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!