Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Day 60 - Don't Close The Bathroom Door...

So about a month ago I came home to find that the glass had been broken out of the bathroom door. Natalie got locked out so she had to break the glass in order to get in. Since that time the door handle was a bit messed up but it still did its job. About a week and a half ago people started getting locked in. It was actually quite funny. We always got them out but still....I never close the door anymore especially when I am alone. I don't want to be stuck in the bathroom for who knows how long.

Today was hot. I left at 8:20 to go to work and the moment I stepped outside the heat hit me. I knew it was going to be a scorcher.

I had class with my grade 1's all morning. It was nice to be back with them for all 3 classes. The kids are so cute and they love playing at break, sometimes the girls fight over me which is bad but oh well. Some of the students are just not learning very well and are usually in trouble. It makes me think about how much their situation has really negatively affected them and who knows what will happen after they leave St. Andrew's. Some of the kids have been in the Flower Class (Gr.1) for 2 years and this is their last chance to pass. If they don't they will have to find another school to go to, which is unfortunate because St. Andrew's is such a great place with great programs for the students. This is life though....

Monday, June 29, 2009

Day 59 - Just another normal day in Cairo

I was with the grade 1's all morning today. There is a group of volunteers who are doing special classes/projects, like art, music and karate, etc with the students so my class was taken over by them. That is ok. I miss my little students. Besides being super tired it was a good morning. I was chatting with some of the new volunteers after class and it turns out one of the girls is living in the same building as I am. First person I have met from the building besides a young boy....

I talked with another one of the teachers today. He is from Darfur. Pretty incredible/sad story. His nationality/identity was taken away by the Sudanese government. So all of his family and tribe are not recognized as being Sudanese. This makes life incredibly difficult. I cannot imagine having my identification saying I am from Canada taken away from me. That is just insane. Yet another tragic and frustrating story.

I happened to see some friends at the center, and they were going to get some Sudanese food for lunch so I joined them. It was pretty decent. There was a soup which reminded me of the stews we have very often in South Africa. Bones, fat and all in it. I definitely didn't even try to eat it. I just can't stomach that. Eww.

I came home and washed my bedroom floor. It was pretty filthy. Then I napped for 3 hours. It was hot but lovely. I don't like using my a/c too often so I just deal with the heat.

My roommate and two other friends and I ordered some pasta from a really good pasta place for supper. It was only 10LE($2) and I got enough to feed 2 people. It barely even looked like I ate any of it. Leftovers....

My nap has made me not so tired so we shall see when I go to bed...

Sunday, June 28, 2009

Day 58 - The Citadel

Today I went to the Citadel. I slept in so I left at 1:00 and I was sure I would be dying in the afternoon heat, but it was actually really nice to be outside in the sun.

A little history lesson for you: The Citadel was home to Egypt's rulers for almost 700 years. It is one of the most popular tourist places in Cairo. It was originally founded in 1176 by the Muslim commander Salah ad-Din. It has mosques, museums and battlements that show a diverse heritage. The Citadel is divided into 3 sections. The Southern Enclosure is the main tourist area (so where I was today). It has the Mosque of an-Nasr Mohammed, and the 19th century Mosque of Mohammed Ali. This mosque was the best thing to see. It was so incredible inside. There were so many hanging lights and the ceiling had amazing designs. So gorgeous.

I went to the Military Museum and the Police Museum. The military museum was interesting enough and the building was very nice.

I had to buy a water there because I drank all of what I brought...7LE. On the street it is 1.5LE. Gotta love tourist places.

So yes there was a lot to see at the Citadel. I spent about 4 hours there, wandering and taking many pictures. It was nice. I got the student price, which was only 25LE instead of 50LE. I was stoked on that. The first pictures here are of inside the Mohammed Ali Mosque. The best place. So absolutely gorgeous.





Saturday, June 27, 2009

Day 57 - Fair and Bazaar

Today I was at the center from 2-9:30. It was a long day but really good. The center had a World Refugee Day Fair and Bazaar. There was music, dance, arts and crafts as well as foods from different countries. I am pretty sure all of the proceeds go to St. Andrew's or the individual people selling things. It is a good fundraiser for the center and an enjoyable time for everyone else. I had Eritrean for supper it was really good. I sat at a table and sold t-shirts all day. There were also 2 other volunteers helping me. It was pretty slow. I bought some nice things from the people selling jewelry and such. I got to see some of the students and other refugee's do traditional dance. It was very entertaining. At the end of the night I got henna done. Pretty sweet. The woman doing it are very talented and make beautiful designs.

Friday, June 26, 2009

Day 56 - Attack of the Clothes Pin

I dropped a clothes pin today and it hit the car below. I guess it is better than the last time I dropped one. That time it almost hit a person walking by.

The wind tried to steal my sheets today... I hung my laundry and laid down for a nap. I woke up looked outside and there were my sheets all bunched up at the end of the clothes line. As I was taking the fitted sheet off it almost blew away. Terribly windy this evening. I am just happy I got them when I did or else I would have nothing to sleep on.

I still have mosquito bits on my feet from when I was Anafora and they are itching like crazy today. Part of my tooth feel out as well...well I am sure it was a filling or something but now it feels very strange.

Sad to think that Michael Jackson is dead....

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Day 55 - Some photos for you

The director of the adult education program is leaving so today after my classes there was a Miss Abigail Futball Tournament. I sat and watched the kids play for almost 2 hours. It was fun. One of the girls in my class, Ariyan sat with me the whole time. It was cute. I started fading around 2 so I came home and had a nap. It was so hot last night and we are watching one of my roommate's friends cats and it would not stop scratching and hitting my door I didn't have the greatest sleep. I had many thoughts of throwing it outside...
Futball fans and some of my students (L-R:Mataz, Lemiek, Shams and Chalawet, In the back: Coach Adef and Malwual)



































The Khan el Khalili (Mosque of al-Azhar - I think...)

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Day 54 - The Khan

The center was good as always this morning. I talked with another one of the teachers, very interesting. He is from Darfur area.

I decided to go to Khan el Khalili today. A huge market, a lot of which is for tourists. I wandered around a bit. I went in to a mosque, don't know the name, I will have to look it up. It was very interesting. I got to go on the roof and had a beautiful view of the whole city.
I shopped, many of the shop keepers would call after me because I probably walked by their place a million times. It is very easy to lose your directions here. Everything looks the same so you really have to pay attention if you want to get back to a certain place. Even though it was hot, it was a good time. It got too busy once the sun went down.

Day 53 - Concert at the Citadel, WHAT?

As of today I no longer have to attempt to teach Science. Fiona found a teacher for them which is great. He will do a much better job than I would. I am still teaching the students history though. I am enjoying teaching them and it is cool to get to know the older students seeing as I can actually have a conversation with them.

I bought a kilo of grapes today at the market and they were only a $1. I love it.

So I live on the 3rd floor of my building and my room has a balcony off of it. I quite enjoy going out there to people watch. Most of the time I will look over and the creepy man from the building across the street is standing at his window staring directly at me...happens quite often.

I walked to the Wekalat al Balah fabric market again today. When I got to Tahrir Square it was surrounded with security guards/police. There was one standing on the street like every 3 meters. It was so weird. I found the market no problem. For being a fabric market there is not the greatest selection of cotton fabric unfortunately. I did find a few other fabrics that were nice. I wandered around the place for probably an hour. The shop owners probably thought I was lost because I walked past them so many times. Basically all of the places are run by men, which should not be surprising and there is nothing wrong with it. I just find it slightly amusing that all these men are selling fabrics. It was nice walking home in the cooler evening weather. When I was at Tahrir they were not letting people down the street I wanted to walk down so I had to walk over another street. I found out when I got home that Mubarak was in the area, therefore security was intense.

My roommate left for America today. She will be gone for 3 weeks. I shall miss her.

I went to a concert to night with some friends, Ammanuel and Akil. It was totally at the Citadel. It was so beautiful, the mosques all lite up and the view of the city. I definitely was kicking myself hard for not bringing my camera, malesh. The band was different but good. Very fitting for the atmosphere of the evening. I can't for the life of me remember the bands name right now. It was pretty cool and so awesome that it was at the Citadel.

Monday, June 22, 2009

Day 52 - Hot Day

It was really hot today. Normal temperature is between 38 and 42 degrees. I can't imagine July and August being hotter than this. I am happy I leave when the intense heat comes in August.

It ended up that I still have to teach Science, so I had two classes today that I had to just wing because I was not prepared to teach them. It went fine, I just feel bad that the students aren't exactly learning their Science at the moment. Hopefully next week there will be a teacher for them.
Clowns, which were people just dressed up silly with a red nose so they weren't creepy, came and did a show for the younger classes. It was cute and I think the kids really enjoyed it.

I found out today that the teacher I help in the grade 1 class is from West Sudan. She has been in Cairo since the 90's so was not there for any of the recent Darfur conflicts but her family is. It is so interesting/sad to hear real stories about that conflict because I have learned quite about of it from news and talking about it in my classes at university.

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Day 49-51 - Anafora

I went to Anafora, a Christian retreat center, this weekend with Josh and Diana. It was a wonderfully relaxing time in a beautiful place.

We took the bus there which only cost a dollar for an hour and a half trip. We got off the bus in front of Anafora, which just happened to be on the side of the highway, very interesting. We found our rooms once we arrived. Very nice, 2 rooms with beds, mosquito netting included and a bathroom.There were dead cochroaches around the rooms but we never saw any live ones thank goodness. We got to the center just in time for lunch. The meals were good, and all of it was Egyptian foods so it was nice to try more Egyptian foods. Anafora is a beautiful place. Very interesting buildings. There is a pool but the water was not clean which was dissapointing. We napped away the heat every afternoon after lunch. Supper was at 7 so if we weren't napping we were reading. We drank lots of hot chocolate made from cocoa powder, milk powder and sugar. Quite delicious. After supper both Friday and Saturday, we went up on the roof of our building, read while the sun was setting. I saw my first Egypt sunset, so beautiful. There was a church service at 9 every night. The chapel was different and nice inside. I didn't understand what was being said but it was an interesting experience. On Friday we played taboo, we wanted to play Monopoly but half the game was missing. Saturday evening we chatted in our room by candle light. There is electricity there but only lights in the bathroom and it sometimes went out. It was a great weekend out of the city, very relaxing. AND I finally saw a night sky full of stars. So incredibly wonderful. We left Sunday morning. We had to cross 6 lanes of highway so we could be on the right side of the road to catch a micro bus. They just stop if you wave them down, so strange. The micro bus was way faster than the bus we took on Thursday. It was a decent ride home. I made it home around 11:30. It was another weekend of basically nothing, but nothing is good and I got see another place in Egypt which was beautiful. I would definitely go back, that is for sure.

I went to a coffee shop and finished the book I read all weekend. The Pelican Brief by John Grisham. I recommend him. Great book.



Thursday, June 18, 2009

Day 48 - Going to Anafora

Class was the usual today. I almost slept in. I forgot to set my alarm so good think I woke up when I did.

Cars are driving past honking their honks, more than usual of course because cars are always honking. I am going to guess they are soccer fans celebrating a win. I think it is too late for wedding cars to be driving past.

I am heading to a retreat center called Anafora with Diana and Josh for the weekend. I am looking forward to seeing the place and just relaxing outside of the city. I am sure it will be a great time.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Day 47 - Learning

I have decided I like how Egyptians dress. They may have some strange fashions but they manage to always look pretty good. The women are always dressed nicely and the men always have a button up shirt or a nice t-shirt on. Obviously there are those who are not dressed so nicely but for the most part they look good. I appreciate this. I feel like people back home feel like they can just go out in whatever they want. Yes most people dress nicely but never would you see someone outside here in sweat pants or looking like they just rolled out of bed. Anyways this is my observation for the day.

All of you should look up information on Eritrea. A horrible government and system there that gives no freedom what so ever to the people. I have recently talked to 2 of the refugees at the center, both from Eritrea, about their stories of how they ended up in Cairo. Both different but incredible stories. Hearing them really makes them think about how easy my life is compared to theirs. Very different worlds.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Day 46 - Nap

I took a 2 hour nap after I got home from the center today. I was so tired. I didn't sleep too well last night so the nap was wonderful. I think I may start making it my routine. Having a nap in the early afternoon, rejuvenate myself so I can stay up later when it is cooler.

I took my camera to the center today. I am happy I did. Here are my gr.1 students :) They listen best during sport. I think it is because they are slightly afraid of Coach. I would be to if I was a kid. He is very tall, but he is great with the kids.








Monday, June 15, 2009

Day 45 - Picture Walk

Class went well today. The kids had dance. We were outside today and it was awesome. I really wish I would have had my camera. All of the kids were dancing, it was priceless.

Later this evening I went on a picture walk. Now if you want to feel watched and awkward, this is what you need to do. I get starred at constantly just walking down the street normally. Now taking out a camera and walking around is just asking for everyone to stare at me. Malesh...I only took 50 pictures, not all good. The number of cops and security guards on the streets really inhibits the pictures taking. One dude tried to get me for taking a picture so I just pretended I didn't hear him and kept walking :)

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Day 44 - Day 46

As of today I have been gone for 46 days. Just over 6 weeks. A month and a half plus a few days.

I can hardly believe it really. Today just happens to be the exact half way point to the day I leave. It is 46 days until I get on a plane and leave Cairo. So for those of you who like countdowns there is your number :) I am definitely not thinking about how in a month and a half I have to say goodbye. It does make me really want to go and do/see everything that I can like right now though...a month and a half seems like a long time but I know it will go by fast.

This is the the Wekalat al-Balah where I found the material...

Day 43 - Kern

So I finally found Wekalat al-Balah today with the help from my friend Ammanuel.

I bought 5 meters of fabric for 55 LE which is like $11 canadian. So awesome. The market is super close. I am going to end up going there again I am sure.

I talked to family today. It was l0vely as it always is....

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Day 42 - MCCers

I spent my day with most of the MCCer's in who are in Egypt. I got to Diana's around noon, where I ate some not so successful garlic bread, a banana muffin, then a chocolate cupcake. It was so wonderful to have home baking! So delicious.

I think there was between 14-20 of us maybe more including children, I don't know exactly the number of people there. It took us around 2 hours to put together 575 bags which included 4 notebooks, pencil crayons, pencils, a ruler, eraser and pencil sharpener. It was as fun as filling bags of school supplies can get I think...We treated ourselves to Koshari, which is pasta, rice, lentils, chick peas, onions and garlic and then you put some sauce on it. Carby goodness all in one dish. It is so filling but quite tasty.

Diana, 3 other MCCers and I went to go to a souvenier shop which was downtown. We drove there, definitely got lost, but not so lost we couldn't find our way, it just took longer :) There were some really nice things there. I might just have to go back for another gander and maybe make some purchases...We got a bit lost on the way back as well. Lost meaning Cairo has terrible signs and one way streets everywhere, making it hard to get places. Diana has a dog, which she locks in the kitchen when she leaves the house. When we got back to her place we found that the dog, Moose, had found the brand new bottle of oil and chewed the cap off. Cooking oil all over the kitchen floor! Oh my goodness. Once that was as cleaned up as it could be for the time being, we headed downstairs to James and Linda's apartment for a movie.

James and Linda are MCCs country reps here in Egypt. It was nice to finally meet them. Just a random thing, James last name is Wheeler. I don't think I have ever met another Wheeler who is not related to me...Diana was on popcorn duty so I helped her out with that. Stove popped popcorn is so good! We made so much, haha. We watched The Night at the Museum. It was better than I had expected.

I went with Josh, Micah and Phil on the metro. It was nice not to have to go by myself. While we were on the tram there were these two young girls and they were just a starin' at me. So cute. Tonight was the first time that I did not get in one of the women only cars. It wasn't bad because it was not too packed. There were other women there as well and really, it was not anymore staring than I would have got on the street.
It was a good day. It was really nice to hang out with friends (as well as meet new people) and get out and do something.

*The metro is usually jam packed with people. It is a luxury when it is this empty. Fridays are the greatest days to be out because there are not so many people out.

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Day 41 - A Day of Purchases

Today has a been a good day besides the fact that I am tired. I had a terrible sleep, so I was very tired.

I talked to Fiona, the children's education program director, about my class. She said I looked like I was having a better day and that I did not have to teach Science as of next week. It was a great relief to hear this actually. So now I will only have to teach history which I think I will be able to handle better. This means I will have two mornings with my Grade 1 class which makes me happy and I am sure will make Faten happy. They are a handful to control.

I went to the market today to get fresh fruits and vegetables. I am excited. I got grapes, they are delicious. I absolutely love how cheap produce is here. So wonderful. I also found 2 tank tops for $2, they are apparently GAP, so that is interesting. I have long sleeve shirts to wear under them so now I have more clothes in my waredrobe. Yay! I bought peanuts today. Not even a dollar for a decent sized bag of them. So awesome and so tasty.
This is what the fish looks like as leftovers. You see its little head? It looked much better fresh but I didn't bring my camera.





And this is one of my new tank tops :)

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Day 40 - Heads or Tails....I got both.

I had a terrible night. I was absolutely sure I had the swine flu. I felt so nauseous and I was so hot. After an hour of that I took gravol, woke up in the morning and felt fine. So strange, but great that I was feeling better.

Apparently my test results are negative because the doctor did not seem too concerned when my roommate called her asking for our results and she said, oh I will check on those...no swine flu here :)

I taught history today, totally wrong but I did teach them. I taught them what they should learn in a few weeks all in an hour....haha. I find out I need to do research of my own to make up my lesson plans, so now I have to figure out the correct information on Sudanese history and the Islamic World. It is interesting, but a challenge to find all the correct information I need. A learning experience that is for sure.

I went to the Nile Fish restaurant this evening with my roommates friend Amanuel. I met two of his friends and the one guy was crazy (not actually) just very quirky and unique...in a good way. I am sure there is never a dull moment in his presence. He is also Palestinian but looks Italian. I think what I had was mullet. It came as the whole fish, cut in half and cooked right up. I ate right out of a fish, with the head and whole body just a laying on my plate, bones bones and all. For the picky eater I am I was pretty impressed with myself. It was really good and only 36LE ($7).

I finally chatted with the fam tonight. I only got Mom and Dad for maybe 15 minutes because my computer is a piece but Cherilyn and I discoverd that not using video and just voice works. Yay. We talked for over an hour. Definitely the best part of my day! I love you my dear family.

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Day 39 - Tested

Today I was tested mentally and physically.

Mentally.....Teaching grade 7 did not go so well in my opinion. The kids were much older than I had expected. I think some of them look 16,17 or 18 years old. Weird. Anyways, I have no clue if they understood what I tried to teach them. I hope they did because they are relying on me to teach them what they need to know. I hope tomorrow goes better. It is history so that may be easier.

Physically.....This afternoon my roommate and I made a trip to a clinic/hospital to get tested for the Swine Flu. A friend of Natalie's was here for a while and he has tested positive for the flu and is now being held at this clinic with 4 others with the flu until they are 'cured'. We wanted to get tested because if we do have the virus spreading it around the Sudanese community would be terrible. We found the administration building and a doctor from there drove us to another building where they took our names, age and address. They put us in a little room to wait to get our throats swabbed. While we were waiting we saw Joe, Natalie's friend, and the other flu carriers. I am glad I am not them. The second time they swabbed my throat I ended up in a coughing fit...yuck. So 2 swabs and we were released in to the public not knowing if we have the flu or not. We have to go back tomorrow to get our results. A great way of stopping the spread of the virus I think....letting potentially infected people out and about...haha.

I spent the rest of my evening wasting time on the internet and figuring out what I am going to teach tomorrow.

It was just another day in Cairo...always some adventure to be had or something new to experience.

Monday, June 8, 2009

Day 38 - I don't have the swine flu....

But 2 US students at the American University in Cairo have it and have now put the their entire dorm under quarantine...good times. I am glad I am not there. Swine flu in Cairo. I can't believe them killing all those pigs didn't prevent this from happening...oh the things that are done in this world...

I was feeling quite ill this morning I had to leave work early. I came home and slept for 4 hours. It was nice. I still feel a little yucky but hopefully a good nights rest will fix that.

I talked with the child education director today about teaching. I will be teaching Science and Sudanese History to the grade 7's, Monday-Thursday in the mornings. It should be a very interesting challenge for me. I am already slightly frustrated because I have to teach Science tomorrow and the material I have is quite useless and is not good for making a lesson as it does not have all of the correct information and answers I need. Not fun. We will see how class goes. I hope I am up to the task of teaching for the rest of the term. I know me doing this is a great help to St. Andrew's. They have had quite a dilemma trying to figure out who could teach the class while they found a new teacher. I am still able to help in my class as well so I am happy about that. I would miss my little students.

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Day 37 - Shopping = Fail

Shopping for clothes in Cairo is not an easy task. Really it just is not possible if you are looking for something that you would wear back home. The style here is not really anything like back home. Seriously if you saw some of the clothes I saw today you would be peeing yourself laughing because they are so entertaining. Also when you go into a store one of the people who works there attaches themselves to your hip. Slightly annoying but whatevs....

The styles in Egypt definitely do not appeal to me, or probably any foreigner, haha. Seriously I do now know who would ever wear some of the clothes they sell here. I did buy a shirt to wear under a tank top that I bought. I hope it fits because I was not able to try it on and I need to so....

I bought batteries for the remote for my a/c so now I think that I can control it which is good. I was hot when I woke up but did not have the control to turn my a/c on.

Well I figure out tomorrow when I am to teach grade 7 so that will be nice to figure things out and get my new schedule in order.

I should go to bed so I am ready for work in the morning. I have spent the evening with new friends and it has been nice. I talked to Mom which was great. I wish it happened more often :)

Day 36

I slept until 11:30 today. It was awesome.

I had plans to try and find a bazaar Mom found for me but I was not in the mood for an adventure today so I just stayed home. I went to the market to get some fruit. Fresh apricots...yummy.

I went to Beano's Cafe for about an hour and did some reading. It was loud, which was very normal for here in Cairo. I had a very delicious vanilla latte.

I made some supper when I got back and have been doing nothing since then. A very lazy day.

Oh my a/c started working today so now I do not have to suffer through the afternoon heat. yay.

Saturday, June 6, 2009

Day 35 - A Few Firsts

It is very late so I will not go into detail about today.

I had an excellent day. I went to church in the morning which was nice. Had a relaxing afternoon.

Then went 10 pin bowling for the first time with friends, played some fooseball and pool, ate some not so good Shwarma, and some very good fech fachina (ice cream w/fruit). I experience rain even though it seemed like only a few drops and I had my first Egyptian fender bender experience.

An excellent evening I would say...minus the fender bender. Oh we are all fine by the way. The car just has a nice crack and huge scratch on the back bumper.

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Day 34 - So Tired

I had a good morning, except for the fact that all I wanted was to be back in my bed sleeping. I did not have to teach alone again today. The kids were actually very well behaved today. It was kind of weird but a very nice change.

The streets were strange today. Not busy at all because of Obama being in the city. I watched the speech on youtube, I didn't catch it live. I think Obama's speech was good. A lot of information, goals and wishes jammed in that hour of talking, but I think he had a lot of great things to say. He definitely has a great vision in mind for the US and Middle East...hopefully it can be achieved.

I am too tired to think right now....boring blog...

Day 33 - In The Dark

I had an interesting morning at the center. Faten the teacher that I help did not show up, so there I was with 19 children not really know what to do...at all. I taught them as best as I could. It is quite hard to control children who do not really understand you, and also who only really respond to being asked to sit and be quiet. It was a draining morning but I got through it.

I am still waiting to figure out what exactly I will be teaching for the grade 6 class. I am assuming they know enough English that they will understand me and listen to me...I hope :)

This evening I sat in on Diana's last English class of this term. I had met some of her students before so it was nice to see them again. They apparently missed me, haha, even after only meeting me once. The class was fun. We ended up chatting for a while after. We were talking about movies and favorite actors came up. Egyptians apparently love Nicholas Cage and think he is amazing and good looking. He is not the greatest actor and he is not that good looking and they just do not understand how we can think that. I think it is funny. We made plans to go bowling this Friday. According to the students I must come and have no choice in the matter. Haha, it is a good thing I do not have plans, otherwise they would not be happy if I was not there :) Diana and I went to Cook Door (Egyptian equivalent to McDonalds's I guess) for supper afterwards. It was pretty good, really good fries and a ginormous burger. The power just happened to go out while we were sitting there finishing our meal. We stayed there chatting for some time. Diana gave me another mini-Arabic lesson in the dark. We left when we were the last ones in the place. It was getting hot anyways without the a/c running.

I took the metro home and had a man attach himself to me. It was fine. He sells shoes and has very cool plasticy business cards.

That was my day.

Obama is here tomorrow. I am wondering what the streets are going to be like. Whether they are going to be busy of quiet because places are closed for Obama. We will see.

Check this out: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/06/2009639584323766.html

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Day 32 - Not Expired

I was not going to write anything today but it felt weird/wrong not posting something...

I received another letter today. Thanx Mom :) I can't believe Mr. Larson is 104, that is just incredible.

I figured out that the water I have been purchasing is not actually expired. The water expires a year from the date printed on the bottle. I am so smart :)

I did a little bit of research for a pre-school program St.Andrew's it trying to develop. That was fun.

I may become a grade 6 teacher tomorrow.... I will hopefully elaborate more on this later.

Monday, June 1, 2009

Day 31 - A letter

It is kind of hard to believe that it is June already. It even feels weird to say. It doesn't seem like a month has already passed. Time is flying by as usual.

Today was a normal day. The kids had dance class today. That was very entertaining as usual. I am trying to make friends with and pay a little more attention to these two kids in class who seem to always get in trouble no matter what. Malual and Emmanuel are their names. We will see how it goes. They are those kids who I think just need an extra little bit help and attention, even though they do not ask for it. We will see how things unfold...

I received my first letter! It was great. I love getting mail.

Pictures from the weekend...