"We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time."
- T.S. Eliot
I started this blog January of this year with the intention of blowing off some steam, getting my name out there, and pretending I was a baker with the hopes that 'pretending' would be enough to keep my creative juices and dreams satisfied. The 2013-2014 school year went on and ended. I moved all of my classroom materials out and drove that final 1-hour commute home, stored everything in the garage, and continued on my hunt for a classroom teaching job closer to home. Even though I've lived here forever, I had missed Western Massachusetts...
My summer flew by! Filled with baking, and eating, and cooking, and sending pictures of my food to my boyfriend in California (to make him jealous, and it worked). Picking up the farm share every week continued along side regular trips to buy sugar, and of course- the job hunt. It took until the week before school to find a position - something that seems unreal in a world where we regularly hear that "we need more qualified teachers." All summer, all I could think was "I'm qualified, I worked in an intense urban school, we moved our kids leaps and bounds, we had fun, we read, and wrote- and played" but it still took until the week before school to find a position. After arranging my classroom, setting up plants, and preparing my first week's lessons I was ready- and waiting- for my background check to clear so I could actually interact with my students. Finally, the wait was over and I started my first class ...on the second day of school.
A grueling 2 and a half weeks passed and I handed in my letter of resignation to the new principal of a very difficult and very disorganized school building. I have never made such a difficult decision, never been more disappointed in a path a chose. I felt terrible- for quitting, for not being able to do it, for the kids, for the teachers who are still fighting the good fight every day even though one of their colleagues gave up (who knows how many more have by now). I had passed disillusioned. I was embarrassed, ashamed, and wanted to crawl in a little hole with anyone who would help me throw my very own pretty patty pity party...
And that brings me here...Ever hear that phrase about how every choice you made in your life has lead up to this moment? I don't know if there is a specific quote for it, but you get the idea. Here I am licensed to teach 5-12 grade English and social studies, with 3-ish years of experience teaching, what feels like 28 years of experience baking, and an 8th grade superlative award for best class writer from 2001... and no job.....so what is an unemployed and awkwardly qualified girl to do...?
Well, there are a lot of things...
1. I'm officially opening Hillside Bakehouse as a licensed residential kitchen!!! WOOO As long as everything goes well my gluten-free baked goods should be in local stores and restaurants in the near future!
2. This blog is going to get a lot of one on one attention. I'll have a lot to say as I'm figuring things out, messing things up, and working my way through this major change. A lot of things are different when you stop doing all the right things and start doing what feels right.
3. I'm working on new recipes! Maybe, just maybe, I'll become someone who writes recipes and posts them on the internet. Not yet, but maybe ....in the near/distant future.
4. There is a lot to catch everyone up on in general...For now, I am back tracking. There have been vacations, experiments, and weddings and my pictures file is loaded with photos from the summer (did I mention that one time in college I took a photography class and occasionally like to play artist?)!!!
Let's start with June....
Beijing-June 2014...also known as the time I shamelessly horned in on my boyfriend's work trip because...I wanted to.
A few notes on Beijing
1. It's HOT- I have never been so...sticky. It was gross.
2. The smog is so thick that it kept me from getting a sunburn even though I was outside all day every day.
3. Beijing is to China as Washington D.C. is to the United States. That means tourists from all over with hats, sunbrellas, and maps. It doesn't matter what country you're from- everyone gets lost. Also- those Chinese tourists loved to get their pictures taken with me.
And now the pictures....
Tiananmen Square and The Forbidden City (was the emperor's home)
Original Gate from the inner city of Beijing
Tiananmen and Mao Zedong's portrait
Phil's face... :)
Families dressed up in traditional outfits taking pictures in the Forbidden City...
An American spy plane that was taken and put back together by the Chinese...Phil flipped out when he saw it...
Hutongs...(traditional housing in Beijing)
Pedestrian mall in the Hutongs
2008 Olympic village (we walked through this every day to get to the subway)
It was set up exactly as it was during the Olympics and people came to see the stadiums and take pictures...
There were people selling these neat kites...
Neighborhood near the Dirt Market...a GIANT outdoor flea market where I went for an afternoon of photography and ended up bamboozled by an older woman with a chess set...
Does anyone know what these nuts are? All of the men were wearing them...
After I took this picture and group of kids came up to me and asked to take a picture with me.
This isn't a great picture but I loved this guy who was yelling to me in English from far away.
Another one that was way to bright but they were also really excited to see me and yelling "HELLO!"
Another happy stranger...
There were rows of stalls with beads like this...
At least his arm is in focus...
There were rows of stalls with just fabric...
There are buildings in the distance...but you can't see them.
I booked an amazing tour with the Chinese Culture Center in Beijing. I had a teacher or Chinese religion bring me (and only me!) around to the major temples in Beijing. He taught me all about Chinese religions and cultures. I think it may have been my favorite day of the trip. I only have a few pictures from the temples because it felt wrong to take pictures while people were praying...
Outside of the Lama Temple (Tibetan Buddhist)...My FAVORITE
The original 13 Classics carved into stone. These tablets are over a thousand years old. Their texts are studied and in order to work for the government you must be invited to take a test on the Classics and they must be passed. The names of those who have passed the Imperial Examinations are also carved into tablets in the Confucian temple.
Prayers left a Confucius' feet. They are mostly left by students asking for help with their exams.
Incense burner at the Taoist Temple...a saw a woman almost light her hair on fire here because she tried to like 50 incense at once....
Temple of Heaven Park...also known as giant park that I got really lost in...But it's pretty!
Older people come here and knit/crochet and sell their stuff.. They also play Majong and crazy looking Chinese Scrabble.
This is where the emperor prayed for a good harvest...they built a whole building for it...
Sunbrella!!
Wedding pictures on the stairs...there was another couple on a different set of stairs.
I went on another great tour through the Hutongs. These are the traditional homes in Beijing. Mostly immigrants and older people live here now...
Inside...
We had jasmine tea with this nice lady! She told us all about living in the Hutongs...
Courtyard in one of the Hutongs (a Hutong is a courtyard house...3 houses around a central courtyard. This one was small).
Another pedestrian mall...this is where I learned about scallion pancakes..notice the transformer statue in the background...I love that it is in front of that centuries old Imperial gate.
Gondola up to the great wall...it was scary because sometimes Phil is a jerk...
Graffiti inside one of the towers...
I think Phil took this one...
Pretty much Phil's entire experience in China...
Stray cats hanging around in the shade...
On the way there and back (with our insane driver who at one point took a left hand turn from the right hand lane of and 8 lane road when we had a red light...) we passed through a few towns that looked like they had been completely abandoned. We think they were built just so there would be work to do and now just don't have anyone living in them...
Fruit Truck!
Creepy empty town...
Giant Fruit Bowl in the Middle of Nowhere!!
The construction site outside of our window...this was not here on the first day we arrived. There were always 50-60 people there working around the clock...and they were moving fast..they looked like little ants from our window.
Spicy Italian Meatball chips
Gas masks in the closet...
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