happy friendsgiving

It's been a shameful amount of time since my last post but I can say that it's because I have been blessed with some incredible newness in my life. This time last year I was drowning, for all sorts of reasons, and I felt more alone than I ever thought possible. Then, by some miraculous gift from God, I found myself settled in this wonderful city surrounded by some of the most compassionate, gritty, empathetic and driven people I (fear) will ever know. Last night, a few friends and I hosted a Friendsgiving. Mostly, this idea came out of a desire to craft, take cute photos and eat and drink our faces off. While all of the fore-mentioned occurred, what I did not expect to come out of it was sincerity, gratitude and a room full of emotional twenty something year olds. As per most Thanksgiving dinners, we started our meal by having each person state something they are thankful for and it took everything in me not to combust into tears. There was laughter and tears as we listened to friends bring up some of the hardest and happiest moments of the past year. THANKFUL.

Two Years Ago.

This past Wednesday was the second deadline to join Teach For America's 2013 corp. This time two years ago, I submitted my application to join the 2011 corp. It's crazy how time has gone by, so much time that I have forgotten what was going through my mind during the application process. I went back to find my letter of intent and it brought back a rush of emotion- and it makes me giggle. While there are parts of me that, in retrospect, that are embarrassed by my 2010 overly zealous idealism, I am reminded of the big picture and how I ended up here.

Dear Teach For America Selection Committee:

I am sensitive to everything from words to worldviews, and people often ask me why I care. I have been a third culture kid my entire life, born and raised American, but living oversees. I have always been the majority, and I have never known what it is like to not live comfortably. Privilege has worked in my favor, but I know that my privilege is only privilege because it does not work in the favor of thousands of others. When people ask me why I care, I ask them why they don’t. 

Syracuse University consists of a privileged demographic. I know how blessed I am to be here. What I don’t know is how it’s possible that one of the top 10 impoverished areas in the country resides about five miles away, in the west side of Syracuse.

Last semester I worked with Blodgett School, located in the west side, in a building that was being condemned. Blodgett serves the highest percentage of pupils living in poverty in Syracuse, and the building was so far gone that it was deemed unsafe for students. Instead of renovating, governing powers wanted to shut Blodgett down. After seeing this first hand, how could I not care?

I learned how to care by always being cared for, and I care because in any situation, it could be me. People have always told me it’s a waste of time to care about problems that I can’t fix, but the disparity in education exists in my community, so it is my problem. The students at Blodgett School have just as much right to an education as I do. In a country as developed as ours, there is no excuse for the achievement gap in our education system. It is a problem that is now our problem.

As a Teach For America teacher I will care about my students. I will care for their well- being and I will care for the quality of education they will receive. I will provide the support my students will need to succeed, and I will challenge them to set goals and expectations for themselves. Students need to see how their education relates to the real world, and I will be that connection. Good teachers are teachers all the time, not only in the classroom. Outside of the classroom I will ensure that the structure and what is being taught in the classroom is reinforced at home.  I will work with parents, administration and the community to create a culture of support and empowerment of learning.

I am prepared to take on the responsibility of eliminating the achievement gap in our education system. I believe that Teach for America corps have the incredible opportunity to open unimaginable doors to students that transform their lives, and it is an opportunity that I will give my students. Teach for America corps care just as much as I do about the education of our children, and I am ready to join this team.

Sincerely,

Elyssa Yuen

favorite things >> august

August was my transition from a jet set filled summer back to work. I've been back in the states for three weeks and I've been busy cleaning and re-organizing my home and work life, moving my sister to D.C. as well as re-adjusting to the very different climate.

{1} essie sage {2} new tapestry from india {3} new hanging dragon charm {4} volcano blue candle newly packaged {5} vicks {6} kiehl's lip balm {7} new glasses from anthro {8} papermate fine tips {9} franklin fountain mint chip {10} the most adorable second grader you've ever met!

"Here's to being the right people, in the right place, at the right time."

year two here i come!

After seven flights and five countries, my summer has officially come to a close and I just completed my first week at school- getting ready for our kids who show up next week. Last November I didn't know if I'd make it through Christmas, in February I wasn't sure if I'd make it through the end of the year and in June I couldn't believe the summer had finally arrived. Now, I couldn't be more excited to start the school year.

This year I have moved from teaching a self- contained seventh and eighth grade special education class to Kindergarten, First and Second grade special education support. I feel like I've come full circle- when I started this journey I spent my summer learning to be a teacher by teaching a class full of crazy kinders, and nobody could or would have guessed that I'd ACTUALLY end up working with itty bitty kiddos in this region.

Two days until we have kids in the building!

 {@ all mastery day with some of my favs}

{my new classroom....

there may or may not be three giant sized industrial kitchen products}

Summer of Doing >> Swimming & Seafood

So, I have a beautiful pool- a really really beautiful pool that I never use since I'm only home once a year. This summer has been so travel packed that I've felt the need to pack my days seeing friends, frequenting my favorite sites and eating all the food I miss out on when I'm away; Thus, I have gone the entire summer without enjoying my own pool. I decided to dedicate a day to staying local so a few friends and I took yesterday to sunbathe, swim, and hold their own ridiculous olympic events. We then headed to Saikung to end our evening with a delicious seafood meal :)

Summer of Doing >> Monkey Mountain

When I was a kid, my school bus would drive past monkey mountain every morning and I'd rush to the window to see the monkeys run to the street looking for patrons to throw a spare piece of bread their way. I decided that we'd like to see the monkeys up close and not from behind a glass window and thus, our decision to hike up monkey mountain became final. These monkeys have been living here for as long as any Hong Kong dweller can remember, and they are literally everywhere. Hiking through narrow parts of the trail, there were times I had to squeeze through pathway occupied by monkeys, and since they were there first they felt no need to make space for my human feet. The hike took us a little more than three hours (17821 steps, 7.44 miles and 130 flights of stairs). What a workout.

Summer of Doing >> White Sangria

One thing (among others) that I love about the change in seasons is the seasonal switchover most restaurants and bars make to white sangria. One of my mentors this year had me over for dinner this past year and she made the most delicious sangria ever! I have taken her recipe and modified it a little, but I urge you all to give it a shot. Every time I've made it it's been a hit, even with my momsy!

 

Summer of Doing >> Macau

Just a turbo jet away, Macau is seriously a hopskipjump to a weekend getaway.  I've always wanted (but have never had the opportunity) to see a Cirque du Soleil show- my mother and I did one better. We went to Macau to see The House of Dancing Water, created by the same people that produce Cirque, but as the title infers, the show is on water. It was the most incredible thing I've ever seen! Acrobats, dancers, divers, motorcycle stunt men, rising stages, appearing pools and fountains, tumblers and contortionists- and the list goes on and on! We stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel and it was the perfect little overnighter for anyone looking to see a sensation.

favorite things >> july

A good friend of mine blogs about some of her favorite foods each month and her entries (plus the fact that I recently listened to the soundtrack of Mary Poppins), have inspired me to blog about some of my favorite things each month.

Since so much of this month was spent traveling, most of my July favorites are items that came with me. Here are this months winners :)

{1} Vanity Fair: July {2} Tarte Amazonian Clay {3} La Mer watch {4} Uniqlo tailored jeans
{5} Free People sunglasses {6}wallet from a local boutique {7} bag from the philippines {8} aloe vera vaseline {9} earrings from a street store {10} jellies

Summer of Doing>>Disneyland

A couple years ago Disneyland came to Hong Kong, but I haven't made the time to visit until NOW. My momma is actually an avid Disney pin trader and has a season pass (I know, I was horrified at first but I actually think it's pretty awesome), so we decided that since she gets in free, why not be the overgrown children we are and go for the price of one (my ticket being the one). Since my mother is such a frequent patron at Disney she had our entire day mapped out. Our goal was to hit eleven sites, we made it to ten, but if you count our stop to trade pins we got to eleven! My favorite, the lion king show.