December 15, 2018: Tis the Season

You're not doing Christmas in first grade right until you're covered in paint and glitter. 

December 14, 2018: Christmas play day

Our campus was transformed into a winter wonderland today.  The PTA put on a Christmas play day for the kids.  I went down early with my friend Kate so she could get a family photo of her and her two kitties in Santa's chair.  The place was decked out.  Here's just one little corner of the campus, where they had a cute little snow village. 

Also, I missed seeing our head of school dressed as Santa, but I saw pictures of him the next day.  I am PRAYING there is another reason for him to be in costume this year, because the Santa beard our school has is the most hysterical beard I have EVER seen.  Please pray with me that he dresses up again so I can snap a picture and use it on this blog.  You will never forget what you see.

December 13 and 14, 2018: Soccer tournament

I chaperoned the 4th and 5th grade soccer tournament trip to Cairo this weekend.  I took other pictures, but they all had kids' faces in them, so I'm combining yesterday and today's post.  I've never taught older kids, but have done lots of youth group and tutoring with them in the past.  Our first grade class has a buddy class of fourth graders and we love doing activities with them.  Big kids are a whole different type of child!  There are some things about older kids that I really enjoy though, and there were a few really great moments on the trip.  I appreciate that I got to know a bunch of the these kids (many of whom are my kiddo's siblings).

December 12, 2018: mystery cookie

I went to the bathroom and when I came back, this cookie was on my desk.  No clue who put it there.  I asked my assistant, but she didn't have any idea either.  Obviously I ate it.  If it was from you, thanks!  It was tasty!

December 11, 2018: fake stained glass

I love making "stained glass" with students.  Last year we made Alaskan animal stained glass by melting crayons.  This year we made them using tissue paper.  I'm officially starting a collection of fake stained glass.  From here on out, I will choose to live only in places that have a heavily stereotyped animal associated with it.   Yes, it may limit the choices I have in the future, but we make sacrifices for the things that are most important.

December 10, 2018: World Cafe

Tonight our school hosted a "World Cafe" so that alumni, teachers, students, parents, and board members could have open discussions about various aspects of Schutz.   It was a really great evening of collaboration and vision casting.  Every table had a talking stick with Mohamed Salah's face on it.  Clearly this was one highlight of the evening.  I can't wait to take it back to my classroom and use it during morning meeting times!

December 9, 2018: a little Christmas moment

It's not much of a tree.  But it's something.  And if you squint a little, it kind of looks like the reflection of the light on my balcony window is actually snow falling.   Either way, when I got up in the middle of the night to pee, I felt a little cozy inside. 

December 8, 2018: YAAAASSS!

There was an Armenian Christmas bizarre this weekend, so a bunch of teachers went.  CHRISTMAS ORNAMENTS GALORE!  I found some great handmade Christmas goodies.   Among the booths of crocheted scarves, carved ornaments, recycled paper Christmas trees and handmade earrings, there was a woman selling knock off designer fanny packs.  Obviously I stopped to browse, but refrained from buying (I do already own three fanny packs).  I later found out Michele liked my fanny pack so she got one of her own.  Yes Michele.  YES!!  Spread that fanny pack joy!

December 7, 2018: Full rainbow!

I saw rainbows all the time in Kodiak, but only once did I see one this clear and complete.  And if you look closely on the right, you can see it was a double rainbow (insert hysterical shrieking).  I saw this while running with my friend, Deepesh.  The rainbow got progressively more beautiful as the run continued. Poor Deepesh had to keep stopping mid run so I could take pictures.  Between this week's distracted picture taking and last week's fall, I am not sure I'm turning out to be the most pleasant running buddy...

December 6, 2018: flooded sidewalks

When you need to walk to class and it's raining hard, but you thought you were moving to Egypt and wouldn't need anything other than sandals.  Yes, I know it's just a 45 second walk, but those sidewalks are FLOODED.  Rain boots will definitely be in my suitcase coming back from Christmas break!

December 5, 2018: It's time

Let the classroom Christmas festivities BEGIN!

December 4, 2018: shoo fly

I HATE the flies here.  Flies are never awesome, but the ones here are super rude.  They land on your face and in your hair all the time.  I try not to complain, because lots of places around the world have mosquitos that give you deadly diseases, or huge spiders that hide in your shoes, or all sorts of worse creepy crawlies.  If all I have to worry about are the flies, I'm ok.

Still, they drive me nuts.  There are tons of them, and they don't leave you alone.  This morning, I killed 7 before the kids came to school.  Two of them were unfortunately slaughtered on this poor kid's math book, leaving some juices behind.  I brushed the flies into the garbage can and closed his book.  When we worked in the books this morning, he didn't notice and I didn't say a word.

December 3, 2018: hairdos

I got my hair cut a few weeks ago and it looked great when the guy styled, but when I do it, not so much.  Looks a bit triangly.  I think I need more layers on the sides.  If I pull pieces back it doesn't look so bad, so I've been experimenting with braids and other things.  I obviously can't see the back of my head, so I took this picture to determine how wonky it looks.  Acceptable. 
I really need to start checking to see if I have good, blog worthy pictures before I go to bed each night!

December 2, 2018: Field trip!

We began a math unit on numbers to twenty.  We took the kids to Montazah, a beautiful garden area in the city near the beach.  The kids collected shells, rocks, and other objects to count and sort later in the unit.  Then they got into groups and began hunting for objects in nature that are in various numbers.  One cat.  Two trees.  Three windows on the building, eight wooden slates on a bench.  Their goal was to find a picture of every number 1-20.  This group got creative for the number twelve.  We didn't really need to come all the way to Montazah for this picture, but it worked.   :) 

*Since the trip, the kids have used google classroom to create a slideshow presentation of their pictures.  They have labeled each picture from 1-20 in both word and number form.  They added number sentences for each slide.  And the coolest part is that by using google classrooms, they used a shared document so they each had their own computers but were working on the same presentation.  I am amazed at what kids can pick up on these days.  This was some major teamwork for a group of 6 and 7 year olds!

December 1, 2018: Neighborhood wanderings

My friend, Danielle, and I spent some time wandering around our neighborhood.  We had no goal in mind other than to zig zag through the streets and find our way back when we got tired enough.  It was a lovely morning.  We found great architecture, some unique streets, a Metro grocery store close by, and were impressed that we found our way back home with no help needed.  Go, us!

November 30, 2018: Crash and burn

Took a nice little spill on my run today.  Tore my pants, bruised both my knees, scraped both hands and one elbow.  The cement here does not give.  You should have seen how quickly I popped back up though.  Definitely not my first running related fall.  Definitely not my best either.  Which brings me to "Mandy's most awesome running wipe outs"

3.  In high school we were running before school.  I was wearing these ridiculously baggy sweatpants and I tripped over the bottoms of them.  I fell over and then rolled INTO the ditch on the side of the road.  It was super dark outside, and I remember my friend Heidi yelling to the rest of the group, "Stop guys, Mandy's in the ditch!"

2.  Once I fell while running along a pretty busy road in Chicago.  It was such a bad spill that I hit the ground and rolled hard across the sidewalk.  Two different cars stopped in the middle of traffic to yell out their windows, checking to see if I was ok.

3.  In Kodiak my friend Stephanie and I were running in a hot chocolate 5k.  This was winter, so the sidewalks were slick.  I stubbed my toe on some frozen ice chunks and went flying forward.  Tore both knees of my pants and was bleeding on my hands, knees, and elbows.  We were a few yards from the hospital and Steph asked if I needed to check myself in :)  We kept running, and she and I ended up getting first place for our age division.  Only in Kodiak can you wipe out mid-race and still win because you might have been the only two people in your age group.

You're going to have to try a little harder, Alexandria.

November 29, 2018: Pajama Day

If only the children actually listened...  (She said jokingly). 

November 28, 2018: Warning- this post contains graphic images of poop

My friend, Kate, and I are running a half marathon in Cairo (around the pyramids!) in February, so I went to her house today so we could register and look at hotels. I was sitting in Kate's chair, typing away when I heard an airy gurgling sound, followed by the most awful smell.  I looked over, and Kate's cat, Winnie, was crouched in the back corner of her litter box, butt against the wall, staring into my eyes, and clearly trying to rid her intestines of some intense poop.  I've always told Kate that Winnie reminds me of an elegant queen.  She is a long haired beauty and walks with poise and grace.  So watching her diarrhea into her litter box struck me as absolutely hilarious.  About midway through the poop, we realized her butt was not actually in the litter box, but up against the wall.  At this point, we both lost it.  I had tears running down my face, anticipating the pile of liqui-poo that was going to be on the wall.  When Winnie finished, we moved the box away from the wall, and this is what we found.  So nasty.  I offered to help, but by the sounds of my dry heaves, I think she figured I wouldn't be very useful.  Kate is a great cat mom.  She was reassuring and comforting to poor Winnie, in between her bursts of laughter. 

November 27, 2018: Book Character Day

I love me some Pete the Cat.  Especially this Groovy Buttons book.  If you have kids and you haven't read it yet, do yourself a favor and either buy it or borrow it from the library.  It's pretty great.

November 26, 2018: Crazy Fashion Day

I've been trying out some new fashion trends here in Egypt.  Facebook nearly blew up when I posted a picture of my new, crazy baggy kneed pants.  :)   This weekend I bought some peacock printed flowy pants and was very close to purchasing a pair of black pants with a severe drop crotch in them.  This is definitely not Kodiak.   Today I went with a bright pink tutu and spring earrings.  Too much?

*Today was crazy fashion day at school, so this was totally acceptable.  My other purchases I have to get up major gumption to wear them out in public.

November 25, 2018: COTTAGE CHEESE!

Ahmed Fouad is the best.   He read my blog post a couple weeks ago about how much I missed cottage cheese.  Turns out, Egypt has it!  Yes, the consistency and flavor are a bit different than I am used to, but it's still here!  He showed me exactly where to get it and what type of packaging it comes in.  Many Egyptians eat their cottage cheese with oil and vegetables (like cucumbers).  I tried it, and it was definitely good.  Won't completely satisfy my cravings, but it will hold me off until Christmas!  Thanks, Ahmed!!

November 25, 2018: New ornaments!

Picked these beauties up at a refugee market and a fair trade store.  I like to collect ornaments from different places I visit (preferably handmade ones).  I have my favorites from Kodiak, along with a new one from Greece and one my mom got me from Switzerland.  My tree is going to look so awesome.

November 24, 2018: typical cab ride

Poor Issa.  Squished in the backseat of a cab between me and his mom.  Desperately wanting a sip of water, but too confined to be able to reach the water bottle.  All the while, his friend Mandy is laughing at him and trying to take his picture.  Sometimes life is rough, little buddy.

November 23, 2018: Cairo skyline

The view from our hotel room.  Today was filled with mummies, haggling for deals on tapestries, Lebanese food, and more mummies.   A good day.

November 22, 2018: Happy Thanksgiving!

It's pretty safe to say I never anticipated spending a Thanksgiving at the Great Pyramids.  Since we had an extra day off from school. that's exactly what a group of us decided to do.  I hadn't seen the pyramids since moving to Egypt.  I was anxious, nervous that I was going to be underwhelmed.  You grow up seeing pictures and learning about these ancient structures.  I've pictured them being massive and awe inspiring.  It seemed a bit unreal that I was on my way to see that last remaining ancient wonder of the world, and I was terrified I'd be disappointed.

They were just as awesome as I'd imagined them being.  My head was spinning from thinking about the ingenuity of designing and building something so massive so long ago.  I'm thankful for smart people who can figure this stuff out, because Lord knows my brain doesn't work that way!

I have a lot to be thankful for this year.  This journey has been a good one.  I've been blessed with the opportunity to see parts of the world I never imagined I'd see.  I'm blessed with a family who supports this crazy, wandering, nomadic lifestyle I've chosen, even though it probably gives them ulcers.  I'm blessed with old friends who have loved on me fiercely from across the world when I needed it the most, and new friends who already feel like family. 

Most of all, I'm thankful for a God who is faithful.  I've struggled a bit in my time here.  I miss worshipping alongside family and singing hymns with my nephews in my arms or dancing on the pew beside me.  I miss Sunday potlucks, good long conversations, and praying hand in hand with my neighbors and friends.  But I am thankful for a God who has shown me that He alone is enough. 

November 21, 2018: Tis the Season!

A few days ago I bought my little Christmas tree and decorated it.  It took about 45 seconds considering I didn't bring many ornaments with me.  I was pleasantly surprised at how many people in Egypt celebrate Christmas.  It wasn't too hard to find a place that sold little plastic trees and ornaments. I got this one right down the street from my house.  The little shop couldn't find the box it came in, so they unsuccessfully tried shoving it into a different, smaller box which resulted in half the tree sticking out the top and the box busting open on my walk home, but it was all worth it.  It might still be 72 degrees, and all my Christmas sweaters are back in Michigan, but by golly, it's beginning to (feel) a (little) like Christmas.

November 20, 2018: between the chairs

Getting creative again in the way we study position words.  The kids took pictures of each other placing themselves above, near, under, beside, inside, and between various things in the room.  Thankfully this little guy decided to hide his face, otherwise I wouldn't have had any pictures to share today!

November 19, 2018: Between the balls

My students are obsessed with Mohamed Salah.  We are studying position words in math, so I made this poster.  I got about a third of the way through it before I realized I was going to have to write "Mohamed Salah is between the balls."  Don't even care.  I contemplated placing the balls a little more tastefully so they didn't look as phallic, but there was clearly no fun in that.  I love first grade because kids don't get stuff like this yet.  A couple years ago my student teacher was doing a lesson about tidepools, and she was adding details from a text to a thinking chart.  She kept saying things like, "I already have crabs, so I don't need more," and "I don't want more crabs."  I was dying, which made her laugh, and pretty soon the both of us had lost it.  I heard one kid say to another, "Why are they laughing, crabs aren't even funny."   Most of the time, kiddo, you're absolutely right.  But sometimes crabs are hilarious.

November 18, 2018: yoga

I'm about a month behind with writing my posts for this blog.  I was searching through the pictures I took, and this is the only one I had for this day.  I have no idea why I took this picture.  I have a backpack.  I use it to bring my yoga mat to class with me.   It's profound, I know.

November 17, 2018: Saturday adventures cont..

This is my Saturday adventure crew.  We like to get out and explore different parts of the city on Saturday mornings.  Today we were on our way to a beach on one end of the city.  There are these little microbuses that can take you up and down the corniche for 2 pounds per person, so we started our journey by hopping on one of those.  We weren't aware that some of the buses take little detours, so we ended up in a neighborhood pretty far from where we wanted to go.  We hopped in a cab and were greeted by one of the most enthusiastic drivers.  This guy was stoked to have us all crammed in his little cab (you can't see it, but my knees are up to my chin because his seat was pushed all the way back).  Some cab drivers here couldn't care less if you're American or not, and some absolutely love it  This guy was one of the latter.   He was so excited to have us (and by "us" I mostly mean Rhonda).  He cranked his music up, and she danced in the front seat, which HE LOVED.   There's no such thing as staying in lanes anyway here, but this guy was swerving all over because he was watching Rhonda.  Finally, between laughs, Sherry told her to stop because our driver clearly wasn't watching where he was going.  When she stopped, he turned the music up louder and tried switching songs- anything to get her going again.  :) 

I like these morning trips because we never quite know how the day is going to go.  I was pretty laid back to begin with, but Egypt has really taught me to just go with it.   The days here are full of surprises.  Some days I have to search harder to find the beauty I'm looking for, but it's there.  Other days it's impossible to miss.   Today's beauty was found in a sandy beach, a little girl writing an Arabic message in the sand, the breeze in my face from the top of a double decker bus, laughs with friends, and an enthusiastic cabbie.

November 16, 2018: IMPORTED DELICIOUSNESS

I found Mountain Dew and Rice Krispies Treats. 

I can't remember a time I was this happy.

A list of foods I miss (in order based on volume of joyful tears I would shed if I found them here): 

  York peppermint patties

Kistlercrest Farm apples and syrup

cottage cheese

Velveeta shells and cheese

Munchies (I saw them here once but they were like $8 for the bag).

 Pirates Booty

sugar snap peas

Stella Artois

 Hormel chili with no beans

Squirt

string cheese

Pilsbury crescent rolls

Egypt has GREAT food, and I'm so blessed to have amazing chefs working at the school and easy access to groceries.  So in no way is this a post complaining about the food situation here.  I am blessed.  In some ways food is easier here than it was for me in Kodiak.  But it doesn't mean I wouldn't cry if I saw a tub of cottage cheese in the grocery store.

November 15, 2018: Winter is upon us!

I was told when I got here, that winter gets cold, especially in our apartments.  I was told I'd need sweatshirts and heavy blankets and even jackets.  I laughed at these people.  I just came from Alaska and am used to actual cold weather.  Snow.  Cold rain.  When it hits 60 degrees in Kodiak, kids are swimming in the chilly Pacific and I'm busting out the shorts and tank tops.  A 60 degree winter was going to be a breeze for me.  For the longest time, I used just a sheet to sleep and only recently I began using a super thin blanket the school provided for me when I first moved here.

The time has come to bust out the winter gear.  I've had goosebumps for the last three weeks.  I've worn that light jacket for the last few evenings while going out and about.  And for the first night since being here, I was chilly enough that I had a hard time sleeping.   I was on a mission to buy a real blanket, but my coworker, Sherry, let me have her extra one for the year.  It was so wonderfully cozy to be bundled up on the couch.  It's feeling like real fall and I love it!!  This evening I was basking in the glory of my new blanket when a friend asked me to come join a poker game.  I initially said no because obviously I wasn't going to leave this pure bliss, but I ultimately decided friends are better than blankets, and I got myself off the couch.  (And I'm glad I did!  Poker is fun.  Who knew??) 

As I type this now, I'm wearing sweatpants and a sweatshirt and have a blanket wrapped around me.  It's 68 degrees outside, and I am completely ashamed of how soft I have gotten here. 

November 14, 2018: falcon pride

It's a long story, and I'm still not quite sure of all the details, but somehow we had a falcon (or eagle) at school that needed to be released into the "wild."  There was also a trained eagle (or falcon) on campus too.   So our kids got to watch the falcon/eagle be released.  It was quite cool.  Then we watched a bird handler work with the other bird (I think the eagle).  This was also cool because it was from a distance.  There was a time when the handler was walking through the crowd of students with the bird on his arm and he got close enough to kids that the bird's tail feathers was touching students' heads and I was close to running away at that point, but I stayed brave for the kids.  From a safe distance we watched this eagle (I think) fly to and from the handler's arm.  Some teachers even held it on their own arm, but I of course was having none of that.

November 13, 2018: indecisiveness

For anyone who is actually paying attention, I didn't post a picture for Nov. 12.   I took one, but it was of my coworker's kid and I didn't ask permission to post it... 

Today was parent teacher conferences and also picture day.  95% of the time I don't care what I put on in the morning.  I grab something out of the closet, throw on a necklace and call it good.  I don't know why the combination of being seen by all the parents and also having my picture taken threw me into complete anxiety attack this morning.  (Have I mentioned before how weird my brain is and how it just freaks out for no reason sometimes, without any warning)??   Again, on a normal day I grab the first thing I see in the closet and I'm good, but today I think I tried on 15 different outfits.  Hated them all.  Ended up wearing the first outfit I had tried on.  Was 30 minutes later to school than I usually am.  And was in a bad mood about it all morning (until Amira texted and told me she was picking up Starbucks for us).  Immediately made me forget the trauma of the morning ;)

*Since this day I have completely returned to normal and have been able to dress myself in the normal 3 minutes.  Praise Jesus, because I have no idea what that was!

November 11, 2018: personal goals

Personal goal #1: Stop being such a slob.  Living alone is fantastic, but I have no accountability for how tidy I am (or am not).  Nobody comes into my apartment.   My apartment isn't the greatest place for hosting.  You have to climb 4 flights of stairs to get there, it's a bit small, and the inhabitant doesn't cook for anyone.  Plus we have great spaces on campus to hang out (rooftops and poolsides!).  My cleaner comes every Monday, so usually Sunday night I am scrambling around trying to pick up so she doesn't see how messy I can get.  I recently asked Hab (our amazing knows how to do everything on campus guy) if he could get some prints framed for me.  They were finished and he brought them up to my apartment while I was at school.  I was embarrassed knowing he came in and saw a complete disaster.  There was a bra laying on the floor next to my couch!  I'll set goals to change, but let's be honest, it's probably not going to happen.  Although about 6 months ago I started making my bed for the first time in my life, so complete neatness isn't totally off the table!

Let's also clarify- I'm messy.  But not dirty.  The apartment is CLEAN, just not neat.  Don't go judging me too harshly.

November 10, 2018: City exploration

A group of us decided to adventure this morning.  We hopped on the tram (paid a whole pound to ride... that's about 6 cents a person), and got off at a random stop.  We wandered around and found a market. The people here were extremely welcoming and friendly.  People kept shaking our hands and welcoming us to Egypt.  I even had two different people ask to take selfies with me ("blonde-haired" people are hard to find here and apparently exciting to see), which hasn't happened since I first moved here.  It's fun to walk around in friendly neighborhoods.  It makes me realize how much I would enjoy learning Arabic.  Just saying "Shukran" (thank you) in Arabic, makes everyone excited.  Finding a tutor is on my to-do list this week. 

I've decided that I am forcing myself to go explore every weekend.  It's crucial for me to get off campus and go see this city and its people.  I'm always happy I do.

November 9, 2018: hard rain

Today was a rough one.  I didn't have energy or motivation to get up for my Friday run.  When I finally got out of bed, I moved immediately to the couch where I stayed for almost the entire day.  I didn't have the social energy to go to church.  I did walk down to lunch but was so drained from just mealtime conversation that I came upstairs and cried.  This afternoon there was a huge storm (with continuous thunder and lightning!) and it matched my mood perfectly, which was oddly comforting.  Thankfully this funky mood only lasted a day and I felt back to normal the next morning.  I never know how long this weird brain of mine will remain uncooperative.  

November 8, 2018: Dominos!!

A great evening of dominos, macaroni and cheese, pizza, rooftop sitting, and good friends. TGIT!

November 7, 2018: quick lunch break

I really wanted a Coke today for lunch so I walked across the street to the little store to grab one.  (I can get 3 Cokes, a bag of chips, and a knock off hostess cupcake for 88 cents, by the way).  As soon as I left school I saw this man, his cart, and his horse.  I see mules and horses in the street every time I walk outside, but I still haven't quite gotten used to it.

November 6, 2018: Koo Koo Kangaroo

Koo Koo Kangaroo is the best.  Weird dudes wearing gold fanny packs and accessories who guide children in funky dances.  Noor told me she found a super trippy Koo Koo video, so of course I had to show it to the kids today.  Even they were a little weirded out when they were told to surf on a grape juice wave...

November 5, 2018: McDonalds!!

I ate Mcdonalds once or twice a week in Kodiak. This was the first time I have had it here (even though I can get it delivered right to school).  Be proud of me.  I'm a creature of habit and always order a double cheeseburger with only cheese and extra pickles.  But here, I couldn't find double cheeseburgers on the menu, so I went with a number 5 (since I know how to say 5 in Arabic... just in case).  I think it was a quarter pounder.  I also know "no" in Arabic so I was prepared to try to specify no mustard.  Turns out my server knew a decent amount of English, so I got pretty close to what I wanted.  After I finished eating, I went to my small group.  Many of the women in the group know Arabic, so they taught me how to say "without mustard and onions" just in case I need it in the future!

November 4, 2018: Just what I wanted to see...

This morning, one of my students came into the classroom and told me that he had to put special medicine in his hair at home because his mom found bugs in it.

This is on the list of worst things you can hear from your students.  It's right next to "I woke up today and my eye was pink for no reason and my mom said it was probably ok, so I still came to school."

I called the school nurse and she said she would do a head check for the whole class but that she couldn't get to it until after lunch.  Wanting to keep the bugs at bay, but not wanting to shame the poor kiddo who may be hosting them, I told the students that our school had to wash all the pillows and beanbags in the room because they accidentally got chemicals on them (best I could come up with on short notice) so we couldn't put our heads on anything while reading or working throughout the day.  They didn't seem to think this was a big idea.  Win!  Then I put my hair up in a tight ponytail and got to work.

Partway through the morning, I began to give individual reading tests to the kids.  When I test a student, I wear this big crab hat.  Lots of teachers use a "not now" necklace.  When they put it on, it indicates to the other students in the classroom that the teacher is unavailable at the moment.  In first grade, a huge crab shaped hat is a little more effective than a simple necklace.  My kids LOVE when I wear the hat and they all make sure I wear it when I work with them.  No exceptions.  I was wearing this hat today, and took it off in between students.  When I came back, I saw that my kid took the liberty of "surprising" me by having it on his own head.   Not the day for this little surprise, buddy.  I can't even remember the lame excuse I tried to come up with to explain why I couldn't wear it now when I had just been wearing it moments before... 

November 3, 2018: market

This afternoon, a few of us went on a walk to a nearby market.  I hadn't been there before and was excited to explore a new part of town.  It was crammed with people, cars, vendors, tuk-tuks, horses,  and carts.   I need to make a point to explore somewhere new each weekend.  There is so much to see here.  I can't believe this is just a short walk from school and I hadn't been there yet.   We also rode the tram today after the market, and I now feel comfortable enough to maybe catch it on my own.  I have been on the microbus and in cabs, so I have a few different options for getting around.  I haven't done the tuk-tuk yet, but am not sure if I'll ever have the guts to try one of those!

November 2, 2018: insert barfing face emoji

A few weeks ago I went for a run and was chased by a street dog.   It was slightly terrifying, but I turned and screamed at the dog and it backed off.  Today I was running and a dog on a leash jumped on me out of nowhere and before I knew it my entire forearm was in his mouth.  The combination of me reeling back and the owner pulling him away gave me a chance to get away without him taking my arm off.  There were no bite marks, but I was left with a LOT of slobber.  Sickest gift ever.

November 1, 2018: ceiling fan #2? 3?

I can't remember how many times this year I've forgotten to take a picture until I'm laying in bed looking up at the ceiling, but I know it's been at least a few.   This picture might suggest that I had a dull day and not much happened, but it was actually the complete opposite.

We had our assembly today, and the kids were incredible!  It was a success, and I'm very proud of the students.   After school, to celebrate being finished, Noor invited me over for a glass of wine.  Afterward, we joined some other teachers on the roof for pizza, drinks, games, and music.  GOOD, good music.  (Well in my opinion.  I'm not sure if everyone else was loving the jams as much as I was, but I clearly didn't care).  Good country and REO Speedwagon (and I think we ended with some BSB) will put anyone (who isn't super lame) in a good mood.  Happy Thursday night to us!

October 31, 2018: Happy real Halloween

Tonight is real Halloween.  Egyptians don't celebrate Halloween as a country (which is why we make such a big deal of it on campus during our fall festival).  There are 5 little kiddos that belong to the teachers here, so they came around to our apartments and trick or treated.  A couple teachers were hosting a Halloween party for the teachers after the trick or treating.  I accidentally threw away my Gerald mask earlier in the week, so luckily I had this flamingo costume I brought from the states.  I was in such a terrible mood today that as soon as I put it on, I burst into tears.  I don't pretend to understand my emotions.  I know full well they make no sense, and when I try to rationalize them, they just get more intense.  I have no clue why I was so upset and cranky, but putting on this stupid costume intensified it for some reason.  I understood in that moment I wouldn't be heading to the Halloween party (I'm fairly certain depressed flamingos aren't too fun to be around) but I'd keep it on for when the kids came.  I had a phone date scheduled with a good friend and sent her this picture, warning her of how grumpy I was and that she better be ready for it.  :)   

October 30, 2018: Kid's still not feeling well...

I found another finished get well card today in the classroom with some new choice words inside.  I found it significantly less funny today (and highly disappointed that the student misspelled sh#t.  We've covered the short i sound, buddy) and we had a nice loooong meeting about kindness and had to get creative with our consequences.   As much as kids stress me out sometimes, if I ever decide to do something other than teach, I'll miss this shet.  :)

October 29, 2018: Get well.

During independent writing time, my students have a few different options.  They can write stories, make booklets, write comics, make lists, or write cards.  I have a tub full of blank cards.  Today, I found a get well card in one of my student's cubbies.  He had written it to another student in a different grade.  This is a picture of the inside.  I take mean words very seriously in my class, but I was glad I found this card while the kids were at recess.   He could have chosen numerous cards with blank fronts but he decided to go with a get well card.  It's like he's telling the kid that he hopes he can be cured of his stupidity.  Don't worry, there were consequences for the meanness, but I'm glad I had the room to myself so I could chuckle in private.

October 28, 2018: A case of the Sundays

I still haven't gotten used to our work week being from Sunday to Thursday.  Friday is the holy day here, so our weekend is Friday and Saturday.  Just when I think I've become accustomed to it, I'll make a mistake and tell the kids that our celebration is on Friday or that I'm excited to see them Monday when they come back to school after the weekend.  First graders are always looking for a way to tell their teacher that they have made a mistake, so I am fully aware of how many times a week I still misspeak.    Even when I think I've got the whole Sunday/Thursday thing figured out, I still have no idea how to feel about the days in the middle.  When the heck is hump day again??  How am I supposed to be feeling about the new position of Wednesday? Adding to the confusion, our school is on a 6 day rotation, meaning that not every Monday or every Thursday is ever the same schedule.  This week, Sunday might have a day 1 schedule and the kids will go to their day 1 specials at the day 1 times, but next week, Sunday will be a day 6 with a whole new schedule.  As much as I thought I would hate it, I actually love the idea of a 6 day rotation, I've just given up on ever knowing what day of the week it is and where my students are supposed to be.  I do know that day 4 is our sweet spot of the rotation, so whenever it happens to fall is be the best day of that week!

October 27, 2018: masks galore

First grade is in charge of putting on the first elementary school assembly of the school year.  We have to do something to illustrate "perseverance" to the rest of the classes.  We decided to do a skit to the book "Giraffes Can't Dance."  For those of you with kids, if you haven't read it, check it out.  It's a great book!  Noor was in charge of all the multimedia (which was a huge job), so I did the masks and organized the props.  Tonight I finished the last of them!   Some days I really, really love busy work.   So much of teaching requires you to do work where you won't see immediate results or feel immediate gratification.  Don't get me wrong, we are busy all the time, and teaching is extremely rewarding.  There are fewer feelings that are better than seeing a child's excitement over finally figuring something out.  (We call those Aha! moments, but I learned that Aha! is a swear word here, so I'm searching for a new term...) Regardless, sometimes you just need a week where you get to make 19 animal masks to feel like you got something accomplished.