Wow, time sure has been flying by. We spent this weekend researching flight prices and finally booked our flight back to the States for the summer. Never thought I would spend so much money on airline tickets, but we were pretty proud of our bargain hunting skills. Then we realized that we are going to be using these tickets in less than 4 months! As much as we love it here, we are very excited to get back to the good ole USA for some pork, changing rooms in clothing stores, and visiting everyone we miss so dearly. So you know, we will be flying back into Chicago on June 23rd and then we leave again on August 10th.
Other than that school is still keeping us busy. I'm still tutoring 4 days a week after school, plus Jamie's origami after school activity started well today. He made a fleet of spaceships that are proudly displayed in his room. We have three big events coming up in the next few weeks. Math day is a day devoted to doing mathy things, the Science Fair is exactly what it sounds like, and the Gala is a huge family-oriented fund raiser for Habitat for Humanity trip our school takes every year. I'm crossing my fingers that they have camel rides at the Gala like they did last year; it would make me very happy.
I'll leave you with a new word I learned a few weeks ago. Jamie has mentioned how crazy the drivers are here, so a fellow expat has come up with a word to describe someone who either passes you on the shoulder or squeezes between you and another car where there really isn't the space: passhole. Not entirely appropriate, but awfully funny at the same time.
Tara
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Gardening and Origami
Hello everyone!
Two things this week. The first is our garden. It is actually growing! Our tomatoes plants have gotten much bigger, but we are still waiting for them to produce. Our cucumber and pepper seeds sprouted. I (Jamie) only killed one cucumber by accidentally stepping on it, but I think our garden will have more cucumbers than it can handle anyways. I even took some old green onions from our fridge and stuck them in the ground and they seem to be growing also. It is quite the experiment and it will be a race against the heat as spring comes when our garden should be producing. It is also interesting to watch which plants do the best without direct sunlight because we don't get any in our patio. The whole experience is fun for us!
Second, Tara has purchased that new designer abaya she was talking about a few weeks ago. The mom of a friend has the abayas made and sells them to help fund her orphanage in Malawi. It is quite nice and the color in it makes Tara feel slightly rebellious.
Third, I am starting an origami After School Activity. I know, I know, you may be thinking, "what does Jamie know about paper folding?" I'm sure the kids will be asking the same thing. I'm waiting to see how many kids sign up. It doesn't really matter what I know because it is just to give the kids something fun to do. I will probably learn more than them.
In other news, our Thailand trip is coming up in about a month. Tara bought the travel book she has been wanting and we are about to book our hotel in Koa Samui for the rest of our trip after the conference. We are also looking to book our tickets home for the summer, and as much as we like our lives here we are very much looking forward to coming home in four months.
Bye
Two things this week. The first is our garden. It is actually growing! Our tomatoes plants have gotten much bigger, but we are still waiting for them to produce. Our cucumber and pepper seeds sprouted. I (Jamie) only killed one cucumber by accidentally stepping on it, but I think our garden will have more cucumbers than it can handle anyways. I even took some old green onions from our fridge and stuck them in the ground and they seem to be growing also. It is quite the experiment and it will be a race against the heat as spring comes when our garden should be producing. It is also interesting to watch which plants do the best without direct sunlight because we don't get any in our patio. The whole experience is fun for us!
Second, Tara has purchased that new designer abaya she was talking about a few weeks ago. The mom of a friend has the abayas made and sells them to help fund her orphanage in Malawi. It is quite nice and the color in it makes Tara feel slightly rebellious.
Third, I am starting an origami After School Activity. I know, I know, you may be thinking, "what does Jamie know about paper folding?" I'm sure the kids will be asking the same thing. I'm waiting to see how many kids sign up. It doesn't really matter what I know because it is just to give the kids something fun to do. I will probably learn more than them.
In other news, our Thailand trip is coming up in about a month. Tara bought the travel book she has been wanting and we are about to book our hotel in Koa Samui for the rest of our trip after the conference. We are also looking to book our tickets home for the summer, and as much as we like our lives here we are very much looking forward to coming home in four months.
Bye
Our thriving garden! Compare it with the first picture. It really has grown quite a bit.
Tara is modeling her new abaya. Can I say "modeling" and "abaya" in the same sentence?
Friday, February 12, 2010
Life
I (Jamie) am realizing that every week our lives happen or we happen to our lives. You can choose your own philosophy on that one. My point is that after six months of living and working in Saudi, this has become our lives. There isn't a huge shocking cultural revelation everyday or every week. Seeing six Indian men riding in the bed of a compact pick-up truck going 75 mph down the highway in the morning is normal. Saudis causing a bottle neck situation at every busy intersection by making a two lane road into four lanes and then having to get back down to two lanes when the light changes is expected. Seeing a two year old sitting on his/her dads lap while he is driving is scary, but not shocking. Having to check when prayer time is before going to a store has become routine. All of these things we used to think of as weird are now just a part of life. We have settled in.
Settling in is a big reason why we haven't blogged in two weeks (I believe this is our longest gap). I'll quickly fill you in on what has been going on. About half of our 9th and 10th graders have been on a Habitat for Humanity trip in Bangladesh for the past 10 days. Last week we had normal 7th and 8th grade schedules, but did not hold classes for the high school students that stayed behind. Instead, the students spent all week doing service projects around the school (I have a very organized storage room now!). Our friend Cory (who also has a very clean storage room now) headed up the week with Tara and I working with him. On a side note, Cory realized last week that he has not been mentioned in our blog so I'll fill you in quickly. Cory and his wife Natalie were the first ISG veterans we met. They took us around and helped us settle in and have become good friends of ours. Also, they have a beautiful 3 and half month old baby boy and a big sweet dog named Marshall they rescued (ok, Marshall is sweet if he likes you, but scary if he doesn't. Don't worry, he loves us).
Anyways, the kids did a lot of cleaning in classrooms, reading to little kids, picking up liter, making bulletin boards and huge Dr. Suess mural in the library. I also had a crew working with me to renovate the landscaping by the gate entrance. We are still working on that project.
Besides what is going on now, we are planning for our more blog-worthy events. At the end of March we will be in Bangkok, Thailand for our teacher convention and spring break. After the convention we plan on spending about a week on the island of Koh Samui. Also, my big brother Seth is now deployed to Djibouti, Africa until this summer. We are both on the same time zone now and plan on getting together in Bahrain for a weekend when he can take leave. And looking way out to June, we are going to do a week long trip around Ireland on our way home.
Sometimes we really miss being back in Wisconsin, but I tend to think our great jobs and travel opportunities make it all worth it.
Until next time,
Jamie
Settling in is a big reason why we haven't blogged in two weeks (I believe this is our longest gap). I'll quickly fill you in on what has been going on. About half of our 9th and 10th graders have been on a Habitat for Humanity trip in Bangladesh for the past 10 days. Last week we had normal 7th and 8th grade schedules, but did not hold classes for the high school students that stayed behind. Instead, the students spent all week doing service projects around the school (I have a very organized storage room now!). Our friend Cory (who also has a very clean storage room now) headed up the week with Tara and I working with him. On a side note, Cory realized last week that he has not been mentioned in our blog so I'll fill you in quickly. Cory and his wife Natalie were the first ISG veterans we met. They took us around and helped us settle in and have become good friends of ours. Also, they have a beautiful 3 and half month old baby boy and a big sweet dog named Marshall they rescued (ok, Marshall is sweet if he likes you, but scary if he doesn't. Don't worry, he loves us).
Anyways, the kids did a lot of cleaning in classrooms, reading to little kids, picking up liter, making bulletin boards and huge Dr. Suess mural in the library. I also had a crew working with me to renovate the landscaping by the gate entrance. We are still working on that project.
Besides what is going on now, we are planning for our more blog-worthy events. At the end of March we will be in Bangkok, Thailand for our teacher convention and spring break. After the convention we plan on spending about a week on the island of Koh Samui. Also, my big brother Seth is now deployed to Djibouti, Africa until this summer. We are both on the same time zone now and plan on getting together in Bahrain for a weekend when he can take leave. And looking way out to June, we are going to do a week long trip around Ireland on our way home.
Sometimes we really miss being back in Wisconsin, but I tend to think our great jobs and travel opportunities make it all worth it.
Until next time,
Jamie
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