Christmas Break!

Christmas is only 3 days away!! I can't believe it's almost here!

It's hard to get into the Christmas spirit in Kuwait. At home you see Christmas decorations in homes and stores, Christmas commercials and Christmas movies are playing on TV and it's cold outside. We don't have a tree, but we do have our stockings up, a Christmas tree scented candle burning and of course Christmas music playing all the time! I think one thing I miss more than I thought I would is playing the piano! I love playing carols and hymns on the piano and this is the first year without it!

So the plan for the next few days was last minute and unexpected, but most definitely a blessing! If you talked with us this summer, you probably heard about the visa processing fiasco! The list of things to get done to have a work visa issued is intense-background checks, degrees, teaching certificate, marriage license all authenticated in Raleigh and Washington, DC, along with a slew of medical tests. When everything was almost done, we were told to just enter with a visitor visa.....it was a mess!! 

So to finish the visa process, the school is sending most of the new teachers Jordan for 3 days. Some took the trip in September, some will go in January and a few of us were asked to go in December. The date kept being pushed back, but we got the final word on Wednesday that we are going to be in Jordan Saturday to Tuesday!

Working at an Islamic school, we only get Christmas Day off, but with this trip, I will be out of school Sunday and Monday : ) We'll fly into Amman, Jordan tonight and come back right before our Christmas Eve party! 

Here are our plans for Jordan, Insh'Allah: 

1. Visit the Dead Sea-It's going to be in the 50s during the day, but I hope we can still take a dip : ) 

2. Visit Bethany Beyond the Jordan-this is the part of the Jordan River where Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist. 

3. Enjoy food and drinks around Amman-apparently there are some places in Jordan that are very "American." Maybe we'll see a Christmas tree! 

We're looking forward to the Christmas Eve party, Christmas morning breakfast with friends at our place (minus the sausage, bacon, quiche and grits) and of course skyping family and friends! I can't wait to see what Santa brings Reagan and Reece : )

Merry Christmas! Love the Phillips, 2012

PS. I counted 13. Sorry.. I wrote the word "Christmas" 13 times in this post. Can you tell it's my favorite holiday? 

Update

I don't have much to blog about, but here are a few updates!

1. It's official! Mom and Dad received their passports yesterday and are ready to travel!

In February, Michael and I will go on a safari in Tanzania and then meet Mom and Dad in Zanzibar! Just 9 weeks away : )

The next few weeks are 4 days weeks, which will be nice! We have professional development this Thursday, Christmas day off and New Year's day off.

2. After watching the news this morning, I have never felt safer in Kuwait. The girls who teach here always talk about how safe we feel. We can go to the mall or walk down the street and not have to worry about getting mugged. Fun fact: Guns are outlawed in Kuwait.

3. A colleague showed us this video yesterday- kids talk, and then adults act out their conversation. This one is called Math Class. Teachers-you will love this!

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was wonderful! We had a potluck dinner with our colleagues/neighbors/friends. As you can see, we had quite the spread : ) We ended up eating in the gym in our apartment building. The table is our ping pong table covered with the most neutral/Thanksgiving color Michael could find-teal! It's nice to be surrounded by friends and good people especially during the holidays when we're all missing our family : )

At least we got to Skype! We sat at the table with the Gardners-I've been missing the casual dinner conversation, so it was nice to just sit and listen. And of course we caught up with the Phillips!

Keri showing me her "plastic surgery" face hahah

Reese is saying "Hey Aunt T! I love you and miss you sooooo much! You're my favorite aunt!"
Well I'm translating her babbling, but I'm pretty sure that's what she is saying. 

Before Michael and I told Reagan, "Help! We're stuck in the I-pad!"

Brody!! 

The one thing we miss from home that we talk about at least once a week! 

Other than Thanksgiving, everything has been pretty routine here. It's cooled down quite a bit-highs in the low 70s. We've also had a few cloudy and rainy days!

We might be taking a weekend trip to Jordan. The school is sending some new teachers to take care of our visa process.

Thought I would share this video! It made my day last week when I watched it, because it is all the funny things southern women say! It is hilarious!!

I'll write a classroom post next and then hopefully a post about our trip to Jordan (Insh'Allah!)

Fireworks!

Yesterday Kuwait celebrated the 50th anniversary of signing the constitution! Last night at 8pm they put on a one hour long, world record fireworks show-77,282 fireworks that cost $16 million!

Michael and I figured the only fireworks we have seen are Fuquay-Varina's Fourth of July, Morehead City's Fourth of July, at the state fair, and in Disneyworld. So you can imagine watching a show this big is something we will remember for a long time! 

The firework show took place along the Gulf Road for a 4.4 km stretch (which might be another world record.) We got a cab close enough to walk. There were 10 zones and we sat in zone 8 right on the water. Unfortunately right on the water does not mean sandy beach, it was large rocks, but everyone climbed down and found a somewhat comfy place to sit. It was perfect, because no one was in front of use and we were only 100 yards away from the barges that were setting off the fireworks! 

There was music, lights, airplanes with fireworks, kites, and screens projecting videos. 

We got home around 10:30pm so I was pretty tired when my alarm went off this morning at 5AM! Lucky for me, the Emir announced late last night that school would be cancelled today for the 50th anniversary! Sometimes I don't appreciate how everything is last minute, but this morning I loved the surprise!!

Election and SCUBA

Yesterday was probably one of my favorite school days. This week, we've been discussing the election-who was running, when it was going to take place, and how people vote. The week before we had discussed Sandy, so when I showed pictures of Obama and Romney one boy asked, "Miss, how come they didn't die in the hurricane?" I guess that's what I get for showing pictures of Sandy's aftermath.

So when the boys came in yesterday morning and saw CNN on the smartboard they asked right away, "Who won? Who won??" I explained that we didn't know, but the news was updating us as votes came in. They saw the map and understood the different colors and what the colors meant, so they started to count the states. 

We usually have reading groups first thing in the morning, which we did. But my guided reading group  became independent reading so I could look at the computer! Finally the results came in (my boys were pulling for Obama so there was a bit of cheering.) After reading, I thanked them for working so nicely and quietly so that I could watch the results.

I asked them "Why do you think the election is so important to me?" Right away they answered, "Miss-it's your home country!" Kuwait boys understand having pride for your country! It was wonderful to see them be so understanding! We even watched a little bit of the first two speeches. They kept asking who I voted for. Emotions mini-lesson: Would I be happy or sad right now if I voted for Romney? Would I be happy or sad right now if I voted for Obama? Who do you think I voted for? 

The excitement wasn't over after the speeches. Mr. Michael the SCUBA diver came in to share a presentation! He showed pictures, video, and his equipment. They boys loved it!! 

I made him put on everything but the wetsuit. Yep-fins too! 

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka was amazing! It was never a country we thought about visiting, but we're really glad we went!! From Kuwait it's an inexpensive flight and a great option for a week holiday. We stayed at Rita's hotel. 

Photo of the restaurant side.

One of the rooms

 


As you can see in the photos, it was more of a big guesthouse than hotel. The room we stayed in didn't have AC, but we didn't need it because we were in our bathing suits the whole time!

The beach in Hikkaduwa was beautiful! 

The sun was really intense so we had to be careful how long we stayed out. The water was refreshing and the surf was great for Michael! Most of the day was spent with friends at the hotel restaurant enjoying a cold Lion beer and eating! The food was delicious-vegetable noodles, fresh calamari, curry, chopsuey, avocado and tomato toast, freshly squeezed juice! And everything was so affordable!! The room was $25 a night, food was $4 for entrees and beers were $1. 

There were days when we actually got up from the table other than to lay out and swim! We went shopping around Hikkaduwa where I got a few dresses. It's amazing how clean the streets are. We even saw men cleaning up leaves after rain. 

We visited a sea turtle hatchery/rescue. They're having problems with people digging up sea turtle nests to sell the eggs for people to eat (men eat them for virility.)

We released a baby sea turtle!

Our flight was Tuesday night, so early Monday morning we left for Kandy which is 3 hours north in the mountains. We visited a tea factory, shops, herb and spice garden, pineapple plantation, and saw a Sri Lankan traditional dance performance. 

We also visited the Tooth Relic. This Buddhist temple is one that all Buddhists will visit at least once in their life. After Buddha died, his tooth was found on the pyre, someone tried to destroy it and couldn't (the miracle) and now it is in Sri Lanka in a gold shrine polished so bright that it's white our photos.

Easily my favorite part of the tour was riding an elephant! Puja is a 25 years young Asian elephant. Looks fun but it was really scary! At one point he reached up to get leaves off a branch, but the change in angle felt like he was about to sit! 

We stayed at a nice hotel that night (the same guesthouse feel). The hotel was not near a busy road and the windows had open screens above it, so we could hear all of the animals in the mountains. It was like someone was playing a "sounds of the rain forrest" CD.

The best part of the trip were the people who went! We're all teachers at ACA in Kuwait and all have a travelling heart. Even with our strict "No School Talk" policy, we enjoyed rich conversation,  lots of laughter, and singing and dancing every night! 

This was a quote on a wall in Rita's hotel: 

"A ship in its harbor is safe, but ships aren't meant for harbors."

Two beach bums in the desert...

In twenty-four hours, we will be heading to the airport!!!

This break is for the Islamic holiday Eid al-Adha or Feast of the Sacrifice. It falls on the tenth day of Hajj (when Muslims travel to Mecca). They sacrifice a sheep in honor of Abraham who was willing to sacrifice his son, and God had him sacrifice a sheep instead. Muslims who don't go to Mecca still sacrifice a sheep and pass the meat to family, friends and the poor.

This also means that we have a holiday!

So we will be flying out tomorrow night at 10pm. We arrive in Sri Lanka around 6AM and then ride 4 hours to the hotel in Hikkaduwa. That means around 10AM Sri Lankan time, I will be on the beach, in my bikini with a drink in my hand! Sand, salt water, sea breeze, clouds, rain, and stars! So excited!!

Life in the desert is tough for beach bums; especially a beach/dive bum who has been out of the water for 2 months! Michael is already checking surf reports.

I just have to get through one more school day and tutoring session and then I'll be on island time!!

Desert Camping Trip

Friday night was the Desert Camping Trip! It's a trip for ex-pats living in Kuwait and is put together by the Sand Ballers (a paintball group in Kuwait.) Michael went early for the paintball portion, and I came later on the bus. There were teachers there from our school and other schools as well as ex-military who are now contractors and their family and kids. Some people brought their dogs too which was really exciting for us! We never see dogs in the city. I didn't have my camera but Elizabeth got some great photos! 

We were in the middle of the desert-10 km from the Iraq border!

Photo of the campsite from far away. 

Bombed out buildings where the paintball games and dinner took place.
This was the first place Iraq invaded during the Gulf War in 1990.

Setting up the tents was wild!
The wind picked up and sandblasted us right when we were setting up for a good 20 minutes!
It was all we could do to hold on to them without getting sand in our eyes!

All of the delicious food!

 

Nice photo of the sand. Unfortunately a lot of the area was trashy.
Littering is a big problem in Kuwait City. 

Great experience with great people!

Eat, Sleep, Lesson plan

This week was interesting. There's a normal speaking voice and a teaching voice-which is a lot louder! Well this week I had a sore throat and lost my teacher voice and almost my normal!

Yesterday we had a Hajj celebration. The third graders acted it out with costumes and props. It was quite a production! I'll have to borrow some photos and put them up tomorrow!

The rest of this post is just teacher stuff, but we're going on a desert paintball/camping trip tonight so there will be a update post tomorrow with pictures : )


These are my random thoughts of a first year, second grade, boys' campus teacher in Kuwait:

• I taught a lesson last week how to say Miss Toni. They were saying Miss or Miss Tonya (like tone-ee-yah) So I drew a stick figure and said, "Look. Toe. Knee. Toe-knee. That's my name.
• My to-do list is never ending and there's not enough hours in the day. 
• My maxi skirt gets caught under the wheels of my desk chair daily.
• Second grade boys have learned that if they cross their legs, grab the front of their pants, squirm and give the bathroom signal, it means emergency and they will be given permission. So, we had a talk the other day-only use one had to give the bathroom signal-no grabbing with the other! haha
• There's no shame in lesson planning the night before : )
• Kids love routine and it helps with their behavior. 
• I did an author study on Laura Numeroff, and explained that part of her writing day includes walking her dog. My boys yelled out "Haram!" So my TA discussed it's only haram if she keeps the dog inside. (It's not too common to have dogs as pets) It's so nice having a bilingual Muslim TA!
• Pinterest-it's a love/hate. I love all of the great ideas, and I hate that I can't do them all.
• I choose small group instruction over whole group any day.
• "Actually" now has a new meaning. Example: I'm introducing a lesson but I already asked the boys to get out their scissors and gluestick...big mistake! They can't pay attention so mid sentence I say, "Actually, we're going to talk on the carpet!" 
• When I need a dry erase marker-I can only find a pen. When I need a pen, I can only find a pencil. But I always have my clipboard! It has my schedule, class list, informal assessments, lesson plans and to-do lists. I lost it for one period last week and almost lost my mind!
• When my boys do really great, I feel like a proud momma!

The past three weeks, we've working in small groups for reading block, and this past week we worked in small groups for math. But this upcoming week my math stations and literacy centers will be in full swing!! I am so excited, because I know it's best for my active boys! Can't wait to let you know how it goes!

Kuwaiti Fashion

Quick update:

Had a great week! Michael and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary! I took the day off so the kids were kind of wacky the rest of the week. I'm learning that if they're schedule changes in anyway, we have break downs in behavior.

Next weekend will be going on a desert paintball and camping trip. I'm not playing paintball of course, but it should be fun! And in 11 days we'll be flying to Sri Lanka! I can't wait to get back on a beach!!

I've decided that's what I miss most about home (besides family and friends of course!) Right now the leaves are changing and the weather is cooling down in NC. I miss fall! I miss fresh air!! I miss the ocean!!! Michael and I counted the stars the other night from the rooftop...there were 9. But I was promised stars this weekend out in the desert!

We went to the mall today, and I forgot my camera-again!! So I decided to show you some Kuwait fashion, but all of the photos are from the internet.

This is group of Kuwaiti women.

The women show that modesty can still be stylish.
High waist pants, blazer, pumps and a coordinating hijab. 

And some women cover everything bu their eyes. 

In the malls, even if they are covering their face, you can still see their eyes and eye make-up. 

No matter what the women wear, they are dressed up! I love the fancy make-up and accessories!

Here are two Kuwaiti men wearing dishdashas and ghutras. 

This is the inside of Avenues Mall-the largest mall in Kuwait.  

Reading Week!

This week was reading week and by far the best week yet! 

Bulletin board! Thanks Ms. Eman!

Grade 12 boys came in to read to my class.

One of the perks of being on a campus with middle school and high school.

Our very first Author Showcase!
Can you tell how well they're listening? ; )

All of the parents who attended the showcase

The parents brought food for the occasion.This is what was leftover after the kids left!
Lots of savory pastries, donuts and cookies!

My Little Critters in the Reading Parade! 

The parade ended at 11:00 but since I postponed their spelling test and we celebrated before the parade, all of the parents took their sons home! Turned out to be a half day for me!! 

Next week is going to be great!! Math stations will be in place soon, so teaching the kids the different games is fun! I'm also having small groups for English and finally getting in phonics instruction and guided reading! We start social studies, because science and social studies switch midway. Basically my kids are used to my expectations and procedures, so I am able to implement the practices that I feel are best for their learning needs.

Michael is going to be the high school boys' PE substitute teacher all next week! At least the grocery shopping will get done thanks to taw9eel.com! 

We put the order in online and they deliver them for free!!

If things get too busy we can always have a maid clean our apartment. It sounds crazy but most of the teachers here hire maids to clean once a week-they do laundry, dishes and everything for 5KD! Don't worry mom-I'll clean!! haha But it's nice to have that option : )