Bits And Pieces

A peek into the little conversations that make up my day.....
******
(In the playground as the kids line up after recess)

Me: Wow... Can you see how the male PE teachers line up ALL the boys' classes and have them on their best behavior with a mere whistle?
Fellow teacher: I KNOW- it's almost magic.
Me: I wish I could have one of those in my classroom...
Fellow teacher: A whistle?
Me: Naah, a PE teacher.
******
(On our way to class)

Hamza: Miss Mariam, isn't chocolate made from plants?
Me: Well, chocolate is made from Cocoa beans which come from plants, so yes.
Hamza: And you said plants take energy from the sun and store it inside.
Me: Yep.
Hamza: So when people say that chocolate makes you hyper, is it cuz chocolate takes the energy from the sun and stores it and then we eat it and become hyper?
Me: Not exactly honey! It takes a living plant to take the energy from the sun. Once the Cocoa beans are off the plant, they are dead. Chocolate makes you hyper cuz it has a lot of sugar in it, along with butter and milk, all of which give you energy.
Hamza (visibly disappointed): Oh.

Can you see what's he trying to do? Getting me to say chocolate is a "plant" so he'd quote me as he tries to convince his mom to substitute chocolate for some of his lunch veggies- the kid's a genius!!!
******
(As I enter the house back from school)

Mom: You look really happy today, had a good day?
Me: Yep, goody good.
Mom: So the kids stopped being crazy?
Me: nope.
Mom: You learnt how to control them?
Me: not really, no.
Mom: *raised eyebrows*
Me: Oh I'm just totally used to it now.

Adaptation. Pretty good stuff!!

******
(My first Ju-Jitsu class after coming back from Boston, as I hand Sensei Nadine- my instructor- her gift)

Me: This is my little contribution to your collection (her apartment is FILLED with little cuuute stuffed cows, she must have at least 20!!)
Nadine: AWWWWW, a cow!!!! It's SOOOO CUTE.
Me: Glad you liked it!
Nadine: are you kidding, I love it. It's adorable, it looks so cute and fuzzy- in fact, I love it so much I think I'm gonna call it "Mariam".

That'll teach me never to give stuffed animals as gifts!!!

On a brighter note, I'm happy to announce I have a new addition to my colorful collection of "happy dozes"- a VEEEEERY cute giraffe I got while travelling! You won't believe how cute it is.

Oh, and I'm calling it "Nadine":P

Long Live Mommies!

So this is how it goes. It's usually around 9-ish p.m. and I just got back from Ju-Jitsu practise and I still have to figure out a lesson plan for tomorrow. I spread all my books and teacher manuals on the dining table (for no real reason other than to give me a feel -albeit fake- of hard work and accomplishment:P) and then head to the computer room and start googling ideas for fun educational activities to go along with my lesson.

Ten explorer windows and 17 yawns later, I fall upon a great activity. It's just what I need, it goes beautifully with my lesson, it'll get the kids involved, and oops I don't have the materials it needs.

Mind you, by that time it's almost 10 p.m. and I can't go out to buy stuff and considering I leave to school at 6 a.m. next morning, that's out of the question too.

What is a girl to do in such times of crisis? Why, go running to mommy of course:)
It always goes like this:
Me (timidly approaching mom as she sits reading a book): "Mom, do we have a ball of yarn and index cards?" or "Mom, do we have a huge cardboard box?" or maybe "Do we by any chance have 100 straws?", and it gets worse "Mom, do we have any dead insects we can spare?"

Her first (and natural) impulse is to say something like: "No, but why didn't you tell me, I could've gotten you some from the supermarket yesterday"(Well except maybe for the "dead insects" request, in which case she'd settle for a stare that pretty much says- at best- "have you gone completely nuts?") I wonder why she'd think that!

Sighing, I retreat back to my mess, completely clueless as to what the next course of action should be. Beating myself up for this obvious bad planning from my part.
Then it happens. It always does. It's one of those things in life that you can always count on..
"Mariam, come here for a second... I know it's not exactly what you need, but would that work?.

It always does:)

Mommy is the most resourceful woman you'd meet. I can't remember the last time I heard her say: Oh well, that's that, it can't be done, not unless we get that thing.
As we get ready to quit, her mind is racing to think of alternatives. And it's in all aspects of her life, not least of which is the kitchen. Not having all the ingrediants available never stopped her from doing a recipe- nope, not my mom! The results varied in success- but was always a joy to witness!! (not necessarily taste ;p kiddin mom!)
I wish I can be like her when I become a mom.

Here's to my mom and all the mommies out there!
Cuz no matter how "macho macho" we think we are, we're never too macho or too old to go running to mommy every now and then:)

Life Is Good

Aaah, it's good to be back.
Not really:P

Well, I missed mommy and daddy that's for sure! I'm no longer used to staying for extended periods of time away from them, so 10 days did feel like a lot:)

But after my first day back to school today- I'm starting to think maybe I shoulda stayed for another coupla... dunno...YEARS?

It was such an awesome break! Being with my awesome sis:) I loved everything about it.. even the times when we'd cancel our plans for the day and just sleep in and spend it cooped up in her residence house giggling at the silliest things!

Can you believe she actually had an Exel sheet ready; where she devided it by days and hours and color-coded them according to different activities.
I found it hilarious- but useful! More than once you'd catch me staring at the PC screen and yelling at my sis: "Hey! it says here that now is our together time! Where are you running to? COME BAAAAAACK". (You'd think I'd take a hint, but no.)

Boston is very pretty; a stroll along the Charles River is sure to take your breath away (it sure did mine...). I loved it there, but I'm pretty sure I woulda had just as much fun no matter where I was. After all, it's really not the place that matters, it's who's in it. And I was with my sis, and I woulda been ecstatic no matter where. I know it sounds corny, but it's true:)

If you qualify as a family member (official ID required:P) or a friend (you just have to had given me chocolate at some point in my life!), you should've received an email from me with a link to some of the photos we took. If for some reason you didn't, just drop me a line and I'll fix that.

I'm not about to share every single thing I did or loved out there, but I'll just mention a few of the highlights:

1. Squirrels! Oh yeah, and lots of them too. Ah the excitment I got each and every time I saw a squirrel. Are they like the cutest things or what? Of course, in squirrel language, I'm preeetty sure I am known as the "crazy shrieking woman with a camera at our tails".
*innocent look* What? I couldn't help it!

2. Ice-cream. Oh My God. You have got to see the size of the ice cream scoop. It's AT LEAST 3 times the size of any ice cream scoop I've ordered in my life. I wanted to hug the ice cream guy! (not really, but you get the point:P) Boston is definitely the place to order ice cream (and get fat, but that's besides the point).

3. Smiles! Yes, strange people in the street nod and smile at you, and I just love that. I remember a few years back when we went to Malaysia, I was totally awed by how friendly strangers are to you. Everyone- and I MEAN everyone- in the streets smiles at you. I remember returning to Kuwait vowing to smile at everyone I met. Well, ummm, that didn't exactly go so well. Lets just say there were some "grave repercussions". So the plan was quickly aborted, naturally.
But now I'm inspired to try this out again, with a few necessary modifications. I will smile at every FEMALE I pass by and every male over the age of... I think 70 would be a safe bet, don't you think?

4. Meeting the islamic community and being called a "sister".
"How are you sister?"
"Can you pass me that please sister?"
"Who's the sister over there?"
In the muslim community, everyone refers to each other as "sister" and "brother". This may seem like a trivial thing to you, but believe you me, it does wonders. I was an outsider and all of a sudden I felt so welcomed and so integrated into the group, whether it was in the prayers or the daily Ramadan Futur they held. Afterall I was a "sister";)

5. My sister's cooking. My tummy started squeeking at the mention of that. She is like the best cook ever (but that's not the only reason I love you sis! I think:P). Be it main courses or desserts, she's got 'em all. I can rave about her dishes for ages... she actually made me Atayef from scratch!! Man, you gotta love this girl.
But of course it's her righteousness and strong character that I admire most, and what makes me aspire to spend as MUCH time as possible with her, no doubt about that. Ending up in the kitchen is purely "happenstance".

6. Life Is Good shop. This is absolutely the cutest shop ever. Everything it has is so colorful and adorable and I just wanna own the whole place! The good news is, you guys can stop worrying about what gift to buy me next time you see me-ANYthing from that shop would make my day! (For those of you thinking "What makes her think we were considering getting her a gift in the first place, let alone WORRYING about it"- I can only say: SHAME on you people:P)
My sis bought me a bunch of things from there before I left- is she an angel or what?

Oh I could go on forever spilling out my thoughts, but I probably shouldn't. I'd bore you to death and I'm no longer free as a bird! Lots of lesson plans to prepare.

Speaking of lessons and school. You might like to know that my cute little monsters are just as monstrous as I left them before. But they still make me laugh. I mean how can I not laugh when I'm trying to line them up and I'm so distressed and it's such chaos and this boy is punching this boy and this boy has his shoe off (you don't even wanna know) and then one of the boys yells:
"TEACHER, he says I am baloo3a".

You gotta give 'em credit. They are something!

Going.. going... gone!

In a coupla hours that is:)

Our awesome school gives us the last 10 days of Ramadan as a holiday (in addition to the eid break- aren't they sweet?), so I'm off to Boston for a long-awaited "sisterly reunion"!
sweeeet:D

I must admit though I'm dreading the actual travelling- 24 hours of travel! In includes a 10-hour stopover. Arghhhh...
Though my bro says Amsterdam airport is great, all I have to do is walk around the duty free shop and the 10 hours will fly! Let's hope that's true.

Today at school, the kids had a traditional "Girgai'an" festival! I must blog about that, it's really something! Maybe once I arrive, hopefully.

I know it's barely been a month since school started, and to many it may seem like it's way too early to be having a holiday- but trust me it isn't!!

The first month has been anything but easy, and I feel so drained. Desperately need to recharge! And what better way to do that than in the company of my sister?;)

Ta ta- for now at least!

My Happy Place

Everyone should have their personal "happy place"; that place where you can just sit and chill and not worry about anything. A place that gives you the tranquility that your hectic schedule never seems to offer. A place containing little reminders that your life is, in fact, great.


For almost a year and a half now, my room has been this place for me. (Back in Jordan, it was the breathtaking running track between the trees in the Sports City next to my home- no question about that).


Since day one here, I knew my room would be serving this purpose. I was having a hard time adjusting to my move back here, and my need for a "happy place" was as desperate as ever.

I filled the walls and cupboards with pictures of me back in college days with my best friends, of sisterly hikes and adventures, of my Fat Cat Peanut- basically pictures of the best days of my life, yet.

The walls were also filled with my selection of quotes; the funny, inspirational, philosophical or just plain silly.

Here's a few of my favorites...

"Luck never gives, it only lends"

"What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say"

"Nothing is too wonderful to be true"

"sometimes you're the windshield; sometimes you're the bug!"

"If only the finest birds in the forest dared sing, how quiet the forest would be"

And taken from one of the stories we read to the girls in Grade 1:

"I like who I am, I like what I do":)

No matter how I felt as I entered my room all through last year, one of the many quotes posted would surly relate in one way or another, and that made a difference to me.

Unfortunately, over the summer my parents had the rooms repainted, which meant all my things had to be removed and posting them again deemed a big no-no! (Especially that the "Magistick" thingie I used to stick them with, wouldn't budge when my mom tried to remove it and totally ruined the look of the walls and cupboards- Yikes!)

So I don't even have pictures of the walls back then to share.
However, over the course of last year, other little reminders were being added to my collection. As the photo above shows, these are drawings that my Grade One girls from last year gave me during the last week of school. They were the most adorable things, and each time I look at them I just unconsciously find myself smiling... little girls tend to have this effect on you!:)

Then there's my collection of tiny stuffed animals- that I proudly admit I will never outgrow!
The star of my collection has to be my tiny rag doll that I named: ZiZi. We have been through a lot together (yeah yeah go ahead make fun of me, see if I care:P)
Some of them I bought, some are from my friends, they are my colorful collection of happiness dozes! :)

The "Three reasons for teaching" is from my sis, you have NO idea how much this helped me through. Cuz no matter how bad I had it that day, it was refreshing to know I had all of June, July and August to look forward to! (I know life is unfair for you the "UNteaching class"- I never pretended it was:P)

I am a Harry Potter geek- and a proud one at that. You can see my prized collection, the first six books (waiting for the seventh! Come On Rowling!) on my desk. I have read these books, and reread them. I'm telling ya, this woman is a genius. Although, I am still suffering from emotional damage after reading her sixth book, she killed off SO many of my favorite characters- the heartless git.

Reading Harry Potter completely betwiches my senses, so that I am no longer aware of anything happening around me. All else is swiftly shed, as I turn the pages of the books. Suddenly my biggest worry becomes whether Griffyndor would win the House Cup this year or not! Or the score of the next Quidditch match.

Sooner or later though, I am forced to return to the "real world", where (sadly) there is no Dumbledore, food doesn't miraculously appear on the table, and well, I can't jinx the kids in my classroom with a "Shut-up curse" for at least a day!

Oh, well.


Aren't they cute?;)

Oh YEAH;P

Genius, pure genius.

To Bounce or Not to Bounce?

This week in Reading Class, I read to the children a story called "To Bounce Or Not To Bounce". It's a small book written by a Kuwaiti Author Naif Al-Mutawa. It's a very nice book that sends a simple yet very clear message of acceptance- of others and one's self.
This book has won him an award for International Understanding and an award for Children's Literature in the Service of Tolerance.
I really enjoyed reading it, and so did the kids!

After reading the story, I started a discussion with the kids on how each one of us has his own unique strengths and weaknesses. No one can be good at everything, or bad at everything either.
I asked them to think of one thing they are very good at and share it with the class, then think of one thing they are not so good at and share it as well.
I started, telling them that I was good at running, and sucked BIG time at singing- as in, if I start singing now they'd all be running outside the classroom!
For some reason, the kids found that hilarious and BEGGED me to sing (naturally I vehemently refused- I needed them IN the classroom:P)

It was fun hearing the kids' answers (both boys and girls, since I give reading to both). In one of the boys' classes, most of the boys said they were really good at "fighting". How scary is that, eh?
A lot of girls said they were good at cooking, which I found weird since I was under the impression kuwaitis never enter the kitchen! So it was a happy surprise for me.

One boy simply said: "I am not good at studying and school"- poor fella! Talk about low self-esteem. (But come to think of it, I did sense some pride in the way he announced it!!)

There was this one girl whom I've noticed since the first second of the first lesson I gave them. It was hard not to, when she keeps talking and jumping and has absolutely no respect for classroom rules- but in a cute kinda way!

She said she was good at gymnastics and wasn't good at math. Then she went on (without invitation) to describe how she feels inside the math classroom.
"I don't hear anything the teacher says," She shared. "I keep imagining myself jumping and running (at which point she actually started demonstrating this!) and thinking about what I'll do when I go home and what will my mom have prepared for lunch and what I'll be playing at home."

At that instant- I completely forgot where I am and that I am the teacher. THIS GIRL WAS DESCRIBING MY CHILDHOOD. Especially the part where you imagine you are jumping and running- I STILL DO THAT. When I'm forced to sit and listen to a lecture I'm always daydreaming and picturing myself JUMPING over the desks and out of the room- free to run with no worries!

"Oh my God I KNOW!!!" I exclaimed, "And you just want to jump and keep running and running, right?".

Obviously, that wasn't the reaction the kids expected from me- THE teacher!! I looked around and they were gawping at me, disbelievingly.
I quickly got back to my senses and tried to salvage things with a very lame "Daydreaming? food? jumping? running? shame on you. SHAME on you woman":P
hehehehe

Who made me a teacher again? and WHAT were they thinking!!!

Sleepless in Kuwait

Only in this version of the movie, I don't end up with Tom Hanks *sniff sniff* :P

I don't mind physical exertion- as a matter of fact I thrive in it. . Heck I might even tolerate lack of food! (okay that's a flat-out lie:P). But it's the lack of sleep that I can't do. I need those 7-8 hours of daily sleep, is this too much to ask?

Apparently it is.

Last night I stayed up till only God knows when checking homework assignments and exams.
Dull, tedious, wearing- these are all the words that come to mind when I think of checking assignments or exams.

I love teaching because it's so interactive, dynamic and challenging. But as it turns out not all aspects of it are! The classroom time with the kids definitely is. But as I sit here staring at the stacks of paperwork ahead of me, I know that teaching- not unlike everything else in life- has the good, the bad, and the ugly!

I'm not a coffee person; I've never tasted Turkish coffee (I do love its smell however and how it stays in the car for days to come after you buy some!), and when offered arabic coffee that "I must taste", I politely accept, then empty it on the nearby plant;)
I do love a good cup of latte however- but then that's mostly milk.

Desperate times call for desperate measures. I turned on my dad's coffee-maker last night and gulped a huge cup, which was a smart move since I know I wouldn't have made it through the night without it- I do love my sleep.

But hey, I'm no couch potato! Believe it or not, the weather here is starting to improve. In early mornings and afternoons you can even feel a soft breeze of -get that- FRESH cool air!
That only means one thing: I'm back to my running-on-the-beach routine. Yay!

I'm not really the reflective type. I'd rather be moving than sitting pondering life. I remember the one time I tried a Yoga class (my sis took me there)- I was doing pretty fine until they started "meditating". They drove me half-mad, I ran out of the room yelling like crazy (at least that's what I did in my head:P)
Running has provided me with the perfect alternative to a Yoga class! Running is my yoga. When I run, I'm my happiest. My thoughts are free to wander- as a matter of fact most of the things I wrote about through my life started to take shape during my runs. As my legs move fast, so are my thoughts. The rush of endorphins give me a decent 'high'- which never fails to refresh my spirits and my entire self. You would never find me in a bad mood after a run:)

These days my thoughts are less diverse, they mostly revolve around the little squirts. When you're teaching, you really can't "seperate your private and professional life". Those kids take over your entire life, in both the good and not-so-good sense:)

I guess you must draw the line somewhere. I might as well start now. I will stop writing about them and go get some sleep.
Ah, sleep. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.....
:P