It's a Conspiracy!

Well, this week was by far the hardest week of teaching I have experienced.  Sunday turned out to be an ok day of teaching except for the fact that I was pulled out in the middle of my English lesson on the letter P to attend a meeting about school safety since I am on that committee.  Not too sure why the meeting had to be done in the middle of the day, but whatever.  After school I was attending my committee meeting when the Arabic HoF came and told me that I was no longer on the safety committee and instead I was going to be placed on another committee which was currently meeting in our Principal's office.  Well this committee, I'm not too sure what it is called but it has something to do with academics and behaviors of the students.  It's a lot of paperwork, that's what I've decided.  
Monday was the day from hell.   NONE of my students wanted to listen, they were fighting with each other, pushing, shoving, talking as loud as they could during my lessons, getting up and running around the classroom, fighting over who was second in line(I have a line leader, never thought second in line was something to fight about, apparently it is if you are 4).  I couldn't believe what I witnessed.  After school (keep in mind this was supposed to be our short day which means we are able to leave at 12:45), we were asked to stay to attend the shortest first aid and CPR training I have ever witnessed, good thing I am already certified and nothing has changed since the last certification I received.  We were told that in this country if we come upon someone who is not our family that we cannot help them, we were told (and I am not joking when I type this) to ignore the person and walk away.  I couldn't believe I heard the nurse at school say that and I'm pretty sure the other teachers felt the same way.  The manikin the nurse was using kept loosing "it's" jacket exposing it's chest which embarrassed our nurse and made us giggle!  
Tuesday was a day I was not looking forward to at all.  On Monday night I popped in The Ron Clark Story to get some inspiration on how to teach difficult children and it brought my mood up and prepared me for Tuesday.  Tuesday wasn't any ordinary day, I was alone with my kids all day because my co-teacher was at another KG school in MZ observing what they do.  I came prepared, I raided my cabinets for any sweets I didn't want and showed my kids at the very beginning of the day that if they were well behaved they would get a treat from me.  Boy did that work, they weren't angels by any means, but they were pretty well behaved.  One thing that made me laugh was one of my little girls asking me if she could use the bathroom, I told her no (they were supposed to be cleaning up so the nurse could talk to them about healthy eating and give me a break).  She proceeded to ask the nurse if she could go and I looked at my student and said no you may not go to the bathroom, you need to help clean up.  The nurse looked at me and asked me why I wouldn't let her go to the bathroom and I informed her she didn't need to go, she just didn't want to help clean up.  The nurse looked at me as if I could read the child's mind, it made me laugh!  
Wednesday, the kids were back in rare form, I had one little boy who had sat out from circle time every day this week as well as last week too because he wants to talk and sing and make noises on purpose while I talk.  Well I had enough and when my co-teacher came back in the room, I explained to her that every day this week and last week he has had this poor behavior, well, she told me we would fill out a behavior log for him and call his parents.  The look on his face was PRICELESS!  hehe, I know I shouldn't giggle at this little boy getting in trouble with his parents, but let me tell you the stuff he does while I'm teaching is enough to get him suspended in the states.  After school we had yet another meeting that didn't start on time and ended late.  In this meeting we were pretty much told that without our principal and vice principal, we wouldn't know what to do and that a leader tells you what to do.  I almost vomited, a leader is someone who leads by example, encourages and supports their staff, but I guess that isn't the case at our school according to our principal.  
This morning, I woke up, checked my phone and found a message from a coworker who normally takes the bus to school in the morning, she said she didn't even get on the bus this morning because the fog was soo bad and that she would like to ride with us to school when we go.  Well, I got up and looked out my window and couldn't even see the courtyard!  I text the other girls and we made a decision to not attempt to go until 9.  Rebecca didn't even attempt it was so bad!  9 came and went and the fog stayed!  We called it a day and stayed home, I guess our principal was upset that 4 of her EMTs weren't at school, but I'm sorry I am not going to risk my life to get to work.  Anyway, it sounds like I complained a lot about this week, but it was tough, I know next week with me better and I'm looking forward to it. 
Ah yes, I forgot to mention the fact that we got a new student this week, who doesn't like to stay in the classroom.  The first day I tried to get her back in the classroom and she became dead weight.  After that, if she wanted to leave, I let her, I can't leave my whole class to chase after one child and there are supposed to be bus moms in the halls for this reason.  I know that back home, you can't let a child roam the halls, but let me tell you, here it is different...... Enjoy the pics!

These are the things the kids can choose from for breakfast (cheese croissant, popcorn, juice, zatar croissant)

This is what they are supposed to do when they are finished with a center, rarely happens!

CPR

Having fun in the play area

Community Helpers is our theme this week, so they get to dress up!

It's Good to be Back!

I know I know, I haven't blogged in a month, but here it goes.  I flew home for the holidays to surprise my friends and family, they had no clue I was even coming as I told them I was going to Ireland for the holidays.  I arrived at 11:30 on Sunday the 15th of December, was picked up by my best friend and one of 4 people people who knew I was coming home.  She drove me to my sister's house to surprise her.  I had this whole plan worked out where I would surprise her, she would drive me to my parent's house to surprise them and my dog.  The plan worked perfectly, everyone was surprised.  I cannot thank Justine enough for keeping my secret and picking me up from the airport!  
On Monday, I ventured to Federal Way to surprise Daniele at school.  This was an extra special surprise for me because she was super bummed out that her boyfriend was sent on a mission for the Air Force and would be gone over the holidays.  Well, I walked into her classroom and she burst into tears! I spent some time in her classroom talking to her students about where was teaching and what it is like. I also brought Moe in to visit, he was so excited to see kids!
Tuesday was a big day of surprises, I arrived at my old school early in the morning to visit with Ann who also kept my secret.  It was like old times sitting in her room with Moe, my Starbucks and good conversation.  One by one each teacher and staff member arrived.  They walked into the Ann's room, saw Moe got really excited and then looked up and saw me and were even more excited!  The next few days included me helping with the school's Advent program.  
the greatest surprise of all time came Tuesday afternoon when I surprised Dylan as he returned home from school.  In the video I have you can't see him on the bus, but his face was in SHOCK!  He was stunned one because I was there and two because he thought his mom got a new phone because she was holding mine to record his reaction.  He ran off the bus and gave me the biggest hug!  I cannot express to you how much I missed him, he is like my little brother and will always be.  It makes me sad that I won't be there for his big moments like I have been the past 5+ years, but thanks to technology, we can make something happen.  
The rest of my time at home was spent with family and friends and of course shopping at Target, the UAE really needs to get one, like yesterday!  My brother and sister in law came up from California for Christmas as well.  They were the other ones who kept my secret.  It was great to have everyone together for the holidays, it made coming home that much more complete.  As my time dwindled at home, I realized how grateful I am to have such amazing friends and family that support me.  I said goodbye to them with a heavy heart, but I was weirdly excited to return to my new home.  I never thought I would consider Abu Dhabi my home, but I truly do.  
Returning was not as easy as it was going home.  My flight in NY was delayed because of snow for 3 hours, yes we sat on the plane for 3 hours, finally took off and I ended up missing my flight in London. I was rescheduled on another airline to leave in 3 hours, I was exhausted and worn out from not sleeping much the night before and not really being able to sleep on the planes.  I arrived in Abu Dhabi at 2 am, stinky and tired.  My baggage did not arrive with me, I tried to get a rental car and they didn't have any until later that morning, so I hopped in a cab and went to Casey's where I showered, talked with her about being back home and then fell asleep for 4 hours.  We  woke up and visited with Lindsey for a bit then went out to shop at the local Carefour to get a few things.  We also stopped at Jones the Grocer to enjoy the goodness that IS their food!  I eventually got my bags at the airport that evening as well as a rental car and arrived back at my place at 11 pm only to wake up and get ready for school.  
School these past two weeks have been interesting.  We don't have a HoF anymore, so communication between us and the Arabic teachers isn't really happening.  They did appoint Pepper to be acting HoF, hopefully that will help with the communication issues.  We had this Sunday off because of the Prophet's birthday.  We took the kids to the Mosque in town where they were taught how to pray.  It was sooooo cool to see them all pray.  We also took them on a field trip to the park around the corner from the school.  It was a beautiful green lush park, it was completely surrounded by a wall so you forgot you were in the desert since it was so green.  The kids had a blast playing all day!  
Here are some pictures from my trip home, enjoy!

Former 8th graders and Moe, so happy 13 of them showed up to visit!

picnic in the park!

Unbelievable

12/13 Part 2
Well, being as there is no affordable/good place out in MZ to get breakfast, Rebecca and I ventured into the city this morning to get breakfast at my favorite restaurant, Jones the Grocer.  I can't get enough of this place, I just wish it was located in MZ.  After breakfast, we trolled around the Mushrif Mall and then back "home" aka Al Whada Mall until it was time for us to head to the hotel to meet the safari people.  While we were sitting having a bun and juice, I saw my HoF walk by.  It was strange to see people I actually know here, and kind of cool at the same time.  
So, at the hotel, we hopped into a local man's SUV to head out to the desert.  I had no clue what I was in for, but let me tell you something, I fell in love with this country even more after the most amazing night of my life.  Before we made a stop at a camel farm, we stopped on the side of the road to let some air out of the tires.  When we arrived at the camel farm, we got out of the cars (mind you there are about 20 cars total) took pictures, pet the camels, I kissed one (I wanted to, but not a quickly as she moved, she turned her nose right into my lips), we looked around and then the guys called us back into the SUVs.  Little did we know we were stating to Dune Bash!  I cannot even begin to describe how freakin cool this was!  Imagine going over a cliff of sand SIDEWAYS!!!  Our driver was totally awesome, he did not follow the path the other SUVs were making, he made his own, while making us scream!  I was thrilled with his driving skills, at one point he was talking on his phone, bashing down the side of the dune, and steering with one hand!  He probably could have done it blindfolded if he wanted, he told us after joking it was his first day, that he had been doing this for 8 years.  We stopped halfway to our campsite to cool the cars off, take more pictures and take in the breathtaking scenery before being called back into the SUVs to start round 2 of dune bashing.  Our driver was amazing, did I say that already?!?! Even his music which was a mix of current songs mixed with Arabic verses was awesome and made the bashing that much better.  We arrived at the campsite and had the chance to ride a camel, which was slightly scary as they are such tall creatures!  Having them stand up, you are thrust forward and when they sit back down, you are thrust forward again.  
Inside the gated area were tables galore, very traditional, they are close to the ground and you sit on pillows to eat.  The buffet consisted of traditional foods from hummus, veggies, meat and rice.  The flavors were amazing and so was the food!  We were treated to a belly dancer for entertainment and had the option to dress in traditional clothing, get Henna, smoke Shisha (flavored tobacco) and sit and gaze at the stars!  The whole evening was amazing and I am so glad I was finally able to do it.  I can't wait to do it again, actually I just want to dune bash!  
12/14
Camel Festival!  Ok, so let me set the scene for you if I can.  When we first moved out to MZ, we ventured out to the Tilal Liwa Hotel.  This hotel literally sits in the middle of the desert, surrounded by nothing.  About a month after being here, we started seeing tents randomly pop up along the road towards the hotel and by the camel race track.  Today, it literally looks like a village!  There are over 25,000 camels along with their owners out here for this festival.  There are several things going on during the day from falconry, camel milking, date packing, camel beauty contests (yup, that happens), dog, camel, and horse races and a classic car show.  We decided to check it out today since it was the first day.  We drove out to the grandstands located halfway to the hotel.  As we pulled up, the police officers that were out there came to our window and told us to go in and check it out (we kind of stick out being as we were literally the only women and we are white).  We stood in the walk way because we didn't know where we could sit, then we were motioned to come with some people that worked for the festival.  We went into what we now know was the VIP section.  We had a translator (very nice Emirate man named Abdullah) who took us around to the camels and explained EVERYTHING there is to know about how they are judged, etc.  We spent lots of time with the black camels as they are the most beautiful.  We were treated to tea and dates before we went to see the camels.  While looking at the camels, we were interviewed by a local TV personality about it being our first time at the festival and what we thought of it.  It was like we were celebrities, we had a photographer following us taking pictures of what we were doing.  After standing in the sun for about 2 hours (and getting burned because I didn't put sunscreen on, sorry mom...), we headed back to our place.  The festival is something to see, if anyone is sticking around for the holiday break, make the trip out to MZ for it, you won't regret it!  I hope you enjoy the pictures, they don't do it justice, but at least you get the picture....

letting out the air in the tires

hehe

that's what we looked like, but more sideways

camel

I have never felt sand so soft

Our driver

amazing food!

our group

I love the black camels!

our guide at the festival

they decorate the camels to make them even more beautiful!

a baby only a few months old!

Such a Quiet School

12/9
Well, this morning I only had 5 students.  Three of these students have been consistently coming to school since after National Day.  Today was slightly different in that I had to take the neighboring teacher's class for English.  It was nice to teach more students and students that weren't mine.  Both the classes together didn't really mix well, the visiting students were good listeners and worked well at their centers, however my students thought it was a free for all.  After teaching them English, Amani took both classes for Arabic and Islam. 
12/10
This morning I arrived at school to see a parent pull up to the school with their child, a bus mom go up to that parent and tell him to take his son home.  So, there were no kids today.  I had heard from other teachers that the Cycle One school in Mirfa wouldn't have kids today and usually when that happens, the same goes for our school.  I came prepared today, my laptop, DVDs, and Uno.  We did have a meeting where our principal talked for about 2 hours and never paused to really let the translator translate, so I am not quite sure what the meeting was about.  The only thing I got out of it was that during recess time, the students aren't allowed to run around and have free play with whomever and whatever they want.  Instead they are to have structured play.  EXCUSE ME?!?!?  These kids are made to sit on the carpet and then in a chair ALL day and the one 15 minute break they do get to play, they aren't even allowed to do that, because that makes total sense.  My blood started to boil when this was translated, but I didn't say anything.  They will need to learn that sometimes you may have a really great idea, but it isn't always the best for the kids.  After our holiday break, we will see how this works out.  I was cautioned not to mention to them that I taught PE for this age because then I would be completely in charge of everything for the structured play.  I honestly wouldn't mind it if they would provide proper equipment and the Arabic teachers would be there to translate to the kids.  They lost their PE teacher this year, and that is something they really need.  When I take my kids into playground, which is just for my class in the play area, I take one of those hipity hop balls and kick it for them to chase after and they bring it back to me.  This activity goes on for 20 mins and they never stop.  Boy are they slightly tired after that, and they love it!  We shall see if I decide to let them know I can help with the structured play.  I do however want to help on sports day which apparently we will have in Term 2, at the park in town.  Now THAT I can do, hello Field Day! 
12/11
No kids again today, today was one of the best days of having no kids we have had.  I brought Uno again, and this time we played for a few hours.  It cracks me up how teachers get SO competitive at simple games, it's as if we take on our students' behaviors while playing games.  I also introduced all the EMTs to HEADSUP!  Oh my goodness, did we have a blast!  I have been wanting to play this with them since I arrived, but didn't know the right time or play to bust it out.  Oh my goodness, I can't tell you how much I laughed and to see how into it they all got made me so happy!  We did have another meeting, lots more translation because the translator held the meeting, but still very pointless a day before we go on holiday break.  I also ventured to the Tamm center where you can pay your electricity bills and such.  This was very entertaining, we found out where all the Emirate men work and hang out in Mirfa.  I also discovered that a few mothers of our students work here as well.  It was back to school after that and then we were finally able to go home. 
12/12
LAST DAY!  I can't believe I made it until Holiday Break.  This time went by so quickly, I hope that the rest of the school year does the same.  Today was the best day for a few reasons, one we played HeadsUp for hours, I recorded the best video of one of our teachers falling to the ground while trying to act something out.  You may think it's rude of me to think someone falling is funny, but she tripped on her Abaya and slow motion fell to the ground, she didn't hurt herself, and I almost peed myself I was laughing so hard.  Chauntell was the person guessing that round and she guessed falling, which made us laugh even more!  I saved the video and will be posting it on Facebook.  We also played a few rounds of Uno.  Playing HeadsUp made me miss playing it with the staff at Visitation.  All I had to do was start playing with one or two people and whoever walked into the staff room would join in!  I also miss playing with Daniele in my apartment.  She would come over to watch some TV, fall asleep, then I would wake her up and tell her she needs to go back to her apartment, but she would always ask to play HeadsUp.  We would end up playing for an hour!
We were able to say goodbye to our HoF :(.  We pitched in and got her a camel figurine to remember her time in the UAE as well as remember us and to say thank you for all that she did.  We were made to stay until 12:45 to leave, but as soon as 12:45 hit, we peaced out and hit the road back home! 
12/13
I am sitting on my couch right now, watching a fireplace on my TV while listening to Christmas music.  It is the weirdest feeling to not be in cold weather during the holidays.  I miss the rain and the cold weather.  I have been looking at the weather reports back home and seeing how cold it has been.  I noticed last night that it says rain for tomorrow, I looked at the precipitation and it said 100%, this made me chuckle out loud, only in Washington would it be a 100% precipitation, where as here it would say 100% humidity.  The rest of the day will involve my very first desert safari, filled with dune bashing, traditional food, camel rides, and lots of other things!  Stay tuned for part two of 12/13, in the mean time, enjoy the pictures.

Rebecca orders the coolest things!

SOOO excited for Callie and Scott!  Congrats!

Teachers, we come prepared!

Lamborghini on it's way to the Camel Festival!

Love these two!

My Uno crew (left-Pepper, Center-Chauntell, Right-Nina)

Fog, Fog and More Fog!

12/4
Well as we headed out for work this morning we quickly turned around due to the fact that the road disappeared 2 feet in front of us!  We all congregated at Pepper's flat where we had coffee and tea while discussing various things.  We finally felt good enough to drive around 9:00, we arrived at school only to find there were hardly any children to begin with!  We monitored them while they had recess and then they sent them home.  
12/5
Today is my dad's birthday, the big 70!  I called to video chat with him and sing happy birthday.  Before my alarm went off in the morning I was woken up by a text from Rebecca telling me that she wasn't going to head in right away because the fog was even worse today.  I opened my curtains and discovered I couldn't see the building across the way from me!  I let the girls know that I would attempt to come get them and if it was really bad, we would just come back to my place and wait for it to lift.  This indeed did happen, we watched a bunch of clips from Jimmy Fallon, my new obsession while we watched the fog roll out and literally one minute later rolled in so thick we couldn't see a thing!  We were pretty excited about it, it lasted so long we didn't make the journey in.  By the time we would have arrived at school we would have had to turn right back around and come home.  We also knew that there were only 37 kids TOTAL in school that day.  
12/6
Today was a relaxing day.  I enjoyed some coffee and toast with Rebecca while watching North by Northwest!  She had raved about this movie and since I had never seen it, I watched it with her.  I love old movies, it reminds me of home, my mom always has old movies on.  I made the mistake of venturing to the mall around 5 pm.  HUGE mistake.  Let me walk you through my experience, there were men EVERYWHERE!  That really wasn't the problem, I can ignore the starring, however what I can't ignore is the following.  To make matters worse every store I enter that has anti-theft things at the entrance I set off.  I have determined that it is my phone that sets off those things, not that big of a deal, but when men are already starring at you, the loudest siren in the world does not help!  I was followed from store to store which made me extremely uncomfortable and as a result I didn't get anything I had gone to the mall for.  I had forgotten that Friday evenings are not the optimum time to go out in this town.  I made it to the car wash to get my car washed (my dad would be proud!), it was so dirty, I tipped the guys who were drying it 50% because it was so dirty!  Boy does it look good now!  
12/7
This morning I made my way into Dubai to attend the Dubai International Film Festival.  This was an amazing experience and I am so thankful I was able to go.  I watched 3 movies today (my dream day, I love watching movies).  The first movie was Frozen which I highly recommend.  Before the movie started, the directors came out and talked about the film.  One of the directors did some animation on The Fox and the Hound!  The theater was one of the biggest I have ever seen and the seats were large and comfy!  After the movie, it was off to the next theater which was located in Emirates Mall.  This movie was called Ilo Ilo.  The story was of a Filipino nanny and her relationship with the boy she watched and the family she lived with.  It was very good.  The last movie on the list was one of my favorites.  The movie is called August and had a wonderful cast including Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts.  This was a play that had been turned into a film.  It was AMAZING!  Such a real story with real emotions about a Midwest family in the 90's.  I won't go into much more detail, but when it hits theaters, I see Oscar written all over it!  
12/8
No fog this morning :(.  To offset the fact that there was no fog, I only had 7 kids!  They were so fun to teach because they received lots of one on one attention from me which they crave! The day was great, the meeting after school, not so much.  I am getting really irritated having to sit through meetings that are courses I took in college and also are basic common sense.  Anyway, enjoy the pictures!

And the road is gone!

The building across from me is gone

Tickets to the Dubai International Film Festival

Surprise video chat with my brother!

Being weird with my sister

The directors of Frozen

Advent calendar and two coloring books sent to my Goddaughter via my parents!

 

Just Commit Already!

11/28
Well, today is Thanksgiving, although you would never know it here.  Of course they don't celebrate it, but still I guess I was thinking it would feel a little more like a holiday than it did.  School was canceled today for the American holiday.............JUST KIDDING!  It was actually canceled at 9:30 Wednesday night after Dubai won the bid to host the World Expo in 2020.  Yes, you read that correct, in the year 2020, but we celebrated with a day off today!  I headed to the city relatively early where I went to the mall with Casey and we came back to her apartment where Rebecca joined us.  We headed down to the BBQ pit area of her building where we and about 10 others joined in our very own Thanksgiving celebration.  We had so much GOOD AMERICAN Thanksgiving food, I had 2 plates full, and never the same food on each plate!  Rebecca made an awesome sign for us to hold for a picture to send home.  We sat and talked as the night got later, our conversation got more and more "silly".  I was able to make an appearance in Rebecca's video chat to see her mom and dad, that was fun!  Being so stuffed, it was hard to fall asleep, but it was all worth it. 
11/29
Dubai bound!  This morning we awoke relatively early to hit the open and dead road (everyone sleeps in here) for Dubai.  This was Casey's first time, so we took her to the Dubai Mall.  We shopped until we dropped.  We paused for lunch with my friend Krista who is teaching in Dubai, and Alex joined us for lunch and some shopping as well.  We made our way back to the city where we headed to an Asian influenced restaurant.  It was delicious!  Oh, I forgot to mention the best part of this day, we were in a grocery store in town and I just happened to look up from where Casey was grabbing something and I found LIGHTHOUSE RANCH!  I have been going crazy because the ranch they have in this country sucks!  I flipped out, grabbed a bag of pretzels and opened it in the car on the way back to Casey's apartment, I couldn't wait! 
11/30
This morning we headed to my favorite place on earth here, Jones the Grocer (I can't get enough of this place, probably because it was the first place I ever ate in this country, so it holds a special place in my heart).  After brunch, we headed to another mall to shop until we dropped again.  We came back to Casey's where we got ready to head to the Grand Mosque.  I have never seen anything as spectacular as the Grand Mosque.  We did a tour with a tour guide.  He told us all about the Mosque which was very interesting.  The late Sheikh is buried on site, however you are not allowed to photograph the building he is buried in .  We were there for the evening call to prayer and found out that it is not a recording that is played in over 3,000 mosques in the city, however it is a man who sings the call to prayer each day from behind the wall we were standing in front of.  I thought that was awesome!  We looked at a wall with 99 different names of Allah.  The carpet inside the mosque was hand woven by women from Pakistan and done in 9 different pieces and brought to the mosque to be put together.  It is the largest piece of carpet in the world.  I was lucky enough to be at the mosque during the day light and night time.  It truly is a beautiful place and the people are so welcoming in letting you enter.  After the mosque, we headed to Yas Island for a Mexican Fiesta Buffet.  Yes, you read that right, I have been craving Mexican food since I arrived and we found the mother load of Mexican buffets.  They had delicious food, treats, drinks, and dancing.  We headed back to Casey's after dinner and cheered on Rebecca's school as they played their rivals.  They won, so Rebecca was thrilled!
12/1
This morning, we got ready to head to the Central Souk where we had breakfast at Shakespeare and Co.  I had a delicious mix of eggs and salmon atop an English muffin and a delicious coffee.  This restaurant is adorable and eclectic, I loved it.  Rebecca and I headed home after we returned to Casey's place.  After taking a well deserved nap, we ventured out to the grocery store with Alex and then back home.  Rebecca and I watched a movie (Jobs, don't recommend it) and then I headed back to my place where I slept like a baby.
12/2
National Day!  Today, there were lots of cars driving up and down the main drag spraying silly sting while hanging out of their car windows, revving their engines and pealing out, and celebrating all that is their amazing country.  The amount of pride and love they have for their country is truly awesome and infectious!  Rebecca and I had a Christmas movie marathon, ok not a marathon, but we watched two Christmas movies.  We watched Elf and Polar Express.
12/3
4 kids.......yup, I had just 4 kids today!  I teamed up with another teacher and we taught both classes the letter F and had them make frogs.  It was kind of a pointless day, we shall see how many show up tomorrow, I'm hoping the same amount.  Enjoy the pics!

These guys were so darn happy to be holding this and proud as well!

Thanksgiving!

Prayer clock

Mexican Buffet

99 names for Allah

Fresh shrimp from the Fish Market by my house

Tour Guide

Shakespeare and Co.