Just Another Weekend

I was supposed to go to Palmyra this weekend, but the trip got cancelled, so I am staying home and doing mundane weekend-type things.

The commissary at the American Embassy got a new shipment in, so a group of us walked up there and invaded the place. A lot of the stuff you can get in Syria, but other things you can't or they are very expensive. The commissary can be spendy too since they have to ship all the stuff over to Lebanon and then truck it from there. It's a good place to pick up pork product when you so need a slab of bacon. I also get cat litter and food there. I saw this sign on the way there. It's my favorite sign here yet because Syrian's love to drive with one hand on the horn, one on their mobile. It drives me crazy! We decided that the Syrian pastime was seeing how close you can come to a pedestrian without actually hitting him. I seriously think they speed up when they seem people crossing!

I went out last night to the Marine Bar. It's not quite as exciting as Stockman's on a Thursday night, but what we lack in entertainment, we made up for in teeth and a high school education.

This next week is our BIG Harry Potter Halloween. This school goes all out. Since they don't have Halloween in Syria, it is the kids' only chance to have this experience. We are turning the school into Hogwarts, complete with Diagon Alley were the kids decorate their own brooms, wands, "Boo" bags, eat snacks in the Great Hall, play Muggle Quidich, and trick-or-treat (of course). I am going to be Tonks, so I'm tie-dying a Weird Sister t-shirt and tights, wearing my robe, and painting my hair pink. We'll work on the spikes, but I think my hair might be too long. Look for the pictures at the end of the week! Our director is going to be Dumbledore, and he wasn't' too happy to hear that he might be gay!

Wishing you all a happy weekend!! If you haven't registered with Google so you can make comments, please do. I miss hearing from all you!

Great Adventurette

Here I am looking oh-so outdoorsy! These rocks were beautful, but also very sandy. I didn't want my pants to get dirty. Nice picture though.

Look Over Jordan and What Did I See?

I'm back from my exhausting, yet amazing trip to Jordan. We took a taxi from Damascus to Amman, Jordan (which cost about $20 each) directly after school on Thursday, and spent the night in Mad'aba. We picked Allison's sister, Jody up at the airport. She lives in Egypt, and flew over for the weekend.

Our first day we visited Mt. Nebo, the sight where Moses saw the promise land. It is near the "Moses Spring" where he hit the rock with a stick and water poured out. We then drove down the rode a bit to the site where Jesus was baptized. The actual spot is now dry because of dams, but we did go to the river where they baptize people today. In the picture, I am getting water at this site. Right across the river is Israel. If you check out my Shutterfly, I took several pictures of this. It's the closest I'll come to the Holy land for quite awhile. Both sites were amazing. To think that I was standing where Jesus, John, Moses stood is beyond words.

Next we departed from our spiritual journey to hit the Meridian Hotel on the Dead Sea. We were all jonesing for a burger, so we went to "Champions" at the hotel. It was a spot-on replica of an American restaurant. I could have been at Chili's in Portland. We had the best nachos and burgers, then walked down to the sea. We didn't swim because we were so hot and tired from all the holy sites, and we didn't want all that salty residue on our skin. We headed south to Petra and checked into our lovely, Amra Palace Hotel.

I LOVED Petra. I actually didn't know what it was before, but if you've seen Indiana Jones, this is the place! It's a Nabetaen city that was carved out of the rocks in the canyons and hills of that area. The Nabetaen's were very ingenious and created aqueducts, underwater reservoirs, and beautiful carvings. The pictures don't do it justice. We actually stayed there one day longer than we'd planned. The last night, we slept in the desert in a Bedouin camp. It was the best night's sleep I've had in a long time.

It was a long trek home, but definitely worth it. We got back late Monday night, and had to be at work the next morning. I figure I can sleep anytime, but a trip to Jordan is a rarity. I can't wait to go back.

Will post my pics on Shutterfly ASAP!!

Whirling Dervish

You can throw a whirling dervish out of whirl, but how do you solve a problem like Maria? Isn't that really want we've all been pondering these many years. You probably could throw a whirling dervish out of whirl, but I don't think you'd want to. They might get tangled in their long robe and fall on you. That would be awkward.

Our PTA Iftar last night was really nice. The WD were pretty cool, but that's their only move (oh look, more spinning), so you wouldn't want to watch them for long periods of time. I am not sure how they do it without getting dizzy because they don't "spot" like a dancer would. They almost look like they go into some sort of trance, but then they stop suddenly without stumbling and falling like we used to as kids (or like an uncle Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named after too many drinkie poohs).

This weekend is there is a big party out at the Shell Club (as in Shell Gas). It's supposed to be the nicest one of the year, besides the galas. I'm just going because I heard chicken fajitas, and when they mentioned margaritas, they didn't hurt matters either. It's out in Mezze which is sort of a suburb of Damascus where a lot of Shell employees and other well-to-do people live.

And...can't leave a blog without mentioning cats! Habibi is back. The vet and I enticed her back in with canned cat food and mother's guilt. The vet went to Lebanon this week and picked me up a scratching pole and some little toys. Lebanon must look like one big Wal-Mart because people are always saying, "oh, I'll get that next time I go to Lebanon". Anything not found in Syria is sure to be in Lebanon. Anyway, Habibi is back, ready or not.