My second official conference day has come and gone....fortunately without any incidents!
This time it was a lot easier than the previous. I didn't have as many parents show up, although there were still a lot. It was nice to be able to spend more than 5 minutes with a parent. Usually by the time you sit down and start talking, it's time for them to leave, but that wasn't the case this time.
Luckily all the interactions were positive. No one told me that their child was scared and actually many said that their child liked my class (which was the opposite the first time because I was still being the mean teacher, establishing my routine and expectations).
Sadly though, I began to wonder if this is to be expected, at least while I am here. The kids that are truly struggling and the parents that I've tried and tried to contact, weren't there. These are the ones that I need to talk to the most, but no luck. I wonder (and slightly assume) that this will be the case in the future as well, which makes it even tougher to try and reach some of my students (and future students).
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Friday, January 26, 2007
My February break.....
I've been attempting to plan this February break ever since I got back to Cairo. It's the thing that I am currently looking forward to and excited about. I'm planning on heading to Jerusalem, Israel next Friday. I have a hostel booked for a few nights and then I'll work on making my way back to Egypt.
It's funny, because I don't even have my bus ticket yet. I went to try and purchase it today and as I looked through the window at the man sitting at a computer and an old-school printer, I knew it wasn't going to be an easy conversation. Luckily there was an older gentleman there that spoke a little English and he translated for me.
Turns out I can't even buy a ticket yet. They told me that I have to come back on Tuesday, to buy a ticket that will allow me to leave on Friday morning, around 6:30 am.
This made me think, can you imagine how air travel would be if this was how you had to do it? Imagine not being able to buy your ticket until 3 or 4 days ahead of time? How insane would that be? What if there wasn't a ticket for you? You had the hotel booked, the plans made, you had already taken time off from work and then......no room for you on the flight. It's amazing.
The funny thing is that the instant I cross the border into Israel, everything becomes modern again. The tickets are done on a computer, no problem how long I want to book in advance. After I walk across the border, I'll take a bus to Eliat, a resort city and then from there I'll board a bus to Jerusalem. In all, the bus rides should take around 10 hours, from what I'm told. I hate long bus rides, so it should be interesting!
It's funny, because I don't even have my bus ticket yet. I went to try and purchase it today and as I looked through the window at the man sitting at a computer and an old-school printer, I knew it wasn't going to be an easy conversation. Luckily there was an older gentleman there that spoke a little English and he translated for me.
Turns out I can't even buy a ticket yet. They told me that I have to come back on Tuesday, to buy a ticket that will allow me to leave on Friday morning, around 6:30 am.
This made me think, can you imagine how air travel would be if this was how you had to do it? Imagine not being able to buy your ticket until 3 or 4 days ahead of time? How insane would that be? What if there wasn't a ticket for you? You had the hotel booked, the plans made, you had already taken time off from work and then......no room for you on the flight. It's amazing.
The funny thing is that the instant I cross the border into Israel, everything becomes modern again. The tickets are done on a computer, no problem how long I want to book in advance. After I walk across the border, I'll take a bus to Eliat, a resort city and then from there I'll board a bus to Jerusalem. In all, the bus rides should take around 10 hours, from what I'm told. I hate long bus rides, so it should be interesting!
Saturday, January 20, 2007
My Anniversary.....
Well my friends and family and random readers....I thought that I'd let you know that we have officially reached the one year anniversary of the wonderful little blog known as Where am I?
It all began over a year ago (1 year and 4 days roughly) with a little hope and a dream.....and it's kind of still there, but now I have an idea of what I'm doing!
I just wanted to thank everyone that has read, responded and shared this blog with me over the past year. Please keep the comments and requests coming!
It all began over a year ago (1 year and 4 days roughly) with a little hope and a dream.....and it's kind of still there, but now I have an idea of what I'm doing!
I just wanted to thank everyone that has read, responded and shared this blog with me over the past year. Please keep the comments and requests coming!
My First Game....
I was able to attend my first football match in Egypt a little over a week ago. It was on a Thursday night and I went with a friend to meet up with another teacher whose husband plays for the Arab Contractors, one of the local teams. They were playing against the African Champions, Al Ahly, another local club. Unfortunately, Al Ahly is the biggest club in Cairo and probably Africa, with a huge following. So what was supposed to be a home game for Arab Contractors, turned out to be a road game in their own stadium.
The Ahly fans packed what little areas of the stadium we could sit in. The military was all over the stadium, fully equipped with their riot gear, just in case things got out of hand, which was truly an interesting sight.
We were able to sit in the section reserved for family members of the home team and the seats were great. We had an amazing view of the pitch. The only drawback was that the four of us were probably the only people in our section cheering for the home team.
Sadly Ahly won the game 5-1. While that seems like a beating, they didn't earn most of their goals. There was a poor PK call, a handball before a goal and a bit of luck all in Al Ahly's favor (and when you're the champs, you get those types of calls).
We had to sprint out of the stadium before the game was over so that we could avoid any potential problems with Ahly fans or the military, who aren't the best folks to run into late at night.
The Ahly fans packed what little areas of the stadium we could sit in. The military was all over the stadium, fully equipped with their riot gear, just in case things got out of hand, which was truly an interesting sight.
We were able to sit in the section reserved for family members of the home team and the seats were great. We had an amazing view of the pitch. The only drawback was that the four of us were probably the only people in our section cheering for the home team.
Sadly Ahly won the game 5-1. While that seems like a beating, they didn't earn most of their goals. There was a poor PK call, a handball before a goal and a bit of luck all in Al Ahly's favor (and when you're the champs, you get those types of calls).
We had to sprint out of the stadium before the game was over so that we could avoid any potential problems with Ahly fans or the military, who aren't the best folks to run into late at night.
Sunday, January 07, 2007
My Request....
Okay...so I've shared with you how cold our apartment is. It's currently 56 degrees in here and we have no way to heat this place. Does anyone have any ideas for us to keep this place warm? Or maybe to just get it warm?
We've thought about buying some space heaters and Alex has one in his room....but it only heats the area 4 inches away from the heater, so it does no good. Does anyone have any ideas at all???
We've thought about buying some space heaters and Alex has one in his room....but it only heats the area 4 inches away from the heater, so it does no good. Does anyone have any ideas at all???
Saturday, January 06, 2007
My Freezing Ostrich....
Okay, so I put up one serious post and now it's time to put up a fun one to go with it.
Tonight I cooked ostrich. It was actually pretty good. We had two ostrich steaks and I made some mashed potatoes and gravy to go with it. Ultimately, it was pretty good and something that I will totally make again. I wonder if I can get ostrich in Iowa? Is this possible? Can anyone look into it for me?
On a side note, our apartment is freezing. The last time we checked, it's only 58 degrees in here....ALL THE TIME.
This (again) is due to the lack of insulation and the use of only cement blocks when creating this apartment. Oh, and the lack of any heating system other than the sun and the indirect sunlight that we get (the surrounding buildings block it all...it's nice).
Tonight I cooked ostrich. It was actually pretty good. We had two ostrich steaks and I made some mashed potatoes and gravy to go with it. Ultimately, it was pretty good and something that I will totally make again. I wonder if I can get ostrich in Iowa? Is this possible? Can anyone look into it for me?
On a side note, our apartment is freezing. The last time we checked, it's only 58 degrees in here....ALL THE TIME.
This (again) is due to the lack of insulation and the use of only cement blocks when creating this apartment. Oh, and the lack of any heating system other than the sun and the indirect sunlight that we get (the surrounding buildings block it all...it's nice).
My Intervention....
...okay, so before anyone gets worried, no, I'm not addicted to anything. I don't drink, smoke or do any of the other wonderful things that could possibly require some folks to intervene.
My intervention was entirely different. See, ever since a couple of years ago, I've struggled to get into any sort of relationship with someone. All thanks to that last relationship. It took away any sort of confidence I had. Since then, I haven't really been in a relationship (except for maybe one), due to a lack of confidence and a fear of rejection that have stood in the way....
Enter Dustin and Brad, two of my buddies that sat down with me and had a chat the night before I left (I think Sara would have chipped in, but she was pretending to sleep in the room). Leave it to two of your best friends to be bold and honest with you. They showed how much they cared and we chatted about a lot of things. Ultimately they gave me some courage and the confidence to move on get over the past. Now I feel like I'm ready to try again, with all I have.....
My intervention was entirely different. See, ever since a couple of years ago, I've struggled to get into any sort of relationship with someone. All thanks to that last relationship. It took away any sort of confidence I had. Since then, I haven't really been in a relationship (except for maybe one), due to a lack of confidence and a fear of rejection that have stood in the way....
Enter Dustin and Brad, two of my buddies that sat down with me and had a chat the night before I left (I think Sara would have chipped in, but she was pretending to sleep in the room). Leave it to two of your best friends to be bold and honest with you. They showed how much they cared and we chatted about a lot of things. Ultimately they gave me some courage and the confidence to move on get over the past. Now I feel like I'm ready to try again, with all I have.....
Thursday, January 04, 2007
My Safe Return....
No need to worry, I've arrived in Egypt. The current time here is 3:25 am, so I'm going to go and try to get some sleep.
Thanks to everyone that made time to see me over the break. It meant a lot!
Thanks to everyone that made time to see me over the break. It meant a lot!
My Schiphol.....
Well, I have officially arrived in Amsterdam, Schiphol Airport to be exact. I was going to take a train into the city, but it's pretty cloudy and wet outside, so it looks as though I'll be hanging around here for the next 7 hours. Sweet!
To be honest, I was a little disappointed to be heading back to Egypt. Don't get me wrong, I want to get back, see my students and finish the year on a high note. Not to mention that I have a little traveling that I would like to do.
It's just that for the first time in a long time, I actually had fun in Des Moines. Previously, I wasn't a big fan of the city. For some reason I just never fully enjoyed myself. But this time it was different. It could have been the wedding (congrats again to Dustin & Sara Miller), hanging out with friends and even making some new ones. I really didn't want to leave because I made some new friends that I would really like to get to know. But I suppose that will have to happen over email.
Well, I don't have much time on this cheap computer. I'll try to post again when I arrive in Cairo. The only thing is that I get in at 2 am, Cairo time and it's going to take me a while to get home. Until next time...
To be honest, I was a little disappointed to be heading back to Egypt. Don't get me wrong, I want to get back, see my students and finish the year on a high note. Not to mention that I have a little traveling that I would like to do.
It's just that for the first time in a long time, I actually had fun in Des Moines. Previously, I wasn't a big fan of the city. For some reason I just never fully enjoyed myself. But this time it was different. It could have been the wedding (congrats again to Dustin & Sara Miller), hanging out with friends and even making some new ones. I really didn't want to leave because I made some new friends that I would really like to get to know. But I suppose that will have to happen over email.
Well, I don't have much time on this cheap computer. I'll try to post again when I arrive in Cairo. The only thing is that I get in at 2 am, Cairo time and it's going to take me a while to get home. Until next time...
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