Only one day of teaching left before finals. It's anticlimatic now that we are finally here. Official countdown - three weeks until my due date. I am definitely feeling like it's time. A few of the students commented that my belly looks lower, so I'm hoping that means the baby is getting closer to coming into the world.
Yesterday was a fun day at school, a bit of wrestlemania. The boys were all in the kindergartner's play area which has a padded floor during P.E. (Yes, Joe and I are the supervisors of P.E. I don't quite know how that happened.) Anyway, Joe went over to check on them and they were all trying to wrestle each other. Of course, Joe had to show them a few moves. They kept doing match-ups against each other which was pretty funny. Their idea of wrestling was putting each other in head-locks and choking the crap out of each other.
They kept trying to get Joe to wrestle, and he kept refusing. Finally, he gave in. I don't think I've seen anything funnier in a while. Joe had the first boy pinned in 5 seconds flat. The students were cracking up. He then took on the biggest boy in the class - with the same result. Let's just say that they don't know much about wrestling around here. I told Joe he should have taken them down a lot earlier in the year, not that he's ever had trouble with discipline.
Joe says he wishes all the wrestlers in Iowa were as good as these kids. He probably would have gone to State.
Other than that, we've been contacting a lot of teachers at our new school. They've given tons of great suggestions about what to bring, especially for the baby. Wherever we go, there are always Iowans. There are Iowans at our school now, and we just discovered that there's an Iowan at our new school. In fact, he told us that he bought a house near Des Moines. Coincidentally, it's in Panora, where Joe's sister lives. It's always nice to have someone with whom we can talk about home. The Iowans are everywhere. We think they're secretly taking over the world.
It's been really great having so much communication with people at our new school. It's reassuring to know that they are there to help us out.
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
Saturday, May 27, 2006
Friday, May 26, 2006
Thursday, May 25
We are down to five teaching days before finals! Yeah! The month of May has seemed to drag on, but we are finally getting there. I can't wait. I feel like the baby is going to come out really hyperactive or always screaming and yelling, because it seems like she's always subjected to constant noise, screaming, singing, and shouting from the students at school. I have one boy who always says hi to my belly and tries to play her music on his headphones. I have another boy who comes to greet her every morning and claims that he will marry her. At any rate, the baby will definitely recognize my loud "teacher" voice.
Today was a pretty easy day since the seniors decided they would have a skip day. We are pretty sure that Joe introduced this idea to them. He mentioned it in class and all of sudden they were secretly trying to plot it. We knew about it the first day they came up with it, of course. They also don't realize that I can understand simple Arabic, so they were discussing it in class the other day. They were asking in Arabic who was coming tomorrow, so I said, "Yeah, who's coming tomorrow?" They all tried to cover up like they were talking about something else, but I knew better. We spent the day today with the twelve or so kids who came, watching movies, playing games, etc. At least Joe and I didn't have to work too hard.
We went tonight to the ACE Club which is the British club/bar here in Cairo. They were having a fundraiser for our friends, Tom and Betsy. All entrance fees and a percentage of drinks will go to Tom and Betsy. They are also having a raffle with some pretty cool prizes like a hot air balloon ride in Luxor, six nights in Indonesia, etc. It's been amazing the way the foreign community has pulled together for Tom and Betsy.
Cairo is getting hot these days. I have to say I'm getting a bit overheated. It's also a good time of year, though, because the flowers are really blooming. We have a beautiful orange-reddish tree that blossoms just outside our apartment at this time of year. It's such a contrast - the lush, beautiful flowers in Maadi amidst the desert surroundings. I guess it really makes you appreciate color.
We tried a bit of Egyptian culture the other night with some fresh roasted corn on the cob. The poor people here set up little fires on the corners and roast corn. It makes me think of home because it smells a bit like campfire, and of course, it's corn! I was told it was only 50 piastres which is like 8 cents, but I think they ripped us off because we're foreigners and charged us a whole pound. We could afford it, so we didn't mind at all. It was kind of fun standing and waiting for them to roast a piece of corn for us. They wrap it in its husk and then you're on your way. We're not sure, but we think we live in a really popular area for corn. There are at least five corn sellers set up in our neighborhood alone.
Tomorrow, Joe and I will go to the senior dinner on a restaurant/boat on the Nile. We'll see how that goes. There's not much that we participate in these days, especially not trips. We figured we should go and spend some time with our seniors before they graduate. They are a pretty cool bunch of students. Hopefully, it will be an enjoyable time.
Today was a pretty easy day since the seniors decided they would have a skip day. We are pretty sure that Joe introduced this idea to them. He mentioned it in class and all of sudden they were secretly trying to plot it. We knew about it the first day they came up with it, of course. They also don't realize that I can understand simple Arabic, so they were discussing it in class the other day. They were asking in Arabic who was coming tomorrow, so I said, "Yeah, who's coming tomorrow?" They all tried to cover up like they were talking about something else, but I knew better. We spent the day today with the twelve or so kids who came, watching movies, playing games, etc. At least Joe and I didn't have to work too hard.
We went tonight to the ACE Club which is the British club/bar here in Cairo. They were having a fundraiser for our friends, Tom and Betsy. All entrance fees and a percentage of drinks will go to Tom and Betsy. They are also having a raffle with some pretty cool prizes like a hot air balloon ride in Luxor, six nights in Indonesia, etc. It's been amazing the way the foreign community has pulled together for Tom and Betsy.
Cairo is getting hot these days. I have to say I'm getting a bit overheated. It's also a good time of year, though, because the flowers are really blooming. We have a beautiful orange-reddish tree that blossoms just outside our apartment at this time of year. It's such a contrast - the lush, beautiful flowers in Maadi amidst the desert surroundings. I guess it really makes you appreciate color.
We tried a bit of Egyptian culture the other night with some fresh roasted corn on the cob. The poor people here set up little fires on the corners and roast corn. It makes me think of home because it smells a bit like campfire, and of course, it's corn! I was told it was only 50 piastres which is like 8 cents, but I think they ripped us off because we're foreigners and charged us a whole pound. We could afford it, so we didn't mind at all. It was kind of fun standing and waiting for them to roast a piece of corn for us. They wrap it in its husk and then you're on your way. We're not sure, but we think we live in a really popular area for corn. There are at least five corn sellers set up in our neighborhood alone.
Tomorrow, Joe and I will go to the senior dinner on a restaurant/boat on the Nile. We'll see how that goes. There's not much that we participate in these days, especially not trips. We figured we should go and spend some time with our seniors before they graduate. They are a pretty cool bunch of students. Hopefully, it will be an enjoyable time.
Friday, May 19, 2006
Thursday, May 18
What's new in Cairo? Not much. We are down to 10 teaching days. Every day, we cross 'em off the calender. I'm getting big. The students said I looked bigger today than yesterday, and a fellow teacher kept exclaiming, "You're huge. Isn't she huge?" Ah, well. At least this is one time in my life where a comment like that won't hurt my self-esteem.
We still have 5 weeks before my due date, though. I think my nesting instinct has set in, as much as it can here. We're not really setting up a nursery or anything, so I have to satisfy myself with folding and refolding baby clothes. Tonight I actually enjoyed doing laundry, a normally dreary task. It was fun washing newborn onesies and booties.
Joe and I are getting some good use out of our balcony these past few days. The nights are very pleasant here, so it's nice to just sit and talk on the balcony. We bought a few more Egyptian souvenirs, one of which was a backgammon board. We spent tonight trying to figure out the basics of the game. We managed to muddle through it.
I don't know what we'll do this weekend, maybe see Davinci Code if it comes out at the same time as the States. Wishful thinking, but you never know.
Official Countdowns: 5 weeks until baby, 6 weeks until summer vacation, 10 weeks until Iowa...
We still have 5 weeks before my due date, though. I think my nesting instinct has set in, as much as it can here. We're not really setting up a nursery or anything, so I have to satisfy myself with folding and refolding baby clothes. Tonight I actually enjoyed doing laundry, a normally dreary task. It was fun washing newborn onesies and booties.
Joe and I are getting some good use out of our balcony these past few days. The nights are very pleasant here, so it's nice to just sit and talk on the balcony. We bought a few more Egyptian souvenirs, one of which was a backgammon board. We spent tonight trying to figure out the basics of the game. We managed to muddle through it.
I don't know what we'll do this weekend, maybe see Davinci Code if it comes out at the same time as the States. Wishful thinking, but you never know.
Official Countdowns: 5 weeks until baby, 6 weeks until summer vacation, 10 weeks until Iowa...
Sunday, May 07, 2006
Saturday, May 6
Today the ladies from work threw me a baby shower. It was really very sweet of them. We had it at the Marriot Hotel tea gardens. It's a beautiful, renovated palace that was originally built just for a queen or princess who was visiting for the opening of the Suez Canal. All of it was built for just a few days of use.
Anyway, we played baby shower games, ate, etc. We got some wonderful presents, exactly what we needed for the short amount of time we'll be here. I can't get enough onesies. It was a fun time.
Other updates - our friends are doing well. Looks like Tom will keep his arm and Betsy is already getting skin grafts on her legs. Apparently, the wounds might cave in a bit, so they may have to put silicon implants in her leg. She thinks it's funny that she'll be getting breast implants, but in her legs. Modern medicine is truly amazing. Apparently, they took parts of Tom's ribs to fill in the gaps of bone in Tom's arm. There's so much to be thankful for.
We went Thursday to a good old-fashioned softball game at the baseball diamond. That's always a good time and a little bit of American fun.
A good weekend all-in-all.
Anyway, we played baby shower games, ate, etc. We got some wonderful presents, exactly what we needed for the short amount of time we'll be here. I can't get enough onesies. It was a fun time.
Other updates - our friends are doing well. Looks like Tom will keep his arm and Betsy is already getting skin grafts on her legs. Apparently, the wounds might cave in a bit, so they may have to put silicon implants in her leg. She thinks it's funny that she'll be getting breast implants, but in her legs. Modern medicine is truly amazing. Apparently, they took parts of Tom's ribs to fill in the gaps of bone in Tom's arm. There's so much to be thankful for.
We went Thursday to a good old-fashioned softball game at the baseball diamond. That's always a good time and a little bit of American fun.
A good weekend all-in-all.
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