We inadvertently caught the bloody tail end of a cock fight on our way through the slums of Sandakan...Only one bird left the ring.....
searched fantastic mountains and valleys for the world's biggest/smelliest flower: (rafflesia)....It uses flies as pollinators so I guess it has to smell funky or it wouldn't be able to breed....
tasted "the hottest" flavor ever in the spicy papaya snack we bought from a street vendor (honestly this mixture of fresh papaya, soy sauce, hot pepper and fish flakes was the hottest thing either of us had ever experienced!)...
Snorkeled on a great beach, although the Chinese people who stood on the coral were really getting on our nerves! I mean, it is pretty obvious that the thing will die if you stand on its food-gathering apparatus guys! If you are reading this blog, 10,000 shames on you!
saw an orangutan in the wild. We had expected many more! At first we thought it was a small child in a suit, but when Justyna smelled it's rafflesia-esque musk she knew it was fo' real!
...and walked through some fabulous rain forest canopies!
The conference was also great. I met up with some history teachers who are compiling their students' interviews with people (mostly grandparents) who had experienced WWII. Most of the teachers I met taught in countries whose children were decendents of WWII victims, so I think that my students (having many Japanese and half-Japanese kids) could contribute to the other side of this compilation, namely the Japanese agressors. First I have to get to WWII in my syllabus, but once I do, I plan to have my kids contribute as their final project. It could be tricky, as many Japanese veterans don't want to "lose face" by admitting their actions, but I think that the reality of the "history" in the students lives could really make the whole concept of history seem much more practicle and real to them. The project also tries to get Universities interested in putting the oral histories we will create in their archives so that could be a real experience as well!
Overall it was wonderful to have a break and the time away really made us appreciate the life we have back in Japan.
