Armenia and Georgia

Arrival:

Second Day:

Temple of Garni

Third Day:

Tbilisi Fourth Day:

Tbilisi Fifth Day:

Sixth Day:

Seventh Day:

Trips: Part 1 Sri Lanka

It's been awhile!  Busy, busy.  Not going to waste too much time writing here.  I wanted to share some photos with you from my trip to Sri Lanka over the Christmas holiday and France in February for a school trip.  Let's start with Sri Lanka:

When I first arrived to Colombo International, I took a tuk tuk to the middle of Colombo.  It wouldn't be an adventure if I didn't get lost right away, and my first driver agreed dropping me off in the wrong part of town.  

 

But I eventually found my hostel and met some great people from all over the world.  We discussed a variety of topics from great surf spots around the world to the upcoming elections in Sri Lanka.

Took a train south from Colombo to Hikkaduwa.  Very crowded, bumpy ride, but this family let me sit with them and even shared a chocolate bar with me.  I gave both kids a United States dollar.  They were very happy.

Once I got off the train, I arrived here.  Paradise.

Made friends quickly.

Ate some very decent vittles, drank fresh mango juice, and caught some nightlife.

Saw some religious sights.

caught


            some



                     surf

Made more friends and had a great time!!!

It's Been Awhile

Hello all!  Rather than apologize for the obscene amount of time in absentia, I will forge ahead.  All is good in the desert!  I recently submitted first quarter grades with comments and hoopla only customary in the world of education.  Inefficiency extends beyond government, I assure you.

Played a little golf a week or so ago.  We played in the evening which is a little cooler and adds a new element to my awful game.  It was fun though.  Played with the Math department head, an assistant principal, and a colleague in the English department.  Thankfully, we are all much better at lesson plans than golf so everyone enjoyed watching errant shots and missed putts.

As you can see, there is plenty of grass and the course surrounds  a 67 million sq feet racecourse.  the course is used mostly for racehorses, but Red Bull is having a race event there in a couple of weeks.  All in all, it's a HUGE place with the Burj Khalifa always placed nicely in the background:

That's about it for now.  I'm going to try to host Thanksgiving at my place this year.  I already sent a request to mom for a few beloved recipes.  This will be my first holiday season spent away from home, so I hope to make it a special one.  Sri Lanka in December and France in February!!  Then I'll have more to share.  

We are almost finished with our first break, Eid.  It was a week full of rest, friends and a little strep to boot.  But the process of getting antibiotics for this recurring illness was a quick visit to the pharmacy.  I suppose the fact that there is very little acces to drugs that can be abused and trust in the patient lead to a stream lined process.  I am in day three of antibiotics and already feel much better.

One of the evenings of our break was spent in the Asiana hotel for a buffet.  These buffets and brunches are quite famous in Dubai.  The spread is beyond impressive.  I have been told access to any type of cuisine and drink is readily had.  The small group I went with chose Korean BBQ.

The food was excellent and authentic in my limited opinion.  The company, of course, was the best.  Most of the pictured are Canadians with a Korean and us two Americans on the far right.  I only share the nationalities as I continue to demonstrate the cultural exchange that happens daily.  Needless to reiterate, we had a wonderful time with laughter, raised glasses, and a dear memory for this fortunate soul.  

It has been a great week! Hope yours was even better.

A Gushing Apology Over a Cup of Coffee

The joy of meeting and the sorrow of separation … we 
should welcome these gifts … with our whole soul, and experience to the full, and with the same gratitude, all the sweetness or bitterness as the case may be. Meeting and separation are two forms of friendship that contain the same good, in the one case through pleasure and in the other through sorrow… Soon there will be distance between us. Let us love this distance which is wholly woven of friendship, for those who do not love each other are not separated.
Simone Weil in a letter to her friend Joseph-Marie Perrin, quoted in Perrin’s Simone Weil As We Knew Her

I have been woefully neglect of my blogging duties, and I beg your forgiveness and understanding.  Educating 7, 8, and 9 grade year kiddos is in full tilt, and often my head is akin to one holding to the safety bar with hopes that the carnival ride will end soon or at least slow down.  I certainly do not mean to imply that I am unhappy or even nauseous from the duties that come with my career choice.  I only aim to paint my apology with a feverish brush that begs your indulgence.

The will to learn and teach has swept me up as I find myself quite happy at the moment.  I have found myself surrounded by adept, caring colleagues and empathetic friends on the weekends.  But I have also felt the all too familiar pangs of being homesick and the profound sense of loss that comes with being far away from loved ones and the like.  As I have done for most of my life, I have found purpose and companionship in Dostoevsky, Camus, Shelley, and others.

As for daily life and the grinding of espresso beans in the morning that helps the aforementioned, I reiterate that I am quite content.  For lunch today in fact, I had coffee with a friend.  A friend that I would never have found if I hadn't answered a Skype call and boarded a plane for a new continent.  And to call him this, as I hope he would reciprocate, is all the pleasure one needs in life.  And I extend the same cup of coffee to you and hope you will patiently wait for a more practical installment with lots of pictures of interesting architecture, friends, and delicious food.  

Meeting New People

OK, so I will apologize up front about the length of this post.  I am in a frenzy trying to learn, adapt, and be ready to disseminate a new curriculum at my school.  Therefore, I will have to use some photos and videos to make up the bulk of this week's bit.

In addition to my classroom, I have a shared office on the second floor.  We call it the "Office of Randoms" and answer the phone accordingly due to the fact that we have two social studies teachers, two art teachers (who are never in the office), a drama teacher, and two English teachers (including me).  Linda (American) and Genna (British) are two returning teachers that immediately made me feel welcome. I left my computer unlocked and found the screen like this:

I took my "hazing" in good form and vowed vengeance silently to myself.  I also lock my computer if I am five feet or more from the keyboard.  On Saturday, I went to Spinney's (the local grocers next to the school) and tried to find plastic wrap.  I succeeded in procuring aluminum foil however, and staged my glorious payback:

On my return Sunday, Linda had already unwrapped her present, and I got to witness Genna's face as she found her desk covered.  She took it all in good fun as you can see:

I am already thankful to have playful office mates that will make this school year even better.  In conclusion, I wanted to share a video by the new physics teacher, Gaston Rings.  He did an excellent job editing and capturing the things I have seen these last two weeks.  Please enjoy, and have a great week!!!  Just click on the following link for the video:

Dubai a first acquaintance

Settling in Dubai, UAE

So here is the first official post from Dubai!  I arrived Saturday morning around 6 am.  When I got off the plane, I was immediately met by a young lady that works for "Mirahaba" service.  She was hired by the school to walk me through customs and the visa process.  I was shocked to find lines of people waiting to pass through customs: easily over 300 people at 4:30 in the morning.  The young lady walked me around these lines directly to a small office.  Many eyes watched us pass through their purgatory to direct contact with an Emirati official.  I could not help think that some eyes wondered who was this VIP white man while other eyes must have envisioned my personage bursting into flames.

My first contact after visa business and luggage was two business managers for the school: Ayman and Ayman.  They were very friendly helping me with my luggage.  As we walked out of the apartment the heat hit me.  the best way to describe the oppressive heat is to simply laugh.  In other words, my brain could not process the humidity, the temp, and the wind that actually makes it hotter!  They immediately handed me 2000 AED (about $550) for a "settling in allowance" and took me to my apartment.  The drive in a new country is always exciting as you see your new home unfolding in multiple lanes of traffic, bright signs and lights, foreign and recognizable adverts, etc.

I arrived to my new home on the second floor (welcome back to elevators).  My Swedish roommate was asleep as I unloaded my luggage on the floor and crashed in bed.  It was a long set of flights!!  Here are a few pictures of my accommodations:

As you can tell, the apartment is huge with all modern amenities save a clothes dryer. However, I sent ten shirts and three pairs of pants to a cleaners for 49 AED to be pressed.  $13!!!!!  Oh, and the man comes to your door to pick up the clothes and drop them off at your convenience.  AWESOME  Everything, and I mean EVERYTHING, is from IKEA in the apartment.  Daniel, my Swedish roommate, is quite comfortable with this brand as it is based out of his home country. 

Life in the morning is quite nice as the sun comes through the curtains.  I have my own bathroom with a great shower.  In the morning, breakfast is usually toast and eggs, a banana, and espresso with steamed milk from my roommate's espresso machine.  I enjoy all of this with the local English paper and great conversation with Daniel (next week's post will feature all of the people I have met including my new roommate).  

I have enjoyed meetings this last week immensely as I learn the school's curriculum and expectations.  I cannot begin to explain how fortunate I consider myself to be working for this organization.  But more on that next week!  For now, ciao!!!