Harry Potter, Friends, and Formerly Burma

After Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s “Danger of a Single Story” …linked at the bottom of the post I felt compelled to write on this topic because of what I’ve seen recently about what has been happening at home. A lot of rhetoric at home right now is centered around misunderstanding and exclusion. And in the spirit…

Peace Corps Staycations

A summary of my Peace Corps summer: LONG. The months since I came back from America in March have felt like some of the longest of my life. The days don’t pass quickly, and some days I truly don’t know what part of the week it is. Even with small teaching projects and preparing for…

Culture Corner: CLOTHES!

Longyi / Traditional Dress One of the first questions I always get from locals is, “How do you like Myanmar dress??” “Do you like to wear Myanmar longyi??”…as in there is no other option but to enjoy it..lol Myanmar longyi is as ubiquitous as statues of the Buddha or mohinga. Longyi is the name of…

Rae Roams: UNITED STATES!*

*plus some general updates about life this summer! After being MIA for a while, I’ve finally found my way back to a keyboard. Lots of fun and crazy things (life, riiight?) have been happening since my last blog post and that’s what I want to share. During March, I was fortunate enough to go home…

Twenty Kids and a Haiku: Extracurriculars

The school year is about to come to a close in Myanmar! Yay! That means I’ve been co-planning, co-teaching, and just existing in Myanmar for about a year now. (It’ll be officially a year in March!) Just like any teaching position, my job includes involvement with extracurricular activities. My experience with this aspect of service…

Rae Roams: I MOVED!

Let me preface: I wrote this post around November when the actual move took place. However, moving into a new apartment has really slowed down the process of settling in. I edited it to make it up to date. Additionally, my original plan was to include photos of the new place, but my schedule has…

Culture Corner: FOOD

When I imagine a food culture opposite to the one in the United States, I can’t envision a better fit than Myanmar. The way that Myanmar culture treats food, eating, and the social implications of the dinner table are a world apart from what I had experienced before service. In Myanmar, food is a way…