Halloween and Pictures

Greetings all,
So sorry it's been a while since a blog has been posted. Yes, we have had some adventures that we need to blog about but before we get to that here's our Halloween and also some pictures we purchased to make our house feel more like home!

First, Halloween. In Lebanon, Halloween is more of a "party" night for adults than an activity for kids. Since our school is "The American Community School" the students had the opportunity to dress for the occasion.  Thanks to our friends Andrea and Philippe for finding us a couple of pumpkins for the girls. We chose to paint them because it's still in the low to mid-70's here and we wanted them to last.

Delaney worked hard on her side of the pumpkin

Tim worked hard as well!

 Above is Janna's "Pumpkin" winking. Yes a picture of our cat, Pumpkin, on the pumpkin.

 Of course, here is Midge's Angry Bird!

 Delaney's side is the MAD side and Tim's side is the HAPPY side below.

 Now, about the actual trick-or-treating! We emailed the staff in our building and warned them that we were coming around. The kids were a great hit. We are only one of two families with kids here in our building so the girls felt pretty special.  One of my colleagues freaked Janna out a little when she was dressed as an old hag when she answered the door. They also insisted on a trick for the treats. Delaney supplied them with a riddle. As we were heading up the stairs we could hear someone making "woooo" noises in the stairwell. Yes, that was the MS Vice-Principal Phil on the 9th floor. He answered the door with a neon orange wig on. Mind you, Phil shaves his head so it took a little bit for Delaney to recognize him! On the top floor the elevator doors opened to cobwebs, spiders and a funny little witch that made noises. Andrea and Philippe answered the door. After the girls got their treats many of us met in their apartment for drinks and conversation. What a wonderful building we live in! Here's a picture of the girls!

Now for the pictures! Tim and I went to this artists shop around the corner from our apartment. George has been painting Ein el Mressieh (the area we live in) for over 40 - 50 years. We purchased some prints from him to make our home feel more like we live in it!
Here they are. Sorry they're at an angle. I was trying to avoid glare.

 This first one is of right down the hill from us before the Corniche existed. The Mosque is still there and where the call to prayer we hear throughout the day comes from.

 This one above is also pre-Corniche but further down the street. The AUB clock tower is in the background. We found this one to be interesting because the building on the far right is the American Embassy prior to when it was bombed during the Civil War in the '80s.

 The one above is Ein el Mressieh about 1930's

 This is the print Janna picked out. Stairs like this are very common here and create a courtyard for the house.

This one is of the Chapel we walk by often on our way home or to school when we go through the American University of Beirut campus. I'm sure we will do a blog of the AUB campus sometime. It is the most beautiful campus I have been on!

A walk on Eid al Adha

Eid al Adha (Feast of Sacrifice) is an important Muslim holiday that happens in October.  It celebrates with willingness of Abraham to sacrifice is son, Ishmael, for Allah (God).  In the end, Allah replaced his son with a ram because Abraham was willing. Allah rewarded him by saving his son.

During a wonderful (almost) week off, we decided to take a long walk towards the downtown area. The Lebanese tend to sleep in when they can and therefore the streets were empty. We wanted to take this picture for our friends Everett and Meg because they seem to always have pictures of empty streets where they live in South Korea.

No Everett, the zombie apocalypse didn't happen in Beirut!
We weren't quite sure where we were going but about 40 minutes later we found Nejme Square and it's famous clock tower. This area is usually blocked off by the military and yes the gates were there blocking traffic but we were there so early that the military weren't at their stations yet.

From there we went into St. Georges Greek Orthodox Cathedral. Pictures weren't allowed inside but WOW it was truly beautiful. There was a small chapel outside that had this great mosaic though. We took a picture of it.

Across the way from St. Georges church is the famous Grand Mosque. It was truly beautiful!

Notice the cross to the right? That's the newly remodeled St. Georges Maronite Cathedral (I think). Both are huge! But here's the really interesting thing. Between where I'm standing and these incredible buildings they found Roman ruins that they are now excavating.

We walked around the Mosque and Cathedral and ended up at Martyr's Square.

The statues commemorate Lebanese nationalists who were hanged during World War I by the Ottamans. What was remarkable is that Tim counted over 70 holes from bullets in one of the figures. The arm was blasted off of one as well. This monument survived the fighting that happened in the 70s, 80s and early 90s.  All around the monument it is pretty much flat. Nothing has been developed there yet. I think it's because they have found more ruins.

On the way home I took a picture of something very typically seen in Beirut. Giant cranes are everywhere. This is definitely a city that is still being rebuilt.

It was a long walk but really interesting. While many of the shops were closed because we were there so early I feel that we really had the opportunity to look around while there were no crowds.

We go plant shopping! Yay!

Yesterday, we had the opportunity to hop on the bus and go to a plant nursery just outside of the city. We got great deals because the owners kids go to our school. We are so happy to fill some space on our huge balcony! We picked out some plants that would never survive the Washington weather.  So much fun! Here is what we got!

 This Bird of Paradise isn't quite ready to bloom but it reminded us of Tim's sister, Kim, who loves them

The plant above has a small red flower on the top. We don't know what it's called but the nursery owner called it a "Nurd" plant. HA! I smile at it every time I look at it!

This is a Hibiscus. I guess they get really huge here and always are blooming. We see some the size of trees on the way to work.

 We couldn't resist getting a banana plant...YES an banana plant. I don't know if we'll ever get fruit but supposedly, they give you great privacy on your deck or balcony. I think this one may need a name.

 We plan to train the Jasmine to go along our railing. This one reminds me of my parents because they used to have one that they would have to bring in for the winter. We won't have to do that here!

 Of course, I had to find some rosemary and basil. Now if I can find some Thyme I'll be set. They call is Zatar here and it's in everything!

 Okay Libby! Maybe I won't kill this creeping rosemary! It smells so nice here and grows like a weed. It is all along our walk to school. Along the water, I've already seen it bloom twice since we've been here!

 This one still blows my mind..yes a pomegranate tree! YES! we own a pomegranate tree!! Below is our first one!

 The cute little flowers on our table are called Ice Plants. When the sun goes down, the blooms shrivel up and look like your should take them off. The next morning, the blooms are back!

 Above is Hibiscus  Delaney picked out. This morning when we woke up it had a bloom on it. She was smiling so big. She was truly happy with her plant! It sits on her balcony outside of her bedroom.

 Janna's plant is below. It blooms cute little purplish blue flowers. It sits on her balcony outside of her bedroom.

All and all, we had a great Saturday outing. I loved getting my hands dirty today to plant them!

Homecoming! ACS style!

Things got a little busy last week so this is the first of two blogs for today! Last week was Homecoming here at ACS.  We went to a Pep Rally on Monday. This involved all ages from Pre-K to Seniors. We as a Middle School staff came to represent! We all wore lab coats! It was a fun afternoon where the HS soccer team and HS volleyball team played against staff teams. There was free pizza, fresh lemonade, sno-cones, cotton candy and many booths where the younger kids could do activities or people could buy things where the proceeds went to displaced children from the "war next door". Here, homecoming doesn't revolve around some huge sporting event. While there was a dance for the high school as well as soccer and volleyball games at the end of the week, that wasn't what the week was all about. I kind of liked the spirit. It wasn't about beating another team, it was a celebration of the school.

 Here is our friend Sharon again with Elizabeth. She is another English teacher and works with Tim.

John teaches 6th grade Social Studies. He's one of Delaney's teachers. 

This is Wafa with Me. She is my Lebanese "Maria". (HP people, you know what I'm talking about) She reminds me of Maria every time I see her.  

Maya and Talar teach Science. They are fun and always have smiles on their faces 

Yes, this is our principal, Karim. Yes, he loves ACS!

 Delaney and the Swim Team came running through the gate. With googles on and squirt guns to get the crowd all wet! The swim team is the largest team here at ACS. Yes, bigger than soccer!

Here is Delaney and her friend. They are both on the swim team. Below is Delaney with another friend. She's on the dance team. They were also part of the pep rally.

 Here's Janna with the ACS Knight!

The wind was howling on the way home but Tim, I and the girls decided to walk right along the Corniche so we could see the big waves. These pictures and video don't do it justice. It was incredible.

Janna got pretty wet by a wave but that was okay. It was about 6:00 in the evening and about 75 to 80 degrees. We all had a fun afternoon.

Daily Life in the "Attic"

This post is for anyone interested in where I am throughout the week!

On the forth floor, what I am calling the "attic", is the ACS Upper School Library. This library is shared by the Middle School and High School and is staffed by what I think are some pretty remarkable  and caring individuals. Here is my "cubby". It sits between two of the three main sections of the library. 

Andrea's office is right across from me. She is the Head Librarian and is also the High School Librarian. She has been here for quite a few years. She is a wonderful mentor and friend to me and has been helping me adjust to my new position here.

In the cubby next door to me is Tracie. She is an incredibly articulate and kind person with a passion for her job and great sense of humor. She is new to her position this year but taught at the high school for a bit before moving up to the library. She is the High School IT Integration Specialist. She is also very savvy with Macs. Since I have the PC background I feel that we are a fit for the IT area (1/2 of my job is MS IT Integration Specialist).

Here is the Fiction side of the library. There is a conference room up here with a lot of video equipment in it. I suspect that I am going to be using this area sometime this year for student video projects.  There is a set of really comfy couches and a projector and screen. This side of the library houses the French language area and the Arabic language area as well.

One of the Circulation counters is on this side. This is also where Komal's space in the library is as well. Komal has been so welcoming and always has a smile on his face when I walk in. He is helping me with some basic Arabic. When I finish my 20 minute walk and go up the four flights of stairs in the morning he is always there to give me a "Good Morning".

The other side of the library houses our 20 computer lab with a projector and screen. This is also where the Non-Fiction and Reference section are as well. There is a set of really comfy couches over on this side of the library. I meet with my awesome advisory group (2 sixth, 2 seventh, and 2 eighth graders) for the first 5 minutes of the day here as well.

At the Circulation desk on this side you will almost always find Ghada. She is truly a  wonderful woman. She gives me a snack every once in a while and will split her arabic coffee with me if she thinks I need it. She has wonderful children that go to school here as well. She is always smiling and like Komal, she is helping me with Arabic basics as well.

Hanan is with us part of the time and the other part of the time she is at the Lower School Library. She is also very sweet. We have had a few wonderful conversations after school. She also shared with me some Sumac spice which is used frequently in Lebanese food. It came from her home in the hills outside of Beirut.

There is also this incredible view of the Meditteranean from the library at the entrance to the 3rd section of the library the TPL (Teacher's Professional Library). The TPL is downstairs and houses resources for teachers. There are also some desks, a mini kitchen and restrooms for staff. Our webmaster, Jad, also has an office in the TPL. He is very difficult to get a picture of. Jad is fun to work with as well and has a great sense of humor.

So, this is the "Attic" more formally called the Upper School Library of the American Community School of Beirut. It is my new home where I feel that I truly have been welcomed! It is such a privilege to work with such a fine group of individuals. I also feel that the middle school staff here is truly phenomenal. They are all kind, hard working and passionate about what they do. I am blessed to have the opportunity to work here with such a great community of educators!!