Nuba Wrestling

The KAS Bazaar brought the Nuba Wrestlers to campus. I'm not sure I really understand what was going on, but it was definitely impressive. And there were some pretty snazzy women in toabs dancing- we took them as cheerleaders. Very fun to watch! Check out the pink war paint on the wrestlers!

As the seventh graders looked at news coming from Haiti, they were moved to action! At this weekend's KAS Bazaar, they sponsored a table- selling used clothes and household goods. They got some great donations, and managed to raise over 2,000 sdg! (That's close to 1,000 dollars!)

Pumpkin

I'm sorry, my posts are pretty heavy with school these past few weeks... I guess that's reflective of our lives!

Today was a big day at school- we got a school donkey! The first and fourth grade classes made it happen- researching, fundraising, and putting it all together. Today we had the official ceremony- PUMPKIN is now a member of the KAS family!

Very cool. The 'donkey songs' of the elementary school definitely put a smile on my face! I'm not 100% convinced yet, but I'm starting to think every school should have one! (check out the shelter, researched and designed by the students- built by our workers!)

Why I love my job

There are many reasons why I love my job. Below is one of them. I am teaching a 5th and 6th grade exploratory this quarter. The topic? Making music videos.

The focus of our second class was meant to be 'lip syncing'. These guys in the below video did a good job of it, but were a bit more excited to dance. And that's ok. They are having a lot of fun, as you can tell.

As a final product, they will be making a music video that combines dance, lip sync, and acting to tell the story of the song. I have a rough group of boys, but they are all so excited and involved that we're having a blast together!

Clean up day

I've posted photos of 'the forest' before- a crazy area along the Nile that offers lots of shade, a little green, and no grass. Its dirt. BUT, its shady, and local Sudanese picnic and hang out there. Its nice, for here. Or rather, it could be, if it weren't completely trashed by litter and plastic bags. Its disgusting. We're really talking about massive piles of trash under trees, millions of plastic bags stuck in trees and blowing along the ground. MILLIONS. My photos don't do it justice.A colleague of ours has been working on a project with the eighth grade. As a part of their work, they met with the overseers of this land and arranged a clean-up day for the KAS community. So, this morning, we loaded up 3 buses with students, teachers and parents and spent the morning in the forest. We tackled one small area, attempting to make it into a 'model area', from which people might learn to clean up after themselves. We passed out gloves, trash bags, and everyone got down and dirty.

We also posted some signs about cleaning up.

Its a complicated issue here, as there aren't trash bins available (who would empty them?) and there is a serious lack of education. While I'm sure this area will soon be littered again, it seemed to prove a very valuable lesson for our students. We filled over 120 large trash bags with atleast 1000 lbs of trash. I think many of them will look at plastic bags in a very different way. I know I will!

My grade 7s

We had a student leave this week. As everyone enjoyed the chocolate cake and candy supplied by her mom, they were also sweet enough to want to take a few pictures with her in the garden. See below! And check out how their garden has grown!

Legit

That's it. The contract is signed. It is now official.
Senegal.

DONE.

ITS (almost) OFFICIAL!

It's decided- we are moving to Senegal in August!
We are really, really excited to have found such a great school in such a great place.
The school's website is www.isdakar.org. Check them out! (They even have a video of what its like to live there- check out MOVING TO DAKAR, under EMPLOYMENT!)We're so excited to enjoy Senegal- speaking French, living on the water, enjoying one of the most amazing music scenes in the world, a pool at our house... There really is a long list.

A few ways that our lives will be significantly different than here in Khartoum:
No sanctions (online bank account access! ATMs! Credit cards!)
No Sharia law (French wine! Local beers! Dancing!)
No red tape for travel (leaving the city without travel permits!)

We're ecstatic. Life is good. See you all in Senegal! (You are visiting, right?)

Back in the groove

We're back to work here... (Only 9 and a half weeks until Spring break!)

While others are already planning their next holiday adventures, we are anxiously waiting for word of our future. I'm quite the crazy stressball these days, not in a position to make holiday travel plans! I can hardly plan for my classes!

I think we're both excited to know where we're headed next year. Once that's decided, it will be great to relax and enjoy our last few months in Khartoum!

the search

For people waiting for that long-anticipated job update... keep waiting! We're working on it! We attended a job fair in Bangkok, and left there without any clear prospects. BUT we're positive something fabulous is going to work out, and when we know, you'll know!
Thanks for all the well-wishes and support!

New Year's Eve

We spent New Year's Eve in Chiang Mai, right in the middle of all the fun! They blocked off several streets to make way for the crowds, the street food, and the sending off of paper lanterns! For about 1 USD, you could buy the whole package- the lantern and the wax center. Then they'd even light it for you! The sky was beautiful with all the lights. We sent two lanterns into the air, one saying goodbye to 2009, and another to welcome 2010.

Around Chiang Mai

We spent almost two weeks relaxing in Chiang Mai, enjoying the city as well as a few country drives. These photos are all from some nice drives through the countryside. It was so nice for us to enjoy the cool, mountain air. Of course, hearing all the stories of crazy blizzards, we wished we could have a little taste of snow! You always have the dream of a white Christmas...

Christmas in Thailand

Christmas in Thailand! This year we spent the holidays in Chiang Mai with Emily's dad and his family there. It was really wonderful to be able to really celebrate the holidays- with Christmas cookies! a tree! And turkey dinner! It was also great to be in Thailand and enjoy the amazing food and culture that we love there. Here are a few festive photos...