tickle always happens in the back of my mind every year, thinking that I will see most of these people again in random places all around the world, but after eleven years of teaching on the international scene, I have come to realize that it is only a select few that I keep in touch with in the way that I would have thought at the end of the school year.

This phenomenon is not uncommon in other industries as well as this one, but the difference comes with the fact that at the end of every year, it is guaranteed to occur in the international school community. There is another big difference as well; when this group moves on, they really move to places like Switzerland, and South Korea, and back to their hometowns in America. It is not like they are just leaving the job, but whose paths can still cross because we still live in the same town. The only way we find out about each other is in passing through social media which does not feel the same as the face to face contact.

This year, I will be saying goodbye to a lot of great colleagues that I have gotten to know over my first year in Peru. It will be sad to see them go though I have only known them for a year, but in that year, I have been able to share some great memories from them, and learn new ways of exploring the profession that I have been a part of. I also know that they had the hardest year out of any of the other people that I worked with. The ones who are departing have a different mindset than the ones who are staying behind, and for those new individuals that show up in that last year, it is hard to make strong connections with them, especially if you know that you are one of the ones leaving. The ones who have been in international teaching for a long time know that the relationship that they will make with the new group will be a short one, and they are also aware of the possibility of never seeing those people again, so it gets hard to push to build that strong relationship in the first place, especially with all of the other things that they have going on during the school year. Still, it is hard to make it through a school year when you work so closely with some people and not to make those relationships to last in the first place, so by the end of the year, they find themselves saying those hard goodbyes to the people that they believed would not have been on that list at the beginning of the year.

It doesn’t make it any easier for the ones that are staying behind. There is the friend group that is staying behind, but if there is a piece or two missing, then the friend group does not feel the same the next year. This group also has to contend with the backlash that is felt by the students as their favorite teachers move on to other exciting adventures around the world. They have to console those students the next year as they go through the remembrances of those that made the school a great place in the first place. Those teachers also have to welcome the new people in who are taking the places of maybe some of their best friends of all time, and trying to find a way not to compare them to the person who has just left. They are never going to be the same person and they will always do things a little bit differently. It is not a bad thing, but it is still change. And though an international school teacher has learned how to do deal with change, it is still never an easy thing for anyone to have to experience.

The day’s departing sun is the perfect image to capture the feelings that are going through people during this experience. On one hand, it is always beautiful to watch the sun dip below the horizon on any given night. The sky lights up in a dazzling display of colors, and we can’t help but just watch it go, knowing that it is moving on to the place where it is supposed to be. At the same time, it marks an end of a day well spent. It gives us pause to reflect back on that day and what it had to offer. Did we get the most out of that day or were there some things that were left undone or not said? If there were, then it is too late to go back and correct those mistakes because the day is now done. It is this bittersweet moment that we are running to every night to witness in the hopes that it can fix those conflicting emotions we have just by making sure we are there.

This is what the end of the year feels like for international school teacher. It is not just about getting excited for that time off to spend away from grades and with family; it is about saying goodbye to the friends we have made, and preparing for the memories made with new ones.

Arcs

A dark blight has settled upon the Reach
And we’re scrambling for what’s left behind.
We will use ev’rything from war to speech,
Securing a position for our kind.
We can only claim it as ambition
Whether we are a tyrant or warlord,
But Space will not be a destination,
And out here we live by our own accord.
There is a court that has a little sway
Over the direction that we can take,
And if you ambassador came to play,
There is a deal with them that you can make.
We are trying to leave behind our marks
That can be rewtold in our story arcs.

The Turn Around

We were planning to go across the bay
To enjoy a restaurant we knew there.
Uber was meant to help us on our way,
And we could sit back not giving a care.
But we ran into a little traffic
On the only road getting out of town,
And a return trip may be horrific,
So we asked the car to turn around.
He dropped us off not far where we started,
And we found another kitchen to dine.
We questioned if we should have departed
In order to save an amount of time.
It just showed that life can be unfair,
Taking a car trip that led to nowhere.

Ballestas

So what if our shit covers the island?
Who are you to say we are animals?
We did not ask you to invade our sand
With your strict demands and obnoxious rules.
We find comfort with the way that we live,
Free from the judgment delivered by man.
We were not the ones who were asked to give
To contribute to economy’s plan;
We were just looking for rocks to hop on
Away from the watchful eyes of people,
So we like to strut on these rocks with brawn,
Claiming these crags have become our steeple.
We only ask that you stay far away
From this island outside Paracas Bay.

The Walk by the Bay

It may not be the fanciest of walks
With its bricks being worn by the weather,
Leaving behind potholes and broken chalk
Which visitors will never let gather.
Vendors will be willing to show menus
Of their food that’s the same as those before.
Through their big speakers blaring out the blues
Makes me feel like I know what is in store;
It invokes in me, a place far away.
In the sea air, the spoken word of Spain
Is the communication that’s in play,
And causes my normal banter refrain.
Still, it is nice to be here with my drink;
I wish to make the final spoken link.

Semana Santa – The Unofficial End to Summer

You can already feel a nip in the air. The autumn equinox has already come and gone, but people are not ready to believe that the weather is going to turn and they will have to retreat to the safety of their homes. Luckily, in the southern hemisphere, there is a week that is held with reverence that allows for that one last fling to enjoy the weather that is usually enjoyed during the summer months, Semana Santa, or as it is known in the English speaking world, Holy Week. In Peru, this week is treated as a national holiday, and everybody has the long weekend off to enjoy with their family and friends.

This combination of weather, vacation, and attitude creates a pilgrimage to the beach towns along the Pacific coast as people try to squeeze in those last moments of summer. It is not so much about the Holy Week as it about enjoying what the last vestiges that the warmer weather has to offer. It reminds me of Labor Day weekend in the United States as everybody leaves the big cities to find those places on the coast or in the mountains where they can find time to relax and pretend that winter is not so far around the corner.

I should have expected this from one of the beach towns that was closest to Lima, the big city where I live. But I was not thinking of this when I booked my weekend getaway. I was thinking more about a beach that I could relax on, a place not far from my where I could unwind for a bit, and a place that had a little bit of culture and cuisine that I could say that I had experienced something new by going here in the first place. And I do have to say that I did experience something new by coming down here, but I came down during the wrong weekend because everybody else had the same idea that I did, and came down to Paracas as well. It created crowded beaches, and restaurants, and the whole vibe was a big party that everybody was there to get their last moments of fun.

Despite the crowds, we were still able to find the charm of this city. It was not in the places where we expecting; instead, it was in the back streets further away from the beaches. It was here that you were able to get away from the DJs and large concerts going on to mark the end of the season. Instead, we saw the things that make Peru a great place to be. There was a street food section where the flavors of the grill could be smelled wafting over the brick walkways. Each little booth was run by a different family and they had a small selection of seating next to the spot where they cooked your food. You could find anticuchos (grilled cow’s heart), picarones (fried sweet potato rings), and chicken or pork tamales. It was the perfect place to grab a local cerveza, and grab a bite to eat.

That is not to say that you could not find the better restaurants that carried the cuisine that Peru is famous for. There are many of those as well, but you will definitely want to get away from the main drag to find them. There are many restaurants right on the beach, but each of those has quick easy meals because they know they will garner the attention of the tourists that have come to visit. When you head in a bit, you can find the fresh ceviche, Peruvian soups, and chaufa that will make the trip memorable. The best one we found was called Christina’s and it was a fine minute walk in-land from the beach, but was well worth the walk to get the better meal.

The bars along the beach are great to get a pisco sour, especially during happy hour when they are two for one, but it is still a crazy mash of people and does not offer the relaxation that we were looking for. I am sure that Paracas has those quiet weekends that we would have enjoyed the experience a little more, but for Semana Santa, it is a time to party. It is a loud, raucous time that it great for many people, but this is not a part of my life anymore. I will come back some day when it is not as crazy, and hopefully then, I can find the weekend that I am looking for. Maybe at a time when it is not the end of summer, and I am not a part of a group of people who feel like that they have to get in those last moments of the season before it is gone for another six months. Instead, I can just enjoy the time that I find myself there, and understand that all times are great in Peru, no matter what season it is.

Ballestas Islands – A Morning Boat Tour

Paracas is not one of the top destinations for people visiting Peru and who only have a week or two, but for those who spend time in the country, they find a way to make it down to this beach town. The town itself does not boast anything special that you could not find in any beach resort anywhere in the world. There are numerous restaurants, and sandy beaches, but it is when you get out of the town and look at the sights a little distant from the shores that you discover what Paracas really has to offer.

One of the things that many people do is to take a boat trip out to the Ballestas Islands, a group of two jagged outcropping that was once used to harvest guano and brought to Peru many riches. It has since been taken over by the government and kept as a nature reserve that you can take a two-hour boat ride out there to see the various animals that now overrun the islands. It is often called the poor man’s Galapagos, and though the islands are rich with animals, you cannot see the diversity that Darwin discovered that made the other island chain as famous as it is today. Still for only twenty U.S. dollars, you can enjoy a nice morning traveling around the islands and watching the birds, crabs and sea lions that call it home. It will also take you along the coast of Peru where you can witness one of its more famous Nazca lines, strange traces in the earth all along Peru that were left behind by an earlier civilization and nobody knows much about except they are cool to look at.

The islands itself is best visited in the months of December through March because that is when the wildlife is out their in abundance. It is the perfect place to look for penguins as they jumps their way over the rocky cliffs and jump into the water to go for a swim.

It is also the time of the year when the sea lion are out there engaging in their mating rituals. They will move off to warmer waters soon afterwards, but at the end of March, they are engaged in raising their newly born children and relaxing on the beaches that are a part of this island.

It is not always the perfect nature reserve though. There are still the remnants of a time when humans controlled the islands. Most of these ruins have been left behind, but the Peruvian government has built up a couple of the buildings so a couple of people couple work there to make sure that they could conserve the area of this preserve and make sure nobody came along to destroy the delicate balance of nature that is left behind.

Though many people who make their way out to Peru will never witness this little piece of paradise, it is a nice spot to go to for those who are willing to spend a little more time out in the area. It is easily the biggest highlight on a trip to Paracas and one you should consider if your path takes you our here during the months of December through March.

Fishing Village

The salt air will never erode away
That this town continues to operate.
Both of us are always going to stay;
We will figure how to co-habitate.
It will eat at the corrugated steel
That gives us shelter from wild weather,
But we know that the rusted roofs will heal
When they are replaced to overexposure.
The warped wood is part of our city’s charm
That only the outside will notice.
When they say something they do not mean harm;
The longer you live here, the more you miss.
I enjoy life in this fishing village
At the edge of the continental stage.

The First Sea

Mountaintops peek out from a sea of ice
Hoping to survive from its greedy bite,
Knowing time will enact the ice’s price.
They know they cannot win against this fight,
So they will still stand while they are able
Before the slow advance breaks them apart,
Leaving behind a pile of peeble
Flowing down where the ocean will start.
It is here the mountain becomes the sand
And the glacier turns into the water
Reuniting upon a distant land
That neither of them had thought to charter.
Will they ever return to that first sea
That is dying because of you and me?

The Return

When the final scallop has been eaten
And I’ve mopped up the spicy sauce with bread;
When the volcano top has been beaten,
Just so I could disprove what you had said;
After the kayak has been put to shore
From skimming out to a calving glacier;
After we have visited the gift store
We are forced to see on a museum tour;
When the mementoes are in the cases
That we have purchased without much thinking;
When we have gotten rid of all traces
In hotels where our butts had been sinking;
With the memories of this holiday,
We can return to our regular fray.