Bahrain

These last few weeks have been flying by. The volleyball season just ended and we went out big. The girls worked do hard this year, and most were new to the sport. We only practice a few hours a week but the girls improved so much. They were an incredible group to work with, always positive and cheering eachother on. We didn't get to play a lot of games because not a lot if schools here have girls volleyball but we did end the season with our conference tournament on Bahrain. From last Wednesday to Sunday Ryan,Andrew and myself took the jv girls and boys to Bahraib. There were 20 9th and 10th graders. These students were incredible. They played so many games in the three data and were meeting lots of new people too. I love how many friends they all had after the weekend. Bahrain was interesting. We went to a Hard Rock Cafe and the mall most nights for dinner. The country seemed sterile, lots of sand and white buildings. The water around the country was pretty though. The tournament was a success with the girls getting third and the boys getting second. 

This week has been busy. Sunday we came home and celebrated Ryan's birthday up at Nabils. Monday we celebrated Michelle's birthday. Tuesday we had dinner at our headmasters house with the American ambassador, some staff of ACS and staff from the embassy. Wednesday Ryan had a dinner for a coach that was retiring. As I write this he is packing to leave for Jordan tonight for Academic Games. I'll fly and meet him there Saturday to go see Petra and we will be back Sunday night. Crazy.

 

Greece, Bangkok and Rome

Over the last few weeks we have had the chance to travel around, which has made October fly by. For the Eid, we were off for a week, and we headed off to Athens and Santorini. Santorini was at the end of the busy season, so there were still people there, and it was still gorgeous weather, but not nearly as crowded as it is in the summer. We stayed at Kamari Beach, which is a black sand/rock beach from the volcano. We had the chance to rent a car there and drive the very small island to the Red Beach and to Oia and Fira. Oia is the famous place to watch sunset in Santorini. It has the white houses and blue roofs. We found a restaurant on a rooftop at the tip of the island, and were able to walk in and get the best table do to a cancellation. It was really incredible. We had a lot of great food, but mainly just relaxed on the beach.

After coming back, Ryan and I both had different conferences to attend. Ryan had an athletic directors conference in Bangkok. He managed to ride a lot of different methods of transportation while there, including a scooter taxi, which I imagine looked hilarious. I'll let him write about his trip more later.

I was presenting at the IB conference in Rome. This conference was for IB Schools in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Over 1300 people attended, with most being Heads of Schools, Coordinators, and principals. There were a few teachers as well, but Gretchen and I were definitely in the minority. This process started last October when we submitted a proposal to present at this conference. We found out in March we were accepted and then we finally got to go in October. We presented on work that we have been doing in our classes, including building rapport with students, making sure the lessons have meaning, reflecting on our teaching and making sure the students have mastered the content. It was a really great experience to work with Gretchen putting this presentation together. We also had some time in the evenings to go out and celebrate in Rome. We enjoyed eating and shopping and managed to come home with some new bags and shoes.

This week we have a full week of school, and with our homecoming festivities on Friday. Ryan has planned a lot of activities, including a pep rally, swim meet, volleyball matches and rugby on Friday. Saturday there is a Cross Country meet and a halloween fun run, as well as a street fest and fashion show. Luckily, we have Monday off for him to recover!

Clothing exchange, hiking and farmers market

 The last two weeks of school have been extremely busy, but we are settling into a routine. Jv volleyball has been going well. The girls are really excited to learn and play. I was able to sit on the bench for the varsity game this week, which was fun to do again. 

Last weekend Gretchen and I put together a ladies brunch where everyone brought over clothes or accessories they no longer wanted and we shopped through each other's things. It was do much fun and everyone walked away with some great items. The leftover clothes we are taking to donate to refugees here. I am running a clothing drive at school to help the many refugees here. Sunday we went with Phil, and our head of school and his wife to hike in the Qadisha valley. It is so beautiful in the mountains and nice to get out of the busy city. 

Thursday some friends had us over to learn how to cook Indian food. It was great to learn two new dishes and we had a lot of fun hanging out with a great and interesting group of people. 

Saturday Gretchen and I went down to the farmers market. As soon as we walked up we found limes, which is not easy to find here, and they were really cheap, so that was a real score. We spent the day there and then to Cle, which has a beautiful patio to relax on. 

Today we had brunch and were able to watch a motorcycle parade, which was cool to see all the different bikes. The parade was probably about 10 minutes long, and there were people with sidecars. 

Back in the swing of things

The first week of school has come and gone and was a success. It was great to see all the students again. They all had amazing summer travel stories and seemed so much older. I'm teaching a new course this year called senior seminar. It is for our grade 12 students who are not in the ib or lb programs. I am really excited about it and the students are a few that I've had before or that I know from last year. 

Yesterday Gretchen, Margaret, Jane and I went to Palm Island off the coast of Tripoli for the day. We were able to lay on the beach and swim in the Med all day. We came back and headed out to dinner with Ryan and Mike. Ryan had been busy Friday and Saturday with all the ADs from our new conference that the school is in. They were working on the traveling and rules for all the sports and activities. It sounds like there are going to be a lot of amazing trips for the students this year. 

Today Ryan, Mike, Phil and another ad went up to the mountains for a Hannibal race, a 7k with obstacles. I haven't heard how it went yet, but I'm sure there will be great stories. 

The weather is still really hot right now, and humid, but it has been getting a little better the last few days. It'll be great when we can still layout at the end if October though. Last night it rained in Beirut, which was strange because it doesn't usually rain till the winter. Rain is needed here since we are facing a water shortage. The generators have been working overtime too here. Instead of just once a day, it is about three times a day for three hours we lose power and have to go to a generator. 

L'autre Bistro, one of our favorite restaraunts. 

Year 2!

We are back in Beirut after a whirlwind summer. We landed Saturday night at 8:30 and our favorite taxi driver was there to pick us up. It was so fun to see him, and he was excited to see us. The drive from the airport to our place was nostalgic. I was remembering coming a year ago not sure what everything was, or how it would be here. I was so comfortable on this ride, the familiar sounds of horns honking, cars weaving in and out of traffic "lanes", the sight of the buildings and the people reminded me why we love living here in Beirut.

We got to our apartment to find that we have new living room furniture, which was wonderful. No more wicker living room furniture for us, moved up to real couches and nice tables. We went out right away to get some food and see some of our favorite Lebanese people. It was great to see the same places still open, and the same people still working there.

Sunday Ryan had his admin retreat up in the mountains, so I tackled the unpacking, cleaning, and setting up the new furniture.  I then went out to my favorite hommus place and picked up lunch. It was what I was waiting for all summer long, and it did not disappoint. I stopped by a few other little shops and talked to my favorite store owners. I had a nice chat with our concierge and his family about their summer. Going for a run was nice, but I forgot just how humid and hot it is to run here at this time of year.

Sunday night we headed out to get our favorite veggie burgers here and for a nice long walk around the city. There are a lot of people here on vacation right now so the Corniche was packed with tourists.

Monday I went to check on an apartment for some of our new hires, and then headed off to the airport to pick them up. Seeing them coming in was another great reminder of us last year, jet lagged, a little overwhelmed, but excited. It is crazy how much of a veteran you feel like after just one year here in Lebanon. Monday night we met up with Phil and Nick, the middle school principal and assistant principal. It is so much fun to hear what everyone did all summer.

New teacher orientation is this week, and I am helping with that. Next Wednesday teachers all are back to work, school for kids starts the first of September. I am really excited to see the students. I did get to see one student randomly at the airport yesterday, Bashar, which was fun.

This summer Ryan and I had a chance to see a lot of family and friends. The summer seemed to fly by. We were "home" for two months, but a lot of that was traveling around. We went to a baseball game in Cincninatti, I had class in DC for 4 days-my last class before my dissertation,  headed to Raleigh to meet up with Alex and Brenda for a great OAR concert, went and camped on the outerbanks, had lunch with Ryan's Aunt Margerite in Baltimore, went to a play and a Yankees game in NYC, and  camped at the Finger Lakes. We went to Niagara with my mom and Tom for some great sight seeing, a little gambling and a lot of fun.  We went to Boston and met up with a Beirut colleague Lucia, and saw Liverpool FC play vs Roma. We got to be a part of Tysen and Earl's wedding in Connecticut and hang out with Ryan's family, including my amazing niece and nephew. We went to Colorado for my dad's family reunion for a week of hiking and catching up with family. We got to see my brother and his wife's new home, and I camped out in the backyard with my nephew, which was hilarious. We got to hang out with my sister, an incredible teacher herself, who was busy preparing for her new school year and her new courses. Finally, we went to Ireland to see Ryan's grandparents home country and take in a lot of green space. I am exhausted just typing all of that.

This year we have a lot of traveling scheduled already. In October Ryan will be in Bangkok for a conference, and Gretchen and I will be presenting at an IB conference in Rome. We will be traveling with sports teams to Bahrain, Dubai, Sofia, and more. I am excited for the new school year to begin!

Mt Evans

Ryan on top of the world Mt Evans

Ireland Aran Island

Blue sheep

Ireland

Ireland

Ireland

Ireland

nyc

Niagara Hornblower

My mom and Tom and us in Niagara

My Mom and I