Still Running

Chris and I are currently in Brussels, Belgium- a seemingly sleepy city with lots of natural things to enjoy. We have a Belgian food list that we're aiming to complete while we're here, and so far we've hit beer, waffles, frites (like French fries), and chocolate. Other than that, we'd like to find some good pretzels and ham, and I am feeling adventurous to try rabbit in plum sauce.

We are enjoying a quiet lull here after spending a fast week with some friends in Rome, Italy. On the 28th, we'll head back to finish off the last few sights, and then we fly to Boston on the 30th of June, probably to hit the ground running. One of our favorite activities is to see the Boston Pops on the 3rd of July, then head back in on the 4th to watch the fireworks (you can't see them from the Esplanade, where the concert is). If you've never been to Boston on or around Independence day, it's an incredible way to celebrate with the whole family!

On vacation...
4 days to the US

How did you do that?

This spring, Chris and I also took a short vacation to Iran with two of our friends- surprise! You maybe wondering how that came about...I don't have time to tell the whole story as of this moment, but depending on my internet connection while on vacation I will give you the whole low-down. For now, here are some pictures. I will add the details of the trip, as well as the descriptions at a later date!
Persia at its Finest

There are also some other pictures and videos that we need to get from our friends who we traveled with, so I will post those at a later date.

Bon Voyage!
1 day to vacation
15 days to the States

back in time

I finally got around to editing Chris' pictures from his trip to Greece with his buddy Kyle. You may get a guest post from him soon- I can't remember what all he did or what all the pictures are of, so he'll have to explain that!
Check out Athens and Sontorini

Right now, we are preparing for vacation. This week I work three days from 8am-1pm, and Chris is the same. I finished cleaning my classroom, unhooking my PC, and covered everything so that it doesn't get dusty during the summer. I turned in my keys, too, so now I am just floating around and visiting, reading some books, and uploading old pictures for the next two days.

Kyle is actually visiting us from Kurdistan/Iraq right now, so that throws some busyness into the mix. We are all leaving after midnight on Tuesday- He's going back to his university to teach a summer course, and Chris and I fly out to Rome. We will have the opportunity to vacation with our friends Mike and Destiny for about a week, and then they will be heading to the Far East as we head north to Belgium and then to the West.

2 days to vacation
16 days to the States

on the water

These are from Saturday's jet ski adventure.




(L-R) Kirsten, Jen, Andrea, Kristen, Me

the weeks are waning

This past week was long, but mostly good.

Because of obligations that I scheduled previously, Chris and I couldn't do much on my birthday, but he surprised me with a gorgeous pendant that has my name in Arabic. My friend Kristen made cupcakes for my birthday at school, and lots of people are bringing in goodies because it's the end of the year, so I've had some sort of headache all week because I'm not used to so much sugar. (Thanks for all of the well wishes!) We also had a High School luncheon, for which some of my friends and I did a skit as ninjas.

On Tuesday, we went to the mall for dinner at Totally Fish; it's a good seafood restaurant, but I wouldn't say that the food and service were worth the money. What was even weirder was that we had a mini goldfish swimming around in a little bowl on our table for decoration. I like my fish fresh, but gosh...not that fresh. Afterward, we waltzed around the fountains outside- in the evenings the temperature goes down to about 90degrees, which is actually rather comfortable- and then I went to buy a dress for the HS graduation. These kinds of things are a fancy ordeal here.

On both Wednesday and Thursday, I went over to our friends' apartment complex to swim. On Wednesday, it was just the girls, and Thursday, Chris and I barbequed with another couple and their son while enjoying the pool. The water was freezing (can you imagine it?), but it felt good in the 110+ weather. Once the sun was down and the wind picked up a bit, it actually felt chilly.

Friday morning, we went for a walk on the shore, did some cleaning, and battled a cockroach. Wehh.(Arabic for "whine") Apparently, this is the season for them, and I happened to find one laying upside down on my bathroom floor. It's one of the freakiest things ever, let me tell you, if you have never killed a cockroach. They crunch! And, Chris wouldn't even look at it. In the afternoon, we went to church and lunch with some of my girls, and then relaxed in the evening to a fine viewing of Back to the Future.

Yesterday, I left at 8am to go jet-skiing with some of my teacher friends, which was quite amazing if I may say so. Maybe some day in the future, that's something we can invest in, but it was one of the most fun things I've done in a long time. We spent an hour out on the gulf, just zooming around (trying to miss the occasional piece of garbage that lazy people throw in it) and enjoying the morning sun. Of course, I made mine go the fastest it could, which was about 80kmph. I have no idea how many mph that is, but it feels fast on the water! Afterward, we had brunch and ice cream and took ourselves home to scrub off some of the sea salt.

9 days to vacation
24 days to the US