Winter in Kuwait

Hi everyone! I know it's been awhile but January and February have been fairly low key this year. After a wonderful Christmas at home with family I came back to Kuwait and had to teach my kids about matter. Those of you who know me know I do not like messes, and I even let the kids create "magic mud" and other experiments in this unit...it was a tough task of to let go of my love of order throughout the unit. As you can see from the smiles on the kids faces they all loved the unit, and I am very thankful to have it be over now. :)

I experienced my first camel race at the beginning of February with my friends Mariam, Marisol, and Andrea. We went with an ex-pat group. Camel racing was nothing like what I expected-I thought it would be just like horse racing but with camels. The camels run 5K races though, so it's not done on a small track but throughout the desert. Bunches of followers in SUVs follow the camels around and it's videotaped so that the majority of spectators watch from inside a camel racing room. You can see below wha this looked like, complete with video! The camels were very fast (5 km in just over five minutes!) and so cute, it was fun to watch.

I spent five days in Abu Dhabi this month with two other teachers attending an International Baccelaureate conference about teaching their Primary Years Program. I've been a PYP teacher for a year and a half now, but I learned sooooooooo much at this workhsop. It was incredibly well organized and really refreshing to get so many new ideas in such a short amount of time. The school that hosted the conference was also very impressive, and it was fun to get together with other international teachers and compare experiences. I was also able to spend time with my good friend Kristin who lives in Abu Dhabi, including a yummy Mexican Valentine's Day dinner.

The most recent big change in my life is a haircut! Since I turn 26 on Sunday I decided it was time to chop off some of the hair I've been growing out for the last four years. Below you can see before and after pictures of the big event.

Life continues to be busy but good here. We hit 90 degrees fahrenheit today, so I know summer and summer weather are right around the corner! I'm going to Paris next week for our Liberation and National Day weekends with my friend Andrea, so I'm really excited for that, and then my friend Laurel is visiting in March. There's lots to look forward to, especially summer break, which doesn't feel too far away now! Hope all is well with all of you.

Assembly Rap

This is the rap my class did for the grade five assembly. Enjoy!

Autumn in Kuwait

Hello friends-

I'm 10 hours away from leaving Kuwait for a Minnesota Christmas, but I thought I'd update with the good things that have happened since mid-October before I leave. We definitely celebrated Halloween here in Kuwait, and I dressed up as a vampire (the True Blood kind, not Twilight, thank you very much) with two of my friends using an amazing costume kit we found here. :)

We'll save our prosthetic noses for another holiday. :) We had a little Halloween miracle this year when the power went out at school, causing an unplanned free day! It was still over 100 degrees at this point and humid, plus it was the day of conferences, so a little free time was much appreciated and celebrated with brunch with good friends.

Kuwait hosted the men's world championships in squash this October, and friends of my dear friend Marisol managed to use their "wasta" (connections) to get us really good tickets. I don't think I've ever watched a squash game before, but it was fun to get swept up in the atmosphere. We went to the final match which was between two Egyptian men, Amr Shabana and Ramy Ashour. The ministry of sport built a totally new glass outdoor arena for the championships, and it was fun to attend and get swept up in Arab pride cheering for the players.

Mid-November was spirit week at school, with a Halloween dress up day to make up for the lost day, crazy hair day and "dunk" the teacher! Which was actually throw a bucket of water on your teacher...but it was quite a fun week.

I was supposed to travel to Syria at the end of November for our Eid al-Adha break, but visa issues kept me in Kuwait. It's the first time my American passport has worked against me in getting a visa, but it ended up being nice to have five days to just lay around and relax here in Kuwait. I took the opportunity to do some additional decorating in my apartment, and I'm quite happy with the results.

Life at school continues to be really good. My kids are so much fun, I really enjoy being their teacher. They're definitely an energetic and enthusiastic bunch, and have a ton of personality. I'm still loving life in Kuwait, so I've officially signed a contract to come back next year.

Which brings me to the present time! There have been many Christmas parties and events this week here, and I'm super excited to go home today. I hope to see many of you over the holiday, and I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Cassie and Joel's Wedding!

Last week I had a whirlwind trip back to America for my cousin Cassie's wedding. Cassie got married on October 17th, and AIS let me use my personal days to go back to MN for a short visit. It was kind of crazy (50 hours of travel for 100 hours in the States!) but so worth it to be part of Cassie's wedding. She was a beautiful bride, and I think all of her friends and family love her new husband, Joel. Hannah and I were both bridesmaids, so it was fun to have family so involved in celebrating. I was also able to enjoy the beautiful fall foliage (especially at Olaf!), eat yummy Mexican and Greek food (which you can't get in Kuwait), and spend lots of time with family and Lucy. Even though it was a short trip it was great to be back in Minnesota, and to enjoy some relief from the 95 degree+ temperatures in Kuwait! I've posted some photos from the trip below.

The next big projects on the horizon are the grade five assembly on November 5th and then a trip to Syria or Jordan at the end of November. My kids are attempting to perform a rap about the skeletal system, which I will then attempt to edit into a video. Check out the blog next week and if it works I'll post the video. :) Until then!

Aphrodite's Island

The times that I enjoy my job the most tend to be during break times. :) We had a week off at the end of Septmber for the Muslim celebration Eid Al-Fitr, which celebrates the end of the fasting month, Ramadan. For Eid this year I traveled to Cyprus with two good friends from AIS, Mariam and Marisol, and my friend Kristin from Term in the Middle East. Cyprus is a small island located south of Turkey in the Mediterranean Sea. The island has had a tumultuous past, with the Greeks, Assyrians, Egyptians, Byzantines, Venetians, Ottomans, and British all ruling the island at various times before Cyprus gained independence in 1960. Cyprus is also considered to be the birthplace of the goddess Aphrodite, and you can visit the rock where she supposedly emerged from the sea. Currently Cyprus is divided between the Greek southwestern portion and the Turkish northeastern portion. We spent the majority of our time in the Greek side, but did spend a few hours in the Turkish part of the world's last divided capital, Nicosia. The whole week was really fun and relaxing. Highlights included the beautiful natural scenery...



The religious and cultural monuments, Orthodox Christian, Muslim, Greek and Turkish...



Getting to hand out with wonderful people, including meeting up with another group of AIS teachers in Cyprus for the break...

Renting a car and seeing how well Mariam and Marisol could drive on the "wrong" side of the road...

And, of course, plenty of delicious food and beverages that can't be purchased in Kuwait. :)

Cyprus really felt like a perfect combination of Turkey and Greece, and was definitely one of my favorite destinations. Now it's back to the grindstone at school, and we're back to our regular schedule. I'm still really enjoying my class, and finding this year much less overwhelming than last year. The year of experience last year makes a huge difference. I have nine days left in Kuwait before I head to America on a whirlwind trip for my cousin Cassie's wedding, which I'm really excited for. Until then, maasalama!