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!

another year gone by

Here we are in June. JUNE! - that blessed time of year when teachers and students everywhere rejoice that the academic year has come to an end and two months of separation prepare us for the following year. I have three work days left. Can you tell I'm excited? Somewhere between when I last posted and this post, I dropped scalding hot tea on my leg. After about three weeks, it's healed well enough that I will risk exposing it to the sun, so I'm really ready to hit the pool.

The tail end of May was a whirlwind, as I mentioned getting ready for our International Day Show at school. It turned out to be pretty amazing, and of course, my students had the best performance. Chris was even able to come, so I was glad to have him there, too.

my little Frenchies

all of Grade 1

caught giving "teacher eyes" during the National Anthem

I closed out the hectic week of rehearsals and performances by celebrating my 29th birthday for the first time on May 31st. If ever there was a weekend full of fun and laughter, that was it! I'm so blessed to have so many wonderful friends and "family" over here, as well as around the world. We had a few great meals prepared for us, and I received a number of sweet notes and presents from family, students, colleagues, and friends. Thank you again! I think the most exciting present was the guitar Chris gave me. I'll be sad to leave it this summer...

This past Wednesday, we had our annual end-of-year breakfast for my school's elementary staff, which is always a lot of fun. After we go to work, we usually leave around 9:30 for breakfast, and then we have the rest of the day off. Pictured here are about half of the amazing ladies that I work with in the AAG elementary school.

 

Pictured below is my amazing teaching assistant, Gehan, and our awesome ES secretary, Shaima'a. Without these two ladies, I would probably go gray a lot sooner.

 

Chris is preparing to leave for Jordan and his summer Arabic study tomorrow. As far as I can tell, here is a tentative schedule of what our summer will look like. It's always an adventure!

- June 9: Chris leaves for Jordan
- June 18: Stephanie leaves for Boston
- June 22: Stephanie leaves for Pittsburgh
- June 29: Chris returns to Kuwait
- July 1: Chris leaves for Boston
- July (2?): Stephanie returns to Boston
- July 8-16: Chris & Stephanie travel to Iceland
- July (28?): Chris & Stephanie go to Pittsburgh
- August (18?): Chris & Stephanie return to Boston
- August 20: Chris and Stephanie return to Kuwait

"The heart of a man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps." Proverbs 16:9 (ESV)

garden of dreams

 

Here we are at the Garden of Dreams, a little green oasis in the middle of busy and gray Kathmandu, Nepal. If you like architecture or reading about kaisers from the turn of the 20th century, be sure to check out the link. We enjoyed a few hours here one afternoon, just looking around in the various nooks and crannies and inhaling a little higher oxygen content.

 We saw a few critters here and there...

And, we saw a lot of young couples walking around. Apparently, this is the place to "woo" the new lady in your life, especially if your 18-25 yrs old.

 

The gardens were beautiful, and the landscaping was really well kept! If you're ever in the neighborhood, I'd recommend it. It's near the old royal palace, which has been remodeled into a museum.

where the buffalo roam

Oh, give me a home

where the buffalo roam

where the deer and the antelope play...

 where seldom is heard

 a discouraging word

 and the skies are not cloudy all day.

For whatever reason, that was the song that kept running through my head in Nepal. Maybe, it was because of all of the buffalo roaming around on the streets! (They looked more like cows to me, but nobody asked me, really.) The two most-practiced religions in Nepal are Hinduism and a type of Buddhism, so naturally, the peoples' care for living creatures lends them to allow animals free reign over the streets. We saw many other little critters scampering around, but stray dogs and water buffalo were the ones predominantly seen in the city streets. We had a few friendly encounters with these guys, but we still ate some tasty buffalo "mo-mos," a local steamed dumpling of sorts, in a few different locations. I don't understand the whole we-love-them-but-some-of-us-eat-them thing, but I guess I don't have to.

More to come on the amazing country of Nepal...

preparing for Nepal

Today, we are getting ready for the second half of my winter break, where we'll spend about eight days in the country of Nepal. Chris just got home from work, so we are starting to get organized. Our flight for Kathmandu leaves this evening at 11:50pm our time, and we'll probably leave our flat at about 9:30. It doesn't take long to get to the airport.

I'm excited for this trip, and thankful that Chris' boss let him take this week off before his actual winter break starts. We plan to spend this much needed time away together by eating delicious dahls, trekking to Nagarkot, and flying around Mt. Everest. We don't have much else planned, and hopefully, we'll get to do those things!

Until the next update, Happy New Year!

caroling with friends at TLC

from Kuwait to the States 2012

Here's what happened...

Chris had been planning to teach summer classes this year for a number reasons, one of which being that he just likes to work. We had been talking about the possibility of staying in Kuwait for an extended time this summer since about March, so I also found summer employment, teaching EFL at the British Council in Kuwait. My regular school year finished with students on May 31st, and teachers were required to be at the school until June 12, packing up our rooms and getting ready for Grades 1-3 to move to the new extension building that should be finished by the end of summer. I should have had plenty of time to rest between June 12th and June 20th, the date I was supposed to start at BCK. Obviously, that did not happen.

After asking many times about teaching summer classes, Chris kept coming away with little information, though he was assured he'd be teaching. He wasn't aware or informed that the enrollment for summer classes at his university began at midnight of the first day of summer classes. That morning, Chris went in and only three students had enrolled in his section, upped to six or seven by mid-day. (Generally, summer classes are pretty light, anyway.) When he talked to his supervisor about it, she said that the students could be placed into other sections or she could have someone else teach his course, because there was a long waiting list to teach. (Summer classes compensate very well.)

French colors on International Day/Last Day

When Chris mentioned this to me on that Sunday morning, I sort of jumped to reason with him about leaving. I was looking forward to unhurried time with friends and teaching in Kuwait until the end of July, but now the chance to spend extra time in Massachusetts and/or PA was presented. After a few hours of going back and forth on the phone about it (I was at school packing, Chris at his school), considering some recent events at home, and Chris calling in the opinions of some of his friends, he decided to pass off his class and head for the States. The following day. One. Day. Later. And, he wanted me to be ready to leave with him.

cat nap in D.C.

That presented a hitch, because I didn't have my ticket info. from the school's travel agent yet, which meant I couldn't change my ticket until I got it, which generally would have resulted in failure because nothing in Kuwait is done quickly or efficiently. But, we had favor. I asked the director on Monday, June 11th if I could have my ticket information and leave that evening, because I had already packed and secured everything in my room, all of my accounts, etc. She said yes! So, I then spent the next four hours on the phone with the agent, United Airlines, and everyone in between trying to iron out my flight details. I was also trying to ready our flat for the summer dust by covering furniture, cleaning out the fridge, taping some of the windows, etc. 

My ticket was booked with an agent, but I changed it online (WARNING: never do this), so I talked to the whole staff. Even at the airport, Chris and I were at the check-in counter for at least two hours, dealing with the fact that my change of ticket and fare expenses had been paid. My newly printed itinerary had been confirmed, which I had a receipt and print-out from, but it was not reflected in their computer system. Finally, and by the grace of God, the guy said, "I don't have time to do this anymore. Here's your boarding pass. You'll have to get your onward ticket in Washington [D.C.] and take care of any fees there." From that point, we had fifteen minutes to go through security and get to the gate before they closed it. Thankfully, the Kuwait airport is relatively small, they are not too strict in security measures for Americans, and it was uncrowded because it was 12:30a.m.

ready to ship from BOS

In the 12 or 13 hours it took us to cross the Atlantic, one of our three attempts to pay the extra $$$ must have gone through, because the lovely attendant at the United counter in D.C. simply printed and presented my onward boarding pass to me. Sleep deprived and ready to be in Boston, Chris stated, "I love America," thanked her, and we waltzed over to customs. After checking our accounts later, we were in fact only charged once for the change of ticket. It was just another (harrowing) opportunity to trust God and learn a few things about the airline industry in the process.

We arrived in Boston somewhere around 10a.m., Chris like a zombie, and myself as fresh as a daisy. I really like sleeping on airplanes...don't be jealous. 

"When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?"

"Oh Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!"

Psalm 8:3-4, 9 (ESV)

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)

Sights of Singapore

 What started as a gloomy, rainy first day in Singapore seemed the opportune time to visit the Asian Civilizations Museum. The museum walks through the local history and folklore of Singapore and its waters, as well as other civilizations' influence on the region throughout time. For the size and location of this building compared to other museums, it has been done extremely well. It's divided into five main galleries with subdivisions, has hands-on activities for young visitors, and creates the atmosphere of actually being in the culture whose artifacts are displayed.

 

The museum is situated right on the river. When we had seen everything there was to see inside (Anyone who knows Chris would understand this), we took a look at the surroundings.

 

Heading north to the heart of the city is the Raffles Hotel. This is a luxury hotel that started its famous tenure as a 10-room bungalow in 1887. Over decades and through wars, the Raffles has been changed, updated, and remodeled. At $550USD a night or more, it is a far cry from what it once was. It's also the birthplace of the Singapore Sling.

From the Mer-lion (above) to the Marina Bay Sands Hotel (below), Singapore is full of unique things.

We went to one of the hang-out areas on the riverside and ate at a Mexican place called Cafe Iguana. It really had the best food and drinks I've had in a long time!

It had an awesome view at night, too.

city structures, Kuala Lumpur

 

 

While away on our recent holiday, we saw a strange mix of architectural styles. There were ultra-modern skyscrapers and hotels, while some of the buildings were still around from the 19th century and long before.

walking around the Colonial District

 

 

The iconic Petronas Towers (above left), next to the KLCC shopping center, are the tallest buildings in Kuala Lumpur, and the tallest twin buildings ever built.

We stayed in Chinatown during our nights here-and-there in KL, and Petaling Street is the official entrance.

All of these pictures were taken during our strolls around KL, except for the last one on the right. The lighthouse was situated at the end of a little peninsula down the coast, near a town called Port Dickson. We took the 2km or so hike up the hill, saw some trees with leaves larger than us, and found this at the end of our ascent. Once we reached the topside of the lighthouse, we saw lots of monkeys playing around in the shade, and the beautiful Malacca Strait in front of us.