My Little Minions

The very thing I love about my children is also the one thing I hate....they are all little MEs.  It never fails, even with a language barrier, I have managed to transform these sweet innocent children into sarcastic, smart-mouthed goofballs.  I turned them into myself.  For example, I had a young man that was so excited because he got a new shanta (book bag).  A little girl lines up behind him, examines the bag really closely, looks up at me and says, "Shanta Bennat (I can't spell any of these Arabic words).  But anyway, loosely translated she was asking me if it was a book bag for a girl.  I kept telling her that it was his book bag and she refused to accept the answer.  She just kept looking at the flowery book bag and then back at me swearing it was a girl's bag.  Then there are those students that love to tell me good job as if I am four-years-old, or the ones that force you to say good morning or goodbye to them, or the ones that look at me like a dummy when I mix up the Sheiks or simply don't understand another child (they know a few English words and swear they can help me out), and finally the girls that keep giving me these cheek kisses every time they come back from specials or when they think I am about to get mad.  LOL.  This is why I can't leave education.  I always fall in love with my students.  I love creating little mini-mes.  Who would think that it even happens across the world?

I am going to miss them for the next three weeks that they are out of school.  But that won't stop me from enjoying America.  I cant wait to get home.  I might sound a bit crazy, but I miss Target, Wal-Mart (I didn't even like Wal-Mart when I was in the states), TJ Maxx, Chipotle, real pizza, street addresses, preservatives and sugar in juices, and so much more.  LOL.  I have 10 strong days to enjoy the states.  I am coming home with an empty suitcase because I want some more of my clothes and shoes, and I want to pick up some things from the store that I can't find here.  Not ready for this 14 hour flight, but so ready to see my mommy and some of my family and friends.

This is probably my last post until after the holiday.  Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy Hanukkah, or whatever you say at this time of year.

I will leave you all with a few highlights from the past week:

I might joke and play a lot but one thing I do is my job.  Who just started learning English for the first time, doesn't ever hear or see it at home, but can already write his name in English and Arabic?  My child can.  Don't play.  I came here to work. 

This is not a highlight from my week, but I am in love with this haircut.   In 2015 I think I might be more girly and try to maintain my hair and makeup.  That last sentence is probably a lie, but this is a nice cut.

Somebody somewhere in this world thought it was a brilliant idea to let kids write in shaving cream.  "Fine motor skills" they said.  "Learning through play" they said.  Man, my kids wrote their numbers (not evident in any picture captured) but we were all sticky nasty messes when we finished.  It was kinda fun though.  

Last Thursday our school district encouraged teachers to wear red for "Ibby," the teacher murdered on Reem Island.  Red was her favorite color.  The Arabic teachers did not understand at first why we would wear red because they consider red a happy color, not one for mourning.  But, when we explained that red was chosen because it was her favorite color, they participated as well by wearing red shaylas (head coverings) or red in their abayas.  I love the way we came together on this.  

Out here in the desert, they like to have random get togethers.  I am sooooo thankful for my desert family.  I wouldn't have made it out here in this desert without them.  This picture is a "just because" get together since we are all about to go different ways for the break.  We also ate breakfasts/brunch and dinner together everyday this weekend as everyone was trying to clean out their refrigerators before leaving for two weeks.  LOL.  I fought it and I hated it and I even questioned God about it, but I was placed out in this desert for a reason.

I sucked at Christmas this year.  Although it is the same time every year, I feel like it snuck up on me this year.  I did no shopping whatsoever.  SMH.  I will do better with souvenirs and such when I go to the states for the summer.

Two Faced World

Warning - this post will be all over the place as there is a lot on my mind.


Years ago, when I read some of the late Tupac Shakur's poetry and learned a little more about his life outside of rap, I always thought to myself "It has to be a heavy burden to try to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders."  It seems like Tupac really was upset by the ugliness of the world and wanted to change it, but didn't know how.  This feeling of wanting to change something so big but not knowing how seemed to make him angry, hence showing another side of himself.  These were my thoughts years ago.  I may or may not be right about that assessment, but I still feel that it is hard to think of and internalize the ugliness of the world.  The teacher here was killed because she was American, people in America are being killed because of their race, people in certain neighborhoods are being killed because of their affiliations or material possessions, people over here fight because of differences in tribes.  You can't avoid the ugly.  It's all over.  But why?  I met a man in Bahrain this past week that told me he has traveled to 29 countries and that the world is beautiful but we as people make it so ugly.  I look at my four year old children and think how they are so innocent, but one wrong word or action witnessed can taint them forever.  An expat teacher's daughter was told, in the third grade, by another child that she will go to Hell because she eats pork, because all Christians eat pork.  This hatefulness is not innate, nor do children even understand what they are saying.  It comes directly from adults.  And from what I have learned so far, these are not the teachings of the Muslim religion.  From my understanding, there is no religion that teaches hate.  Yet, there are people that are a part of the religion that HATE in the name of said religion.  These are the things that people like Tupac Shakur couldn't take (I am not sure why he is my point of reference today but I have always found him intriguing).  It just really worries me that my kindergartners in Atlanta used to tell me they hated the Mexican children sitting right next to them in class, but didn't really know why.  It bothers me that one day my current students might be in a brawl because of the tribe they come from, when right now, they are so innocent and accepting.  An expat posted a status stating that her students hugged her today and told her they love American teachers and she didn't have to be afraid.  If children are born so innocent, where do we go wrong in life?  What really happens?

Thinking of the problems of the world gives me a headache.  This is why I don't normally even watch the news.  And it is just tiresome to see the same things happening over and over and over across the world.  When will we wake up.

But anyway, those are just my random thoughts that have been racing through my mind.  But this isn't a sad post as there are two sides to everything.  Just as there is an ugly side to the world, there is also some beauty in the world.  Today the art teacher gave me the traditional cheek kisses instead of or normal handshake.  I think that was her silent way of telling me she cared.  Here are a few pics and short comments about the beauty from the past week.

I already expressed how much fun we had at the school's National Day celebration.  I had to get some henna because one of my children looked at my hand and said "Mafi Henna (No Henna)" as if I was the only one not on it.  I always get smart mouthed energetic children.  They even chump me in another language.  I think it is me.  Children are a reflection of you as the adult.  I must be one goofy, sarcastic individual based on how these kids act.  I love it!!!!!!!!

This country is so full of pride.  They love their leaders, their land, and everything else.  On Decemeber 2nd, actual National Day, I went to the city.  However, you will see no pics because I did not make it anywhere as traffic was crazy with people hanging out of windows and spraying cars with silly string.  It was worse than Memorial Day in Miami.  All I could say was, "Happy 43 UAE."

Some building in Bahrain.  I really love architecture when I go to new places.  I knew I chose the wrong major at Tech.

This is our view from our hotel in Bahrain. (Try to pronounce it with a HA sound for the h.  The Arabic sound similar to our /h/ sound is harder than ours and I find it very difficult to say in the middle of that name.  You also kind of have to roll the /r/ as well.

A close up of my Henna.  It took a total of about 7 minutes for one of the bus moms at school to complete.

Going to a fort would seem boring on a trip but this one was actually huge and somewhat interesting.  LOL....I am such a tourist.

When I hear the word "fort," all that I can think about is Snoop saying "F yo fort" to the little kid, Jody's son, in Baby Boy.

View from the fort.  The ocean was on the other side but I can't find a picture of it.  Maybe I forgot to take it.  Oops.

My Bahrain traveling partners.

One of the only pictures I really took at the Bahrain Museum.  What is your interpretation of this?  Since petrol is one of the largest resources in the gulf, I thought it talks about how money is the root of all evil and can eventually lead to the demise of a person.  Whatever it means, I liked it.

Bahrain has a navy base, therefore they have a club or "disco."  Ummmm, I thought I was back in Atlanta for a minute.  DJ was from Miami and made me feel like I am old because I did not know some of the songs he played.  I need my Adamsville kids back to keep me up on the latest music, fashion, and gossip.  

I took this at the Bahrain Museum as well only because it reminded me of the Wrambling  Reck.  LOL.

Tree of life.  

There is nothing interesting about driving an hour to see a tree in the middle of the desert until you really start thinking about it....this tree has lived for over 400 years in a desert.  Does it use petro for nutrition?  So confused.  And can you believe that they might make the tree non accessible to tourists because people have been spray painting it.  Leave it to human beings to deface and try to kill a tree that beat the odds for over 400 years.

Saw this at some art place in Bahrain near the restaurant we went to, not once but twice.  If you are ever in Bharain you must try Cocos and then check out the little art gallery around the corner.

This car was at the airport when I came back from Bahrain.  I don't know anything about it.  It was gold, shiny, and a car so I took a pic.

My kids dressed as bunnies today to go with whatever letter they are learning in Arabic.  My coteacher is the best teacher ever in my eyes.  She tells parents what they are going to learning in the upcoming week and the parents send the kids dressed for the part.  They even make extra projects for the kids to present.  I bet they will remember that letter forever and the words that start with said letter.  But ummmmm, is it me or are these costumes a bit scary or weird looking?  LOL  Thank goodness they only put the masks on for the picture.  And where the heck do these parents find this stuff?  Where I work and they live is literally a desert.  There is nothing there but sand, one hotel, a grocery store, and some local side stores.  Oh yea, and camels.

Despite my morbid start on this post, there is some beauty in the world and I love to share it when I can.  The world is so two faced like the character on Batman (what is with me and these references today?  UGH).


Random: I have had this annoying cough for the past three weeks.  It annoys me when I hear it so I know it bothers others.  Plus, who wants to be around all those germs.  Yuk.  But anyway, I finally went to the doctor and she said I have bronchitis. (Yes it took me three weeks to go to the doctor because I do not like doctors or medicine.  I will ride a cold out until it naturally goes away normally).  I was told by the guy that did my x-rays that a lot of people living out west in the sandbox have lungs that look like mine because the air is so bad.  Aint that a ___________.  I love the sandbox but apparently it doesn't love me.  Poor little lungs.

The Power of Prayer

Last week, the Sheik asked everyone to pray for rain.  My friend said at her school, at the Sheik's request, the school actually shut down for a period of time so that the Arabic teachers and children could pray for rain.  On Friday while I was in Dubai I heard that it rained in the western region.  Today, as we left work it rained again.  This is the first time I have seen rain or any sign of rain since I have been here.  That is nothing but God.  Prayer works...that's why I make sure to start my day with a conversation with God every time I hear the first call of prayer in the mornings.

Watch What You Do Around Children

They say imitation is the highest form of flattery.  Today at recess, a student decided to imitate my coteacher and I.  She went through an entire lesson that included making her students (we were two of the students) line up, leading them on a choo choo train to the next area, and doing a center activity in which we were given books and had to find the arabic letter.  It was so cute.  Children at this age really show you what they learn when they are playing.  In addition, they show you that you need to watch what you say and do because they are absorbing EVERYTHING.

After our lesson, we moved from school to a salon.  The student and a couple of others grabbed color pencils and did our hair and makeup.  Yikes!  The pencils were used mostly to color in our eyebrows.  This is hilarious because Arabic women color in their eyebrows really thick and often wear heavy make-up.  Like I said, these children pay attention to everything.

National Day is coming up.  The country will be 43 years old.  The school and community looks like National Day threw up all over...red and green everywhere.  Today, the children dressed in traditional attire.  The traditional attire here confuses me because I think they borrow a lot of their traditions from other countries.  The girls wear garbs and head pieces that are very similar to traditional dress of India.  Nevertheless, the girls are adorable in their dresses and the boys wear the white Kanduras well.

Poor thing had licked her lipstick off by 8:15am, but her eyeliner was on  point for the entire day.  Face BEAT at 4 years old, lol!!!!

Another part of National Day here is car decorating.  Cars are wrapped in the flag, the colors, and pictures of the Sheik.  I heard it is a competition.  I think on Tuesday (the actual holiday) I will go out to the streets and see some of these cars ride around.  I have yet to capture pictures of them, but these cars are the gaudiest  things ever.  Just imagine Christmas colors all over the cars with pictures of leaders.  SMH.

Caught this one in traffic today.  Instead of the colors, the owner opted for the metallic look with the Sheik's images on the side and back.

One thing I can say about this country is the patriotism is real.  They don't play.  My kids can identify the Sheiks before they can identify their own names.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I finally visited Dubai this past weekend.  My friend's mom came to visit so we attended brunch at the Atlantis.  The Atlantis in Dubai is extremely nice, and so are the visitor's cars.  Brunch is a waste of money for me because I don't drink but I can really see my friends from US enjoying this amazing atmosphere with unlimited drinks.  I forgot to take pics at brunch, but here is a little glimpse of the parking lot and us leaving brunch...

After brunch we went to the souk.  The souk was about the same as the one we saw in Oman (clothes, scarfs, touristy stuff, and wait for it......fake purses and glasses)

I participated in the Color Run while in Dubai.  It was soooo much fun.  I also visited the Dubai Mall while there.  The mall is extremely overwhelming.  This country is the only place that can actually shut my shopping habit down.  These malls are too much for me and I am a person that can spend entire days in a mall.  My time in Dubai was short this weekend but I will be back.  I even found some stuff for my friends from the states and I to do if they ever visit.  Don't tell anyone, but I might actually like Dubai better than Abu Dhabi.

All that shirt space available and they aim for your face.

I don't think this is going to come out.

Quiet as kept that pink ish was hard to get off my face.

As if my weekend in Dubai wasn't enough, I got back to the desert just in time to view my Yellow Jackets take on UGA.  I literally wait for this game every year and no matter where I am, I find a way to watch it.  Shout out to Apple TV and the ESPN channel for allowing me to watch the game live from over 7,000 miles away.  The game had me on edge.  I swear I had several heart attacks during the event.  But we came out with the W in the end.  The jumping up and down I did in my flat, ALONE, really makes no sense.  I flooded Facebook timelines and all.  I could barely sleep as if I played and left my heart on that field.  

And I did roll into work today with a Georgia Tech shirt on!  Hardly home but alway reppin.

You Can Be Thankful Anywhere

The desert doesn't owe me anything this Thanksgiving, I swear.  My desert family showed up and showed out.  We gathered together in Villa 11, and it felt like nothing short of home.  We ate turkey, dressing, broccoli casserole, banana pudding, greens, cabbage, corn, chicken, pie, cupcakes, and even had a ham brought to us straight from America (yes it was packed in someone's luggage right next to the greens).  I don't even eat pork but it was a pleasure just to see it on this day.  I had a great time with my new family.  There are too many people, blessings, and opportunities to even list what I am thankful for.

Next up for the weekend is the Color Run in Dubai and what I wait for all year.....the Georgia/Georgia Tech game.  Good, clean, old fashioned hate!  To Hell With Georgia (THWG)

0 to 100 Real Quick!

This week...
     Thanksgiving holiday in the US
     Preparation for National Day in the UAE
     Hate Week for me!!!!!!  I love my Yellow Jackets, and this is the time of year that I love them the   most.  THWG!!!!!

Anyway, I digress.  This past weekend, the Formula 1 race was held in Abu Dhabi.  This meant Formula 1 events.  On Friday morning I went to the city to meet with a savings group.  We are joining together to set personal goals for monthly saving, and holding each other accountable.  After the meeting, I met up with a friend and went to a FREE car show (I'm already on the right track with saving, lol).  The car show was held in yet another mall.  This mall was like Phipps on steroids.  I don't even think I could afford to browse.  The cheapest store might have been Prada.....Geesh.  Nevertheless, the cars, which I also could not afford, were nice.

Before I came to this country, one of the students from my old school told me I would have to trade in my Honda because people out here only have nice cars.  He learned about the country from his video game.  I uploaded some pics to Instagram and tagged him in them so that he could see the cars. He was amazed.

Friday night we went to the Corniche to the FREE concerts.  The only acts I was familiar with was Miguel and Jason Derulo.  They put on a pretty good show.  Saturday was a kickball scrimmage.  I didn't play because I was sick but I did have a good time meeting some new people from the other team. 

That sums up the weekend and leads us to this work week.  So far, it has been a joke.  We have been delayed each day by fog, gotten to work late only to babysit kids that are not participating in the National Day program.  National Day is a huge deal here.  The patriotism in this country is unreal!!!!!!! Buildings are decorated in lights, cars are wrapped in red and green, the Sheiks' pics appear on cars and buildings, etc.  I can't wait to tell the stories of the 43rd National Day.  Dang this country is only turning 43 years old.  SMH.