3 countries; 2 flights; 1 day

Breakfast in Yangon, Myanmar

I had the earliest flight out of Myanmar so I had to wake up super early, and have breakfast alone. It got quite lonely because normally there’s 6 of us. But don’t worry, i still had my daily sugar donut’s and fruit! Mr. Mohan was planning to pick me up at 7am as my flight was at 8:30 [[personally, i thought this was WAY too late to go to an airport]].. he didn’t show up... 7:05, 7:10, then 7:15, he strolls in! At this point i was freaking out because my flight was in an hour and i was no where near the airport (35 minute drive). We got to the airport at 7:55 and i’m rushing but soon realize that the airport is sooo small and there was no line so i had 30 minutes of downtime. PHEWWW.

Lunch in Bangkok, Thailand (10 hour stop over)

What to do during a ten hour stop over? - Get to know the airport very well; the amount of times i walked up and down pretending to look busy...! I managed to effortlessly fill three hours, just in time for Ajay, Fan, Harry, and George’s flight to arrive. But we still had another 7 hours! The only option was to go to the city and chill; massages all the way! Going back to Lavana (went before Myanmar) to get a full body oil massage was the best decision i’ve made; it was soo relaxing and perfect way to pass by a few hours. After a relaxing massage came all the rush. Time seemed to fly by as we only had 2 hours to go to the airport, check in, go through security & eat. PRESSURE. Of course my baggage was over weight by 5 kilo’s -_- so that took forever to sort out because i didn’t want to carry things, but thats what it resulted in. Then Ajay insisted that i get upgraded to an exit seat so i could sit with him but i was fine with a regular economy seat, i’m not fussy; huffing and puffing around, we exchanged money for the upgrade and went through security (30 minutes until plane leaves). 20 minutes left to walk through the airport to our gate which would be the last one at the end of the airport, and grab something to eat. Stopping by at Mango Tree and getting a thai green curry seemed appetizing even though we were definitely pushing for time (10 minutes - we still did it). Then running through the airport like mad people, while on the intercom they are announcing “Last call for flight FD3796 to Delhi, India”!!! Of course we made it otherwise i wouldn’t of had dinner in India. ;]

P.S - I crossed something off my bucket list: I’ve always wanted to take a bus to my plane and go outside rather than go through the walk bridge thing that connects the gate to the actual plane!!

Dinner in Delhi, India

Arriving in my homeland, INDIAAAAA!! Boy was I excited, i had just been to India a few months ago but you can never get enough of it! Since Fan, George, Harry, and us were all on separate flights, we had to wait 2 hours for them to arrive. Finally by 1AM, we were heading out the airport to find a taxi to take us to the hotel. The taxi was too small to fit all of us in as well as our luggage - on the roof it goes! **let’s pray that it doesn’t rain**. The driver forgot to tie it down to the car, and as he gets into the car, i’m like “ummm, the luggage on the roof” and he’s like “oh yes, sorry”. worrying much. Being taken to the wrong hotel and then trying to get to the correct one makes us arrive at our hotel at 2AM. By this time, i’m tired, cranky and hungry - not the greatest of combinations. GOOD THING THERE WAS 24 HOUR ROOM SERVICEEEE!

24 hours left!

Only 24 hours left before we depart the great city of Yangon!

In the AM, we went to an orphanage to visit about 1000 kids; it was a 45 minute drive from our hotel so we got a ferry (big taxi). Arriving at the orphanage, we were introduced to the main monk, the “papa” and then we were free to do whatever we would like. Being the energetic bunch that we are, we rounded up the kids and taught them REPOH. We didn’t just teach them the words and actions, but also the meaning behind it. Their celebratory move at the end was amazing; they all went crazy and had the biggest smiles on their faces. Then we played other games, the best was musical statues!! Our speakers didn’t work that well so you couldn’t hear the music but they just  copied us and went crazy; it was great to see them come out of their shells and express themselves. They were giggling, dancing, and clapping like never before, it brought the greatest joy to me! 

Their energy did not stop there.... they wanted to play some more so we went outside and played catch and dodgeball. One HUGE magic moment for me was when some of the little girls and boys grabbed my hand and took me outside to play with them; they held onto my hand throughout the games. IT WAS SOOO HOT OUTSIDEE.... definitely broke out into a sweat, but it was worth it. Next came the goodies! Giving each person a snack and a piece of candy. They all lined up along the staircase and came one by one. As they came i gave out some high fives [[some hit quite hard lol]]. 

LUNCH TIME FOR THE KIDS. Before we knew it, it was lunch time. The kids rushed to the room where they ate and a couple people served them rice, fish, and curry. Harry, Ajay and George wanted to serve so they took over... it was a job well done. By this time, me, Fan, and Chris are walking around. We had the opportunity to see where the orphans live... their rooms. The older girls/boys would have a separate room while most of the youngsters shared with each other.

I reflected on the way back home; so many thoughts ran through my head at one time, i asked myself a million questions like “Is that how a real orphanage is? Do they get beaten? How often do they smile like they did? Do they play often? Fed everyday?” I didn’t want to be negative but sometimes you just can’t help it. Looking at the bigger picture helped, these kids are better off being in an orphanage than having NO food, NO parents, and living on the street. The fact that the kids are so innocent and continually smile show their pure heart and their drive to still have fun. By the end of it, i was proud of me and my whole team that we could make a difference to them, whether its one day or a million.

It’s all about manicures.com! That’s right... having a little down time left, Fan and I decided to go to the spa and treat myself for a manicure! it felt great to relax. Didn’t think anyone could fall asleep while getting a manicure until i did; i was awoken by my head dropping lol. Somehow, 2 hours go by!!! Fan and I lost track of time and it was 6:15... we had promised the boys to be at Diane’s hotel by 6 to help cook dinner! WHOOPS. It all worked out in the end like it always does; we got there and helped with the last minute things, and then cleaned up afterwards (so we made up for it). Dinner was magnificent as Chef Harry and Chef George was put to work; they cooked for 16 people and had a big variety of food! The process was quite hectic as the proportions came out wrong.. somehow at first we ended up with only 8 portions of rice. We all sat by the pool to eat, have drinks, and have a laugh.

Clean up, clean up, everybody clean up! What a task!! So many dishes to do and the kitchen was a pig sty, vegetables everywhere, pots and pans scattered etc. What seemed to be an eternity later... the kitchen was spick and span, except for the floor but thats a whole other story! Two reserved tables were waiting for us downstairs at the bar so we could “mingle - at - the - bar”. The football was on, the lights were dimmed, disco lights were on, and live band was on.... couldn’t of gotten any better! We all chit chatted for an hour or so until the adults wanted to sleeep! we said our good nights and all that was left was George, Fan, Chris, Ajay and me.... and some other random table of men! The entertainment had stopped for a little becasue they were on break but we wanted to sing so we created our own karoke session where we sung I’m Yours by Jason Mraz and Lean on Me! Unforunately, by our dearest friend Chris, the Gupta’s were boo’d off the stage while Fan was called for an anchor! George stepped up to the plate and presented a poem/ rap (I don’t know how he does this on the spot - still amazed). The night was coming to an end, it was 12:30 already and i had to get up early to catch a flight (standard), so we paid the bill and left. BUT.... here in Myanmar, they are quite fussy with the types of notes you use, they cannot be BENT, WRINKLED, MARKED ON, in any form or shape. Our bill had a red line on it which is usually marked by the bank while counting, but they created a huge fuss saying that they wouldn’t accept it. Twenty minutes later, we were still arguing but eventually figured it out. As we were leaving, they had said that we only gave them 1 note instead of 2!!!! At this point we were like woah, what the heck are you talking about!! After “discussing” and going through everything, we came to the conclusion that we were just tired and couldn’t be bothered to do anything, so we just paid it again. Karma - what goes around comes around.

1:30 AM - I started packing- had to wake up in 4 1/2 hours! Procrastination at it’s finest.

Coaching Course

Day 1

Setting up the room was a mission because normally the coaching course holds 15-20 people but this was definitely not like that, there was 44 people!! The room had to be set up in a certain way, a U- shape to create a certain atmosphere. The kids/teachers that came to this camp are the people that attended the SuperKidz camp and the Teachers camp; one person represented each school.  On day 1 it was the introductory session for coaching so we talked about what coaching, mentoring, teaching is, and about state management. To put “state management” into effect, we did a board breaking process where the participants would write down their fears, and everything thats holding them back on one side and everything they ever wanted [[their goals]] on the other side. They were to connect and become one with their fear and understand that the outcome is to BREAKTHROUGH the board and achieve their goal. Making sure that they are in the right state and motivated to break through the board is vital, we did this by pumping up the music and telling them all to make their power move (YES). It was extremely powerful seeing them break through the board; some people couldn’t do it on the first try, second try, and even third: their focus wasn’t there. After changing their focus, they broke through the board with no problem!The emotions were spectacular; people started crying, and all were super thankful!

SIDE NOTE: Normally theres a certain type of board that we use during this process and they need a couple days of preparation (drying etc); but these boards were one of a kind. They were much smaller than others and had fray pieces of wood coming off so it was quite possible to get loads of splinters. Harry got a splinter in his finger (pretty deep); its amazing how the small things create the most pain.. especially papercuts!

Day 2

A bowl of fruit and 2 sugar doughnuts is a great way to start the day :] **I ate the donuts without licking my lips (you can try this at home)!!

Today during the course we talked about types of questions, mirror matching, and listening. An exercise took place in which we divided the participants into groups of three, A, B and C (listener, speaker, and observer). The game started out very serious, no smiles etc, and ended up in laughs and sighs of relief - I won’t tell the game just in case you end up playing in the future, but lets just say it was an experience!

Phyu, a girl that was in team 10 on the teachers camp gave me a digital picture of me and her - it made my day! It was the sweetest thing ever so i put it in my journal for me to keep forever. She was such an inspiration and i’m so happy that i met her!

Went to the Traders hotel for a dinner buffet and it was the best ever. Oh by the way, Happy Thanksgiving; it didn’t feel like it at all being in a different country other than the USA. The food presentation was incredible; there was a HUGE variety of food: meats, fruits, desserts, pasta, sushi, bread etc. Buffets are VERY dangerous, unlimited food and me.... lesson learned! I just kept going up for food. I got chocolate pancakes and then went up for more with ice cream and chocolate sauce! it was delicious though :P On the walk back to our hotel we were bombarded by kids on the streets asking us for food and money; I had some banana’s in my bag so we gave it to them; surprisingly the kids spoke very good english!

Day 3

FINAL DAY OF THE COACHING COURSE!! mixed feelings; happy and sad. 

The boys, Ajay, Chris and George decided to all wear the traditional Myanmar outfit, Lungi! They had a tough time putting it on and they had to be careful that it wouldn't come off throughout the day... funny!

The regular state inducers to get all the participants up and ready to start the day; we danced, clapped, and played full out. The content of the course started with the ‘rights of a child’ of when they are able to access their personal records and get treatment and then slowly transitioned to reaching goals, and the coaches role in coaching. The participants were broken up into groups where they could coach 1 on 1 and apply their knowledge and learnings. Harry asked a question to everyone “What would you do if your client says I love you, what would you say to them?” The answers that some of these teachers had were hilarious!! We were all in fits. 

Lunch time - Mr. Mohan wanted us all to experience the kitchen food from the school as opposed to the normal restaurant food we order - they really wanted to make a great impression so they provided us with SO much food, and presented the food in such an amazing way - so much color and a huge variety of food. Surprisingly, i really loved it, it was very tasty and different.

Towards the end of the day, we all knew that the course was coming to an end.... hugs and tears slowly appeared. We all had the opportunity to go in front of everyone and present what we valued the most, who we are thankful for, and what we are committed to doing. Harry called me up on the spot with no time to prepare, but surprisingly, I WASN’T NERVOUS at all; I just went up there and did my thing.
Thi Wai got a present for Harry, a big board with the YCA symbol and then signatures of all the teachers/students in TLA 8; she started to cry and that’s what got me emotional, the tears streamed down peoples faces from that point on. The funny thing was that we were going to take a group photo afterwards and people’s faces were red and blotchy from tears; and then the poor camera guy had to take photo’s from at least 20+ different cameras (our cheeks hurt afterwards). At the end, Su Miat gave us all bracelets to remember Myanmar and then 4 girls sung us all a song - it was amazing!
Even through all the tears, we just had to remember that it wasn’t the end, it is just the beginning.

Dinner Time - We fancied some Italian food so we went back to the restaurant, La Opera! We got the meal deal again, and i shared with Chris, only this time we got BUSTED! We felt bad afterwards but the guy said this time it was okay, just don’t let it happen again. Before the food arrived, we all read some magic moments that the teachers/kids wrote over the three day course. We went around the table and shared. It brought back so many memories. Towards the end of the dinner, a HUGE bug flew by George and Harry and i flipped out! They all decided to mess with me, I was already on edge, but that didn’t stop them. George threw little papers at me and I kept thinking they were bugs... i even screamed! 

Fun fact: Myanmar doesn’t have a McDonalds, KFC, or Pizza Hut!

BrainWorks

Waking up early seems to be the common denominator on this trip in Myanmar; at first i didn’t like it all, but now i don't mind; there’s so much to do and so much to accomplish. Our plan for the day involved going to TLA 2 and watching their assembly; they had been preparing this for us. Getting there before school started allowed us to connect with the kids, play with them in the playground, and learn about the school. The kids were jumping on the trampoline, going down slides, and running around - who ever thought someone could have that much energy at 8AM!! The play was called “Bossy Mary” - it included a girl that was very bossy and how they stopped - the message/ lesson was shared at the end of the play. I felt so involved with the play as i answered the questions that the teachers asked and participated in the activities, the little kid inside me came out. A girl named FiFi lead the group with motivational phrases and incantations: 

Now I am the voice

I will lead not follow

I will believe not doubt

I will create not destroy

I am a force from good

I am a leader

Defy the odds

Set new standards

Step up - step up - step up

I was absolutely mind blown because she was only 3 years old, and she was already stepping up to become a leader. Her confidence was phenomenal and she inspired me for sure. All around the classroom there were motivational quotes, drawings and pictures [[ kids are visual people]]. This really opened up my mind because normally the word “school” is associated with boring, long, and tiring, but here in Myanmar [[BrainWorks]], kids love school. “SCHOOL IS THE BEST PARTY IN TOWN”

The second school we went to was Su’s school where we were going to watch their assembly. We arrived and there were 3 boys an 4 girls dressed up in the traditional Myanmar dress, a Laungi, with a bouquet of flowers; not only that but they had drawn pictures of us and put them on a board with our name attached. It was honestly the cutest thing i’ve ever seen, my jaw dropped. Each kid grabbed us by the hand and took us upstairs to the classroom; the girl that took me was named Noe Noe [4 years old]. The look on the kids faces when the performance was happening was in aw, they sat there full of curiosity waiting for the next move. What i loved the most was the fact that the kids had FUN, and they were learning at the same time. It wasn’t FAKE at all, they came from the heart and only mean well.


Relaxed afternoon/evening that day; sat by the pool for a couple of hours; did some work; listening to music; and then got a pedicure! Fan and I went to the spa around the corner at Diane’s hotel, and treated ourselves to massages and pedicures! It felt so great to relax and my toes look nice now ;]
The team decided that we wanted a break from the regular thai, chinese, and myanmese food, so we switched it up and went to an Italian restaurant, La Opera. It was honestly a mission and a half trying to sort out reservations, taxi’s etc, but we finally got through it and came to a conclusion. We got one taxi for 6 people and squished; Chris and George sat in the boot.

Arriving at the restaurant, which was quite fancy might i add, in a batted up taxi and 6 people getting out was priceless!!
The restaurant offered a deal for 22,000 chet, you could get unlimited pizza, pasta, drinks, and ice cream! TALK ABOUT A DEAL!!! we were quite confused because we couldn’t possibly wrap our heads around the fact that you can get that much food and drinks for the price that it was at. Ajay and Chris ordered that, and Chris ended up ordering 2 full pizza’s, 2 plates of pasta etc. - I was sharing with him but the waitors just thought he ate a lot! During dinner we shared magic moments, and reflected over the trip so far and it was basically a trip down memory lane. On the way back to the hotel, we did the exact same thing with the taxi but we couldn’t fit anyone in the boot at all so we just all squished in the car. The driver was absolutely crazyyy, speeding like crazy and we swurved so many times to the point where we all thought we were going to crash. 

Day off from all the madness

FINALLY A DAY OFFFF!! felt so good! but still had to wake up early... in fact even earlier because the plan was to go to orphanages and schools to give out candy and connect with them.
The "BrainWorks" bus came to pick us up from the hotel at 6:30AM and we went to the port to go on a boat to cross the river; we got a taxi that took us to the school which was 1 hour away.. it was a bumpy ridee!

^^Some of the kids at the school! They were sooo cute -  we taught them how to do REPOH (repetition- easy - pleasure - often - habit) and then gave them all snacks ; they were so happy and grateful for what we gave them. It brought SO much happiness to me just to be with them - absolutely mind blowing!

At the end, they all gave flying kisses! Oh and we taught them "Heads, shoulders, knee's and toe's" so they sung along and did all the movements as well! INCREDIBLE!

On the way back home, we saw some guys cracking coconuts on the side of the street and pouring out the juice, so we asked them if we could buy them so we could drink the juice - it would be refreshing!

Apparently they were young coconuts so the coconut shaving things weren't ready and the water wasn't sweet so it wasn't that good but it was definitely an experience.

Teacher's camp

Heyyy! I finally got my blog together so i can keep you all updated about whats going on during my travels!!

At the moment, I'm in Yangoon, Myanmar (Asia), and I'm doing leadership/coaching programs with Harry Singha for kids and teachers! Last week we did a two day Superkidz camp, and today was the last day of the three day teacher's camp! Let me tell you, it was absolutely amazing! The energy that the teachers have was incredible, i never thought that teachers could be so enthusiastic!!

I was in charge of two teams, 9 and 10, marvelous and victorious!! They were literally amazing, they didnt know each other at the start but by day three, they were calling each other their family! the love and support that was presented was breathtaking! I met so many amazing people that inspired me, and the Youth coaching team! Unfortunately, their names all have three parts so they were basically impossible to remember, but one person that stood out to me was a 11 year old boy! He was soo cute and so inspiring because he lead/coached teachers that were twice and triple his age. Just watching him through the day grow and prosper was a magic moment for me!

On top of that, the icing on the cake was that i overcame my fear of public speaking! I stepped up and did what i had to do, which was to speak in front of 300 people! I'm not going to lie... at first, i was SOO SCARED, i was ready to be sick, but once you're up there, its completely fine, you just forget about everything and talk from the heart! This was my biggest magic moment of the day!

SAYING GOODBYE IS THE WORST!!! everybody got really emotional as we went through the picture slideshow that Chris and I made - as people shared their magic moments and what they learned, tears streamed down the kids/teachers faces - happy tears though!

Then after all of this we went to Shwedagon Pagoda where we looked around and explored the temples. They have these statues type things that represent each day of the week, and you do certain rituals according to the day you were born. For instance, I was born on a Monday and i had the lion (i think) and i had to pour water on it three times along with some other things, and then the person would pray to you. Being superstitious and all, i believe[d] that it would bring me good luck.... so far so good :]
It was absolutely beautiful though, everything was lit up and gold; the tiles were nice and warm from the sun earlier that day and the atmosphere was great!