Stream of Conscienceness.....counting the days to summer

So last night I had a dream that I was on a road-trip looking for housing and a few of my friends spread around the states were there along with my grandmother.  I was looking at homes in Iowa, New Mexico, and of all random places a basement windowless apartment in California outside of LA (where I have never visited) and in the dream I remember saying to the strange man showing me the apartment, "am I staring in the movie Dangerous Minds?"  Strange dream isn't it?  I think I can go out on a limb and psycho-analyze it.  I am feeling in limbo here and my mind has been wandering to ask the question,  "what to do next after the UAE?"  I mean my position here is nearly half over.  Now remember this type of thinking is dangerous, you remember what I said about culture-shock in the UAE?  There are two types of expatriates in this country those that make a life and find acceptance in this culture and those that count the days until they return to their home and constantly commiserate with other expatriates...I might be falling into the second category lately, but does this information fit accurate with teachers?   Because we are all counting down at the end of the school year and so optimistic and energized at the beginning of the year, so I might just be experiencing the end of the school year teacher syndrome.  I am fairly certain with this end of the year teacher syndrome we all toy with finding another position at another school and then are happy to return the next year.  Or it could mean that I am dangerously  in that place in my journey here where I can't  help but think about going home, going home, going home.

The other interesting thing this dream brings up is that I an not sure where home will be after this experience comes to a close.  Iowa, as much as I love my family and friends there, I just cannot live there again with the severe weather and mosquitos, New Mexico, as much as my heart wants to be with my best friends, beautiful nephews and in-laws, we sold our home to leave the crime and poverty and underpaid teacher scenario that plagued me there and vowed not to live there again. So, of course we are back to square one who is hiring teachers in America with all these budget cuts and teachers losing jobs?  Well the good news is that as a special education teacher I have more choices, did you know that 12,000 special education positions go unfilled each year in the United States?  If you are a teacher out of work have you considered going back to school for special education because hello job security.  So maybe Alaska? Florida? Virgina?  DC?  Somewhere that will pay me what I deserve Insha'Allah...this is still another year out but cannot help but daydream about a nice rental home, grass, and taking Gavin to a pre-school that can accommodate him.  I haven't had a chance to blog about this incident, have I?

Well my husband was diagnosed with ADHD as a young boy and I am pretty sure there was no mystery when he was kicked out of his first pre-school for escaping the classroom and obsessively jumping on the couch in the foyer of the school.  I can totally picture this with my own son and can proudly say like father, like son.  I am absolutely sure that Gavin is likely to have that ADHD label slapped on him at some point.  As much as friends and family have chimed in to say he is only two this is how two year olds act!  I still believe maybe this is true but am perfectly fine with the idea that my kid has more energy then most.  I mean watch him as he learns his ABCs, he is super smart for a two year old (three next week), he knows his ABCs, all his shapes, colors, and can count to 10 and spell his name (found this out last night!).
http://qik.com/video/38855514/untitled

So prior to spring break I had visited and spoke over the phone to multiple nursery schools here in the UAE. I had been beginning to feel that for the sanity of my husband and for Gavin as an only child to gain some social skills, it was important for him to start nursery school.  So after searching and searching and realizing many of the western schools were really pricey, had waiting lists, or you just cannot start until next year.  So finally I find a school that is Arabic run with a bilingual program that teaches half the day in English and half the day in Arabic.  This was the first Nursery school that I had walked into that was Arabic run that made me smile.  Some alternatives left me a little concerned for safety and made me sort of feel like I would be dropping my kid off for battle everyday (25 two-year olds to 1 teacher not my kind of ratios).  I kept thinking about that daycare in Mexico a few years back that the teacher was slipping benedryl to the kids to get them to take longer naps and the infant died because he was so sleepy he couldn't roll over.

So here were the choices:

House of Colours Nursery (UK run)  I would only have to sell an organ to get him enrolled but wow it would be worth it! Licensed teachers, amazing curriculum, and I almost got a loan from the bank to sign him up... Here is their website:  http://nurserycolours.com/home.html

The Jungle Book which was seriously, frighteningly under-priced and understaffed for the kids (1 to 25 ratio), there was coloring on the walls, which led me to believe there were moments that the kids were left to their own devices, lots of metal corners and edges, hard floors and concrete, but they speak English with the children so for a moment of insanity it was in the running.

The final choice was so amazing at first!  I toured and they had a bilingual program, reasonably priced (around 500 a month) and they didn't have a waiting list and you could start at any time.  I was really excited!  We toured and it seemed it would be a perfect  fit for Gavin.  Here is their Facebook which is mostly in Arabic, Kids Land Nursery

So Gavin was off for his first day and I realize now it was a mistake to not stay with him for a bit on his first day, and it was a mistake to make his first day a full day, all again mistakes.  But honestly every time I have left Gavin with anyone I hear nothing but wonderful things.  At his in-home daycare back in the states he was one of her favorites (ok so she is one of my best friends and has to tell me this) but she had nothing but wonderful things to say about him!  So around 10 am I decide to call and see how it is going for him.  I am told he has not cried, he is happily playing with the other children and having a great day.  So I am smiling and happy.  Then I go to pick him up from his first day at Nursery school.  When I get there the teacher's aid is standing there with all of his things packed and he is ready for me.  She hands me the phone, the head teacher wants to speak to me, over the phone...I am assuming she has forgotten the English forms again so I grab the phone.

Here is the conversation:
What is wrong with your son?
Excuse me,what?  Nothing is wrong with my son.
Have you taken him to the doctor for hyperactivity?
No he is  only two years old.  He has a family doctor and has gone to all his regular check-ups
He is very hyper.
He is two and yes  he is very active.
He doesn't listen, he doesn't sit, he doesn't play with the other kids.  He is very hyper.  I think he is hyperactive and the ministry of education states that children like him must be serviced at special schools.
(at this point I guess I just panicked and again I am not proud but I start to cry.  In hindsight I should of asked for her credentials to make such a statement).

She goes on to tell me she will try one more day if I want to bring him back but she just does not believe that her school can provide my son with the services he so clearly needs.  I hang up crying and run out of the school crying.  Again not my finer moments.  So we left the Nursery school and haven't been back and we are back to having Gavin stay at home with Daddy.

We joined the health club at one of the hotels and I am hoping that some pool fun will help him with socialization (a lot of the families from my complex have joined) and I am also going to start going  to church with him so maybe he can make some friends at Sunday School (or is it Friday School lol?).  Not sure about next year because I know my son learns differently and I know that he is going to need some patient teachers and unfortunately lack faith that they exist here even in a Western capacity.  Maybe I should try a western pre-school next year I am planning to take  a tour at Sunflower Nursery and may find out how they work with more active children but am thinking that I can just wait until we are back in the states and begin him in a pre-k program for the 2012-2013 school year; at least I know that the right protocols will be followed before I am forced to staple a label on my son's forehead.

I have to admit this blog has really become a stream of conscienceness piece and I wish it could take on the form of a narrative essay but unfortunately I cannot seem to keep on one topic.  So back to my thesis at the beginning which for the record my pre-school experience weaves into because it is another reason I miss home.  I have taught special education and I have a clear understanding of the process in which goes into trying interventions before jumping the gun and labeling a two year old with ADHD.  In contrast I have a few students in my class that have undiagnosed learning disabilities and unfortunately if they get the services they need then they get a label which could make them "unmarriable" later in life.  So I work to find alternate ways for them to learn which is what this pre-school teacher was unwilling to do for my son.

I have been having a lot of missing family and friends moments. I miss Surekha, Liz, and Tamara.  They were my friends back home.  Liz since I was eleven, Surekha since my early twenties, and I met Tamara just a few years ago and we instantly clicked and I never felt like we skipped a beat with our friendship. Do not get me wrong I have made some wonderful friends here, like Sylvia from South Africa that I ride to and from school with every day.  I honestly do not think I have ever had such a wonderful friend with such amazing advice and she has become a wonderful confident.  I am raising my virtual glass to Liz and I's hikes at the dog park, cooking breakfasts together, chats in the yard with a glass of wine or a beer, checking out a local live music show, or shooting pool.  I am raising my virtual glass to making curry (or watching her make it lol) with Surekha and watching "So You Think You Can Dance" and bad chick flicks.  I cannot tell you how much I miss nerding it up with Tamara talking about the latest teen fantasy novels we have read or standing in line to watch the latest Twilight Saga movie or playing Apples to Apples, or an awesome garage sale with a kiddie pool and too many drinks the night before.

So here I am counting down the days until the end of the school year when I get to return home for a month.  And I know next year will be a breeze compared to this year because I won't have to reinvent the wheel I have everything I put together this year.  I have a clear understanding of all of the things my employer requires so knowing  this going in I shouldn't have too many surprises.  I am thinking hard about our future after this adventure and I think this is healthy because as much as the free spirit in me would like to float around I am realizing my body, mind, and spirit needs some roots, needs to see family more often, and I need to make some friends in a long lasting community (this one feels so temporary).  So I leave this blog contemplative....

Mind the Gap!

I have found with previous breaks from school, since my time overseas has commenced, my tendency is to crave time at home with my son and husband.  I day dream during my busy weeks of simply enjoying the neighborhood parks, the zoo, trips to Dubai and even just lazily reading a book or catching up on my television shows.  Well this is a great way to spend a break and it sort of stretches it out making it seem to last longer and it gives me the much needed rest and relaxation but I have also found that I have this unwanted company on my breaks.  That company is the longing for home, missing family, missing my girls back home.  I often spend at least one evening during these breaks having one to many glasses of wine and simply tearing up missing everyone.  So with spring break coming I wanted to avoid this.

One thing that everyone here can share with you that comes with culture shock is the roller coaster of feelings of anxiety, depression, anger, and frustration.  Each of these feelings is contrasted by feelings of enlightenment, joy, amazement, and even sometimes just a high that comes from so many new experiences. I remember once thinking that I was starting to get old enough that I had pretty much done all my firsts.  First bike ride, first airplane ride, first time behind a wheel, first drink of alcohol, first time whitewater rafting, first time traveling across the states, first time in a foreign country, first kiss, first bite of sushi or curry, first time swimming in the ocean, and the list goes on and on but you get the point right?  You get caught up in day to day life in America the daily grind so to speak and you hit 30 and you have your career, you give birth, you get married, and well this looming feeling of I did  all life has to offer and now I just sit back and wait for things to happen to my son so I can live through him now right?  Well I suppose this feeling is sort of gone for me now that I live overseas I mean I really start to see how large the world is and I know that I have so many firsts if I just travel.  So I took my first trip to Athens, Greece so cross that off the bucket list.

In college I had a great roommate named Ginny and we quickly became great friends.  Memories with Ginny include having a good time laughing, dancing, playing pool, traveling to Colorado, and whitewater rafting on the Amazon river.  We have kept up contact over the years and when I would travel back to Iowa we would meet up for a meal or lunch.  Ginny began working at this restaurant in Iowa City owned by this great Greek man named Dimitri.  They fell in love and have been together ever since.  She used to tell me they would move to Athens, Greece and would marry there.  I remember thinking how mythical that sort of life might seem.  Well just over a year ago they did, they sold their home in Iowa and were off to Athens.  I have to admit feeling so distanced from our friendship I had some anxiety about showing up on her doorstep in Athens and staying in her home but it was wonderful.  We didn't skip a beat from college it was like no time has passed and we found as we started to discuss that we had  a lot of the same feelings living in new countries.  We have similar observations of the void of culture in the United States compared to an Arab culture or Greek Culture. When Ginny and I were  roommates we held one of the best cocktail parties ever.  Here are a few images from that time.

Here is Ginny all dressed up.

This is my friend Julie and I at the same party all dressed up...

We had some really fun times that I will never forget and it was really great to spend a few days with her in such an amazing place!  Let me tell you about my trip to Athens, Greece now!  Here is a picture of Ginny and I on top of Mount Parnitha.  We haven't changed too much from 20 to 30 right?  

I had originally scheduled a cheap flight through one of those online booking agencies that give you a great deal with multiple connections and long layovers.  I was a little annoyed but couldn't refute the price, around 400 USD and I could fly to Greece.  Well my layover was planned to be in Bahrain and I figured it would be a great chance for me to do some reading and relaxing in the airport and from my research and from asking around Bahrain was a safe country.  Well then the protests in Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, and Bahrain started.  Bahrain was considered unsafe to fly by British authorities but unfortunately most other countries still felt it was safe enough at the airport.  The country itself had declared a state of emergency, urged people to stay indoors, and schools and government buildings were closed down, but my flight was still scheduled as planned.  I was going back and forth should I stay or should I go?  Most  likely I will be safe right?  I mean if it isn't safe they would shut down the airports, right?  Well as the date approached I was anxiety ridden and decided as a female alone I shouldn't take the unnecessary risk so I bit the bullet and swallowed around 60 USD in cancellation fees and booked a different flight through Etihad airways (super fancy airline and I recommend it if you can find some last minute deals because it is like first class in coach).  I ended up on the same flight of my friend Julie, a teacher in Al Gharbia whom was flying alone to take a cruise from Athens.  It was nice, we met up at the airport and were able to get seats by one another for the flight.

We arrive in Athens and I am expecting to see my friend Ginny at the airport.  Well she isn't standing where I expected her to be.  In hindsight we both realized we have sort of adapted this relaxed attitude about things living in both Arab and European countries.  It is like you lose the need to manage all the little details like well getting your friends mobile number.  She apparently checked the board and found  a flight from Dubai that was delayed so decided to head to the shopping mall.  Meanwhile my flight was actually twenty minutes early. So Julie and I drag our luggage back and forth across the terminal searching for tall skinny girls with brown hair and a Greek man (this is how I describe Ginny to her).  Which funny enough is almost every couple at the Athens airport.  After I send multiple emails to both Ginny, and everyone I know that might know her and attempt to friend her fiancée on Facebook hoping maybe he has a data plan and will get the notification to his phone (yea right! they are not so connected to electronics like we are sharing one basic mobile phone).  After around an hour I realize that it is possible that Ginny never received or noticed the email that my flight has changed so she is thinking my flight will be in a  day later.  I leave the airport depressed and convinced I will never see my friend Ginny.  Julie graciously offers up her hotel room and we share a taxi to downtown Athens.

Julie and I sauntered around the down town area and I continued to send emails to my friend Ginny and call people in the states at ungodly hours hoping to find her mobile number.  Julie and I decide to enjoy some coffee and ice cream at this cafe centered in the middle of town near the plaza.
Here is Julie enjoying some ice cream...

Here I am at the cafe drinking a cappuccino...

Julie and I drag ourselves to her hotel room and lounge on the beds of her very tiny hotel room.  We take in the view out of the room and just when I have accepted my fate and am ready to fall asleep for an afternoon nap Ginny calls me.  She explains laughing the whole time why the mix up happened and we have a good laugh and she tells me they are on their way to come and get me.

We spent the first evening at Ginny's lovely home.  She lives in a suburb of Athens called Metamorphosis, I am sorry but can you think of a cooler name for a city to live in?  Ginny and Dimitri live in this amazing villa that sets upon a mattress shop and surrounds a lovely courtyard. Here are some images of the street from the balcony facing out to the street.

Here are some images of the courtyard from the balcony facing the courtyard.

 Dimitri's brother and family and his mother and father occupy the adjoined villas that surround the courtyard.  During my stay I had mentioned that I wanted to eat authentic Gyros, spanakopita (spinach and cheese pie), dolmas, and baklava.  So on each night of my stay his mother would drop off one of these dishes.  Every night we ate dinner in Ginny and Dimitri's home and Ginny would make this wonderful Greek salad and put out a plate of feta cheese and bread.  I seriously felt like I had died and gone to food heaven.  Here are a few images of the wonderful things I feasted on.  I learned that the traditional Gyro and the shwarma I have come to know and love in the UAE are not much different. They both come with french fried on the inside (which just never happened to my Gyros in the states which leads me to a whole new conversation to be brought up later that every country has a version of food from another country that is adapted to meet  the needs of their taste buds).

 Dimitri's mother brought these by for us.  They called them donuts.  Donuts?  Um yea dunkin and crispy creme you haven't got nothing on these decadent "donuts."

 This was my favorite evening of cuisine!  We had two different cheese pies one with spinach and one just loaded with cheese.  Homemade meatballs by Dimitri's mother (whom I never met) and potatoes...and of course some feta cheese and a Greek salad.

The great thing about traveling to Greece in the spring is that there is actually a spring to enjoy.  I have been living in a desert climate for so long I have forgotten what spring smelled and sounded like.  It is very cliché but it smelled like blooming flowers and there was the sweet sound of birds singing.  You got the feeling everyone was out  and about just to appreciate the sun shining in the sky.  Here is an image I took as we strolled though town of all the trees in bloom.

Mind the Gap!  That is what you will read and hear before you get on and off the subway all around Greece.  What a great way to get  around town and to walk off some of that pita, feta and fila dough. We took the subway everywhere we went.  What a great way to people watch as well.  I was memorized at the fashion gurus that strolled on and off the subway both women and the metro-sexual men.  The women of Athens are strikingly beautiful and I struggled to find my own minds stereotype of the fat and  happy Greek women and men that American films had painted for me.  Instead I found myself gazing and staring at such beauty and style accessorized down to the toenails and earings and hand-bags.  Here is an image I captured while walking down town and you can see what I mean.  The women of Athens are fashion divas!

So naturally I did the tourist thing and  I saw the Parthenon, the temple of Poseidon, the temple of Olympian Zues, and the acropolis. I did not get to see the The National Archaeological Museum because due to off tourism season they kept strange hours and it just didn't fit into my plan to see everything in just four nights. Here are some images from these historical landmarks.

Then we strolled downtown to the same coffee place Julie and I had been at when we first got to Athens.  This time I had Dimitri with me so it was nice to let him make recommendations.  I soon feel in love with the Nescafe Frappe and sipped on one of those before we headed over to see the changing of the guard.  After the silly  spectacle they put on we got to take our picture with them.  The changing of the guard is not meant to be silly but they are grown men in tights and mini skirts with pom-pom's on their shoes, it is really hard to take them serious.  Here is Ginny and I taking turns posing with the men in tights.

For our last excursion I so desperately wanted to live out some fantasy I have always had of taking a boat to a Greek Island and so it was fulfilled!  We took the ferry to the island of Aegina.  The trip was right around an hour and the boat was really large.  Dimitri's family owns a house on the island that they go to most weekends during the summer.  They informed me that these ferries were filled with people and hard to find a seat in the summer.  In March we nearly had the boat to ourselves.  It was a really nice trip a little cold but nothing a warm Frappe couldn't cure.  Here is Ginny and I enjoying our Frappe's on the deck of the ferry boat.

The island was really mellow during the off season and I imagined it alive and filled with people in the summers.  Boats filled the docks and the townies cruised along on motorcycles and mopeds.  We enjoyed some spinach and cheese pies and walked along the shops.  Then it started to drizzle so we spent the afternoon in a coffee shop enjoying Frappes and having some delicious ice cream that reminds me of Gelato.  We took the ferry back all of us thinking how nice a nap would be.  Here are a few images from the island and from the ferry.

All in all it was an amazing and relaxing trip.  I still found enough time to finish a novel, sleep in late, and being away from Michael and Gavin made me miss them like crazy and appreciate how wonderful my little family is and how much I need them in my life.  I think it is important to realize this from time to time because we can find moments where we forget this in the daily grind.  It was strange landing back in the UAE and feeling this weird feeling of familiar.  This Arab land is familiar?  I felt home driving down the long street past the burger king in the back of the taxi as I pass the mall that will never be built and pull into my immense compound of apartments to building ten, ok now I am home where I find my sleeping boys.  Is this what they mean by Zen moments?