Writing for fun?!... Sort of..

I have been considering writing on here again for quite some time now. Since it's Thanksgiving break and I have a full day where I do not have to worry about the copious amounts of writing I have to do for my master's degree, I figured, "what better time than now?" Though, do I ever truly not worry about getting my work done?

This way, I am also covered for posting in the year 2015. ;) In light of it being thanksgiving, I figured I should start with things that I am thankful for. In a brief nutshell: family, friends, cats, TSFL, traveling, teaching, students, and so much more.

Man, this year has been full of changes. This artilce truly says it best:

http://blogs.wsj.com/expat/2015/04/15/repatriation-blues-expats-struggle-with-the-dark-side-of-coming-home/

There is a real challenge to coming back home from living overseas. Especially, returning to your "home town." Things that were nuances to me while I was living in Kuwait are now things I miss so deeply. Things that I once missed about home seem so distant and irrevelent now. I am extremely glad that I had decided to start this blog before going on my adventures in a different country. One of my favorite stories was when I decided to jump out of an airplane prior to moving my life overseas. As I went back and reminisced on old memories, I realized that from this experience, I truly did find myself. I mean, I literally had a post titled "Who am I?" My experience encompassed a vast range of emotions and personal triamps and struggles. Things I never knew I was capable of until I followed one of my dreams to live abroad.

One thing that I have found that has helped me immensely with this transition is to travel. There are always places on this earth that I will be happy to visit, and visit again. My family and I took a trip with some friends to NOLA (New Orleans) this past March. We saw some fantastic musicians, had aligator and crawfish Na'lins style, saw some people earn some beads, went to a southern plantation, went to a swamp, went on a graveyard tour, and much more! You can find so many things to do in this world, in any country or state. These unique things about the deep south helped to feed my curisoty about this world and what it has to offer.

I plan to visit the Grand Canyon for the 2nd time this March as a celebration of completing my master's degree. MARCH 27TH Y'ALL! October 15th, 2015 marked my one year anniversary with my master's degree. It has been a long haul, which has required a great deal of perservation and constant reading/ writing. I am officially down to two in a half classes and a portfolio. Then, I will be off to Roatan this summer! By then, I will have lost another 20 pounds and will be beach-ready. When I first got home, I had gained a lot of weight and I was actually at my all time high. Before our trip to NOLA, during our health check-ups, I discivered that I also had high blood pressure. At that moment, I decided to do something about it. So, I challenged my parents to a weight loss competition. One of my former colleagues from Kuwait had gotten in contact with me about this proram call Take Shape For Life. It is an AMAZING program. I have lost over 35 pounds so far and I plan to keep that going until I reach a weight I haven't seen since high school. Since I have had so much success with this program, I decided to become a health coach. March is going to mark a gigantic milestone in a lot of areas in my life. I will have my master's degree, and I will be at my goal weight. (Maybe a cornhole champion too?).

In lou of having a lot of drive and motivation to be successful and reach my goals, I have taken a spot on a team for the Gillette "Triple C Holers" cornhole league. We play on Thursday evenings. It is really nice to have things that you look forward to each week. For me, it's cornhole and community and jazz band.

Well, that's all for now. Let's all raise a glass to the holidays and only three full teaching weeks until Christmas break! 

You know, a lot of time and energy goes into becoming an expat. Not just personal effort, but effort that comes from different people all over the world. 

A Year At A Glance

Okay, first of all... I suck. I haven't posted in a really long time! Life gets busy. So, I figured I would do a year at a glance and hope I remember to post more often next year! Luckily I remember my passwords and everything hah.

The last time I posted was in October (yep.. I suck lol) of 2013 (and have to include the year lol). So, when it's hard to find pumpkins... you just find squash' and carve those instead! No one ever said that expats in Kuwait can't have fun! I must say, it's really nice to not be the "newbie" literally everywhere you go. It's also slightly fun to watch the current "newbies" go through exactly what you just experienced.

There are a variety of occasions that may or may not be "ministry" approved. So, sometimes when your school is having a gigantic... I think we called it... Masquerade parade.. the ministry might surprise show up. One of the many reasons why you need to live by flexibility, because inshallah.. god might will for a pause and resume to a fun and over-the-top halloween parade. (I mean Masquerade parade). haha.

The month of November was awesome because we had just had Canadian Thanksgiving and we get to celebrate American Thanksgiving. That's a lot of gooood eating! Oh, and by the way Canadians eat almost exactly what we eat so lots of turkey, potatoes, and pies! mmmm :) One of my first attempts at cooking a dish for thanksgiving turned out well, despite the propane tank running out on me mid way through. #cookinginKuwaitproblems.

In Kuwait, a lot of gatherings take place at peoples homes. We do a lot of impromptu roof top BBQ's, game nights, etc. When it's a dry country, you gotta do what you gotta do. There's also the number of occasions that happen at the embassies. These nights are NEEDED. You must try to go at least once a month (though it's pricey) in order to help maintain sanity.

Oh yes, and good news... Kuwait actually has some grass parks. They are like sweet, little hidden gems. Of course since there are like 8 million people in Kuwait.. they too, are packed.

Anyways, no need to worry.. I still commentate for my pets. Buster said he was a little nervous but ended up loving this grassy goodness... and it was quite possibly the first time he had ever seen or felt grass. Buster and Germo decided to be friends, too. They even cuddled a couple of times.

It was November 5th, 2013 and I posted on my timeline, "In 45 days, I will see my family in Dubai." Countdowns to significant events such as these can never, ever start too early. I couldn't believe that my family was actually coming out to see me in Kuwait. I felt like my worlds were going to collide and I was 100% okay with that.

Meanwhile, our AIS jazz band really started to blossom. We played for our school, and got a real gig for a christmas concert. Jazz band is the one thing that I NEED in Kuwait. It's my sanity piece that for one time every week I get to go and play with a talented group of musicians and forget about whatever stresses I've got going on with life and school. Our first gig went well and led us to others as we had hoped. When choosing our name for the band, it was between; Salmiya Swing Sensations, 3AM Schwarama and one other choice that obviously didn't get my vote lol. We call ourselves.. drum roll please..... 3AM Schwarma. If you didn't know, schwarama is a delicious and wonderful usually chicken wrap that's done perfectly arab style. If you add 3AM to that.. well I'm sure you can put it together (moonshine or real stuff too). So, the longer I live overseas.. christmas music and country music seem to hit home a lot more than ever before. In 3AM Schwarama, I get to do one more and play both of these favorite genres of mine. We play just about anything, though.

When Nelson Mandela passed, a friend posted a quote from him on facebook.

This quote really stuck with me as it pretty much sums up significant areas of my life as a human, a teacher, a learner, an expat, etc. In Kuwait, these last two years have been mostly falling (as a starting teacher, too).. but life is too short to dwell on the tough stuff. You just gotta do the best you can to get through the challenges and move forward. When absolutely everything around you seems impossible.. you move forward and you realize that you can face just about anything.

It was December 14th, 2013 when I posted, "8 days until I see my family in Dubai!!! xxx." I was more than ready.

To help pass the excitement, I had a bunch of friends over to celebrate christmas before we all left (and yes I'm going to say in my own apartment because that feeling lasts for a long time.. you know... having a home and all). I might have made the best chili in my entire life. (sorry to my future husband in advance.. if you exist) haha! Oh yes, I can't forget about the time when I got to do techinicals for a pantomime for the first time ever. Yousef and his acting friends were invited to do a Peter Pan panto for the Al Ghanim family. There are some family names in Kuwait that have big wasta (power) and the Al Ghanim family is one of them. Anyways, this birthday was for a young lady who was turning 12 and she got literally everything she asked for. Some examples include; an ice sculpture, several fancy food vendors, a private show, and so much more. They even bought a car that looked like a cab from New York City (you know.. like on broadway) and had their own adverts in the top. No pressure on me for running the techinicals for the first time, ever.. and congrats to me for only having one big mess up lol. Who needs rehearsals anyways?? On a side note, we did get paid of course so that was awesome!

It was December 22nd, and we had all made it to Dubai. Whew, I didn't realize this would be so difficult to sum up.. there is a lot to say.

This picture shows how I felt the entire time.. I'm thinking, "Hey guys... that's my family.. right back there.. yeah..  THAT'S MY FAMILY... yup.. that is my family right there!"

Jetlag doesn't get my family down.. they were troopers! While we were indulging on the start of our trip, we were also getting in our fill of "haram" things in while we could. (mostly the kind of haram things that you consume by drinking liquids haha). We got to see the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa.

We also saw about a million malls and cranes... maybe not a million.. but you get my point. It was a good place to visit before Kuwait in my opinion. It's a more modern city in Dubai, and it's very clean.

We all truly enjoyed our experience as first-timers in Dubai and were ready to head to Kuwait, the place I also call home. By the way, if you ever want to confuse the heck out of an expat.. ask them where they are from. (And don't be surprised if they reply with a big sigh and a lengthly response). Home is where the heart is.. well.. my heart is all over the place. How's that? lol

I was ecstatic that my family got to see my apartment (that I graciously waited a year for), my pets, my school and classroom, and all the other things that I would always tell them about. We got our fair share of malls in, in Kuwait, too. We saw the Grand Avenues, 360 Mall, Marina Mall.. and probably others too. We ate a ton of great food, which is nice to have people from my home here in the states help me describe the yummy goodness of food in Kuwait. They sure do it right there. People ask me, "What kind of food do you miss most from Kuwait and vise versa?" The answer for what I miss most from Kuwait is the bread and hummos and KDD ice cream. The answer for what I miss most from the states is bacon and beer.

One of the things I like to do on occasion to get the true Kuwait/ arab experience is to go to Souk Mabarika (the Old Souk). My family spent 7 hours there one day. They loved it. There is always so much to look at and see. Of course, I had to take them to the rug place there and the guys that work there always sit down with you and explain about the carpets. Time with these guys goes so fast and you're constantly engaged in the vast amount of knowledge that they are sharing based off of their true passion in life. They told us all about the stories that are behind the hand made carpets. Anything from what they think the age of the weaver is, to the gender, and whether they're left or right handed, and even the lifestyle of the weaver. It was fascinating.

It was strange to not be the person getting on the airplane. Either end, good-byes never get easier. We got to celebrate Christmas in Kuwait, and my dad's birthday! It was an amazing time and I look forward to Christmas in Wyoming this year.

January brings on the month of lulls. Everyone is sad that the break is over and also everyone is extremely poor this month it seems. Usually they pay us early in December so we go about a month in a half until the next paycheck. It's cold (yes, even in the desert) and most the time, people just feel like staying inside.

February is when Kuwait celebrates it's independence. We call it Kuwait Liberation holiday. I got to experience this in Kuwait this year and it was crazy! Everyone does really strange things like car surf and they all get dressed up in Kuwait's colors (red, green, black and white) and the children spray water guns (sometimes containing soap or other various substances).. all over the place. If you go down by the gulf road, you will be soaked. It's an interesting and fun time for sure. February also marks the month when I got Charlie, who's my lovely persian kitty friend.

March is usually the start of the dust season. We actually had a spring in Kuwait this year and had monarchs and lady bugs galore! It was lovely. Well, except when the kids would make a huge deal about every single lady bug they saw... hahaha. We also got a strange amount of rain this year. It wasn't like normal rain.. it would come in down pours and flood the streets. I watched an arab man dressed in a dishdasha (traditional dress) put bags over his feet and attempt to get into his car, from my apartment window. It was hilarious. We had exciting weather this last year. We even had a dust storm come through just in time to cancel parent/ teacher conferences and then clear up before they would have actually started. I also decided to concur Bahrain by myself for spring break. It was great!

Kuwait usually does a great job of creating over-the-top experiences. This year, they decided to put millions of dollars into a giant sand sculpture masterpiece. Here's a picture that will give you a slight taste in this event:

We also had our grade one assembly in March this year. It's always a lot of work and it's always worth it. Well, speaking from the whole whopping two of them I've done.

April and May are the months when both the teachers and the students are counting down to summer freedom. You're ready to move them on, but also sad because you've put so much work into them, and no matter who they are.. you know you will miss them. It's the perfect time to do our annual Bahrain drunk brunch. :)

I FINALLY got my driver's license... ask me and I'll tell you the story ;). Freedom had never felt so good. I could go or do anything whenever I wanted and just because I wanted to. I couldn't believe the difference this made in my life. The last month in Kuwait until summer, I went everywhere it seemed. I was always out driving somewhere. I even drove to Kihran to go to a chalay (fancy beach house) with some friends. It's like an hour and a half drive. I am excited to get back to Kuwait and have a home and a driver's license (complete with a car).. at the same time! I almost feel like I'll just be just getting started there, which is one tiny and minute, yet significant detail into how much longer I'll stay in Kuwait. I simply do not know where my life will go next or when it will go where it goes. Sorry for the unsatisfying answer.. but that's what I've concluded for now.

Here are some pictures of my apartment currently:

To help end the year, 3AM Schawarma put on a gig on a yacht! Now, that was fun.. schwarama included. :)

I also decided to make Buster an American. Though he has seen some grass before.. there was nothing like having an entire yard of that green stuff to himself. He LOVES it here in Wyoming.. and he will keep my parents entertained, (hopefully). Another prime example of what I mean when I say that my heart is everywhere... the most important things to me are just miles apart.

Well, my second year of teaching and living in Kuwait came to an end and as every teacher feels.. I was proud I made it. I am excited to go back for another year at least and see what happens!

Summer came and by the blink of an eye.. it's almost over already. There is nothing better than getting to spend quality time with family. It's always a game to try to see everyone that you want to see... and you just wont get to make it happen sadly enough. Being home after spending two years overseas is almost refreshing. The surprised and concerned shock is mostly settled at this point. It still happens and it doesn't bother me because I'm happy with my life choices and I'm enjoying what I do.

I got to visit my sister and her husband, Matt in Connecticut for just over a week. I enjoyed every minute that I got to spend with them. We did a lot of wine tasting, and I even found my new alto saxophone! The truly amazing thing is that three of my cousins from my dad's side were able to meet up. Like I said, there is nothing better than spending quality time with family. (and a little cornhole, bowling, and mini golfing too)

I went to Nashville for a family trip directly after being in CT. That's a total of 6 flights in less than 3 weeks for me. Maybe I am a little excessive about traveling??... nah...

It was a fun time and I felt like an all- American girl loving life on the streets of Broadway. I loved the honky tonks and how the streets sing in Nashville. It was fun to try out my new camera while traveling.

Oh, speaking of me just getting my Kuwait driver's license.. I thought I would give you a little break down of what driving is like in various locations in the world.

Kuwait: Driving- You have to approach the rule-less roads in Kuwait by thinking as if the streets are being filled with water. Everyone will take a space if it's open.

Getting Gas- You can always pay cash because it's super cheap and you pull up, do not get out of your car, let someone else fill your car for you, pay them and leave.

Connecticut: Driving- everyone... literally everyone goes usually at least 10 miles over the speed limit. I figured.. if I'm going the speed of traffic that I'm okay.

Getting Gas- You pull up to the nozzle, then you turn off the ignition, proceed to fill up your own tank, pay a fortune and leave.

Wyoming: Driving- you approach a 4- way stop and everyone is waving everyone else to go in front of them.

Getting Gas- Same as CT, you pay a fortune, fill it up yourself and leave.

Well, that's all folks... more to come inshallah! xx

Ramadan Kareem and more

Whew! Year two is a complete whirlwind as is evidenced by my sheer lack of posts this past year. As you can see though, I survived year two of teaching and of Kuwait.

Let's see, my year two in Kuwait went a little like this:

The beginning of the year... well, how do I say this nicely?... I have a fantastically challenging class this last year. They proved that to me the very first day of school where I had a student who was biting. Yes, biting.

Just a few months worth of memories...

***WARNING: THIS POST IS EXCESSIVE IN LENGTH***

:)

I do apologize for taking my time on getting another post updated. As I was telling my dad yesterday, "It's a perfect example of Kuwait." You get really excited and get your hopes up, and then wait, and wait, and wait, and finally.. like the blink of an eye things happen! Your day is MADE! Anyhow, again sorry for the length, but, you can't say you weren't warned. :)

I've mentioned on here that there are phases in culture shock. It's so fun for me to read back on previous posts throughout the year. In case you were wondering, I'm still normal and following the phases of culture shock. I'm realizing that the things that I got so excited about when I first arrived in Kuwait are now things that I am used to and think of as "normal." Some things I didn't notice about my home in the states, I have truly grown a new appreciation for.

I will do my best to keep all of this in sequential order. :D

March/ Spring break trip to Jordan, Petra, and that 'holy land'/ that country that must not be named: (that's March of last year btw)

Israel in a nut shell:

This was certainly a trip to remember. We started out in (Israel) or the 'holy land' or the kuwait/arab-approved 'Occupied Palestine.' This country is beautiful. It really wasn't on the top of my list of places to see (mind you, my list is quite large), but, I am so glad I went!

Petra in a nut shell:

Petra is an ancient city carved into the rock of the mountains. It is actually a city, like, it goes on and on. One of the most fascinating things about Petra was that these structures were built years ago, and many of them have almost a classical look to them.

This is a picture from Petra. It was truly beautiful.

The Dead Sea and Beyond.....

Here I am floating in the Dead Sea. It was so beautiful! You literally just float because the water is so dense with salt. It was effortless. 

This is the view from the resort we went to for the day to see the Dead Sea. **SO BEAUTIFUL!

It was so clear, and so blue.

Ah... Mazing!

The amazing scenic drive  from Petra to the Dead Sea made the freedom of having a rental car and driving WAY more exciting!

This is a picture from an old city called Jaffah near Televiv (Israel).













A Picture from the top of the Bahai Gardens (Israel still)!

The lovely beaches of Tel Aviv. 

The "Rock".... you know.. the one that Jesus moved when he was resurrected.

In the Ancient City of Jerusalem. It was super neat and kind of dark because the walls were so high.

Some decorative plates.

Oh, Hello Palestine...

Sam, Rose, and me in Jerusalem.

MMMM, MMMM, MMMM

So, back to Petra (because I am having technical difficulties).. and here's some of the Bedouin homes.

Camels!

The main thing you see when you enter Petra.. and then the city goes on and on and on.

More of Petra.

Rose and me riding camels! 

End of The Year Stuff....
Teaching: (in bullet point form)
-Final "student-led conferences": nailed them, survived them.
-last day of school: nailed it, survived it.
--Only real thing to say is "Woah, I made it!"

Life in Kuwait: (also in bullet point form)
-After the trip with renting a car.. low and behold, I am now the owner of a 2003 Nissan X-Trail. I've got a registered vehicle, but, no license! Ahhh the logics of Kuwait. I could write a series of long essays explaining the whole license situation. :/
-I've developed a new found love.. I mean LOVE of country music.
-*** NOTE: Weekend trips to Bahrain help with sanity purposes.
-Farewell dinner and Muttlah Ridge: Dinner= free food and bitter sweet goodbyes and Muttlah Ridge= the greatest contrast in land that Kuwait has.

-Fancy (paid) music gigs: I've been trying to upload a video of a couple of pieces from the concert, however I am having issues figuring that out. To put it simply, or perhaps not-so-simply; it's the most unprofessional- professional event I've ever been involved in. It was also possibly one of the greatest nights of my life.

-Does the packing ever end? Seriously.. does it?
-4 hour teaser after my year-long awaited apartment as well as 4 hour teaser of what it's like to actually have my cat Germo.
-Over 40+ hours on planes and BAM, I was home in the wonderful WY.

SUMMER!
South Korea + Layovers in Shanghai and Frankfurt:

I loved literally every single second that I was in South Korea. Amazing friends mixed with lots of green scenery, and great food will do that for ya! Click My Interview! to see the interview I took with Mag's (one of my best friends from Korea) company about U-Stream!

All of us are standing with the night time view of Seoul behind us!

Walking around Seoul after visiting the Palace. I was slightly confused at first about if I was in Seoul or Kuwait because I saw a man in a disdasha walking around. I thought it was really neat that they were doing an advertisement thing to support Syria. Go Korea!

At the Palace. It was HUGE, and I am sure we didn't see all of it, but good to experience none the less.

A taste of your not-so-traditional pingsu. MMMMMMM

I am taking the interview here about U-Stream. Check out the link above to see it!

Cold noodle and chicken meal. Actually quite good. :) YOLO

Riding bikes... stopping for ice cream... amazing view of the Han River.

So, so beautiful! So green, too! Sensory overload after living in Kuwait for  a year!

This night, I will never forget. It was so much fun! Dancing... Korean BBQ (with pork)... drinking good drinks... amazing friends.. the list goes on.
xxx

Korean BBQ and Soju :)

The fish market, where I tried a LIVE octopus! Again.. I've got a video but someone out there has gotta help me figure out how to upload it! Seems as it shouldn't be this difficult, but, hey I only teach first grade!

Here is a picture of the traditional pingsu. Pingsu is a desert that has shaved ice with a creamy flavor and redbeans and rice cakes. It's really tasty.

Korea <3

Nighttime view of Seoul.

Who am I?

“I am not the same having seen the moon shine on the other side of the world.” 
-Mary Anne Radmacher

So... Who am I?

Sometimes, when I look in the mirror, I don't recognize myself. I feel like I am looking at someone else, and then realize that it's myself. This year has helped me learn a lot about myself to say the least. It may be something only an expat can relate to but, I really am proud of taking a gigantic leap of faith to come to a middle eastern country all on my own (as a first year teacher). It sure is good to know I am still following the expected phases of culture shock.

My worst fear about moving half way across the planet is losing someone I love and care a lot about. Your expat family is amazing at being there for you but, they just won't ever completely understand me and my family and where we are from. It's the same for my "home" family, they won't ever fully understand the things I am going through here. It's a double edged sword. I LOVE both aspects of my life tremendously. It's just when you are on the down hill slopes, it's a little scary the sheer loneliness that you can feel. I'm strong, but man... I didn't know I could feel like this. Like I said, I've learned a ton about myself this year. A ton. A really good friend to our family had been fighting cancer, and he passed away recently. It's incomprehensible, but what I know, and can put into what seems like logical thinking, is that he is no longer suffering and he truly lived life to it's fullest. It's a bitter/ sweet reminder that you just got to live life.

I feel like some of the things that I thought I knew for absolute certain, are completely in the air and floating around. Like, for example, I came here and quickly judged people on their limited rights, or what I would see as being limited. However, it's my view based on my experiences. This does not mean that this way of living life is wrong, it is just different than mine.

A quick summary of what one day looks like in Kuwait- text from last night style: "Quick and simple- all over the grid. I got sick again... Surprise surprise. I've never lost my voice before coming to the sand box. So, I wasn't prepared for teaching like I would normally be. A student came up to me today and told me that she is happy I am her teacher. Wow.. Those are the moments a teacher sincerely enjoys. Then, on my way home I heard and saw an accident." NBD.. (no big deal).

Choir: I appeared in my first opera production, Dido And Aeneas. Man, that was a busy week! I finally got to retire the toga, abiyah, witches nose, fake plastic bow and arrow, and sailors hat. Now, we have been starting to practice a musical that we will perform towards the end of the year. It's called Sing Me A Love Song. Our pianist (the director's wife) composed the musical. It's sort of like high school glee style about cliches and facebook. A direct quote from our last week's practice, "It's about time someone wrote a musical about facebook." I guess you just need to be in Kuwait for that!

Jazz: Inshallah. Good thing this living in a hotel thing has taught me patience. Woofda. (I. Want. A. Gig. Now.) ya heard me.. I said NOW! hahaha.. inshallah. God just must not "will" it to happen...

Lebanon: This trip definitely goes down in the books as one of the best trips I've ever had. I literally loved every single minute of it. We had great times with great friends and saw some pretty mind-blowing and fascinating things.

We stayed at a hotel called, "Diana's Tower." It was pretty nice, although my standards of "nice" have gone down throughout my life. I'm generally just happy to be warm and clean. I keep telling my friends that I'll take the bathtub if we don't have enough beds- I think they think I am joking but I am not! I have never slept in a tub before, and for some reason after a few drinks it seems like a pretty comfy place to be.

The first big thing we did in Lebanon was visit Jeita Grotto, that was argued that it should be one of the top ten "Wonders of the World." People compared it to seeing the Grand Canyon. It's a gigantic cave, and it's just really breath taking and cool. So, yeah, I suppose I can see the comparison to the Grand Canyon because it is pretty grand. There is a part of it where you can ride in gondolas and take a water tour of it. However, that part was closed when we went because it was "winter." The part we did see was pretty surreal.

It only took one day in Lebanon to completely pull my interest. Everything about it was fascinating. There were mosques literally right next door to cathedrals. What?? I found Lebanon to be the best of both worlds. I know Beirut isn't exactly on people's most want to travel to lists, but dang..! I sure am happy I got to experience it. We would spend one day by the beach in Byblos (one of the oldest cities in the world- the alphabet was founded there), and then the next day drive an hour into the mountains and go snowmobiling. I LOVED snowmobiling. The mountains were huge and the view was so incredible. It was probably my favorite part of the trip. We also found ourselves at a club that was Super Hero themed and decorated like a comic strip. I promise I am not making that up.

Since this trip was during Kuwait Liberation Days, we ended up waiting for a while to get a taxi home. Apparently it's a good thing we weren't here for the holiday. I hear people walk around outside all day and squirt waters guns at each other, and even inside your vehicle. (KEEP YOUR WINDOWS CLOSED) Just on the night when we got back, there was bumper to bumper traffic and horns/ fireworks/ crazy lights everywhere because NO ONE HAD TO WORK THE NEXT DAY! ugh.. I can personally vogue for how grumpy teachers get when they NEED sleep, and can't get it!

Some pictures from Lebanon:

Teaching: Oh yeah.. teaching. Hah, wow... it seems like I have just blinked my eyes and poof, here comes April ready or not! Teaching has gotten a lot easier. I have relaxed, and I feel comfortable with it now. Just remember- constant reflections as well as constant trial and error are signs of "good teaching." I keep telling myself that life next year is going to be monumentally easier next year. Which, maybe that's the cause of my feelings of uncertainty towards the changes of next year. Am I going to need to find my own trouble or mischief just to keep things interesting??

Spontaneous weekend trips to Bahrain: Good friends equals good times. It may have been a little too soon after Lebanon, as it took my body a full week to recover from both trips. We had an all day- all you can eat/ drink brunch! This was totally amazing. Plus, they had a real pig, as in pork to eat! We met a whole bunch of marines who were at the same brunch. They kept telling us that we are so brave for coming over here by ourselves. (double ego-boost.. and *thank you mr. marine people). I sure didn't mind chilling by the pool in our 5 star hotel the next day, while drinking a glass of wine and eating my cheese and bread platter. Or, my adult lunch-able. (as Rose would call it) Man... some of the places you end up/ see in life..

Embassy nights followed by singing our hearts out: A couple of us from choir went to the British Embassy (surprised?) to watch a group perform Julius Cesar. Of course, they made us wait until after the show to induldge on Embassy- real- drink goodness. Then, they cut us off early! So, what better thing to do than to go back to one of our apartments and sing at the top of our lungs while drinking post- real- embassy- drinks of red bull and sour cider for several hours? Man, we pulled up some good tunes. We also allowed a portion of our evening/ early morning for patriotic singing. Now, let's talk about mixed emotions. I gotta say though.. I really am proud to be an American.

Life in Kuwait: No apartment still, but there will be one for me next year so that is good news! :D Some friends and I were talking about how buildings are built here and how scary it is. I said, "Chyeaah, if we ever head an earthquake, we'd be screwed." Which, is actually really true. The response, "Yeah, all you could do is hope for a quick death."

View out my window on Liberation Days.. bumper to bumper traffic.

1:30 or so AM dust storm!