Back to School

Between my surgery and Eid break, I had been away from school for a long time.  I expected the children not to remember me.  However, they did.  I walked in the hall during recess and my whole class ran up to me.  Then, they ran to tell my Arabic co-teacher that I showed up.  Between the cheek kisses from my Arabic co-teachers (common greeting), the kids running and hugging me, and the welcome back gifts the teachers gave me, I felt something like a celebrity.  Hahahahaha.  Seriously though, I am so thankful for all of the love.  Sometimes I start to think that I may never return to America......well at least not for a long time.

Despite being treated like a local celebrity, being back at school entertaining the four-year-olds was draining.  They won all week.  They literally wore me out.  I had to sit still over the weekend just to recover from school, and I only work about four hours everyday.  I don't know how you mothers do it all day everyday.

Here is a glimpse of one of our little experiments/activities.  We turned cream (frosting) red and blue using food coloring, placed it on biscuits (cookies), and ate it.  It is against the religion to waste food, so we must eat it after we finish using it in our activities.  The kids loved it, and hopefully now know the colors red and blue.

Namaste

I love traveling to countries like India not because it makes me realize how fortunate I am, but instead it shows me how people don't need material things to be happy.  There was a sense of peace and tranquility in India (except for the constant honking from all of the cars).  Everyone greets you with "Namaste," and this is the overall feel of the three cities I visited "I honor you........namaste."

I visited the Golden Triangle in India which included the cities of Jaipur, Agra, and New Dheli:

JAIPUR
Jaipur is known as the "Pink City."  The current king of Jaipur is 16 years old.  He has no power but is still regarded as the king.  The previous king had no sons so his grandson now holds the title.

Riding through old Jaipur....the pink part

Fort in Jaipur

Riding an elephant to the fort

Monkeys at the fort

Water fort

Making jewels

Country specific chips were NOT my favorite

AGRA
The Taj Mahal is located in Agra.  The Taj Mahal has 22 domes because it was completed in 22 years.  Like other buildings in India, it is a combination of Islamic and Hindi architecture.  Islamic culture does not idolize living things, therefore it is not included in the architecture.  Instead, Islamic architecture includes domes and other designs.  Hindi architecture includes a lot of animals and flowers.

Entrance to Taj Mahal

NEW DHELI
New Dheli has a population of 18 million but is the second largest city in India.  Mombay is the largest.

The arc.  I don't remember the name of it but it's just like the arc in Paris.

Mosque

Mosque in New Dheli

New friend.  Not really, but he wanted a pic.  I should've started giving out my autograph too.

Lotus Temple for Bahi religion - only 7 temples in the world known for architecture.  The one in India is shaped like a lotus flower.

We were like monuments everywhere we went.  We finally gave in and took pics with these school girls from southern India.

INDIA AS A WHOLE
-There are 22 official languages with more than 1600 dialects.  Languages include English, Hindi, Punjabi (spoken by Sikh religion/turban guys), hoodu (spoken by Indian muslims).  English and Hindi are the connecting languages.
-According to my tour guide, there are three things needed to drive in India: 1.  good brakes, 2.  good horn, and 3.  good luck.  He claims that people in India will drive without and engine before they drive without a horn.  LOL.  The whole time we drove from city to city, they did not give those horns a break.  The interesting thing is that our tour guide claims there are not a lot of accidents in India because the horn says to other drivers "I am here."  He says they touch cars and have a lot of dents and scratches, but not too many accidents.
-India is a multi religious country.  It is 80% Hindi, 17% Muslim, and 3% Christian.  Because it is a multi religious country, all religious holidays are acknowledged.  While we were there, they were celebrating Eid (a time in the Muslim religion in which they celebrate Ibraham's willingness to sacrifice his son when Allah asked him to do so).  Ironically, we were also on Eid break.
-India is 60% desert (I did not know this at all).
-Camel shoes are popular in India but they do not kill camels.  Instead, they let the camels die naturally.  Camel shoes are lightweight and fit inside your pocket.
-The cow is sacred in India.  Even the muslims are asked not to sacrifice the cow during Eid.  Cows roam streets freely.  What confused me is that where I saw cows, I didn't see much grass.  What do they eat?


The best part of my trip could not be captured in pictures.  I intended to donate supplies and other items to an orphanage.  However, I failed to prepare and plan.  Nevertheless, I did get the tour guide to take us to a hospital/orphanage in Agra, a Mother Teresa center.  We made a monetary donation and toured the facility.  In the children's wing, a two year old grabbed my hand and wouldn't let go.  He walked me through the whole children's wing.  When it was time to go, I had to take him back to the nurses and pull his hand away from mine.  If I could've taken him home, I would have.  I am thankful for the opportunities to travel and see the world.  I am even more thankful to be able to pay my blessings forward. Namaste.

So I lied...

For the past few weeks if anyone asked how I was after surgery, I would give the generic reply, "fine."  But I was telling straight lies.  The surgery itself was a flawless procedure.  It took a few hours and after a short period in the recovery room, I was back in my room talking to my friends.  There was minimal pain (I am sure the fluids flowing in that IV had something to do with this), the doctor showed me pics of everything he had removed, and all was well.  The only problem was a low BMI and low calcium levels, nothing that couldn't be easily resolved.  However, days after the surgery I begin to break out in hives and my lips began to swell.  I was having an allergic reaction to the meds.  I was on so many meds for calcium, thyroid hormones, and pain that it was hard to determine which meds were causing the reaction.  Therefore, the doctor took me off of every med except the thyroid hormones as these are necessary for someone who no longer has a functioning thyroid.  I then saw a dermatologist that gave me two shots in the buttocks and allergy medication.  Unfortunately, the reaction didn't stop and only got worse.  I turned out to be a rare case of being allergic to the thyroid medicine.  This made me uneasy.  No thyroid causes me to have a condition called hypothyroid.  This condition can lead to fluctuating weight, depression, hair loss, and more.  The only way to regulate the condition is through the thyroid medication.  But leave it to me to be allergic to the one medicine I needed most.  The solution was to stop taking the meds for three days to get it completely out of my system.  On the third day, I was to start a new brand of medication that my system hopefully would not reject.  I am now on day four of the new meds and all seems to be going well.  The rashes have cleared up and my lip is no longer swollen.  I totally lied though.  Throughout this process I was not "fine."  I was itching and uncomfortable, and a bit worried about what would happen if we couldn't find a proper thyroid medicine for me to take.  The good thing about the whole situation is that in this country, I don't need referrals or appointments or even ER visits.  Every time I had a problem, I texted my doctor on Whatsapp and he would tell me what to do, or would allow me to come straight to his office.  If he wanted me to see another doctor, he would send me to that doctor in the same hospital.  Here, it is so much easier to deal with health care situations.  And want to know another secret?  My surgery was totally free except for the copays I paid (50 AED or $13) to see each of the doctors or the small fees I paid for the meds.

I can't believe I am sharing this

Swollen lips and not the Kylie Jenner style

Now, I can actually say and mean it......"I am fine."  I am ready to go back to work.  That doctor recommended two weeks off and I thought for sure I would be back sooner.  Boy was I wrong.  I needed two weeks just to stop itching.  SMH.  But, Alhamdulillah all is well now and I am ready to return to my children.  

I haven't seen that "hole" in my neck in years.  Scarring isn't all that bad either.

Before I make that return though, we are on holiday here and I am headed to India.  I will be traveling the "Golden Triangle" (Delhi, Agra, and Jaipur) for the remainder of this week.  The children are out for Eid and school will resume next week.

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I also have to take the time out to acknowledge Pedro, a high school friend who sent me my first care package this year.  I didn't even have to ask. He told me he knew what it was like to live overseas and to make a list of things I needed.  Wow!  I swear God is showing out with all of the love I have been receiving lately.