2012-2013 is finished!

We have finished the 2012-2013 school year with lots of fun and festivities, as well as a few sad goodbyes.

On Sunday, I took my darling husband to the airport for his next adventure in Jordan. From what I can tell, he's mostly enjoyed running in fresh, dust-free air and hanging out with our friend Brad, who he's staying with while there. He finalized his Arabic lessons schedule yesterday, and he was supposed to start at 8am this morning. I hope to get another update this afternoon.

In the meantime, I have finished my school year. We threw a surprise baby shower for two of my colleagues that are expected to deliver during the summer. The ladies were totally shocked and appreciative, and the whole elementary staff came to enjoy it. Team "Grade 1" is the best.

 

As with tradition, yesterday was our final staff day and the school-wide breakfast. We get to school around 8am and eat an amazing catered breakfast provided by the school director. Afterward, awards are passed out to honor those with 5 & 10 years of service, as well as those leaving the school. It's always a fun day (mostly because we finish at 10:30...), but it's hard to say those last goodbyes to people leaving. This year, my elementary principal is retiring, a lady who I respect and care for dearly. Next year will be very different without her, but as always, I know that the elementary team will carry on and do what we do best.

 

In other news, I'll be in the States next Tuesday! I'm ready to get out of the dust, but it's hard to leave here every year. Our friends and colleagues have become like family to us, but we miss our friends and family in the States still. Oh, the complexities of living and working overseas!

6 days 'til Boston
10 days 'til Pittsburgh
20 days 'til Chris

April already?!

As happens with most years, this one has accelerated after our school's winter break. I can't believe that the last time I posted anything was in JANUARY! At any rate, here are some random goings-on in our lives and a few snapshots to let you know we're still alive. We've a had a roller-coaster February, March, and April, but we love where we are and what we do.

Jordan
During the National Day weekend in Kuwait, we traveled to Jordan to visit our friends who previously taught in Kuwait. We did some sand-boarding, desert camping, doing the "Harlem Shake" (check us out!), eating lots of good food, and snorkeling in a matter of four days. It was an awesome time of catching up, and we hope to do something like that again.

 

National Day
Before our trip, I had the customary National Day extravaganza celebration at school, complete with a bazaar, food, dancing, and traditional outfits. My students are so adorable in their little dara'as.

Bowling Tournament
The Young Adults from church had a bowling tournament on three Fridays during March, and since Chris and I lead one of the life groups, we got to go have fun with them. These guys and gals take bowling seriously...fun!

 

Sri Lanka/End of March
At the end of March, Chris and his friend Kyle went to Singapore to an English conference, where Chris presented his foundation English program's methods for assessing grammar. GUST (the university where he teaches) sent him there with a nice stipend, which was great for us. On the way back, Chris and I met in Sri Lanka and Kyle carried on back to Kuwait. We spent 4 or 5 days there, mostly relaxing and spending unhurried time together. We also ate a ton of amazing seafood and swam/snorkeled each day at a beach we found the last time we were there, and we visited a turtle hatchery.

Easter/Early April
Easter for us was fairly low-key this year. Chris worked on Easter Sunday, but we had a big dinner hosted by some friends in our life group on Monday night. We sang some songs, took communion together, and enjoyed a great time of conversation. Also in April, Chris' flute quartet gave a recital in the auditorium of his university, and lots of our friends and his students came to support him. Thanks, guys! I will try to get some better pictures of that up later.

  
End of April
Finally, here we are at the end of April, when we celebrate Earth Day. My class made Trash Monsters out of reused tissue boxes and paper on Thursday, since we are on our Spring Break at school. We have one full month to prepare for the International Day show, when my students will be performing "Be Our Guest." My class is studying France this year, so we are doing a little throwback to Belle and Beauty and the Beast. It's every 1st graders dream, really. I also went to a women's retreat yesterday, held for ladies from all of the Lighthouse Church's services. There were 350+ women there, and it was seven hours of amazing worship and teaching. It proved to be a much needed respite and a great way to start off my week-long holiday.

 

 

Well, there you have it. That's the last few months in a nutshell. I'm sure I'm omitting something in there...until next time.

Jordan, Dec. 13

- Woke up around 7:30
- Ate breakfast, walked back to Noah and Kyle's hotel
- Purged ourselves of nearly all things Israeli or Hebrew, and packed everything up
- Met our friend Ali (the taxi driver who took us to the Dead Sea), and left for the airport around 10am
- Hung out at the airport for a few hours
- Made it back to #38 around 5pm.

Our trip was kind of a crash course through history. It felt like we did so much in so little time, but we really just skimmed that which the land west of the Jordan River holds. From the trip, I certainly gained a new perspective about the cohabitants of the area, and how not much has changed in that regard over the past 2,000 years. We saw some amazing things that have also given me a greater insight into biblical history.
Photos of Jordan and Jerusalem

Jordan, Dec. 12

- Woke up early and walked down the "hill" to Petra (ummm...mountainside?)
- Arrived around 6:15am and bought our entry passes. The only cheesy reference to Indiana Jones was at the beginning of our hike.
- Amazing Day! Walked for probably 4 hours down through Petra.
- We beat the crowds, so we got to see mostly everything by ourselves. Stopped before we got to the monastery, another few miles UPHILL. Decided we couldn't climb anymore. Turned around and took the same route back the way we came, about 2 hours to get out.
- Can't explain it. Just see the pictures.
- Got back to Wadi Musa and attempted tomake plans for catching a bus back to Amman. Kyle and I ordered some food at the Al-Wadi restaurant on Shaheed Circle. Poor planning, so we just relaxed for a minute.
- Chris came back to report info. on the bus, but there really was no bus. The guy he talked to was just talking to his friend who owned a taxi.
- Noah and I stopped in an internet cafe while Chris and Kyle continued the search.
- Went down to the bus stop and waited for our ride that they found. Another guy came along and offered to drive us the 3+ hours for cheaper, so we started discussing. The first guy took the keys out of the second guy's van while we were talking to him, so they got into a fist fight. Yikes.
- We decided not to go with either of them, and walked back up the hill to catch a different taxi.
- The drive was long, but beautiful. Typical to my nature, I slept over half of the way.
- Got to Amman bust station and had to take an additional taxi to where Kyle and Noah were going to stay. I couldn't get over the massive Christmas trees in the hotel lobby. We relaxed for a bit, showered, ate supper at Benihana, and then Chris and I walked back to Al-Manar. We opted to spend the night away from the single guys.
- Watched a movie and slept like babies!

Beyond Jordan, Dec. 11

The Dead Sea

- Ate a quick breakfast at Sambooki pastry shoppe.
-Went to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust memorial. This was interesting to see because of the hundreds of objects donated to the memorial by victims' families (photos, personal memoirs, silverware collected by the Nazis, etc). Moving.
- Took a taxi to the hotel to get our things. Kyle and Noah stopped for more gelato while Chris and I ate sandwiches.
- Walked to the Damascus city gate, trying to find out how we get back to the border. Slight oversight in not planning ahead. Found a guy who pointed out a capable taxi service to us, and followed someone a few blocks to the office. Drove to the border.
- Getting out was a lot easier than getting in. On the bus, a guy collected our passports and we didn't see them until we paid for our bus tickets and bags. A little nerve-wracking.
- Chris went to haggle with a taxi driver for a ride to Petra. One driver kept following us around, which was slightly annoying. The idea is to stay in Petra tonight, and go back to Amman tomorrow night.
- After a skirmish with one driver, took the annoying guy to Wadi Musa (just outside of Petra) and went to the hotel (3 hr. drive). They apparently didn't get our reservation, so they didn't have a room for us. Thankfully, the owner/operator's cousin had a hotel on the next block, so the guy took us in his own car to it- Al-Rashid.
- Walked up the street to Shaheed round-about where we ate the best pizza made in the Middle East. At least, it's the best we've found so far. Also ate salad and hummus. Taught the cook what "dressing" is. Funny guy.
- Went back to the hotel. The water was FREEZING even though we let it run for awhile, so we didn't take showers. Went to bed for a 5:30 wake up.

Painted Lions: All over Jerusalem

Jordan Dec. 10 (Part 2) and National Day

Today is National Day where we live, and tomorrow is Liberation Day. These are similar to July 4th and extremely important to the nationals, as they celebrate when the country became independent of Britain in the '60s and when it was liberated from invaders in the '90s. The best part is that it means a 4-day weekend for us; some benefits of being an educator follow us wherever we go. There are lights and decorations EVERYWHERE, and apparently the celebrations get a little crazy. I've done my grocery shopping for the week, so I may just stay in for the next few days with a book. We'll see

Jordan, Dec. 10 (Part 2)
- Walked to New W. Jerusalem toward downtown. Checked into the Caplan hotel, a poor deal compared to the last one.
- Talked about our plans for leaving. We will probably leave tomorrow after seeing the Holocaust museum. Supposed to stay in Petra Thurs., then Amman on Fri. Flight leaves Sat.
- Ate late supper at "Adom," a fancy restaurant tucked away in one of the neighborhood's alleys. I ordered calamari w/ risotto, and we shared a sweet Merlot from the Golan Heights. Syria would not be happy.
- Walked back up toward the hotel to Aldo's cafe. Shared some delicious gelato with Chris and warmed up with a hot vanilla drink. The weather is much cooler here than at home.
- Chris and I went to bed, and the guys went back out. I guess they weren't totally exhausted like us old folks.

Jordan, Dec. 10 (Part 1)

I don' think I ever mentioned that I put a new album on our pictures page, which includes some from softball's opening ceremony and International Day at school.

- Woke up and ate breakfast at the hotel around 8a.m. Walked through a conservative Jewish section toward the Old City.
-Paid to walk on top of the city wall (16 ILS each), which surrounds the Old City. We walk clear from the Jaffa gate to the Golden gate (I think- I've got to check the map). Saw a good bit of the old city and its surroundings this way. Kyle hit his head on a narrow doorway and we thought he was going to pass out. He swore, but he didn't pass out.
- Walked down Jericho Road to the Garden of Gethsemane. The trees there were SO old, but probably planted just a few hundred years ago. There's a basilica built next to it, and across the road is the Temple Mount.
- Hiked UP the Mt. of Olives, which proved to be tiring, but rewarding. From the view at the top, one can see all of Jerusalem. Is this what Jesus saw, plus a few Peugeots?
- We walked back into the old city, and up parts of the Via Dolorosa. Talked to a few vendors, and ate felafel sandwiches and lentil soup for lunch. Did I mention that this is the best food I've ever eaten?
-Walked through metal detectors to get to the section of the Wailing Wall. People leaving prayers on notes, and stuffing them in the crevasses between the stones. Men walking backwards away from the wall. School kids with paper yam akas on their heads.
- Went to the garden tomb and saw Galgotha. The mouth of the supposed "Hill of the Skull" is now covered by a bus station. Convenient. The tomb was smaller than I thought it would be, and seeing probable history before me was fascinating.


Photo: part of the garden tomb

Jordan, Dec. 09

I realize how inadequately my notes convey everything we did on this trip, but I will have to save the unabridged version for the occasion of writing a book.

- Woke up at 5:30 (tough for a day of vacation) and ate breakfast at the hotel. Left around 7:20 with a driver, headed for the King Hussein Bridge.
- Stood in line for an exit "stamp," exchanged some cash, and got on a bus for the border
- Half way, we had to get off of the bus, show our passports, get back on and headed for the West Bank.
- Went through security at Allenby Bridge, and it took over 4 hours to get through customs. These girls are thorough with their information...and like to socialize with their friends.
- Took a taxi (about 20 min.) to J-town.
- Made it to the Hotel Addar, haggled for a room price, and realized we left one of our bags in the taxi. By God's kindness, the driver realized that, and had his brother bring it back to where he dropped us off. How amazing!
- Went for a walk through the neighborhood. We stopped to watch some crazy horse races and eat falafel sandwiches in a Palestinian neighborhood, eastern J-town. Lots of young "bucks" showing off their racing skills on a dirt track, just having fun. There were camel rides and some sort of shaky looking Ferris wheel, too. Wild.
- Went back to the hotel and took a nap until about 6p.m.
- Met Kyle's friend, Dave, who studies at the Hebrew University on a fellowship. We ate burgers with him near the school, then took the bus downtown for a Guinness. (Check out the pictures for the menu with Hebrew.) He gave us some good info. for our stay, and we headed back to the hotel.
- Slept like a baby.

Jordan, Dec 8

- Ate breakfast at the hotel
- Figured out we can't cross the river until Tues. because of the Eid holiday. Chris talked to the bridge crossing officer on the mobile of the desk clerk. Cool guy.
- Went to St. George's Greek Orthodox church and saw the world's oldest map, a floor mosaic. The incense reminded me of church when I was growing up.
- Went to Mt. Nebo, supposed to be the place where Moses was shown the Promised Land.
- Drove on CRAZY cliff-edge roads down the mountainside and passed a few Bedouins herding their goats and camels on the way to the Dead Sea.
- Chilled (literally) by the pool at the Amman Resort after floating in the Dead Sea- so salty!
- Drove back to Amman (about 1 hour) and checked into the Al Manar hotel. Christmas tree in the lobby. I love Jordan.
- Went out to adventure and tried to visit the Roman Amphitheater, but only saw the outside. Chris bought some kebab in Heshamite square (the main city square). We were trying to find a specific restaurant, but our cab driver didn't have any idea where we were going, so we just ate at some Italian place.
- Kyle, Chris, and Noah went to the hotel lounge to hang out, while I went up to the room to watch CNN. Not feeling so great, so hopefully it will pass by morning.

+Photo from Opening Ceremony of Little League Softball

International Day, and the first of many posts

Here's one snapshot out of several that I took during our school's International Day. Each homeroom was appointed to research a country, and then present its country to the other students through bulletin boards, realia, pictures, flyers, food, music, and all things cultural. I chose Morocco for my 7th grade girls, and they really went above and beyond in completing this project! Although the day was fairly chaotic, the students had fun and were able to go home early, which left us teachers time to chill- uh, work.

Pictured (L-R) are some of my teacher friends: Myself with Heba, Ramona, and Balsam

Also, I decided that I'm going to post some short notes out of my journal from our first few vacations. Most of the pictures are in chronological order, so have another look, or do so if you haven't already.

Dec 7
- We got to the airport here about an hour before our flight was to leave, and it was crazy busy. A Jazeera Airways agent moved us to the front of our line, and we made it through in time! What a start to vacation!
- The 1.5 hour flight to Jordan was quick and painless.
- We arrived in Amman around noon.
- Took two different buses to get to Madaba, and afterward, we ate at the Hadoud Jdoudna restaurant. I need to find a recipe for fatteh hummus!
- Stopped at a local grocer on the way to the hotel for some snacks, and then watched "Blood Diamond" while marveling at the Christmas decorations. (Blood Diamond is an interesting, but also violent and harsh movie about the illegal sale of diamonds in South Africa and other nearby countries. Not recommended for the faint of heart.)

We're back!