Its been a bit!

So, let's start with the bombing from two weeks ago.  I wrote down all my feelings and thoughts after it happened, but I am not sure about posting it because of the lack of freedom of speech in Beirut. So, I will try and sum it up.

We didn't even know the bombing happened until we read about it, we did not feel it at all. It occured about 15 minutes away.  We stayed in our building and in our local area for the weekend.  There was no reason to get ourselves in any potentially dangerous situation.  There was a lot of tire burning and protests.  Once and awhile the smell of burning rubber would waft its way to our building.  2 days later the city was back to its busy, loud self. The Lebanese recover very quickly!

I have decided that since this new job allows me a lot! a lot! of free time that I would try and set some professional goals for myself.  Please notice that none of my goals involve working out which is ridiculous since I get done with work everyday at 2.

My number 1 goal is to be complimented on an outfit I wear to school.  Not by an American.  I am definitely the nerdy American teacher at the Preschool.  The local teachers wear outfits that I would wear out for a nice dinner or for drinks with a friend.  A woman the other day literally wore a tube top! Needless to say a tube top and my Ann Taylor loft wardrobe do not match. Since, I no longer own tube tops, I have to think of something else.  I have been banned from Pajama jeans from my husband, but I am pretty sure they would get me the win in this goal.  Shelby and Molly have banned me from diaper pants so again, I am way behind.  I think I have the shoes nailed down because almost everyone owns a pair of converse shoes with spikes on them..no joking! So, I just have to find the longest spike shoes possible! Any other ideas is appreciated. I will keep you posted on my progress.

My number 2 goal is to get my 5 year re-certification done for Virginia and begin working towards a General Education endorsement. I am really excited about this but the time change is making things a little more difficult because I can't call and ask questions whenever I want. But, I am confident this will work out. Although my track record with getting things done in the teaching world isn't great.

My number 3 goal is to learn how to make cake balls. They are a delicious treat sold in a bakery here and I am obsessed with them and they make me giggle whenever I talk about them.  They are small, round balls of undercooked cake in a multiple of favors. I am pretty sure this goal is impossible but I am going to do my best to try!

Finally,
This past weekend we had a 4 day weekend and we made the most of it.  On Friday we created a building wide decathlon and had a blast. There was beer pong, flip cup, and roof drop just to name a few.

Then on Sunday we went to Byblos which is an amazing fishing town about a half an hour away and had a great time.  There is a crusader castle there that is over a 1000 years old.  Oh the stories it could tell and the amount of people that have been there.  Crazy! It was also super nice to get out of the city for awhile and not hear honking horns every 5 minutes. 

Pictures from all weekend events are below

                                            Rooftop Drop. We dropped napkins rings from the roof into a bucket!

                                          The black raincoat team!

                                         The columns in Byblos

   This was found after an earthquake. There may or may not be a dead body in there..=)

                                         Byblos!

Fun times in Lebanon

I had a lot of firsts last week in Lebanon and most of them turned out great.

I went on Friday night to a dance club with a co-worker.  We got a half hour Salsa lesson and then a band came on and continued to play Salsa music.  I really enjoy dancing usually but I have found that I do not enjoy being in close dancing proximity to strangers.  I am unable to be comfortable making eye contact with a stranger who is practically nose to nose with me.  Thus, making it very challenging for me to be a good dancer. I am also not good at following and letting the guy take the lead, shocker there..I know! So, I will take the knowledge of not liking to dance with strangers touching me into my future and check off the box on my list of things to do for know yourself better..=)
I also danced in the lesson with a young guy who just kept insisting on telling me that he is "just a really good dancer." I don't know anything else about him, except that he is a really good dancer.  Do not think when you read this that maybe there was a language barrier and that was all the English he knew.  He knew lots of English words about himself, hence "I am a very good dancer and a dentist." We strangely enough did not reunite on the dance floor after the lesson.  So, the number 2 thing I learned this week. I do not enjoy really good Lebanese dancers.

If I keep on at this pace of knowing myself in 2 years I will be the most self-aware person in the world!

I also decided to try the world of maintence here in Lebanon.  By maintance I mean I needed my eyebrows waxed or I was hoping to get them waxed.  I had asked several of the girls in my building where they went for personal grooming and since all the names are Arabic my brain refuses to accept or memorize them, so I often venture off in the general direction someone pointed me and hope for the best.
Anyways, lucky enough for me there is a beauty salon two buildings away from our apartment, so I was able to avoid getting lost..=)  I walk by there every day and there is often a group of employees just sitting on the stairs and they all watch you when you get a haircut. It is a very unusaul experience and makes me again for uncomfortable...haha. But, I had to go to this place because, of course, I could not remember the name of anywhere else to go.  Stupid Brain!...So, I walk in and in offensively slow ( i am trying not to be one of those people who thinks talking louder to someone who speaks a different language makes a difference so in turn I talk really slowly and take lots of long pauses, intermixed with lots of confused faces..works super well.) and ask to get my eyebrows done.  A nice lady offers to help me and I spend the whole walk trying to tell her I just want an eyebrow wax.  I am asking her general questions and she just keeps nodding along.
I have to preface this by saying I am asking lots of questions because some of the people here in Lebanon do not believe in eyebrows consisting of hair.  They much prefer it to be hairless but filled in with make-up.  I do not believe in this and I wanted to make that abundently clear to my new friend.
Long story short, I still have eyebrows but I did experience threading for the first time, along with the most plucking any human has ever had to endure. I spent what felt like an eternity, wincing and cringing and wiping tears from my eyes. I am sure the lady thought I was one tough cookie. I personally find plucking to be one of the worst and most annoying thing ever!  Its like being pinched 100 times. It takes all my self-control not to swing a right hook on whoever is closet. Thankfully, there are no laws in Lebanon so if by accident I hit my new eyebrow friend, she can do nothing about it.

The couple across the hall from Michael and I are awesome. The wife is from Thailand and she makes amazing Thai food. I subtly hinted to her that I love Thai food and now whenever she makes extra she brings Michael and I a plate to share.  It is freaking fantastic. Although, it is some of the spiciest food I have ever eaten.  Last weekend she invited a bunch of us over to have a Thai cooking class.  We made fried chicken with mango salads and it was all super delicious.  Now, everytime our doorbell rings I am very wishful it is her with more food. 

 Mango chicken salad!

This week we also started the process for getting our work permits.  Without them we can not leave the country.  So, you have to go about a half an hour away, depending the worlds worst traffic to general security.  The school has a driver that gives you a ride.  There are a lot of them so it is always a surprise who you will get.  Moving on, we get to general security and a guy who now works for our school, calls you from the curb to get out of the car in the middle of traffic and follow him.  Next time I will know that follow him means run as fast as you can because he is not waiting.  We walk through metal detectors into a room that is the DMV but without any rules or regulations. I know the DMV can take forever and super suck, but imagine a DMV with no lines or ticket numbers or order ( i think i have mentioned it before, but Lebanon literally does not believe in lines, anywhere).  You just push as hard as you can to get to the desk you need to go to. Then you go upstairs (two at a time) to another set of desks that you push your way to. Then you finally go to another room where you wait in a tangled mess outside of until you can push your way through. Thankfully, the guy who was with me knows everyone who works there so we skip all lines and go to different desks.
Good news is I will get my permit in a week Lebanese time..so 3 weeks American time and I will be ready for Barcelona and Paris!!

Finally,
If you have made it this far. I have attached a few photos. I feel like all the pictures Michael and I post of our things and not us and since I know you all love to see us. Here you go!

 Me after walking in the pouring rain to one of favorite places Dar.  Our friend Nadia's cousin owns it and we met her this night. She was probably really jealous of my hair!

 Me working..aka...looking at people.com

Michael working...writing and responding to parent emails ...

Day to Day

Hi friends.

I have added a video of some pictures from our daily lives in Beirut.  I hope it works. If it doesn't work right please let me and I can send it to you in an email.

Things have been great here the past few days. The temperature has started to cool down and there is a nice breeze.  So, we are enjoying spending time outside.  We had a building bbq last night and a few people from the another international school came and it was a wonderful evening.  The weather was perfect and everyone could not have been friendlier.  We are excited to get to know more and more people outside of the IC family.

I was going to include pictures of the Corniche (its the walkway) along the Sea by our house, because I just wanted to show our main walking routes so you can visual what our walk to and from school and doing regular things looks like.

We also went to the driving range with the President of our school last week and plan on going again on Tuesday.  We got a golf pro ( i don't know how pro a person can be in Beirut) but he seemed to have good advice.  Its a nice past time especially with the nice weather.  It is considerably cheaper than the states but we have to go in a taxi and pay a few fees so we will see how often we continue to go.

Things are getting better at work, I am starting to find my way slowly but surely.  These next two years are definitely going to be the most unique teaching experiences we are probably going to have.  So, we will learn to enjoy it while we are here before we have to go back to the States and all the pressures of No Child Left Behind.

We miss everyone terribly! Hope you are all well while reading this and enjoying the blog.

We also decided to name our wall Octupus Clumsy, but every since he has come into our lives I have become more clumsy, so I am going to rename the Octupus multimillionaire in hopes that rubs off on us as well.

Just a little over 2 months before Barcelona and Paris..WAHOO!

Short one

This blog will be short. Not much happening different than last week. I just wanted to post one or two pictures.

Last week we went on the boat cruise with the school. I don't know if we will ever get tired of looking down into the Sea and being able to see all the way to the bottom. It was beautiful.  Not a bad way to spend a Saturday. 

Our friend Tyson, who is also from Portland, invented a game called Frisbee ball (depending on who you ask) and we spent Saturday night playing, it is a our own cheap take on cornhole and which entertaining.

Last night we had a garden party at the President of the schools house and it was amazing. The house is in the middle of the schools campus but is kind of a sanctuary.  It has a huge concert wall around it and inside it is full of trees and greenery which is very rare in Beirut.  It was catered and the food was fantastic.


This week my goal is to walk around Beirut and take some pictures of things I see everyday. I think a lot of people have no real idea of what Beirut looks like, just an idea. At least, I know I didn't before I got here. It definitely has some beautiful aspects but there are definitely some unattractive parts to the city and I want to show both sides so people understand a little more about our day to day. The good, the bad, and the ugly..=)

The last few days!

This has probably been the toughest (emotionally) week so far.  We officially started school on the 19th and I was really glad because I have been really bored.  I have found that boredom in a forgein country is not a great thing. I was working and trying to help out the teachers, but I had minimal directions/instructions on what I was supposed to be doing.  I just sat and watched a lot and frankly some kids are just not that interesting..haha.
Friday things definitely started to turn around.  I met a few new school friends that I will be spending a lot of time with.

Sidenote** For those of you who I steered wrong originally. I am a special needs teacher after all. I thought I was going to be a classroom teacher but was quickly found to be mistaken..=)

So, I have been a little bored this which and I have been having some painful stomach issues.  The people in the building call it the "Beirut Belly."  I finally broke down and went to the school infirmary and got medication and am instantly feeling better.

But, the combo of upset stomach and boredom really made me miss home and want my family and friends.  Michael is much busier than me, so he tried hard to be supportive but he also just received the summer reading for 2 grades about 3 days before school started, so he has a lot of catching up to do.

Saturday things definitely started to turn around. Our President (of the school, unfortunately not Barak Obama) took the new hires and old forgein hires on a Mediterranian boat cruise and it was fantastic. The water was so blue you could see clear to the bottom and the boat was full of an endless supply of drinks and food.  The day was perfect and we got to know our fellow apartment mates a little bit more. It is a unique experience we find ourselves in and its priceless to have "instant" friends or people who can help you when you need information or suggestions.  We feel very lucky we like everyone we live so close to so much.

Kids and School
So far the kids at school are adorable and sometimes I feel like already smarter than me.  They know more wealth and languages in their 3 to 5 years of life than I will know in my lifetime. Most of them already speak French, Arabic, and English.  They have drivers and nannies and take weekend trips to Paris and London. It is unbelievable!  Yet, most of them are very endearing and sweet.  I wore my glasses to school for the first time the other day and a little girl stopped me and said "you have glasses today, you look very pretty." I almost cried on the spot. Last year when I got glasses my students told me I would look ugly..haha..what a difference!
I have been told numerous times from my boss that parents will hate me, special needs is a stimga that is not appreciated here.  This is a little unnerving for me, I really don't like people not to like me, which is weird since I am not always the nicest person in the world. I think I want to choose wether I should like you, not have you decide. That is normal right..=)
I supposedly will have kids with minimal disabilities and challenges and I think that will prove to be true.  However, there is a friend in the nursery(that's age 3) that seems to have something that starts with a big capital A.  I was told not to talk about it yet. =) So, the big A is my sneaky way of letting you all know. I know just call me secret ops. And I think he will prove to be a bit of an adventure!
There are other few kids on my list already.  I found a little girl on Thursday hiding behind the kitchen set in her classroom and then she would slowly creep out (literally creep) and push a little girl standing nearby then run back behind the kitchen.  She did this about three times ( i promise I did try and stop her, although it was quite funny to watch) before the little girl she kept pushing realized that if she went somewhere else she would stop being the target of attacks.  Again, I think I found a new school year "friend."

There is no formal assessment for students in the preschool, so I am hoping to talk to someone about some options of adopting something, we will see where that goes. But, I am excited to do some research and curb some of my downtime.
My biggest worry about the job right now, is that if a kid can not cut it in the school or falls to far behind they are politely asked to go elsewhere. This is the hardest part for me. In the States you are taught to fight tooth and nail for your kiddos and you HAVE to make it work one way or another. Here, its simply thanks for trying and good-bye. Its interesting how things change when wealth is involved.

Finally,

I know people have been hearing about the Anti-American protests all over Beirut. I promise you that they have had zero affect on our lives here.  They were peaceful and school was not even cancelled. So, please don't worry anymore! We are doing great!

Double Finally,

We have moved to a new apartment in building. We didn't want to be on first floor anymore and with the change we were lucky enough to find our new friend Clumsy! Don't misjudge him. He is not as small as he seems.  He literally takes up the entire wall..=) We were also happy to find a dart board and a pretty well done jungle hall.  Pictures are attached!

Another one. I couldn't resist

OMG! I really hate using that phrase but it is the only phrase that perfectly summarizes the last two days!
I have learned two new things in the last 2 days.
1.  The Lebanese love to dance and I mean love. A song with a good beat comes on, it doesn't matter if it is in Arabic or English, and they can not help but move.  Whether it is just snapping or clapping along, they can't help themselves.  It is amazing to watch!
2. The Lebanese love to chew gum.  At my first staff meeting women were eating gum by the handful, it was crazy.  Not just one piece at a time, but handfuls!

So, let me start with Sunday to explain my OMG two days.  I joined a guy from my building and school and two of his friends from another American school for an all day boat cruise on the Mediterranin cruise.  Sounds amazing..right?  Well, it was the first 4 hours!  So, we started out late, of course, and then sailed in a zig-zag, literally a zig-zag while the locals danced to American hip-hop without hesitation! If you want to imagine how they dance, just put on some American hip-hop and then wave your hands back and forth. You are now welcome at any Lebanese club. Congratulations!
So, we anchored for a bit and swam, this was all really wonderful.  But, two hours later we were ready to return home.  It is really hot out there! But, no the Captain continually left the boat in a smaller boat and ran some errands..I think!  So, finally the anchors came up after about 20 minutes of trying and the look on the boat was sad.  People were tired and hot and annoyed, but wait don't worry not for long!  They captain threw on some Arabic hip-hop (i think) and the people couldn't resist.  The boat returned to its original glory and it was bumping...I am very glad that I did the ride, I just wish it had ended about 3 hours earlier.  All and All the trip was 6 hours, that is a long time in the hot sun at a non-stop dance party!

Then our cab driver on the way home, refused to use any turn lanes, which is not super unusual, lanes on the road here are simply for decoration, he then proceeded to turn next to a car rather than wait his turn onto an exit ramp to the highway and gave the car next to a friendly nudge! And nobody said anything about it, we just kept on driving! Craziness!

Today was my first real day of work here and we started with a faculty meeting, but before that there was about an hour of hugs and kisses and excited good to see yous everywhere.  The Lebanese love to kiss. The once on each cheek is not enough, so they do three.  It takes forever! Thankfully, I avoided all kisses today!  All the teachers seemed so genuinely happy to see each other. There was laughter and excitement everywhere.  They really are an animated and happy culture.  Of course, I did not understand a word of anything, but it was fun to watch and feel the good vibes.  Many  of the women spoke to me and were very friendly, but it is so weird to be the only person in the room who doesn't know what people are talking about.

Then we went to our staff meeting and nobody listened through the whole thing! Everyone talked to the people next to them and did not seem to notice the meeting going on around them.  It was like nothing I have ever seen before.  Unfortunately, again I did not understand any of what was being said around me, although the meeting was being lead in English.  Shocker! I get called on for an english language question, and have not been paying attention so I don't know the answer in front of my boss...yikes!  Thankfully, I mumbled a few things and we quickly moved on and everyone started talking again.  Maybe that is why they chew so much gum, because it is the only way to stay quiet in a meeting..=)

The women I work with are wonderful, but I am the only non-Lebanese woman in the my building.  I think I experienced my first real culture shock today.  We would break into small groups and everyone in the group would try and remember to speak English, but of course, naturally, would slip into their native tongue and I would just smile and nod along.  I am beginning Arabic classes in a few days which should help, or so you would think, however!!!! The women in my school are all trilingual..thats right three languages!  I can barely speak one!  So, to keep up with all of them I would also have to become fluent in French! No, big deal..right!
It is amazing, that in a building of 40 plus staff, 99% of them speak 3 languages.  What a school system and what a lot of work.  I felt slightly inferior today.  I am sure I am better at things than them, but I still can't wrap my head around knowing 3 languages..3!!!!!

I kept thinking in the meeting today, what have I gotten myself into!!  Everyone kept telling me to remind them to speak in English.  I feel very torn about doing this because why should they all adapt to me.  In the States, they couldn't tell me to remember to speak in Arabic. I would just expect them to know English, so why don't they have the same expectations for me?  I know, I know..its an American school and I got hired knowing I only speak English, but it is still an interesting thought.
It was so weird to be in a room with people and try and easedrop, everyone who knows me, knows this is, dare I say, a hobby of mine..=) and not have even a clue of what was being said.
But, seriously, it was a very strange day and quite an adjustment.  I think I am in an invaluable situation where I get to learn so much about something right from the source.  I will key words and customs and traditions from who better but the people that live it everyday.  I keep remiding myself of this when at times today all I wanted to do was scream and say just speak frikin English...PLEASE!!!'

Oh today I was also told that my office would be in a container next to the school.  I quickly followed up with "a container,...is it in the building." "no"..."does it have a window?"  "yes"..hmm I am hoping something has gotten lost in translation and my office is in a trailer more than a container or my next post will be sent from the inside of what I am imagining as a storage unit!!

I feel like this post was a little chaotic, but I have a lot of thoughts and feelings right now and trying to focus on one is proving to be a challenge.

Thanks for reading.

I get to go on another boat cruise, this time with all the people from my school on Saturday. I have to say I can get used to a life where I take two boat cruises a week on the Mediterranian...

Attached is a photo from my first boat cruise!

Ps. In case you were wondering and willing to read this far, Michael will not follow me on my blog...=)

Our first week

Our first week in Beirut has officially come to an end and it has been much better than we could have anticipated..

I got to talk to Shelby and Stephanie from Barcelona..amazing!

I got to take a bus ride to my school's second campus to the mountains.  Also amazing. Although the bus ride made me want to vomit.  There are no rules on the road here.  People ride with their children in their laps in the front seat, no one wheres a seat belt, and if you miss an exit, you just put your car in reverse.  All creating quite a terrifying ride.

We also got to go to our first two Lebanese bars.  The first one we went to and was brand new to the area.  The drinks were very reasonably priced (compared to northern Virginia standards) and it was a nice outdoor/indoor combo.  Pictures will be included. It looks like a long hallway.

Then we went over to another bar and heard local Lebanese cover band and it was soo fun!  I never thought I would come to Beirut and hear a Lebanese band sing songs from Alanis Morrisette to Sublime to Arabic songs I, of course, never heard before.  It was great help in battling homesickness to do something I would do in the States.

We went with a follow teacher in our building and some friends he had made from another local school and everyone was so welcoming.  Everyone is so nice here because they have all been in same situation and they know what you are going through. It has also been interesting to talk to people with so many different travel experiences.  I feel like everyone here in Beirut has had a different experience and depending on when you meet people, they can have very different opinions of life in Beirut. The underlying theme of everyone's opinions are usually positive though. There are definitely differences in behaviors and characteristics here that take some getting used to.  Being white and semi-blond can definitely cause a lot of people to stare.  It was very strange at first but now I don't even notice.

We have had two orientations at our school and officially start working (not with kids yet) on Monday.  Michael and I are both quite unsure of what are jobs are going to be day to day.  We ask lots of questions and hear quite frequently that we will figure it out later or we should not worry about it.  Michael and I both keep wondering when later will be the present, but have decided to take the stand of not worrying about it.  Why stress about things you can't control.  It is so different than the mindset in D.C. but we are quickly learning to expect everything to start at least a half an hour later than scheduled.

We have also learned that in stores/restaurants there are no lines, it is anybodys game when trying to order or pay for things.  We have also learned that anything can be delivered to your door (beer, movies, tv shows) and that someone will follow you home with your groceries.  This was the weirdest thing to get used to.  The last time we went to a grocery store a 15 year old boy pushed our shopping carts full of groceries through the busy streets of Beirut, while Michael and I walked in front of him and only talked to ourselves, since he didn't speak English.  I have never felt so American and lazy in my whole life.  haha

Michael and I might switch apartments with another person that decided not to come back and move from the first floor to the third floor, its all very exciting..I know!! However, the best part is the guy that lived on the 3rd floor painted a iridescent giant octopus on the wall behind the tv.  So, how could we not want to live there. Michael is super excited about it.  Where else will we ever live with a giant Octopus on the wall. 

That is all I have for now..Please keep reading!