It has been a few weeks since I wrote a post, but things have been extremely busy here. We are down to the last little bit of our time here for this year, and I can't believe how fast it has gone. I leave Saturday morning for the US and have a quick stop in DC for a conference till Friday, and then I will be back in Chicagoland. Ryan will be here till the 26th, and then he will join me back. Our time has gone by so extremely fast, and we have gotten to do a lot of incredible things that we haven't done before.
We got back from Nepal and Ryan was off on two different trips for athletic director conferences. He has gotten us into a new conference at school, which will provide new places to travel too, and better competition for our talented athletes. He had to leave the Wednesday after we got back to go to Dubai, and then came home Friday and left again on Saturday for Jordan.
On Mother's day we were able to keep our tradition of going to the horse races alive by attending some horse racing here at the hippodrome. We went with Alex, Cori, Iman, Jared and Annie to try our luck on the ponies. It was slightly different than in the states, for one thing the horses race around the track the other day. Another difference is there were no odds when you were betting, you found out after what the odds were. Ryan won in the first three races, but even when he exacta boxed the winner and second place, it only paid out 5 bucks on a 5 dollar bet. Also, one other difference is that you walked across the track to get to the stands, so at first we had to wait in the middle during a race.
Last weekend was Gretchen's birthday weekend. Friday night we went to our new favorite place, Rooj, on top of a hotel in Hamra. It is a quiet outdoor venue, with a pool we get to use for free. Then Saturday we went to Pangea in Jiyeh. Pangea is a beach club just south of the airport. We snuck in our own food and drink, because were smart and classy like that, so that helped with the cost. Saturday was really quiet and relaxing. We had a bungalow for the four of us, with a outdoor patio that we were able to hang out on all night. We were able to swim in the Sea and watch the sunset on the beach. Sunday was a whole other ball game. Sunday apparently is the big day for the beach clubs. It was a radio party, filled with techno music, absolut vodka and red bulls, people reserving seats at the pool bar, girls in heels and leggings, jewelry and their bathing suits, lots of hilarious tattoos, a guy in a captain's hat and other amazing people watching adventures.
This past weekend was no different. Friday night we went to Music Hall, an outdoor music venue right on the water. We were with 8 other people, including Iman, Cori and Alex and enjoyed music from around 11 pm till 3 am. Each band would come out, play 3 songs, and then be done. There would be music in between each act as well. Some highlights were a reggae band, a Tina Turner impersonator, some Syrian men singing with some cane dancing, a woman singing Disney songs and so many other artists. It was one of the most fun nights here. Saturday we had another great night. I threw a bachelorette party with my friend Cori, for our friend Annie, and then a friend who came in for the weekend, Lisa. Lisa and her now fiance - as of Thursday, lived here the last few years and are friends with Alex and Cori. We added her to the festivities after she got engaged on the Corniche Thursday. Ryan went out with the guys for Nick and Jared's bachelor party. For the girls, we started here, and then went to a few different great places in Gemmayzeh. Ryan and the guys were at the Casino at out in Jounieh. All in all, an extremely fun night.
It's finals week here, and I have my juniors taking their final tomorrow. I am so proud of how hard they have worked this year. It has been incredible learning this new curriculum. I can't believe how fast the year has gone, and how many places we have been this year. We were able to go to Cyprus, Jordan, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Austria, Turkey and Dubai this year alone. I never could have imagined all the incredible people we would have met either, some great friends that have taught us so much. I am excited to come back again next year and do it all again.
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| Music Hall Entrance |
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| Music Hall stage |
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| Outdoor seating area |
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| Sunset in Jiyeh |
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| The Pool |
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| View from our bungalow |
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| Hilarious jeans |
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| Why so serious tattoo |
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| Awesome tattoos |
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| Annie and Jenny |
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| Whole group at Music Hall |
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| Full group shot of all the ladies |
