If anyone is looking for a way to help our rather damaged world there is a great charity out there called ShelterBox. With roughly $1000 they can send a box to an area in need. Unfortunately “ShelterBox is unable to accept time or location specific donations.” But a good deed is still a good deed no matter whom you help.
What they do is really cool:
“Each large, green ShelterBox is tailored to a disaster but typically contains a disaster relief tent for an extended family, blankets, water storage and purification equipment, cooking utensils, a stove, a basic tool kit, a children’s activity pack and other vital items.”
The charity is based in the UK, so if you wish to donate make sure you go to the homepage and pick your country of origin.
http://shelterbox.org/index.php
Disaster Aid Canada also has a similar package:
http://www.disasteraid.ca/index.php?p=2_1_Aid-Packs
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Sunday, October 17, 2010
I need to believe
ok, so I've been away from here for, like, forever...sorry about that. You didn't miss too much...summer was awesome, kuwait is the same as always...just slightly less hot.
This school year has been amazing so far (Inshallah). The problems I had with staff (admin and "underlings") have vanished, as have some of the troublemakers. I have two new assistants and they're both amazing and positive people...hard workers too. So, the BIG problems in my life are gone...yay!
and now to tonight's point...I need to believe that the people I meet and don't know are nice to me because they want to be not because they want something.
When we first came here we were kind of warned that cabbies, maids and other such people would be "nice" to us "rich" (ha!) white people because they wanted a bigger tip or whatever...this is such a service driven culture that the notion that anyone who helps me in the run of the day is on the take is beyond depressing.
So, I have chosen to believe the best in everyone (a surprise to anyone who knew me as a teenager I'm sure). I've also chosen to treat these people as actual human beings...something that I forget to do sometimes, in part thanks to the language barrier and cynicism.
Tonight I complimented a bank teller who was helping me on her nice bracelet, was teased by a cashier who "knows" me about buying M&Ms when I'd mentioned dieting and had a cabbie help me carry groceries to my door (outside not apartment) in what seemed to be a genuine show of friendliness. I've had maids at work say they like a shirt (yes, one you picked out Mom) and necklace of mine...they didn't have to do that, but they did...the least I can do it return the favor.
I had cabbie a week or two ago who in very broken English told me he's been in Kuwait for 19 years (he was Pakistani I think). He asked where I was from and what my family was like. The man had upwards of 7 sons, one of whom is in Canada and another in Spain...he seemed to really miss them. I assured him Canada was nice and did my best to empathise...I live in a country where at least half the population is made up of foreigners.
The point of this ramble is, we are all people, no one should be ignored. My feelings are not more important than yours because we are different...even cabbies get homesick.
This school year has been amazing so far (Inshallah). The problems I had with staff (admin and "underlings") have vanished, as have some of the troublemakers. I have two new assistants and they're both amazing and positive people...hard workers too. So, the BIG problems in my life are gone...yay!
and now to tonight's point...I need to believe that the people I meet and don't know are nice to me because they want to be not because they want something.
When we first came here we were kind of warned that cabbies, maids and other such people would be "nice" to us "rich" (ha!) white people because they wanted a bigger tip or whatever...this is such a service driven culture that the notion that anyone who helps me in the run of the day is on the take is beyond depressing.
So, I have chosen to believe the best in everyone (a surprise to anyone who knew me as a teenager I'm sure). I've also chosen to treat these people as actual human beings...something that I forget to do sometimes, in part thanks to the language barrier and cynicism.
Tonight I complimented a bank teller who was helping me on her nice bracelet, was teased by a cashier who "knows" me about buying M&Ms when I'd mentioned dieting and had a cabbie help me carry groceries to my door (outside not apartment) in what seemed to be a genuine show of friendliness. I've had maids at work say they like a shirt (yes, one you picked out Mom) and necklace of mine...they didn't have to do that, but they did...the least I can do it return the favor.
I had cabbie a week or two ago who in very broken English told me he's been in Kuwait for 19 years (he was Pakistani I think). He asked where I was from and what my family was like. The man had upwards of 7 sons, one of whom is in Canada and another in Spain...he seemed to really miss them. I assured him Canada was nice and did my best to empathise...I live in a country where at least half the population is made up of foreigners.
The point of this ramble is, we are all people, no one should be ignored. My feelings are not more important than yours because we are different...even cabbies get homesick.
Friday, April 2, 2010
Don't Fear the Reaper?
It's a question we all ask: what happens to me after I die?
I think about Hell a lot these days...mostly what it is and how I can stay out of it...morbid, I know. But, if you know me...then you KNOW me.
First and foremost, I want to tell you that I do believe in God...I have to, literally since the moment I was born (3 months premature) I've been walking on and out of situations that should have hurt or killed me...or at least left an emotional scar. Someone out there is protecting me, why I can only guess. And then there are the ghosts...there is at least life after death in some form, I know, I've seen them.
This post, of course, assumes you subscribe to the Church's version of Heaven and Hell- GOOD (whatever that is...Crusades anyone?) Jews (pre-Christ) and Christians (post-Christ) go to Hell because they accept God AND Jesus into their lives and show His (Their) love and salvation through all that they do in their lives (not easy, is it? I’m pretty sure Jesus never flipped anyone off in traffic) and everyone else suffers unimaginable torment in a great lake of burning sulfur...quite the choice we get, eternal worship and servitude or unceasing torture.
Not exactly fair is it? This, contrary to popular belief, is not a rant against God (perhaps against the man-made Church, but I'll try and keep it down a bit) but, a quest for answers...or maybe just for sleep.
Okay, you're not going to like this but my main problem stems from...the Bible. In the Bible there are many passages that when taken literally are hard to swallow or seem to outright promote hate crimes (homophobia much?), some of this is only when the Bible is taken and used in the wrong hands but some is plan Church propaganda.
The problem isn't so much the Bible, but how much it's changed over the years; it's been translated how many times? And usually by men (need to control the females in your "flock"? Make Eve the evil one and you get a great guilt trip you can use for centuries). It's also a proven fact (according to my Early Church professor at Saint Thomas University) the monks who were translating and copying the Bible would add content in or take it out if told to and sometimes just because they felt like it. There have even been scrap copies found where there were doodles in the margins of the page...nice to know they took their work so seriously.
Even the Jewish teachers are decried in the Bible as hindering the spirit’s progress to Heaven. Matthew 23:15: “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte [ed: a convert], and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.”
But, on the other hand, I have to give credit where credit is due, without these talented men we wouldn't have amazing works of art like the Book of Kells- Google it, it's beautiful and permanently on display at Trinity College Dublin in Ireland.
So Heaven...what is it? I'm not even going to ask where it is, my mind isn't up for that one tonight. Is it all the Good people sitting on clouds in togas strumming harps? Is it like earth but with out the pain and suffering? What about that white light so many people who've had near death experiences have seen? Does anyone ever see Hell during these out of body experiences?
And if there's a Heaven then surely there has to be a Hell, right? So, somewhere out there, there is a giant, all consuming lake of burning sulfur that all the evil people get pitched into. In the Church evil means non-Christian, those who had the chance to convert and passed it up.
Psalm 55:15 says: “Let death seize upon them, and let them go down quick into hell: for wickedness is in their dwellings, and among them.”
But wickedness is never defined, is it murder and mayhem or merely not living a perfect Christian life?
This is what the Bible has to say of the final judgment in Revelation 20:12-15:
“And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”
A question I've had since I was a little kid was/is: what happened to all the civilizations that existed before Judaism and Christianity (our own ancestry lies within "cavemen") or that died on continents like South America where the word of God never reached for a long long time? Did they ALL go to Hell?
Psalm 9:17 says: “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.”
But can they have forgotten God if they never knew Him in the first place?
Surely, in a world that is so full of shades of grey the end can't be so black and white...God Himself killed when it suited His plans.
Exodus 14: 26-28:
“And Jehovah said to Moses, Stretch out thy hand over the sea, that the waters may return upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots and upon their horsemen.
And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its strength toward the morning; and the Egyptians fled against it; and Jehovah overturned the Egyptians into the midst of the sea.
And the waters returned, and covered the chariots and the horsemen of all the host of Pharaoh that had come into the sea after them; there remained not even one of them.”
Lucifer, an ANGEL, fell. Isaiah 14:12-19: “How art thou fallen from heaven, Lucifer, son of the morning! Thou art cut down to the ground, that didst prostrate the nations!
And thou that didst say in thy heart, I will ascend into the heavens, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God, and I will sit upon the mount of assembly, in the recesses of the north;
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High:
none the less art thou brought down to Sheol, to the recesses of the pit.
They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee; they shall consider thee, [saying,] Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that shook kingdoms;
[that] made the world as a wilderness, and overthrew the cities thereof; [that] dismissed not his prisoners homewards?
All the kings of the nations, all of them, lie in glory, every one in his own house;
but thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, covered with the slain -- those thrust through with the sword, that go down to the stones of the pit: like a carcase trodden under foot.”
And Judas, one of Jesus' own chosen disciples, gave him up to the Romans and killed himself.
Matthew 27:1-5:
“When the morning was come, all the chief priests and elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death:
And when they had bound him, they led him away, and delivered him to Pontius Pilate the governor.
Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,
Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? See thou to that.
And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.”
Killing yourself, some in the Church say, damns you immediately without thought for the circumstances the act was committed under...what if the Pope kills himself? Does he go to Hell?
In Matthew 10: 28 we are taught not to “…fear not them that kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear Him that is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Is suicide a form of murder? I don’t think it is, suicide is not taking another’s life but your own and that is your choice alone.
Another thing that bothers me about Judas is, if he DIDN'T give Jesus up then the whole "save the world" plan would be dead in the water. You could argue, and I do, that Judas was born to betray Christ to further the Christian mission and not responsible for his actions, God is. Really think about it, what if Judas didn't give Jesus up? You may say that God would have had someone else do it...but wouldn't that mean our infallible God failed?
I read a book last summer (I'd tell you the title and author if I could remember and hadn't left it in Canada...oops) in which the author, a medium (suspend your disbelief please) says that he's dealt with many kinds of entities in his line of work. He says that different souls are at different spiritual levels, sounds weird but think about it some people are barely human (Hitler, Ted Bundy, that guy who is a closet alcoholic who beats his wife because he hates himself) while others are living saints (Mother Teresa, Princess Di, the wife who gets beat because she believes her husband needs her and loves him despite everything) are these two groups really equally spiritually evolved?
The author says that there are levels of spiritual development in life and after, that the lowest souls get the lowest level after death and the purest souls get the highest level. Obviously, the lowest level is our idea of Hell and the highest is Heaven. But here come the shades of grey and second chances I've searched for: there are levels in between, many levels, for all those souls that are neither the lowest nor the highest...you know, us "normal" people.
Here's the twist I know some of you will get caught up on...souls are reused (according to the author, I'm not sure...but then we can't be sure of anything so who knows?).
It's like the low and mid-level souls get some second chances to move higher (or lower) on the spiritual afterlife totem pole. I assume, most souls don't remember their former lives (some people do, I for one am up for regression therapy!). But each go round can move a soul a peg up or down depending on how they act during the time they're given and eventually (hopefully) they reach the highest level. Ever hear someone call a person an "old soul" even if it's a seven year old kid they're talking about? Maybe they're right. Maybe our Mother Teresas are on their final round before they reach the top and they stand out in life for the works they do because they're so close to Heaven.
Is there anything out there? I have to believe there is, for me and not for some man-made Church that may or may not be on the money every Sunday.
You know when you think about it all major religions are pretty similar. A couple even share holy books (Christianity, Islam and Judaism all share the Old Testament).
Maybe being a good person (in the don't kill puppies sense and less of the ridged Church sense) and following the main, corresponding tenants (I'm trying to stay on the level here, I do believe some of the things I learned in Sunday School- the book of Revelations scares me just thinking about it) of any religion you find yourself in is good enough...?
I want to know what will happen to me, and people like me, when we die. Will I go to Hell simply because I keep my faith to myself and don't conform to a Church I'm unsure of even if I live a good life?
And remember, fear of Hell, so they say, isn't enough to get you into Heaven...so if an Angel, a disciple and whole civilizations didn't have a chance, what kind of chance at eternal peace do I have?
What chance do any of us have?
Am I the "heretic" that will go to Hell for asking too many questions and, perhaps not enough faith, or am I allowed to be this open-minded because God created me in HIS image?
God's message is love and life. Man's message is praise and protect..."Praise God and pass the ammunition" is a favorite quote of mine. Personally, I think God is closer to being a Hippie than a televangelist.
I've rambled, I might not have always stayed on point and Lord knows I don't have an answer to my own questions (does anyone really? They wouldn't be questions if we also had the answers).
I just thought I'd share, maybe make some space in my head so I can sleep without wrestling with cosmic issues beyond human comprehension…you know, the usual.
I think about Hell a lot these days...mostly what it is and how I can stay out of it...morbid, I know. But, if you know me...then you KNOW me.
First and foremost, I want to tell you that I do believe in God...I have to, literally since the moment I was born (3 months premature) I've been walking on and out of situations that should have hurt or killed me...or at least left an emotional scar. Someone out there is protecting me, why I can only guess. And then there are the ghosts...there is at least life after death in some form, I know, I've seen them.
This post, of course, assumes you subscribe to the Church's version of Heaven and Hell- GOOD (whatever that is...Crusades anyone?) Jews (pre-Christ) and Christians (post-Christ) go to Hell because they accept God AND Jesus into their lives and show His (Their) love and salvation through all that they do in their lives (not easy, is it? I’m pretty sure Jesus never flipped anyone off in traffic) and everyone else suffers unimaginable torment in a great lake of burning sulfur...quite the choice we get, eternal worship and servitude or unceasing torture.
Not exactly fair is it? This, contrary to popular belief, is not a rant against God (perhaps against the man-made Church, but I'll try and keep it down a bit) but, a quest for answers...or maybe just for sleep.
Okay, you're not going to like this but my main problem stems from...the Bible. In the Bible there are many passages that when taken literally are hard to swallow or seem to outright promote hate crimes (homophobia much?), some of this is only when the Bible is taken and used in the wrong hands but some is plan Church propaganda.
The problem isn't so much the Bible, but how much it's changed over the years; it's been translated how many times? And usually by men (need to control the females in your "flock"? Make Eve the evil one and you get a great guilt trip you can use for centuries). It's also a proven fact (according to my Early Church professor at Saint Thomas University) the monks who were translating and copying the Bible would add content in or take it out if told to and sometimes just because they felt like it. There have even been scrap copies found where there were doodles in the margins of the page...nice to know they took their work so seriously.
Even the Jewish teachers are decried in the Bible as hindering the spirit’s progress to Heaven. Matthew 23:15: “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte [ed: a convert], and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.”
But, on the other hand, I have to give credit where credit is due, without these talented men we wouldn't have amazing works of art like the Book of Kells- Google it, it's beautiful and permanently on display at Trinity College Dublin in Ireland.
So Heaven...what is it? I'm not even going to ask where it is, my mind isn't up for that one tonight. Is it all the Good people sitting on clouds in togas strumming harps? Is it like earth but with out the pain and suffering? What about that white light so many people who've had near death experiences have seen? Does anyone ever see Hell during these out of body experiences?
And if there's a Heaven then surely there has to be a Hell, right? So, somewhere out there, there is a giant, all consuming lake of burning sulfur that all the evil people get pitched into. In the Church evil means non-Christian, those who had the chance to convert and passed it up.
Psalm 55:15 says: “Let death seize upon them, and let them go down quick into hell: for wickedness is in their dwellings, and among them.”
But wickedness is never defined, is it murder and mayhem or merely not living a perfect Christian life?
This is what the Bible has to say of the final judgment in Revelation 20:12-15:
“And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”
A question I've had since I was a little kid was/is: what happened to all the civilizations that existed before Judaism and Christianity (our own ancestry lies within "cavemen") or that died on continents like South America where the word of God never reached for a long long time? Did they ALL go to Hell?
Psalm 9:17 says: “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.”
But can they have forgotten God if they never knew Him in the first place?
Surely, in a world that is so full of shades of grey the end can't be so black and white...God Himself killed when it suited His plans.
Exodus 14: 26-28:
“And Jehovah said to Moses, Stretch out thy hand over the sea, that the waters may return upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots and upon their horsemen.
And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its strength toward the morning; and the Egyptians fled against it; and Jehovah overturned the Egyptians into the midst of the sea.
And the waters returned, and covered the chariots and the horsemen of all the host of Pharaoh that had come into the sea after them; there remained not even one of them.”
Lucifer, an ANGEL, fell. Isaiah 14:12-19: “How art thou fallen from heaven, Lucifer, son of the morning! Thou art cut down to the ground, that didst prostrate the nations!
And thou that didst say in thy heart, I will ascend into the heavens, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God, and I will sit upon the mount of assembly, in the recesses of the north;
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High:
none the less art thou brought down to Sheol, to the recesses of the pit.
They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee; they shall consider thee, [saying,] Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that shook kingdoms;
[that] made the world as a wilderness, and overthrew the cities thereof; [that] dismissed not his prisoners homewards?
All the kings of the nations, all of them, lie in glory, every one in his own house;
but thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, covered with the slain -- those thrust through with the sword, that go down to the stones of the pit: like a carcase trodden under foot.”
And Judas, one of Jesus' own chosen disciples, gave him up to the Romans and killed himself.
Matthew 27:1-5:
“When the morning was come, all the chief priests and elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death:
And when they had bound him, they led him away, and delivered him to Pontius Pilate the governor.
Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,
Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What is that to us? See thou to that.
And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.”
Killing yourself, some in the Church say, damns you immediately without thought for the circumstances the act was committed under...what if the Pope kills himself? Does he go to Hell?
In Matthew 10: 28 we are taught not to “…fear not them that kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear Him that is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Is suicide a form of murder? I don’t think it is, suicide is not taking another’s life but your own and that is your choice alone.
Another thing that bothers me about Judas is, if he DIDN'T give Jesus up then the whole "save the world" plan would be dead in the water. You could argue, and I do, that Judas was born to betray Christ to further the Christian mission and not responsible for his actions, God is. Really think about it, what if Judas didn't give Jesus up? You may say that God would have had someone else do it...but wouldn't that mean our infallible God failed?
I read a book last summer (I'd tell you the title and author if I could remember and hadn't left it in Canada...oops) in which the author, a medium (suspend your disbelief please) says that he's dealt with many kinds of entities in his line of work. He says that different souls are at different spiritual levels, sounds weird but think about it some people are barely human (Hitler, Ted Bundy, that guy who is a closet alcoholic who beats his wife because he hates himself) while others are living saints (Mother Teresa, Princess Di, the wife who gets beat because she believes her husband needs her and loves him despite everything) are these two groups really equally spiritually evolved?
The author says that there are levels of spiritual development in life and after, that the lowest souls get the lowest level after death and the purest souls get the highest level. Obviously, the lowest level is our idea of Hell and the highest is Heaven. But here come the shades of grey and second chances I've searched for: there are levels in between, many levels, for all those souls that are neither the lowest nor the highest...you know, us "normal" people.
Here's the twist I know some of you will get caught up on...souls are reused (according to the author, I'm not sure...but then we can't be sure of anything so who knows?).
It's like the low and mid-level souls get some second chances to move higher (or lower) on the spiritual afterlife totem pole. I assume, most souls don't remember their former lives (some people do, I for one am up for regression therapy!). But each go round can move a soul a peg up or down depending on how they act during the time they're given and eventually (hopefully) they reach the highest level. Ever hear someone call a person an "old soul" even if it's a seven year old kid they're talking about? Maybe they're right. Maybe our Mother Teresas are on their final round before they reach the top and they stand out in life for the works they do because they're so close to Heaven.
Is there anything out there? I have to believe there is, for me and not for some man-made Church that may or may not be on the money every Sunday.
You know when you think about it all major religions are pretty similar. A couple even share holy books (Christianity, Islam and Judaism all share the Old Testament).
Maybe being a good person (in the don't kill puppies sense and less of the ridged Church sense) and following the main, corresponding tenants (I'm trying to stay on the level here, I do believe some of the things I learned in Sunday School- the book of Revelations scares me just thinking about it) of any religion you find yourself in is good enough...?
I want to know what will happen to me, and people like me, when we die. Will I go to Hell simply because I keep my faith to myself and don't conform to a Church I'm unsure of even if I live a good life?
And remember, fear of Hell, so they say, isn't enough to get you into Heaven...so if an Angel, a disciple and whole civilizations didn't have a chance, what kind of chance at eternal peace do I have?
What chance do any of us have?
Am I the "heretic" that will go to Hell for asking too many questions and, perhaps not enough faith, or am I allowed to be this open-minded because God created me in HIS image?
God's message is love and life. Man's message is praise and protect..."Praise God and pass the ammunition" is a favorite quote of mine. Personally, I think God is closer to being a Hippie than a televangelist.
I've rambled, I might not have always stayed on point and Lord knows I don't have an answer to my own questions (does anyone really? They wouldn't be questions if we also had the answers).
I just thought I'd share, maybe make some space in my head so I can sleep without wrestling with cosmic issues beyond human comprehension…you know, the usual.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Le Gitan
Hello all,
A lot has happened since I last posted.
There are butterflies EVERYWHERE, really pretty orange ones :) It's SPRING...not that we ever had Winter this year...which is abnormal even for this place.
Went to St Pat's Ball at the Hilton that was put on by the Irish Society, but it wasn't anything special, nothing out of the ordinary and the guys were lame...moving on in more ways than one.
The ball was on a Thursday night and on Saturday it was Carnival Day, a MUCH more fun day! All the kids from school and their parents were invited to go to Sha'ab Amusement Park (it's pretty much in my backyard...err front yard). All the teachers had to go to make sure everything ran smoothly, but with the parents there I really didn't have to do anything but wander around with my friends, go on rides, visit Rippley's Believe It Or Not and say hi every time a kid yelled "Hi Miss Ash" from a ride.
Got my first sunburn of the year too! it's mid March and we're already in the low 40s temperature wise...hotter here now than it gets at home in the middle of summer at home!
Uhmm, what's next? Oh right, I had an MRI on my knee to figure out why I've been in pain for 11 years...nothing seems wrong, so now I get tons of fun meds to help me sleep at night in hopes that does...something...
We also had International Day at school, all the kids dressed up in their country of origin's national dress and paraded through the school. We had assemblies, fashion shows, guest speakers, booths set up by parents and even a real camel!
Next week in my library is Genre Week! Activities at our recess breaks everyday! Prizes! Yay!
The countdown to going home has begun! I leave the Sandbox around June 10th and am spending a week alone in the English countryside, I'm going to walk EVERYWHERE and enjoy seeing nature again. Then it's on home to Canada.
Today was uneventful, I cleaned from top to bottom this afternoon and now and sharing the couch with my cat and am watching Julie and Julia...yeah, I'm totally a crazy cat lady.
Oh, and I've rekindled my love of French singer Charles Aznavour and of Quebecois singer Garou.
A lot has happened since I last posted.
There are butterflies EVERYWHERE, really pretty orange ones :) It's SPRING...not that we ever had Winter this year...which is abnormal even for this place.
Went to St Pat's Ball at the Hilton that was put on by the Irish Society, but it wasn't anything special, nothing out of the ordinary and the guys were lame...moving on in more ways than one.
The ball was on a Thursday night and on Saturday it was Carnival Day, a MUCH more fun day! All the kids from school and their parents were invited to go to Sha'ab Amusement Park (it's pretty much in my backyard...err front yard). All the teachers had to go to make sure everything ran smoothly, but with the parents there I really didn't have to do anything but wander around with my friends, go on rides, visit Rippley's Believe It Or Not and say hi every time a kid yelled "Hi Miss Ash" from a ride.
Got my first sunburn of the year too! it's mid March and we're already in the low 40s temperature wise...hotter here now than it gets at home in the middle of summer at home!
Uhmm, what's next? Oh right, I had an MRI on my knee to figure out why I've been in pain for 11 years...nothing seems wrong, so now I get tons of fun meds to help me sleep at night in hopes that does...something...
We also had International Day at school, all the kids dressed up in their country of origin's national dress and paraded through the school. We had assemblies, fashion shows, guest speakers, booths set up by parents and even a real camel!
Next week in my library is Genre Week! Activities at our recess breaks everyday! Prizes! Yay!
The countdown to going home has begun! I leave the Sandbox around June 10th and am spending a week alone in the English countryside, I'm going to walk EVERYWHERE and enjoy seeing nature again. Then it's on home to Canada.
Today was uneventful, I cleaned from top to bottom this afternoon and now and sharing the couch with my cat and am watching Julie and Julia...yeah, I'm totally a crazy cat lady.
Oh, and I've rekindled my love of French singer Charles Aznavour and of Quebecois singer Garou.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
This is Halloween Town...
Okay, so a million things (give or take 99,9999 or so) have happened since I last posted...here's the run down.
Did I mention before that I spent every other day for a week in November get iron injections by IV? Well, I did...even on my birthday.
All our new friends threw an awesome Christmas party, I got to meet Santa! But before that they threw a birthday/costume party...fun all around!
Before I knew it, it was Winter Break at school, everyone left and for one lovely week it was just me and the cat :)
Then Mom, Dad and Jackie (my sister) came to Kuwait for six days. We went to all the malls near me, the highlight of Jack's trip I'm sure, the Towers, the Heritage Market and even the ice rink (Dad was in shorts). We got a tour of said rink, much to Dad's delight...I think the ice here is at least as good as the ice at home. Haven't gone skating yet, but I will.
We also went to the Aquarium, really cool though I felt bad for the penguins- their tank thing seemed kinda small. If I've forgotten anything I'm sure Mom will remind me in the comment section.
School has been back in for a month and we're all now looking forward to spring break. I'm also looking forward to summer break (4 months!) so I can stop over in England on the way home.
So now I'm going to settle in for the night and watch Halloween II, not for the faint hearted or squeamish- it was directed by Rob Zombie (LOVE) and as far as I can tell is dark, suspenseful, has buckets of blood and fairly realistic breaking bone sounds.
I'm also eating chocolate covered raisins and later will start reading a new, non-child related book.
Did I mention before that I spent every other day for a week in November get iron injections by IV? Well, I did...even on my birthday.
All our new friends threw an awesome Christmas party, I got to meet Santa! But before that they threw a birthday/costume party...fun all around!
Before I knew it, it was Winter Break at school, everyone left and for one lovely week it was just me and the cat :)
Then Mom, Dad and Jackie (my sister) came to Kuwait for six days. We went to all the malls near me, the highlight of Jack's trip I'm sure, the Towers, the Heritage Market and even the ice rink (Dad was in shorts). We got a tour of said rink, much to Dad's delight...I think the ice here is at least as good as the ice at home. Haven't gone skating yet, but I will.
We also went to the Aquarium, really cool though I felt bad for the penguins- their tank thing seemed kinda small. If I've forgotten anything I'm sure Mom will remind me in the comment section.
School has been back in for a month and we're all now looking forward to spring break. I'm also looking forward to summer break (4 months!) so I can stop over in England on the way home.
So now I'm going to settle in for the night and watch Halloween II, not for the faint hearted or squeamish- it was directed by Rob Zombie (LOVE) and as far as I can tell is dark, suspenseful, has buckets of blood and fairly realistic breaking bone sounds.
I'm also eating chocolate covered raisins and later will start reading a new, non-child related book.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
When Irish Eyes Are Smiling
Dia dhuit!
Connas ta tu?
...nothing huh?
The answer to that would be Dia is muire dhuit. Ta me go meath.
*cricket noises*
Okay, moving on!
The Irish Society semi-formal was, to borrow the two biggest compliments from the Old Country, altogether brilliant and grand!
It really was great. Great place, great food, great dancing (who'd have thought I'd learn Irish dances in the Middle East?) and great friends (old and new).
I think we're going to go whatever function is happening every month...we really really need something to do.
We (Amanda, Dawn and I) took a cab to the Hilton (fancy!) and then hung out until Amanda's friend Lloyd and his friends got there. We were introduced to most of the guys, I think I missed a few of them though. They brought some of the best homebrew I've ever had. :)
Dinner was an amazing buffett that included local dishes as well as Irish stew (naturally!), Yorkshire pudding and roast beef...don't even get me started on the dessert table!
Then is was time to DISCO! And we did my friends, we did. Whilst belting out the words of course (why do I know the words to so many disco songs anyway?!).
Next came Irish dancing lessons. The first round I sat out thinking I was going to be horrible at it and look like an idiot. Then I was two things that made me change my mind: 1) no one was any better at it than I would have been and 2) it looked like a hell of a lot of fun!
So Mike, one of my new friends, and I learned two dances and quite frankly I think we did pretty damn good. Who really cares how good you are at something or what you look like so long as your having fun? Live a little, right?
Then it was time for more non-Irish dancing and some more drinking (for me anyway).
We left at midnight because Cinderella (Amanda) had to be at school ON A WEEKEND at 8am...boo! Do you hear me Amanda?! Boo! And thanks for making me leave my apartment for some fun times with friends..I owe you.
Here's to cheating, stealing, fighting, and drinking.
If you cheat, cheat death.
If you steal, steal a woman's heart.
If you fight, fight for a brother.
If you drink, drink with me!!
- Irish toast
Connas ta tu?
...nothing huh?
The answer to that would be Dia is muire dhuit. Ta me go meath.
*cricket noises*
Okay, moving on!
The Irish Society semi-formal was, to borrow the two biggest compliments from the Old Country, altogether brilliant and grand!
It really was great. Great place, great food, great dancing (who'd have thought I'd learn Irish dances in the Middle East?) and great friends (old and new).
I think we're going to go whatever function is happening every month...we really really need something to do.
We (Amanda, Dawn and I) took a cab to the Hilton (fancy!) and then hung out until Amanda's friend Lloyd and his friends got there. We were introduced to most of the guys, I think I missed a few of them though. They brought some of the best homebrew I've ever had. :)
Dinner was an amazing buffett that included local dishes as well as Irish stew (naturally!), Yorkshire pudding and roast beef...don't even get me started on the dessert table!
Then is was time to DISCO! And we did my friends, we did. Whilst belting out the words of course (why do I know the words to so many disco songs anyway?!).
Next came Irish dancing lessons. The first round I sat out thinking I was going to be horrible at it and look like an idiot. Then I was two things that made me change my mind: 1) no one was any better at it than I would have been and 2) it looked like a hell of a lot of fun!
So Mike, one of my new friends, and I learned two dances and quite frankly I think we did pretty damn good. Who really cares how good you are at something or what you look like so long as your having fun? Live a little, right?
Then it was time for more non-Irish dancing and some more drinking (for me anyway).
We left at midnight because Cinderella (Amanda) had to be at school ON A WEEKEND at 8am...boo! Do you hear me Amanda?! Boo! And thanks for making me leave my apartment for some fun times with friends..I owe you.
Here's to cheating, stealing, fighting, and drinking.
If you cheat, cheat death.
If you steal, steal a woman's heart.
If you fight, fight for a brother.
If you drink, drink with me!!
- Irish toast
Monday, November 16, 2009
When I'm havin' fun ya know I can't conceal it
I'm sorry but if my train of thought veers off it's track it's 'cause the kitty wants to play fetch...seriously.
Dawn's birthday was awesome, great food, great friends...some "juice" when we got back to her place.
My birthday is tomorrow and all I get is the kindergarten teacher from hell bringing her class to the library, a staff meeting after school and another iron drip/injection....lovely...oh well, c'est la vie
We had costume day during "spirit week"...I've never seen so many Hannah Montanas in my life! I was a hippie...wore a wig and everything. LMAO
Still missing the music scene from home but limewire will get me through the rough patches.
Does anyone out there know how to sinc an ipod to a laptop when the ipod is in fact already synced with a desktop that I left in Canada without erasing all the music?
I'm drawing again....I found art supplies! SO HAPPY!!!!!!
When we get paid I'll finally get to paint my apartment!
Also, I'm going to the Irish Society's semi-formal Thursday night...so, I'll look great but there's no way I'm covering my tattoos.
And so ends the random update.
Well, three more...
I found out the kitty is 6 months old not 12 weeks (she's just super stunted).
I've developed an addiction to watching pro-wrestling. Go Matt Hardy!
And I've stopped cutting my hair...so growing it out again.
Fin
Dawn's birthday was awesome, great food, great friends...some "juice" when we got back to her place.
My birthday is tomorrow and all I get is the kindergarten teacher from hell bringing her class to the library, a staff meeting after school and another iron drip/injection....lovely...oh well, c'est la vie
We had costume day during "spirit week"...I've never seen so many Hannah Montanas in my life! I was a hippie...wore a wig and everything. LMAO
Still missing the music scene from home but limewire will get me through the rough patches.
Does anyone out there know how to sinc an ipod to a laptop when the ipod is in fact already synced with a desktop that I left in Canada without erasing all the music?
I'm drawing again....I found art supplies! SO HAPPY!!!!!!
When we get paid I'll finally get to paint my apartment!
Also, I'm going to the Irish Society's semi-formal Thursday night...so, I'll look great but there's no way I'm covering my tattoos.
And so ends the random update.
Well, three more...
I found out the kitty is 6 months old not 12 weeks (she's just super stunted).
I've developed an addiction to watching pro-wrestling. Go Matt Hardy!
And I've stopped cutting my hair...so growing it out again.
Fin
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Getcha a 3-piece Wall Street smile and son you'll look just like me
Okay, so it's been awhile since I posted...but not much has happened.
Until today, that is.
I woke up at 630 to get ready for our Halloween day at school only to get a call saying school was canceled, could I please pass the message along to the other teachers that work in my section of the elementary school?
Turns out one of our generators blew last night and was leaking oil. They worked on the generator last night but school was still canceled. Parent teacher meetings, however, are a go tonight and tomorrow...so for 3 hours tonight and 3 hours tomorrow I'll sit around my library wondering if anyone is going to bother visiting me...I'm taking a book.
The OFFICIAL sequel to Dracula that is based off Bram Stoker's notes and is co-written by a direct decedent of Stoker.
Then it's off to Dawn's birthday party tomorrow night!
PS- this place needs some serious punk rock culture....a punk show, something...anything!
Until today, that is.
I woke up at 630 to get ready for our Halloween day at school only to get a call saying school was canceled, could I please pass the message along to the other teachers that work in my section of the elementary school?
Turns out one of our generators blew last night and was leaking oil. They worked on the generator last night but school was still canceled. Parent teacher meetings, however, are a go tonight and tomorrow...so for 3 hours tonight and 3 hours tomorrow I'll sit around my library wondering if anyone is going to bother visiting me...I'm taking a book.
The OFFICIAL sequel to Dracula that is based off Bram Stoker's notes and is co-written by a direct decedent of Stoker.
Then it's off to Dawn's birthday party tomorrow night!
PS- this place needs some serious punk rock culture....a punk show, something...anything!
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
I see you looking at me.
'member those the teens my friends and I ran into a couple weeks ago? The ones that chased us through a shop complex?
The one that was so persistent found me again today. He recognized me from behind, in my work clothes, with my tattoos covered.
I told him off, scared him a little too...chump! Drive away in your mom's minivan with your bad self and your idiot friend!
It's been an uneventful week. took a crying little girl to the nurse yesterday cause she fell outside at noon, took the kitty to the vet 3 days in a row to get shots for a cold, told of a teenage creep and now it's almost the weekend.
Yay!
The one that was so persistent found me again today. He recognized me from behind, in my work clothes, with my tattoos covered.
I told him off, scared him a little too...chump! Drive away in your mom's minivan with your bad self and your idiot friend!
It's been an uneventful week. took a crying little girl to the nurse yesterday cause she fell outside at noon, took the kitty to the vet 3 days in a row to get shots for a cold, told of a teenage creep and now it's almost the weekend.
Yay!
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
What's New Pussy Cat?
Not much has happened in the last week...longer work days, less sleep- the usual.
Us teachers have to be "observed" at work next month, oh joy. Guess I'd better over haul my lesson plans and make my teacher friends give some input! Our curriculum is nuts, our facility and student level is okay...there are a lot of 4th graders reading at a grade two level, this makes me wonder what public school must be like.
Dinner at the school superintendet's place tomorrow night. I finally get to see his wife again..I love them both to death. I'm sure if I didn't know them personally, and we weren't basically from the same place back home, I'd have more seriously considered walking outta this place a few weeks ago. It's all good now, stressful, but good. Tina, the middle school librarian tells me what to do when I don't know- which is often.
Got a kitten today, she's hiding under the couch...she's not too sure about me yet, but she was seriously and intentionally injured and is only 2 months old at the most...I'm sure that memory is still fresh for her. She's eaten though and wanders around my place when I stay still long enough, so I'm sure she's fine. If she wouldn't eat then I'd be worried. She's got all day tomorrow to adjust to her new home and all weekend to adjust to me.
Time to read, I'm finally reading Wicked...it's an awesome book.
Us teachers have to be "observed" at work next month, oh joy. Guess I'd better over haul my lesson plans and make my teacher friends give some input! Our curriculum is nuts, our facility and student level is okay...there are a lot of 4th graders reading at a grade two level, this makes me wonder what public school must be like.
Dinner at the school superintendet's place tomorrow night. I finally get to see his wife again..I love them both to death. I'm sure if I didn't know them personally, and we weren't basically from the same place back home, I'd have more seriously considered walking outta this place a few weeks ago. It's all good now, stressful, but good. Tina, the middle school librarian tells me what to do when I don't know- which is often.
Got a kitten today, she's hiding under the couch...she's not too sure about me yet, but she was seriously and intentionally injured and is only 2 months old at the most...I'm sure that memory is still fresh for her. She's eaten though and wanders around my place when I stay still long enough, so I'm sure she's fine. If she wouldn't eat then I'd be worried. She's got all day tomorrow to adjust to her new home and all weekend to adjust to me.
Time to read, I'm finally reading Wicked...it's an awesome book.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Birthdays- Dust and Chinese Food
It's Sarah's birthday today! She's 25, from Minnesota (pretty much Canadian really) and one of my closest friends over here.
We went to Noodles, after another roundabout cab ride (he charged US 4KD when HE couldn't find the place and we literally drove right by it), for some of the best Chinese food I've ever had (and the cheapest!) for her birthday and then shopped and wandered around Salymia district in the dark...our running joke is:
"A blonde (Sarah), a redhead (me) and a brunette (Dawn) are walking through the desert...*insert whatever rediculious situation we've gotten ourselves into this time here* Now we get to add an Asian taking photos into the mix (my fellow Canadian Amanda)!
It's really dusty out today, not a dust storm...kinda looks like fog.
We came back to my place to hang out and watch youtube...Amanda and I introduced our American friends to the wonder that is/was Roch Vosine...lmao
Mom and dad called while the girls where here, they all shouted "hi". I filled them in on the latest saga going on in my family (Idiots...you know who I'm talking about).
Then they borrowed some DVDs (I'm the local Blockbuster I guess) and went home.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY SARAH!
Okay, is it wrong if we're thinking about going to church on the US Army base just to meet guys and maybe get an invite back to the bar??? 'Cause we're seriously thinking about it, really. We outnumber the boys here by, like, a million to one.
We've been warned about some of the local men being idiots towards western women (usually the younger ones) and we've had our first massive dose of that at the Old Souk (I think that's where the cabbie took us...).
We went a couple days ago and a bunch of teenage boys chased us, literally, through the building well after several of us told them we didn't want to be friends. One of them had a tattoo so he singled me out and his friends backed him up. He actually used the line "show me yours and I"ll show you mine."
He wanted me number and I said no, so he offered his to me...and I said no. He couldn't understand why this tattooed redhead couldn't possibly want his bloody number. We left for a different shop and he and his crew followed us...this went on for ages.
Sarah and I (I'm not sure where Dawn and Amanda went) actually had to hide in different shops and all four of us ended up running down several flights of stairs to escape them...we left after that.
I guess we won't go back to the Souk on a weekend...
Tomorrow I refuse to leave my house, a day of painting is what I have planned.
We went to Noodles, after another roundabout cab ride (he charged US 4KD when HE couldn't find the place and we literally drove right by it), for some of the best Chinese food I've ever had (and the cheapest!) for her birthday and then shopped and wandered around Salymia district in the dark...our running joke is:
"A blonde (Sarah), a redhead (me) and a brunette (Dawn) are walking through the desert...*insert whatever rediculious situation we've gotten ourselves into this time here* Now we get to add an Asian taking photos into the mix (my fellow Canadian Amanda)!
It's really dusty out today, not a dust storm...kinda looks like fog.
We came back to my place to hang out and watch youtube...Amanda and I introduced our American friends to the wonder that is/was Roch Vosine...lmao
Mom and dad called while the girls where here, they all shouted "hi". I filled them in on the latest saga going on in my family (Idiots...you know who I'm talking about).
Then they borrowed some DVDs (I'm the local Blockbuster I guess) and went home.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY SARAH!
Okay, is it wrong if we're thinking about going to church on the US Army base just to meet guys and maybe get an invite back to the bar??? 'Cause we're seriously thinking about it, really. We outnumber the boys here by, like, a million to one.
We've been warned about some of the local men being idiots towards western women (usually the younger ones) and we've had our first massive dose of that at the Old Souk (I think that's where the cabbie took us...).
We went a couple days ago and a bunch of teenage boys chased us, literally, through the building well after several of us told them we didn't want to be friends. One of them had a tattoo so he singled me out and his friends backed him up. He actually used the line "show me yours and I"ll show you mine."
He wanted me number and I said no, so he offered his to me...and I said no. He couldn't understand why this tattooed redhead couldn't possibly want his bloody number. We left for a different shop and he and his crew followed us...this went on for ages.
Sarah and I (I'm not sure where Dawn and Amanda went) actually had to hide in different shops and all four of us ended up running down several flights of stairs to escape them...we left after that.
I guess we won't go back to the Souk on a weekend...
Tomorrow I refuse to leave my house, a day of painting is what I have planned.
Monday, September 14, 2009
All I own is my story...
Lots of fun things have been going on as I explore my new home over the last month.
I've had bizarre cabbies, expensive apples and awesome bootleg dvds.
Cabs: will pick you up and tell you they know where your going even if they haven't understood a word that has come out of your mouth.
Last week I took a cab to work (I'm not THAT lazy, but I was still weak from being sick). I told him AIS Kuwait, he said "in Hawalii" I said yes...I live in Medan Hawalii district. Ha ha Hawalii and Medan Hawalii are two different districts. I saw parts of the city I'd never seen before and that I haven't seen since. He ended up trying to drop me off at what appeared to be a rather shabby and suspect school of American dentistry...I told him this was not my school and told him, again, where to go. Eventually I got to work (only five minutes late!).
Last week Sarah and I wanted to get home from The Avenues (biggest mall in Kuwait, Jackie will LOVE it!) A cabbie got us and our stuff loaded into his cab and began taking us home.
His English was better than most cabbies you meet on the street (pun intended) so he would talk to us when we were stuck in traffic...he told Sarah she smelled good (I'm sure that wouldn't sound as creepy if he were fluent in English or we spoke Arabic). And later told us that we were "24 hours happy"...apparently we laugh a lot. who me? never.
Friday night a bunch of us were meeting up at the Hardrock Cafe and we tried to flag a cab down in front of my building. The first cabbie was honest enough and fluent enough to say he had no idea where we wanted to go. Okay, fine...here comes another one.
We shoulda stuck with the first guy. This guy spoke no English that I'm aware of and had no idea where the Hardrock was. But we didn't know that until we were off and away in the cab. As we drove downtown I pointed out Mark's and Spencer's to the girls....cabbie thought we wanted to go there...uh no, thanks mate. Eventually, Sarah found a desert card from the Hardrock that had the address on it...we still barely made it. From now on, unless it's to The Avenues and back, we're calling our cabs not picking them up on the side of the road.
On to the expensive apples...a couple weeks ago I went to the little shop behind my building with some friends, but when I went to pay (there are no posted prices) I was the only white person in there. For 125ml of ice cream and 3 apples I paid 7KD...roughly $7CDN and apple....the last couple times I've been in there I've either been visibly sick, had a black eye or both and haven't been overcharged since (yeah, I bought the bloody apples)...perhaps he was being nice to me? Next time I go in I'll let you know how it goes down.
I've seen no straight up dvd stores since I got here (aside from the Virgin Mega Store which I'm sure is deadly expensive), so I've been wondering what to do when I want new dvds. For new dvds there is a solution...every tuesday a guy comes door to door in our building and sells dvds for 1KD ($3CDN) each! Last week I got three and this week he's bringing me the entire 3rd season of CSI NY for 7KD! I'm planning on getting satellite TV soon too. The kiosk dude at The Ave wanted me to pay 6 months at one time (146KD) yeah...no. But Danielle says she got her's from the store itself in the Marina mall and only had to pay 2 months in advance...guess where I'll be going.
BTW if you get the chance to watch the movie Australia, although it's long, do it. It is singularly the best movie I have ever seen...and I've seen a lot of 'em.
Work has been going well, the library is back up on it's feet. Still some stuff to do but the main thing is that books can be checked out and books can be checked in.
Had my first story time today with about seven 5 year olds...they're really good kids. We read Curious George Goes to the Library, the first Madeline book (with the doll sitting at my feet), and half of Arthur's Halloween.
In between stories I let them play with the toys that are in the library...several of which are bug puppets that they "attacked" me with...I've got me some new best friends.
....speaking of new best friends, last week I ended up watching three 3 year olds while their teachers had a meeting for and hour and a quarter. 3 and 4 year olds aren't officially coming to school, by order of the gov't, until December. There are, however, staff's kids here...and I got them.
None of them spoke English, I don't think, but we had a lot of fun. We played with blocks, toy food, dolls, cars, dinosaurs and had a Lilo and Stitch movie playing in the background. I know they like me 'cause by the end of it all 3 were bringing me plates of play food with cutlery and the little girl was pouring me "tea". She was cute! She's hold up some of the play food and, I assume, name it in Arabic and I would tell her the English name.
When Layla came back from her meeting we were playing with castanets...something she couldn't get them to do herself.
Those have been the high points of the last couple weeks, the low points consisted of my being sick with Salmonella and using up my last paid sick day for the year. *shrugs* oh well, what can you do?
I'm going grocery shopping with Sarah tonight....hopefully nothing blog-worthy will happen!
There's a quote I love from Australia that goes something like this:
In the end, all you own is your story. So make it a good one.
I've had bizarre cabbies, expensive apples and awesome bootleg dvds.
Cabs: will pick you up and tell you they know where your going even if they haven't understood a word that has come out of your mouth.
Last week I took a cab to work (I'm not THAT lazy, but I was still weak from being sick). I told him AIS Kuwait, he said "in Hawalii" I said yes...I live in Medan Hawalii district. Ha ha Hawalii and Medan Hawalii are two different districts. I saw parts of the city I'd never seen before and that I haven't seen since. He ended up trying to drop me off at what appeared to be a rather shabby and suspect school of American dentistry...I told him this was not my school and told him, again, where to go. Eventually I got to work (only five minutes late!).
Last week Sarah and I wanted to get home from The Avenues (biggest mall in Kuwait, Jackie will LOVE it!) A cabbie got us and our stuff loaded into his cab and began taking us home.
His English was better than most cabbies you meet on the street (pun intended) so he would talk to us when we were stuck in traffic...he told Sarah she smelled good (I'm sure that wouldn't sound as creepy if he were fluent in English or we spoke Arabic). And later told us that we were "24 hours happy"...apparently we laugh a lot. who me? never.
Friday night a bunch of us were meeting up at the Hardrock Cafe and we tried to flag a cab down in front of my building. The first cabbie was honest enough and fluent enough to say he had no idea where we wanted to go. Okay, fine...here comes another one.
We shoulda stuck with the first guy. This guy spoke no English that I'm aware of and had no idea where the Hardrock was. But we didn't know that until we were off and away in the cab. As we drove downtown I pointed out Mark's and Spencer's to the girls....cabbie thought we wanted to go there...uh no, thanks mate. Eventually, Sarah found a desert card from the Hardrock that had the address on it...we still barely made it. From now on, unless it's to The Avenues and back, we're calling our cabs not picking them up on the side of the road.
On to the expensive apples...a couple weeks ago I went to the little shop behind my building with some friends, but when I went to pay (there are no posted prices) I was the only white person in there. For 125ml of ice cream and 3 apples I paid 7KD...roughly $7CDN and apple....the last couple times I've been in there I've either been visibly sick, had a black eye or both and haven't been overcharged since (yeah, I bought the bloody apples)...perhaps he was being nice to me? Next time I go in I'll let you know how it goes down.
I've seen no straight up dvd stores since I got here (aside from the Virgin Mega Store which I'm sure is deadly expensive), so I've been wondering what to do when I want new dvds. For new dvds there is a solution...every tuesday a guy comes door to door in our building and sells dvds for 1KD ($3CDN) each! Last week I got three and this week he's bringing me the entire 3rd season of CSI NY for 7KD! I'm planning on getting satellite TV soon too. The kiosk dude at The Ave wanted me to pay 6 months at one time (146KD) yeah...no. But Danielle says she got her's from the store itself in the Marina mall and only had to pay 2 months in advance...guess where I'll be going.
BTW if you get the chance to watch the movie Australia, although it's long, do it. It is singularly the best movie I have ever seen...and I've seen a lot of 'em.
Work has been going well, the library is back up on it's feet. Still some stuff to do but the main thing is that books can be checked out and books can be checked in.
Had my first story time today with about seven 5 year olds...they're really good kids. We read Curious George Goes to the Library, the first Madeline book (with the doll sitting at my feet), and half of Arthur's Halloween.
In between stories I let them play with the toys that are in the library...several of which are bug puppets that they "attacked" me with...I've got me some new best friends.
....speaking of new best friends, last week I ended up watching three 3 year olds while their teachers had a meeting for and hour and a quarter. 3 and 4 year olds aren't officially coming to school, by order of the gov't, until December. There are, however, staff's kids here...and I got them.
None of them spoke English, I don't think, but we had a lot of fun. We played with blocks, toy food, dolls, cars, dinosaurs and had a Lilo and Stitch movie playing in the background. I know they like me 'cause by the end of it all 3 were bringing me plates of play food with cutlery and the little girl was pouring me "tea". She was cute! She's hold up some of the play food and, I assume, name it in Arabic and I would tell her the English name.
When Layla came back from her meeting we were playing with castanets...something she couldn't get them to do herself.
Those have been the high points of the last couple weeks, the low points consisted of my being sick with Salmonella and using up my last paid sick day for the year. *shrugs* oh well, what can you do?
I'm going grocery shopping with Sarah tonight....hopefully nothing blog-worthy will happen!
There's a quote I love from Australia that goes something like this:
In the end, all you own is your story. So make it a good one.
Monday, September 7, 2009
hello again my friend...
It's been a long week and a half...
Dinner was at the Marina Crescent Hotel (dessert was the best part!). That friday night I went shopping with friends and we ate at Ruby Tuesdays...
I missed the entire first week of school because of salmonella poisoning (which I'm still fending off). My boss was pretty cool about it and my library magically reassembled itself while I was out.
I spent a week lying in bed watching nearly every DVD I own...sounds great right? It wasn't...I still can't eat an actual meal...but my friends say I look a little thinner...
My biggest problem is that I've managed to use up 5/6 of my paid sick days for the next year. The good news is that in a week and a half we have a week long holiday!
I'm back on my feet now and at work. We're still putting things away and cleaning up but at least our computer system is up an running.
I'm off to go shopping with Sarah...I'll update if anything fun happens...
Dinner was at the Marina Crescent Hotel (dessert was the best part!). That friday night I went shopping with friends and we ate at Ruby Tuesdays...
I missed the entire first week of school because of salmonella poisoning (which I'm still fending off). My boss was pretty cool about it and my library magically reassembled itself while I was out.
I spent a week lying in bed watching nearly every DVD I own...sounds great right? It wasn't...I still can't eat an actual meal...but my friends say I look a little thinner...
My biggest problem is that I've managed to use up 5/6 of my paid sick days for the next year. The good news is that in a week and a half we have a week long holiday!
I'm back on my feet now and at work. We're still putting things away and cleaning up but at least our computer system is up an running.
I'm off to go shopping with Sarah...I'll update if anything fun happens...
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Monday, August 24, 2009
Food and Furniture
Okay, so I never went to the Palm Palace and no one went to the Old Market...plans change.
What I have done over the last couple days is learn more about our curriculum (I have to know mine and everyone else's from pre-kindergarten to grade 4!) and attack my library which is now starting to look like more than a jumble of junk in a room.
A bunch of us went to the Hardrock Cafe over the weekend...it's like going home for an hour or two! And for the month of Ramadan all prices are half off! I knew it was the place for me when I saw a guitar from the band Rush (go Canada!) up on the wall. Also on the walls are Richie Sambora's guitar (he's from Bon Jovi's band) and Elvis.
I went grocery shopping with Gabrielle last night. I got food and a new pillow and matress pad...my bed feels like a bed again! We had a really patient Bangladeshi cabbie with whom we had one hell of time finding our way home...in our defense, Kuwait has no civic numbers and everything looks the same. Good times...
We have an Iftar dinner tomorrow night to "break the fast", I think it's at the Crown Plaza or some such fancy place.
Right now I'm about to go over the different curriculum (what is the plural form of curriculum anyway?) I have meetings for tomorrow afternoon.
What I have done over the last couple days is learn more about our curriculum (I have to know mine and everyone else's from pre-kindergarten to grade 4!) and attack my library which is now starting to look like more than a jumble of junk in a room.
A bunch of us went to the Hardrock Cafe over the weekend...it's like going home for an hour or two! And for the month of Ramadan all prices are half off! I knew it was the place for me when I saw a guitar from the band Rush (go Canada!) up on the wall. Also on the walls are Richie Sambora's guitar (he's from Bon Jovi's band) and Elvis.
I went grocery shopping with Gabrielle last night. I got food and a new pillow and matress pad...my bed feels like a bed again! We had a really patient Bangladeshi cabbie with whom we had one hell of time finding our way home...in our defense, Kuwait has no civic numbers and everything looks the same. Good times...
We have an Iftar dinner tomorrow night to "break the fast", I think it's at the Crown Plaza or some such fancy place.
Right now I'm about to go over the different curriculum (what is the plural form of curriculum anyway?) I have meetings for tomorrow afternoon.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
We have a lot of catching up to do...
This is what it takes to run my laptop in Kuwait...Moncton to Montreal:
The trip was cramped but uneventful...it was only and hour and twenty minute flight so not much could happen even if it wanted to.
The Montreal airport is HUGE...you could walk for days and never have to leave for anything.
I was hoping to find a McDondalds or something quick and cheap....what I found was quick but not exactly a $3 value meal. Chicken fingers and plum sauce: $10, the conversation I ended up having with a Guatemalan woman and her kids who now live in LA who were on their way to Paris: priceless. Those kids had SUMMER HOMEWORK! What's up with that?
Montreal to Frankfurt:
I caught my flight to Frankfurt fine, it was much less cramped but very cold...BTW Air Canada, your food sucks. Your male flight attendant that had the jump seat in front of me? Not sucky at all. Yeah, I had the emergency exit seat...in case of emergency...find someone else, I'll be saving me, myself and I!
We flew over night to Frankfurt, where I am while I write this, everything hurts- there is no way to sleep on a plane without hurting- not that I slept anyway.
Now, I'm waiting to see what gate I leave from in a couple hours (it boards around 3:30 pm and it's 9:30 am) apparently they (and I) wont know what gate it is until an hour and a half before it boards...I'm going to go find some place to sleep.
So not sleeping, even though I want to...there's a lady next to me listening to music, they're called headphones lady, use them!
Ohhh, just saw two guys from the UN walk by in their uniforms, cool.
Frankfurt to Kuwait:
I spent upwards of 7 hours alone in an airport/country where I don't speak the language. I was super tired and trying to rest without sleeping, so I didn't miss my boarding call, and this lady has like 5 kids under 12 running around yelling...nice.
Anyway, I eventually found out what gate my plane was leaving from (B23) and went to wait at the gate...almost every white kid there works with me. I ended up sitting with Andrew, he teaches grade 5, with 3 other co-workers in front of us.
We got in at around midnight Kuwaiti time, I think...we were all zombies. Russ (our Superintendent) and a whole host of other staff met us at the airport with snacks and vans for us and a truck for all of our stuff...there was a lot of it.
I finally got to bed around 1:30 and was up again at 7:30...yawn.
Day One:
Got up EARLY...and made it outside just in time to walk with the others to school.
We met each other (again...last night wasn't nobody remembering no names), got introduced to the main staff and had an ice breaker activity. We each got a frame from a Calvin and Hobbs comic strip (YAY!) and had to find the other couple people who had the rest of it- then we had to act out the strip for the rest of the room. LOL
We got our Ministry photos taken, signed our contracts and got $300 KD (about $1000 CDN) and got a tour of the elementary part of the school...heh heh my library is a mess because they've been renovating all summer and I get to plan and put it all back together again...at least they left all the books on the shelves!
Next we went out for lunch and then grocery shopping. I got a cart full of stuff for $42 KD...about $120 CDN...I'm not sure how I feel about this money thing. Tomorrow were going to IKEA...its rough I want to save as much as I can for bills and such since we dont get paid until
the end of September but there's a ton of stuff I need- like a desk, chair and bookshelf to fill the empty room in my apartment. Yeah, I have an empty room and an empty walk-in closet, but no dreser yet. I have a full size kitchen (complete with propane stove O.o) TWO balconies, a full bathroom, a laundry room, a combined dining-living room and a bedroom that has a king size bed. Oh well, it is a settling in allowance might as well use it for that...its not like Im blowing it on comic books and CDs.
I got a step up & down transformer so I could finally run my laptop, I don't do well with silence...no internet yet...tomorrow I believe, phones and such as well.
I still haven't unpacked.
Shopping was...an experience. Sarah and I got all the normal stuff wed get at home (including familiar brands) and I got a guys phone number...and I didn't even have to try! I passed him half a dozen times, the 1st time he smiled, the 2nd he mumbled hello, the 3rd he mumbled and asked if I had a phone number- I didn't really hear what he said but when I did, I said no...so he gave me
his, sans name, and told me he'd call my number when I called him...I've been in this country less than 24 hours! LMAO
My power converter freaks me out. To run my laptop I plug the converter into the wall, plug a European plug into it, and into the European converter I plug the converter that turns my 3 pronged laptop plug into 2 prongs...it looks crazy...I wonder if its still grounded. Maybe I should get a surge protector and plug IT into the prong converter and the laptop into it...IKEA, I need you!
Im going to unpack and hang EVERYTHING up...lots of wrinkly clothes...I'll throw what I can in the dryer with a wet towel as I don't have an iron yet.
We are being treated to supper tonight by Building #2's host which is good because I'm starving...again.
FYI: There are pigeons in Kuwait.
Day Two:
We started training today...it was alright.
I have a problem...'member how I was happy 300 KD went so far? It doesn't...I have maybe half of what I need and I get my Canadian money into a bank account, so about 500-700KD to live on untill the END OF SEPTEMBER- I'm planning on 265KDs (or less) of expenses between now and the end of Sept (25KD for internet and 20-40KD a week for food/supplies for six weeks.
Keep in mind that I have bought very little and only what I really really need. I'm hoping to get mom to send me a Visa for backup...not that I don't already owe her $500
...what the hell have I gotten myself into? We can get advances from work, but I'd rather not. My cell phone is nice but expensive 60KD (250CDN) just so I could be sure it would work in Canada too...at least the bill comes directly out of our pay...don't have to worry about the bill so much.
I have no money and literally no idea what I'm doing at work...I don't know my curriculem, I have to know the whole crriculum for K-5 and my library has ben dismantled! Well...the books are still on the shelves but it's not a pretty sight...they might have warned me.
I'm tired, jet lagged and cranky...and super stressed AND I have to be at school by 6:45am tomorrow so that we can get the blood work and chest x-rays we all had done at home done again to get our Civil IDs...and I still don't know how to use my propane stove.
Dinner was good- BBQ. Had a great time with my friends.
Day...? I have no idea what day it is...I think it's Thursday.
Okay my melt down from Monday is over...yes, my library is still a mess but my assistants (I GET PEOPLE TO BOSS AROUND!) are coming in on Sunday so I'll have some direction in what I'm doing.
The money sitch isn't as bad as I thought (so long as the KD doesn't fluctuate too much) and I know what I'm doing (mostly) in terms of curriculum.
AND I have the internet, at a 3rd of the cost it would be if I hadn't split it with my 2 floormates!
What have I done in the last couple days...?
LOTS!
I've had my blood work and x-rays done (the same one's I did at home before I came here). I've learned a lot from a DVD by Harry Wong (no, you're not immature to laugh at his name, we all do too).
In addition to the phone number I got in the supermarket I had a guy pull over to the side of the road and offer me a lift...yeah, I know it's hot out, but no.
I've learned a lot about the curriculum and what I'm supposed to do...not the every day routines but in working with the teachers and coordinators.
Today we were fingerprinted (I think I got all the ink off). The fingerprint guy liked my tattoos...i think when they found out I was Canadian it suddenly made sense to them...they may also have called me crazy...I'm not sure.
Tonight we're eating Lebanese food at The Palm Palace, tomorrow is grocery/supply shopping and Saturday we're going to the Old Market.
Monday, August 10, 2009
A Side Note- Non Kuwait Related
Okay, I admit it...I love wrestling, especially the WWE.
And since I'm moving to Kuwait tonight was my last Monday night RAW and to add to teh awesome, it was live from Calgary...but it sucked and crossed a few too many lines.
Sgt Slaughter guest hosted, which should have been my first clue things were about to go down hill fast.
It was in Calgary which, despite being a rocking place, should have prepared me for Vince's hatred of Bret Hart (Calgary is Bret's hometown) to come shining through.
Anyway, the whole night was one big bash on Canada. The WWE even faked the audience, live and TV, by playing Bret's entrance music...even though we all know Bret will never set foot in a WWE ring (see his Wikipedia entry for the backstory) again, we all got out hopes up...but the music switched to Hacksaw Jim's (another old timer) and he came out.
That sucked, but on the OFFICIAL WWE chat one of the official WWE employees made an thinly veiled comment about Owen Hart- Bret's youngest brother who accidently fell to his death in one of Vince's rings...something that could have been prevented had the saftey regulations actually been adheared to.
CC made the comment after The Calgary Kid (actually The Miz, an American, came out to win a contract match after losing his the week before) came out in a mask...Owen used to wear a mask when he played the Blue Blazer...a role he hated very much and the one that killed him.
I guess even though it's my last RAW for a long time, I won't miss the show THAT much.
I really don't know why I expected more from Vince McMahon, really...
And since I'm moving to Kuwait tonight was my last Monday night RAW and to add to teh awesome, it was live from Calgary...but it sucked and crossed a few too many lines.
Sgt Slaughter guest hosted, which should have been my first clue things were about to go down hill fast.
It was in Calgary which, despite being a rocking place, should have prepared me for Vince's hatred of Bret Hart (Calgary is Bret's hometown) to come shining through.
Anyway, the whole night was one big bash on Canada. The WWE even faked the audience, live and TV, by playing Bret's entrance music...even though we all know Bret will never set foot in a WWE ring (see his Wikipedia entry for the backstory) again, we all got out hopes up...but the music switched to Hacksaw Jim's (another old timer) and he came out.
That sucked, but on the OFFICIAL WWE chat one of the official WWE employees made an thinly veiled comment about Owen Hart- Bret's youngest brother who accidently fell to his death in one of Vince's rings...something that could have been prevented had the saftey regulations actually been adheared to.
CC made the comment after The Calgary Kid (actually The Miz, an American, came out to win a contract match after losing his the week before) came out in a mask...Owen used to wear a mask when he played the Blue Blazer...a role he hated very much and the one that killed him.
I guess even though it's my last RAW for a long time, I won't miss the show THAT much.
I really don't know why I expected more from Vince McMahon, really...
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Hello out there...
Well, you've found me...how and why we may never know.
In 6 days I, your humble metal addled narrator, will be moving to Kuwait to become the head elementary librarian in an American private school...am I nervous? Well, yeah...I really have no idea what it is that I've gotten myself into.
I guess you could sum me up in a few lines from my favorite Poison song (Fallen Angel):
"Just a small town girl with her whole life
Packed in a suitcase by her feet."
Started packing today...how is it that I own this much stuff?
Anyway it's 2 am right now and there isn't much to tell until the fun really starts next week...so I'll see you then!
In 6 days I, your humble metal addled narrator, will be moving to Kuwait to become the head elementary librarian in an American private school...am I nervous? Well, yeah...I really have no idea what it is that I've gotten myself into.
I guess you could sum me up in a few lines from my favorite Poison song (Fallen Angel):
"Just a small town girl with her whole life
Packed in a suitcase by her feet."
Started packing today...how is it that I own this much stuff?
Anyway it's 2 am right now and there isn't much to tell until the fun really starts next week...so I'll see you then!
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