Mmmmm!!! Kunafa

I love kunafa!!!!! I've always eaten it as a very sweet dessert....which is totally fine. However, here it's more like a snack. It's nowhere near as sweet as I'm used to and the center is filled with a cheese rather than a cream or custard. The kunafa man at the mall makes it fresh, right in front of you. You let him know how sweet you want it. You also choose your toppings. I just wanted a dusting of pistachios on mine. The man next to me had the kunafa man put honey, pistachios & coconut on his. The whole process took about 10-minutes. What a treat! I had no guilt eating it. It really was nice to eat the real thing.

This week was a good one. School is going great! I really love those kids. So many funny things happen everyday. I really should write them down. My one regret from working in the Memphis City schools is that I didn't write down all the hilarious things the kids would say. Well, the kids here are just as funny. Every Thursday, the last day of the week, if their behavior was excellent all week long, I throw them a popcorn party. I just pop 3 bags of popcorn in the microwave and divide it amongst them. They think it's the coolest thing. Well, one girl brought soda this week. One of my students, the one who doesn't like sitting under the fan because her father told her she will catch a cold, came up to me to let me know that her father also does not allow her to drink cold things. "More for us!" I told her. Well, when I was passing out drinks, sure enough, she came up & got a cup. Good for her! What a rebel! The drink was hard to resist because it was a strawberry soda, similar to Fanta or Shasta Strawberry but by a brand called, Miranda. I was hesitant because I did not want them spilling in the classroom. Well, we made it to the end of the day fine. No one spilled. Then, as we were packing up to go home, I hear a gasp. I turn around and red Miranda has spilled all over this girl's desk, onto her seat and onto the floor. My favorite kid in the class, named Hussein, was standing like a deer in the headlights. I knew he caused this catastrophe. Turns out as he was putting on his jacket, his arm hit the cup. The girl had the cup on her desk because she was saving the soda to take home for her little brother. "Are you kidding me?" I asked her. Who saves their soda for hours just to take it home to their little brother? Anyhow, I had about 25 helpers eager to clean up the mess. I'm hoping when I go in on Sunday there are no ants! My new rule...no more drinks allowed in the classroom & no saving of drinks for family members, friends, enemies, maids, etc....

On Tuesday I received an urgent message from one of my student's mothers. I had to call her back immediately. It was so urgent!!!!!! This is the mother that complained to me that her son's backpack was too heavy causing him to fall off the school bus. So, during my break I went to the office to call her. Well, she had to speak to me right away because she was going to be traveling for a week and wanted to let me know. I thanked her for letting me know. Then she told me that she wanted to let me know in case her son (who is 8) would be crying all the time. She also wanted me to not yell at him or give him too much homework. Was she kidding me? I was very nice & told her not to worry. The secretary was laughing as she overheard the conversation. Apparently she hears this stuff all week long. Well the kid didn't even come to school Wednesday or Thursday. I guess he was too distraught! Very bizarre stuff I'm dealing with.

We'll be having a Valentine's party in our class on Sunday. The kids have no idea what Valentine's Day is. I explained it to them. The boys one by one raised their hands to inform me, "Miss, I will never marry a woman!" They were very serious about it too. I told them they would change their minds & I would love to come back in 20-years to see who the heck they ended up marrying! All the girls just giggled. They are already planning their weddings. One girl shared with me who in our class she was already planning to marry - the nerd who falls off school buses and can't come to school when mommy is away.

For the party I promised to make them red velvet cupcakes with chocolate frosting and pink sprinkels. Done. They are so excited. They are each planning to bring in some sweets and some have told me they've made Valentine's cards for everyone. One girl told me she and her mother bought me a gift. Can't wait. In LA I worked with upper calss people. For the most part they never gave me a simple thank you or a gift or if they did it was junk. There were some very nice & special families that always showed their appreciation, I must say. In Memphis.....well, I don't have anything good to say about that place. A funny story about Memphis, though. When I let the kids know we'd be having a party for Halloween, my 1st party with them, the #1 question to me was, "You bringin wings?" When I said, "No." They then would ask, "How bout Doritos?" That was also followed by a, "No." They cracked me up. To them a party had wings & chips!

Scott has been working late all week & all weekend. Some big project. He's not allowed to discuss his work with me & I do my best not to ask. The wives here are trying to start an organization for the families here. Mainly, it's to keep the families connected. It's hard when you're overseas and away from family & friends. So, making connections is very important. There's an equal mix of couples and families with kids here. The families are increasing now that children have been allowed to come back here. They had stopped allowing spouses and children for about 4-years. Then November 2008 they started allowing just spouses back & then they allowed children as well. The Child Development Center has opened and a friend of mine is running the youth organization for kids in grades 7-12. I've seen a huge increase in the number of families here now just since we arrived in October. There are also so many dogs here. We've run into a few labs and other breeds. Benny always enjoys making new friends. We're still working on gettting to use the baseball field as a doggy park when it's not in use. We got the thumbs up from the Admiral, but the man in charge of the field has given a thumbs down. So, we'll have to wait and see. Benny and the other pups really need a place to run around. There is nowhere to run around in our villas. All we have is a courtyard. No real yard.

Benny's good. We take him for rides with us whenever possible. He loves sticking his head out the window & letting the wind blow his ears! He's almost jumped out of the window when seeing a cat. He really wants to catch one of those stray cats! He's as dramatic as ever & didn't eat the first two nights Scott worked late. That kind of stuff drives me crazy! We'd like to travel during my spring break, which will also be during my birthday. We're thinking of Greece. We'd love to see family there and Scott has never been. He's been pretty much everywhere else. We'd also like to see Scott's brother and his wife if possible before they leave London to go back to the states. They are both in the Air Force and will be stationed together in Missouri. Benny will be boarded. Apparently the only place to consider boarding him is with this lady named, Frieda. As soon as we finalize our plans, I'll book his boarding. Word is that she fills up fast.

Next Tuesday the Crown Prince of Bahrain wants to meet with all the spouses to welcome us back to Bahrain. I'll be taking 1/2 a day off of work. It should be interesting. I've never met a real prince before. Hopefully cameras will be allowed. If they are you can count on me posting some pictures. Until then stay well!!