Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Making myself feel better


Saturday morning, as i had to go to Mogamma and miss the race in the wadi (such a shame!! would've loved to be there with my children, especially that one of them got a medal!) i went and got myself a nice bouquet of flowers; and not any flowers, but my favourites: calla lillies!!
i had a long day on Saturday - i went downtown to MOgamma, then i had breakfast on Road 9 at Jared's bagels where i met Luke. We then decided to go and have coffee. So, we spent some time together talking about future plans etc. I then headed to school - although it was the weekend, i had a lot of things to do so i spent most of the afternoon there, tyding up, planning, listening to music.
Most of all, i was pleased wt the flowers i got after; Mish Mish was too, as he tipped them over a couple of times, so then i moved them to my room, on my tidy desk. :D
It feels like spring here, the trees are all blossomed and it makes me think of home, especially my dad - as we used to plant things in our garden dring this time of the year. I planted potatoes with my children for Science on Thursday, so that compensated a bit.

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Geting old ..er?

I've been wanting to write this post for over 2 months now and one particular moment today reminded me of it...
A few days before my bday i have discovered my very first grey hair; i was not too enthusiastic about it and tried my bet to hide it. I thought to myself: "a nice bday present for my 25th bday!". Anyway, there's nothing to do about it ... no point in crying about getting older or whatever ... I dont feel old, although grey hair is in itself a sign of being old.
Over the past week i have discovered 2 more grey hairs ... now i think it is time to dye my hair, as i've never done it. I guess i should consider it. I bet in 6 months there'll be more and more.
Now i should start looking into a new hairstyle and what colour to choose.

"Fighting with the windmills"


Life in Egypt is never boring... although according to Nichole we had a boring week; we did not do anything apart from going to school and back home (actually Kathy's home, as we've been house sitting). I was exhausted this week and didnt do much; just work and home. So, just to compensate, we went to McDonalds onThursday evening for dinner, just because we didnt know where else to go. :(
So, as i was saying... Egypt is not boring; i was suppose to go to a race today ... one that i've been looking forward to go since the beginning of March. Don't get me wrong, i was not planning on running for the big prize, but just being there with all the people only to be able to say i was in a race. In was a fundraising event for CCS. Anyway, i had to cancel that and go to my "favourite" place in Cairo - Mogamma ... again!!!!!!
I had arranged with Ehab to have an Egyptian man coming with me this time. So, Hany came- he does not speak any English, but this time i had a less traumatic experience that the previous ones. I just handed the papers and i'll have to go back in 10 days.
When i left the building (which btw, depresses me) i was at peace and i had a picture of Don Quijote/Quixote fighting with the windmills. Don't know if you've ever read the book or know the story; we have a saying in Romanian when you're fighting against something that is not worth fighting for because there is no way of winning and that is "fighting with the windmills" - just like Don Quijote.
That is how i felt like this morning - there was no point in fighting with them anymore or getting frustrated, because they still have their system, which is "no system" (quoting an Egyptian).
I chose to do it their way and left without any comments. I went to Road 9 for a bagel, met Luke then headed to Cilantro for coffee. Now i am at school, although it is the weekend ... i have loads of work to do! Nearly done...

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Too tired

Too Tired

I am too tired to trust and too tired to pray,
Said one, as the over taxed strength gave way.
The one conscious thought by my mind possessed
Is, Oh, could I just drop it all and rest!
Will God forgive me, do you suppose,
If I go to sleep as a baby goes,
Without an asking if I may,
Without ever trying to trust and pray?
Will God forgive you? Why think dear heart,
When language to you was an unknown art,
Did a mother deny you needed rest?
Or refuse to pillow you on her breast?
Did she let you want when you could not ask?
Did she set her child an unequal task?
Or did she cradle you in her arms,
And then guard your slumber against alarms?
Ah, how quick was her mother love to see,
The unconscious yearnings of infancy.
When you’ve grown too tired to trust and pray,
When your over wrought nature has quite given way;
Then just drop it all, and give up to rest,
As you used to do on a mother’s breast.
He knows all about it – the dear Lord knows,
So just go to sleep as a baby goes,
Without even asking if you may,
God knows when His child is too tired to pray.
He judges not solely by uttered prayer.
He knows when the yearnings of love are there.
He knows you do pray, He knows you do trust,
And He knows, too, the limits of poor weak dust.
Oh, the wonderful sympathy of Christ,
For His chosen ones in that mid-night tryst.
When He bade them sleep and take their rest
While on Him the guilt of the whole world pressed…
You’ve given your life up to Him to keep,
Then don’t be afraid to go right to sleep.

Poem

IF...
by Rudyard Kipling

IF you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
' Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,
if neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!


Saturday, March 14, 2009

Girly weekend

I had a relaxed weekend. Friday after church, me and Nichole sneaked out, just to be on our own. We went to TGI Friday's and had a huge burger each. We just relaxed there talking about things.
After that we went to Bronwyn's house as Kelli was cooking dinner for us: chicken curry. It was delicious - maybe a little bit too spicy for me. A bunch of people came over and we watched Slumdog Millionaire. Amazing movie!! I reccomend it to anyone who asks for a good movie.
Today was relaxed - we had Grace over for a manicure/pedicure session and we had so much fun! We listened to music - Disney and Jackson 5 :), Nichole did the twist, we had chocolate...


The fun part was painting MishMish's nails - he didnt enjoy that as much as we did, but Grace thought it would be fun and i agreed - just to kind of go back in my childhood when i painted Pity's nails with my sister. MishMish didnt quite like the bright red colour we had chosen for him, but he didnt have a choice! We all thought he looks kind of cool!! :P

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Beauty ...and i had a glimpse of it today

My favorite flower of all is the calla lily. I absolutely love it and i decided it will be the motif for my wedding (whenever that will happen!!).
As i was walking back from school today, i saw a man carrying a bunch of white calla lillies and i couldnt help not staring at them; he saw me admiring them and called me. He took one out and offered it to me.
It made me feel special and it made my week!! I dont see calla lilies very often in the shops here and i always thought of them as being very expensive flowers. Well, i guess God has given me the best present i could ask for, especially after my weekend adventure. I just wish someone will give me a large bouquet one day!

Monday, March 9, 2009

The most amazing adventure i have had so far in my life

Most of my friends see my life as being very interesting and exciting ... i have never considered it to be too special or out of the ordinary; i guess i am just doing what i love doing and following the paths that God is taking me to. Amazingly (or maybe not) it always seems to be a surprise ... God has a way of surprising me that sometimes scares me. I know it might sound like a cliche, but just as somewhere on my blog is written, God's ways are always unpredictable.Getting there
I had to travel back to Israel this past weekend for a renewal of my visa. I've done it before, so i had everything mapped out - i knew exactly where to go, how to get there etc. It seemed like a very simple procedure, although quite exhausting, having to travel by bus from Cairo to Taba during the night for 8 hours. After a busy day at school on Thursday and dinner with a family (the same family had me over for dinner before my previous departure to Israel - we thought we should make a tradition out of it) i managed to get on the 11 pm bus to Taba. John kindly drove me there. There were feelings of confidence and fright mixed up together ... but i somehow thought everything should work out. The main reason of my concern was the bus ride - as the Egyptian drivers have different rules than any other nation, or should i say no rules at all?
The bus ride turned out to be pleasant, mostly thanks to the pillow Nichole's mom has given me. They didnt play any Arabic music, as they often do, nor the Coran. However, i was ready to plug in my ipod, just in case... I was the only foreigner on the bus and one of the three women, which can be quite scary at times here, especially if you are culturally super sensitive. I didnt have a problem with that at all. I lowered my chair and slept the whole way through. I did wake up arund 2 am because the nature called ... Of course there was no place to go ... so i had to wait; my bladder is quite strong anyway.

"Mushkela" = Problem
Around 7 am the bus stops; what i thought to be one of the regular stops, turned out to be a flat tyre. That is when i said: "Now is the time to find a toilet!" We were in the middle of the desert! But not too far, there was a small security office and i stopped there and asked to use their bathroom. I entered this huge bathroom, with only a sink and a toilet that was not flushing; it smelt really bad, but i didnt really care. The need was increasingly forcing me to use that toilet. I thanked the men for letting me use it and headed back to the bus. At that point the bus driver had taken out his trousers and shoes and he was wearing some sort of pyjamas. He was trying hard to unscrew the "buttons" (or whatever they're called) in order to take out the wheel. Other 6 men made a semi-circle around him and were watching; this is the way things are getting done in Egypt: one man works, 5 are watching or worse, trying to give advice on how it's better to do the job. After half an hour, the driver seems to have abandoned ... he gets angry, calls people and doesnt quite seem to know what to do.

At the same time, people get off the bus and hitch-hike. I totally look like the stupid foreigner who doesnt know what to do and worse, doesnt understand a word of what they're talking about. Different ideas start running through my mind: should i hitch-hike? I've done it before in Holland, Norway ... it should be ok... but what if something happens? So, in the end i decide to stay on the bus. 45 minutes later a bus comes and this guy with really black hair peaks in ... and waves his arm, calling the remaining people. A bit confused i follow and then i understand that the company has sent another bus to take us to Taba. My little heart is all excited thinking i will soon be in Taba.

Panicking
Afer a couple of hours of driving, the bus slows down ... i look around saying to myself: "i do not recognise this place, it doesnt look like Taba to me!" Then, i spot a huge sign saying: "Nuweiba Port!" That is when everything in me started moving ... my stomach, my hair, my heart beating fast, my knees shaking and arms trembling ... I go to the bus driver and tell him i dont need to be in Nuweiba, i need to be in Taba! He looks at me with worying eyes... an tells me to get on the bus. he takes me to the main bus station and shouts from the bus to the man behind a counter that seemed like an official desk; he probably told him i need to get to Taba; so he sent me to talk to the man (it was the same guy with dark hair from earlier). Almost with tears in my eyes, i tell him i need to go to Taba, he goes: 11 pounds!! That thing just didnt help me at all! So typically me, i show him how indignated i am by saying: "I HAVE a ticket to Taba and i have already payed for it!! I do not see the need of paying again, as it was not my fault that the second bus driver took me to the wrong place!" At this point tears start coming out and i leave and go and sit on a bench. I burst out in tears, thinking of how lost i am and having no clue what to do next. I started calling people: Nichole, Heather, Wendy, John ... nobody answers, as it was quite early in the morning. In the end, Heather calls me back and i start crying on the phone. I was panicked, scared and feeling lonely. Heather tries to calm me down, which she managed in the end. I find out the next bus is in an hour, which is not that bad, but i kind of wanted something to leave right on that moment and take me to my destination. Then, Wendy calls and i start crying again, then Nichole calls and i start crying again.... You might think it sounds stupid, but i am a woman, and women cry a lot (especially me!!) ... Everything was kind of under control, but i just freaked out and felt really lonely and abandoned in the middle of the desert in a country whose language i do not speak (and refuse to learn it, according to Kelli). I have travelled to many places on my own, to countries and cities i do not speak the language of, but it always seemed to have worked out just fine.

At the border - Surprise!!
In the end i get on the bus and it takes about 1 hour and a half to Taba. I am all excited i am there. Now the next step is to just walk over the border into Israel ... it shouldn,t be too difficult i thought! Well, the Egyptian authorities kept looking at my passport; i went through 4 check points and they each looked at my passport for at least 5-10 min. I was too tired to talk to them or try to show them my previous visa ... I just stand in front of them without saying a word. They let me go in the end. Phew!!! i was out of Egypt! 2 more steps to Israel. I get to the border, i enter, they ask me about the purpose of my visit and have me waiting behind a group of Canadian explorers. It takes a while for them to check all their bags. One of them turns to me and apologizes for delaying me; i said: "i've already been delayed, so it makes no difference to me anymore!"

Surprisingly i was very calm and waited patiently for my turn. At last, the last Canadian hands in his bags to be checked! I am next!! During this whole time, part of the security personnel had taken aside one guy and were checking his stuff inch by inch. I had a short conversation wt hte Canadian man; he asked me where i'm from, being indignated by my accent; he thought i was from Wales. Suddenly, the security guards and all the personnel starts rushing towards us and shouts: "RUN, OUTSIDE, FAST!" The Canadian man tries to take his suitcase with him, somebody says: "No, leave it behind!" and they hurry us out through the emergency exit. We are taken outside. Everybody was worried and had no idea about what might have just happened. I assume they found something suspicious in somebody's bag. I call Heather to let her know about the situation. Kelvin aswers ... i try to explain things to him, when this Israeli security guard approaches me ... i get a bit scared, thinking that maybe i am not allowed to make any phone calls as that might be suspicius and i kind of imagine being taken away and interrogated. The man asks me if everything is alright.... I seem to be speechless for a second... i probably ended my coversation with kelvin without saying goodbye. I look at the guy and tell him i am worried because i do not know what is going on. He says: "It is only emergency procedures, so you should not worry!". Police came and other vans. They had us waiting outside for a couple of hours, but they kindly offered us water.

I try to read a few more pages from the book i have started that night: "The Shack". I am too overwhelmed and cannot follow the line of the story so i close the book. After a while we hear a voice through the speakers announcing us: "In a short while you will hear an explosion. Stay where you are and do not panick!" 3 explosions followed. 15 minutes later, the same announcement - 2 explosions followed.

In the end, they got us back to the gate and having to go through the procedure again, only this time asking if we have any guns.

I walked out relieved and taking the first taxi to the hostel. I get there, take a shower, run to the closest shwerma place, grab one, as shops were closing at 2 because of the Sabbath, and head to the Egyptian consulate. There i found out they are closed Fridays and Saturdays and open only on Sunday. Ruined my plans... but i did not have a choice - i had to stay in Eilat for another night and miss school on Sunday.
At least i got to go to the beach on Saturday after vegetating most of Friday in bed (or what was left of it) as i was exhausted!!
I will not give any details about the trip back, because getting there was already too much.
So... i guess this is another "story to tell my grandchildren from my rocking chair". Somebody told me once that my travels are always full of surprises and turn out to be an adventure.
In the past year i've been thinking a lot about writing a book one day, maybe when i retire ... i guess it might be sooner than that! Life is full of surprises! And that is what is so exciting about it - they come when you least expect it!

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Things that brighten my day/life

Some time ago we studied about Planets in Science and i decided to make the planets with the children out of balloons and papier-mache. Imagine 14 little monkeys presented with glue mixed up with water, balloons and newspaper. Our classroom looked like a jungle ... they were all excited, getting glue not only on the balloons but on their shirts as well and all over their hands.
At that point a little girl shouts out: "THIS IS AWESOME!!!!!!" "Miss Mocanuuuu, YOU'RE THE BEST TEACHER EVEEEEER!!!!!!!". Imagine that sentence shouted out from the top of a 5 year old's lungs. It did make me smile though!

Sunday, March 1, 2009

Needing time off??

I feel a bit overwhelmed in the past few days, just because our 10 day break has ended and i am back to school. I had a busy holiday, although very exciting and rewarding.
I got home yesterday at 5:30 after a busy day and staff meeting. I was very tired and went straight to bed for a short nap. I woke up around 7:30 for dinner (Nichole's mom made us chilli) and then the guys came over to play Settlers.
I thought i would do some work, but for some reason i didnt. I just feel tired and i cant help not worrying about this Thursday when i am travelling to Israel (again!), plus all the planning that needs to be done, plus reports to hand in next week. I had a hard time falling asleep last night because of all of these thoughts!
I just cant seem to figure out when i will have the time for all of that ... Actually, i am sure there is time, but as always i cant help not panicking, despite the fact i am aware that it does not help me at all. I need my "me" time and it has to be this week soon!!
ALrighty... now i should go back and pack lunch, as it is 7:30 am and i need to be at school in a few minutes!