Creatures in the Night

Thursday evening one of my roomates and I were borrowing a computer from one of the girls in our building to listen to a specific song. When were done naturally we wanted to return the computer downstairs, plus the battery was about to die. As my roomie walks out the door to go downstairs with the computer she, fortunately, turned on the stairwell light...only to be greeted by a black rat!!!

She came back into our flat screaming and telling me what had happened. At first I was in disbelief but then I realized it had to be true. So, we each grabbed a broom or stick and went back into the stairwell, hoping the creature had gone or was figment of our imaginations. But, no such luck. I walked out first, or rather was pushed out, I can't remember. I looked down the stairs to the next landing and sure enough- there was the black rat staring straight up at me, not even looking like it was about to bolt. Of course I screached and so did my roomie. We used our stick and broom to bang on the walls and railing to try to scare the thing away. I was not nearly brave enough to try to kill the thing. I think it ran away- but are still both afraid that it is living in our walls or building somewhere.

The next night we were both at a gathering where a man spoke of someone waking up with a rat on his pillow next to him. My roomie and I both looked at each other and rolled our eyes- a little close to home! I can handle the MANY geckos and their noises. I can even deal with roaches, yuck! But rats?!?! Umm, no thank you!

Also on the next day we were coming home from being away for the morning. No one had been home all morning. We walked into our flat to this horrendous smell. It literally smelled like something had curled up and died in our flat! The stench was so overwhelming that I had to leave for a few moments to regain my composure. When I came back we searched the whole place to find where the smell was coming from. In the end it was coming from the kitchen. There is a drain in the floor in the corner of the kitchen for any stray water, etc to go. We couldn't tell if the stench was coming from the drain or from somewhere else in the kitchen. Once we decided it was the drain we got 4 pitchers of boiling hot water (straight from the sink of course because that's how our hot water comes out) and poured them down the drain- hoping that would help. It still smelled but not quite as bad. We are still smelling this awful aroma and have no idea where it is coming from. Our next guess is underneath the cabinet that holds all our dishes. I am really hoping that there is not some carcas or something when we move that thing... However I did go to the store and buy some Clorox this morning, just in case ;-)

Just another day in my life- it's always an adventure...

She's a maniac, maniac...

Right now I am sitting in my living room while several men are constructing a cell tower on my roof. That's right- a cell tower on my roof. Why you might ask? I have no idea but I heard that the company is paying a generous sum to our landlord in return... They have been here since I got home from school and are still here, shouting and banging around. I haven't even been up to the roof to see what they are doing but I can only guess from the noises and calamity they are making.

Today was a whirlwind of a day. It started out by receiving a phone call this morning from the main school (Monday mornings I get to sleep in a bit and then teach at the preschool before I go into the big school for work). The call was saying that one of the teachers was sick and I was to sub for her. I apparently have become the permanent fill in sub for anyone who is sick- which I don't mind so much as long as I have detailed plans. It always seems to come at the busiest times though when you have the most to do. Anyways, so I got up and got ready, taught the pre-k class and rushed to school to relieve the person filling in until I could get there. Overall the kids were pretty good for me but the whole day consisted of teaching my worst subjects from school- you know, grammar, language arts, writing, reading, etc. I was like come on, where's the math? So, after school was preparing for the Christmas program- which naturally includes making a cardboard camel (pictures to come soon). I finally got home this afternoon, hoping to relax only to find these men banging around making as much noise as possible. Haha- go figure, right? What a day ;-)

My birthday went really well. Thanks for all the wishes, messages, etc. The night before my bday I went to a joint bday/welcome back party- complete with steak and potatoes, mmmm mm good! I also carved a pumpkin- well, it looks more like a gourd but they call it a pumpkin (pics of that soon to come as well). Oh and we played one of my favorite games, jungle speed. The next day, my bday, we went to lunch at one of my favorite Chinese restaurants and then that evening for ice cream and to a new local hotel for coffee. It was great to share the time with friends here.

Everything is going well- sorry it has been a while since I have updated. Things have gotten progressively more and more busy here. And this week is no exception. Until later ;-)

Wii would like to play

This week was probably the busiest week I have had in quite a long time. Although busy, it was a pretty good week.

Monday night I went to a student's house to visit with the family (actually 2 of my students because they are siblings). The family was so nice and welcoming. We started out talking and somehow the subject got onto how the boys had a Wii. We started talking about all the games they have come out with for the game system and when they told me about a cooking game (it's just for the girls, of course) I said I had to see it. The cooking game is called "Cooking Mama", hilarious. It was interesting though because you "cook" international foods from all over the world. Once that game was retired it was a MUST that I play other games with the boys. So, after a marathon of cow racing, bowling, tennis, and baseball, I was exhausted. I was relieved when the remotes died, haha- but I did have a blast! I even taught their mother how to bowl on the Wii, something she had never done (because it is always hogged by their children, haha). After the Wii experience we went back into their sitting room where I found out one of the boys would like to be in the NBA when he grows up. I was amazed at their knowledge of the NBA and all it's teams, pretty impressive actually. And how can you talk about the NBA without watching Space Jam? Yep, that's what we did next- haha, those boys crack me up! So, after about a 5 hour visit I finally went home completely exhausted.

Tuesday afternoon we had our first basketball games of the season, both the boys and girls teams. Unfortuantely we lost both games, but our cheering section and support was so much better that it was worth it. I love the community atmosphere we have within our school and families.

Wednesday afternoon was the first day of our Christmas Club at school. The Christmas Club is to prepare for the Christmas program in December because we are not allowed to do anything related to religion in school. The kids seems so excited though- we had about 50 kids show up for the first week!!! Some of them have never even heard the Christmas story but are so excited to sing and make decorations :-) This week we only sang, but in the future weeks we will also be working on dramas and decor and props. And, being the art teacher, of course I am in charge of all the decor and props. So I have been trying to come up with a list of things to make considering all 50 kids raised their hand to work with the art group.

After the Christmas Club on Wednesday, I had another visit at one of my student's homes. It was a very nice visit. The family was so sweet and hospitable. My student has a younger sister about 2 years old. We hit it off and I had fun playing with her and though she didn't speak English I was able to communicate with her and understand what she was saying. This was exciting, but not so sure what that says about me...I guess I have the understanding of a 2 year old in the language here, haha.

Thursday, yesterday, I had an evening meeting and then afterwards another visit with the family of 2 of my students. After such a long and busy week I was pooped by the time I got to this visit. And, I had already eaten at my meeting but had to eat at this visit. The visit was at a local cultural club they have here (they basically have one for every country around the area) where you can and hang out with people from your own part of the world. This family goes to the club about every Thursday night. I arrived around 8:30pm and did not leave until about midnight. Needless to say I came home and crashed in my bed.

Also on Wednesday and Thursday one of the teachers from school was sick. I was chosen as the one to fill in for her and cancel my classes. I was surprised at how well both days went, especially considering that she teaches 6th, 7th, and 8th language arts, haha. And, although the days went well I know that middle school is not my forte ;-)

I am so happy to have weekends to be able to rest and be rejuvenated for the next week.

I got a package!!!

I was so excited today because I got a package from my grandparents for my birthday...and no I am not waiting until my birthday to open it (my birthday, in case you are wondering, is Oct. 31). That thing was open as soon as I got home. Thanks again, Grammy and Grandaddy :-)

I also found out today that the walk from my house to school is 0.61 miles. Double that and that is what my walk to and from school is, not to mention walking around the city or going to get transport. I always knew the walk had to be at least a half mile but it was actually more. How I found this information out is because one of the girls in my building is training for a half marathon they are having here in December. Yes, a half marathon in the desert...needless to say, I will be a cheering spectator at that event.

Speaking of events our school's first basketball games of the season are Tuesday, for both the boys and girls. I will also be a cheering spectator at that event.

This week is shaping up to be a busy week but I am excited about all of the visits and basketball games. No other really exciting stories from recently. Have a great week!

Fall is in the Air

September is over and man am I happy it's already October. It seems that to me August and September always seem to creep by but once I hit October I am alright because time starts to speed up (at least in my head). I also think it has something to do with the fact that I love autumn/fall and my birthday is at the end of October :-)

We have had the past week off for local holidays and it has been very nice. I have visited neighbors and friends and in some ways it has actually felt like fall (which is nice because there is really no change of seasons here). At the beginning of the week some of the girls and I went swimming at one of the clubs here. I had a blast and even got some sun. Tonight I am going to visit another friend and then tomorrow is my last day of rest before returning back to school.

Although I have been enjoying the break and relaxing I am sort of excited to get back to school with the kids. I stumbled upon this great resource when I was planning my lessons for next week. It is a website that has art information and lessons in kids terms, so exciting! It's a great supplement to what I already have.

One fun story before I finish this entry. A friend and I went to visit the neighbors last week to eat and chat with them. We were watching some local TV after eating and started talking about makeup. Somehow we ended up having her put makeup on us and doing an impromtu photoshoot...very interesting as their view of fashion and beauty is extremely different from ours. Pictures are posted on facebook if you are my friend and want to see them.

Goin' Campin'

I went camping in the desert this weekend and had a blast. The highlight of my weekend, shallow or not, was the fact that one of the people had found a case of Mountain Dew in a small local shop!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Can you feel the excitement!?!?!) You don't just find that kind of thing here. I also bonded with a few more people which was fun. One of those people was a little girl, about 3 years old, who is girly, loves pink, and likes to wear fun sunglasses- we had fun together :-)

We camped in the middle of the desert, very rustic (if ya know what I mean). In the middle of the desert there are these huge piles of rocks and boulders. The people here call them mountains but if you saw them you'd realize why that is funny. We usually camp in the horseshoe area of one of these formations to block some of the wind at night and give us some shade as the sun goes down. The rocks are fun to climb up and play on though I am extremely sore tonight. We sat around the fire last night and talked and sang, good fun. Then sleeping under the stars was incredible! It's the 2nd time I've done that in the desert and though I don't get much sleep because it's really not all that comfortable, the view is amazing! I can't even tell you how many shooting stars we saw.

Today most of us went on the to pyramids. It's fun to see them because it's an amazing thing to see, but once you've been there and seen it there's not much new to see. The road trip both yesterday and today was so much better than last year. Instead of being in the back of this huge truck with open windows and heat and battering wind we rode in vehicles with A/C. This small change made all the difference! Our friend who drove the van I was in was hilarious- he was constantly making jokes with the guys at the checkpoints (which of course they didn't get) and I was trying hard not to laugh so loud. We also saw 2 huge random trucks full of camels....interesting...

We only have one day of school this week- tomorrow. It's the end of Ramadaan so we have a holiday for most of the week which I am pretty excited about. I had hoped to travel outside the city to a friend's family home but that isn't going to work out. So I will be staying in the city and visiting and hanging out with friends here, and resting of course.

Nothing else new to report really- Hope you all have a wonderful week!

An interesting bus ride...

So, today is Saturday- my day of rest/ day to talk to my family/ day to get things done.

Today on the list of things to do was:

-go to the money exchange place (I was literally down to almost no money in this currency)
-get laundry done
-work out
-go gorcery shopping for our flat (apartment)
-get a little work done
-talk to my family
-rest

So far I have done everything except talk to my family and my laundry is almost done, a pretty productive day I'd say.

Earlier today I went out to run the errands above. I started with the exchange place and that went really well. First of all, it was not AS hot as it normally is when I left at about 1 pm to walk there. Second, the guy at the place was extremely nice and spoke English...though I still tried out my broken Arabic. Anyways, I walked away with small bills rather than big bills which they normally don't give you :-).

Next up was the grocery store. I had to go to one of the more western stores because we were both out of laundry detergent and toilet paper, two very important things in our lives here. I left the exchange place and walked to the main road. Right away I caught a bus, rarely does this happen, and was on my way. I also had exact change for the bus fare, I was excited about this as it is also rare. I snapped my fingers and got off the bus at the supermarket and did my shopping, though the store didn't have half the things on my list...go figure, haha. I did get the laundry soap, a huge 9 kilo bag of Tide to carry all the way home, and the toilet paper.

After I paid and had to explain to the store owner that I had to carry the huge bags because I don't have a car he let me leave. Again, I walked out and right away caught a bus which made me very happy. This bus though was very full and I had to get all the way to the last seat in the back. I think I hit every person on the bus with my huge sack of Tide. As I sat down I apologized to the people next to me as I was grabbing my bags that were in their laps. The man next to me told me to "Take it easy" in English- I have to say, I just about fell on the floor laughing at that but I kept my composure.

Now it was time to pay my bus fare as the money man was snapping his fingers in my face, this time I did not have exact change. I couldn't reach to hand him the money though so the man next to me was nice enough to take it and pay for me. But he paid with his own money and handed my money back to me. I wasn't sure what to make of this at first. Then the money man was still snapping his fingers at me wanting money, though the man next to me had paid for me already. The man next to me told me not to pay and started arguing with the money man saying he had paid enough. They got into an all out shouting match as we kept on driving down the road. The money man wanted me to pay a higher fare because I was a white foreigner and the man next to me was not about to have that happen. It was nice to have him stand up for me but by this time the WHOLE full bus is staring at me...just a little embarassing. Somehow they settled the argument and I thanked the man though he still looked incredibly disgusted at the interchange. I have to say, I have gotten used to being treated that way on the buses and by people because really there is nothing I can do about it. But it's nice that for once I had someone stick up for me.

Now it's off to finish my list of things to do before the day is done ;-)

Elastic and Growing Pains

I'm realizing more and more how God is so mighty to save. I am also seeing how important working as a team really is. One person cannot do something on their own, especially of their own strength. But it is the teamwork that is put in and the foundation that is laid even years in advance. When fruit finally grows you can trace back all the way to when the seed was planted and just stand amazed at the teamwork that came together to bring forth the fruit. I saw evidence of this just this morning and it literally moved me to tears. It never seizes to amaze me how when you are least expecting it you see things in a new light and suddenly something you maybe didn't understand before is made crystal clear.

This year has been more difficult and challenging than last but I realize that I am growing and being stretched. I think back to my childhood and even to my younger brother growing up and know that growing pains hurt but in the end are worth it because you end up only bigger and stronger. Likewise, when you first start stretching it hurts until you stretch more and more and become more flexible. This is what is happening to my spiritual body right now and I am waiting for the day that I am stronger but I know that I don't want to ever stop growing.

Broken Glass

The title of this blog symbolizes several things actually- both light hearted and more heavy. I will start with the more heavy.

Since I have been back this year things seem to be a lot harder for me. Last year, looking back at least, seems like a piece of cake or a walk in the park. Though I did have tough times last year it's nothing compared with those of this year and I haven't even been back a month yet, ha! Really, I believe that God is breaking me down. I am learning that I have to be broken so that the master potter can mold me and fix me to be a better vessel for Him. My mindset coming back this year was that it was going to be a bigger and better year. I was all set coming back with more of the comforts of home and knowing better what I needed here...or so I thought. I think that I didn't prepare as well as I should have spiritually to come back here. When you leave a place for a few months you forget some things, usually the bad, and when you get back they creep up on you. I have been learning just how much I need to lean on and fully rely on God to be my strength because I cannot do anything without Him. When I try to do something of my on will or my own strength I only fail and fail miserably. It's kind of funny, in an ironic way, that in order to see these things and how much you really can't do anything good apart from God you have to be broken first. These revelations never seem to come when you are in your "mountain top" state, only in the valleys- go figure ;-)

On a little bit lighter of a note I was in a car accident last night. One of my friends came to pick me up and I was with some of my American friends on the way to another American's home for a night of fun and just chilling out. We were almost to their home, sitting at a red traffic light, when all of the sudden BOOM! A huge bus slams us from behind. Mind you, we were sitting still and this bus hits us full on. Praise God we were the first car in line at the traffic light because I think we slid about 10 feet from where we were. I'm also praising God because other than my back being a little sore last night no one was hurt and the car had an extended back (like a station wagon) so the glass from the back windshield didn't hit my friend and I in the back seat. The car is still drivable, though the entire back windshield is gone and the back is quite dinged. There were only 4 of us in the car and another friend on the way to the same place stopped as she was driving by and took 2 of us on to the house. The other 2, my friend who was driving and another, stayed to wait with the bus driver for the police- who by the way we didn't not have a number for. They ended up having to go to the police station to write up the report and the bus driver had no insurance. Apparently that's illegal here too so he was put in jail and my friend got her report. We're praying her insurance can cover the damages since he didn't have any.

Other than that, nothing too exciting has happened here, haha. Still in full swing with school. This Thursday is a teacher work day so no students. I have been able to visit with a few friends since I have been back but there are still a few friends that I haven't gotten to see yet. They had basketball tryouts at school for both the boys and the girls. There are two separate teams for each dividing them by ages so this is the younger group of kids, the older ones will try out after Raamadan (September). I'm glad because that means more of them will get to play this year. I'm excited to see them progress as they learn the game and get to compete.

That's all for now!

Desert Rain

Well, I am here. I arrived back here this past week and have gotten started back full swing. I am still readjusting to the time difference, climate, etc. But things seem to be going well.

I went to a friend's house last night. One of my other friends has just gotten a car and we thought we could make it to her house just fine, though we hadn't been there in a few months. Well, everything started to look the same after a while, which is not a surprise because most places do look very similar here (same color, shape, etc) along with no road signs it makes for an interesting time finding places.

We finally called our friend for directions and she asked us if there was a "local shop" nearby (basically the equivalent of a little store that sells drinks and bread, etc) All we could do was laugh because those stores are on just about every corner and most of them are not named and have no distinguishing features.

So, we kept driving just searching for something familiar and finally decided to hand the phone over to a lady on the street. She starts talking to our friend in their language on the phone and after about 5 minutes hands the phone back to us. After all of this our friend on the phone tells us "You are lost". The whole time we just continued to laugh because the culture just kept showing itself here. The woman on the street calls over 2 teenage boys to hop in the car with us, not the most culturally appropriate thing to do- but hey, we were lost. As the boys got in the back seat with me I scooted as far over as I could. I had a bowl of sweet treats my friend had made to take with us and they were topped with powdered sugar. Well, needless to say the dirt roads were very bumpy and upon the first bump the powdered sugar went all over the boy's black pants. All I could do was laugh and say sorry in their language as I handed the bowl to my friend up front. The boys got us back to the main road and we left them there.

From there we started to drive again and ended up where we were when we had first called our friend. By this time I am just dying laughing at the situation. So, we called our friend again and handed the phone to a man on the street. He proceeded to hop in the front seat and direct us where to go in his broken English. Several times along the way though we stopped and he asked for directions but we always went the opposite way than what the guy was pointing.... Finally after about an hour of being lost we arrived at our friend's home. It was definitely quite and adventure.

Then, this morning I went to a local produce/meat market with a couple of the girls from my building (all "white foreigners" or American). Well, last night it rained a terrential downpour as it is still rainy season here. Though the rain made the weather feel quite nice it also made the roads, most of which are dirt, extremely muddy. We took a bus to the market and when we got there we couldn't believe it. The ground was just one big mudpit! Dodging the puddles and the deep-er mud we made our way to the beggining of the market. Here we dodged the hanging meat- sheep, goats, slabs of beef- as we tried to make our way to the veggies and fruit. At first we were trying to hold our pants up out of the mud and were doing well...so I thought.... The mud just continued to get deeper and more glue-y sucking the shoes right off our feet. And of course the whole time we walked through the market we kept hearing them calling out in their language "Look at the white people in the mud- Haha" or "Soddy, soddy" (that is "sorry"). I have to say I have never experienced anything quite like this before. I finally decided that I was going to be covered in mud no matter what I did just in time for a boy with a wheelbarrow to walk by and slip, slinging mud all over me :-) This is when we began to laugh- though it was still incredibly gross. We finally made our way through and got our fruits and veggies that we needed, carried by the help of one of those wheelbarrow boys. About half way through this whole process we decided to call a friend to come pick us up. It would have been VERY tough to take all of our stuff on the bus with us, especially covered in mud. In the end it all makes for a great story :-)

Bittersweet

I have had a blast this summer being home with my family and friends. It has been great getting to see almost everyone and catching up. I leave the states in less than a week and though it's sad to leave home and everyone again, I am ready to get back into a routine and to what I know I am supposed to be doing.

Anyways, I want to say thank you to all of my friends and family for encouraging me and helping me out this summer. I feel sort of like a nomad as I have been all over this summer but your hospitality has been wonderful.

Pray for me as I head out on my long journey through airports and the air. And if anyone is in Atlanta on Monday let me know- I have an 8 hour layover there ;-)

I need YOU!!!

I officially have my plane tickets for this year and I leave a month from tomorrow. But in order to leave I still have a lot of support to raise. Please be praying for this and if you feel led to help with my support raising please leave a comment or let me know :-)

Hope you are all doing well- have a fantastic week!

Home Sweet Home

Sorry for the lack of updates lately. I am home- arrived safely back in the states for the summer on May 13th. I am enjoying all the comforts of home; friends and family, fast food, the beach and sun, A/C, etc.

It is shaping up to be a busy summer so I apologize if I don't get to visit with you. I would love to spend time with everyone so if you're available just shoot me a comment on here or an email if you have the address and I'll get back to you (I have a new number for the summer so I can give that to you through email if you'd like). Or you can reach me on skype as well.

I am working on my support for next year so if you'd like to help by being a part of my team you can reach me the same way as above. I also have a baby regisitry, yes- baby (the baby is our apartment)- set up with Target if you would like to help in that way. The registry has a listing of things that we need just to give you some ideas but please don't let that limit you ;-)

I thank you for all your prayers and support this year and for your continued support.

Have a wonderful rest of the week :-)

Row, row, row your boat!

Last weekend I had an outing with many of my co-workers. We had a blast! (Quite honestly, a lot more fun that I had expected.)

3 of my co-workers had birthdays this month. So, to celebrate we went out on a boat. We all chipped in for gas and food. I think there ended up being about 20 to 30 of us- just a small gathering ;-) The plan was to cruise down the river to an island and there have a BBQ. Meanwhile, it was about 120 degrees outside- scorching- and as we passed other islands we looked out and saw masses of people in the water. It looked like the "beaches" were swarming with ants. I have never seen so many people on the coast here!

The boat ride took about an hour and a half, during which everyone-my co-workers included- had their cameras out taking pictures and were chattering away. When we finally reached the island and were getting off the boat (mind you there was no dock and this boat was fairly large, there fore getting off the boat was a process in itself as we had to basically jump into the water to get out) we look up at the sky and see a dust storm coming. So we put everything except the people back on the boat, covered our heads, faces, mouths, noses, anyway the dust could get into us and waited it out. There was tons of wind, a little lightning, and a few drops of rain. The storm lasted longer than we had anticipated but we stayed it out.

Then we grilled some meat and ate, had a splash fight in the river, sat in the river in plastic chairs, sang and danced to a drum- overall it was a "blast and a half" as one of my roomates says. I think what I enjoyed most was being able to be myself with the people I see everyday but don't get to hang out with all the time. And likewise with them- being able to see the true people and not just their perfessional personalities. Some of them I just could not stop laughing at because they were a lot goofier than I had imagined and others I got to have amazing converstations with. Everyone enjoyed the trip so much that they would like to have another before all of us leave for the summer.

Another fun thing I got to do last week was attend one of my close friend's dowry party. Yes, that's right, dowry party. I guess you could sort of compare it to a bridal shower. The groom's family brings in all kinds of clothes, gold, perfumes and incense, unmentionables, and food to be prepared for the party after the wedding (along with many other things). Each bride has a different dowry but there are a few items culturally that must be included. It was fun to see how excited my friend was and the same with her fiance' (though one of her friends told her it was shameful to smile, ha).

More fun stories to come ;-)

Here is a link to a slideshow I made of some- not all- of my pictures from this year.
http://www.slide.com/r/bnPN-eYC6j8Xz6oGE7YfuGVKw44cnnEJ?previous_view=mscd_embedded_url&view=original

Hannah Montana

Spring break went really well and we have been back in full swing for a couple weeks now.

Last weekend I had the opportunity to visit a friend's family in a town about 3 hours south of where I live. I was so excited about the chance to leave the city, see more of this country, and meet a good friend's family.

We, one of my roomates and I, met our friend early on Friday morning (our weekends are Friday and Saturday). We then headed to the bus station to get our tickets and set out on our adventure. Upon arriving at the bus station we had to pay for a token to enter the station and then find our way to the right place to buy a ticket. Also, my roomie and I not being nationals here, had to get a special paper so that we could travel. This special paper ended up being just a piece of scratch paper with our names, the dates for travel, and, of course, that official stamp.

Once we aquired this very important slip of paper, to which we held as secure as possible, we went on to get tickets. A few minutes later we were handing our backpacks over to put in the bottom of the bus and boarding. The bus ride there was not as bad as I had expected. The bus actually had A/C that worked! I was almost cold on the trip... They served us water, unfiltered naturally, and cookies and mango juice. There was also an on-board movie. It was one of those d-list 80s rated R movies- not a good combo. I was shocked- it was in English with subtitles but the language was terrible, a ton of violence, and the subject matter was completely culturally inappropriate. My roomie and I looked at eached other and once again realized why these people have such a bad stereotype of Americans. Just as we were exchanging glances we heard a loud explosion. Yes- we blew out a tire. So the bus pulls off the paved road and into the desert, the bus now leaning terribly. All the men rush off the bus to help and the women stay on. About 45 minutes later we were back on our way.

We arrived in the town about an hour later, grabbed a taxi, and headed to our friend's home. The taxis were different than in the big city where I live though. They were a newer type of car and all of them were red rather than yellow. Our friend's family was so nice. All but one of her siblings still live at home and are not married. So we got to meet her 3 sisters and a brother and her mother and father. They were even more hospitable than we expected. It was so quiet and relaxing being out of a big city even for just a day and a half. They made us some wonderful traditional food, we went to a party, and we slept on beds out in the courtyard under the stars. Not only was it cooler temperature wise sleeping outside but the stars were GORGEOUS! We also got the whole cultural experience while staying with our friend's family. Complete with the hole in the ground type bathroom, bucket shower, and mostly their language being spoken. I really enjoyed being able to see this way of life compared to the modern way that a lot, not all, but still a lot of people lead in the city.

On Saturday we ate more and got ready to head out. We visited a couple tombs and then headed to the bus station. We had to go earlier than we wanted to because so many people travel on this day and we wanted to make sure we got a ticket back. When we got to the station the three of us got some of the last seats on a bus just in time. Within minutes we were headed out back to the city. This bus was not as nice as the first one though. We were sitting in the very back of the bus, right by the engine, which by the way was leaking gas and oil. The smell was awful!!! Finally, about halfway through the trip they stopped to check the engine. When they opened the cover, with the engine still running, I could see it squirting out. They fixed it with a wrench, threw 2 pitchers of water over the engine, and on we went. The smell got a little better but it was still there. In all it was a great trip though.

Last night I went to a student's birthday party. She is from the states as well and it was a Hannah Montana party! I got there early to help set up and help her mom with getting other things done. It was such a neat party- especially for here and I think the kids really enjoyed it. She invited all the girls from her class at school. They made bracelets, did makeup and nails, relay races, kareoke, etc. At the end they got to go to the "store" with the "money" they had earned doing things and buy stuff- sort of like their party favors. At the end, before everyone left, her mom wanted to take a picture of the girls with "Hannah". They had all these Hannah Montana things that the grandparents had sent over for the party, including a Hannah wig. So she had me go inside to put on this wig for the picture. She did not mention to me that there were several men outside with her husband that were not American or that she was going to pump them up like it was concert or something. All of the sudden I hear the girls chanting "Hannah, Hannah!!!" and then telling me to sing! Had the men not been there I would have totally gotten into character but seeing as they were it was not quite culturally appropriate. I have to admit it was a lot of fun and I know the girls loved it- from me being Hannah Montana to putting makeup on me...pictures to come ;-)

Who Doesn't Love Spring Break?!?!

Well- today is the first day of spring and how appropriate that it is also the first day of my spring break. Am I getting too old to be as excited, or even more so, than my kids about this?

Because it is spring break I have a lot of free time to relax and catch up on my hands. There fore I have decided to write about a few more funny stories that have happened over the past few weeks :-)

About a week or two ago there were several of us that needed to have an official photo taken. So, I went with 2 other girls to the "Kodak" store. We walk in and go to the front desk- apparently this place takes photos and prints them out like a normal place you take film to. They took us back to the sitting room where we would have our pictures taken and left us there. I was so excited when I found a full length mirror- these are rare and extremely hard to come by here, in fact a lot of my friends don't even own mirrors. We began to look around the room and the props were hilarious. The guy finally comes back into the room with a digital camera and I was forced to be first. He took my picture and then the other girls had their's taken. While I was waiting for them I look over in the corner to see one of those Sony home printing stations. It was all I could do not to bust out laughing. After having our pictures taken the guy left us again. We waited...and waited...finally he comes back in saying he needs to know what size pictures we want (not in English of course so a lot of gesturing was involved). They escorted us over to the the room with the the computers and developers/printers. Since they are on the metric system here it took quite some time to figure out the size that we actually wanted (somewhere around the equivalent of a 3 X 5). Then- and this is the funny part- we look over and there is the guy at the computer with our pictures pulled up in photoshop. He took each one and airbrushed us, straightened our teeth, fixed our eyebrows, etc. He did it all!!! And, thinking he'd be funny, he starts making my friends picture all distorted looking. I couldn't take it any longer, I was laughing so hard I was crying! Once the pictures were fixed they were printed- though the men were shocked that we only wanted one each. While they were printing we went to wait in the lobby area. A few minutes later the photos were done and one of the guys is showing me that he had taken a picture of me with his cell phone- saying, not in English, good, right, right? A little creepy so I just walked away. Just another interesting experience here :-)

There is this one student at the school who has a developmental disorder. He is a teenager with the mind of a 5 year old. He can be very sweet sometimes and other times, well...act like a 5 year old :-) I've had a lot of funny times with him. He's a pretty big boy and one day I walked outside for dimissal with some of my children and he was "hiding" behind a shutter with his sunglasses on and finger over his mouth (ya know the quiet sign). So, some kids and I played along. It was hilarious and cute all at the same time- he was so excited to jump out and show us where he had been "hiding". He also likes to copy me. I am usually outside to cover recess and lunches for a couple of classes and he is out there for part of the time. On the days he's talking to me, he'll come stand by me and mimick my actions, laughing the whole time. Yesterday he was doing this but he was also very excited about a birthday party they were having in the class he spends some time in. He was jumping up and down so much that his pants kept falling down! He kept asking me to help him, which for his real age and the culture here is very inappropriate, so I had to get his aid to help him. He keeps me laughing though!

I was in the kindergarten class this past week helping out. I commented on one of the little girls hair (it had been braided) and one of the white kids looks in awe at it and says, "Yeah, I don't know how her mom does it!" It was so cute and funny because he was being completely serious.

That's all for now- off to enjoy my nice, relaxing spring break ;-)

A Different Kind of Pomp and Circumstance

Last night I attended my first university graduation here. It was definitely unlike anything I have ever been to or seen in my life- but fun.

Everything here takes time. One of my roomies is house and truck sitting for some friends that are out of the country right now. So, we took the truck to meet our friend. Then we went to the university and meet up with some more people, who might I add were really excited to meet 2 white girls, haha. We drank some REALLY strong, black, sugary coffee and then had to rush out of there to meet some more of our friend's friends. These friends were at a photo studio having their grad pics taken. We get there and these girls are decked out- I mean bangin'! Me and my roomie felt so out of place because we didn't realize that this was such a dressy event. We ended up in the pictures anyways, though we had just met the girls that were graduating.

Once the pictures were done we all loaded in the truck and drove back to the university. There we sat around in a room for a while, met tons more of our friend's friends (turns out she is very popular and knows just about everyone). They were all very sweet. It was almost time for the ceremony so we all gather our things and go out to the truck to move it not very far at all, I think our friend really likes that we have a car, at least for the time being :-) The graduates are all line up about 4 or 5 across and then in long lines (about 70 of them) complete with a band- drums, trumpets, etc. They had like a mini-parade type thing all over the small campus and then were going to get into all of the cars waiting for them to convoy over the the hall for the other ceremony and party.

While we were waiting a bunch of men crowded around our truck and started talking to our friend. Turns out they wanted the camera men to ride in the back of our truck to film the convoy and for us to be the lead car behind the cop on the motorcycle. My roomie and I could not stop laughing- and of course we jumped at the opportunity. The only problem was, we happened to be the very last car in the long line. The guys got us settled up at the front behind the cop and ready to go. Once the cop had jimmy-rigged his siren so it would actually work we started off- the horn was honking and all the women in the back seat, my roomie, and I started of the "eeeww-eeee, eeeewww-eeee" I can't remember the real name of this but at any celebration, especially weddings, the women do this sound at a VERY high pitch- very fun actually. Of course our friends were laughing at the 2 white girls trying to do it. We continued on with this and leading the convoy for about 15-20 minutes when we finally arrived at our destination where we were treated like VIPs- I think because of our truck, which is not really ours.

We get to the door and they wave us through without having tickets, like the VIPs they thought we were. Then take us all the way up to the front to the head table- you know, the nice one that actually has a table cloth, nice covered and comfy chairs. My roomie and I looked and felt very out of place but our friend told us to just sit there. Once seated she told us that they thought we were doctors, probably due to the fact that we had the nice truck and we were the only 2 white foreigners there, haha! As we sat they kept bringing out all kinds of sodas and bottled water.

Then the ceremony began. The graduates came in and sat up stairs surrounding the hall and looking down on us. Each graduate came down the aisle with their family and friends to a song of their own choosing (mostly Arabic songs but there was one Celine Dion song- they adore her here). The cameras are on them the entire time which is spotlighted on the tv screens up front. Once they reach the front they leave their family, or at least they are supposed to, and go up to the stage to shake hands and get their certificate. Imagine this process about 70 times, for at least 3 and a half hours, plus the music and annoucer all in Arabic and louder than loud. That was the ceremony.

We left right at the end of the ceremony because it was a school night and we had to get up early to teach. Our friends were disappointed because there was to be a party at that same hall afterwards and they wanted us to stay. I would have but there was no way we could. All morning I was fighting sleep and the ringing in my ears finally went away around lunch time. In all it was an excellent adventure though :-)

Time is Slipping Away- Slip, Slip, Slippin' Away

Time is going by so quickly it seems- I go to talk about something saying it was last week and one of my friends tells me it was more like 3 weeks ago. I think it is true that time seems to speed up as you get older. I looked at the calendar and there are only 9 weeks until I come home for the summer. I was shocked! I remember when I first got here and thought it would feel like forever. Although I love it here and love all my friends here I am looking forward to seeing my family and friends at home. I get more and more excited as I plan out my itinerary for the summer- although it's starting to look more and more busy.

We had a meeting on the river the other night. It was nice- especially seeing the sunset.

Looking forward to seeing a friend this week and going to her graduation from university (or maybe her friend's...working on those communication skills). That friend let us borrow a dvd player because ours is broken (due to dust, haha- go figure). But the problem with the borrowed player is that it won't play any of our dvds (probably because of the region thing). It's the thought that counts :-)

The kids at school crack me up! There is this one 4 year old that I always play with before school. Sometimes he looks at me and says- your eyes is blue. So I say your eyes are brown- to which he responds, no black and we get into the brown, black, brown, etc until we get tired of it. Then we chase each other :-) So cute! Another time, the assistant in the 4 year olds room was out for the day (I help out in there some). So one of the kids told their teacher, oh, I know, I know- just get Miss Suzi! I thought it was adorable because he thought he had the answer to solve everything.

They recently had basketball tryouts for both the boys team and girls at school. The kids were super excited.

That's about all the updates I have for now :-) Have a great week everyone!

March Meltdown

I know it's been a while since I have written- sorry.

Excuse #1: I've been really busy.
Excuse #2: The internet is a little shakey.
Excuse #3: Couldn't think of anything I wanted to write about.

...now that that's out of the way...

I went to my first traditional wedding here- well... actually it was one of the many parties celebrating the marriage (they said it wasn't the traditional part of it). It was neat to have that cultural experience though. Their idea of dancing here is hilarious- you stand still shifting your feet from side to side, moving your shoulders a little, and snapping or clapping. Haha- it sort of reminded me of middle school dances :-)

I went to a birthday party for one of the 4 year olds whose class I help with at school. It was a blast! The kids were dancing up a storm, there was one of those mcdonald's like playgrounds wit h the ballpit and slide and such (of course the balls were all over the restaurant as we were inside!), and even people dressed up in character costumes. It was similar to a cross between a birthday party at mcdonald's or burger king when you were like 5 and a chuckie cheese party (because of the people in costumes). But half the kids were terrified of the costumes and screamed until they left while the others danced with them. Oh- and the stereo system was crazy! This thing was humongous and LOUD! Imagine kids songs in Arabic to Arabic music- loads of fun. They even made a "remix" of one with the birthday girls name in it. They also fed us- complete with soda and cake...at 9pm on a school night...to mostly 4-8 year olds. Needless to say it was a fun day the next day at school, haha!

Well, that's all the fun stories I have for now. I will try to be better about posting more often. If you are not on my email list for the letters I send out and want to be send me your email address and I will add you.

Toodles!

Looks like Snow!

So lately here the weather has been acting a little crazy. The past few days have been pretty hazing and overcast- not typical here. We had a small haboob (dust storm) the other day and then today it rained- granted it wasn't very much, but it ONLY rains here in rainy season (July and August). We were joking that all the clouds in the sky looked like snow clouds, ha! Wishful thinking :-) It is funny to see all the people from here though- bundled up in these huge and heav jackets. Their bodies are made for heat so they can't handle lower temps. Us foreigners love it!

I have been working more with more of the classes at school and getting to know more of the kids in the school. I love working with the little ones because they crack me up! Especially the 4 year olds. Some of them are so smart and witty :-) One of my favorites came in the other day singing "Nobody wanna see us together..." by Akon!!!! I was laughing so hard! Another kid who comes from the 3 year olds in the afternoon to the 4 year olds was sitting watching me sing the abc's, complete with sign language, with some of the kids the other day. When we finished he didn't skip a beat, smiled big and gave me a big hand of applause. It was hilarious!

There are so many more funny stories but I am out of time for now. Hope you are all doing well- let me know what's going on in your life :-)

Safari Time!

I just got back from Kenya about 2 days ago. It was an amazing trip!!! I really enjoyed being back in a place where there is grass and flowers and trees even. Once you've been in the desert for so long and see the greenery, you marvel at God's creation seeing these things again.

I stayed a couple days in Nairobi before leaving for a 3 day safari. We left just as the violence was rising. I couldn't believe the uproar about the elections- go figure that we would be there for the once every 8 years elections, ha! But God kept us safe the entire trip.

The safari was incredible! I couldn't believe how close we got to all of the animals. We saw lions, cheetahs, tons of elephants, cape buffalo, zebra, giraffes, warthogs, all kinds of birds, gazelles, antelope, and even hippos and crocs. I'm sure there are others that I can't think of just now. Our safari guide was funny and full of knowledge, best of all willing to take risks for us :-) The tents we stayed in were nicer than I thought they'd be- we had toilets, showers and hot water- what more can you ask for? We also go to visit a Masai village. They showed us around and taught us about how they live. They are one of the only tribes in the world that still lives primitively and the same as they originally did. And of course they tried to get us to buy all of their handy crafts. Some of the warrior men wanted me to trade my tennis shoes for spears and other things, including their 5 year old shoes made out of tires. All I could do was laugh- and I totally would have traded but they were the only shoes I had with me.

After the safari was over we went back to stay in Nairobi for a night but we had to stay in a different place than planned because of the potential violence where we had stayed before. Then we were off to Mombasa. This is where we had our team conference. It was such a nice place in the middle of nowhere on the Indian Ocean. I enjoyed being able to lounge around in my swim suit, swim, walk on beach, and just relax for a few days. It was very odd at first to not have to be fully clothed- especially after living that way for 5 months already. Mombasa reminded me a lot of home- palm trees, the beach, and tons of humidity!

Another highlight of my trip was going to a store called Nakumatt. This place is like walmart! I was so excited- but best of all I found Dr. Pepper!!! I ended up buying 10 cans to bring back with me because they do not have it here. I also asked about Mountain Dew. The guy got my hopes up when I asked because he said, "Green can, right?" I was like- YEAH! Then he said no. Ha! I was a little disappointed.

Anyways, we all made it back safely and have a few days before school starts because of the unexpected governmental holidays- gotta love those ;-) I have started back to language classes already and am trying to get myself back into a regular routine. It was so nice to have a mid- way break. I am now refreshed and ready to go! Until later... :-)