Living the dream?

It's funny when people say they're jealous of our lives. And people do say that. And I guess I understand why. We do have some amazing opportunities, especially to travel. But our day to day life can be really not exciting. And the sacrifice is that we experience 'really not exciting' without the comforts of home and family and friends.

Here in Sudan, the country is slowly preparing for the national elections. As of now, they are set for April 10th. Campaign posters are popping up on every street and there is already plenty of election chatter.

We aren't too concerned about the elections yet, instead busying ourselves with planning our spring break- Safari! We're busy contacting and researching companies... deciding between camping and safari lodges... It's a lot of money. And there's almost too much information out there!

Tickets are booked!

We've finally bought our tickets for Spring break! We're going to fly into Mt. Kilimanjaro airport near Arusha, Tanzania, for a little bit of a safari adventure. Arusha has lots going on. It's is not only the place to kick off for safaris in the Serengeti and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, but it's also the jumping off point for climbing Mount Kilimanjaro! (Don't worry- that's one hike we will not attempt!) It's sure to be beautiful and amazing. Hopefully, we will also get to pop over to enjoy a bit of the coast.

This is also our last holiday from Sudan. Next year, while we'll still be in Africa, East African adventures will probably be beyond our budget. So let's live it up now!

Engagement Brunch

We hosted a little fete for our friend Marissa, who recently got engaged. We made our delicious and beautiful bagels, and other friends brought all kinds of goodies. It was a 'house dress' brunch, meaning everyone had to wear house dresses. And boy, were the guys good sports! :)It was so much fun, albeit a pretty unconventional 'shower'. But come on- what else would you expect from us?

Sheesha khalas

Our friends went to our favorite restaurant last night. (Cedars- remember it, mom?) Its good food, good atmosphere, and quality sheesha. Those three factors combined make for a great night out. Except last night, when they asked for sheesha, they were told no, that they were no longer able to serve sheesha to women. Say what?!

It has never really been a 'law', but we all know that any self-respecting Sudanese woman wouldn't smoke sheesha in public. Us being foreign, we don't really care. Except now, apparently, it has become the law.

The last of the vices has fallen! Oh, Sudan!

Looking to the future

This is a pretty awesome article about the music scene in Dakar. As the weather starts heating up here, we're all the more content to look ahead a bit to next year!

Happy Valentines Day!

BAGELS!

We did it! We made them ourselves! Super delicious bagels! We found a recipe online, and then added our own toppings- sun dried tomato and basil, Parmesan, spicy cheddar, everything, onion, garlic, crushed almonds, cinnamon and sugar.... What a treat!

Computers in Africa

Computer problems are scary here. Many of the parts aren't available, and if they are, they tend to cost a lot of money.

Luckily, we have a good techie department here at school, so when my computer died 18 times in one evening, I had people to go to.

She seems to be better. We'll see how long that lasts!

Quality of Life

Click Here!

This is the International Living's 2010 Quality of Life Index. As you can see, Sudan is quite near the bottom (above only Yemen and Somalia overall!) It's kind of fun to click on the column headers and sort the countries in different ways. No matter how you sort it though, Senegal is a major step up for us!

Happy Birthday, Em!

I'm still trying to preview all the silly videos from Em's scavenger hunt birthday party. (I know we're teachers, but it seems several aren't appropriate...) So, I'll just say Happy Birthday, Emily!

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...

Three day weekend

For once, we didn't bolt from Khartoum as soon as our break commenced. Rather, we stayed here for a long weekend to finish up reports and other necessary evils. We've enjoyed the work-filled days, as we've had our building to ourselves and have had some time to relax.

Now tomorrow morning we take off for Thailand, this time traveling through Doha- another first!
We'll be in Chiang Mai at noon on the 22nd to visit Emily's dad, her sister and step-mom. And to eat delicious Thai food! Yum!

Merry, Merry Christmas to everyone! We live a pretty amazing life, traveling so much. But the holidays definitely prove the most difficult, as we would love to be with our families. It helps that this year we were able to spend so much time with my parents so recently. And Em is really excited to spend Christmas with her dad- something she has rarely been able to do. But, we are thinking of all you. Wishing you all safe travels, that you may all arrive to the warmth of your families and friends. Merry Christmas! Love you to you all!

Qatari night out

We were invited to a function at the Qatari embassy to celebrate their national day. I knew to dress up, but with the invitation in Arabic, my understanding of what I was actually getting into was limited.

And then I arrived. The outside of the embassy compound was surrounded with embassy cars (the fancy ones that we don't drive) and drivers. The gates were open, with security checking admission tickets and ID. The red carpet (albeit with a few bumps- it was still Sudan, after all) was laid out, leading us around the palace. As we turned the corner, we saw the Ambassador and several other men in traditional dress, greeting guests. Beyond them was a wall of photographers. Oh, yes- and videographers sending our arrival to several screens set up around the courtyard. We greeted the Ambassador. He knew that we were from the American School and offered a handshake and some kind words. The other nice-looking gentlemen didn't offer their hands- us being ladies and all.

The large palmtree-dotted grass courtyard was surrounded in Qatar Airways freebie tables and massive buffets of food. MASSIVE BUFFETS OF FOOD. Of the approximately 300 people in attendance, 20 were women. Most men were in traditional jalibiyas. And there was one camel, sitting quite well-behaved in the corner.

The Ambassador gave a speech, followed by the Sudanese Minister of Culture. Since we couldn't understand, we smartly took this time to position ourselves next to the plates.

At the end of the speeches, the Ambassador took a very large sword and cut a cake with the Qatari flag in half. He then raised the sword, laughing, and shook it in the air. Quite entertaining.

After the speeches, it was proven- they weren't simply massive buffets of food, but massive buffets of delicious food.

It was a pretty amazing event. I chatted with a few Ambassadors, though felt quite out of my league and stuck with the ones whose children I teach. Al-Turabi was in attendance, one of the biggest names in Sudanese politics of the last 25 years. I'm sure there were other important people that I didnt' recognize.

I didn't take photos. Had to play it cool, you know... But this night is definitely burned into my memory. Some people live like this all the time! Crazy! (But really nice buffet!) And did I mention I got a Qatar Airways hat?

Mom and Dad in Sudan

They survived! I think we had a pretty awesome weekend, giving them a decent dose of what life is like here. Talking our way out of trouble with the police, doing some car maintenance, AND still having time to see all the sights!

Who's visiting next? We know how to show a good time!

de Nile

Enjoying the cruise

Egpyt continued

Egypt!

Mom and Dad show up in Khartoum tonight, giving me just a few hours to bake zucchini muffins and thank God I have a maid to do the cleaning!

Egypt was an extremely awesome trip for us. (Egypt Highlights, highly recommended) It was also super quick, with two sleeping trains, two flights and a 4 day cruise to do it!

We flew into Cairo, spending two days there before taking the train to Aswan. From Aswan, we flew to Abu Simbel for the morning before returning to check into our Nile Cruise. Awesome! We stopped in Luxor, where we hung out for a bit before taking another train back to Cairo. And the next day, we were back in Khartoum! Crazy!

We're not lacking in photos, as you can imagine. I'll post a few here and there.
Enjoy!
Happy Holidays!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! (And a safe Black Friday!)
One of the downsides of living overseas is that we can't always be there for those loving, family-filled holidays. And that void is noted, trust me! We wish we could be there!

That said, this year we will get to spend the last few hours of Thanksgiving with my mom and dad! They are soon to begin their crazy zig-zag travel to Cairo. And about 20 hours later, we'll hop on a plane for a short little ride to meet them there- putting us on the ground there at 9:30 pm- plenty of time to see them before the clock strikes midnight! Inshallah!

I am also pretty excited to finally see Egypt! Camera batteries are charging- I'm ready to go!

We will post on the other side of Eid holiday and our wonderful Egpyt tour!

Creepin' through the week

We're looking at 2 and a half more days until we meet Mom and Dad in Egypt! Hurray!

Here at school, we're enjoying the last week before the holiday. Below are a few pictures of the seventh and eighth graders working in our school community garden. You can see the way we plant here- quite different than at home! The final photo is our plot-, watered after the seeds were planted in the mounds. Cool, eh?