On Black Friday, I ordered the 23andMe DNA test kit. Got it for $30 off. I’ve always been curious, so I finally pulled the trigger. Some people ask if this really works. My thinking is that whatever your parents/grandparents tell you is only “hearsay.”
I know that I’m half-Okinawan and half-Japanese. I suspect a little Chinese (Taiwanese) since Okinawa is so close to Taiwan in proximity.
The results are in! Notified by email this morning. I’m 2.3% Korean! That was a surprise for sure. (No wonder I enjoyed my Korea trip so much!) I assume that anything over 1% is legit (allowing for a little margin of error.)
I was disappointed that 23andMe does not distinguish between Okinawan and Japanese (similar to how they lump French and German together.)
But very excited to discover that I’m part Korean. Kamsamnida 감사합니다
Paris, FranceOsaka, JapanMachu Picchu, PeruMatamata, New Zealand
I love receiving Christmas photo cards from relatives and friends during the Christmas season. But I was never able to reciprocate. Getting Christmas cards printed seemed like such a “family” type of activity. I decided to change that.
I started making Christmas postcards to mail out to family and friends in 2013. It’s a great way of keeping in touch and spreading Christmas cheer. The very first one was of me riding an elephant in Thailand. Since then, it’s been an annual goal to travel to different places. You could half-jokingly say that these cards fuel my passion for travel.
Occasionally, people will ask me, “What’s your passion?” I reply, “I make Christmas cards…” And then I tell them this story. And if you’re wondering, I actually do pack a Santa hat on trips.
I now give out these postcards in lieu of gifts. Am I being too “cheap?” Actually, these cards cost thousands of dollars to produce. 🤗 Merry Christmas.
Excited to have attended Punahou’s Global Educator Strand this past week. My fave summer PD. Global Educator Strand was first developed for the chaperones of SGLI (Student Global Leadership Institute,) and is now open to anyone. I first attended Global Educator two summers ago in 2016.
Was able to reconnect with great friend Roddy from Japan, who facilitated this year’s event. And yes, it was great making new friendships from around the world. There were nearly 40 of us from 22 schools in 9 different countries. It was an amazing three days at the Wo International Center.
On Day 1, we introduced ourselves and our schools. We began to develop a working definition of global education. After lunch, we visited Jamey Clarke’s lab and learned about his teaching of physics through ukulele building and social conscience.
On Day 2, I had a morning meeting with teachers from Trinity School in NYC whom I had met at Global Educator in 2016. I missed Dr. Scott’s presentation, but was able to make it back for lunch and the afternoon breakout sessions.
Photo credit @Lausensei
On Day 3, we were treated to wonderful student presentations in the morning. I was later able to present on my TED-Ed journey. We ended our day with afternoon breakout sessions and the completion of our “Great Wall of Ideas.” We had our afterparty fika at the Study Hall in Puck’s Alley. It was great to spend time with these amazingly, awesome people.
The PD ended on Wednesday, but I attended the SGLI farewell picnic at Kaimana Beach (Waikiki) on Friday afternoon. A beautiful sunset, and a great way to end our time together.
Mahalo to Chai, Wendi, Lorelei, & Roddy, and congrats on another successful SGLI.
Alan Tamayose 