Summer is coming, Summer is here!

We are wrapping up the school year in Kuwait now, as Chris has already finished for the summer holiday and I am well on my way to it. I have just one more week of administrative days to finish report cards, schedule class timetables, and prepare my classroom for the dusty summer.

Countdown:

Chris leaves in 3 days

School ends in 6 days

I leave in 14 days

We're excited to get some time resting and relaxing in the States this year, with no major excursions planned! Knowing my husband and is sense of adventure, we'll see if that stays the same...

While we always look forward to the summer, it can also a difficult time of transition. Yes, there is peace and rest and our families to look forward to (and no students!), but we know that things won't be quite the same as we left them in the States last summer, and they won't be quite the same here when we get back in the fall.

The more we stay in Kuwait, the more our lives become enriched by people living and passing through here. It's an amazing thing to get to know and love people from all over the world, but it's a sad thing to see them go, too. So, what should we do? Become calloused and never make meaningful relationships again? Of course not. It hurts because its good, which is something I read over at the The Culture Blend this week. If you are a "stayer" or you know one, pass it along.

It's a strange season of anticipation and dread, of excitement and detesting,of joy and sorrow - all in one. But it's good. So good, in fact, that we are in our 6th cycle of it and coming back for more.

An...expat's tale?

There and back again seems to be the theme of our lives for this season. A few weeks ago, we returned to Kuwait for our sixth school year after a pleasant and refreshing summer in the USA. Our hearts were nourished by time spent with family and friends in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, as well as a trip to Iceland, but we were excited to come back to all of our friends in Kuwait, too.

The beginning of summer here contains a great diaspora; many expatriate workers travel back to their homes far and wide during the blistering hot months of July and August, and like us, they return to pick up their "Kuwait" lives right where they left them. Sadly, some workers do not have the summer months off and must complete back-breaking work in the long hours of the sun. My heart goes out to these workers who do not get to escape the heat.

I am truly thankful that we are able to enjoy a long vacation in the pleasant and varying climates of New England each year. We did some hiking, boating and whale watching, went to baseball games, celebrated birthdays, and just spent a lot of quality time with quality people.

We went through a lot of temperature changes this summer - from hot and dry 120' to humid and breezy 90' to an "icy cold" 50' in Iceland, to do all of that in reverse again!

 

I didn't get pictures of all of our wonderful family and friends we spent time with this summer, but rest assured, those memories are etched in our minds.

 

What an amazing summer it's been! We are looking forward to all of the fun things that this school year and next summer will hold.

 

 "Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered." 

Proverbs 11:25

Iceland 2013

Here is a link to our Iceland pictures! We had a great time visiting with friends and checking out this amazing country's terrain. We spent most of our time in the capital (Reykjavik) and the area between the southwest and south-central part of the island, but we got a great taste of what the whole of Iceland is like. Take a look!

It's a season.

We have had an intense beginning to the summer holiday season. With lots of traveling back and forth, and a whirlwind road trip with my sister & her kids, today is the first quiet day in central Massachusetts for Chris and I. He arrived Monday night, the Tews and I drove up Tuesday morning, we hit Boston on Wednesday, went to Old Sturbridge Village on Thursday, the Tews left and we visited some friends here Friday, and...well, today is Saturday. So far, I haven't done anything yet but manage to drink some coffee and get dressed. I'd like to keep it that way a few days in a row.

Living through our hectic summertime visits once again, I've been noticing how much everything has changed. Change is not a bad thing; it's a part of life, but it can be shocking because we don't see the changes gradually. We've been living overseas for five years now, with ten-month gaps in between visits to the U.S., so there is a lot that we miss or don't see happening along the way. People change. Places change. Perspectives change. We change. We often don't notice just how much we have changed until we come back to the same places and realize that they have changed, too.

Well, in the midst of all of the changes, there are a few things that are ever-true: Chris will always wear shorts, I will always read books in the sun, and the Lord is always faithful.

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:   

a time to be born, and a time to die; 

a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; 

a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;

a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

a time to tear, and a time to sew; 

a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

a time to love, and a time to hate; 

a time for war, and a time for peace.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (ESV)

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

the passing months

This year is going so fast!
As a teacher, I feel like there are 1,000 things my students need to know before their winter break, but I'm coming to grips with reality. It's not going to happen, and that's O.K.
I'm really excited that it's winter now, especially in Kuwait, where the temperatures are mild during the day and cool at night. This week, we've had temperatures comparable to Indiana in the evenings. We've enjoyed time with friends at outdoor venues, including our favorite place, UGrill. Usually, we just sit with tea or coffee and sheesha while overlooking the Gulf.

There's a lot to update you all on, but let me just throw out a few quick facts for inquiring minds:

- We're not coming to the States this winter, but we're traveling to Nepal after Christmas. We decided that it would be good to spend our actual anniversary and Christmas together. We're excited to do some hiking and sight-seeing in the mountains.

- We finished our half-marathon race. I was the last female competitor out of 30, but I finished the race and did it in less than 3 hours, which was my goal. That may seem really slow, but considering that the first time I ever ran was in April/May, I think that's pretty good. Chris finished in 2:28, and we were both somewhere in the middle of about 155 competitors.

- I'm really looking forward to our upcoming winter break, which is from December 20th to January 5th. It will be nice to get some time off from school and catch up on the stack of books I've been meaning to read before our travels.

The Teacher Outreach

October was a busy month, evidenced by the lack of posts here. In October, there's usually a spill-over of tasks that need to be accomplished from September, but because there are only 30 days in that month, it just all can't be done.

Let me start from...I don't know. mid-September. Everything that I normally do to "adjust" to Kuwait in September was pushed to the end of the month because of the Teacher Outreach that we helped put together.

In a previous post, I mentioned that our Jabriya church service held an outreach for teachers new to Kuwait, hoping to help get them connected to The Lighthouse Church and other like-minded people in the country. Here's basically what our awesome team did (and what took several man-hours to organize with the help of lots of volunteers!), the fruit of which being that our service attendance has been consistently double in size over the past seven weeks.

 We...
- brainstormed ideas in the spring
- set a date to have a "welcome lunch" after the usual 11:30 church service
- ordered about 300 organza drawstring bags during the summer
- PRAYED and made some phone calls
- designed and had about 300, 3x4 invitations printed

- bought 24 boxes of gum, 9 cases of Kit-Kats, 2 giant bags of mentos, (and partridge in a pear tree...)
- stuffed the bags with the candy and the invitations
- passed out the candy bags to 6 or 7 schools' teacher accommodation buldings, one to each apt.
- organized van transportation for those who RSVPed, plus some extra
- made some phone calls...
- ordered sandwiches and different kinds of Arabic "fatayer" for 120 people
- bought ice, drinks, and plastic silverware, plates, napkins, etc.
- ordered Arabic sweets
- made some phone calls...
- purchased give-away prizes
- picked up ordered food on the morning of the lunch
- set up tables, chairs, food, and drinks
- prepared salads
- made some phone calls
- had an amazing service and lunch

Afterwards, I went into hiding with my coffee French press and a bottle of Ibuprofen for about a week, but it really all was amazing. We have met a lot of new people, made new friends, and helped people get connected to a church where they can grow and be stretched. To God be the glory.

Our friend and pastor, Mark Ingram, wrote a little article for the church's monthly magazine publication (page 7).  You can read it here: Contact Magazine, September 2012 (4/13 in the file- you need Adobe Reader to see it.)

Whirlwind

As many are already aware, we are within the contiguous United States! I'll detail the whirlwind of events that led us to getting here later, but I'm incredibly thankful to have arrived on Tuesday, with my husband, with our luggage, and only two hours past the scheduled time. I'm also thankful to have flexible in-laws, family, and friends who can deal with our spontaneity and unconventional style of decision making. Finally and most importantly, I'm thankful for God's providential hand, his perfect timing and organization of our lives' circumstances.

"You are my God and I will give thanks to you; you are my God and I will extol you. Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!" Psalm 118:28-29 (ESV)

The story of Ian & Larissa

It's things like this that make me long for Indiana, PA. Even more, it makes me long for Heaven.
Read the article here, or simply watch the video.
As always, Pray for Ian.



"For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known." 1 Cor. 13:12
 

La Charreada

Time for a random post...

We are working on our international units in Social Studies this week. My class is studying France, and I'm not sure why I picked that, being that I speak Spanish semi-fluently and have lots of teaching resources for Spanish and Hispanic cultures. There's always next year. To kick off the beginning of my work week, here's Linda Ronstadt on Sesame Street, singing about "Charros" with Elmo and Parker.



Some real, live "charros," ca. 2004.

 

Jazz, Cats, and Look-alikes

Two Thursdays ago, I went to an Ahmadi Music Group concert featuring the singers themselves and a jazz band called the Kuwait Jazz Collective. I can't tell you how amazing it has been to see and hear such talent in a country that, as a whole, doesn't particularly value the arts. Chris has performed with them for a few of their events, which has been a special treat for both of us. The conductor, Richard Bushmann, is always cooking up something new. This particular concert featured the music of Duke Ellington. If you don't know much about him, you can take a look at his official website, presumably run by his estate. At the concert, the groups performed selections from Ellington's three "Sacred Concerts," which included themes from a lot of old spirituals, combined with the music styles uniquely Ellington.

On a somewhat related note, Chris and I occasionally see strangers throughout our travels that look like our friends from PA. It's weird when we do, because most of the people we interact with are not western and do not have European features, and most of our friends at home do. It's a funny surprise. At the concert the other night, there was an amazing alto soloist whose similarity in appearance to my friend Megan W. was uncanny. This "look-alike" surpassed the previous frontrunner, who was an Egyptian guy that looked like our friend Mike B...but surprisingly not like his brother.

Last week, Chris traveled with our friend, Kyle, to Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. He came back probably more tired than when he left, but with a new appreciation for Southeast Asia. I'll post more on his vacation once I get more story details, but he said that the natural beauty of the area mixed with the present poverty and the history were very sobering things.

A number of schools had holidays at the end of the semester, so lots of people were out of Kuwait for the last two weeks. I volunteered to watch my friend's cat while she was gone, which was more than I bargained for. Rather than having to drive to her building everyday, I brought Meeshu to our place. He proved to be good company while Chris was gone, but also confirmed the fact that I will probably never own a cat. There are pigeons that sit on the outside of our windowsills, so I learned to clear all objects near them quickly, especially after one of my perfume bottles was knocked over and broken...

At school, I'm busy getting the students ready for the National and Liberation Day holidays. Our curriculum and activities focus on Kuwait's history and cultural heritage throughout the month of February in light of these events on the 25th and 26th of the month. Celebrations, decorations, and sales have been plentiful since this year's Parliamentary elections on February 2nd. Thursday was Sports Day for the elementary and early childhood students, so we spent the day at Yarmouk Sports Club in various competitions by grade levels. The kids had a blast as usual, but my voice is a little on the raspy side today. Next year, I need to remember my whistle!

Last night, we went to the American Embassy with some friends and heard the Volunteers of the The US Army Field Band. We loved being able to end the week with good music, good friends, good food and drinks, all set on a cool patio and lawn area. When we go there during this time of year, it reminds me of a cool summer evening at a pub at home.We've had a bit more dust, wind, and rain in the last few weeks, so my guess is that Spring is on its way to Kuwait. The mornings have been really hazy, so much that it's hard to tell where the sky ends and the water begins, but the temperature is perfect right now.

The New Year and other random things

Well, here I am back in Kuwait and enjoying all of my own amenities again. I love visiting the States and being around many of my favorite people, but there's something to be said about not living in a suitcase.

I spent the New Year on three different airplanes. This time, my trip back went from Pittsburgh to Chicago, then Abu Dhabi, final destination Kuwait. I'm not sure why, but on my 2 hr. trip from Abu Dhabi to Kuwait, I was upgraded to Business Class. What a great surprise for a 2am flight! I left Christmas and the snow in Chicago, though I understand that the East Coast has actually become cold since I left.

at O'hare International

Since coming back, we've been tutoring students for exams a lot. Many of the American schools in Kuwait have their semester exams in the next week or two, and my bread-winner is out making the dough. That makes our schedules are a little more hectic than usual, but I like finding these little treats when that happens.

We also celebrated our friend Dina's second 29th birthday last week, at a Chinese restaurant called Tang Chao. It's near our house at the Holiday Inn complex, which I've been to twice in two weeks, the other time for a breakfast with my friend Anita. The buildings are less than a block away, but I really haven't had a reason for going there, so that makes three total times since moving here.

Me, Rasha, Dina, Shetha, Chris

When it rains here, it either pours or drips mud, and we've been having a lot of the pouring kind lately. It's the season for it, and it characteristically starts and stops somewhat suddenly. The heavy rains are usually thunderstorms, so sometimes we get to see some spectacular lightning shows. At any rate, it's enjoyable.

holiday packing

I'm currently pacing around my parents' house, trying to remember all of the things I need to take with me back to Kuwait. I tried making a list, but I keep getting new things and thinking of different things to take or not, so making sure I have everything on a list has become futile at this point. I also keep getting "honey-do" messages from a certain you-know-who (the best you-know-who in the world, by the way). All that to say, packing is slow and highly unorganized at best, and it seems to continually be interrupted by one of three things:

1. these little sweethearts

Rebekah, 2

Nick, 4

2. sports/dinner/hunting commentary with the family

3. lunch, dinner, and parties with friends

My solution is to try and keep things in one general area of the house and then throw it all in my bags before I go to the airport on Saturday. That's probably why I often wait until the day of departure before I pack for any trip.

Time in the States has been good this Christmas. Generally, I try to maintain a low-key schedule when I'm here, just to be sure that it's relaxing and that I'm not totally exhausted by the time I start teaching again. Inevitably, those good intentions are shattered because a lot of our friends are in town for the holidays, too, so it's hard to pass up opportunities to get together. I can always sleep on the plane...and if Chris were here, I know we would be a lot busier!

Meet the whole church...

Well, that's practically who was at this memorial service, in addition to a number of guests. The only ones really missing were Ptr. Mark and his wife Christi, who oversee our service. They will be joining us again in Kuwait soon, but are stuck in the U.S. due to some visa issues. (I know. What are the odds that they have the same names as Mark and Kristi?)

Pictures of the service

Summer Visiting and at the Freemans'

Last Sunday, Chris and I had the privilege of hanging out with a family we know from Kuwait. I taught a girl in 1st Grade this past year whose family frequents the U.S. on summer vacation. Her dad studied at Penn State and Pitt and lived in the U.S. for something like 12 years, so the family was visiting friends in the Pittsburgh area. Since her mom and I struck up a great acquaintance during the school year, we said we'd try to see each other when they came, so we did! We took a ride on the Gateway Clipper, had shakes at the Hard Rock in Station Square, and ate lunch at the Grandview Saloon (formerly Coal Hill Steakhouse) on Mt. Washington. All in all, I would say it was a great day, except for the elderly gentleman who somewhat impolitely told us we talk too loudly. I guess there are some things you can't leave in the Arab world...

So far this summer, we've been busy dog-sitting, baby-sitting, and reading, and probably an equal amount of running around Indiana to visit and enjoy time with our friends there. This week, we also headed out to our friend Emily's, who will be coming to teach in Kuwait this school year. She taught in Taiwan for a few years and wanted a change, so we emailed back and forth a  few hundred times about teaching in Kuwait. She'll be coming in the fall, so her family graciously had us over for dinner and picked our brains about living there and in the region. I think that's the most I've ever discussed Kuwait while being outside of it, so it was fun.

Yesterday, we drove to the greater Boston area to visit Chris' family for a few weeks. We missed out on our home church's Open House, which let the public come in and check out the new building before the first Sunday service takes place this Sunday, July 3rd. If you have a chance and are in the area, you should go see what it's like. Sunday Services are at 10am, and from what I hear, they have an awesome new children's ministry area if you have little ones. You can see more about who they are here.

Our friend, Kyle, came up from Michigan today to spend a few days with us and see the area over the 4th of July weekend. He taught in Kuwait with us in 2008-09 and will be coming back there this coming school year for another round as well. We're excited to catch up and do some adventuring, including the 4th of July Spectacular, the Sam Adam's Brewery, and kayaking- all some of our favorite things to do in New England.

I'll be checking in periodically throughout the next three weeks, but I can't make any promises!

...almost there

I am really excited for the summer to be here. That's all I have to say about that.

Tuesday was my birthday, and my friends Dana, Dina, and Rasha took me out to dinner, and then we all got manicures and pedicures. Yes, that sounds like a really girly thing to do for my birthday, but believe it or not, I enjoyed it. Maybe I'm getting soft in my old age. Chris was off performing at the first showing of The Desert Song, so the girls devised a plan.

Wednesday, I went out for a quick bite with my friend Anita that I hadn't seen for a long time. She gave me a really unique gift, which was a hand/beach bag made out of plastic shopping bags. There's a "safe house" here in Kuwait that keeps women who are either run-away maids or are waiting on any number of deportation processes, but their embassy can't house them. One of the ways that money is raised to house these women is through a trash to treasure sort of program, which teaches the women to make things like jewelry out of old magazines and hand bags like mine. It's really quite a neat process and helps the girls contribute to their well-being, and it also gives them skills to use when they are finally released from Kuwait.

On Thursday night, some other friends and I went to see The Desert Song. It was a light, comical musical that was a little cheesy (intending to be that way), but the musicians and singers did an amazing job. My friend Jumel (seen in red) sang on the worship team with me when I still attended the 6 o'clock service, so it was nice to hear him in his "professional" element, too. Afterward, a number of us met up at Costa Coffee (move over, Starbucks!) to meet and greet and generally cause a ruckus.

Today, we had an awesome church service and went out to eat lunch with yet more friends...I guess I've done a lot of eating out this week. We came home for a quick nap and Chris headed out to his last performance of the show. I'm sitting here working on report cards. Well, I was working on report cards until I decided to write an update.

We're excited to be in the States in two weeks, though it seems kind of surreal. This year has been so full and has gone by so fast, that it's hard to imagine summer is really here. The 120' temperature is a great reminder, though. All I have to do is open the balcony door to get a blast of stuffy, hot air, and it feels real again!