Relocated

WE HAVE MOVED!!!!

Here is an excerpt from my journaling of life in a new city. We moved from the outskirts of a major coastal City (7mil people) to an ancient city that is landlocked and steeped in traditions. Enjoy as you read:

"Today the phone guys were supposed to come at nine o'clock in the morning. This meant that my super-messy, just being moved into apartment, would need a little sprucing up if the repair guys were going to be able to find the phone jacks in the first place. Fortunately I awoke early (unfortunately because of a stomach ache) and managed to get the dishes done (by hand in a shallow sink), and the table cleared by nine. Of course, it was fruitless to assume that the workmen would actually be there at nine, so I thankfully continued to clean and arrange "just one more thing" right up until they arrived. Since they didn't show up until two o'clock in the afternoon, this meant that they arrived to a house with nearly everything unpacked and put away, swept up, washed up, and were greeted by a very tired hostess. I'm glad to inform you that the stomach ache is gone for the moment, but seems to have moved on to my daughter - I am sure it is just the adjustment to the new amoebas in the food/water here.

Yesterday I took one of the girls with me to the local fruit and veggie stand - she wanted to buy lemons to try out a new lemon-juicer that some friends were loaning us... we got lemons and lots of other fruit and veggies, and both got to practice our French and Arabic. In fact every evening for the past few days I have taken one of the kids, to the hanut (tiny convenience store about the size of a walk-in closet) across the street from our building, and let them practice their language in ordering bread for our evening meal. It is so nice to get fresh bread every day - plus, when the elevator is out, which it seems to be regularly, we get lots of exercise running up and down four flights of stairs.

Tonight we got to visit friends and hang out. It was a relief to have grown-ups to talk to and a chance to use the internet, although it is a bit tricky to be social while surfing the net... Can't wait to get internet at my own place. Partway through the late afternoon the kids had finished watching a movie and needed to run off some energy... There is a nearby grassy area and they headed out with the dad of the family while the mom and I sat, drank tea and did some girl talk. We did get to peek out the window at them and we caught them stopping to buy toys from a street vendor (like those punching bag balloons on rubberbands, but stretchier, looking like sea urchins, and flashing bright colors each time you "punch" them). When they returned with red-stained fingers and lips, we surmised that they had also eaten some fresh berries from a local fruit vendor (...lets hope there were no new friendly amoebas on them!).

Later in the evening our friends' house began to fill up with teenagers. Almost all of them were either current or former students of mine. It was like a parent's night but without the parents - all these students of mine out of control in the same room together. Thankfully they all agreed that they liked me as a teacher and as a fellow hanger-outer-pizza-eater. We got along well.