March 8, 2019: Yarn store exploration, part 2

Took another trip to the yarn store to get materials for our Mother’s Day letter and yarn for a blanket that my friend, Karma, is crocheting me (woohoo!).  This is the inside of the yarn store. It’s a pretty typical layout for a store of this size. You squeeze yourself into the tiny aisle with the other customers, and there is a store lady who follows you around to try to help you.  She doesn’t know English, and I don’t know any yarn related words in Arabic, so I try to motion to her that she doesn’t really have to help me, but it doesn’t really work. So instead, she sticks around and eyes my choices, giving me (what I think are) suggestions and recommendations, but I can't be sure.  Numerous times I have to squeeze against the shelf to let a few other woman pass behind me. When I check out, I discover my yarn was dirt cheap! With these prices, I’m tempted to learn how to crochet, but then I remember I have no patience, pay very little attention to detail, and would hate every aspect of yarn related crafts.

March 6, 2019: Ettakelem Arabee Schwaya

I’ve started Arabic lessons!  My coworker, Sara, and I are getting tutored by our other coworker, Ahmed.  In today’s lesson we learned how to shop. I now know how to order myself chicken shawarma with cheese (no spices) and I can get strawberries and bell peppers from the market.  Next session, Ahmed is taking us shopping and we have to get our own produce.

Sara had to leave today a few minutes early, so those last few minutes I told Ahmed everything I had learned in Arabic before coming to Egypt.  Once I accepted my job here, I spent 5 months listening to “Arabic for Dummies” on cd while driving to and from school, only to arrive in Egypt and discover that most of what I learned was classical Arabic and not used here.  I’ve heard that the Arabic I learned is kind of like Shakespearean English to a native English speaker. Very formal and funny sounding. This afternoon, I had Ahmed literally in tears as I spoke to him in the Classical Arabic I learned.  I imagine it probably is very funny to hear these old, fancy Arabic words coming out of the mouth of a super ignorant white girl! Especially since I was unaware that I was saying everything in the same tone that the cd lady used, which makes it sound like I’m a Shakespearean GPS system.  I love that I can provide such entertainment.

Speaking of entertainment, a few Arabic mishap stories:

1. Apparently “yellow” and “clever”  sound very similar. I have asked for a clever pepper  rather than a yellow pepper on occasion before finally being corrected.  I of course asked for clever peppers on purpose. Doesn’t everyone know those are the best kinds? I’m happy that this was a mishap that wasn’t offensive at all.  I’ve since learned that the word for “late” sounds very similar to vulgar word for “poop.” I’m committed to never commenting on anyone’s lack of punctuality while I live here.

2.  Earlier this year, I was working on CVC words with my students.  We came across the word, “hum” and one of my kids blurts out, “Yeah, like hum me a mum me a gammel.”  I asked him what it meant, and he replied with, “mmm it means, ‘this food is good.’” Excellent. I filed that away for future use.  Fast forward a few weeks and I was at a restaurant. The food was, indeed, good, so I busted out the hum me a mum me a gammel phrase.  The server just stared at me, obviously confused. The next day, I asked my student if I had said it correctly, and he verified that I had.  After school I asked my Arabic speaking coworker about the phrase, and he told me that the phrase is what moms say to their little babies when they are feeding them.  It’s the Egyptian Arabic version of “here comes the airplane.” So to my student, it would translate into the food being good, but highly inappropriate for me to say to a server!  My coworker does stand up comedy, and he laughed so hard at this story that he asked if he could incorporate it into his routine. I of course said I was happy to provide any sort of material possible.  He sent me the video of his routine when he performed it live. I of course couldn’t understand anything he said other than the “hum me a mum me a gammel,” and once he said it, the crowd burst out laughing.  I’m here all week, Egypt.

March 5, 2019: Learner Profile

We spent the morning today in an IB training.  Schutz will be an IB candidate school next year (!!), so the teachers are being trained in what that will look like.  During the training, we split into groups and were tasked with listing traits that our ideal, successful Schutz graduate would have.  Then we had to come up with a visual that explained those traits. This is what my group came up with. Can you see the McDonalds inspiration?   This came from an icebreaker conversation we had to have about one of our guilty pleasures. Obviously mine is McDonalds, though I’ve only eaten it four times since moving here.  Shawarma seems to be my new thing.

March 4, 2019: Here Comes Mother's Day!

I hear that Mother’s Day in Egypt is a pretty big deal.  Here we celebrate in March, and the moms are invited to the classroom for muffins and to hang out with their child.  I love having parents come into the class. It’s a great way to have the kids show their parents what they are learning, and for the parents to get a good idea of what we are doing on a day to day basis.  We had donuts with the dads a couple of months ago and the kids loved it. There’s always a little bit of (often unnecessary) anxiety when preparing for something for the first time, especially when you’re not quite sure of everyone’s expectations, and you have a personality like mine that wants everyone to be happy.  We decided to have the kids make a gift for their moms. We cut each mom’s first initial of her name from a piece of cardboard, and the students are going to wrap the letters in yarn to make a decorative keepsake. I think they’ll be cute!

March 3, 2019: Running Blues

The weather is warming, and runs outside have the potential to be more enjoyable than treadmill runs.  If I’m on campus, I’ve gotten used to treadmill running, simply because our campus is so small that my runs take FOREVER because you can’t run more than a few yards without turning.  It makes for a very slow pace. Today I sucked it up and ran around campus because it was too beautiful to be inside the gym. All in all, I passed this point about 18 times on my 3 mile run.  I know earlier in the year I went to Greece and was inspired to sign up for the Greece Marathon next year. That isn’t happening. At least not anytime soon!

March 2, 2019: Run through Montazah

Went on another beautiful run through Montazah.  I loved the way these palm trees looked against the white clouds.  You always see palms set against a bright blue sky or teal water, but rarely clouds like these, so it struck me as especially beautiful.  While on our run today my friends and I ran along a bridge near the water, and the waves were pretty strong. At one point they broke along the rocks near the bridge, and the ocean spray completely drenched us.  It may have been my favorite moment all week, though it was a bit chillier than I would have hoped for.

February 28, 2019: Mystery Reader

The second grade class at Peterson Elementary (in Kodiak) is celebrating Dr. Seuss Week, and they needed a mystery reader to read one of his books to the class.  Their teacher, Erica, asked me if I minded skyping the class and being today’s mystery reader. She wouldn’t tell the kids who was reading ahead of time. I would have done it either way, but I was extra excited because these are the kids I had last year in my class.   I was pumped to see them, so I donned my disguise and called them up. I didn’t say a word, but as soon as they saw me on the screen, they knew right away it was me. I was initially offended. The only thing you can see is my nose! I knew it was a little distinguished looking (thanks, Dad), but I didn’t think it was THAT much of a give away!  I’m choosing to believe the kids immediately recognized my black winter hat. Being Kodiak, I did wear it 85% of the school year. Either way, It was an absolute joy to see my kids again. They had lots of questions for me, mostly about whether I had been in a pyramid or seen a mummy (yes and yes, though not at the same time). It was so good to see those smiling faces!

February 27, 2019: Boo Boo Butt

Noor and I needed a little time away from campus, so we headed to the Greek Club for some fantastic food with a view.  This is easily one of my favorite spots in Alexandria. I love the boats. I love that the restaurant serves wine. And the calamari is pretty good too.  Tonight the company was just what I needed. When I was first hired, my principal told me I’d be working with a girl named Noor, and that she was “my sister from another lifetime.”  Apparently after my principal hired me, she ran to get Noor from her classroom so that she could tell her the same thing about me. No pressure for us to like one another. :) After spending time with Noor, it’s clear our principal was right. We became fast friends.  She is the same kind of dorky that I am. I love her.

The other day, I read a book to my class called “The Book with no Pictures,” by BJ Novak.  It’s hilarious. If you haven’t read it, and you have school aged children, check it out from the library.  Your kids will love it. The whole idea of the book is that the adult reading the book HAS to say everything that is written on the page.  No matter what. And the kids think this idea is hilarious. There are pages that say things like “I am a big monkey with a big monkey mouth” and then the kids die laughing.  One page says, “My only friend in the whole wide world is a hippo named Boo Boo Butt.” (more laughing). After I read the book to my class, the kids were joking that they were going to call me Boo Boo Butt from now on.  I told them they couldn’t, because the book clearly didn’t say that my name was Boo Boo Butt, but that my only friend in the whole world was Boo Boo Butt. (You like the textual evidence conversations I have with my first graders??)  One kid thought about that for a while then finally bursted out, “OHHHH! So Ms. NOOR is Boo Boo Butt.”  To which I replied, “yes, yes she is.”

Very happy to have found a fantastic Boo Boo Butt here.

February 26, 2019: Street Carts

These carts are one of my favorite things in Alex.  Many of them have brightly decorated wooden planks on the back.  Some of them have megaphones and speakers attached to them, so the guy selling things can yell into the megaphone and it’s amplified throughout the neighborhood.  There’s one guy who we hear often, and I’ve heard he’s not selling things, but collecting unwanted electronics from people’s houses. The other day we walked around a cart like this that happened to have a speaker on the side.  At the exact moment we passed the speaker, the guy yelled something into the megaphone. I’m choosing to believe this was a coincidence and that the man didn’t intentionally try to deafen us.

February 25, 2019: Nap in the warm-ish sunshine

It was too beautiful not to enjoy the sunshine on the roof after school today.  I think we hit 73 degrees! I laid in a lawn chair, took a tiny nap, and sunburned my forehead, all the while having goosebumps on my arms.  I know I’ve said it before, but my Kodiak self is so ashamed at how soft I have gotten here.

February 24, 2019: Sociopathic travel buddy

We have a LONG summer break this year.  I think it's 10 weeks.  I'll be back in the states for about 3 weeks of the break, and the rest of the summer I will be traveling.  I'm spending a week and a half walking the Camino in Portugal with some teacher friends.  After we finish the Camino, my sister, Meagan, is meeting me in Lisbon, and we will spend almost two weeks exploring Portugal and Spain.  As of now, our list includes Lisbon, Sintra, beaches in the Algarve, Seville, Granada, and Barcelona.  As I type it out, I am realizing that's quite a lot, and we might need to trim it down a bit!  We started a google doc and have color coded our notes so we can keep track of the logistics and who adds which details.  I was looking through Meg's recent additions when I noticed this alarming side note.

Funny, Meg.   REEEEEAL funny.

February 23, 2019: this is the life

Nothing says relaxation like beachside coffee sipping. 

February 22, 2019: standard yoga by the sea picture

There was a zumba instructors conference happening at the hotel this weekend.  This meant we got to witness LOTS of enthusiastic zumba classes on the beach.  Even better, we got to see these instructors take countless selfies and inspirational workout posed- pictures with the sea in the background.   The beach is has little cabanas scattered around, but they aren't in use right now, so they look more like little stages.  Lots of photoshoots here.  This morning, I pulled a muscle in my back while I was trying to move my beach chair back into the sun.  (Rough life, I know).  I moved on to one of these platforms to stretch, and was immediately inspired to take my own inspirational, insta-worthy stretching pose.

Nailed it.

*I hope I don't offend anyone who loves taking inspirational pictures of themselves in front of beautiful things.  I get it.  I'm just too awkward to be that person.  :)

February 21, 2019: Photo bomb!

We're back at the North Coast, enjoying the sun and the sand.  I've loved vacationing with this little dude.  He's one of the coolest kids I've been around (and his parents are pretty ok too).  He makes legit sandcastles, and gave us reason to occasionally get out of our lounge chairs.  Without him, I may have melted right into the chair.   

Feb 20, 2019: Preparing for Suess week

Dr. Seuss week quickly approaches.  The books have been selected. each day's theme set, the reading challenges prepared, the Oobleck ingredients gathered, make your own-seuss inspired story books assembled, and, as you can see, a giant measurement hat created.   I think we are set.  My second favorite time of the year is about to begin!

February 19, 2109: Goof balls

When you go to the bathroom during dinner, and you just happen to leave your unlocked phone on the table...

February 18, 2019: tricked out cab

Cab rides in Egypt are usually pretty interesting. Tonight we got the privilege of riding in a cab that had lights on the ceiling and floor that pulsed to the bass of the music.  Bobbleheads on the dashboard and special lights on the front windshield.  I may never be happy in a standard cab again. 

February 17, 2019: wingspans and tails

The measurement project begins!  This group researched the wingspans of various animals. (My other group researched the length of animals' tails).  Then they made life size versions of these animals' wings and compared them to themselves and to the other animals' wings.  They worked collectively on google slides presentations.  I was extremely impressed with their hard work and enthusiasm!

*The kid pictured is working on a life size model of a bald eagle's wing.

February 16, 2019: Reading List

Between book club, family and friend Bible studies, and planning for summer travels, I've got a few books on the docket. 

I wasn't the hugest fan of James Patterson.  He was entertaining, but not life changing.  His antagonist was a bit unbelievable.  I highly suggest the book Crazy Love, by Francis Chan.  READ IT!!!!

February 15, 2019: Pyramids half marathon

This was my first international race.  I´m hooked.  I can now say I´ve run in 27 states and 2 countries.   I´m already looking ahead at next yearś vacation spots to see where I might be able to race.

This race was memorable for many reasons.  There were lots of unexpected elements- two huge hills, sandstorm like conditions during the last half, a stretch of unpaved, rocky desert sand, and almost no spectators.  Thank God for Danielle and her family, because seeing them at about mile 11 was exactly the boost I needed to finish.  The wind and terrain made it a pretty rough race- my legs felt more sore after this run than they have after any other half- almost comparable to how they have felt after a full marathon.  There were some pleasant surprises too- I anticipated pollution and heat, but neither were a problem.  The slight smell of camel poo in the air was not as bad as anticipated, and was actually motivation to run a little faster.  The photo finish at the end was pretty unbeatable.  Baggage claim and the shuttles back to the hotel were both hot messes, but we got through it just fine, and we have learned to roll with things like this!  I learned how to say ¨Good job" in Arabic and can´t wait to yell it to all the runners on the corniche the next time I´m out. 

February 14, 2019: bumpy ride

This is us, crammed in the back of a golf cart, getting a ride to our room. I was too lazy to remove my backpack/suitcase before getting on, so I was nearly hanging off the back of the cart, holding on to Michele and Kate so I didn´t go flying off.  We thought a picture was a fun idea, but I was holding the camera with one hand, the golf cart topper with the other, so Michele was trying to push the button.  And it was bumpy.  Turned out to be quite a process.  Sometimes the little things can bring you lots of joy.

February 13, 2019: family chat

I facetimed Mom today.  She answered me on her computer.  A few minutes later, Jesse happened to facetime her too, so she answered Jess on her phone.  We have done group chats before (on fb messenger) so this is not new to us, but for some reason, we got the biggest kick out of this today.  We spent a good 4 minutes trying to adjust angles of phones and computer screens so we could get a picture of all three of us in the same frame.  We couldn't quite get Jesseś little screen to have one of our faces in it, but it was close enough.  I promise, when we are together in the flesh, we are just as easily amused.

February 12, 2019: Actual Size

We are in the middle of our math unit on measurement.  We read the book ¨Actual Size¨ by Steve Jenkins.   Have you read it?  Those of you with kids, I highly recommend it, along with most any other book by Steve Jenkins.  It shows you the actual size of different animals or parts of animals.  The kids loved it. (Who knew that a squidś eye was so enormous- bigger than my head!)  We had students pick a part of an animal (wings, eyes, tails, tongues, etc) and research the length of these parts on various animals.  Then they will create life sized models of each part and compare them to one another.  I chose teeth as my example for the students, and this picture is of me next to life-size models of an elephant tusk and a narwhal tusk!

Teaching is cool.

February 11, 2019: Welcome, Hana!

Hana started student teaching in our classroom last week.  She has been great.  Really eager to learn, loves the kids, and super creative.  We are very happy to have her join our team. 

February 10, 2019: Nothing cooler than this to show you today

The only picture I took today was of this white board filled with questions my students asked about meerkats.  Clearly a very interesting day today.

I´d like to promise that I´ll be more intentional about taking interesting pictures, but I´m not a liar.  Sorry.

February 9, 2019: Palm tree pruning

My friends and I are running a half marathon at the Pyramids next weekend.  We headed to Montazah this morning to get in a little sunshine and green scenery on our training run.  We saw some men pruning the palm trees.  I had heard that the men just climb straight up the trees when they harvest dates, but I hadn't been able to see it yet.  Pretty cool!

February 8, 2019: Two day training- day 2

Day 2 of training.  While it was a good training, full of applicable, relevant information, it was still the 6th day of work in a row, and my brain was a little fried.  At the first break in the morning, I went to the bathroom, only to find that the toilet´s water pressure was a little low and it wouldn't flush.  Our toilets at school have a hose bidet, and you can control the pressure of the bidet by turning a little knob on the wall next to the toilet.  I saw a similar knob next to this toilet, so I bent over and gave it a quick turn, thinking it might adjust the pressure of the rest of the toilet.  Nope.  It was the knob that actually turned on the bidet.  A massively pressurized jet of bidet water came shooting out of the toilet and soaked me.  I had toilet water dripping from my sweater and my pants.   I had to take my pants and shirt off and WRING WATER out of them.   You know me, I don´t want to make a scene or make anyone cater to me, so I just acted like nothing happened (luckily I was wearing black and dark grey, so you could barely tell I was wet).  I rejoined my group for the rest of the day, damp with bidet water.   You can bet as soon as I got home I was in that shower scrubbing myself.  I couldn't even bring myself to put those clothes in the hamper with the rest of my clothes.

February 7, 2019: Two day training- day 1

The kids got today off, but the teachers participated in a two day workshop on Adaptive Schools.  I woke up very tired and groggy, so I packed myself some Moscow-Mule flavored gummy bears- in case I felt like I needed a drink part way through the day, I could possibly trick my brain into thinking I was giving it what it needed.  I got to the training and sat by Mike, only to discover he packed himself a little backpack of games- cards and Pass the Pig, in case we had down time.  While neither of us packed ourselves note paper or writing utensils, I´m sure we were the two most prepared teachers present.

February 6, 2019: Nonfiction animal books

We are working on writing nonfiction books about animals.  Writing has been the most challenging subject to teach here.  My students struggle with writing detailed sentences.  One of my students is writing about birds.  She was having a hard time thinking of distinguishing characteristics of birds.  She could only think of "Birds have wings," so I drew this beautiful picture for her and asked her if this was a bird.   She got the point and was able to add a few more details.  I think she thinks Iḿ a little crazy too.

February 5, 2019: Four Seasonś flowers

Iḿ not the kind of girl who notices flowers.  Letś be honest, I don´t notice many things in general, but especially not flower arrangements.  We get massages every week at the Four Seasons.  They have different flower arrangements in the lobby and hallways each week.  I've begun noticing (and appreciating) the unique displays each week.  These ones were especially pretty.

February 4, 2019: measurement provocation

We began a new math unit on measurement today.   We have begun many of our new units with some sort of provocation - we give them various materials, ask an open-ended question, and let them explore.  Today we gave them various paper of different lengths, various sets of objects (some good for measuring and some definitely not), and asked them ¨What can you tell us about the size of these papers?"   It served as a great pre-test.  My kids know very little about choosing good units to measure and then measuring accurately.   Lots to learn!

Feb. 3, 2019: 100th day of school!

The 100th day of school is by far my favorite day of the year.  Hunting for 100 hidden Hershey kisses around the classroom is by far the kids' favorite activity of the day.  We always have a great time.

At the end of the day, one of my kiddos asked, ¨Miss, what will do on the one hundred-oneth day of school?  More candy?" 

I think we might start with how to pronounce ordinal number greater than 100.   And Iḿ always up for more candy.

February 2, 2019: cozy kitty

Found this little guy napping on top of an ATM inside a shopping mall.

Pretty typical here. 

February 1, 2019: I have NO recollection of this picture...

Yep.  No idea why I took this picture, where I was, or what I was doing at the time.  That´s the problem with me waiting so between blog updates.    You just get to see a random, interesting building with no background story today.

January 31, 2019: Thursday shenanigans

We had a great time hanging out on the roof, playing cornhole, and throwing darts.  I of course didn't take any pictures when we were actually hanging out. Too busy enjoying the moment. Thankful for this group of friends I have found here.

January 30, 2019: Matching

I called Meg today after my run.  What are the chances that she ALSO went for a run and was wearing the exact same color scheme I was?  Stripes and coral for the win!

January 29, 2019: Short o poem

We study quality literature in first grade.  

January 28, 2019: from brown to less brown.

Mom needed to send me a baby picture for a school project.  I hadn´t remembered how dark brown my eyes were as a baby. (or how much I looked like a boy). I was chatting with my mom about how surprised I was about this. I needed to prove my point, so I sent her this picture.  

I´m realizing that because I often forget to take pictures of normal things, you are getting to see a tiny dose of what itś like to be in a group message thread with the women in my family. We are an odd bunch.

January 27, 2019: Headache Yoga

I get nasty headaches after I run.  It most likely has to do with the fact that I am dehydrated all of the time.  I have a small bladder, and having to pee every 20 minutes when youŕe a teacher isn´t ideal… so I deprive my body of water instead.  Makes sense, right?

I´ve heard that if you wear sunglasses while you run it cuts down on headaches, so I started doing that.   I know I put a plug in for goodr running sunglasses before, but seriously, theyŕe fantastic. A couple of my coworkers who are into yoga told me that there are some good yoga poses that help with pesky headaches, so today Sherry showed me this picture.  Looks like Iĺl need to try some of these. And by some of these, I mostly mean the first one. Not sure my body is physically able to do the other two…

January 26, 2019: sunrise

This morningś sunrise was one of the most interesting ones I have ever seen.  The colors were nothing spectacular.  The sun looked just like the moon.  It was a clear, white ball suspended in the air.  I´m not sure if it was because of the haze or fog, but the sun itself was crystal clear, and you could stare straight at it.  (Not that we did... kids, you should never stare right at the sun)...   It stayed like this for a few minutes and then turned more into a standard sunrise with the bright rays and hard-to-focus-on sun.

January 25, 2019: they match- ish.

Danielle took a little weekend away and went to the North Coast for a day and a half.  It´s the same Med, but the water out here is so much clearer and brighter than it is in Alexandria.  We spent hours napping, reading, and chatting on the beach. 

Also I bought these ridiculous sunglasses online from goodr.  If youŕe a runner, I highly recommending checking them out (you can get them online at www.goodr.com).  They are the best running sunglasses I have ever used.  No fogging, polarized, no slipping, light weight awesomeness.  Just be aware that they are much more vibrant in real life than they look online.   Every time I have worn them, someone has commented, which was not my intent.   But theyŕe the best.

January 24, 2019: Oh Lord, my God, You are very great.

My mom and sisters and I are reading through the book ¨Crazy Love" by Francis Chan.  If you haven´t read it, I highly recommend it.  It´s a great look at how intensely awesome Godś love for us is.  We are only on chapter 3, but it has been a great read so far. 

The entire first chapter covers who God is.  God as a creator.  Chan challenges us to look at the world around us and take note of the intricacy of creation.  Some of my favorite passages in the Bible are the ones that talk about God as the almighty creator.  I´ve always loved nature and creation because it reminds me how huge, creative, and intentional God is.  I sent this picture to our family group chat because Psalm 104 is a great reminder of Godś greatness and power.  It´s longer than just this page in the photo, so if you haven´t read it before, look it up.  You can google it if you don´t have a Bible.  Itś a good read!!

January 23, 2019: Crab Fest 2019

I miss Kodiak all the time.  All. The. Time.   I hope I find another place to live that fits me as perfectly as Kodiak did, but I also love the challenges that new places have brought as well.  But I´m beyond grateful for the time I had on that little island. 

I experienced three years of crabfest and never bought any official swag from it.  I have my half marathon race tshirt, but that´s it, and I was ok with that life decision.   But then I see that this is the logo for Crabfest 2019.  I need this shirt.   Calling all Kodiak friends: please send this shirt to my parents' house in the states and I will get payment to you!!!!!!

January 22, 2019: Strawberry season: part 2

And when itś strawberry season, there are strawberries for your crepes in the morning!!!!!!

January 21, 2019: Strawberry season

Strawberries are in season here, and they are SOOOOO good.  Huge, juicy, fresh, and dirt cheap.  I bought a gigantic container of them in the store for around 30 pounds, which is less than $2.   A little different than Kodiak prices!

January 20, 2019: didn't see that coming...

Once again, I forgot to take a picture, and didn´t remember until I was in bed. I planned to take a quick selfie, and I made a Jim Halpert-esque ¨What else do you expect from me" type face, but I had NO IDEA the flash was going to be as intense as it was.  I actually yelled in pain.  The resulting picture was too funny not to share.

January 19, 2019: Ritz-like

A part of being overseas that has been (not surprisingly) difficult for me is the amount of anxiety I experience when people want to hold potlucks.

I moved to this school in Egypt for many reasons, but one of those reasons is so I would never have to cook.  Ever.

I disliked making potluck food in the states too (which is why I ALWAYS signed up to bring the paper plates or the cans of soda) but at least there I had a pinterest board filled with ideas in case I didn´t make it to the sign up in time to bring one of my go-to items.  Here, however, I have to have 55 plan Bs because I have no idea how to find the substitutes for the things we can´t find here.  And I clearly do not have enough cooking creativity to be spontaneous. 

Today I got a text from Danielle asking me if I could look for ¨Ritz-like crackers" for her.  BOOM.  This one turned out to be easy enough!

January 18, 2019: triumphant return to running

Things my body can´t do*

1. Sing and clap at the same time

2. Shoot a basketball without looking like I have chicken wings

3. Talk to a group of people without turning red

4.  Catch 96% of things thrown at me

5.  follow directions in a dance or aerobics class

6. almost anything that involves reflexes

7. pronounce the word ¨challenge¨ without being laughed at 

8. raise just one eyebrow

9. observe most details around me

10. cartwheels

Things my body can do: 

1.  Go out and run 8 miles after three weeks of absolutely no physical activity.  It doesn´t look pretty, but my body can get that shit done.  And for that, Iḿ extremely thankful!  Todayś run was a little painful, and I´m still a little sick, but I was able to jump back into my training.  Hopefully Iĺl be ready for the half marathon in a month!

*As a teacher, I have to make sure I include the word ¨YET!¨ after all of those.  Growth mindset.  (she giggles to herself trying to believe that even with all the practice in the world she´d be able to shoot a basketball someday...)

January 17, 2019: What you don´t know can't hurt you... right?

Since I have a local Egyptian phone number, I randomly get texts from companies here in Egypt.  My texts come through to my watch, so a few times a week, I get notifications like this.  There is one letter in Arabic that looks like a smiley face.  I usually scroll through the text and see if I can find that letter.  (This text has it... fourth line down, first letter on the left). If itś in the text, I just assume that someone is texting me to tell me to have a wonderful rest of my day.