mid-terms and a short quarter....

Seven and a half weeks makes up the third quarter. This is a time period of no breaks outside the weekends and I'm at the midpoint and sick of it. School life has brought me a greater understanding of the human condition and how we're not all that different. High school is not easy regardless of where you are in the grand scheme of the school. Teachers and students are getting tired, fussy, and it makes things a bit rough...such is life.

milestones in kilometers...

Ariel hit 1000 km today. She's due for her first check-up. Pictures to come.

simple pleasures...

I found wild cherry pepsi today at the big grocery store today. This was the first time I had found the stuff here. First time I've had the stuff since I left the States. Simple pleasures are great!

happy everything...

It’s Fat Tuesday and this country is Muslim…with a small Christian and Catholic population (almost all ex-pats). Religion is such an interesting thing. The government here is not entirely controlled by religion, but many of the government practices are. Ramadan was a major example. By law a person could get into trouble for eating or drinking in public during daylight hours regardless of the person’s religion. We also get certain days off because they are Muslim observances (Eid celebrations and Ashura are the big observances that we have off).
So, now we are entering the Christian ‘holy month’ (that lasts 40 days) and there are no concessions for the Christian and Catholic population. Not terribly surprising but I just find it interesting.

put to the test.

I came into work today with the news that one of my students had died over the weekend. He fell asleep and never woke up. Other than that, I have no details. Now, normally, I'm ok with death. If it's a family member that passes, I'll have a cry and be ok.

But what do I do when it's one of MY STUDENTS. A 9th grader! one of MY 9th graders. I'm strong for my students, but I think this has made me realize just how much I care about my students. I've cried twice, in school, over some of the class work journal entries of the student that died. Tomorrow, I'll have the class that he was in. That will be rough. I know it will be. My students in that class know it too. This has just been one of those days that you never expect.

Sibling Rivalry...

Couple of pictures AT the causeway that connects Bahrain to Saudi Arabia and this is as close to Saudi Arabia as I ever want to be. and you may notice some light'ish land'ish looking near the horrizion--yeah, THAT'S Saudi Arabia.

Just another sunny day in Bahrain...

Ok, this is another of Sarah's shots taken on the day that we went to the Tree of Life. We were following Rhonda and Beth all over the Island in Ariel because we also had Laurie (5 people in one car would have been a little too friendly for anyone's tastes).

Help! ...not just a good Beatles song...

Sarah and Laurie at the sign for the Tree of life... yeah, my inner monologue is playing Beatles tunes and this seemed like a good picture to go with the inner playlist. Just a reminder, the Tree of Life is in the middle of nowhere in the desert, Bahrain.

not quite a pin up girl...

me, and ariel... in the desert.

my local mosque...

This mosque is right around the corner from my flat. On occasion I can hear the prayer call from my flat. The Arabic above the door says "God is good".