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.
Friday, October 3, 2008
Saturday, September 27, 2008
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!
Saturday, September 20, 2008
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 ;-)
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 ;-)
Friday, September 12, 2008
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.
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.
Saturday, September 6, 2008
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!
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!
Saturday, August 16, 2008
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 :-)
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 :-)
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
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 ;-)
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 ;-)
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