Well I am finally done with my finals and the semester has come to an official end!!! It's a bit weird to have been in such an intensive program for 9 months and now have nothing to do. Even over the winter break I had a tutor and continued with my intensive study, so since it's over I'm trying to adjust, and it is a weird feeling.
Here were my grades!
A
A
A
B+
I'm a little sad about the B+, but it was a written media course that was way over our head and we all struggled greatly, so I can honestly say I did my best and learned a lot. My friend Mark told me they didn't allow him to take the course until he had 4 semesters of Arabic under his belt, so to do it after just one semester is not an easy feat.
As for now, Casey has a couple of weeks left, so I am being a good 'house husband' cleaning our clothes, shopping, and trying to figure out how to fill my days w/o torturing myself with counting down the hours till we leave :)
needless, to say it will be good to see you all very soon.
Casey's school choir performance is on Sunday Wish her LUCK!
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
6 more days
I have 1 day less than a week of school left!!!! On monday I have my written Media final and my Amea(egyptian arabic) final, then on tuesday from 12:00-2:30 I will be doing my Grammar and Reading/Writing final. Exciting times.
Nothing much new is happening here. We aren't planning anymore big tips or anything like that. We are gearing up to go back home to Texas. We are so excited for our future. There are so many unanswered questions. We get to find a place to make home, get jobs, get back into college classes at UNT, and plan for grad school. We have no idea where we will be in the next 2 years and what doors will be opened to us. We have been so blessed here and have been able to see so much and learn so much. I'm very fortunate to have been able to see the middle east up close and personal and learn to converse in Arabic. It is still so fun for me to write in Arabic and I'm keeping a journal in Arabic so I can just write freely about whatever comes to mind.
Hope everyone is doing well and we will be seeing most of you soon....insha'allah
Nothing much new is happening here. We aren't planning anymore big tips or anything like that. We are gearing up to go back home to Texas. We are so excited for our future. There are so many unanswered questions. We get to find a place to make home, get jobs, get back into college classes at UNT, and plan for grad school. We have no idea where we will be in the next 2 years and what doors will be opened to us. We have been so blessed here and have been able to see so much and learn so much. I'm very fortunate to have been able to see the middle east up close and personal and learn to converse in Arabic. It is still so fun for me to write in Arabic and I'm keeping a journal in Arabic so I can just write freely about whatever comes to mind.
Hope everyone is doing well and we will be seeing most of you soon....insha'allah
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Friday, May 9, 2008
Our Winter Palace!
Isn't it beautiful? The flowers and the gardens were just amazing and all the trees had little signs next to them saying what year they were planted in which was pretty cool I must say!
Valley Of the Workers
Everyone's gotta live somewhere right? And the famous carvings and paintings in the Valley of the Kings and Queens must have been done my someone! But who? and where? We actually visited the valley of the workers where they all lived and traveled to the valley of the kings or queens each week for about 5 days. They were paid with food and homes. Their lives were really interesting too, and I can't believe how well preserved their homes were! (or how tiny they were, of course... maybe everyone then was just short.. just kidding) Seriously though, it is a city of dwellings. Then there are the tombs of the overseers there too. Apparently when the workers came home for the weekend they would have to work on the other guys tombs.
Hot Air Balloons!
Besides the staying at the Farouk's Palace part... I know you have seen some pics Joe put up earlier of our hot air balloon ride! When we were driving out to the place with all the balloons it was so surreal almost, I kept thinking that the balloon would go astray and not crash, but fly off into Oz where the world will change colors.
It didn't. The ride was completely smooth and it was incredible to see some of the site from so high up in the air! It is hard to believe that I really rode in a hot air balloon, flying up 2000 ft in the air in a tiny basket, held up by a huge HUGE balloon with some fire under it. Sounds pretty crazy, how did someone come up with that I wonder?
more from Luxor
When we went back to Luxor for my birthday it was fantastic! Of course we didn't get to stay in a luxurious cruise boat. BUT we did stay at the Winter Palace of King Farouk! Wow huh? Plus, Luxor is just beautiful and there are a lot of things to see and do. These pictures are from the Temple of Ramses III. We were just having a little fun!
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Morphology
Today is Egyptian Labor Day. I welcome this day off because I have been feeling very overwhelmed lately. There seems to have been lots and lots of tedious little rules in Arabic introduced to me this 2nd half of the semester that I haven't yet felt I have completely down. It is such a rich language with so many little things that matter so much, so I welcomed this day off, so I can do a little review over the past several weeks of grammar rules.
At the moment I'm in the middle of studying Morphology. This is how the words morph into other meanings. This is one of the things that makes arabic so hard for westerners to learn b/c we have nothing to compare it to b/c there is nothing like it in our language family.
The closest comparison I have been able to come up with is last names. Last names are a recent invention I've heard that most of them were founded on family trades like Baker Shoemaker etc etc or founded on special meanings. then many of the got letters added on or dropped and transliterated into words easier to pronounce in areas of the world people moved to. So, now many times it's not easy to trace a name back to it's origin so we can look them up in books and find really cool meanings for them.
Well, that is kind of how the entire language of Arabic is. It's kinda fun, interesting, and hard.
There are 10 verb forms and I have learned 5 of them so far. The forms I have learned are reflexive and causative; meaning, they either mean someone or somthings is doing it to itself(reflexive) or someone or something is forcing someone or somthing else to do it(causative)
It is very fascinating that the very for study also means to teach. If the same root is plugged into form 1 it means to make yourself learn ie to study or if the root is plugged into form 2 it means to make someone else to learn ie to teach.
Not all the words can be traced back this easily and Arabs are like anyone else wherein they learn the language growing up so the words just 'sound right' they are not consciously plugging them into different forms--there are slight and not so slight differences in writing and pronunciation between the forms so they are different word that mean completely different things---but to us foreigners we have to learn to system to make sense of it and be able to learn how the language works to be able to use it properly.
It's interesting to sit in class and have the teacher give us a verb in form one like 'to be' and ask us what we think it means in form 2 and we think real hard then figure out it means 'to create' or a word like 'to get out(leave)' and in another form it means to extract or copy. Also, each verb has a form where a noun in derived like to sit can also mean to make someone else sit down and also can be a noun 'sitting'. Lot's of stuff to learn....
Morphology makes me understand how so many people esp. Arabs love linguistics. They can trace these word straight to their original source and it usually has a rich and profound meaning since the major source of Arabic is from the Quran. For example, the verbs used to express 'to speak' 'to talk' 'to discuss' etc... are words related to the sacredness of words b/c words are very sacred in Islamic texts, so many of the roots and sources of these verbs are meanings like to pierce straight to the heart like a dagger or other deep positive and negative meanings to express the different effects words have on people.
very interesting stuff.
At the moment I'm in the middle of studying Morphology. This is how the words morph into other meanings. This is one of the things that makes arabic so hard for westerners to learn b/c we have nothing to compare it to b/c there is nothing like it in our language family.
The closest comparison I have been able to come up with is last names. Last names are a recent invention I've heard that most of them were founded on family trades like Baker Shoemaker etc etc or founded on special meanings. then many of the got letters added on or dropped and transliterated into words easier to pronounce in areas of the world people moved to. So, now many times it's not easy to trace a name back to it's origin so we can look them up in books and find really cool meanings for them.
Well, that is kind of how the entire language of Arabic is. It's kinda fun, interesting, and hard.
There are 10 verb forms and I have learned 5 of them so far. The forms I have learned are reflexive and causative; meaning, they either mean someone or somthings is doing it to itself(reflexive) or someone or something is forcing someone or somthing else to do it(causative)
It is very fascinating that the very for study also means to teach. If the same root is plugged into form 1 it means to make yourself learn ie to study or if the root is plugged into form 2 it means to make someone else to learn ie to teach.
Not all the words can be traced back this easily and Arabs are like anyone else wherein they learn the language growing up so the words just 'sound right' they are not consciously plugging them into different forms--there are slight and not so slight differences in writing and pronunciation between the forms so they are different word that mean completely different things---but to us foreigners we have to learn to system to make sense of it and be able to learn how the language works to be able to use it properly.
It's interesting to sit in class and have the teacher give us a verb in form one like 'to be' and ask us what we think it means in form 2 and we think real hard then figure out it means 'to create' or a word like 'to get out(leave)' and in another form it means to extract or copy. Also, each verb has a form where a noun in derived like to sit can also mean to make someone else sit down and also can be a noun 'sitting'. Lot's of stuff to learn....
Morphology makes me understand how so many people esp. Arabs love linguistics. They can trace these word straight to their original source and it usually has a rich and profound meaning since the major source of Arabic is from the Quran. For example, the verbs used to express 'to speak' 'to talk' 'to discuss' etc... are words related to the sacredness of words b/c words are very sacred in Islamic texts, so many of the roots and sources of these verbs are meanings like to pierce straight to the heart like a dagger or other deep positive and negative meanings to express the different effects words have on people.
very interesting stuff.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
It's nice to be egyptian
It's Casey's birthday today!!! A few months back I planned a huge birthday extravaganza for her, b/c she loves birthdays so much. We will make sure to post tons of the pictures on this blog for everyone to see!!! it going to be some of our best pictures in Egypt to date!!(knock on wood)
Traveling Egypt can be expensive. Luckily Casey and I have my university that has hooked us up with the most unbelievable deals, then as my arabic has become stronger I have found out the 'Egyptian ways' For example, to get from Cairo to Sinai you can fly for $100 then there is the option of renting a car or bus for around 70$+ but once you find out the Egyptian ways it only costs 3$-12$ depending if you want a commercial bus or a VW van. How amazing is that!!! We went from here to the Israeli border for 12$ each in a greyhound type bus. that’s a 6hr bus ride!
A more recent discovery is that since I'm a student I have a student/resident visa 'for non-touristic purposes' which means I get the Egyptian prices on all hotels!!! Egypt has done a remarkable job at making touristic sites available to native egyptians. Since one of the major sources of income is through tourism they have healthy prices for foreigners to enter museums and sites. Cheaper than most European museums but still VERY expensive for Egyptian standards. To allow natives to go when they please(important to every nationality to know and experience national history--national pride etc...) so they only charge 15cents (converted to US dollar) Hotels are the same way since many sites are far from major cities.
GOOD FOR US since I'm a 'resident' then I get the Egyptian prices on hotels. This means for casey's birthday we are staying in King Farouk’s old winter palace in Luxor(king had palaces all over the country for hunting and seasonal retreats) the normal price is $300 per night. We are staying there for less than $50 per night. It cheap to travel and do the most wonderful things! For that reason I LOVE EGYPT! and it's nice to be an Egyptian resident.
wish Casey a happy birthday. This will be the extravaganza of all our trips and the last we will be taking before we come home. We will make sure to take lots of PICS!
Traveling Egypt can be expensive. Luckily Casey and I have my university that has hooked us up with the most unbelievable deals, then as my arabic has become stronger I have found out the 'Egyptian ways' For example, to get from Cairo to Sinai you can fly for $100 then there is the option of renting a car or bus for around 70$+ but once you find out the Egyptian ways it only costs 3$-12$ depending if you want a commercial bus or a VW van. How amazing is that!!! We went from here to the Israeli border for 12$ each in a greyhound type bus. that’s a 6hr bus ride!
A more recent discovery is that since I'm a student I have a student/resident visa 'for non-touristic purposes' which means I get the Egyptian prices on all hotels!!! Egypt has done a remarkable job at making touristic sites available to native egyptians. Since one of the major sources of income is through tourism they have healthy prices for foreigners to enter museums and sites. Cheaper than most European museums but still VERY expensive for Egyptian standards. To allow natives to go when they please(important to every nationality to know and experience national history--national pride etc...) so they only charge 15cents (converted to US dollar) Hotels are the same way since many sites are far from major cities.
GOOD FOR US since I'm a 'resident' then I get the Egyptian prices on hotels. This means for casey's birthday we are staying in King Farouk’s old winter palace in Luxor(king had palaces all over the country for hunting and seasonal retreats) the normal price is $300 per night. We are staying there for less than $50 per night. It cheap to travel and do the most wonderful things! For that reason I LOVE EGYPT! and it's nice to be an Egyptian resident.
wish Casey a happy birthday. This will be the extravaganza of all our trips and the last we will be taking before we come home. We will make sure to take lots of PICS!
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Jimmy Carter
This past Thursday evening I was able to see former President Jimmy Carter at my university here in Cairo! He covered fascinating topics, and has really done amazing work with his foundation, The Carter Foundation. I never knew how famous he is the in middle east. People LOVE him so much.
I've had some great opportunities to hear some very influential people speak. It's great to be able to attend these types of events, and listen to first hand accounts of peace deals and other policy debates.
Another fun fact is yesterday I had an interview for a summer internship in dallas. Since I'm in Egypt we did it over skype(free telephone service over the internet) it was a very fun experiences on both sides! I have no idea if I will get the internship, but i would very much like it. We shall see...
I've had some great opportunities to hear some very influential people speak. It's great to be able to attend these types of events, and listen to first hand accounts of peace deals and other policy debates.
Another fun fact is yesterday I had an interview for a summer internship in dallas. Since I'm in Egypt we did it over skype(free telephone service over the internet) it was a very fun experiences on both sides! I have no idea if I will get the internship, but i would very much like it. We shall see...
Friday, April 18, 2008
George H. W. Bush on Iraq
I'm currently reading a case study on Iraq from the National Defense Univeristy written by the former chief adviser of Rumsfeld. It is a most interesting and a very in-depth scholarly essay about the security situation in Iraq.
This is a quote in the document by George H. W. Bush explaining why he didn't go into Iraq in 1991. (the quote is from 1998)
In 1991, however, President George H.W. Bush and his National
Security Advisor, Brent Scowcroft, saw it differently. Years later, President
Bush and Scowcroft wrote:
"While we hoped that a popular revolt or coup would topple
Saddam, neither the United States nor the countries of the
region wished to see the breakup of the Iraqi state. We were
concerned about the long-term balance of power at the head
of the Gulf. Breaking up the Iraqi state would pose its own
destabilizing problems. . . . Trying to eliminate Saddam,
extending the ground war into an occupation of Iraq, would
have violated our guideline about not changing objectives
in midstream, engaging in “mission creep,” and would have
incurred incalculable human and political costs. . . . We would
have been forced to occupy Baghdad, and, in effect, rule Iraq.
The coalition would instantly have collapsed. . . . Under those
circumstances, there was no viable “exit strategy” we could see,
violating another of our principles. . . . Going in and occupying
Iraq, thus unilaterally exceeding the United Nations’ mandate,
would have destroyed the precedent of international response to
aggression that we hoped to establish. Had we gone the invasion
route, the United States could conceivably still [in 1998] be an
occupying power in a bitterly hostile land."
This is a quote in the document by George H. W. Bush explaining why he didn't go into Iraq in 1991. (the quote is from 1998)
In 1991, however, President George H.W. Bush and his National
Security Advisor, Brent Scowcroft, saw it differently. Years later, President
Bush and Scowcroft wrote:
"While we hoped that a popular revolt or coup would topple
Saddam, neither the United States nor the countries of the
region wished to see the breakup of the Iraqi state. We were
concerned about the long-term balance of power at the head
of the Gulf. Breaking up the Iraqi state would pose its own
destabilizing problems. . . . Trying to eliminate Saddam,
extending the ground war into an occupation of Iraq, would
have violated our guideline about not changing objectives
in midstream, engaging in “mission creep,” and would have
incurred incalculable human and political costs. . . . We would
have been forced to occupy Baghdad, and, in effect, rule Iraq.
The coalition would instantly have collapsed. . . . Under those
circumstances, there was no viable “exit strategy” we could see,
violating another of our principles. . . . Going in and occupying
Iraq, thus unilaterally exceeding the United Nations’ mandate,
would have destroyed the precedent of international response to
aggression that we hoped to establish. Had we gone the invasion
route, the United States could conceivably still [in 1998] be an
occupying power in a bitterly hostile land."
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
a funny realization
I'm almost finished with my Arabic book!!! Only 2 lessons to go and Vol. 1 of Al-Kitab Al-Asasi will be finished! Halas! So today I wanted to go over a past lesson to make sure I am understanding it, so I did something I havn't done in a long time: tanslated it into english then back into arabic then compared myself to the book to make sure I understand it.
I usually just memorize the words then never refer back to english, b/c Arabic is so different than arabic it's not good to try to phrase things the same way and try to think in english and write or speak in arabic.
When I did this I relized again how DIFFERENT the levels of my classes are, it's crazy!!! As I've said before I'm taking a Printed Media class they only offer to high intenmediate and advanced arabic students, but opened it up to us this semester to see if it would be usful in intensive immersion. Well I can tell you this: it has been nothing short of PURE PAIN. But finally I am figuring things out!!!! and I sound way to smart when I write or speak it correctly--way smarter than I do in English, but I don't get Media Arabic right very often... so.....it's coming...
so you all can share in this humor
here are excerpt from my normal Fosha course and then my Meida course:
Fosha: Saeed William Stanley will move to the UAE to work in the Abu Dhabi Oil Company. The company sent him a book about life in Abu Dhabi and about the weather and suitable clothes. (Saeed Stanley arrived in Abu Dhabi in the winter)
Stanley: The weather is cold, and there are many clouds in the sky and the rain falls alot.
Kamal: Nevertheless, the winter is wonderful in the UAE!
Stanley: Very wonderful for me! I've prepared myself for the winter here with heavy woolen clothes. I read the book that was sent to me from the company and I understood everything.
here is an excerpt from my printed media course:
THE SIUATION IN THE MIDDLE EAST BETWEEN SHEEKH ZAEED AND THE PRESIDENT OF BANGLEDESH
Yesterday began the official talks between the United Arab Emirates and the Republic of Bangladesh. Extensive discussions were conducted reviewing the bilateral relationship between the nations and means of strengthening and sustaining this relationship in different fields(areas) in addition to a review of the current Islamic situation. After the session of the official talks been the two presidents talks were held at the ministerial level. The foreign minister of Bangladesh met with the foreign minister of the UAE......
It's just amazing to me sometimes when I translate what I'm saying into english and see how different my courses are!!! In one class I'm practically still learning my fruits and then an hr later im in another speaking about another crisis in the middle east or two nations working out some diplomatic deal.
I usually just memorize the words then never refer back to english, b/c Arabic is so different than arabic it's not good to try to phrase things the same way and try to think in english and write or speak in arabic.
When I did this I relized again how DIFFERENT the levels of my classes are, it's crazy!!! As I've said before I'm taking a Printed Media class they only offer to high intenmediate and advanced arabic students, but opened it up to us this semester to see if it would be usful in intensive immersion. Well I can tell you this: it has been nothing short of PURE PAIN. But finally I am figuring things out!!!! and I sound way to smart when I write or speak it correctly--way smarter than I do in English, but I don't get Media Arabic right very often... so.....it's coming...
so you all can share in this humor
here are excerpt from my normal Fosha course and then my Meida course:
Fosha: Saeed William Stanley will move to the UAE to work in the Abu Dhabi Oil Company. The company sent him a book about life in Abu Dhabi and about the weather and suitable clothes. (Saeed Stanley arrived in Abu Dhabi in the winter)
Stanley: The weather is cold, and there are many clouds in the sky and the rain falls alot.
Kamal: Nevertheless, the winter is wonderful in the UAE!
Stanley: Very wonderful for me! I've prepared myself for the winter here with heavy woolen clothes. I read the book that was sent to me from the company and I understood everything.
here is an excerpt from my printed media course:
THE SIUATION IN THE MIDDLE EAST BETWEEN SHEEKH ZAEED AND THE PRESIDENT OF BANGLEDESH
Yesterday began the official talks between the United Arab Emirates and the Republic of Bangladesh. Extensive discussions were conducted reviewing the bilateral relationship between the nations and means of strengthening and sustaining this relationship in different fields(areas) in addition to a review of the current Islamic situation. After the session of the official talks been the two presidents talks were held at the ministerial level. The foreign minister of Bangladesh met with the foreign minister of the UAE......
It's just amazing to me sometimes when I translate what I'm saying into english and see how different my courses are!!! In one class I'm practically still learning my fruits and then an hr later im in another speaking about another crisis in the middle east or two nations working out some diplomatic deal.
Monday, April 14, 2008
And it came to pass....
In class on Sunday our grammar teacher introduced a new grammatical structure. This was a very interesting one that I quite enjoy and would like to share with the you...In Arabic there are 10 verb forms. There is no comparison in English and that is what makes it a semantic language, not a western language. The verb form takes the basic root of a word and changes the meaning, for instance the verb to laugh is yadhak(I hate writing it in english!--looks funny and sounds funny) the root is d-h-k so it can be lugged into another form by adding an 'a' in the beginning and it would change the meaning into making someone else laugh. For instance, to say 'I laughed so hard' and 'I made John laugh so hard' is the same verb--there is no need to say 'i made' it is simply the 'a' place in front of the root of the verb to laugh. There is another form that would make the same verb mean it's doing it by itself. Like, the word to break. If it is used in one verb form it mean I broke something then just my plugging the same letters into another 'model or form' it means i made you brake it or I made it brake , and again by plugging it into another form or model it means it was broken like it did it on it's own for example ' The window broke or the plate broke. Who broke it?? I don't know it was broken when I came in.'
it goes on and on for 10 different forms!! Obviously, not all verbs get plugged into all forms b/c it may not make any sense. The cool part is that the forms never change so you can take any root and plug it into a form and it means something else(the same something for each form--ie each form has a meaning)
sorry if it's confusing--that is one reason I study so much!
The cool thing we learned Sunday is a verb that means to change, become, or became. this is used to say--for example (literally) 'Changed the city Cairo crowded and busy' in normal English it would translate ' the city of cairo became crowded and busy' it also means all forms of change with people, places, things, events etc etc etc.
In class we had a sentence that said 'changed the tree under the window' we were very confused and asked the teacher to translate it into english--she said I don't know how to translate it--u guys tell me! We all gasped and said we don't know! how are we ever going to learn this...then we tried to figure it out--was the tree already there and changed or did it just appear or what??? Finally it hit me! We are speaking fosha like OLD stylish English. I said 'and it came to pass that there was a tree under the window' she said that was exactly correct. So reading the scriptures really pays off!!! When I translate Arabic so I can understand what is going on I always translate it the way I talk now, and many times forget I'm speaking a VERY old and formal language. I don't understand how people created such a rich, deep, and complicated language. It boggles my mind!
It takes a westerner and average of at least 3 years of intensive study to become comfortable in Arabic. The grammar isn't over until the end of the 2nd year and possibly into the 3rd. Right now it feels like this root I'm trying to uncover that as soon as I think I got it I realize I got a hold to just one small branch of the root and it branches off into complicated root systems and runs much deeper into the rich soil. It seems to have no end.
it goes on and on for 10 different forms!! Obviously, not all verbs get plugged into all forms b/c it may not make any sense. The cool part is that the forms never change so you can take any root and plug it into a form and it means something else(the same something for each form--ie each form has a meaning)
sorry if it's confusing--that is one reason I study so much!
The cool thing we learned Sunday is a verb that means to change, become, or became. this is used to say--for example (literally) 'Changed the city Cairo crowded and busy' in normal English it would translate ' the city of cairo became crowded and busy' it also means all forms of change with people, places, things, events etc etc etc.
In class we had a sentence that said 'changed the tree under the window' we were very confused and asked the teacher to translate it into english--she said I don't know how to translate it--u guys tell me! We all gasped and said we don't know! how are we ever going to learn this...then we tried to figure it out--was the tree already there and changed or did it just appear or what??? Finally it hit me! We are speaking fosha like OLD stylish English. I said 'and it came to pass that there was a tree under the window' she said that was exactly correct. So reading the scriptures really pays off!!! When I translate Arabic so I can understand what is going on I always translate it the way I talk now, and many times forget I'm speaking a VERY old and formal language. I don't understand how people created such a rich, deep, and complicated language. It boggles my mind!
It takes a westerner and average of at least 3 years of intensive study to become comfortable in Arabic. The grammar isn't over until the end of the 2nd year and possibly into the 3rd. Right now it feels like this root I'm trying to uncover that as soon as I think I got it I realize I got a hold to just one small branch of the root and it branches off into complicated root systems and runs much deeper into the rich soil. It seems to have no end.
Friday, April 11, 2008
Casey's plans!
Here I sit on the computer talking to my friend Lisa online (which is great because I don't get to talk to her much although of all my friends I have talked to her A LOT!) Well, I got an email from Jennifer asking about whether or not I'd changed my major and realized that I should just blog about that journey!
Many of you know that at first I really wanted to do psychology. I thought to myself, I am amazing at being able to really get into people's shoes and feel how they feel and know what to say that will help them, being a counselor must be my calling in life. Then I realized something else about that. I feel too much for people. I think I would go crazy if I tried to listen to people all day and help them because I would get MUCH too emotionally involved in their lives.
As many college students do, after I decided psychology isn't for me, I just didn't know anything, I kicked around about 15 ideas, economics, accounting, english literature, etc. etc.
After we got to Cairo, I was still going back and forth about whether or not I could do psychology and be psychologically healthy myself. Then I read this book about a child soldier and got really into the idea of doing peace studies and working for an NGO. But, and maybe some of you might be ashamed for me for this, living here I lost my faith in NGOs in general and the 3rd world. because as I've learned in the church and it applies to the world as well, people have to WANT to change. Otherwise it won't work it is just more imperialism, even if its done with the best intent, it just won't work.
At a loss again, I began to examine options to solve this conundrum I was having with choosing a major. I realized from tutoring in math how happy doing math made me and I thought maybe I'd major in that and be a teacher. But in cairo I have been teaching school and I think that Joe put it best when he was telling me the other day that I take things too personally to be a school teacher. He said if a 1st grade class can make me cry because they aren't listening... well, you know the rest. And I really think that he is right because even if I get some classes i love, there will always be those trial classes with the trial students and I couldn't imagine just dreading the kids, plus I wonder if I'd be a good mom if I had that job... because as it is, sometimes after the school day, I think to myself "if I ever see another child I'll just scream". Plus there are those days when you just don't feel like being around people and socializing very much and if you are a teacher those days aren't really allowed. Kudos to all you teachers out there, seriously! It is so emotionally draining for me.
So I think that I am going to go ahead and major in math, then get a job at a company, some sort of desk job and work my way up. I've never had too much trouble with my bosses liking me, they always seem to and in some jobs I've been offered promotions that I couldn't take, or similar such things. My current plan is to get my degree in math, just apply for a ton of things and see where I go from there, I like working in offices, although it is boring sometimes because you don't think about it when you go home, it is done, and you have a certain thing to do and you do it. That made me sound stupid, like I have no initiative which isn't true, I'd do managment and I think I'd like it if I had the opportunity, it's just a different kind of job to work in an office than directly with people.
See you all soon!
Many of you know that at first I really wanted to do psychology. I thought to myself, I am amazing at being able to really get into people's shoes and feel how they feel and know what to say that will help them, being a counselor must be my calling in life. Then I realized something else about that. I feel too much for people. I think I would go crazy if I tried to listen to people all day and help them because I would get MUCH too emotionally involved in their lives.
As many college students do, after I decided psychology isn't for me, I just didn't know anything, I kicked around about 15 ideas, economics, accounting, english literature, etc. etc.
After we got to Cairo, I was still going back and forth about whether or not I could do psychology and be psychologically healthy myself. Then I read this book about a child soldier and got really into the idea of doing peace studies and working for an NGO. But, and maybe some of you might be ashamed for me for this, living here I lost my faith in NGOs in general and the 3rd world. because as I've learned in the church and it applies to the world as well, people have to WANT to change. Otherwise it won't work it is just more imperialism, even if its done with the best intent, it just won't work.
At a loss again, I began to examine options to solve this conundrum I was having with choosing a major. I realized from tutoring in math how happy doing math made me and I thought maybe I'd major in that and be a teacher. But in cairo I have been teaching school and I think that Joe put it best when he was telling me the other day that I take things too personally to be a school teacher. He said if a 1st grade class can make me cry because they aren't listening... well, you know the rest. And I really think that he is right because even if I get some classes i love, there will always be those trial classes with the trial students and I couldn't imagine just dreading the kids, plus I wonder if I'd be a good mom if I had that job... because as it is, sometimes after the school day, I think to myself "if I ever see another child I'll just scream". Plus there are those days when you just don't feel like being around people and socializing very much and if you are a teacher those days aren't really allowed. Kudos to all you teachers out there, seriously! It is so emotionally draining for me.
So I think that I am going to go ahead and major in math, then get a job at a company, some sort of desk job and work my way up. I've never had too much trouble with my bosses liking me, they always seem to and in some jobs I've been offered promotions that I couldn't take, or similar such things. My current plan is to get my degree in math, just apply for a ton of things and see where I go from there, I like working in offices, although it is boring sometimes because you don't think about it when you go home, it is done, and you have a certain thing to do and you do it. That made me sound stupid, like I have no initiative which isn't true, I'd do managment and I think I'd like it if I had the opportunity, it's just a different kind of job to work in an office than directly with people.
See you all soon!
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
funny story!
First of all, happy birthday to Jennifer and to Kirsten and to Joe's mom! Whoa, a lot of birthdays right all together and MY birthday is coming up in only 16 short days.
Now for the funny story. Every month the school offers "after school activities" so teachers have to provide one I think at least 2ce during the year. I didn't have to do it since I'm a late hire, but when the counselor told me about it I was really confused and thought that if I didn't, then there wouldn't be enough activities so I signed up to teach 4 & 5 grades a dance to High School Musical (which all the kids totally love here). So only 12 kids and after school on Tuesdays just 3x this month. So I'd learned the dance before but not very well so I borrowed the movie from some people in the branch here so I could watch it carefully and re-learn it! (to the song, we're all in this together)
Today I decided to take the laptop to school and spend my off periods learning the dance, which I thought would be an excellent way for me to use my time! Most of the time I really was working really hard on it, or I was preparing or I was teaching. I was genuinely working all day (usually I take a couple short breaks and read or play on the computer a while... but today I was really busy except for when I first got to school and finished watching Mission Impossible, I only had 15 min left).
Finally at about 3:00 (we leave at 4 by the way) I decided I was going to watch some of High School Musical 2 (which the family had in the same case as High School Musical 1. So I put the disc in the laptop, turned off all the lights in the classroom, sat down behind my table at the front of the room and put the laptop on a chair right in front of my. I was only going to watch the first 15 or 20 min or so because I've seen the rest but the dvd was burned and played 7 min. then stopped playing and froze the computer. Right after the computer froze, someone knocked on the door (I assumed it was April my friend who teaches at the school who comes and visits me usually about that time) so I didn't even stand up. The door opens and in walks the elementary school principle and 4 of her friends who were visiting. I was SO embarrassed, just picture me sitting on the floor watching a movie with ALL the lights off when in she comes. Good thing the dvd had frozen and it wasn't SO obvious I was just watching a movie.
Well, she introduced me to her friends and then bragged about me! I don't like to brag about myself but she was saying how WONDERFUL it is that I haven't sent anyone to the office with an office referral, unbelievable really. And how the kids seem to really enjoy my class and how I am preparing musicals for the spring concert and all the parents are going to love it and how they haven't been able to find a music teacher for next year yet and wished I could stay but I am going back to the US. 2 of her friends were former music teachers (in the states, high school music I think) and all 4 of them were so nice to me, asking about things and it was nice to meet them. But I can't believe that there I was sitting on the floor all the lights off, watching a movie, it's just so totally ridiculous!
Now for the funny story. Every month the school offers "after school activities" so teachers have to provide one I think at least 2ce during the year. I didn't have to do it since I'm a late hire, but when the counselor told me about it I was really confused and thought that if I didn't, then there wouldn't be enough activities so I signed up to teach 4 & 5 grades a dance to High School Musical (which all the kids totally love here). So only 12 kids and after school on Tuesdays just 3x this month. So I'd learned the dance before but not very well so I borrowed the movie from some people in the branch here so I could watch it carefully and re-learn it! (to the song, we're all in this together)
Today I decided to take the laptop to school and spend my off periods learning the dance, which I thought would be an excellent way for me to use my time! Most of the time I really was working really hard on it, or I was preparing or I was teaching. I was genuinely working all day (usually I take a couple short breaks and read or play on the computer a while... but today I was really busy except for when I first got to school and finished watching Mission Impossible, I only had 15 min left).
Finally at about 3:00 (we leave at 4 by the way) I decided I was going to watch some of High School Musical 2 (which the family had in the same case as High School Musical 1. So I put the disc in the laptop, turned off all the lights in the classroom, sat down behind my table at the front of the room and put the laptop on a chair right in front of my. I was only going to watch the first 15 or 20 min or so because I've seen the rest but the dvd was burned and played 7 min. then stopped playing and froze the computer. Right after the computer froze, someone knocked on the door (I assumed it was April my friend who teaches at the school who comes and visits me usually about that time) so I didn't even stand up. The door opens and in walks the elementary school principle and 4 of her friends who were visiting. I was SO embarrassed, just picture me sitting on the floor watching a movie with ALL the lights off when in she comes. Good thing the dvd had frozen and it wasn't SO obvious I was just watching a movie.
Well, she introduced me to her friends and then bragged about me! I don't like to brag about myself but she was saying how WONDERFUL it is that I haven't sent anyone to the office with an office referral, unbelievable really. And how the kids seem to really enjoy my class and how I am preparing musicals for the spring concert and all the parents are going to love it and how they haven't been able to find a music teacher for next year yet and wished I could stay but I am going back to the US. 2 of her friends were former music teachers (in the states, high school music I think) and all 4 of them were so nice to me, asking about things and it was nice to meet them. But I can't believe that there I was sitting on the floor all the lights off, watching a movie, it's just so totally ridiculous!
Saturday, April 5, 2008
STRIKE!!!
So today is a free day for me! There is a large strike all over the city and possibly the nation. Last month food prices rose 30%! It is crazy! The government has said in newspapers previously that they were subsidizing food so this would not effect citizens. However, the stores are raising the prices even though they are buying some items that are subsidized..
Interestingly, Egypt runs a bit different. The government pays and subsidizes so much --50% of national budget is for social type services(subsidies, education through university etc...) so there are too many people guaranteed jobs so the wage price is WAY too low. For example many Egyptians(blue collar) are only paid 300-600LE per month. To get too and from work on the metro is 60LE per month per person and VERY cheap lunch runs them about 120LE per month. and that is at uninflated prices. For example, yesterday when I was on my way home I was going to pick up a foul sandwich(refried bean sandwich) it is CHEAP egyptian food everyone eats for breakfast and lunch--it's only 1LE but they raised the price to 2.15LE and I only had 1LE on me, so I looked SUPER POOR at the cash register explaining I only had 1LE and he didn't believe me and thought I was trying to negotiate. My heart really goes out to egyptians, they simple can't afford to meet their basic needs. When a person only makes 300-600LE per month and meat costs 45LE per kilo it's just not a good situation. The shop owner is in the same situation, it’s not a good situation for anyone.
The government has promised to stop the rise in food prices by subsidies, but when that didn't work they came out and blamed egyptians and said they would 'crack down' on corruption--buying subsidized bread and selling it at inflated prices. Well, that didn't work and people are really suffering, so many groups have called for a strike. I guess to raise salaries or stop stores from inflating the prices. They are not spending any money today or supporting anything that has to do with money.
Fro example, they are not going to school(tuition/salary if employed at school), no cell phones, no going to shops, no taxis, no metro, no work, no anything supporting the economy. It started at Universities, professors are very much underpaid so it's the youth and adults so public universities are closing. Then many people are expected to protest outside of my university-the american university in Cairo. Why? not b/c 'american' it's b/c medan tahrir (the round-about) is in the middle of everything. It is VERY near the parliament, Arab League(UN for Arab nations) governors home, egyptian museum and it's all in the middle of downtown. It is where all the protests are held even back in the days of the King. That is probably why its name Tahrir b/c in Arabic it means Freedom.
It's a peaceful protest, but it is very dangerous for foreigners to be involved with protests. My university didn't close, but warned us about the danger. My friend Nadien (rich egyptian at AUC) knows a very high minister in the government who warned her not to go anywhere near Tahrir b/c the police are going to beat anyone protesting. There has been a whole slew of news articles about freedom of the press and rights recently. It has been very interesting to read in arabic(teacher explains most of it) the editor of a well established newspaper was thrown in prison for writing that the president was ill and went to the hospital, he is still in prison (that happened when we arrived) the government spokesman said the editor was a liar and the president is in perfectly good health. So lately there has been lots of writing about how this month marks the 99th year of the fall of the king and freedom of the press and still the president is throwing new editors in prison. It's interesting how things work in egypt. It's like everyone is free to do whatever they want--they can get a job wherever they want, major in whatever they want, women can work at directors of programs in academia, bank managers, in the parliament, in high and low gov't positions, but as soon as anyone threatens the power of the president, that person disappears, as soon as a group threatens the power of the president that group is beat if protesting, or blacklisted and targeted. 'you are free as long as the president can stay in power--do whatever you want but stay out of politics' that is the central theme of egypt. People follow it very well most of the time. Egyptians find out about mass corruption, police beatings, people getting thrown in jail etc...but they all say 'God only knows' they have a non-shalaunt attitude of 'oh well God wills it He only knows' it's very strange and allows these things to happen. Things won’t change until Egyptians want it to and do something about it, which I don’t see happening for a long time if ever.
Today, Casey is at school far from the city (out in the desert) and I am at home studying, far from downtown.
Interestingly, Egypt runs a bit different. The government pays and subsidizes so much --50% of national budget is for social type services(subsidies, education through university etc...) so there are too many people guaranteed jobs so the wage price is WAY too low. For example many Egyptians(blue collar) are only paid 300-600LE per month. To get too and from work on the metro is 60LE per month per person and VERY cheap lunch runs them about 120LE per month. and that is at uninflated prices. For example, yesterday when I was on my way home I was going to pick up a foul sandwich(refried bean sandwich) it is CHEAP egyptian food everyone eats for breakfast and lunch--it's only 1LE but they raised the price to 2.15LE and I only had 1LE on me, so I looked SUPER POOR at the cash register explaining I only had 1LE and he didn't believe me and thought I was trying to negotiate. My heart really goes out to egyptians, they simple can't afford to meet their basic needs. When a person only makes 300-600LE per month and meat costs 45LE per kilo it's just not a good situation. The shop owner is in the same situation, it’s not a good situation for anyone.
The government has promised to stop the rise in food prices by subsidies, but when that didn't work they came out and blamed egyptians and said they would 'crack down' on corruption--buying subsidized bread and selling it at inflated prices. Well, that didn't work and people are really suffering, so many groups have called for a strike. I guess to raise salaries or stop stores from inflating the prices. They are not spending any money today or supporting anything that has to do with money.
Fro example, they are not going to school(tuition/salary if employed at school), no cell phones, no going to shops, no taxis, no metro, no work, no anything supporting the economy. It started at Universities, professors are very much underpaid so it's the youth and adults so public universities are closing. Then many people are expected to protest outside of my university-the american university in Cairo. Why? not b/c 'american' it's b/c medan tahrir (the round-about) is in the middle of everything. It is VERY near the parliament, Arab League(UN for Arab nations) governors home, egyptian museum and it's all in the middle of downtown. It is where all the protests are held even back in the days of the King. That is probably why its name Tahrir b/c in Arabic it means Freedom.
It's a peaceful protest, but it is very dangerous for foreigners to be involved with protests. My university didn't close, but warned us about the danger. My friend Nadien (rich egyptian at AUC) knows a very high minister in the government who warned her not to go anywhere near Tahrir b/c the police are going to beat anyone protesting. There has been a whole slew of news articles about freedom of the press and rights recently. It has been very interesting to read in arabic(teacher explains most of it) the editor of a well established newspaper was thrown in prison for writing that the president was ill and went to the hospital, he is still in prison (that happened when we arrived) the government spokesman said the editor was a liar and the president is in perfectly good health. So lately there has been lots of writing about how this month marks the 99th year of the fall of the king and freedom of the press and still the president is throwing new editors in prison. It's interesting how things work in egypt. It's like everyone is free to do whatever they want--they can get a job wherever they want, major in whatever they want, women can work at directors of programs in academia, bank managers, in the parliament, in high and low gov't positions, but as soon as anyone threatens the power of the president, that person disappears, as soon as a group threatens the power of the president that group is beat if protesting, or blacklisted and targeted. 'you are free as long as the president can stay in power--do whatever you want but stay out of politics' that is the central theme of egypt. People follow it very well most of the time. Egyptians find out about mass corruption, police beatings, people getting thrown in jail etc...but they all say 'God only knows' they have a non-shalaunt attitude of 'oh well God wills it He only knows' it's very strange and allows these things to happen. Things won’t change until Egyptians want it to and do something about it, which I don’t see happening for a long time if ever.
Today, Casey is at school far from the city (out in the desert) and I am at home studying, far from downtown.
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
REGISTRATION!!!
It's time! Finally time! I've been waiting to register for courses next year for the past couple of weeks and it's finally here! It's funny b/c it seems so early to sign up for classes that don't start until the very end of August, but I'm so excited b/c I won't only be taking one course anymore! I'm so excited to be free to expand my mind in the many different areas I'm interested in! AND I will be entering the last 2 semesters of Arabic yay!!!
It won't be an easy course load--but all of my courses are what I'm dying to learn about so I'M SO EXCITED. I'm tired of all the generals to get out of the way and am really looking fwd to being free to learn what I'm most interested in--diplomacy, foreign policy, and economics.
Since my courses are so specialized I have to race all the other 400+ int'l studies students and even larger number Poli. Sci. student to enroll in the very limited and specialized courses offered. It is currently 12:20am Texas time, so from now on I've decided to make an enrollment party every semester enrollment opens so I can have a little fun while I try to make it into all the courses I want.
Here are the courses I just enrolled in for Fall 2008:
--American Foreign Policy
--Diplomatic History of the United States from 1900-1945
--International Relations
--International Trade
--Advanced Arabic
I will actually be 'cutting back' my course load Fall 2008 b/c currently I'm in class 20 hours per week and probably realistically study about 15 hours per week. Returning to Denton I will be in class 15 hours per week but, I may also have to work 15 hours per week--we'll see how these scholarships I applied for work out. If I do have to work UNT has an excellent office for co-op and Internship, so I just may be able to get a paid internship for credit--we'll see.
I'm excited to come back and get into these course topics and prepare for grad school.
It won't be an easy course load--but all of my courses are what I'm dying to learn about so I'M SO EXCITED. I'm tired of all the generals to get out of the way and am really looking fwd to being free to learn what I'm most interested in--diplomacy, foreign policy, and economics.
Since my courses are so specialized I have to race all the other 400+ int'l studies students and even larger number Poli. Sci. student to enroll in the very limited and specialized courses offered. It is currently 12:20am Texas time, so from now on I've decided to make an enrollment party every semester enrollment opens so I can have a little fun while I try to make it into all the courses I want.
Here are the courses I just enrolled in for Fall 2008:
--American Foreign Policy
--Diplomatic History of the United States from 1900-1945
--International Relations
--International Trade
--Advanced Arabic
I will actually be 'cutting back' my course load Fall 2008 b/c currently I'm in class 20 hours per week and probably realistically study about 15 hours per week. Returning to Denton I will be in class 15 hours per week but, I may also have to work 15 hours per week--we'll see how these scholarships I applied for work out. If I do have to work UNT has an excellent office for co-op and Internship, so I just may be able to get a paid internship for credit--we'll see.
I'm excited to come back and get into these course topics and prepare for grad school.
Friday, March 28, 2008
Hello Again
hey everyone! Casey and I are still alive and kickin' here in Cairo! I just finished my mid-terms so I'm VERY happy with life! Well, all my mid-terms are done except my Media Arabic class I like to call the torture chamber!!!! It is by far the hardest class I have ever taken in my life, but I know my putting myself through excruciating pain in this printed media course I will be so much better in Arabic.
One more note on Media Arabic---my friend who has been studying Arabic for 2 years and is finishing up his Masters in Middle East Studies and was shocked I told him I was in Media Arabic. He told me it the normal pre-req entrance exam to enrol in that course was ridiculously high so people could handle it. He was shocked my level was taking that course–but the new director is experimenting on us to see if its good. Then, he started making fun of the first few lessons like they were simple and didn't change much then talked about how incredible in-depth and difficult it got so quick. I laughed and related to him that NOTHING in that book has been easy for me. The big PLUS side is in my normal Arabic vocab/reading course we are getting into more in depth vocab and it's easy b/c I've already learned it from Media---so sometimes excruciating torture pays off.
Honestly, Casey and I are counting down the days until we come home. It's funny b/c we have done SOOOO much these past few months we have covered all the want to see in Egypt and even made it to Sinai 3 times and up to Israel. It's been amazing, now we are saving our money and preparing to come home. It's exciting and we are eager for family and life back home. I'm specifically eager to take some variety of courses and get into my upper level Economics and Diplomacy courses. I know Casey is excited to get some Math ON since she finally settled for a math major and French minor. However, she is worried and a little overwhelmed, we are going to try to help her finish up in 2 years---she will definitely be stretched to finish up in 2 years, but she is tough and very sharp and can do it. It will be one of the happiest days of my life when I can walk with my wife and we can hold arms full of degrees in our hands. She will have a B.S. in Math and minor in French and I will have a B.A. in International Politics and Diplomacy, and a B.A. in Economics and a minor in Arabic. I know it will be a wonderful day to be able to accomplish that side-by-side with my wife.
I'm set on grad school and Casey is behind me---Casey says as long as we get healthy funding from a program :) She always grounds me and helps me be realistic--it's rather nice since I'm a big dreamer. We are looking into several Ph.D. programs so we foresee many more years of education ahead.
One more note on Media Arabic---my friend who has been studying Arabic for 2 years and is finishing up his Masters in Middle East Studies and was shocked I told him I was in Media Arabic. He told me it the normal pre-req entrance exam to enrol in that course was ridiculously high so people could handle it. He was shocked my level was taking that course–but the new director is experimenting on us to see if its good. Then, he started making fun of the first few lessons like they were simple and didn't change much then talked about how incredible in-depth and difficult it got so quick. I laughed and related to him that NOTHING in that book has been easy for me. The big PLUS side is in my normal Arabic vocab/reading course we are getting into more in depth vocab and it's easy b/c I've already learned it from Media---so sometimes excruciating torture pays off.
Honestly, Casey and I are counting down the days until we come home. It's funny b/c we have done SOOOO much these past few months we have covered all the want to see in Egypt and even made it to Sinai 3 times and up to Israel. It's been amazing, now we are saving our money and preparing to come home. It's exciting and we are eager for family and life back home. I'm specifically eager to take some variety of courses and get into my upper level Economics and Diplomacy courses. I know Casey is excited to get some Math ON since she finally settled for a math major and French minor. However, she is worried and a little overwhelmed, we are going to try to help her finish up in 2 years---she will definitely be stretched to finish up in 2 years, but she is tough and very sharp and can do it. It will be one of the happiest days of my life when I can walk with my wife and we can hold arms full of degrees in our hands. She will have a B.S. in Math and minor in French and I will have a B.A. in International Politics and Diplomacy, and a B.A. in Economics and a minor in Arabic. I know it will be a wonderful day to be able to accomplish that side-by-side with my wife.
I'm set on grad school and Casey is behind me---Casey says as long as we get healthy funding from a program :) She always grounds me and helps me be realistic--it's rather nice since I'm a big dreamer. We are looking into several Ph.D. programs so we foresee many more years of education ahead.
Friday, March 14, 2008
unexpected?
I know that I haven't written in SO LONG, sorry about that. My week has been, I guess the best way to describe it has been unexpected!
First, Estrella is here. Which by the way, I was expecting. I also was expecting it to be wonderful, which it has. So in many ways Estrella is one of the most expected things that happened to me this week. That has been so excellent! And it's been so fun to be able to do so many things with her this week. We saw the best ballet we've seen yet here in Egypt, it is a Greek tragedy called "Zorba". We also experienced the Khan for the first time. People have been shocked for months that we haven't been there yet. It is this HUGE experience that it necessary. It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. Estrella and I both found some good things. And I think that my favorite part of the Khan was that we went into one shop and we found something that we really liked. And I know some Arabic and I used it to check the price and say hello etc. then another guy came into the shop to help bargain. The first guy totally was like, be nice to them "they" speak Arabic. I was so happy! He totally thought that I spoke Arabic. It was my first time that someone really thought that I spoke the language well!
Another story from the week, one of my unexpected stories. Estrella came with me to school most of the week, and Monday I had my PreK class coming and I was so ready for her to see the class so that she could really see how it is since I've told so many of you before how hard it is to take teach the little 3 yr olds. So we were waiting for them to come and waiting for them to come, they never showed up. EVER. After their class was over and they still hadn't come I emailed their teacher to see what happened. Apparently the class forgot about coming to music. How does that happen, how does a teacher "forget" to bring their class to music. Don't you think that if you were teaching 17, 3 yr olds every day, you wouldn't forget to bring them to music for 30 minutes. You'd think you'd be ready to leave them with someone else for a little while, but whatever.
Well, that is my story for right now! But since this is my spring break, I'll make sure that I post a few more thing over the week... Tomorrow we're going to Coptic Cairo and to the fabric market! Then Sunday we're going to the pyramids!! I love that Estrella came to visit, it's been wonderful to have part of home here to visit!
First, Estrella is here. Which by the way, I was expecting. I also was expecting it to be wonderful, which it has. So in many ways Estrella is one of the most expected things that happened to me this week. That has been so excellent! And it's been so fun to be able to do so many things with her this week. We saw the best ballet we've seen yet here in Egypt, it is a Greek tragedy called "Zorba". We also experienced the Khan for the first time. People have been shocked for months that we haven't been there yet. It is this HUGE experience that it necessary. It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. Estrella and I both found some good things. And I think that my favorite part of the Khan was that we went into one shop and we found something that we really liked. And I know some Arabic and I used it to check the price and say hello etc. then another guy came into the shop to help bargain. The first guy totally was like, be nice to them "they" speak Arabic. I was so happy! He totally thought that I spoke Arabic. It was my first time that someone really thought that I spoke the language well!
Another story from the week, one of my unexpected stories. Estrella came with me to school most of the week, and Monday I had my PreK class coming and I was so ready for her to see the class so that she could really see how it is since I've told so many of you before how hard it is to take teach the little 3 yr olds. So we were waiting for them to come and waiting for them to come, they never showed up. EVER. After their class was over and they still hadn't come I emailed their teacher to see what happened. Apparently the class forgot about coming to music. How does that happen, how does a teacher "forget" to bring their class to music. Don't you think that if you were teaching 17, 3 yr olds every day, you wouldn't forget to bring them to music for 30 minutes. You'd think you'd be ready to leave them with someone else for a little while, but whatever.
Well, that is my story for right now! But since this is my spring break, I'll make sure that I post a few more thing over the week... Tomorrow we're going to Coptic Cairo and to the fabric market! Then Sunday we're going to the pyramids!! I love that Estrella came to visit, it's been wonderful to have part of home here to visit!
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Happy Birthday Ammon!!!
I just want to say I love my brother Ammon and today is his birthday! It is very a very exciting day. Ammon's birthday not only ushered him into this beautiful world but it ushered in Casey's spring break this week. We are very excited to get back to the U.S. to see our family. I know I plan on spending lots of time with Ammon when we get back at the beach!!!
I remember when I was a boy and my little brother, Ammon, would sneak into my room to sleep in my bed. Sometimes I was a jerk and got a little mean kicking him out of my room, and he would just go right out of my room at the foot of my door and sleep on the stairs, or cleverly sneak back into my room. However, he never held a grudge or got mad at me. He has been such a wonderful brother. Even in recent years when I've needed some financial support with my high ambitions he has been there with the little he has to help me get a foothold into my dreams. He is everything I could ask for in a brother, and I wouldn't want anyone else to be my lil bro.
I remember when I was a boy and my little brother, Ammon, would sneak into my room to sleep in my bed. Sometimes I was a jerk and got a little mean kicking him out of my room, and he would just go right out of my room at the foot of my door and sleep on the stairs, or cleverly sneak back into my room. However, he never held a grudge or got mad at me. He has been such a wonderful brother. Even in recent years when I've needed some financial support with my high ambitions he has been there with the little he has to help me get a foothold into my dreams. He is everything I could ask for in a brother, and I wouldn't want anyone else to be my lil bro.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
The Past Weekend
We have had some great experiences since Estrella arrived. First, we went to church on Friday, which is I believe Estellas first experiences beginning the weekend with the Sabbath day. We had a special testimony meeting, since last week we just had Elder Oaks visit many members had many different impressions form his comments and example. Also, we had a couple of special visitors to our branch. Two brothers came from Japan b/c last week was the 50th anniversary of Egyptian/Japanese diplomatic relations. The two men organized a cultural exchange trip with a group of Japanese men to experiences Egypt. Since the two men are members of our church they came out for church on Friday. It was wonderful to hear there testimonies of the restored gospel and to listen as one of them sang his favorite hymn in Japanese.
I think it was also fun for Estrella to experience our wonderful primary class. We have the 11 yr olds and they are defiantly not ordinary--they are amazing! All of the families in our ward are very strong and close as families, and very active in the church. It is different here b/c it is out of the way and more difficult to make it to church, so a person really has to have a strong desire to be there or they wouldn't come. Most of the families have traveled the world either in international business or with different government agencies. The children grow up in strong family units and there is a recognizable difference. They are so happy, excited for church and knowledgeable. We have to step it up a little to teach them b/c going over the basic story lines like we would with most kids there age doesn't cut it--our kids not only finish our lines but go on to finish the story. We have adjusted to teach them more Sunday school type lessons.
This past Friday near the end of class we were talking about what we could do to be happier more often in our lives. Jessa said she knew a guy everyone loves b/c he is so happy then in her description of him she said she met him when they were living in Peru (South America) and he moved to Saudi Arabia with his family. It's funny sometimes to think about Jessa being only 11yrs old was born in Congo(I think or somewhere in Sub-saurian Africa) lived in Peru and now lives in Egypt. She has a wonderful family that has taught her so much and is a pleasure to teach every Sunday.
Well I gotta study for a grammar quiz now. Wish I could write more---maybe we will get Estrella to write some stuff
I think it was also fun for Estrella to experience our wonderful primary class. We have the 11 yr olds and they are defiantly not ordinary--they are amazing! All of the families in our ward are very strong and close as families, and very active in the church. It is different here b/c it is out of the way and more difficult to make it to church, so a person really has to have a strong desire to be there or they wouldn't come. Most of the families have traveled the world either in international business or with different government agencies. The children grow up in strong family units and there is a recognizable difference. They are so happy, excited for church and knowledgeable. We have to step it up a little to teach them b/c going over the basic story lines like we would with most kids there age doesn't cut it--our kids not only finish our lines but go on to finish the story. We have adjusted to teach them more Sunday school type lessons.
This past Friday near the end of class we were talking about what we could do to be happier more often in our lives. Jessa said she knew a guy everyone loves b/c he is so happy then in her description of him she said she met him when they were living in Peru (South America) and he moved to Saudi Arabia with his family. It's funny sometimes to think about Jessa being only 11yrs old was born in Congo(I think or somewhere in Sub-saurian Africa) lived in Peru and now lives in Egypt. She has a wonderful family that has taught her so much and is a pleasure to teach every Sunday.
Well I gotta study for a grammar quiz now. Wish I could write more---maybe we will get Estrella to write some stuff
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Estrella!
I think there is an A in her name somewhere, if I messed it up, sorry I'll edit it later.
Well, our good Friend arrives last night, or should I say this morning at 2am. She had a 9 hour lay over in Amsterdam, so had been traveling quit a long time to get to us. We are going to have some fun! little sad to say we will have to miss out on the Obama Pyramid rally, but hey we got lots to see with her these next two weeks!
Tomorrow morning we are going to the City of the Dead with a tour through my university. The city of the dead is just what is sounds like---it's people living in a cemetery. It's not a cemetery like in the U.S. A long time ago like 600AD people would bury their dead in a traditional spot then many times move for one reason or another far away over the many years. Since they had family burial traditions they built homes over the spot where the buried the dead so when they journey far across the desert they could have a place to stay why the morned and visited their dead. They usually would stay up to 2 weeks in these homes, so cemeteries are not these creepy ghost infested plots of land like in the U.S.--esp. the old ones here look like a small community of small stone homes. Fairly recently when Cairo had economic problems many people were homeless squatters. They started moving into these ancient stone homes b/c they are sturdy good places to live and were virtually unused. It resulted in a whole community of people living and developing this area into what is now called the city of the dead.
There are a bunch of really cool mosques and things to see in the city of the dead. It is also the poorest area of Cairo, so it an important experience.
I'm sure we will have lots of fun experiences and good posts these next few weeks. I'm itching to write my political views since I've turned more democrat and am supporting Obama, but that entry will have to wait.
Well, our good Friend arrives last night, or should I say this morning at 2am. She had a 9 hour lay over in Amsterdam, so had been traveling quit a long time to get to us. We are going to have some fun! little sad to say we will have to miss out on the Obama Pyramid rally, but hey we got lots to see with her these next two weeks!
Tomorrow morning we are going to the City of the Dead with a tour through my university. The city of the dead is just what is sounds like---it's people living in a cemetery. It's not a cemetery like in the U.S. A long time ago like 600AD people would bury their dead in a traditional spot then many times move for one reason or another far away over the many years. Since they had family burial traditions they built homes over the spot where the buried the dead so when they journey far across the desert they could have a place to stay why the morned and visited their dead. They usually would stay up to 2 weeks in these homes, so cemeteries are not these creepy ghost infested plots of land like in the U.S.--esp. the old ones here look like a small community of small stone homes. Fairly recently when Cairo had economic problems many people were homeless squatters. They started moving into these ancient stone homes b/c they are sturdy good places to live and were virtually unused. It resulted in a whole community of people living and developing this area into what is now called the city of the dead.
There are a bunch of really cool mosques and things to see in the city of the dead. It is also the poorest area of Cairo, so it an important experience.
I'm sure we will have lots of fun experiences and good posts these next few weeks. I'm itching to write my political views since I've turned more democrat and am supporting Obama, but that entry will have to wait.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
EGYPT FOR BARACK!!! The Promo Video
So here's what we're thinking:
Saturday. Pyramids, posters, video camera, camels. EGYPT FOR BARACK!!!
What better way to add to the primary race than a video showing how expats and Egyptians alike break it down for the next President of the USA? (Inshallah!) This is more than youtube-worthy. This is showing serious support, Middle East-style, Egypt-style.
You. Pyramids. Video. Posters. Saturday. Email to join. Email if you have a video camera.
Yes, we can! !أيوة، Ø¥ØÙ† قادرينّ
ps- It's going to be hot - not just because it's going to hit 90 degrees. We're just sayin...
pps- blankets
Saturday. Pyramids, posters, video camera, camels. EGYPT FOR BARACK!!!
What better way to add to the primary race than a video showing how expats and Egyptians alike break it down for the next President of the USA? (Inshallah!) This is more than youtube-worthy. This is showing serious support, Middle East-style, Egypt-style.
You. Pyramids. Video. Posters. Saturday. Email to join. Email if you have a video camera.
Yes, we can! !أيوة، Ø¥ØÙ† قادرينّ
ps- It's going to be hot - not just because it's going to hit 90 degrees. We're just sayin...
pps- blankets
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Elder Oaks
Elder Oaks of the 70's came out late Friday night to speak with us. In case you are not aware of what an Elder in the 70's means: its part of the leadership of the Church. The 12 apostles are delegated responsibilities from the 1st Presidency over different functions of the church like PR, missionary, finance/education ect..then since the world is such a large place and our church membership it around 12million--more outside the U.S. than inside the 1st Presidency and Quorum of the 12 apostles delegates responsibilities to area presidencies to preside over regional areas. They visit the branches and wards, handle the administration, meet with government officials for humanitarian projects, and testify of Christ looking after the spiritual welfare of the areas for which they have authority. It's a very structured system going down from the Prophet and apostles to the quorums of the 70's to mission presidents and stake presidents, to bishops at the ward and branch presidents all the way down to the individual members.
Elder Oaks is responsible for over 22 countries in his region. The Church headquarters for this region is in Frankfurt Germany. They are over much of Europe and into Eastern Europe and the whole of the Middle East and Greece. We have church branches in the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Egypt, and some other places I'm probably forgetting in the Middle East. It is a huge responsibility for them. We have had the privilege of meeting Eder Oaks and Elder Kapiesh who is the 1st counselor to Elder Oaks and is German(it's so interesting to hear his expereinces). I feel close to Elder Oaks b/c he was over the South East African area when I was a missionary in South Africa and the Church headquarters for that area was in Johannesburg which was the same as my mission headquarters. He was able to tour our mission often and give some amazing insight into the gospel and missionary work for us. Also, when I was in the back of the truck with Elder Corrigan when he fell out resulting in his passing, Elder Oaks and Elder Snow immediately went to the hospital with Elder Corrigan's family and then to the memorial service. Elder Oaks had some very insightful words that touched my heart and have impacted my life. I was excited to hear from him again.
He was a 4 star general in the Air Force and was in charge of the European Command during his military career. When he came in the room I quickly stood up straight and our friend April asked 'was that b/c he is a General Authority or b/c he was a military General' I replied probably a little of both :)
He gave a wonderful talk all about the amazing experiences in Africa he had when he was assigned there. I guess he noticed my big smile as I was remembering my great experiences there also, and April whispering things like did you serve in that area or do you know them etc...So he stopped his talk--there was about 15 of us in the room and said 'did you serve there?' I replied yes sir! 'in Mozambique' No sir, in Johannesburg and Botswanna. Everyone got a kick out of that. Then he began apologizing for not recognizing me. After the meeting he apologized again. I said a couple of times not to worry about it b/c it was such a large mission. There were over 200 missionaries just in my mission and he was responsible for over 16 nations and met with every stake twice per year and every missionary area twice per year on top of his other administrative responsibilities.
He came to Cairo to personally deliver medical supplies, specifically bandages to the humanitarian missionaries. He did a Middle East tour which included visits to the UAE and Jordan. He visited the UAE first and related the experiences there. He said the place is so rich the whole city of Abu Dhabi is like Disney Land--it's unreal. The 300 or so church members there met in a hotel that costs over 1,000 US dollars a night. They met in a meeting room there that he said has, I think it was, 5 huge chandlers as HUGE and nice as he had ever seen. He went on to speak about the spirit he felt among the people was the same as he felt meeting in little mudbrick huts in South Africa and went on to speak of the Gospel.
It was amazing to me and Casey how much the Lord loves all his children from the richest cities in the world to a small group of people in a village out in Mozambique. He sent Elder Oaks out to us just for one night b/c it was important enough to have contact with us out in Egypt and to strengthen us spiritually. His flight was delayed so he flew in around 10:00pm and drove straight to our branch villa arriving after 10:30pm then spoke until almost midnight. Then he was going to the hotel to wake up early to finish his business in Egypt and fly out to Jordan.
It was a wonderful experience with Elder Oaks.
Elder Oaks is responsible for over 22 countries in his region. The Church headquarters for this region is in Frankfurt Germany. They are over much of Europe and into Eastern Europe and the whole of the Middle East and Greece. We have church branches in the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Egypt, and some other places I'm probably forgetting in the Middle East. It is a huge responsibility for them. We have had the privilege of meeting Eder Oaks and Elder Kapiesh who is the 1st counselor to Elder Oaks and is German(it's so interesting to hear his expereinces). I feel close to Elder Oaks b/c he was over the South East African area when I was a missionary in South Africa and the Church headquarters for that area was in Johannesburg which was the same as my mission headquarters. He was able to tour our mission often and give some amazing insight into the gospel and missionary work for us. Also, when I was in the back of the truck with Elder Corrigan when he fell out resulting in his passing, Elder Oaks and Elder Snow immediately went to the hospital with Elder Corrigan's family and then to the memorial service. Elder Oaks had some very insightful words that touched my heart and have impacted my life. I was excited to hear from him again.
He was a 4 star general in the Air Force and was in charge of the European Command during his military career. When he came in the room I quickly stood up straight and our friend April asked 'was that b/c he is a General Authority or b/c he was a military General' I replied probably a little of both :)
He gave a wonderful talk all about the amazing experiences in Africa he had when he was assigned there. I guess he noticed my big smile as I was remembering my great experiences there also, and April whispering things like did you serve in that area or do you know them etc...So he stopped his talk--there was about 15 of us in the room and said 'did you serve there?' I replied yes sir! 'in Mozambique' No sir, in Johannesburg and Botswanna. Everyone got a kick out of that. Then he began apologizing for not recognizing me. After the meeting he apologized again. I said a couple of times not to worry about it b/c it was such a large mission. There were over 200 missionaries just in my mission and he was responsible for over 16 nations and met with every stake twice per year and every missionary area twice per year on top of his other administrative responsibilities.
He came to Cairo to personally deliver medical supplies, specifically bandages to the humanitarian missionaries. He did a Middle East tour which included visits to the UAE and Jordan. He visited the UAE first and related the experiences there. He said the place is so rich the whole city of Abu Dhabi is like Disney Land--it's unreal. The 300 or so church members there met in a hotel that costs over 1,000 US dollars a night. They met in a meeting room there that he said has, I think it was, 5 huge chandlers as HUGE and nice as he had ever seen. He went on to speak about the spirit he felt among the people was the same as he felt meeting in little mudbrick huts in South Africa and went on to speak of the Gospel.
It was amazing to me and Casey how much the Lord loves all his children from the richest cities in the world to a small group of people in a village out in Mozambique. He sent Elder Oaks out to us just for one night b/c it was important enough to have contact with us out in Egypt and to strengthen us spiritually. His flight was delayed so he flew in around 10:00pm and drove straight to our branch villa arriving after 10:30pm then spoke until almost midnight. Then he was going to the hotel to wake up early to finish his business in Egypt and fly out to Jordan.
It was a wonderful experience with Elder Oaks.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Life is certainly surprising isn't it?
I’ve been told before that to be an elementary school teacher you have to have an amazingly great immune system. Some of you know that I’ve taught before (swimming lessons) but never in a real school setting with my own classes like this; and now that I am experiencing this, I have to agree with all those people who admire the immune systems of elementary school teachers. I have been sick with either the flu or a cold for about 3 weeks now, and it has not been a pleasant thing of course. Two things in particular have made it especially difficult: one is that I keep almost getting over it. You have to agree with me that it is pretty annoying to be sick a few days, wake up one morning feeling better and thinking the worst is past, then two days later you’re back at the beginning again. The second thing making this so frustrating is how hard it is to sing, be energetic, or actually (honestly) very patient when your head is spinning and your nose is running and your eyes are watering and the children keep saying “ugh” every time you blow your nose and asking you if you are crying.
It is going pretty well though. Discipline is still an issue with the students but I am SO proud of myself for how much they have improved! I am trying to prepare them (like I said) for their spring concerts while teaching them everything else that is in their year long curriculum and keeping them interested at the same time. Singing these songs with them brings back such fun memories of elementary school for me and I enjoy that a lot.
Joe and I went to Alexandria last weekend with AUC. I left school a few hours early to meet the rest of the students going on the trip. Last semester we went on the Nile Cruise with AUC and I was thinking a lot of the same students would be there this time; it was so fun last time. But unfortunately it was a lot of new students (because apparently not a lot of people live in Cairo for 6 months before going to Alex). It was a great trip though, just a short weekend. Alexandria is so interesting because even though it has so much history that I am sure you could study it for a very long time, nothing was preserved really very well (or not much). I loved seeing the bibliotheque though (the library there). It really is a work of art, the architecture, the insides, the quietness, the books (well, they are currently working on increasing their supply of books) is all amazing. It is interesting though to be in a library that you aren’t allowed to check anything out of. While there are reference desks no on is checking books out, only reading them there. Since that is how it is run, I would suggest adding one or two things to their library there, large rooms with comfortable chairs for reading.
The Mediterranean Sea was so beautiful too! I love watching the waves cap and turn white and then go back out. It is so relaxing to see them and hear them and smell them. Alex is strange because even though people say how beautiful it is, it felt a lot like Cairo to me! There were a lot of not so beautiful buildings, then some that were really cool and beautiful places. But then it was totally different because it was like, Cairo on the sea side, because you are there on the Corniche (where our hotel was) and one way it is Sea forever it seems and you turn the other way and it is just like Cairo.
It is so fun to come back to Maadi after we take a trip to see something because as the metro slows to a stop for us to hop out, I get an overwhelming feeling of being home. I wonder if we even come back to Cairo and take that same Metro to that same stop, if I’ll still feel as though I am coming home. I have to quote the song I am teaching to the second graders as part of The Three Little Pigs “so even though you roam, if you know you can come home the world is a better place to be”! I totally agree, it is so nice to travel and then it is so nice to come home, and now that we have our plane tickets to REALLY come home, the world seems like an even better place to be (even though here I sit with my pounding headache and tons of things to do!)
It is going pretty well though. Discipline is still an issue with the students but I am SO proud of myself for how much they have improved! I am trying to prepare them (like I said) for their spring concerts while teaching them everything else that is in their year long curriculum and keeping them interested at the same time. Singing these songs with them brings back such fun memories of elementary school for me and I enjoy that a lot.
Joe and I went to Alexandria last weekend with AUC. I left school a few hours early to meet the rest of the students going on the trip. Last semester we went on the Nile Cruise with AUC and I was thinking a lot of the same students would be there this time; it was so fun last time. But unfortunately it was a lot of new students (because apparently not a lot of people live in Cairo for 6 months before going to Alex). It was a great trip though, just a short weekend. Alexandria is so interesting because even though it has so much history that I am sure you could study it for a very long time, nothing was preserved really very well (or not much). I loved seeing the bibliotheque though (the library there). It really is a work of art, the architecture, the insides, the quietness, the books (well, they are currently working on increasing their supply of books) is all amazing. It is interesting though to be in a library that you aren’t allowed to check anything out of. While there are reference desks no on is checking books out, only reading them there. Since that is how it is run, I would suggest adding one or two things to their library there, large rooms with comfortable chairs for reading.
The Mediterranean Sea was so beautiful too! I love watching the waves cap and turn white and then go back out. It is so relaxing to see them and hear them and smell them. Alex is strange because even though people say how beautiful it is, it felt a lot like Cairo to me! There were a lot of not so beautiful buildings, then some that were really cool and beautiful places. But then it was totally different because it was like, Cairo on the sea side, because you are there on the Corniche (where our hotel was) and one way it is Sea forever it seems and you turn the other way and it is just like Cairo.
It is so fun to come back to Maadi after we take a trip to see something because as the metro slows to a stop for us to hop out, I get an overwhelming feeling of being home. I wonder if we even come back to Cairo and take that same Metro to that same stop, if I’ll still feel as though I am coming home. I have to quote the song I am teaching to the second graders as part of The Three Little Pigs “so even though you roam, if you know you can come home the world is a better place to be”! I totally agree, it is so nice to travel and then it is so nice to come home, and now that we have our plane tickets to REALLY come home, the world seems like an even better place to be (even though here I sit with my pounding headache and tons of things to do!)
Monday, February 18, 2008
The American Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra
Now that is a name! The Smithsonian U.S. History museum sponsors this amazing Jazz Orchestra that plays around the world showcasing the brilliant Jazz genera created in 1920 America. It was nothing short of amazing. The 1st lady, Suzan Mubarak, dedicates this month to the arts and is promoting some special International cultural events in Egypt. They kicked it off with this Jazz Orchestra who played at the pyramids, the Opera House, and the Alexandria Opera House. Honestly, there are very few times I have ever seen Casey's face so bright and happy. We were about 10ft from the stage and the whole show she just gazed at the band with wide eyes and a huge smile. It was like a kid at a candy shop gazing at all the beautiful colors of the many candies all around him.
I was impressed with all the white people communicating in Arabic. Our Ambassador opened the night by giving a 5-10min speech in Arabic and I actually understood some of it! yay! There was a neat little insert in our play billet about how music can bring cultures together and it was signed with a little Arabic saying hand written by our Ambassador. Guess that's his job and I shouldn't be that impressed, but I am. The music was good and being there helped me to really appreciate the country I love. Studying politics is rather negative sometimes, but here and there I see some light shine in that shows me the struggle is well worth it. More and more I'm being drawn toward diplomacy and foreign policy. It started on my mission in South Africa and my interested has slowly built at school and now being exposed to many people in careers surrounding diplomacy helps me to narrow my interest down. Casey jokes that by the time we leave Egypt I will have picked everyone's brain in our ward and among our friends. I'm just so grateful we have made friends with so many people I can look up to, 'to pick their brains'. This time in Egypt has benefited me much further than merely a language.
AND I have a new found love---JAZZ. I especially LOVED when they did the old jazz song the movie AUSTIN POWERS used as a theme song and the good ol' 'What a Wounderful World' by Louis Armstrong--can't beat that!
I was impressed with all the white people communicating in Arabic. Our Ambassador opened the night by giving a 5-10min speech in Arabic and I actually understood some of it! yay! There was a neat little insert in our play billet about how music can bring cultures together and it was signed with a little Arabic saying hand written by our Ambassador. Guess that's his job and I shouldn't be that impressed, but I am. The music was good and being there helped me to really appreciate the country I love. Studying politics is rather negative sometimes, but here and there I see some light shine in that shows me the struggle is well worth it. More and more I'm being drawn toward diplomacy and foreign policy. It started on my mission in South Africa and my interested has slowly built at school and now being exposed to many people in careers surrounding diplomacy helps me to narrow my interest down. Casey jokes that by the time we leave Egypt I will have picked everyone's brain in our ward and among our friends. I'm just so grateful we have made friends with so many people I can look up to, 'to pick their brains'. This time in Egypt has benefited me much further than merely a language.
AND I have a new found love---JAZZ. I especially LOVED when they did the old jazz song the movie AUSTIN POWERS used as a theme song and the good ol' 'What a Wounderful World' by Louis Armstrong--can't beat that!
Friday, February 8, 2008
so little to do and so much time... wait strike that reverse it!
Hello everybody! So how is my teaching going? It is going GREAT thanks for asking!
The School I teach in is the American International School which means it is accredited as an American school with American curriculum and standards so the students who attend it get the same education (ideally) that they would in the states which is good if they go there for college and its great for jobs etc. All the classes are taught in English (except they do have Arabic classes that they take as well) but most of the teachers are American. There is some sort of association or company or something that holds job fairs for teachers who want to teach at an abroad position like this, then they hold job fairs in large cities. (Like New York for American schools abroad) or Paris (for French schools abroad)... etc. The teachers are an interesting crowd though, they are a lot like elementary school teachers back home but they usually sign 2 year contracts or so and then move on to another teaching area. Which seems crazy to me because so many teachers that I knew back home would teach in the same town in the same school for their entire careers! The teachers here also take huge trips all the time. Like Portugal for Christmas, or Thailand for Spring Break.
I don't have a lot of direction as far as my classroom. The first few days I just looked through the books etc. and watched the classes, during this time I found some pages with the curriculum for each grade typed on them. But I don't know what the previous teacher did with them, and I can't possibly go through all the curriculum in one semester with how little I see each class. I see first through fifth grade once a week each class. The classes are supposed to be 45 minutes long but most of the teachers bring their classes late so my time with them ends up being between 30 and 40 minutes. Which isn't long at all. The younger children PreK (who are 3 and don't speak english very well) and KG I see them 2ce a week for 20 min each time which is a good amount of time.
Every semester there is a music concert for the elementary school which I am in charge of this semester (of course) as the music teacher! I have never been in charge of something like this before! It is pretty scary! I have decided on a musical of the three little pigs for KG-2nd grade, and started teaching a few of the songs to the classes already. It was hard to decide for 3rd and 4th and 5th grade because I wasn't all that interested in any of the music that I found there in the room and it isn't like I can just go to a music store, and find something I like and ask the school to purchase it. The school has a lot of resources, books, cds, instruments, etc. but the problem is that there is a set of books without cds and a set of cds without books, so I found that i really like the suggested performances from both the books and the cds, but either I don't have the music or I don't have the words. does that make sense? I think I am going to go with the cds and type up all the words to the songs and just have the children sing along with the singers on the cd for a while. Which means that 3rd grade is doing a musical of The Golden Goose (which I'll also have the write the story for) and 4th grade is doing one about inventing (another one I'll have to write a story for) and 5th grade is doing The Music Man! (which I actually found the right book to go with it!)
It seems like I have so much to teach though and so little time! Most of the kids are 1/2 Egyptian and 1/2 American or all Egyptian! they are pretty cute but children in general sometimes have trouble with talking and (I don't like to stereotype) but honestly I have never met a group of people in my life before that liked to talk so much as Egyptians even the adults! I can't say that the kids are more talkative than the adults I have seen here. But wish me luck I have a lot coming up. Maybe I will ask to borrow someone's video camera in the branch for our performances and have Joe tape them, that way when i come home you can see how well I did (or didn't haha!!)
Monday, February 4, 2008
A New Semester
This is definitely a new semester, unlike the first. I thought the first semester was intensive, but now having been through my first 2 days I realize it was nothing compared to what this semester brings. Last semester we had 4 courses: Reading, Grammar, Colloquial, and Drill(review class). As I mentioned before I was hoping to move up a few levels to the highest in Elementary Arabic. Well, I got my wish, I guess I tested rather well, out of the 11 people in our previous class 3 of us made it up this high. Boy are we in for a treat! We have 7 people in our class the other 4 came from another more advanced Elementary class last semester. I think the only thing that divides us is our vocabulary--it seems we are at the same level in grammar. They divided the High Elementary classes into 5 groups: Elementary 1-5. I was thinking of moving down a level with all the other members of my class last semester, but they are still reviewing previous lessons and it seems too easy, however this one seems to high, so now I'm using the positive mentality of 'who can say no to a new challenge? bring it on!'
I've been very surprised that most of our teachers are only using Arabic. I never thought I would get to this level and now being here I'm scared! When they first started using all Arabic--the first few minutes of class--I was like WHOA hold on!! what have I got myself into! But, I realized I know the majority of the words they use I just haven’t learned how to apply it yet in so many different situations, so it will really help me out a lot. The class is pretty much divided. 1/2 the class came from a bit higher course than we had last semester, so they are able to use a bit more vocab etc...and then the 1/2 I'm on is currently overwhelmed with the amount of vocab we need to 'catch' up. I'm sure we will...One thing I have going for me is that we only have 7 people in our class and it's amazing how much personal attention we get opposed to 11 people. It like night and day.
We have 4 courses again this semester: reading/writing, grammar, colloquial, and media. I was so excited for our new class, Media!!! It mainly covers news media, b/c it has different formalities in Arabic than standard or colloquial. However, today was the first day of class and it blew my mind away! I have over a 1 1/2 pages of new voacab words from just over an hr of class and this takes the place of a review class where no new material was introduced!!! We read 2 headlines and one little news blurb. When we read the first headline I felt so accomplished b/c I pretty much followed along and picked up some new word that would be useful like Presided over a meeting and similar phrases. Then, we came to the last headline and short passage. It read something like this: Musa the Secretary-General of the Arab League called a special session to discuss a new draft resolution concerning Iran’s Nuclear activities......
A little advanced for me....I just picked up the Media Arabic text book and am excited to get into the Media Vocab. This semester is going to be such a challenge and I'm excited. I'm blessed Casey has to be at the bus for her school at 6:50 & that means I get to school by 7:30 and have lot's of extra time to study in the morning. I think if I can rise to the challenge this semester my Arabic will be well on it's way to quite functional. Maybe I will be able to pick up an Arabic newspaper and understand some stuff instead of having to buy the English edition. It will also help me keep up with the language back home. Online newspapers are the way to go---no paper or mess as they pile up around the house.
Wish me luck! I'm going to need it...
I've been very surprised that most of our teachers are only using Arabic. I never thought I would get to this level and now being here I'm scared! When they first started using all Arabic--the first few minutes of class--I was like WHOA hold on!! what have I got myself into! But, I realized I know the majority of the words they use I just haven’t learned how to apply it yet in so many different situations, so it will really help me out a lot. The class is pretty much divided. 1/2 the class came from a bit higher course than we had last semester, so they are able to use a bit more vocab etc...and then the 1/2 I'm on is currently overwhelmed with the amount of vocab we need to 'catch' up. I'm sure we will...One thing I have going for me is that we only have 7 people in our class and it's amazing how much personal attention we get opposed to 11 people. It like night and day.
We have 4 courses again this semester: reading/writing, grammar, colloquial, and media. I was so excited for our new class, Media!!! It mainly covers news media, b/c it has different formalities in Arabic than standard or colloquial. However, today was the first day of class and it blew my mind away! I have over a 1 1/2 pages of new voacab words from just over an hr of class and this takes the place of a review class where no new material was introduced!!! We read 2 headlines and one little news blurb. When we read the first headline I felt so accomplished b/c I pretty much followed along and picked up some new word that would be useful like Presided over a meeting and similar phrases. Then, we came to the last headline and short passage. It read something like this: Musa the Secretary-General of the Arab League called a special session to discuss a new draft resolution concerning Iran’s Nuclear activities......
A little advanced for me....I just picked up the Media Arabic text book and am excited to get into the Media Vocab. This semester is going to be such a challenge and I'm excited. I'm blessed Casey has to be at the bus for her school at 6:50 & that means I get to school by 7:30 and have lot's of extra time to study in the morning. I think if I can rise to the challenge this semester my Arabic will be well on it's way to quite functional. Maybe I will be able to pick up an Arabic newspaper and understand some stuff instead of having to buy the English edition. It will also help me keep up with the language back home. Online newspapers are the way to go---no paper or mess as they pile up around the house.
Wish me luck! I'm going to need it...
Friday, February 1, 2008
Romeo & Juliet
Last night Casey and I went to see Romeo & Juliet Ballet at the Cairo Opera House. We enjoyed it so much. In my opinion it put the Nutcracker to shame. Lots of teachers that work with Casey went. It as nice to meet them and they all seemed so nice. She is a busy girl now! She leaves for school before 7am comes back around 4pm to tutor her 4 students, so most days she doesn't arrive back home until 7 or 8pm. I've been a bid bored this past week awaiting school to begin. I've studied Arabic a bit more in preperatin for class, but have been anticipating returning to school. I'm so glad I had the one-on-one tutoring sessions 8hrs a week over this break. It helped me so much! The first 2 weeks are an adjustment time so students are in the right level. I'm hoping to move up to the highest level of beginner--we will see. My program is divided into 3 levels: Beginner, Intermediate, and advanced--with 4 sub-sections in each level. Since there are so many students coming in from different programs they have many sub levels to accurately place everyone. The classes are around 6-10 students. I started at level zero called low beginner. If I keep up the hard work through this semester I shouldn't have any problem testing out of Arabic all the way to the advanced level at UNT (my university in Texas). That would mean I would only need 2 more classes before I receive a minor!
Casey is doing very well and I'm doing great. We can't wait to find out what trips my school will be taking us on this semester!!!! We have 11 more trips through AUC before we come home!!!! We have had so many great times here in Egypt. Last night at the opera house was one of them--the music a wonderful, the dancing beautiful and I was with my favorite person---Casey Anne!
Casey is doing very well and I'm doing great. We can't wait to find out what trips my school will be taking us on this semester!!!! We have 11 more trips through AUC before we come home!!!! We have had so many great times here in Egypt. Last night at the opera house was one of them--the music a wonderful, the dancing beautiful and I was with my favorite person---Casey Anne!
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
What happens now??
Since the passing of our beloved President Hinckley, many people have been asking myself and friends of mine, 'what happens now?' in regards to succession. I would like to shine some light on this for anyone wanting to know.
Here is an offical church news release reguarding the process:
The highest-ranking governing body in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the First Presidency, consisting of the president and his two counselors, or advisers. This three-man body supervises the work of the entire Church in all matters of policy, organization and administration.
The second-highest presiding body in Church government is the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. They serve under the direction of the First Presidency and have heavy administrative responsibilities to oversee the orderly progress and development of the Church throughout the world. The First Presidency and Twelve Apostles are regarded by Latter-day Saints as prophets who receive divine revelation and inspiration to guide the Church.
The appointment of a new president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints happens in an orderly way that — remarkably in today’s world — avoids any trace of internal lobbying for position or rank. Viewed by members as a divinely revealed process, it is devoid of electioneering whether behind the scenes or in public.
Moreover, it is not only the structure of Church organization that governs this process. There is also a deeply ingrained tradition in the Church that personal aspiration for leadership at any level is inappropriate. Instead, the emphasis is on personal worthiness and a humble willingness to serve when invited.
When the president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints passes away, the following events take place:
1. The First Presidency is automatically dissolved.
2. The two counselors in the First Presidency revert to their places of seniority in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Seniority is determined by the date on which a person was ordained to the Twelve, not by age.
3. The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, now numbering 14 and headed by the senior apostle, assumes Church leadership.
4. The senior apostle presides at a meeting of the Quorum of the Twelve to consider two alternative propositions:
i. Should the First Presidency be reorganized at this time?
ii. Should the Church continue to function with the Quorum of the Twelve presiding?
5. After discussion, a formal motion is made and accepted by the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
6. If a motion to reorganize the First Presidency is passed, the Quorum of the Twelve unanimously selects the new president of the Church. The new president chooses two counselors from among the Quorum of the Twelve and the three of them become the new First Presidency. Throughout the history of the Church, the longest-serving apostle has always become the president of the Church when the First Presidency has been reorganized.
7. Following the reorganization of the First Presidency, the apostle who has served the second longest is sustained as the president of the Quorum of the Twelve. The only exception is when the second-longest-serving apostle has also been called into the First Presidency as a counselor, in which case the third-longest-serving apostle becomes acting president of the Twelve.
8. The president of the Quorum of the Twelve, along with the rest of the apostles, sets apart the new president of the Church through a formal laying on of hands.
Since the Church was formally organized on 6 April 1830, there have been 15 presidents, including President Gordon B. Hinckley.
Here is an offical church news release reguarding the process:
The highest-ranking governing body in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the First Presidency, consisting of the president and his two counselors, or advisers. This three-man body supervises the work of the entire Church in all matters of policy, organization and administration.
The second-highest presiding body in Church government is the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. They serve under the direction of the First Presidency and have heavy administrative responsibilities to oversee the orderly progress and development of the Church throughout the world. The First Presidency and Twelve Apostles are regarded by Latter-day Saints as prophets who receive divine revelation and inspiration to guide the Church.
The appointment of a new president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints happens in an orderly way that — remarkably in today’s world — avoids any trace of internal lobbying for position or rank. Viewed by members as a divinely revealed process, it is devoid of electioneering whether behind the scenes or in public.
Moreover, it is not only the structure of Church organization that governs this process. There is also a deeply ingrained tradition in the Church that personal aspiration for leadership at any level is inappropriate. Instead, the emphasis is on personal worthiness and a humble willingness to serve when invited.
When the president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints passes away, the following events take place:
1. The First Presidency is automatically dissolved.
2. The two counselors in the First Presidency revert to their places of seniority in the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. Seniority is determined by the date on which a person was ordained to the Twelve, not by age.
3. The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, now numbering 14 and headed by the senior apostle, assumes Church leadership.
4. The senior apostle presides at a meeting of the Quorum of the Twelve to consider two alternative propositions:
i. Should the First Presidency be reorganized at this time?
ii. Should the Church continue to function with the Quorum of the Twelve presiding?
5. After discussion, a formal motion is made and accepted by the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
6. If a motion to reorganize the First Presidency is passed, the Quorum of the Twelve unanimously selects the new president of the Church. The new president chooses two counselors from among the Quorum of the Twelve and the three of them become the new First Presidency. Throughout the history of the Church, the longest-serving apostle has always become the president of the Church when the First Presidency has been reorganized.
7. Following the reorganization of the First Presidency, the apostle who has served the second longest is sustained as the president of the Quorum of the Twelve. The only exception is when the second-longest-serving apostle has also been called into the First Presidency as a counselor, in which case the third-longest-serving apostle becomes acting president of the Twelve.
8. The president of the Quorum of the Twelve, along with the rest of the apostles, sets apart the new president of the Church through a formal laying on of hands.
Since the Church was formally organized on 6 April 1830, there have been 15 presidents, including President Gordon B. Hinckley.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Gaza
Here is another solid article I highly recommend if you are interested in what is going on not far to the north of us. (far enough it doesn't effect cairo so don't worry too much about us)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/
article/2008/01/27/AR2008012702062.html?hpid=moreheadlines
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/
article/2008/01/27/AR2008012702062.html?hpid=moreheadlines
Sunday, January 27, 2008
President Goron B. Hinckley
The President of our Church died yesterday at 97. He greatly influenced my life and helped me understand important teachings that has changed my life. He did so many wonderful things throughout his life.
NY Times wrote a wonderful article about him
http://www.nytimes.com/?emc=na
the church website has one as well
http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/
He was truly a Prophet of the Lord and served a wonderful life of service on the earth. I feel happy he will be reunited with his wife and am grateful for all the important things he accomplished during his life.
NY Times wrote a wonderful article about him
http://www.nytimes.com/?emc=na
the church website has one as well
http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/
He was truly a Prophet of the Lord and served a wonderful life of service on the earth. I feel happy he will be reunited with his wife and am grateful for all the important things he accomplished during his life.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
A Job for Me?
I just got offered a job here! I am going to be the elementary school music teacher at the American International School (which is attended by Egyptians). I am so nervous and excited. They said to think about the offer over the weekend and call them back on Sunday! Wow. I'm going to be so busy! And it is not going to be easy, but I already and excited to be so challenged (besides even if it is terribly hard, I'll only be doing it until the end of June!)
Send some celebratory feeling my way!
Send some celebratory feeling my way!
Skull Hill
It was sure hard to capture the features of the hill that make the appearance of a skull, so we took a few...It is kinda cool looking, so I thought i'd post some of the up and to show the features and the bus station. There is a look out point from the back of the park overlooking the buses and the hill---that's where we shot these pics.
The Garden Tomb
The Garden Tomb was the most peaceful place in all of Israel for Casey and I. We really loved it. The park was so beautiful and nice. It was an ancient garden with a huge underground chamber for water so beautiful plants could grow. Skull Hill was next to the garden which served as the ancient rock quarry for the Jews. Since the rock quarry was right outside of Damascus Gate which was the road to Damascus many people passed by. It was like a main highway into Jerusalem. The Jews would use the area around the quarry to stone people and the Romans used it for Crucifixion b/c it was visible to a high number of travelers and seeing someone on the cross would deter criminals.
Today the area hasn't changed much. It is one of the busiest areas of the old city and at the base of skull hill is a bus station. It was weird to see something so ancient and famous the back wall to a bus station. All the buses parked along the wall of the cliff type hill. Then, as I learned of this was the same in ancient times I realized wagons, camels, donkeys etc.. were merely replaced by buses. Somethings never change. Anciently it was a center for mingling travelers from distant lands to buy/sell good, or to set out on a journey, and toady it is about the same with markets and the transit station.
There are features in the face of the hill that caused it to be named skull hill. When Casey and I looked at it we were surprised to see the features of the skull in the side of the hill. The tomb was not far from the hill. It was carved out of a single rock and the chamber was on the ride-hand side. There was also a channel for a large rock to roll over the entrance. Although all the little facts were fun and interesting to see, the garden was centered on the memory of his resurrection. It was the only place in Jerusalem so focused on Christ and not on all the traditions, jewels, relics and material things. It was such a humble place. There was no magnificent church or denominations boasting ownership. A British foundation bought the land a very long time ago and has kept the garden beautiful meek and peaceful. I felt it was in the true spirit of Christ. He lived such a humble life and was buried in such a humble place. The son of a carpenter who bore the sins of the world yet didn't even have his own grave, as he was buried in a friends. It felt like the garden was more like the true depiction of what Christ would have wanted. All the signs, scriptures, and words posted throughout the garden were in remembrance of the fact that he had risen and lives. It was wonderful to be able to spend time away from the contention of Jerusalem and feel the peace and love of God in this peaceful garden.
Today the area hasn't changed much. It is one of the busiest areas of the old city and at the base of skull hill is a bus station. It was weird to see something so ancient and famous the back wall to a bus station. All the buses parked along the wall of the cliff type hill. Then, as I learned of this was the same in ancient times I realized wagons, camels, donkeys etc.. were merely replaced by buses. Somethings never change. Anciently it was a center for mingling travelers from distant lands to buy/sell good, or to set out on a journey, and toady it is about the same with markets and the transit station.
There are features in the face of the hill that caused it to be named skull hill. When Casey and I looked at it we were surprised to see the features of the skull in the side of the hill. The tomb was not far from the hill. It was carved out of a single rock and the chamber was on the ride-hand side. There was also a channel for a large rock to roll over the entrance. Although all the little facts were fun and interesting to see, the garden was centered on the memory of his resurrection. It was the only place in Jerusalem so focused on Christ and not on all the traditions, jewels, relics and material things. It was such a humble place. There was no magnificent church or denominations boasting ownership. A British foundation bought the land a very long time ago and has kept the garden beautiful meek and peaceful. I felt it was in the true spirit of Christ. He lived such a humble life and was buried in such a humble place. The son of a carpenter who bore the sins of the world yet didn't even have his own grave, as he was buried in a friends. It felt like the garden was more like the true depiction of what Christ would have wanted. All the signs, scriptures, and words posted throughout the garden were in remembrance of the fact that he had risen and lives. It was wonderful to be able to spend time away from the contention of Jerusalem and feel the peace and love of God in this peaceful garden.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
The Western Wall
After leaving the burnt house museum we found ourselves on the way to the western wall, kind of by accident. We saw a circle with a bunch of buses and thought maybe it was a bus station, so we descended a bunch of stairs to check it out. When we got down there we saw it was a security check point for entering the Western Wall.
We made it through security after being thoroughly checked and walked a little ways before reaching the sign in the 2nd picture. The Western Wall is basically the western retainer wall for the 2nd great Temple. The Jews rebuilt the Temple after Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the 1st and 'scattered' Israel into his massive kingdom. When they returned 70 yrs later they rebuild the great Temple. It remained until 70AD when the Romans destroyed it. This is the most sacred place for Jews. Everyone says it's a little crazy there b/c of harsh contentions, but we didn't feel that at all. People were approaching the wall and praying and everything seemed okay. We felt the most tension in Bethlehem and the mt. of Olives. Bethlehem is to be understood b/c they are caged in like dogs, but we will get to that when we post pictures up from our visit to Bethlehem.
One fun aspect of staying in the Muslim quarters just inside of Damascus Gate is that we were in the middle of all the markets. On the way back from the Western Wall it was around 4pm and since all the sites close around that time we would go back to our hostel and hangout. It was much better to be indoors at night, b/c it was freezing! and b/c it's safer in the evening to be indoors. On the way back we passed lots of shops, it's almost like an indoor/outdoor mall. The streets are stone paths with stone walls are arched cemented/stone roof with holes every few meters for light. In the muslim quarters it is solid markets and our hotel was just a small door in the mist of these markets then as you walk up some narrow stairs it opens up into a beautiful lobby and a 3 floor hostel above the market streets overlooking the city. As I was saying, on he way back Casey couldn't pass up the candy shops. It was great to just pick out candy and go back to our room and eat and read, write in our journals, and chat it up.
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