A First Look at School Life

For the most part, my kids are enjoying school.

There are the occasional funny moments which bring smiles to their faces.

There are also hard times which they have to grow through.

Basically, it's just like school for your kids.

Kylie likes it when all the kids are hollering or discussing a topic in Arabic or another language and the teacher says, "Everyone has to use English in the classroom."

(This might happen in America, too, come to think of it).

Kylie also thinks it's "cool" when a kid doesn't understand a word in their assignment and has to ask for an explanation in another language.

The other day a kid said, "What's 'acne'?"  The teacher babbled something in Arabic, and all of a sudden, the concept was clear.

Language mis-use is also funny:  A boy will get in trouble and say something funny like, "What did I did?"   And one time a kid cut himself, and he said, "I'm blooding.  I'm blooding."
                                                                                                                                                                 

Karis has recently decided she likes Arabic class.  It's 7 weeks into the year, and she JUST figured out that every other day, they talk about religion.  The teacher does not expect Karis or Caleb to pay attention on those days, so it's basically a free day to read.

Seven weeks!

You would have thought someone would have translated this for her before now.

Of course, when Doug and I went to the parent/teacher conference day, I have no clue what the Arabic teacher was saying either (although someone DID walk over and offer to translate for us).
                                                                                                                                                                 

Cussing is rampant here.  I know it's the same in America, but here, I'm not sure they always know what they are saying.

It's not just students, but also teachers.  Last Friday, there was a Halloween dance at the school, and the DJ was cussing as well.

We've talked to the kids about making a difference where they are planted , and one day, Kylie had the opportunity in class to be a light.  One of her teachers would always say "G-d D-m-it" repeatedly.  Then the same teacher got onto another student for using the word "dumb."  The other student said, "Teacher, that's not bad.  Plus, you say bad words all the time."  When he asked which ones, she couldn't think of any, but Kylie could.  She told the girl the word, and when she relayed it to the teacher, he asked her what was bad about it.

Since the girl didn't know, Kylie said, "When you say that, you are using the Lord's name in a non-worshipful, negative way."

He said, "Really?!  I had no idea.  I will be careful not to say that word anymore."

Ever since that moment, he has only slipped once in her class, and he apologized when he did.

That's what being a light in the school looked like that day. :)

                                                                                                                                                                      

Shaming is part of the culture here, which is not only difficult to watch, but also difficult to receive.

Grades are yelled out for the whole class to hear.

One day, a teacher even said sarcastically, "H---- had such an improvement on this test.  I am so proud of him.  Why don't you give him a big hand.  He made a zero."

The teachers' favorite word for their students is "Hiwan," which means "Animals," which, as you might guess, is a very derogatory term.  Apparently, teachers yell it all the time.  Students call each other "hiwan," too.

                                                                                                                                                                     

As a former math teacher, it also makes me cringe to hear my kids say, "The teacher said to 'plus' them or 'minus' them."

But at least "plus" and "minus" are pronounced correctly.

If any of my children ever end up in the field of science, you will have to excuse their vocabulary when you can't understand them.

Here are a few of the pronunciations that they have received from their science teachers:

antibiotics = antee by oh ticks

penicillin  = pen sill een

respiratory = res pie rah tree

capillaries  = kuh pill' ah reez

molecules = mole kules

eukaryotes = yoo kree at iks
(I know most of us don't even know the proper pronunciation on English (/yoo kar ee oht/), but it's pretty clear it's not the pronunciation written above.)

                                                                                                                                                                   

Some things my kids tell me make me smile more than it makes them smile.

Like Karis telling me, "It's hard to focus in computer because the seniors stand outside our door smoking, and I sit next to the door."

"There's a sixth grader with a mustache."

"There are brothers in my 5th grade class.  One is 15 and one is 10."

"Most of the 11th and 12th grade boys have full beards."

"My teacher always says he's leaving the room to smoke a cigarette because the "animals" have stressed him out."

                                                                                                                                                                   

Boys sometimes pick on Caleb.  It's usually for silly stuff that really doesn't mean anything or that he can't change (like the white hairs on his head),



but nevertheless, some days being out in the community or attending school is just plain hard.  One boy on our street cusses at him and flips him off, but I'm starting to think that boy really doesn't understand what he's doing (at least I hope).

Anyway, I say all that to say, on days when we discover a treat here, it makes life a little bit lighter.

Doug found these at the store the other day.  Our first to buy in 8 months!  Yummy!



Then, we received this in the mail!

We took out half of the Mint Oreos in 30 minutes, fixed a pitcher of peach tea, salivated over summer sausage, and dug into the Hot & Spicy Cheez-its.

Thank you, Jesus!  You make all things new and you bless us with good things!

Here's Your Sign

Here's a sign that I live in a pretty trust-worthy country...maybe.

OR...maybe people are just more afraid of the consequences if they're caught.

I was checking out at a local store, and sitting right below the checker's screen were bundles of bills.

Because right within arm-reach of the customer is a great place to store extra cash, right?

And speaking of signs.  I wouldn't have enough time to take pictures of all the signs I see that make me smile, but sometimes I do stop for a click of the camera.

I think the language you and I share is one of the most difficult languages in the world to learn.  The spelling rules in English are weird sometimes, right?

If English was your second language, I'm sure some of the rules would get confusing sometimes

Here are some examples:

And some just make me laugh. 

I don't know what this translates as, and I know it's spelled different than our "sewer," but it still brings to mind not-so-pleasant sights and smells, so I have not ventured to try this yet.



And then I wonder who does spell check for some of these companies.

Of course, this could be Turkish for "juice."  I really don't know, but it makes me smile.



And then there's this....

Wait a minute.

I got you on the last one.  I've been saving this one for two years.

That was actually a sign from a bathroom in AMERICA at the school where one of my kids attended.

I thought I was back in Africa for a moment there and I was tempted to not let any of my child's friends touch me with their left hand.

But I digress.


Texting here is a "sign" from a whole 'nother ball game.

There's no need for a ton of explanation on this, because it's hard to understand anyway, but I know it must be difficult for them to try to type with our letters.  The grey quotes are from a worker at a local store here.

They are much more comfortable writing like this (even though this is an automated message from the mobile company), so we are getting better and better at reading and writing in this script, as well.

You'd be great at it too.

See that writing where the lemon slice is?  It says, "lemone."

And below that where the lemon and lime are put together?  It says, "Spriet."

The spelling is off, but the message is clear.

Here's your sign.

The Feeling of Fall

Several children play on our street.

Several children play on EVERY street.

Most days, since the weather has gotten cooler, it sounds like I live next to an amusement park.  There is yelling, whistles blowing, water bottles being thrown, bicycles being ridden, and lots of junk food being consumed.

These kids live on junk food.

A LOT of junk food.

The local schools don't feed students lunch, and they don't have enough room for all of the kids, so half of the kids go from 8am-12pm, and then another half goes from 1pm - 5pm.

They go on Saturday, too.

AND remember, that the teachers are still not getting paid.

Because of the school schedule, it means there are always kids at home.

And when I say "home," I mean "out in the street."  Mommas shoo them out the door constantly.

Fall is a great time for all of this outdoor activity.

Adults are out enjoying the cooler air, too.  Most people (as in, thousands) go to the parks at night, but as I was walking the other day, I saw this lady sitting on her special plot of green grass in the middle of the afternoon.

They spied me, so I had to take the picture while I was walking, so that accounts for the blurry-ness.

Many houses have a "garden" plot out front about this big, and they might have three chairs and a small table set in it so they can sit and enjoy the "outdoors."

It reminds me of New York City where grass is so scarce.

Walking from place to place has been so much nicer, too, with the weather turning cooler.

It's amazing how the weather can really affect my attitude.

Fall also means "football," as you well know.

Caleb has started soccer (which they call "football" here), and the girls have also begun dancing again.  Kylie is even helping to teach a dance class of little 3 and 4-year olds.

Caleb comes home filthy after every practice.  It's assurance for me that he is making lots of contact with the black rubber, which lies under the turf.

 And as a shout-out to our American roots, he dressed up like an American football player for a dress-up party at school.  I thought he looked great, but he took the toilet paper rolls out of his shirt very soon after this picture.

Keira got in the fall spirit with a pumpkin and a set of watercolors.

Kylie got in the fall spirit by...

 

 I'll let you decide.

(But I will fill you in later.  Today is Doug's birthday, so we need to go celebrate him in this Fall season).

A Rice Dilemma

In America, buying rice was never a "dilemma, but here, I can't seem to figure out the differences between all of my choices.

Have you ever seen rice options like this where you live?

It's a bit overwhelming for me.  

My dad is not a rice connoisseur, but he really likes rice, and I'm sure even he would be confused on this aisle.

AND most of the rice comes in huge bags.  I have to really search to find a small one.

Didn't I tell you the story of my neighbor coming over to teach me how to make rice like they make it?  She brought 4 cups of rice and wondered if it would be enough for my family!!

They eat a LOT of rice here.

Two things I see most people buying in bulk here are rice and oil. 

When oil is on sale, "one" of a couple's grocery carts will be full of BOXES of oil. 

I can't even imagine.

Our country tries so hard not to use too much oil in our cooking, so when I see this, I'm flabbergasted.

What I didn't tell you about the rice she came to make at my house was how she finished it off and why it is so good!

When the rice is almost done, they drain it, and then add salt and a boiling 1/2 cup or more of hot oil, cooking it for a few more minutes.

Now you know the secret for not getting your rice to stick.  Just add a cup of oil or lard substitute that you have on hand, and you're good to go.


As a former teacher, I was awed by this field trip I saw taking place at the grocery store.  There were several teachers with different groups of kids walking around writing notes down on their clip boards.

Here, two groups were merging.

It looks rather organized and calm, but it wasn't.  I even spoke to the male teacher who looked rather stressed, and he said it was "quite the day."  They were loud, and the children didn't always stay with their teacher.

Imagine!

Anyway, the grocery store had just opened, which is the best time for me to go and be able to think, so I also got a picture of what the yogurt looks like in the deli before it's been scooped out.

Pretty, huh?

Most people do their shopping in the evening, and it's mostly men.  In fact, one day when I went to the store, I couldn't find a female anywhere.  The cashiers were men, the baggers were men, the shoppers were men, the deli workers were men, the bakers were men, etc. 

This is VERY normal. 

I was glad when Doug finished his shopping at the digital store and came back to join me.  I figured out my rice dilemma; we checked out; and went home, enjoying the fact that we did not have a group of elementary kids shopping at the mall with us that morning.

American Birthday with National Style

Some American friends of ours here had a birthday picnic for their daughter.  She has several national friends whom she invited, along with their mothers and siblings.  

In addition to her national friends, her American friends were invited, too.  

People here rarely celebrate birthdays.  In fact, I've talked to some who don't even know their birthdays.  It was like this in Africa, too, because of lack of birth certificates and such, but here, I think it's just because it's not a big deal.

However, the family did the birthday in the style of the picnics they have here.  The only difference was the abundance of the color pink.

I also think that in America if we are invited to a birthday party, we bring a gift, and that's about it.

But here, the girls brought gifts for their friend, and the mothers brought dishes and dishes of food.

My friend, who was hosting the gig, had a ton of food already, but these ladies contributed with even more deserts, a potato dish, a pasta dish, dolma, and an assortment of pastries.

My one big story about the day has to do with Keira.  It was the first time I'd taken her to the park after being potty-trained.

When she needed to go, we walked to the public bathrooms, but she wasn't having it.

One look at the squatty, and she said, "No, Mommy."   Granted, it was pretty nasty, but nothing like I saw in Africa.  So we walked around where I knew there was a Western toilet.  It was pretty sketchy, too.

This girl has never used shady convenience store restrooms in America.  I guess she's used to Buckee's, etc.  Anyway, my one child born in Africa does not like squatties.  She cries even when she sees a clean one (like at a friend's house).

Anyway, in pure country girl fashion, we went behind the bathrooms, and she was completely fine squatting and going in the grass. 

That's about it for excitement.  

I pushed Keira on the swings for a good 30 minutes and visited with a girl from Ghana who is a nanny over here.  Caleb played soccer with some other boys and had a good time; however, you can't tell it by this picture which I snagged of him while waiting for the prayer to be said to start the feasting.

This is what a young boy must feel like at a teenage girl party. :)

Four years of Keira

Keira with Reveille IX

On October 2nd, it was the Jewish holiday Rosh Hashanah.  It also happened to be the first day of the Arabic calendar (or so I understood), so the kids got a holiday from school.

They didn't particularly care which holiday it was, they were just glad to know they could sleep in on a Sunday.

I'm still not used to a school/work week being Sunday through Thursday, but something about it does make it seem to go a lot faster than a Monday through Friday schedule.

We also have a new Hump Day - Tuesday.  Those GEICO camel commercials would have to be re-done over here.

Anyway, we wish the holiday had been a few days later, on October 5th, because this was the first time the kids missed getting to celebrate a sibling's birthday.

We all reminisced about that morning in Nairobi, Kenya, when she was born,

and her three birthdays since.










 

We got up early to eat chocolate chip pancakes (Keira's request) and open her presents.

There was no way I was going to make her wait all day :)

She had seen these plastic shoes with a plastic make-up kit at the grocery store, and she just HAD to have them for her birthday.

Can you see how only two of her toes fit into these tiny shoes?  Yet somehow, she manages to click around in them quite often.

Doug and I took her to the food court in the mall to meet some little friends for lunch, then we played in the mall "jungle gym" (which Keira calls Alakazoo) and rode the horse around for 15 minutes.

Our sweet language helper remembered that today was Keira's birthday, and he and his wife brought over a banana cake.

Kylie made two cookie cakes after school and decorated them with Keira's favorite color.

We invited 3 little American girls and their mommy, plus another mother and daughter that we have known since way back in Africa.  Through the little girls, word got out to our neighbor that we were having a "party," so I went over and gave her mother, Jasmine, a proper invite.

I'm so glad that that turn of events happened the way they did.  Keira had really wanted a party where we only spoke "English," but she had a great time with the little girls.  The 3 spoke English to her, and if she needed to know something from the other, they translated.

The older people (teens and up) had a good time laughing and practicing language, and sweet Doug sat there as the only man, taking it all in.

Keira loves Pringle's "spicy chips," so when a friend brought her these goodies, she declared to everyone that the whole can was hers.

She took it out in just a few days.

We had so much cake left, we felt it was the perfect opportunity to return our neighbor's dishes this week full of sweet stuff for their whole family.

Keira in her new footie-pajamas.

And taking her baby for a ride in a taxi.

She's a pretty sweet girl that I'm blessed to spend my days with now that the big ones are in school. 

I made a list for her birthday of over 50 things that she likes or enjoys and it is long and varied. 

She really does enjoy life...and selfies.

Happy birthday, Keira!

Dance Party in the Middle East

On September 24, an American boy, about Caleb's age, had a dance party for his birthday.  His family really likes the show "So you think you can dance," and they modeled it a little bit after that, or so I'm told.  We've never seen that show.

Three full families were invited.  Mom's, dad's, and all the kids.  We were each given instructions to study a list of dances and come prepared to perform each of them.

Rules: Each family member had to dance at least 2 times and at least 2 people from my family had to perform each one.  Each family had 30 seconds to a minute to do each dance.  We scored each other on ability, effort, entertainment value, and knowledge of the dance.

We have two girls that take ballet, but besides that, I would not say we are a family of dancers.  Kylie, Karis and I looked up all the dances on Youtube, because we had no idea how to do some of them.

If you would liked to be entertained sometime, type a search into Youtube, "How do you do ______" and name a dance.

For example, this link will take you to an interesting fella who taught us how to do the "Mashed Potato."

And "Oh my goodness!"  This girl taught us how to do "The Cabbage Patch."  We laughed SO hard.

Here is our list: 
The Mashed Potato
The Twist
The Robot
YMCA
The Cabbage Patch
The Running Man
The 2-step
The Macarena
The Hammer
Little Teapot
Hoedown Throwdown
Freestyle

We promised that there would be no pictures taken (we looked pretty silly), but I did take one.  It was of my family, and I thought it would be okay to share.  We were doing our "freestyle."  I did not participate in this one.

Doug and the girls are doing the "reach back, grab your ankle and pump" dance, and Caleb is attempting the robot.

Doug and I decided afterward, that we should have taught our kids the Schottish and "Cotton-Eyed Joe" and combined it with the "Chicken," which they already know, and given the audience a South Texas experience.

Scores really weren't calculated, and even though they said our family won, I would beg to differ.  One family color-coordinated their clothes and had some planned out choreography, and one family really worked on all of their members learning most of the dances.

It was fun, and definitely something to remember, even though we all agreed that what happened there, stays there.  No photographic or video proof that I did any of those things.

What??

"Almost the First Day of Fall" Picnic

On September 20, the week after the sacrifice holiday, four American ladies in my neighborhood (me being one of them), were invited to a picnic.

We thought it was just going to be us and our kids with our neighbor and her kids, so we each prepared a dessert and got our kids ready to go.

RIGHT before we got in vehicles to leave, we got wind of how big this picnic was going to be.

It was my neighbor and her kids; her sisters and their kids; her husband's sister and her kids; her nephew's new wife; her daughter-in-law; her daughter-in-law's sisters and mother; friends; those friends mothers and sisters, etc.

You get the picture.

We were clueless.

Our desserts might have been a little too little.

All the  teenage girls took off for a walk in the park while we ladies visited.

I had met most of them before at other picnics or graduations or teas, but there were also many new faces.  All in all, at the end of the night, there were over 40 ladies there, and even a handful of men showed up for a meal.

Today's language was slow for me.  I couldn't understand some of the ladies well (because I'm probably lacking some key verbs that I don't know yet), but when I was eavesdropping on conversations around me, I could pick up things here and there that I understood.

After telling about my kids and my family, mostly I sat quietly, smiled and listened to those around me.  A lot of them actually talk about you while you are sitting right in front of them, so it's like a game to try to figure out what they are saying about you.  It doesn't bother me.  They don't do it secretively.  They both look at you and smile while they converse about you.

I really think they want me to understand, but sometimes, I just can't.

Believe it or not, my language IS getting better.  My taxi rides are getting more and more communicative.  I can say more at the vegetable stand, and I can now understand how much money they are telling me something costs instead of handing them a wad of cash and just waiting for the correct change.  

It turns out that it wasn't just a dessert party.  We had dolma for dinner, naan, vegetables, and all kinds of things from all the different ladies.

It was kind of like our own personal food festival.

It was hard to get pictures for you because...darkness.  I did however manage to get pictures of what was parked directly in front of me, albeit, not good, quality pictures.

Clean up went quickly with lots of hands. Then we sat around and ate popcorn and nuts.

In the park there are small snack stands and small restaurants scattered throughout.  We happened to be right next to one that had some yard lights and loud music.

The teenagers thought it was a perfect opportunity to get up and dance, and it looks like the little ones joined in, too.

Karis is in a white long-sleeved shirt, looking away; Kylie is the blur third from the left, crammed in between two girls; and Keira is in the foreground, wearing polka dots.
 

 I can't tell you how much it warms my heart that my girls always have a good time at these picnics.  They are usually up for anything.

 Caleb also ran around, played soccer, and then ended up at one of the restaurant tables with some friends playing Yu-gi-oh.  (It's basically a card battle game that I don't understand).

All the Americans left before everyone else because it was a school night, and at this point, the local kids still hadn't started school.

It was a great way to celebrate the start of a new school year and the fact that the summer heat was over and fall had arrived.