Daudz laimes Latvija!

Today we Celebrate 93 years for Latvia.  This is one of my favorite times to be in Latvia.  You really feel the country come together for the day to celebrate everything that it has been through.  So no matter where you are, celebrate today, wear something red/white, hug a Latvian.   

Eid Mubarak!!

Clearly I am a bad blogger because I keep forgetting to update you all about what has been going on.  Well since I have made it to my first official school break that means I have time to update you about a lot.  Well OK not that much but enough to give you something.

So since last time, it has been a crazy whirl wind at school to get report cards done before break.  Grade 4 has learned from their mistakes from first semester and now are on our road to success for the next semester.  No biggie things happen and we have learned.  This is what happens when schools go through the change process. So I tested my children to the core for the last days before break and I hope that the grades their have received won't cause too big of a stir among my parents.  Ended off the week with a celebration of all that we have done by having a PJs day which was great the kids loved it.



We also celebrated Halloween at school which is always a fun day for the kids and tiring for the teachers.  For another year I dressed up as a Ladybug but this year failed on taking pictures of my kids.  I had a photographer fail day.  Very upset with myself but what can you do.  The kids enjoyed the day they got dressed in their costumes for the afternoon and I gave them some free time to share treats and to socialize with one another.

In other news a common questions among friends is "well what is the cost of different items?"  Well dear friends with receipts in front of me let me give you some examples of prices from the things that I buy.

All conversions are as of today's rates:
Apple juice:  .685KD = 2.49USD
salted butter: .450KD = 1.63USD
1 red onion: .070KD = .25 USD
Cool Ranch Dorritos: 1.690KD = 6.14 USD (WOW not buying those again!)
Skim Milk:  .430KD = 1.56USD
Pop corn at the movies:  .600KD = 2.17 USD
Bottle of water at the movies:  .250KD = .90 USD
Brown bread:  .250KD = .90 USD
Canned Pineapple: .850KD = 3.08 USD
Cling Film: .300KD = 1.09 USD
Shaving cream: 1.550KD = 5.63 USD
12 eggs:  .490KD = 1.78 USD
Cheerios:  1.050KD = 3.81 USD
Campbells Tomato Soup 10oz can:  .365KD = 1.32 USD

So there are just a few items that might give you an idea of what we can get here and what they might cost.  Otherwise things are going well here.  Today was the first day that I saw rain here so that was pretty exciting. Later on in the week I am going with a group of people to the Falika (not sure if that's how you spell it) island to wander around.  I am hoping to get some Christmas gifts also taken care of this week.

Here is also a little about the celebration that is going on right now.  I hope I have found the right celebration but it sounds about right according to what i have heard.  This information comes to you from the wonderful world of Wikipedia:

Eid al-Adha (Arabic: عيد الأضحى‎ ‘Īd al-’Aḍḥá, IPA: [ʕiːd al ʔadˁˈħaː], "feast of sacrifice") or "Festival of Sacrifice" or "Greater Eid" is an importantreligious holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide to commemorate the willingness of Abraham (Ibrahim) to sacrifice his son Ishmael (Isma'il) as an act of obedience to God, before God intervened to provide him with a sheep— to sacrifice instead.^[1]

Eid al-Adha is the latter of two Eid festivals celebrated by Muslims, whose basis comes from Sura 2 (Al-Baqara) Ayah 196 in the Qur'an.^[2]Like Eid ul-Fitr, Eid al-Adha begins with a Sunnah prayer of two Raka'ah (units) followed by a sermon (khuṭbah).

The word "Eid" appears in Sura al-Mai'da ("The Table Spread," Chapter 5) of the Qur'an, meaning 'solemn festival'.^[3]

Eid al-Adha is celebrated annually on the 10th day of the 12th and the last Islamic month of Dhu al-Hijjah (ذو الحجة) of the lunar Islamic calendar.^[4] Eid al-Adha celebrations start after the Hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia by Muslims worldwide, descend from Mount Arafat. The date is approximately 70 days (2 Months & 10 days) after the end of the month of Ramadan, i.e. Eid-ul-Fitr. Ritual observance of the holiday lasts until sunset of the 13th day of Dhu al-Hijjah.^[5]

Last time on . . . Life in Kuwait!

Wow it has really been a long time since I last checked in. Sorry about that.  But here I am to update you on everything that has happened.

School:
Is the place that I spend the most time awake during the week.  Getting up at 3:30 and being on a bus at 5:15 really makes you tired at the end of the day.  The time at school is basically always go go go.  Which is great because I can't stand being bored or having nothing to do.  My kids have settled in really nicely and some of them are coming out of their shell more and more each day which is both good and a needs improvement thing.  But its so much fun being in Grade 4 again.  Being able to joke around with them and teach them a little sarcasm is great.  I know as a teacher they tell you not to but my kids seem to get it.

Home:
Last week I printed out about 300 pictures and then hung them all up.  I have really embraced the whole not organizing them too much and just putting them where it feels right.  I also got some Ikea wall stickers (having Ikea in the mall is both an amazing thing but also a place to stay away from).  Here are some pictures of what my place looks like with pictures:

Other additions to my life:
I am now the proud owner for an I-Phone 4 which has been very exciting being able to be on the internet anywhere.  It is far bigger than my I-Pod touch but that little guy is not getting neglected not to worry.  I also finally got my bank card and rumor has it we will have our civil IDs by the end of the week. Holding my thumbs and crossing my fingers in hope that I won't have to wait an extra 2 weeks to get mine.

Later on in the week I promise I will update about prices of regular food items and about other exciting events going on.

Camel Market

It is actually exactly what it sounds like.

Today my fellow 4th grade teacher along with another teacher and I headed out to visit the camel market.  Its out there in the middle of practically no where.  This is where you would go to buy a camel.  We were talking to one of them men there and I think he said that we could buy one for roughly 500 KD (about 1800 USD).  Words can't explain it so here are some pictures:

These last two pictures are of a camel that has been bought and is now getting ready to be transported.  They bind up their legs so that he/she isn't really able to get anywhere and has to stay lying down and then off he/she goes to his/her new owner.

A really interesting place to wander around for a bit.  Will have to keep saving my KD to get that camel.

You couldn't take away this smile even if you tried

So in Grade 4 there are six of us all together.  It has been like a dream come true.  Working with the dream team.  On our team are people who have been teaching for a while and also a few people who are new to the school while others this is their second year.  After working by myself for the past 4 years, getting to work at a big school with other teachers was a prerequisite for a new school.  After talking with the superintendent in January and finding out that I would be one of 6 teachers, I knew this was the place for me.

As a team we have been meeting every other day to help with planning lessons and making sure that we are all on task.  We get to help each other figure out how to deal with certain issues and to work out how the math program will work within our classes.  Right now I am really just sitting and listening and throwing in my 2 cents, but also really enjoying having 5 other people around me to bounce ideas off of.

The other great thing that our team has is a teacher's assistant.  She is the person that I can turn to for copies, laminating, cutting, decorating etc.  We rotate her around the six classes since we work on a 6 day schedule.  So today was my day to have her and it is amazing.  I ask her to do something and before I know its on my desk and ready to be used.  She picked up my kids and dropped them off at their next lesson just so that I could continue working on what I was doing.  I am going to owe this girl big time.  AMAZING!

My other favorite person is the copy man.  No more fighting with the machine to get it to do what you want it to do.  You ask the copy man, tell him what you want and he makes it happen.  I don't even need to touch the machine and get close to it.  I am pretty tech savvy but sometimes copy machines and I don't get a long.

Honestly the people that I get to work with are really amazing people.  I am so happy with my choice and am really looking forward to a great year and an awesome learning experience.  I now need to figure out what will be my teacher goal for the year.  Each teacher sets one and then during the year they check in with their buddy to see how things are going.  I just need to narrow my thoughts down to something I know I can measure and feel that I can do within this year.

By the way . ..  my class is also great, the kids are beyond nice and respectful.  Just what a class should look like.  We have done so much team building over the past week and just really getting to know each other.  Remembering all of their names was my greatest challenge because they aren't name that have been common for me.  But that's ok, I love a challenge.  A random kid came up to me and gave me a hug today and that felt amazing.  I need to find out who this kid is because he made my day.

sit, wait, go go go, sit wait, go go go!

Today was the day that was set aside for us to get our blood work and chest x-rays taken care of.  So Thursday I left my class hoping I had left enough for the sub to do with my kids today (for those of you still confused, my weekend is Friday and Saturday; school week is from Sunday to Thursday).

So the day started off with a little bit of confusion but eventually we were on our way to first get our blood work taken care of.  We were told that the males would make it back to school while the females most likely wouldn't.  No big deal.  Well getting blood work was a breeze and in an hour we were all done there.  The men could stay at the same place to get their chest x-rays done but the women had to go somewhere else to get it done.  Once again no big deal.  We figured that since blood work went so fast that a chest x-ray shouldn't be that long either and that we would soon be back at school.

Well, lo and behold when we got to the chest x-ray place there was a HUGE line up of other people waiting to get the same thing done.  So we were seated in an area to wait our turn.  A few moments later the first group was taken and we started to think, well this can't be too bad a quick picture of our lungs and we are out of there by 11:00 (we arrived before 10).  No no, I was in the second group and after going down to the x-ray room realized that the first group was still standing and waiting.  By 13:00 we were all done and on the bus and had learned one important lesson:  Kuwaiti females get special privileges no matter what.  So we had to wait until they were done and if there was one waiting we would have to let her jump the line.  Really shows you where we stand in this country.  But that's ok, we all got our x-rays taken and got home in one piece.

For a first experience among Kuwaiti people, it wasn't as bad as I thought.  After taking a swim in the pool I am now ready to make sure I am ready for the rest of the week and to have dinner.

Back to getting up at 3:45 tomorrow!!

The first day of school

First days are always stressful, nerve wrecking, but amazing at the same time.  Prior to starting school I spent two days in my classroom preparing it for the children.  Here are a few pictures of my room.  I really do love my room.  So many great nooks where the kids can work.

 the front of my classroom.

 The back of my classroom.

 One cubbie area.  I also have in here a cabinet of materials.

The other cubbie are and a shelf of different materials.  There is also a filing cabinet in here.

The first day of school really went smoothly.  My class seems like a good group and I am excited to continue working with them this year.  At the end of the day I asked them who was coming back tomorrow and they all raised their hands.  So I hope they like me cause I like them.

Last day before work

Today has been the official last day before school starts.  Tomorrow and Monday are teacher days and then Tuesday starts school.  The biggest adjustment will be getting used to working on Sunday.  Friday and Saturday are my weekend. But it will be fine, will just set my I pod alarm to go off on the right days and all will be fine.

Today was also my brother's last day here.  In the evening we went to the Heritage Souk, which was basically a gigantic market area.  My brother got a few scarfs and I just wandered around.  Since I am living here now I didn't feel the need to buy things.

The "OMG I am living in Kuwait" feeling is starting to settle in now.  But I am liking it, I have met some really great people and I am sure the others that I have yet to meet are just as awesome.  Really looking forward to the school year.

Here are some pictures from tonight:

And then my cat crawled into a plastic bag.  She loves bags and doesn't even mind being carried around in them.

The first few days

The first few days here have been a whirl wind of excitement.  I have spent the first few days at school going on tours, learning about the different programs and just really getting my head back into the game after the summer. Starting at a new place is such a great feeling, especially when you feel so welcome and starting it with such great people.  I can see myself here becoming a better teacher and learning so much more while having fun.

During these first few days I have also spent time getting my living space organized.  So here it is:

My living room.

My bedroom and my bathroom.

My TWO extra rooms!! 

One room is my suitcase room and the other is going to be an ironing room.

 My living room again.

 My other bathroom.

Time to fly!

8.5 bags of my things

.5 of a bag of my brother's things

1 cat

1 carry on

Finally Kuwait bound.  I hope everything makes it there without many hurdles to jump over along the way.

cat papers . . check! and Rigas Svetki

With the final days  here, today I finally also got the cat's papers all squared away.  She is physically ready to go . . but mentally only wednesday will tell!

This weekend was also Rigas svetki.  The streets were filled with all sorts of people and exciting things happening all around.  Here are a few scenes from the weekend:

To take or not to take . . . that IS the question.

My days here in Latvia are quickly coming to an end and yet it still hasn't really hit me that I am moving on and leaving Latvia for more than just a week.  I have been out of my house now almost for a month and my things have been scattered between two apartments.  I have no idea where anything is and the disorder is driving me crazy.  But the other day while hanging out in Jurmala trying to help with the renovations as much as I can, I took time to also survey my things and to start packing and repacking some bags.  I have come to realize that I will be leaving a lot here in Latvia just because it will make things easier.  I am also trying to minimize  what I am actually bringing.  Here is what it looks like so far . . .

<--Everything all together, minus 5 boxes of already stored away things.

 The "i don't need these things any more" pile that will get donated somewhere.(minus the tautas terps that is hanging in this corner, that is some how coming with me) -->

 <--  The bags and things that still need to get packed and repacked (my biggest stress!)

 The bags that for the most part are packed and ready to go along with my carry on items (wings still need to make it in a bag though) -->

<--  The "staying in Latvia corner" just in case if I every may need them in the next two years, its a short trip back to get them.

 All the things that don't belong to me.  I.E. Kaija's stuff and my brother's.-->

<--  Finally the box of things that still need to get consumed before I leave or possibly packed in.  But most of these things will not be coming with me.















So packing is in process and i have 3 days to finish.  I fly out on Wednesday early afternoon.  Trying really hard to be a minimalist and its not easy.