1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:14,640 Welcome to Students Incorporated, a podcast exploring the topics of business, education, 2 00:00:14,640 --> 00:00:16,200 technology and design. 3 00:00:16,200 --> 00:00:17,640 I'm your host, Mr. Jason. 4 00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:24,000 Join me weekly as my team and I produce content that's informative, positive, fun and uplifting. 5 00:00:24,000 --> 00:00:28,440 Episodes include student conversations, interviews with thought leaders and inspirational stories 6 00:00:28,440 --> 00:00:30,060 with an international flavor. 7 00:00:30,060 --> 00:00:34,000 This podcast is created and produced with the help of students from the International 8 00:00:34,000 --> 00:00:38,680 Community School of Bangkok. 9 00:00:38,680 --> 00:00:47,340 In today's episode, we'll be introducing two teachers who are new to our school. 10 00:00:47,340 --> 00:00:51,300 We are excited to get to hear their stories and we welcome them to our community. 11 00:00:51,300 --> 00:00:55,180 But before we jump into our guest segments, let's hear the quote of the day and get some 12 00:00:55,180 --> 00:00:56,180 headline news. 13 00:00:56,180 --> 00:00:58,800 Our quote of the day comes from Simon Sinek. 14 00:00:58,800 --> 00:01:00,360 He is quoted to have said, 15 00:01:00,360 --> 00:01:03,800 Life is beautiful not because of the things we see or do. 16 00:01:03,800 --> 00:01:06,160 Life is beautiful because of the people we meet. 17 00:01:06,160 --> 00:01:10,920 It is the profound connections we make with others that truly define the beauty of life. 18 00:01:10,920 --> 00:01:15,160 Embrace the power of human connections, for it is through the people we meet that our 19 00:01:15,160 --> 00:01:19,800 lives become richer, more meaningful and truly extraordinary. 20 00:01:19,800 --> 00:01:23,940 Japan's release of the Fukushima nuclear power plant, Wastewater, has sparked backlash 21 00:01:23,940 --> 00:01:25,840 from numerous countries in the area. 22 00:01:25,840 --> 00:01:29,400 These countries have banned seafood imports from Japan due to health concerns. 23 00:01:29,400 --> 00:01:34,840 The impact from these bans on imported seafood would cause Japan to lose billions of yen, 24 00:01:34,840 --> 00:01:38,960 which would impact the local economy in Japan and also drive up fish prices in countries 25 00:01:38,960 --> 00:01:40,680 that import seafood from Japan. 26 00:01:40,680 --> 00:01:44,540 There is also an environmental concern due to some countries possibly increasing their 27 00:01:44,540 --> 00:01:47,120 amount of fishing, leading to overfishing. 28 00:01:47,120 --> 00:01:51,560 A Taiwanese electric vehicle company, Goguro, and two companies from the Philippines are 29 00:01:51,560 --> 00:01:53,800 partnering up to form a joint venture. 30 00:01:53,800 --> 00:01:58,580 The goal of the partnership is to increase productivity at Goguro's electrical scooters 31 00:01:58,580 --> 00:02:02,480 that rely on swappable batteries found in different stations throughout the country. 32 00:02:02,480 --> 00:02:06,780 The companies claim that the cooperation will be an environmentally friendly solution for 33 00:02:06,780 --> 00:02:09,800 transportation that is both scalable and sustainable. 34 00:02:09,800 --> 00:02:14,920 Back to the tourism industry, hotels in Thailand have seen a 20% decline in Chinese tourists 35 00:02:14,920 --> 00:02:17,280 as compared to pre-pandemic conditions. 36 00:02:17,280 --> 00:02:21,440 Additionally, China has been increasing its domestic tourist attractions with the hopes 37 00:02:21,440 --> 00:02:22,840 of boosting its own economy. 38 00:02:22,840 --> 00:02:26,800 Thailand's new prime minister has promised to improve the tourism industry, yet the help 39 00:02:26,800 --> 00:02:31,560 may be delayed until the government is formed. 40 00:02:31,560 --> 00:02:33,240 Thank you, Rebecca and Premi. 41 00:02:33,240 --> 00:02:35,720 Now let's jump into the first part of our episode. 42 00:02:35,720 --> 00:02:39,800 We'll start off by introducing our guest with some icebreaker questions. 43 00:02:39,800 --> 00:02:42,520 Mr. Keith, could you tell us a little bit about yourself? 44 00:02:42,520 --> 00:02:43,520 Yes. 45 00:02:43,520 --> 00:02:48,320 I am teaching geometry and engineering foundations. 46 00:02:48,320 --> 00:02:51,120 I grew up in the United States. 47 00:02:51,120 --> 00:02:58,480 I lived in Florida, Virginia, Michigan, and also taught in Hong Kong for four years. 48 00:02:58,480 --> 00:02:59,480 Thank you. 49 00:02:59,480 --> 00:03:02,440 Our first question is, who is your hero? 50 00:03:02,440 --> 00:03:09,520 So I really had to think about this and I thought of Christian philosophers and I like 51 00:03:09,520 --> 00:03:17,480 history and read history, but I really had to decide on a heroine, Ahsoka Tano, which 52 00:03:17,480 --> 00:03:23,720 is funny because her episodes came out recently, but I really respected her a long time ago 53 00:03:23,720 --> 00:03:33,140 because she really saw, I'm trying not to give spoilers, but when the Jedi Order represented 54 00:03:33,140 --> 00:03:41,920 all this good character, really was misguided, she saw that and she stepped away from it, 55 00:03:41,920 --> 00:03:45,200 even when it was difficult for her. 56 00:03:45,200 --> 00:03:51,240 So I really respected that, even what everyone thought, this is, we should be part of this 57 00:03:51,240 --> 00:03:56,920 Jedi Order, she's like, no, they're not following truth anymore, so I'm going to go off on my 58 00:03:56,920 --> 00:03:57,920 own. 59 00:03:57,920 --> 00:04:00,360 And at the same time, she was very compassionate. 60 00:04:00,360 --> 00:04:03,000 You always see the compassionate side heart. 61 00:04:03,000 --> 00:04:07,520 So the balance of truth and compassion, I think she's a great character. 62 00:04:07,520 --> 00:04:10,320 Up next, what is your biggest fear? 63 00:04:10,320 --> 00:04:16,900 So this is maybe a little cliche, but I would say my biggest fear is fear itself. 64 00:04:16,900 --> 00:04:25,000 So when I look back, I would say that when I was afraid of something and held back, that 65 00:04:25,000 --> 00:04:29,640 those are the times I look back and regret. 66 00:04:29,640 --> 00:04:35,200 But then times I was courageous, like when my wife said, what do you think about going 67 00:04:35,200 --> 00:04:37,920 and teaching internationally? 68 00:04:37,920 --> 00:04:40,880 And I was like, yeah, let's go for it, just no fear. 69 00:04:40,880 --> 00:04:42,240 And we did it. 70 00:04:42,240 --> 00:04:44,640 And that's been a big reward. 71 00:04:44,640 --> 00:04:51,660 So I struggle to think of animals or anything I'm afraid of, because I love animals and 72 00:04:51,660 --> 00:04:52,720 bugs and stuff. 73 00:04:52,720 --> 00:04:55,440 So I usually can't pull out one of those. 74 00:04:55,440 --> 00:05:00,080 Yeah, but that's definitely very valid and very real, fear and fear itself. 75 00:05:00,080 --> 00:05:03,080 I can understand, I relate to that. 76 00:05:03,080 --> 00:05:07,080 Our next question, what is your go-to karaoke song? 77 00:05:07,080 --> 00:05:11,680 If you don't do karaoke, then what is your favorite road trip song or playlist? 78 00:05:11,680 --> 00:05:15,760 Yeah, I try not to punish people with karaoke too much. 79 00:05:15,760 --> 00:05:19,760 So I had to go with more road trip. 80 00:05:19,760 --> 00:05:26,860 And the songs I always enjoy and ask Alexa to play are Rich Mullen songs. 81 00:05:26,860 --> 00:05:31,960 So Rich Mullen's You May Know Awesome God, which is a big classic. 82 00:05:31,960 --> 00:05:36,320 A lot of people know Awesome God, and it's just that song that makes you want to jump 83 00:05:36,320 --> 00:05:37,320 up and shout. 84 00:05:37,320 --> 00:05:42,800 But at the same time, he has Hold Me Jesus, I'm Shaking Like a Leaf. 85 00:05:42,800 --> 00:05:47,960 So just those times when you're just fearful, right? 86 00:05:47,960 --> 00:05:54,040 Or overwhelmed, just that's a good song that guides you to look to Jesus for that strength. 87 00:05:54,040 --> 00:05:58,020 Wow, I'll have to listen to some of those songs sometime. 88 00:05:58,020 --> 00:06:03,020 And for our last icebreaker, what was your weirdest and most random class you took in 89 00:06:03,020 --> 00:06:04,020 high school or college? 90 00:06:04,020 --> 00:06:06,840 And if you don't want to share any, what grade did you get for that class? 91 00:06:06,840 --> 00:06:11,520 Oh, I didn't know you were going to ask about the grade. 92 00:06:11,520 --> 00:06:18,520 I didn't take many weird classes, but I got to tell you about the statistics class I took. 93 00:06:18,520 --> 00:06:23,340 So I was in engineering and engineers traditionally don't like statistics. 94 00:06:23,340 --> 00:06:27,720 So it's even a class like statistics for engineers. 95 00:06:27,720 --> 00:06:33,400 And the professor, and this is back in the 90s, the professor said, I'm going to post 96 00:06:33,400 --> 00:06:34,760 all the notes. 97 00:06:34,760 --> 00:06:36,020 He didn't take attendance. 98 00:06:36,020 --> 00:06:38,120 So I was like, this is great. 99 00:06:38,120 --> 00:06:39,640 I'm going to just read everything. 100 00:06:39,640 --> 00:06:41,560 I'll just come in on test day. 101 00:06:41,560 --> 00:06:45,400 And I planned on coming on the day before the test because he would do test review. 102 00:06:45,400 --> 00:06:48,360 Well, I came in for test review. 103 00:06:48,360 --> 00:06:50,000 He had moved the test up. 104 00:06:50,000 --> 00:06:53,440 All I had was a pen with me, no calculator. 105 00:06:53,440 --> 00:06:56,200 So I was like, I got to take the test. 106 00:06:56,200 --> 00:07:02,040 So I took the whole test and I wrote on almost every question. 107 00:07:02,040 --> 00:07:05,760 I don't have a calculator, but if I did, this is what I would type in. 108 00:07:05,760 --> 00:07:06,760 Oh. 109 00:07:06,760 --> 00:07:08,360 And fortunately, he took that. 110 00:07:08,360 --> 00:07:14,280 So I still tell students today, if you forget your calculator, you can just describe what 111 00:07:14,280 --> 00:07:15,280 you type in. 112 00:07:15,280 --> 00:07:19,880 So not a weird class, but it was kind of a crazy incident. 113 00:07:19,880 --> 00:07:22,080 You've recently moved to Thailand. 114 00:07:22,080 --> 00:07:26,200 What was your transition like moving to Thailand and ICS? 115 00:07:26,200 --> 00:07:27,360 It's been really good. 116 00:07:27,360 --> 00:07:35,560 I transitioned to Hong Kong from the US back in 2016. 117 00:07:35,560 --> 00:07:43,800 And that being our first international transition was really overwhelming, but we had good support. 118 00:07:43,800 --> 00:07:48,240 So then we moved back to the US and then came here. 119 00:07:48,240 --> 00:07:51,640 So we kind of knew what we were getting into. 120 00:07:51,640 --> 00:07:55,320 And that helped a lot. 121 00:07:55,320 --> 00:07:58,360 So the transition was better. 122 00:07:58,360 --> 00:08:04,240 And we were able to buy a car from a family that was leaving. 123 00:08:04,240 --> 00:08:10,040 So now we can get around and load everything into the back of the car is so much easier. 124 00:08:10,040 --> 00:08:11,280 In Hong Kong, we never did. 125 00:08:11,280 --> 00:08:14,280 So we had to do public transportation and carry everything. 126 00:08:14,280 --> 00:08:15,560 So we learned that lesson. 127 00:08:15,560 --> 00:08:17,520 It was well worth getting a car. 128 00:08:17,520 --> 00:08:23,400 The school has been so good taking care of families. 129 00:08:23,400 --> 00:08:25,280 I've really been impressed with that. 130 00:08:25,280 --> 00:08:32,000 There's been a lot of people looking out for my wife and my sons. 131 00:08:32,000 --> 00:08:34,400 And I really appreciate that. 132 00:08:34,400 --> 00:08:39,200 The school does a good job in welcoming whole families. 133 00:08:39,200 --> 00:08:40,640 That's really lovely to hear. 134 00:08:40,640 --> 00:08:42,360 But yeah, I'll definitely agree. 135 00:08:42,360 --> 00:08:45,080 ICS is known for its great community. 136 00:08:45,080 --> 00:08:47,600 And I love that about ICS. 137 00:08:47,600 --> 00:08:51,320 And building on to that, what are some cultural differences that surprise you when you move 138 00:08:51,320 --> 00:08:52,960 to Thailand and ICS? 139 00:08:52,960 --> 00:08:58,360 So Hong Kong, definitely there were a lot of cultural differences I had to get used 140 00:08:58,360 --> 00:08:59,360 to. 141 00:08:59,360 --> 00:09:02,360 And we visited Thailand while we were there. 142 00:09:02,360 --> 00:09:08,600 So there wasn't a lot that at first I was like, oh, wow, this is shocking. 143 00:09:08,600 --> 00:09:11,160 We kind of knew what to expect. 144 00:09:11,160 --> 00:09:14,160 But I will say there's one thing that's really puzzled me. 145 00:09:14,160 --> 00:09:18,440 And I didn't know that this I would realize. 146 00:09:18,440 --> 00:09:24,360 But as I drive around, everyone pulls in backwards to parking lots. 147 00:09:24,360 --> 00:09:25,800 I still haven't figured out why. 148 00:09:25,800 --> 00:09:32,160 In the US, everyone pulls straight in and then like driving nerds back in. 149 00:09:32,160 --> 00:09:34,400 But here I'm super impressed. 150 00:09:34,400 --> 00:09:35,400 Everyone backs in. 151 00:09:35,400 --> 00:09:37,240 So I haven't figured out why yet. 152 00:09:37,240 --> 00:09:41,320 But that's the big cultural difference that still has me scratching my head. 153 00:09:41,320 --> 00:09:42,840 Oh, wow, that's crazy. 154 00:09:42,840 --> 00:09:51,080 I would have never thought of that, of backing out a car, how to park, being a shocking culture. 155 00:09:51,080 --> 00:09:53,560 Like being a culture that's crazy. 156 00:09:53,560 --> 00:09:58,400 And for our last question, what were some of your first thoughts about ICS and teaching 157 00:09:58,400 --> 00:09:59,400 here? 158 00:09:59,400 --> 00:10:03,360 So really, I think I would sum that up with balance. 159 00:10:03,360 --> 00:10:12,600 So I've taught in a lot of different schools, from public schools in the US to private Christian 160 00:10:12,600 --> 00:10:14,360 schools. 161 00:10:14,360 --> 00:10:18,200 And I see good balance here. 162 00:10:18,200 --> 00:10:26,000 So sometimes I've been in schools where the community is the big focus. 163 00:10:26,000 --> 00:10:29,480 And academics, it's OK. 164 00:10:29,480 --> 00:10:36,700 But there's all these events and everything around, let's build community, let's make 165 00:10:36,700 --> 00:10:37,700 sure that's strong. 166 00:10:37,700 --> 00:10:41,400 And I've been in other schools where academics is. 167 00:10:41,400 --> 00:10:50,120 They would, community was important, but you could tell academics was overwhelming and 168 00:10:50,120 --> 00:10:53,300 drove a lot of the community. 169 00:10:53,300 --> 00:10:57,800 And I see a good balance of that here. 170 00:10:57,800 --> 00:11:04,040 We're still stressed sometimes with academics, but there's a good balance, I think, with 171 00:11:04,040 --> 00:11:05,040 community. 172 00:11:05,040 --> 00:11:09,500 You can tell people care about each other and look out for each other. 173 00:11:09,500 --> 00:11:14,480 So I really have been impressed with that here at ICS. 174 00:11:14,480 --> 00:11:15,480 Thank you. 175 00:11:15,480 --> 00:11:24,720 And with that last question for Mr. Keith, we'll be right back after a short announcement. 176 00:11:24,720 --> 00:11:27,720 For the seniors, Carnival is finally over. 177 00:11:27,720 --> 00:11:32,680 There were various games and competitions for people of all ages to enjoy. 178 00:11:32,680 --> 00:11:37,400 The seniors had put in a lot of effort to make sure everything runs smoothly. 179 00:11:37,400 --> 00:11:39,080 And it definitely paid off. 180 00:11:39,080 --> 00:11:43,520 These activities not only brought joy to the attendees, but also helped raise money for 181 00:11:43,520 --> 00:11:44,940 their senior trip. 182 00:11:44,940 --> 00:11:49,560 People were excited to participate and support the seniors in their fundraising efforts. 183 00:11:49,560 --> 00:11:53,800 The success of the Carnival can be attributed to the seniors' excellent organizational 184 00:11:53,800 --> 00:11:59,120 skills and their dedication to making the event a memorable experience for everyone. 185 00:11:59,120 --> 00:12:04,360 As for upcoming sports event, our varsity volleyball team is having a pool play at ISB 186 00:12:04,360 --> 00:12:13,200 on September 9th. 187 00:12:13,200 --> 00:12:17,840 We are back with part two, where we'll be introducing another one of our new teachers, 188 00:12:17,840 --> 00:12:18,840 Mrs. Jess. 189 00:12:18,840 --> 00:12:22,440 We'll start off with introducing our guest along with some icebreaker questions. 190 00:12:22,440 --> 00:12:26,200 Mrs. Jess, could you please introduce yourself, what classes you teach, and a little bit about 191 00:12:26,200 --> 00:12:27,200 yourself? 192 00:12:27,200 --> 00:12:28,200 Sure. 193 00:12:28,200 --> 00:12:34,640 I am teaching 10th grade British literature and 12th grade world literature. 194 00:12:34,640 --> 00:12:41,240 And a little bit about myself, I am entering now into my 11th year of teaching. 195 00:12:41,240 --> 00:12:47,600 I taught seven years in the United States in the Chicagoland area in Illinois, and I 196 00:12:47,600 --> 00:12:49,840 was a middle school English teacher. 197 00:12:49,840 --> 00:12:53,880 And then I taught for the past three years in Casablanca, Morocco at a private school 198 00:12:53,880 --> 00:12:56,720 as a high school English teacher. 199 00:12:56,720 --> 00:12:58,400 And I'm super excited to be here. 200 00:12:58,400 --> 00:13:01,260 I'm really thankful to be your first guest. 201 00:13:01,260 --> 00:13:02,260 Thank you. 202 00:13:02,260 --> 00:13:04,640 Our first question is, who is your hero? 203 00:13:04,640 --> 00:13:08,120 Many people have heroes that they don't know, right? 204 00:13:08,120 --> 00:13:11,240 Someone they look up to, somebody famous. 205 00:13:11,240 --> 00:13:13,840 For myself, that feels really impersonal. 206 00:13:13,840 --> 00:13:20,280 And so I look at someone who I do know as my hero, and it really was my high school 207 00:13:20,280 --> 00:13:21,840 cheerleading coach. 208 00:13:21,840 --> 00:13:26,720 I was a cheerleader of middle school, high school, and then college, and so my high school 209 00:13:26,720 --> 00:13:35,880 cheerleading coach, Miss Cheryl Jokic, was just such a fantastic woman who actually changed 210 00:13:35,880 --> 00:13:40,240 from being one of the leading anesthesiologists in Chicago. 211 00:13:40,240 --> 00:13:47,860 She was one of the first female anesthesiologists in Chicago, turned into high school cheerleading 212 00:13:47,860 --> 00:13:48,860 coach. 213 00:13:48,860 --> 00:13:58,600 And so she was just someone who really took a turn in life and came alongside us to mentor 214 00:13:58,600 --> 00:14:06,160 a bunch of silly, goofy high school girls who came in with very little talent to offer. 215 00:14:06,160 --> 00:14:13,220 And she transformed our team in such a positive way that by my senior year, one of my best 216 00:14:13,220 --> 00:14:17,960 high school memories is finishing first place at our competition. 217 00:14:17,960 --> 00:14:24,160 And it was, we were the underdogs, and it was such a joyful experience. 218 00:14:24,160 --> 00:14:31,560 Being under her leadership and finishing first place was just a phenomenal experience as 219 00:14:31,560 --> 00:14:38,800 a high schooler who walked in without much to offer as a freshman and really seeing myself 220 00:14:38,800 --> 00:14:42,960 be pushed to be the best that I can be. 221 00:14:42,960 --> 00:14:46,560 And so as a teacher, I usually refer to my class as my team. 222 00:14:46,560 --> 00:14:51,960 If you're in my class, you're very familiar with team qualities, inspired really by my 223 00:14:51,960 --> 00:14:59,200 experience as a student athlete and my hero who pushed me to be the best person and athlete 224 00:14:59,200 --> 00:15:00,200 that I could be. 225 00:15:00,200 --> 00:15:01,640 Thank you so much. 226 00:15:01,640 --> 00:15:05,480 Our next question is, what is your biggest fear? 227 00:15:05,480 --> 00:15:09,200 So starting with a really deep question here. 228 00:15:09,200 --> 00:15:15,000 So if I was going to answer it with a deep answer, my response would be one of my biggest 229 00:15:15,000 --> 00:15:18,680 fears is being misheard or misunderstood. 230 00:15:18,680 --> 00:15:22,360 So actually being on a podcast is a good way to face that. 231 00:15:22,360 --> 00:15:28,440 And this fear of just not being able to fix something that was a misunderstanding is always 232 00:15:28,440 --> 00:15:30,320 something I'm afraid of. 233 00:15:30,320 --> 00:15:39,000 But more on maybe a lighter note is I have recurring dreams that I am late to class. 234 00:15:39,000 --> 00:15:44,720 Like still to this day, as an adult, my dreams are either as a high school student, like 235 00:15:44,720 --> 00:15:46,280 showing up to their own class. 236 00:15:46,280 --> 00:15:47,880 I can't find my schedule. 237 00:15:47,880 --> 00:15:55,360 I can't unlock my locker or dreams as a teacher where my class has started and I'm running 238 00:15:55,360 --> 00:16:01,560 late or I'm like still at home and I realize class has started and I'm not there. 239 00:16:01,560 --> 00:16:06,560 So I don't know if any of you feel the fear or the pressure to be on time for class, but 240 00:16:06,560 --> 00:16:12,600 that is something that still is a fear that I have even into adulthood from reflecting 241 00:16:12,600 --> 00:16:14,280 on my time in high school. 242 00:16:14,280 --> 00:16:17,400 Oh wow, I have the exact same dreams too. 243 00:16:17,400 --> 00:16:22,200 I'm always like these recurring dreams that I'm late for school or like I completely missed 244 00:16:22,200 --> 00:16:25,720 out on the first day of school because I did not wake up in time. 245 00:16:25,720 --> 00:16:26,720 I know. 246 00:16:26,720 --> 00:16:30,040 Yes, that is very scary to be the thing you wake up to. 247 00:16:30,040 --> 00:16:34,360 But also like feeling the fear of not being understood as well. 248 00:16:34,360 --> 00:16:36,800 I think I relate to that fear as well. 249 00:16:36,800 --> 00:16:40,440 Our next question, what is your go-to karaoke song? 250 00:16:40,440 --> 00:16:44,960 If you don't do karaoke, then what is your favorite road trip song or playlist? 251 00:16:44,960 --> 00:16:47,880 So I'm actually really excited about karaoke. 252 00:16:47,880 --> 00:16:54,080 I hope that in Thailand it is more of a thing than we experienced in Morocco. 253 00:16:54,080 --> 00:16:59,640 I am quite the singer. 254 00:16:59,640 --> 00:17:04,480 Not a good singer, just a singer as in a person who sings often. 255 00:17:04,480 --> 00:17:08,580 Much to my husband's chagrin, I will sing all the time. 256 00:17:08,580 --> 00:17:15,320 Not that I've had a lot of experience actually singing karaoke, but in the car, my thing 257 00:17:15,320 --> 00:17:16,920 is a little unique. 258 00:17:16,920 --> 00:17:20,840 I love maritime folk music. 259 00:17:20,840 --> 00:17:25,280 Most of you may know this as sea shanties. 260 00:17:25,280 --> 00:17:29,760 So they came a little bit popular during the lockdown. 261 00:17:29,760 --> 00:17:33,440 There was one song in particular that became really popular and it was kind of all over 262 00:17:33,440 --> 00:17:34,760 social media. 263 00:17:34,760 --> 00:17:39,360 And I was like, yes, this is my time to shine. 264 00:17:39,360 --> 00:17:42,440 Like this is my jam. 265 00:17:42,440 --> 00:17:48,160 My husband is not a huge fan, so we do have to kind of compromise with each other. 266 00:17:48,160 --> 00:17:51,600 But if it was my choice, sea shanties for hours. 267 00:17:51,600 --> 00:17:52,600 All right. 268 00:17:52,600 --> 00:17:53,600 Okay. 269 00:17:53,600 --> 00:17:56,600 Jumping to our final icebreaker. 270 00:17:56,600 --> 00:18:00,520 What was your weirdest and randomest class you took in high school or college? 271 00:18:00,520 --> 00:18:05,160 And if you don't like sharing, what grade did you get for that class? 272 00:18:05,160 --> 00:18:08,840 So I was kind of the queen of random and weird classes in college. 273 00:18:08,840 --> 00:18:14,640 I had gone to a small private high school, preschool through my senior year. 274 00:18:14,640 --> 00:18:17,600 And there just weren't a lot of options for myself in high school. 275 00:18:17,600 --> 00:18:23,000 And so when I went to college, I took every weird and random class that I could that still 276 00:18:23,000 --> 00:18:26,080 qualified for the credits that I needed. 277 00:18:26,080 --> 00:18:33,800 So my two classes that stick out the most, I took ice skating as a class and I did receive 278 00:18:33,800 --> 00:18:37,360 an A in that class as in the beginner level. 279 00:18:37,360 --> 00:18:43,600 But I remember our final performance, we did an ice skating routine to like my heart will 280 00:18:43,600 --> 00:18:46,600 go on for like tight panic. 281 00:18:46,600 --> 00:18:50,200 And I was a cheerleader in middle school, high school and college. 282 00:18:50,200 --> 00:18:55,160 And so I got my ice skating class together and we came up with this routine and we all 283 00:18:55,160 --> 00:19:02,720 built like a physical human Titanic on ice skates and we skated around the rink and reenacted 284 00:19:02,720 --> 00:19:07,720 this whole Titanic scene. 285 00:19:07,720 --> 00:19:13,120 And then my other class on the science level, I took the study of honey. 286 00:19:13,120 --> 00:19:14,120 Oh, wow. 287 00:19:14,120 --> 00:19:15,120 Bees. 288 00:19:15,120 --> 00:19:16,440 I didn't know that was a thing. 289 00:19:16,440 --> 00:19:18,080 That's well, I guess it's a thing. 290 00:19:18,080 --> 00:19:19,640 But like a whole class, it's crazy. 291 00:19:19,640 --> 00:19:23,960 Yeah, I didn't know you could make a whole class about the study of honey. 292 00:19:23,960 --> 00:19:26,680 But it was a semester long class. 293 00:19:26,680 --> 00:19:28,400 And my final project. 294 00:19:28,400 --> 00:19:34,360 Yeah, my final project for the class, I baked cookies. 295 00:19:34,360 --> 00:19:41,440 And so I baked cookies, the same recipe using sugar, like granular sugar and then honey. 296 00:19:41,440 --> 00:19:46,120 And I wrote about the difference in baking and the process making it, the texture, the 297 00:19:46,120 --> 00:19:51,360 quality, taste testing, passed out cookies to my class. 298 00:19:51,360 --> 00:19:56,560 And it was a phenomenal science class that got me a science credit. 299 00:19:56,560 --> 00:19:59,400 And it was so much fun. 300 00:19:59,400 --> 00:20:02,280 They sound like some really cool, interesting, fun classes. 301 00:20:02,280 --> 00:20:06,440 I'll be sure to take some of these classes when I go to college. 302 00:20:06,440 --> 00:20:07,840 It'll be fun. 303 00:20:07,840 --> 00:20:12,400 I hope that our seniors really do take advantage of fun of college. 304 00:20:12,400 --> 00:20:17,200 We have to be all studying and all nighters all the time. 305 00:20:17,200 --> 00:20:18,840 Have fun, do something different. 306 00:20:18,840 --> 00:20:19,840 I'll definitely do that. 307 00:20:19,840 --> 00:20:20,840 Enjoy college. 308 00:20:20,840 --> 00:20:22,640 I will do that. 309 00:20:22,640 --> 00:20:26,520 You've mentioned that you lived in Morocco prior to moving here. 310 00:20:26,520 --> 00:20:30,360 What was your transition like moving from Morocco to Thailand? 311 00:20:30,360 --> 00:20:35,240 Transitions can always be a little bit scary, a little bit exciting, a little bit sad. 312 00:20:35,240 --> 00:20:37,720 And we had all the feels. 313 00:20:37,720 --> 00:20:42,000 We absolutely love the country of Morocco. 314 00:20:42,000 --> 00:20:45,640 We were there during lockdown and COVID and all of the things where we couldn't leave 315 00:20:45,640 --> 00:20:46,640 the country. 316 00:20:46,640 --> 00:20:53,720 So we spent so much of our time moving around Morocco because we couldn't leave. 317 00:20:53,720 --> 00:20:58,280 But what a great country to be stuck in, quote unquote. 318 00:20:58,280 --> 00:21:02,720 And so the transition from a country that we loved into a new experience, you'll always 319 00:21:02,720 --> 00:21:05,440 have, like I said, some loss. 320 00:21:05,440 --> 00:21:12,360 One of those losses was that my husband and I are very sensitive people to animals. 321 00:21:12,360 --> 00:21:20,600 We are animal lovers and Morocco has a very, very large, almost uncontrollable population 322 00:21:20,600 --> 00:21:22,720 of street animals. 323 00:21:22,720 --> 00:21:28,440 And very early on, my husband and I got the reputation of being the neighborhood Americans 324 00:21:28,440 --> 00:21:30,300 who loved animals. 325 00:21:30,300 --> 00:21:37,280 And so within our three years there, people would leave baby animals on our doorstep. 326 00:21:37,280 --> 00:21:43,840 So we had a litter of puppies dropped off and we had three different litters of kittens 327 00:21:43,840 --> 00:21:45,160 dropped off. 328 00:21:45,160 --> 00:21:50,800 And we were also taking in our local street dogs to the vet on regular occasions for different 329 00:21:50,800 --> 00:21:52,780 therapies and treatments. 330 00:21:52,780 --> 00:21:58,120 And we just raised and took care of all the street animals to the point where actually 331 00:21:58,120 --> 00:22:04,720 about only five months ago, we had 12 cats in our house that we were taking care of all 332 00:22:04,720 --> 00:22:08,400 in different rooms because they all had these ones took eye drops. 333 00:22:08,400 --> 00:22:10,500 Those ones were taking pills. 334 00:22:10,500 --> 00:22:14,840 Everyone was taking all of their different medications. 335 00:22:14,840 --> 00:22:19,300 And so the transition was actually really hard to leave behind these animals that we 336 00:22:19,300 --> 00:22:21,960 had cared for and helped raise. 337 00:22:21,960 --> 00:22:27,040 I did find adopters for nine of our kittens because I brought them to school with me the 338 00:22:27,040 --> 00:22:32,680 last week of school and convinced my students to adopt kittens. 339 00:22:32,680 --> 00:22:34,720 We had a big adoption fest. 340 00:22:34,720 --> 00:22:38,320 So that was something that part of loss. 341 00:22:38,320 --> 00:22:43,520 And also the transition of language was very difficult for me in particular because I took 342 00:22:43,520 --> 00:22:49,060 French in high school, hoping that I would someday live in French speaking Africa. 343 00:22:49,060 --> 00:22:56,920 So I had already had this vision being in Morocco using the French was so easy in my 344 00:22:56,920 --> 00:23:02,340 life being able to communicate and now moving to a country in which I didn't know the language 345 00:23:02,340 --> 00:23:04,400 was actually very challenging for me. 346 00:23:04,400 --> 00:23:10,960 And I relied a lot on my husband, who in both circumstances, he did not know the mother 347 00:23:10,960 --> 00:23:11,960 tongue. 348 00:23:11,960 --> 00:23:12,960 He does not speak French. 349 00:23:12,960 --> 00:23:17,840 And so I pulled some support from him with that moving into a country that now neither 350 00:23:17,840 --> 00:23:22,900 of us know the language and we get to learn together, which is pretty great. 351 00:23:22,900 --> 00:23:29,080 And I know I'm talking a lot here, but there's so many differences that are also really great. 352 00:23:29,080 --> 00:23:34,400 For example, Morocco is 99.98% Muslim. 353 00:23:34,400 --> 00:23:38,920 So I will not miss the 5 a.m. call to prayer in the morning. 354 00:23:38,920 --> 00:23:40,920 Will not be missing that. 355 00:23:40,920 --> 00:23:45,440 And I'm just so thankful to be moving also from a public school into a Christian school 356 00:23:45,440 --> 00:23:47,640 and just have more freedom. 357 00:23:47,640 --> 00:23:54,140 In Morocco, we all had to sign documents that said we will not speak about our religion 358 00:23:54,140 --> 00:23:55,140 in the classroom. 359 00:23:55,140 --> 00:24:00,160 Like if a student asked us, we were not allowed to answer. 360 00:24:00,160 --> 00:24:01,740 And so that's a change. 361 00:24:01,740 --> 00:24:04,760 I talked about loss earlier and now we're talking about gain. 362 00:24:04,760 --> 00:24:10,520 I feel so much more freedom and less fear coming here and being able to share who I 363 00:24:10,520 --> 00:24:19,060 am because my faith plays such a big role in these big life decisions that I'm making. 364 00:24:19,060 --> 00:24:25,240 And maybe lastly, on more of a lighter note, I'm still getting used to the transition of 365 00:24:25,240 --> 00:24:30,600 my name being called by my first name is a really big transition where in the States 366 00:24:30,600 --> 00:24:32,960 there's always Mrs. Kastner. 367 00:24:32,960 --> 00:24:36,440 In Morocco, it was respectful just to say miss. 368 00:24:36,440 --> 00:24:41,600 So I was always just miss and my husband was mister. 369 00:24:41,600 --> 00:24:47,940 And so that was a transition and now transitioning into Miss Jess or Miss Jessica. 370 00:24:47,940 --> 00:24:52,280 I didn't even know what to say for my preference because I've never been called my first name 371 00:24:52,280 --> 00:24:53,840 by students. 372 00:24:53,840 --> 00:24:57,560 And so that's more one of those small adjustments that some people might not think about, but 373 00:24:57,560 --> 00:24:59,680 that I'm adjusting to each day. 374 00:24:59,680 --> 00:25:00,680 That's adorable. 375 00:25:00,680 --> 00:25:02,880 I wish I could adopt a kitten from you. 376 00:25:02,880 --> 00:25:07,400 Honestly, building on to that, what are some of the cultural differences that surprise 377 00:25:07,400 --> 00:25:09,720 you when you move to Thailand and ICS? 378 00:25:09,720 --> 00:25:16,880 Some of the cultural differences, man, when you first arrive somewhere, I think immediately 379 00:25:16,880 --> 00:25:21,720 your brain goes to looking at what's different and you're kind of pointing like, oh, that's 380 00:25:21,720 --> 00:25:23,920 different and that's different and that's different. 381 00:25:23,920 --> 00:25:26,680 And before you transition to like, oh, well, what's the same? 382 00:25:26,680 --> 00:25:30,200 What feels similar and we're at home? 383 00:25:30,200 --> 00:25:35,160 I will say on a funny note, one of the first cultural differences that I noticed, like 384 00:25:35,160 --> 00:25:43,160 our second day here, we went to Mega, the mall, and I am just not used to seeing animals 385 00:25:43,160 --> 00:25:46,440 and strollers at the mall. 386 00:25:46,440 --> 00:25:52,760 Like take your pet shopping for the day is not a thing that I had ever seen before. 387 00:25:52,760 --> 00:25:58,520 And more recently, I went to go see a movie and there was like the concession stands and 388 00:25:58,520 --> 00:26:01,760 I thought there was a vending machine and it had pretty collars. 389 00:26:01,760 --> 00:26:04,520 I was like, oh, what's in there? 390 00:26:04,520 --> 00:26:05,520 Maybe ice cream. 391 00:26:05,520 --> 00:26:08,080 And I walk up and it's dog food. 392 00:26:08,080 --> 00:26:09,360 Oh, dogs. 393 00:26:09,360 --> 00:26:12,920 Because there's a pet cinema. 394 00:26:12,920 --> 00:26:18,440 Like you take your pet to the movies with you. 395 00:26:18,440 --> 00:26:22,040 And that was just one of the things that I've been sharing with my friends and family at 396 00:26:22,040 --> 00:26:24,240 home. 397 00:26:24,240 --> 00:26:25,320 Americans love their pets. 398 00:26:25,320 --> 00:26:34,760 We do, but we've never been in a mall situation or public with so many animals in strollers. 399 00:26:34,760 --> 00:26:39,080 That was one of the biggest differences that I had noticed. 400 00:26:39,080 --> 00:26:44,680 But coming from Morocco, I moved here straight from Morocco and so I really enjoyed the culture 401 00:26:44,680 --> 00:26:51,700 where I feel that in Thailand, so far in Bangkok, in Bangna, I've had a mix of that American 402 00:26:51,700 --> 00:26:58,560 culture and some of my Moroccan culture that I feel is home, like walking down Market Street 403 00:26:58,560 --> 00:27:05,180 with all the vendors and the motos just zooming around you like this feels like home. 404 00:27:05,180 --> 00:27:07,520 This feels like my Morocco home. 405 00:27:07,520 --> 00:27:11,960 And then walking into the malls with your air conditioning and your Dairy Queen and 406 00:27:11,960 --> 00:27:12,960 your Cold Stone. 407 00:27:12,960 --> 00:27:17,080 It's like, okay, this also feels like home. 408 00:27:17,080 --> 00:27:22,560 So I've really, really enjoyed that my experience here so far has felt like a really safe and 409 00:27:22,560 --> 00:27:27,440 positive mixture of the two cultures that I've been living in for the past 10 years. 410 00:27:27,440 --> 00:27:32,400 Moving to a new country often comes with lots of challenges and difficulties. 411 00:27:32,400 --> 00:27:36,240 It's completely normal to struggle with certain aspects of the transition. 412 00:27:36,240 --> 00:27:41,520 For me, the biggest challenge was to get used to ants and geckos like near my bed. 413 00:27:41,520 --> 00:27:44,600 Yeah, that's my experience. 414 00:27:44,600 --> 00:27:49,360 And for our last question, what were some of your first thoughts about ICS and teaching 415 00:27:49,360 --> 00:27:50,600 here? 416 00:27:50,600 --> 00:28:00,440 My first thoughts that I had very soon after arrival was seriously, I love this place. 417 00:28:00,440 --> 00:28:06,760 I genuinely just felt so much love the staff here, your teachers and their families are 418 00:28:06,760 --> 00:28:10,440 so, so welcoming. 419 00:28:10,440 --> 00:28:15,880 Maybe not as much of interest to students, but for teachers having administrators that 420 00:28:15,880 --> 00:28:20,600 really care about you was phenomenal. 421 00:28:20,600 --> 00:28:24,980 And the administrators held a dinner for the teachers a progressive dinner, right? 422 00:28:24,980 --> 00:28:31,440 And so we traveled from each of our admin, so our bosses houses, one for appetizers, 423 00:28:31,440 --> 00:28:34,960 then we went one for dinner and one for dessert. 424 00:28:34,960 --> 00:28:41,080 And it was just such a sense of community and it was so much fun. 425 00:28:41,080 --> 00:28:44,480 And this year, as I mentioned earlier, I've been teaching 11 years. 426 00:28:44,480 --> 00:28:51,200 So besides the teachers, besides the administrators, going into my 11th year, I'm usually a little 427 00:28:51,200 --> 00:28:55,800 bit nervous before the first day of school, like, ah, what are my students going to be 428 00:28:55,800 --> 00:28:59,720 like and are they going to like me and how are things going to go? 429 00:28:59,720 --> 00:29:04,360 And this year, I just felt excitement. 430 00:29:04,360 --> 00:29:10,680 Like I just knew from the teachers, the administrators, even like the handbook, just the way the school 431 00:29:10,680 --> 00:29:17,680 was run, the hallways and like the amount of student work. 432 00:29:17,680 --> 00:29:21,600 And it's so clear that students play such a big role. 433 00:29:21,600 --> 00:29:26,840 I mean, even right now in this podcast, sitting with you guys in this room is great. 434 00:29:26,840 --> 00:29:31,160 And that students have such voice and advocacy in their school. 435 00:29:31,160 --> 00:29:33,440 Starting day one, I was not nervous. 436 00:29:33,440 --> 00:29:38,080 I was so excited to be here and be part of this community. 437 00:29:38,080 --> 00:29:43,340 So thank you for inviting me today into this podcast and being able to share a little bit 438 00:29:43,340 --> 00:29:46,180 of my voice and my perspectives with you. 439 00:29:46,180 --> 00:29:50,760 Thank you to Mrs. Jess for coming today. 440 00:29:50,760 --> 00:29:55,160 Thank you for answering so many of our questions and for taking the time to join our podcast. 441 00:29:55,160 --> 00:29:59,720 I know my team and I have learned a lot about you from our short time together and so have 442 00:29:59,720 --> 00:30:01,160 our listeners. 443 00:30:01,160 --> 00:30:05,560 As we close out this episode, I'd like to mention our quote of the day again. 444 00:30:05,560 --> 00:30:09,160 Life is beautiful not because of the things we see or do. 445 00:30:09,160 --> 00:30:11,920 Life is beautiful because of the people we meet. 446 00:30:11,920 --> 00:30:17,760 I encourage you to meet someone new today, say hi or what's up or just a head nod to 447 00:30:17,760 --> 00:30:18,760 start. 448 00:30:18,760 --> 00:30:44,040 Our lives can be enriched by the new relationships we can build. 449 00:30:44,040 --> 00:30:48,600 Stay tuned for our next episode as we'll be talking with Mr. Sean about something we 450 00:30:48,600 --> 00:30:51,960 all go through many times in our lives, transitions. 451 00:30:51,960 --> 00:30:57,360 He'll also be sharing some of his personal journey as an educator and mentor to many 452 00:30:57,360 --> 00:30:58,360 students. 453 00:30:58,360 --> 00:31:02,760 As always, this podcast will not be possible without the hard work and support of our international 454 00:31:02,760 --> 00:31:04,520 student production team. 455 00:31:04,520 --> 00:31:10,240 All music and sound effects are courtesy of Pixabay.com, a vibrant community of creatives 456 00:31:10,240 --> 00:31:14,120 sharing copyright free images, videos and music. 457 00:31:14,120 --> 00:31:16,520 And we are signing off until next time. 458 00:31:16,520 --> 00:31:19,720 Be your Students Incorporated, because your voice matters.