Any flower always makes me think of Spring. Photo cred 

I just turned thirty on the 29th (some might say “dirty thirty”).  Wow. I feel old!  Some friends and I went to a local hotel and had a girly “staycation” with manicures, facials, cards, movies, and mojitos.  Good times had by all!

This month I also had my hair cut for the second time this school year.  Normally I only get it cut once, but I have found this woman a the Hesperia Spa whose work I like so I did it again!  I chopped about six inches off so I could spend less time in the shower this summer.

Now the school year is almost over and I am packing things up (everything basically needs to be off the walls and packed away in the giant storage closets in my classroom- including my entire classroom library!). I’m also getting as many things ready for next year as possible. I might even write a post about it because I hope it will save me tons of time in the fall!

Around the Web:

I LOVED reading this article from the Guardian about how teaching compares in countries around the world! My takeaway notes: Switzerland teachers take in the top average pay but many places in Europe are great, an educationally efficient class size is 16 students, and teachers in China get the most respect.

I usually tell people that if they are unsure if they want to make teaching into their career and are looking for something short term that will allow them to travel and try out teaching that they should go to South Korea and teach ESL. Here is an article which lists some uncomfortable truths about teaching in South Korea.

I found some more items to add to my bucket list on this 21 Amazing Travel Experiences to have before you die list.

Super interesting article about getting people to like you. This is especially useful for solo travelers who are away from people and places that are familiar.

People are saying that Venezuela is becoming the global cocaine hub– yikes!

If you are an international teacher looking for a job (or you are a big nerd like me) you HAVE to check out this awesome graph about international teaching job data found in one of my favorite forums.

I love reading so I was super excited when I found this list of expat books. Sure, I’ve been living overseas for 5 years now, but I love reading about other expat experiences. I can’t wait to dig in to some of these books!

Music:

I love Hozier’s “Take Me to Church” but for some reason I haven’t heard his great song, “Someone New” until today! This sounds pretty upbeat, but still has a bit of a darker edge to it.

This new David Gutta song, “Hey Mama” (with a host of other collaborators) is a fun song to dance to.

I think this new Hillary Duff song will make a great workout song. I could see the teachers playing it in my Zumba class.

Books:

I finally finished “The Power of Habit” which a couple of friends have repeatedly recommended to me. Here is what I said about it on Goodreads, “Great ideas here! I can see how many ideas could apply to the classroom and my personal life. Life is just full of habits!” I was surprised at how easy it was to read and it has helped me to be more conscious about the choices and habits that I have made.

For the teachers out there, you might be interested in a book called, “Teach Like a Pirate”. Here is what I said about it on Goodreads, ”

The first few chapters seem like common sense to me: passion and enthusiasm are two qualities that great teachers have. I really loved the second half of the book which was full of ideas for bringing more entertainment into the classroom. There were pages full of ways to hook your students on a new lesson, and I can’t wait to try some of them. Sure, I think most of the stuff he suggests is common sense, and that anybody with Pinterest can find the same ideas, but I like having them all in one place.

I think this book would be a great present for new teachers or first time student teachers looking for some inspiration.”

TV:

It seems like all of my favorite shows have ended for the summer (The Blacklist, Scandal, Elementary) and now I am simply enjoying Game of Thrones and season three of Shameless!