Friday, November 18, 2011

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.   

Sunday, November 6, 2011

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 (Arabicعيد الأضحى‎ ‘Īd al-’AḍḥáIPA: [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-BaqaraAyah 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]