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 :-)
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Friday, April 25, 2008
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
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
Saturday, April 12, 2008
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 ;-)
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 ;-)
Thursday, March 20, 2008
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 ;-)
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 ;-)
Thursday, March 13, 2008
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 :-)
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 :-)
Friday, March 7, 2008
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!
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!
Thursday, February 21, 2008
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!
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!
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