So... we have to open another KG class for next year. I'm thinking he hasn't hired anyone yet, but before I said anything to the director, I thought I'd ask if you were interested...? It could be 1st if a 1st gd teacher moves down instead.
When I woke up that day, my agenda was to go pay the deposit on the new apartment I had sign on two days before. I was considering going to see my grandparents before heading to my favorite HEB to get groceries. I also needed to get the oil changed on my car. I was positioned to team lead third grade in my small neighborhood school.
Today as I wake up, my agenda is to go to the Khan with a few girls. Then tonight is church (on a Friday night) and a birthday party. In between I watch the internet to observe the political chaos that surrounds me. I need to walk to the market to get very few things for this week so I don't have a kitchen full of food while I'm traveling for the summer. I am a week away from finishing my first year in kindergarten.
So life is different - more different that I could have expected when I woke up a year ago today.
I've learned how to:
- Direct a taxi in Arabic - for the most part.
- Walk down the street fully aware of my surroundings without making eye contact with anyone.
- Shop/cook/eat seasonally.
- Make products that I used to get from a can.
- Shop in bulk for six months at a time.
- Not panic in traffic or close calls in cars.
- Divide by six faster than ever before in my life.
I've also learned:
- There is a big difference between a good and a bad airport.
- How to go through intense security in airports while remaining calm and cool.
- There is a LOT you can live without - and not miss it too much.
- Good food is more important to me than I thought.
- The world is not a black and white place - no matter how much you want it to be. You learn to live in and love the gray.
- The importance of a peep hole.
- How to avoid and stand up to annoying nieghbors.
About People:
- Friendships can sustain and grow - even over great distances.
- People from your same country can be just as foreign to you as people from other countries.
- People put up with a lot from me - and I am thankful for it.
- You can build amazing friendships very quickly.
- Chivalry is not dead. There are still men that know how to protect, honor, and look out for women. They just live overseas.
About America/Americans:
- There are great advantages from being America. Despite what I am about to write, I'm thankful for being a first world brat.
- America is not the greatest country in the world.
- Americans can be arrogant and frustrating.
- American politics are just annoying. Egyptians don't play. They make November look like a trip to Disney World.
- American media/entertainment do more to hurt the image of American women around the world than help it - at least in this part of the world.
- American women need to put on more clothes.
About church:
- Having the choice of which church you worship with is a luxury.
- Churches can thrive knowing the difference between unity and uniformity.
- Churches can honor different traditions and still keep the most important things important.
- Diversity makes the church a better place.
About the world:
- Traveling is the best way to learn about people and yourself.
- Every country and culture has something beautiful to take away from it.
- People are so much more alike than we are different.
- We are better people for getting out of our bubble. It challenges us and opens our eyes to the needs of those around us. It makes us aware of the larger story and forces you out of yourself. The more stamps in your passport, the less selfish you become.
1 comment:
The "They just live overseas" comment is offensive and inappropriate.
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