just kickin' it in the airport

I will be in Halifax in 2.5 hours...God willing..thanks to some very nice Air Canada customer service representatives! No layover. Aisle seat. Arriving at 7pm. This is me smiling:

See you in Halifax :)

Home.From sun and warmth and green... (22C!)
To snow and cold and white! Overnight. (-16C. brrr)
The kids came and met me at the airport - and helped me with my bags! I got a lot of hugs. I felt special.
Arden and I rode the escalator an extra time because I automatically headed for Tim Hortons...instead of the car.
I'm finally getting over jetlag...I was a little narcoleptic for a couple days (awake... awake... asleep... awake... asleep... in the middle of the day without warning) and although I slept on the couch through an entire episode of Law and Order last night because I thought that 8pm was too early to go to bed, I woke up at a normal hour this morning! And now I'm off to hang out with Jackie, Carlie, Rory and Zara.
Merry Christmas :)

pssst

...i'm going home TOMORROW

almost home

It's been a couple of very quiet weeks. I'm sorry.

I wish that I could update you on interesting fun things that are happening, telling all about my awesome school and the new things that we're seeing in Kuwait, but lately...it's been very negative and all we can think of is how soon we get on that plane home. School has been stressful - not my classes (I love my students) but the hallways, the lunch room, supply teaching for other teachers, the 5am alarm clock...this is what kills my soul!

But it is our last week of school before a month break, and well, perhaps it's the lowered expectations, or the rush of excited endorphins, or the amount of caffeine running through my system at any given point of the day, or the fact that I will not have to cook dinner at all this week, but, so far I give this week an A+. +++.

Yesterday we went to Katie G's place (like Kenny G but much cooler) for Thanksgiving dinner ("but the real thanksgiving was over a month and a half ago!") and there were more non-americans there than real americans... it was delicious and fun, and full of good conversation (...eventually). I do love group meals, even though I always manage to spill something. Anything. Everything.

4 days. 4 days that are going to FLY by. I can already taste the snow.

still a little in shock

I am going home in 2 weeks from tonight.

2 weeks!!!!

And once home, I get to meet these THREE precious little miracles for the first time.

Gideon, born on August 31

and Zara and Rory, born yesterday, November 19.

(Yes, I just found out that she was expecting twins when I got the email with the pictures at lunchtime today....I actually jumped up and down and screamed a little. Ran around the school. Told everyone I saw. Stuff like that.)

Perhaps now you can imagine how excited I am? The next 14 days are not going to go fast enough.

friday photos

On our way to school, we see some pretty nice sunrises. I guess that's a good reason to always carry your camera.. Close-up of the reflection in the raindrops.

I love palm trees.

We had an all-day Professional Development day last Saturday, for teachers at many different International schools in Kuwait. 1200 teachers in attendance...this was what we created in one of the sessions (though useless here...muslims aren't supposed to play with/waste food! maybe i could do it if we ATE the creatures afterwards.)

Kristen's Cauliflower Pea Olive sheep:

Annalise's Orange Pomegranite Cheese Creature:

My Cheese Pea Pomegranate Ladybug! I'm so proud:

Ratif's Lemon Pea Pig and Olive Pepper Frog:

Kristen and Andrea's Banana Pomegranate Octopus:

Yep, I chose the fun activities. One session on classroom management, one session with photoshop, one session with food animals and one session with card making. Why the heck would I spend all day listening to people talk? I did that for 18 and a half years ;)

photos of the week

Last year, Pam and I would walk to Second Cup on Saturday mornings, nearly every week, to sit at Second Cup and read, or mark, or do whatever, before getting groceries. It's so quiet in the mornings. This past Saturday was the first time this year that we were able to go. We brought our cameras along to take some pictures while we walked.

It was a beautiful sunny morning! Which is strangely a change from most days we've had recently - RAIN. I could count on one hand the days of rain we had last year. This year, we're giving Halifax a run for it's money.This is a gazebo along the boardwalk. They have a bunch of them. You can see Kuwait City in the background.On the day of Christina's 30th birthday, she rented a stretch hummer limo and we had a nice drive before our dinner out. It was my first time in a limo! And what a way to start. It's hot stuff. There were champagne flutes inside, and little bars...full of juice. Huzzah!Some days I get a little stressed at school. But I like to organize. Thankfully, Rawan bought me a carpet for my classroom, so I can mark and plan and organize all I like, without sitting on the cold, cold floor (which I would never do...brr). I love sitting on the floor. Maybe because I'm tall and clumsy and therefore I'm less likely to trip and fall the closer I am to the ground. Lulu thought that it was a nice view, all the papers flowered around me, so she grabbed my camera and took a picture. Here is the reason why I am no longer able to sleep in on the weekends! They're putting a new apartment building up beside ours. Sigh...thankfully I love mornings...and afternoon naps.As well as glass buildings. I think glass buildings are my favourite of all the buildings. Here is one I can see every day from my living room.Even the pigeons need to have breakfast...oh, flying rats. You kind of make me want to hit you with a broom. Why are you so pretty sometimes?

photos of the week

My students started working with paints on Wednesday. This is the sink after they left...I took a picture. And then didn't clean it because I thought it was pretty. And then it dried. Solid. Whoops!

It rained on the way to the last Varsity Soccer game on Wednesday afternoon - and I had fun trying to get pictures of the rain on the windshield of the bus.
So did Shaikha.

Thursday night, Pam and I went to see our student's photography in an art show. She was so excited to see us, it made us happy, too! It was helpful having her there, she explained the arabic for us. The art was all about striving for freedom in Kuwait.

And then we went out for dinner on this awesome big ship, called a Dhow. Delicious.

It was for Christina's 30th birthday. The table is on an angle, because the entire ship is on a slant!

pictures of the day (or days...)

Here are a few pictures from the past few days that I thought might be interesting.

Sometimes we forget where it is exactly that we live. It doesn't really feel like we are in the Middle East, and so close to a couple of very big wars....

It may be the desert and 35+ degrees every day, but winter is coming! Officially! It rained yesterday and today. It actually POURED. Here is the proof. Can you see the bubbles from the raindrops hitting the pavement?

These kids were also very excited to see the rain and they were out playing on the roof. Look at the girl in pink and blue. She's letting the rain fall on her hands...it's amazing when you only see it a few times a year.

Today after the Varsity soccer game, we went with the students to the Chocolate Bar for breakfast and had pancakes. They came with a chocolate dip and a maple syrup dip. We were soooo sick afterwards...but it was well worth it.

The students were hyper and while waiting for their drivers to pick them up, they decided to buy us teachers some roses at the flower store next to the restaurant! Crazy kids. They are so cute.

clouds!

I woke up this morning to... clouds!!!

now this may sound a little silly, but in a desert country like Kuwait, clouds are few and far between...but now that it's nearing the end of October, we should be seeing MUCH more of each other.

It means that the weather is turning for the better and cooler weather is on its way. Yay! A little sign of hope.

Think of it as that first robin in the spring or that warm week in February...

AND...I've just been informed...that it is RAINING!!! First rain of the season!!! YAY! Winter really IS coming! You don't understand how boring the weather is here for a Canadian. This is ... awesome. The end.

awesome students

I have to go to bed, but i wanted to post a quick recap of my awesome birthday yesterday! 25 years old. Another year closer to 100. That's my goal. It seems like a decent one.

It all started with ice cream for breakfast. Ben and Jerry's, actually. and not just ice cream for me, ice cream for aaaaall of my friends. Two of my students delivered 8 mini tubs of ice cream to my classroom floor with candles and a note "happy birthday - sorry, we don't smoke." So the candles weren't lit ;)

During my second block class, even MORE ice cream was delivered to my classroom! Arabic ice cream, which is very much like italian gelato. Delicious. So i had a lot of ice cream, as did my students.

Near the end of third block, my awesome students had pizza hut ...AND burger king... delivered to my classroom. And during lunch, a big mango/strawberry cake.

Seriously. Seriously. So we had a lovely feast during our student council meeting. And a little bit during 4th block. And at our high school staff meeting after school.

At home, my friends delivered brownies (muffycake brownies...mmm) and more pizza. Peppe's. Mmm. My favourite kind. They got it right this year.

So today involved a million more brownies...and an hour at the gym! ;) As well as an hour spent in the elevator with Christina and Kristen. But what a good birthday yesterday. I was so spoiled - the girls really know how to make you feel special. I think i'll miss that the most about this group of seniors. A few in particular, but the ones that i know are pretty darn awesome.

I just wish that they knew how awesome they really were.

Here's to a great 25.

Eid melad saeed!

friday morning

Ah, Friday morning. Friday morning is officially my favourite morning of the week. There's nowhere to be until 10:30, there's nothing to do but drink coffee, read my bible, and play with photos. Alright, I may also be doing laundry. That doesn't bother me so much. Tomorrow I will once again worry about school work and planning, but on Fridays I like to pretend that I'm not a teacher. Nono, I LOVE to pretend that I'm not a teacher.

Though I can still say that I love teaching Art. Although on some days it really tires me out. Like the days when we give out progress reports. I locked myself in my classroom during 3rd block because I couldn't handle talking to anyone after the first two classes. My 4th block class is amazing (there are only 5 students) and they are like a breath of fresh air at the end of a long day, instead of a stifling stale stench or furious, cold, gusting gale.

I thought it would be nice to add a few photos from my trip, so here they are!

A view of Amman from inside our taxi. It looks very flat! ...here. It's actually pretty hilly. You notice it most when walking. Amman is near the north of Jordan.
The mountains in Aqaba, in the south of Jordan. Mountains, Red Sea, desert...it's really a little paradise.

This is in Wadi Rum. It's the desert near Aqaba and the sand is very red, and the mountains are amazing. We stayed until night time and you could see so many stars. Half of me wished to stay all night and gaze at the sky. The other half wanted nothing to do with the ground and the child-size beetles walking around.
And we went snorkelling in the Red Sea! It's so blue...and so beautiful. Like a whole other world down there, under the sea.

I have to admit that I had to photoshop the underwater photos - they were all a strong shade of blue. But with a few coloUr changes and contrast fixes, they actually turned out pretty nicely!

dreaming of a seaside paradise

The Red Sea is not red. It's blue. Almost turquoise. And it's full of coral and a million different species of marine life. And it's not as cold as they say it is.

Wadi Rum is just like Prince Edward Island...if PEI had mountains and desert. The sand is so red, and when the sun sets it glows. At night you can see so many stars that the Milky Way is practically a thick white line across the sky. And the beetles are the size of small children.

Aqaba is such a small city that you can walk across it in under 30 minutes. There's a Roman Church from 400AD. And an ancient Ayla fortress. A diving centre every 2 feet.

And an overwhelmingly large flag of Palestine.

Expect pictures later. But not now. Much later. Bed now. Bus at 6:10am tomorrow. Classes from 7:30am to 2:30pm. Then sleep.

I love Eid

Next week marks the end of Ramadan! And with the end of Ramadan comes the holiday of Eid al Fitr. This year it was planned to be October 1-4.

Then they gave us September 30th off.

And today, the entire week!

A long weekend, and then 4 days in the south of Jordan.

Ramadan Kareem, everyone :) Eid Mubarak!

Gherghian

I should be cleaning, or planning, or something. The shopping bus leaves in an hour and I usually like to have the place a little clean before then! So I'll write quickly. And then run around for 30 minutes cleaning frantically! ...or the bare minimum? (toilets, floors, dishes after...)

On Thursday, we had Gherghian at school. Like last year, it's what we joke to be Kuwaiti Halloween. But we don't dress up as someone else, we wear beautiful dura'as and the students give candy to everyone. It's to mark the half-way point of Ramadan for them.

Here are a few pictures:

The KG kids are the cutest.

Elementary dancing with characters!

Us in our Dura'as

Diane's class. They sang me the Gherghian song. They're actually posing for Myrna, but I stole a picture in the process :)

I heart Engrish

Today I bought an Egyptian dessert, Om Ali. It's one of my favourite desserts because it has a nice taste but it isn't too sweet, plus it's full of coconut...and I do love coconut. I just considered baking it, so I read the directions on the box. Might I say that we could get a sweet job being a translator in this place?

Ingredients: whey pwoder, margrine, soduim chloride, stapilizer, vanillin.

Direction #2: Whip well using an electric mixer with high speed for five minutes until desired consisteney is obtained.

Direction #4: Represent hot with beast appelite!

I hope you have a beast appelite! I know I do. Best. Dessert. EVER.