Living in Luanda...six months on

For some reason, maybe because it's 6 months almost to the day that we've been in Luanda, it seems time for a reflection on where I am, what impression this place leaves now, etc.

To start, my last poll is indeed inspired by the way I currently feel towards work. I was the first person to answer the poll, and yes, I chose the first answer. Having been sick for the last week, and doing basically nothing that might be classified as constructive in that time, I've basically realized that either I am incredibly lazy, overly simple and easily entertained or just THAT over my current work situation. I didn't really enjoy being sick of course, but, honestly, I wasn't THAT sick, just possibly contagious, and therefore had to stay home. So I slept, I watched tv, I surfed the net, I thought about the wedding from every direction, got in touch with the wedding planner, made some headway on a few things, I made cookies one day, I napped...but I never got bored, I have to say. Anyway, I liked it because it was calm, and peaceful- not stressful and uncertain and uncomfortable like work is right now. I do hope that things change next year- that I get to move grades, that I get to have my own classroom, and that I feel reinvigorated to be teaching.

As a side note I think that maybe I could be one of those women that quits her job to plan a wedding- not because I like to be that obsessed with the wedding, but because I could focus on it. I think part of my lack of interest in working right now is that I'm nesting- no, I'm not pregnant- but, basically the thing that interests me right now is being with Joel, planning the day that will symbolically mark the beginning of our life together, and looking towards what might happen in our lives just after that- hopefully. That's what I want to do right now. And while I am trying to carry on with life as usual, I do feel like everything else kind of pales in comparison.

Anyway... so, work is work, and that is only one part of life...

As for the rest of life here...

We generally leave campus once a week. On Tuesdays. When we go grocery shopping. Aside from money I spend on the internet buying things for the wedding, this is really the only money we spend- currently running at about $300 a week. That includes some "treat" kind of foods, but mostly, that is just what it costs.

When we go grocery shopping we go to at least two stores, sometimes three. The first stop is always the expensive shop down the street where we change money, and pick up some imported stuff- like brown rice, sour cream, soy products, taco kits, salsa. Joel buys his meat here, because it's safe, though more expensive.

After this shop we usually go to the big local grocery store. This grocery store is as big as a grocery store back home would be- the difference is in the things it sells. There are probably 5, maybe 10 different kinds of cereal. There is one kind of honey, when there is honey. You can buy either whole flats of eggs or sometimes, fairly rarely, they have boxes that hold a dozen. Eggs cannot always be counted on to be there either, therefore I buy them by the flat. The produce section looks big, but is a let down. The food that this store sells is unfortunately mostly not local- which shows in the way that it looks by the time it gets to the shelves. I walk in every time really wanting to find stuff to buy, but, unfortunately, I rarely do. On our last trip I think I bought some cucumbers, maybe potatoes. Sometimes I get carrots there, but I haven't seen any in a long time. Onions, sometimes squash, maybe a zucchini.

I am coming up against being very bored with the food here. And it's hard because mostly the food that you can get is processed, in a box, canned, dry staples (pasta, couscous, rice). I want to be healthy, and I want to eat fresh food. I do want to lose weight, and not being able to get my hands on things like greens, fresh vegetables, etc makes that hard. Because when you can't get that stuff, you end up having to do SERIOUS portion control because all those other foods are so calories dense to try to lose weight. It's frustrating.

I have already told Joel that really, really good food has to be at the top of the list for must-haves for the next place we live. Which is why Asia or South America are the top next choices.

I still have not taken a picture of the beautiful little birds that live all around here. I love to see them- their blue bellies make me unbelievably happy. And they are so cute.

I am still in love with living in the heat. Although, that said, it is easy to forget how hot it is, when you have good air conditioning. During the week that I was sick, I was on the verge of wanting to wrapped up in blankets (well I was sick!), but, that is because I didn't really leave the house- and we do keep the inside of the house comfortable. In fact, sometimes, it gets downright cold in here, and then we switch the air off and warm up again. But, I think it's normal to want to be comfortable. I still relish the fact that when I walk outside I can be warm, that the sun shines 6 out of 7 days (maybe more), and that I never have to walk through snow, slush or driving cold wind. That makes me happy. I don't miss winter.

Since being here I have been out to eat maybe 5 times- we've been to the bars once or twice each. It's not really my scene, the bar scene here. Mostly because it's one of those doesn't start until after midnight kind of scenes. But also, I don't like the fact that to get to bar you have to drive an hour, and worse, an hour to get home again (when you'd really rather just be home).

I've been to the movies twice, once with the girls, once with Joel. The movie theater is actually quite nice on the inside. You can tell it's new, and hardly used (movies aren't really the kind of thing locals can afford to spend their money on). Unfortunately, they get an odd selection of movies- not really sure who picks them. The concession stand offers stale popcorn, canned soda or beer and water. Hmm, maybe packs of gum. So, it's not quite like going to the movies back home- but that said, you can openly bring in food from the mall food court, and no one says anything. So, if you want to bring your burger and fries from Wimpy's or Bob's in, that is fine- or if you want to bring your sundae from the ice cream shop, that is fine too. I suppose then, I should just plan better the next time we go, and buy some more favorable snacks before the movie.

We do spend a bit of time with people from school on the weekends. I mean, it's hard to avoid your neighbors when you live in a place like this. Often on Friday nights someone lights up a BBQ and everyone gathers on a porch and drinks either socially or heavily. Us girls still get together to talk weddings now and then. I still meet with the book club once a month, as I mentioned not long ago. There is stuff to do, and at the same time, it's easy to get lazy, and just hang around inside. We haven't been to the beach since Joel broke his hand of course.

I guess in the end, I neither love it nor hate it here. It's a place where I am existing quite nicely for now. I cannot see it being a place where I would be tugged to stay. Latvia was hard to leave for a myriad of reasons. But Shanghai, for as difficult as it was, and for as much as I had no real ties to the place, was also hard to leave- it did seem so full of fun and possibility (aside from the one real thing I was looking for- a man). I think that when we leave Luanda, it will be easy. Of course we are here for the experience, the adventure, the possibility of travel in Africa- but I don't think it is a place that will evoke in me a deep connection. We all have our places where we feel that- some stronger than others.

Ah, I'll tell you one more thing- this morning- ok I'll tell the truth, it was after noon- on my first foray into the bathroom, I was faced with a giant dead, or rather dying, cockroach. It's not really the thing that one wants to see first thing. But, from what I am gathering, roaches die always on their backs, in places where you never see them otherwise. I am faced with roaches in this way often in the classroom- but this is the first one we've found in the house like this. I wonder, if unlike cats or dogs, who go to find a secluded, dark place to die, roaches crawl out in the open for their last breaths. Perhaps it is that roaches are terrible, unforgiving creatures, and when they see one of their own dying, they drag it out on it's back to die away from the family. Who knows.

So, that's my 6 month update. Only two months until we travel to Zambia, and have some time in South Africa again- yay for shopping. I already have a list of things to buy that you just can't get here. So, here's looking forward!

Not really sure...

No I'm not, not really sure if I like this new, quite busy look of my blog here. But, you get bored. And also, I saw my cousin Liene's new look, and I LOVED it. If I didn't know her, I would just make my blog have the same background. But alas, it would be weird if we looked exactly the same.

Anyway, so, who knows, I might change things around again soon, because, like I said, I'm just not sure about this- it's SO busy, but... well, it is what it is for now. :)

Oh, and, in case you didn't notice, living on the edge of the city won over living in the country. Waahooo!!! I will not die lonely. Of course, I don't know who actually answered that answer, but, well, I like most of my readers... ;) Just kidding! I love you all! :)

Time for a new post...

Apparently, there are at least two people out there who miss my posts. Maybe there are more, but I have only heard from two. :) So here I am, back to try to pound out some news for all you lovelies.

As a side note, I do have to mention that I remember back in the day, when I still wrote mass emails, instead of having the blog, that after being in a new place for a few months, the emails became fewer and further between, because as always, even a crazy, new place, becomes "normal" eventually. And I think the more you move around, the quicker a place will become normal. But anyway...

I do have to say that coming through the airport on our way back was such a different experience from the last time/first time we came in. We stood in the immigration line (in an non-air conditioned room, packed with people, luckily lacking in mozzies this time) for about an hour, and got through the rest of the airport quickly. All our baggage was there, surf boards in tact, and we made it out to our drivers without being man-handled by any locals. I suppose we wore much more confident looks on our faces this time round.

Coming home was nice. Joel and I both unpacked quickly when we got home, happily stashing all our new stuff in cupboards, etc. I went for a run, we ate dinner, and by 7:30 I went to bed. Jet-lag and all that.

I have to admit that a few days before we left Australia, I started having heartburn, and by the time we were in the airport on that Sunday morning, I was in constant pain. I had to buy heartburn chews in the airport. I knew what the heartburn was about- I was nervous/fearful about coming back to my work situation. I don't want to go into it too much, but lets just say, last semester didn't go according to anyone's plan. My co-teacher (who also happens to be the head of department, and this year is the only one with experience/training in our program) was really ill for the whole semester, and out for more than half of it having surgery and then recovering from it. She is, thank goodness, well now, and back to work. But last semester was hugely stressful for me for a myriad of reasons, not least of which was the amount of pressure I put on myself, so I'm not just blaming others, but it was what it was. Coming back, I knew that she would be back, and that in a sense, we would be starting over again- stressful in a different way. So, I can't handle work stress, and when it happens, I get scared, and I get heartburn.

Of course, going back the first day wasn't as bad as I might have imagined, but, after being back a few days I made a choice. I decided that the co-teaching method, having 40 kids in one classroom with 4 adults all working together is just not my style. It's certainly not that any of the people I have to work with aren't wonderful- they are, but, I just find the whole thing too stressful, especially in a situation where I am not really an equal when it comes to knowledge of what we're meant to be doing in class. So, I applied for a change of grades. I knew that there were a couple of teachers planning on leaving next year, leaving vacancies in Kindergarten and Grade 1, both of which would be acceptable jobs for me. Luckily, my request was granted, although it is not yet determined which grade I will be getting. Either way, I am looking forward to having my own classroom again next year.

To deal with the stress of this school year, I decided that I would try to run instead of eat. So, since returning to Angola I have run 22 kilometers- which for only being back 10 days, I don't reckon is too bad.

The only bad thing about it is that a couple days ago I started having this pain along the outer edge of my left foot. It hurt when I walked, when I touched it in a certain place, but not when I was running (of course!). Last night as Joel and I lounged on the couch, I made him rub my foot, and then I kept asking him, "Do you think it's broken? Do I have a fracture? A hairline fracture? A stress fracture?"

I was annoying him, and being a bit silly, but it was funny. Today, when I was making lunch, I shifted my weight, and I got shooting pains all through my leg, starting at that spot in my foot. So today, when I was scheduled for an easy 3km run and some weights, I decided to skip it all, and rest my foot instead. Unfortunately, I also ended up eating unnecessarily, but, that is really a whole other problem that I won't go into here. I don't know how many days I will have to rest before the pain stops, but I reckon this is one of those important moments when I either rest it sufficiently, or end up with a chronic injury. Because I really, really do want to be a runner, I will choose to rest it sufficiently, and tomorrow, I might do some alternative exercise instead- yoga probably.

Which reminds me of something we did just before we left Melbourne. On our last full day, we decided to head to the shopping center one last time to get a few odds and ends, and so that I could get a massage. Joel decided to get one as well. As luck would have it, there was a Chinese massage place right there in the local center. Actually, from what I saw, they seem to be everywhere. But the thing for me was, they were Cissy's Massage, straight out of Shanghai, in Melbourne. The masseurs were pretty much "off the boat" as one might say, speaking barely a word of English, the tables and we were covered in sheets (instead of oil) and they even pulled out the cupping cups. I was pretty excited, because I have to say that, although I have had quite a few massages since leaving Shanghai, I have not had as good a massage as I got in Shanghai, since then.

Well, the lady that took me, touched me once, and gasped, and for the next hour as she beat the living crap out of me, just kept muttering, "So stiff, so stiff!" She used her hands, her elbows, the cupping cups, her knees, some oil, some paddle shaped piece of wood, hot towels and more to try to work some of the tension out of my body. I think she succeeded a bit, but, if her reaction when we were leaving was any indication (she handed us an appointment/VIP type card and kept repeating "come back, come back") she was pretty sure there was more work to be done. The last masseuse I saw in Latvia also said to me, "I can't tell a difference between your flesh and the table. You are like a rock. I won't be able to do anything for you today- I'd have to see you at least 10 times before I could even start to work on your shoulders."

So, the message is pretty clear, those ladies aren't mincing their words, I need to relax, I need regular massages. Of course, the only time that my body wasn't "like a rock" was when I was living in Shanghai, when I was having weekly massages, because they only cost $10 a session. Neither Latvia nor Angola has similarly priced massages. :( But, here in Angola, I might just have to bite the bullet, and pay the price, because I really feel that this is not a luxury kind of pampering myself kind of thing, but like a necessary for my health kind of thing. Before I end up with, well, I don't know what chronically tense muscles can do to you, but I'm sure it ain't pretty.

So, that's where we're at. Well, that's where I'm at. :) Joel is doing well; he's back into his sports and his surfing (getting used to, but loving the new surfboard), and plugging along in his classroom, where he is much happier this year than I am. We do have a long weekend coming up in two weeks time, when we will be taking another little road trip to a place called Malange with the same friends that we traveled with in October. So, at least I should have something truly interesting to post after that!

Happy New Year! (and hanging out with Joel's friends...)

NYE this year was pretty chill- we didn't have big plans, which was fine by me. I find that often NYE has been a let down. It's always one of those nights when I feel like it's supposed to be really big and monumental- a night you're not supposed to forget- and yet, they usually end up with me being bored, tired, not drunk or too drunk and well, anyway... I was happy to have some simple plans. Hanging out with Joel's friends, heading into the city to see fireworks, coming home again. So that is what we did. Unfortunately, one of Joel's best friends, K, was busy and had other things going on, so we didn't see him- but R&D were around, and the four of us had a nice time.

After a fair few drinks at D's place, we head into town- here, R and I wait for the tram.

Then R flashes his gang signs and I do "peace" because it's the only thing I know how to do.
And then we add D into the mix- gang signs all around- but I'm still flashing peace. :)

In town, Joel and I sit and wait for the fireworks.

Fireworks!

(And can I just say that the show lasted a good 12-15 minutes, and fireworks were being shot off from several different locations, resulting in the entire skyline being lit up, and one needing to continually turn one's head left to right to try to keep catching what was going on- after three years of LV fireworks, Joel and I were in awe!)

After the fireworks we headed straight for the trams to get back home. The crowds were huge, and it took us about an hour to get on a tram. We did witness a cat-fight in the wait time, which was interesting. Some girl got a whole lot of hair torn out of her head. Ouch! Once we got back to D's place, we had some more drinks, but around 2, I found myself assuming a more and more horizontal position on the couch, until eventually, I was asleep. From what I remember, R was doing the same on the floor. So, we passed out. Ah well. :)

We got home thanks to Joel's wonderful dad picking us up- and proceeded to have a good long sleep. Nothing like waking up at noon on Jan 1st! :)

Here's wishing all of you a very happy new year! I know I'm looking forward to lots this year- hoping you're all as excited as I am (about your own lives!). :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

The table looks a little sparse- both food and people wise, but, alas, it was a "best-we-could-do" type Thanksgiving- whatever I could come up with food wise, and just the two of us. That however, in and of itself, is a lot to be thankful for.

(If you're wondering, Joel had a piece of marinated, baked chicken, and I had a veggie meat thing. We also had mashed potatoes with mushroom gravy, roast pumpkin, corn and stuffing. The stuffing turned out fantastic. The rest was good. We'll both have leftovers tomorrow.)

((Oh, and also- yes, Joel is sporting a mustache. He has been since November 1st, in honor of Movember. A bunch of the men on campus took part this year actually. He started off with a porno style handlebar thing again, but I guess last week he shaved the sides off, and has been sporting the regular old creepy mustache ever since. I'm REALLY happy December 1st is Monday, and that will be the end of Movember.))

(((And as a third side-note, I made this dinner on a school night, when I had also exercised. It was only when I got to the table at 8pm that I realized I hadn't made broccoli or salad- so there was nothing green. I was horrified, and then I got over it and ate. It was too late as it was.)))

Spazzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzm

My thumb - involuntarily jerks back and forth - randomly. I have developed a spasm. I don't know if it's stress related, or due to over-use or mis-use. Either way, whether I'm sitting doing nothing, working at school, on the computer or whatever, my thumb just keeps moving on its own. Right now it's not painful, and I hope it remains that way.

And God forbid that my spasm is use-related. It would be connected to the computer use if anything, and if someone said I had to use it less, well, I don't know what I would do.

More importantly, I am having fun planning wedding stuff, and I would like to concentrate on that rather than work. (No, I'm not at work now, I'm just saying, in general, I'd rather be thinking about my wedding than work...) It's report time right now, and although the reports I have to write this year are the shortest, easiest of my career, I still find myself moving slowly through them, choosing to check and re-check my RSVP mailbox. Ah well, I have 8 paragraphs left to write for my reports to be complete, and I have until Friday. I think I'll make it.

Also, on a very happy note- I found out today that I have lost 4kg/9lbs in about a month! I've been getting comments from lots of people around here and there that I'm looking good/better- or as one mother of a student said, "You are getting the skinny!" It's nice to hear, but I didn't have a way to measure my success- now I do. It's inspiring and motivating! Makes me want to get back to my exercising, which is so easy to not do, and see more results!

Finally, it's just before 11pm and I am sitting on the couch kind of sweaty. Oh, and it's the end of November. Yeah. OK, our air con unit in the living room is busted, and if it wasn't, I wouldn't be sweaty, but still. A lot of my friends who live in colder climes have been blogging/writing/posting pictures of the snow and cold they are experiencing in their lives right now. I've never not been where it's snowing. Did I already say, that it's not really real to me that finally, FINALLY I get to have a winter without snow? I know, technically, where I am it's summer, but, for 28 years winter has been November-February (or Sept/October to March/April while I lived in Latvia) so, it's hard to think of this any other way, than winter without snow. Goodness I love it. Although, I am somewhat anxiously anticipating experiencing Christmas without snow, because that will be different. Not sure what it will be like- but, like I told a friend I wrote an email to- I'm willing to learn to get used to it. :)

Bed time...me and my spazzoid thumb need to sleep.

Look, new stuff!

Hey! I added cool stuff to my blog! See my new poll? You have to answer it (even if you want to pick the third answer- you have to answer it!).

And see my new clocks? I hate always having to think about what time it is everywhere- when my computer is on, I always have my blog up- so now, when I want to know if it's too early to call the States- boom, there is the time! Now the only problem, right now, is that it is actually showing the wrong time for Angola. We're an hour behind what it says there. Apparently, the rest of the world thinks we had a time change- but we didn't.

I'm excited about my new blog stuff.

Oh, and also, did you see that today, it's exactly ONE MONTH until we go to Australia?!? I am so excited!!! I get to meet my friend M for the first time, I get to shop, I get to eat yummy food, I get to shop, I get to WEDDING DRESS SHOP!!!, I get to go to a party (for us!), I get to meet the rest of Joel's family! I am just so excited about this trip. Oh, and wait, also, I GET TO GO TO AUSTRALIA! :) That's exciting enough as it is! :)

Now I have to go back to class, because my lunch break is over (I do love being able to come home and eat lunch at my table, sit on my couch, watch my tv, read my book- all during my work day! It's great.).

Answer my poll!

~*~*~*~ 10 minute intermission~*~*~*~*~

Taking a quick break from the road trip recap just to say~

It's so nice to know that so many of you read my blog! Some of you I knew, lots, I had no idea! I wish more of you would just drop a line sometimes- say hi!

I do write this blog for myself, no point denying that fact, but, I write it for many of you as well- for all the people that I think might want to know about what is going on, since I'm far away and not there to be interacted with.

Anyway, I know I have that voice in my head that often says, "It doesn't matter what I think...no one wants to hear from me..." so I don't blame you all for having such thoughts once you read one of my posts and see the "comment" area. But I'm telling you right now- I care! I want to know! I want to hear from YOU!!!

OK?

~*~*~*~*~*~* now back to our regularly scheduled programming*~*~*~*~*~*~

Here is what is going on...

I wanted to post about this trip day by day, but because of the 200+ photos that it would be impossible for me to upload in the right order, I am posting about this trip by event or topic. So far, I've at least partially completed three parts (The Oasis, The Desert, and Women with things on their heads). I am pooped from just getting these three up- and it's taken me most of the evening, just because of the photos. So, tomorrow, I will post more, and I warn, I might add to already posted info. So, until I officially declare this trip blogged about, you might want to keep checking what's already there- or, if you dare, just wait til it's all up, and then read the whole thing at once. I wouldn't be able to do that though! :)

We're back.

We're safe and sound- unscathed. I'm really looking forward to posting about our 9 day camping trip, with lots of pictures included- but it's going to take me a few days to get that together. So I just wanted to let you all know, we're back. We're ok. We had a great time. We had adventures, a lot of time in a car, and more than one eye-opening, wonderfully Africa-revealing experience. More to come soon!

Time for a new post

There is a bunch of stuff that I keep thinking I should share- but I haven't got it in me to go on all poetic about it (as is my usual style, no? ;), so what you get today, is a bullet list (which I heard this summer is now a politically incorrect term- what do you think?):

• There are these little birds that live around here that are BEAUTIFUL. They have a light brown back, and their whole tummy and bottoms of their tails feathers are a wonderful, fabulous, gorgeous shade of bright, tangy turquoise blue. I wish I could get a picture of one, but I'm just not patient enough to be a bird watcher, and not startle them away when I come clamoring out the door with the camera.
  
• We live (as our school is located) directly under the flight path of every plane that comes in and out of Luanda airport. I think I first noticed this at about 6:30am on our first morning here, when I woke up thinking the world was ending, only to realize it was a low flying 747. Since then, I have noticed that there must be about 10 planes that come or go throughout the day. Unfortunately, the one is quite an early flight, luckily, none are very late ones. Don't get me wrong, it's not like we're living in the hell that must be a neighborhood by O'hare, but, a few times a day, you do just have to stop mid-sentence and hold your friend's/colleagues/boss's/student's gaze while you wait for the airplane to fly over.
  
• I'm really excited about starting my new job as teacher on Monday! I am so excited to teach in a program using the Reggio Emilia approach because,
• this program is ALL ABOUT THE KIDS- it isn't about paperwork, it isn't about jargon, it isn't about what WE want for kids, it isn't about what we know and think that kids should know, it isn't about what we've planned, or about getting into the best (oops...now I lovingly gaze into your eyes as the airplane flies overhead...) university some day- it's about the kids.
  
• I am really excited to be able to validate and follow my student's own interests. Some other programs say they do this, but, um, not really- mostly they have a curriculum that you have to stick to, and well, kid, get into your own interests on your own time.
  
• I get to ( I just learned this yesterday), lead kids in physical self-discovery- this is done a lot through monthly self-portraits. But the first group work that we will do on self portraits won't involve anything but kids and mirrors. We'll all sit down mirrors in front of each of us, and I'll start asking questions (not telling anything, but asking questions!), "What do you see?" "How does it feel?" "What does it remind you of?" "What else do you see?" "Do you all have that?" "Are they all the same?" etc, etc, etc. I am told that through exercises like these, without ever telling a kid to "include detail" you find children age 3 and 4 drawing pictures of themselves that include eyes, eyelashes, ears, noses, eyebrows, freckles, hair, teeth, lips, tongues, etc. And I think those of us who have any experience with small children will agree that is pretty amazing. And what is even cooler is the conversations that the kids themselves have during these exercises, and the time that they choose to spend on their own afterwards just gazing at themselves in a mirror.
• I get to record the conversations of children. All teachers know that kids will say the darnedest things- that have us in awe, laughing, amazed, etc- but we usually forget these things within everything else going on in the classroom and our heads. But, in this program, my job as teacher has two main parts- to ask questions, and to listen (and record). Of course there is a LOT of other stuff I have to do- but these are the main things. I got a chance to look over some records that the other teacher took last year, and they are amazing- these kids say things, think things that are amazing, and they come up with theories, and they get to explore their theories, and then share what they think now. It is so cool. Mind you, kids the world around do these things- but generally, in a "normal" school, teachers don't have much time to pay it any attention, nor to allow their students to explore things, because you have to get back to the "real" curriculum.
  
• I am super, super nervous to start my new job as teacher on Monday, because,
• I will be team-teaching with my supervisor, who has lots of experience in this program, especially when compared to my lack of any experience in this program. I am trying to be really positive about this and see it for the amazing opportunity that it is for personal professional growth, but it's nerve-wracking none the less!
  
• we will have 36 kids in one space (with four adults). I've just never worked in that kind of environment before!
• I won't be teaching letters or numbers or colors or shapes or vocabulary or anything else in the way I used to. Although our students WILL learn about these things it will be done without 90% of the resources I used to use to teach these things.
  
• I have to record the conversations of children. As excited as I am about doing this, those who have worked with me before, know that this has always been a weakness of mine, so it's going to be something I really have to work on. The same goes for the amount of pictures and stuff I am supposed to be taking of kids- I've just never been good at doing it well- and it's a huge part of this program, so... the teaching/learning cycle is going to be hugely active for me!
  
• Joel has gone off surfing this morning. I'm very excited for his report when he gets home. I didn't go along for a number of reasons, and am disappointed that I couldn't, but, I can't wait to go along someday soon- because, yes, I've never seen Joel (nor anyone) surf in real life. I suppose on one of my trips out to San Diego when I was a kid I saw some, but I don't remember it at all. So, I'm excited to hear how it went, and to go along next time.
  
• Hey, our school has no hallways! Again, I know some of you Aussies are like, "yeah...and...???" but um, for those of us who grew up in climates like Michigan's, having a school with no hallways is well, crazy! So yeah, most of the school is buildings that are like pods, each pod contains 6 classrooms with doors to the outside, and there are walkways (most covered- for safety from the sun) that join em all together. The classrooms also have doors on the inside that all come together on one inner storeroom or something- but really, there are no hallways! My class space is actually the former director's home transformed into a prep 4 building (the new director lives off-campus). Kind of cool cause we have a kitchen and actual separate rooms (one exclusively for building!), one large room with several areas, another room that is an art space, and more...
  
• There are no less than 5 full on vegetarians on our staff this year. There might be more, I haven't accurately counted up the numbers. This does mean that at lunch, there is always a veggie option, and at BBQs (like the one we had last night) there is a huge tray of some beautiful vegetable concoction labeled "FOR VEGETARIANS ONLY!!!!" in giant letters. It's really nice to be acknowledged and taken care of in a non-dramatic, non-you're-making-life-so-hard-on-us-with-your-stupid-choices kind of way. The school chef is Filipino, I've been told, and he doesn't make a big deal out of it either. He serves up his veg dishes with as much pride as the meat ones (as any chef worth anything would, if you ask me!) Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of people in my life who lovingly prepare veg food for me- but here is just seems a matter of fact kind of thing, and it works, and it makes me happy. And while I am definitely still part of a minority, it is a much bigger minority than it has been anywhere else I have worked!
  
• Downside to our cute little bungalow/living situation- community laundry facilities. It's not just the tedium of trying to find a time when no one else is down there using the machines, but it's also the fact that when lots of people are using machines that were not built for lots of people using them, they just don't work so well. The prep 4 building (my classroom) has its own washer and dryer, and my team teacher told me it's ok to use it for my personal laundry. That is cool. Now, I just have to figure out how to get my once-white whites back to white from the yellowish-gray they turned after one wash here. I think I have a date with bleach.
• Did you know that passion fruit grows on a vine? Well, I certainly didn't, until, someone pointed out to me that the vine growing on the fence along the prep 4 building was a passion fruit vine! Again, some of you, used to tropical climes might find this amazement "cute" but, I just think it's "wow!" that passion fruit grows right outside my classroom. I actually don't know if I like passion fruit or not, but, judging by the size of the fruit on the vine right now, I'll find out sooner rather than later.
• Joel is going to hate to read this, but, this is the first time that I have lived somewhere hot and humid enough to find out the difference that 100% cotton or linen clothing makes. It's winter here, which means we're hitting temps around 25C/75F during the day, but come summer, it's going to more like 35C/95F temps on a daily basis- made worse by the humidity. I'm already noticing that I just don't want to wear the clothes that I have that are a synthetic material. I can imagine it'll only get worse come summer. It's a good thing we're going to Oz at Christmas, and that it'll be summer there too (so appropriate clothing will be available for sale), so that I can line my closet with more appropriate clothing. I won't deny that I am some odd kind of a clothes whore, because obviously I am, but, I do feel that this is a genuine learning process. Vacationing in this kind of weather is one thing- living in it is a whole different thing, and I'm just learning now.
  
• We have a maid! Ah- a return to the life I once knew and loved so briefly! :) She comes three times a week (at our choosing, and yes, we could have chosen 5 times). She does the dishes, she irons, she changes our bedclothes (and I'm assuming washes the dirty ones, since I can't find em), sweeps, mops, generally tidies up, etc. It is lovely. It's a really cool feeling to run out the door in the morning leaving a mess behind yourself and come home to a tidy house. And yeah, it's one of the giant perks of the life we choose to lead. Of course, every situation has its downside too, and what I've encountered so far is just not being able to find stuff. She obviously puts stuff away where she thinks it should be (maybe that is why I can't find the other set of sheets), but it's not always where we found it, or where we'd put it. So far I have spent two separate times on searches that lasted a good five minutes for the bug spray (eventually found in the cabinet above the fridge) and the laundry rack (eventually found behind the bedroom door). I'm not complaining, because I'll spend five minutes searching for something she's put away if it means not having to do all that other stuff. I am NOT complaining. :)
  

OK- I think that is enough for today. Before I shower, I'll have my rendezvous with the bleach, and later today, I'm getting together with the two other brides-to-be (and maybe, hopefully more ladies) on campus to talk weddings. That should be fun!

First Impressions

I want get my first impressions down before, well, before I forget!

So, after a 7 hour flight (basically midnight to 7am) of tossing and turning in my airplane chair we finally arrived in Angola. The flight wasn’t bad… and I did sleep, in fact I slept most of the flight, but, that is not to say that I wasn’t waking up every 45 minutes to an hour because my leg was asleep, my neck was cramped, etc. It’s not like this is the longest flight I’ve ever been on- far from it- but, it was precisely during sleeping hours! Given that in the last two weeks we’ve gotten pretty used to getting a good uninterrupted 10 hour sleep in every night; it was a tough sleep on the plane. Even after we landed, both Joel and I closed our eyes again and napped a bit longer while most of the rest of the passengers disembarked.

Not in any hurry, we finally got off the plane. Straight into immigration, upon showing proof of having the yellow fever vaccine, we received a fairly standard form to fill in. I think the only kind of funny phrase that we had to fill in was something called the “body of movement” which was asking what kind of transportation we would have from the airport I suppose…but obviously badly translated. Anyway, we actually stood in line in immigration for 2 hours, which is surprising only because the line wasn’t actually that long. We could see the front of it the whole time, but it was just moving that slowly. When it was finally our turn, I walked up first, handed over my passport (visa finally inside!) and my filled out form. Then I just stood there smiling while the man did whatever it is the man does behind the counter. Happily the big STAMP! STAMP! came fairly quickly, and I was on my way- no questions asked. I wanted to stand and wait for Joel, but didn’t want to piss off anyone, so I slowly made my way forward. Luckily, since immigration had taken so long, our bags were long since strewn across the baggage area floor. I collected some, and when Joel joined me a few minutes later, we got the rest. We loaded up two baggage carts and made our way outside. We did choose to go the green, “I have nothing to declare” route through customs, and they let us pass no problem. Whew.

Once outside we were looking for someone with a sign, but TK, an employee of the school who has been working with us (helped us with basically everything having to do with getting to Angola) saw us and figured we were us. Considering all we’ve been through in the last weeks, we have had a lot of correspondence with TK, so it was good to finally meet her. As we made our way further along, a lot of young men were coming up to us and offering to help us with our bags… but TK let us know that they what they do is help you and then make you give them $500 to get your bags back! Needless to say, we were swatting them away after that!

We loaded our stuff into a Land Rover and off we went.

As we pulled onto the street there was a nice banner type sign welcoming us to Luanda. After that, things just started to come at me, hit me, kind of like BAM, BAM, BAM! Cars driving way too close to each other, dirt roads, men, women, children wandering amongst cars on the road some of them selling things- toys, off-brand Pringles, watches, sunglasses, an iron, a dvd player… buildings/projects/blockhouses, laundry hanging out of windows, little shops dotting the side of the road with hand painted signs offering things like copies, repairs, food…most people dressed in “western” clothing, but here and there women in brightly printed sarongs and head wraps… babies strapped to their backs, not in a fancy schmancy sling, but well, just attached with another piece of cloth. It’s dirty. There is garbage everywhere. The streets are littered, even though everywhere you look there are men in yellow jumpsuits with “WASTE” written across the back, whose job it is to clean the streets.

TK asked us, “So, what is your first impression?” She herself is from Zimbabwe, and said that it’s very different from here. She was blown away by the appearance of things when she first came to Luanda a few years ago. Joel and I responded as might be expected… “There is a lot to see!” She asked, “Is it like anything you’ve ever seen?” To tell the truth, the block houses reminded both of us of Riga, and me also of Shanghai. It is dirtier here though.

Then, the thing that might seem trivial, but made the biggest, “I’m in AFRICA!” impact on me. It was the women carrying enormous baskets of stuff on their heads; giant baskets of food, cloth, all kinds of things. Then there was the woman that must have been at least 7 or 8 months pregnant and was carrying more bananas on her head than I could carry in my arms. That was amazing. I don’t know exactly how that all works- do they have incredibly strong necks? Is it easier on your body to actually carry that weight on your head, rather than in your arms? Who knows…but I found it amazing, and yeah, it was the thing that made me realize, yeah, I’m in Africa.

Once the block houses cleared out, the highway was lined with shanty towns as far as the eye could see. Houses on top of houses, brick walls, tin roofs, bricks weight down the roofs. Garbage *everywhere*. And so many people! Saw some dogs and some chickens. Lots of people sitting all along the roadside selling stuff… fruit, vegetables, knick-knacks, brooms… Lots of them had blankets laid out with an assortment of goods.

School is not actually that far from the airport (I think with no traffic the drive only takes 20 minutes, but with traffic can take up to two hours). Luanda is experiencing the same kind of growth that Riga is right now, in that its streets are not built for a lot of cars, but there are so many cars on the road now that traffic just doesn’t move. Thankfully for us, we only have to deal with any of that by choice. :)

We got to the compound and got into our new home. Joel and I are really quite happy with what we have here. It’s a one-bedroom/one-bathroom bungalow, filled with sunlight. It comes with simple furniture, a nice stocked kitchen (as in plates, utensils, pots and pans, etc) with lots of counter space which opens into the dining and living room, we have a back patio and a “backyard”. We’ve already unpacked most of our stuff, so my books are on the shelves, Joel’s football scarves are hanging all around the living room, and our clothes are in drawers. It pretty much feels like ours already. :)

We had lunch in the cafeteria (for FREE) for the first time. Lunch today was spaghetti Bolognese- with a salad bar, bread, water and fruit for dessert. I had Latvian style spaghetti- noodles with ketchup and mayo and a salad. During lunch we met one of our colleagues and chatted a bit. She said that usually the food is pretty good, and that there is a salad bar every day. So, seems like we should both be able to eat pretty well for free once a day, which hopefully should save us some money in groceries in the long run, because….

We went for a quick grocery shop already too. The prices of some things seemed quite on par with what we’ve been paying in Riga. Other things however, whew. We knew that food would be expensive coming here- but when you actually see the price tag on a medium sized squash that says it costs USD$15, you can’t help but balk at it. Our shopping today cost 14,000 Kwanza. That comes out to about $200/100Ls. Of course, we’re just starting out here, trying to figure out what to buy from where- there are two grocery shops near by- one is a specialty import kind of one, and the other is a more local type. We went into both, and bought stuff from both. We were comparing prices and hopefully sooner or later we’ll get a handle on what to get from where for the best price. I don’t know anything about produce markets or anything yet. We’ll see. Oh I do have to say though, when we were in the expensive shop, there was a lady shopping there whose running total had gotten up to 70,000 Kwanza…and she wasn’t done yet. Yikes!

It’s going to take some getting used to dealing with money in the thousands on a normal basis. The money is all notes… the smallest is a 5-er and the largest is a 2,000. The funny thing is that items in stores cost not-round amounts- like 498.50. But, they won’t give you that kind of change! So, like, today our bill at the one store was 10,133- and my change should have been 67, but I only got 65 back! It’s really weird to NOT get exact change back. But that is just the way it is…they just round it up or down.

Ah, one more thing about the grocery store… Joel was sad to see that a slab of his elixir of life (Coca Cola) was the same price as a slab of beer. 24 cans of Coke, or 24 cans of beer… same price, you choose. :) I suppose only Joel would be sad about this. As for the rest of the food- choices were adequate. Found some soy based products for me, but no soy milk, which stinks- although the lady that took us to the store reckons you can get it here somewhere. So will have to keep looking.

Well, I guess that is about it for the first day. I think I got down all the really important first day/first impression type stuff. The rest of the new teachers should be back on campus tomorrow (they are at a resort doing a new teacher thing for three days….we do wish we were there, but alas…).

I’m feeling pretty sleepy… might be time for a nap… J

A new beginning...

Finally. We're off tonight. My passport and visa came yesterday.

So, a new beginning... it's a big one for me... you know why? This is going to be the first time that I am going to live in the southern hemisphere! That is a pretty big thing, hey?

Obviously, there are going to be a lot of other new and different things to experience... but the southern hemisphere thing, pretty cool... :)

I think we're both very ready for this new adventure to begin... between the stress of the last couple of months (packing, moving, saying good bye, visas, passports, money (or lack thereof), etc) and this unexpected extended stay in Lisbon...we're both ready to unpack our bags somewhere we can call our own (at least for a little while!) and just relax a bit... even if we are about to start new jobs in a new place... there is still something to be said for being able to "go home" at the end of the day, no matter where home is.

So... see you on the flipside... :)

Q: Where ARE you Mara???

A. We're still in Lisbon. We were meant to be flying to Luanda tonight...alas, because my passport/visa is not here yet, we've changed our flights to Tuesday (there was nothing available on Monday), and await the arrival of my passport with visa on Monday.

This has been a crazy summer.... Madrid was fun, of course, but, I had to function in constant "on mode". I had to be mentally plugged in all the time...even when I was trying to relax, I was always thinking about the paper that was due on Friday, or the reading that was due for tomorrow, or, if it wasn't for the class I was in at the time, then something for the next week's class. Like I said, it was fun, and I don't regret any part of it (um, except *that* Thursday night), but it was stressful none-the-less.

After graduation, Joel and I made our way to Barcelona. I slept the whole way on the train (travel that is possible without a passport!). I napped later on in the hotel too... Joel even remarked, "You're just exhausted from this last month eh?" Yeah. I was.

Barcelona was cool. We didn't do too much one way or the other... we walked a lot. We went to the aquarium (my idea). It was cool, but not the best aquarium I've ever seen. We walked up and down the area know as "Ramblas" a lot. Lots of good people watching there. We went on walks without a map, unaware of where we would end up. It was good. And then of course, there was the day that we spent in the American consulate with me begging for them to do something for me to make me be able to fly to Lisbon. I am now the proud owner of a second passport. It expires in 6 months, and cost, well, a lot, but, it got both of us on that flight to Lisbon. Oh, and it cost a lot less than it would have cost for us to not take the previously booked flights, and get to Lisbon otherwise....

Now in Lisbon, the highlight so far has been the zoo, which we did today. We spent 5 hours there. I got to watch the monkeys (by that I mean chimps) for a while, we saw a bird show and a dolphin show. Joel got some good pictures of everything- I'll post some when I get a chance. We have also walked around a lot here, to the point actually, that one day, I just refused to get up anymore. All of my shoes had rubbed some part of my feet raw, my legs ached from any movement, it just wasn't happening- so I spent the day lounging by the pool and in bed reading. :) Very good. Am VERY sunburned from that day by the pool. Resembling Latvian flag (have worn a one piece bathing suit, you figure it out...). We have also seen a movie and eaten at the mall food court here in Lisbon. Grand eh? I know some of you must be thinking we've simply wasted our time here....but, I have to say, that I'm just too worn out to be a good tourist. We have walked through all of the old town here, and we went and toured the castle on the hill that overlooks Lisbon, so we're not worthless... but, honestly, our time here has been a bit more about trying to relax I guess.

Our hotel in Barcelona was meant to have a wireless connection, and didn't (it was down). Our hotel here advertised wireless- and it only costs 8euro an hour! (HUGE RIPOFF!!!!) So, we have been (as we are now) spending a bit of time in the McDonald's down the street from our hotel because they have FREE wireless. The other day, I heard myself utter words I basically never thought I would again, "Can we go back to McDonald's?" Luckily, McD's ice cream is so little part dairy, that I can eat it without digestive distress, so we've been doing the McFlurry and internet dates... oh, the life.

So, that is what is going on with me/us. We're not in Africa yet. If all goes as planned now, we'll be there early, early Wednesday morning. For what it's worth, I REALLY, REALLY wish we were headed out tonight! Orientation starts on Monday, and I am not excited about not being there for it. The school has been wonderful and, it seems, understanding dealing with us...but I feel like a heel anyway. It is all my fault that we're not getting there on time... and I just keep trying to tell myself that a year, or if I'm lucky, a shorter time, from now it won't matter...

Yeah, so, here looking forward to the next post coming at you from Luanda!

Oh, it's been a while...

...since I did my own hair color. Ha ha ha. I'm trying to be light-hearted about it, because the result is one that once upon a time I probably would have cried about or ran out and re-colored immediately. It's just really bold. Dramatic. Stripy. And the base color is pretty dark. Oh yeah... well... yeah. It is what it is. Ha ha ha. I miss Renars (my Latvian hairdresser) already. :)

Black and Blue

So, I'm being really clumsy lately. Or, I'm just having really bad luck, or something. I'm lacking grace in my movement through my environment, that is for sure.

I have a bruise the size of... oh man... (can't think of anything that all my readers will be able to visualize...). Well, I have a big bruise on the front of my left arm just above the elbow
from running into the door knob/handle of the bathroom door. See the thing is, this apartment we're living in is fine for what it's for (a month of just really needing a place to sleep and shower), but it's got plenty of "character" (for lack of a better word..). Besides the roaches, many of the floors and doors and doorways don't line up anymore. Most of the doors have to be slammed pretty hard to be closed because they stick- this is annoying because well, no matter what time of day or night, there are 6 other people in the apartment that might not really care what you are up to, and just go around slamming their door. Sleep gets disturbed to say the least.

Now, my bathroom door is one that sticks on the floor...there is just this one spot that you have to push it past (and push pretty hard at that) to get it open far enough to walk in.

A couple of days I kept forgetting, or just not exerting enough effort for some reason, and what ended up happening, is that I didn't push the door, but also didn't stop my body from moving forward, and ended up running arm smack into the door handle. The handle looks something like this the handle off to the right here. So, the end of that sucker just punched hard as anything into my arm. Ouch. And of course, it's not like I only did it once, I did it repetitively in a few days time, and it always hits in the exact same spot...so the bruise is really a doozy. The good news is that I am not a completely lost cause, and I have now learned to slow down a bit, and make sure I open the door all the way.

Now, my second story of clumsiness is worse, only because of the potential for damage. This morning, I was putting my backpack (with all my books and computer- yes, HEAVY) down on the floor, and it just slipped out of my grip. So instead of placing it on the ground, it fell, and landed directly on my big toe. That is, the corner of my computer landed directly on my big toe. I screamed. It hurt. I could barely walk, and my first statement was, "Thank God my computer didn't land on the floor!" I was very aware, that I would have rather broken my toe, than broken my computer. Is this a statement on something? I reckon my toe will heal itself for free- my computer will not! I took two painkillers immediately, and hobbled on to school. It's not broken, but the point of contact is evident. For now it looks like a deep wine stain- you can see that the bruise is deep- so it should progress into quite the doozy of a bruise as well. The good news is, as far as I can tell, my computer survived the fall without incident.

Stay tuned for more updates of the black and blue...

The Bug Report

So, my ole China chum the Dom Nem recently wrote a blog post called The Bug Report in which she let the world know about the bugs living in her apartment, and how she deals with them.

Well, unfortunately, I've got a bug report of my own. We never had bugs in this apartment last summer for the record. I mean, ants or mosquitoes or something I guess, but... this year....

We have roaches.


Vomit.


Yeah, it's gross. In the two weeks we've been here, I'd say we've killed 10. That means there are approximately 10,000,002 that we haven't killed.

Of course, we complained to the lady who handles the housing for us right away. Also, we cleaned the kitchen very thoroughly. Well, our landlady has been around numerous times spraying buttloads of chemicals into every corner of the apartment, putting out little roach traps (I don't know how they work- I'm assuming there is some kind of poison inside) and muttering to anyone who will listen about how the boys who were here before us were "muy sucio" (very dirty) which is what brought on the roaches.

One of my roommates CK has another theory, which I think makes some sense. Right outside our apartment there is a lot of construction going on- they are building an underground bus station I believe. So CK figures, the roaches used to live down there, underground...but now it's all loud and dangerous and stuff, so they've (literally) moved up.

So, that is my bug report. I have only had to kill one myself, because most of the time, all any of us has to do is scream a bit and CK will come running with a towel or a tissue or a shoe or something, and she'll take care of it. Brave woman that one. There have not been any sighting in my room so far (knock on wood!), so I feel ok about that. Let's just hope for the best.

In other news, our metro station entrance, starting TODAY (couldn't be two weeks from now, no, TODAY) is under construction and closed. So, we now have to walk waaaay down the block to get to the other entrance, and it's just a pain in my behind. Adds 5 minutes to our morning commute, easy. Phbbt!

In more exciting news, on Friday, I got my cap and gown and tassel and HOOD. Of course, when I got home, I tried it right on. I couldn't quite figure the hood out, but, I'm sure someone will help me with that when the time comes. I have to say, I was very proud. And I know I will feel very proud when I get to wear it in the ceremony in a couple of weeks. It's been an intense year this past year- and well, I have to admit that I respect education (good thing, since I'm a teacher, huh?) so I think it's a pretty big deal that I did this, and darn it, I'm really proud (did I already say that?)!!!

But also, I do have to say, the Masters' gown is sillier than the regular undergrad one. Funny sleeves and the hood... yeah, it's really silly looking. I remember thinking last year when I watched the graduation how cool it was that they were all up there...but then I remember thinking also that caps and gowns in all their silliness must really go way back, cause they are just plain funny looking! :) Anyway, I'll be happy to wear it anyway! :)

So, there you go...the bug report, plus a little more. 2 weeks/courses down, 2 to go!

Back in Madrid!

Yeah... life is good. :) I'm back in sunny, hot Madrid. It's beautiful weather, I'm with my old friends (yeah, the ones from last summer- I've missed em!), and I'm in the role of student, not teacher (sometimes refreshing...).

I have to say the only thing that I already miss about Latvia:

This morning, I had to get up IN THE DARK!!!! I thought someone was torturing me! I thought it was the middle of winter again or something. Of course, it was light just 15 minutes later, but still...it was not actually a nice way to start my first day in Madrid. Tomorrow, I think I will have to just get up later. :)

But now, I have lots of reading to do... so on with it! :)

P.S. I am aware that I may very well have to get up in the dark in Angola, and I will learn to deal with it no worries...

And so the end begins...

It's starting to feel more real (but not really) in the last few days...

On Thursday we had the last day of school with students. As always, it was a bit of a crazy day- lots of running around and making sure that everything is in place and taken care of before I'm out of time. It was a long but satisfying school day. As I wrote before, I shed a few tears saying goodbye to some families. After spending the whole year with these kids, it's hard to imagine that I won't see some of them next year as they step their first tentative steps into grade one. It wasn't always an easy year this year- in fact this class/year was trying in a way that I haven't encountered before now. But, nonetheless, it's sad to see some of em go.

Thursday night we had our staff party. That was a good time. As school tradition dictates though, official goodbyes were said. One of our colleagues said a few words about us (in fact, it went something like, "And now here's the good news... Mara and Joel are leaving!" -and everyone cheered!). We were presented flowers and presents. And then of course, we were expected to speak. It was my turn to say a few words on our behalf, so I went ahead and tried. Of course, with how up and down the last few years have been, it turns out now, that looking back, it's very obvious what was the larger purpose was in my coming to and being in Latvia. Sure, there were lots of lessons and experiences along the way, but I met Joel here, and I can think of no better reason or outcome to having lived through the last three years. I tried to say all of this- and actually I was able- but then I had to add at the end, that our colleagues were the bonus to having met Joel, and of course, I could not say it, literally. I just stopped, choking back the tears. I finally spit the word out, but with it came tears. There were quite a few wet eyes in the room after that- I guess not everyone is all that happy we're leaving. :)

Today, I had the first goodbye to dear friends. Friends and colleagues DC and LC + toddler + the bun in the oven leave for their summer gig tomorrow. They don't even get to come to our party. I didn't think about how hard it would be to say goodbye. But I realized when I was giving the first hug that these were my first real friends in Latvia. They took me in under their wing when I showed up in Riga all alone (and an emotional mess). They were with me through the ups and downs that were my life when HG was still around, and then I got to be there for their biggest "up" to date- the birth of the now toddler. I was the first person (aside from themselves and hospital staff) to hold him. He was only 5 hours old. Recently, I might have been one of the first to guess that LC was expecting again- not because I could see it physically- but because I know them and their life so well, that I *just knew* she was. It's hard to believe that I won't be around to hold this one when he's 5 hours old. So yeah, the one hug turned into many, and the third cry in two days.

After saying goodbye I finished packing up my classroom. I left what has been my space for the last three years (the room) empty, and (the cupboards) as organized as possible for my replacement. The last look in on those bare white walls and giant empty space was sort of chilling- again, just plain hard to imagine.

So here we are- it's the beginning of the end. It has begun. It isn't going to be easy to leave. It's definitely going to be a bittersweet goodbye. I'm not sure when it will even really hit me- when I leave for Madrid in a couple of weeks? When my time in Madrid ends, and I don't return to Latvia? Or will it be on take off to, or touch down in Luanda? It's hard to know with these things.

A new haircut!

I've been going long bob-short bob-long bob-short bob for years... it was time for something different! I took the plunge (those of you who know me well, know what a terrible wuss I am when it comes to my hair!) and got a new haircut. Should be zero maintenance, as is my requisite. :)

Straight on
(doesn't look soooo different from my norm)

From the side
(now you see the difference!)

Yeah, ok, so I know it's not like it's totally, totally different- but for me it's a huge change. And the good news is- I like it! :)