Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

I will be traveling for the holidays. I am going with three girls from my school to meet two friends in Italy who need to make a Visa trip. Please pray for our safety as we travel. We are leaving at about 7 am EST tomorrow and will return 3 am EST January 2nd. I promise to have many pictures and videos to share with you! I hope you and yours have a wonderful time as you celebrate the birth of our Savior. May the true meaning of Christmas bring you peace, love, and joy this season! (And while you're at it, go see The Nativity Story for me!)

The Recess Queen

There was only one reason why I decided not to become an elementary school teacher. Recess duty. (OK, not really. But it makes a better story.)

Honestly, I never really thought that, as a middle school teacher, I'd have recess duty. Lunch duty and morning/afternoon duty maybe. But not recess.

Recess duty at our school takes place in the gravel parking lots. Not exactly the most ideal place for a bunch of raging hormonal, wild hooligan, angel-in-your-class-but-devil-at-recess boys to play.

Here are some thoughts that went through my head and phrases that came out of my mouth today while I served my recess duty:

Oh great, there are cars parked in the parking lot. They're gonna play soccer anyway. There goes the car alarm. They hit the car with the ball.

"Guys! Move AWAY from the car! AWAY!"

What are they doing over there? I think Haitem is practicing his kung-fu on Othmane! There went the ball again. I'm going to have to get it!

"Guys! Yassine! Give me the ball. Yes, I know you didn't mean to, but I've warned you already NOT to 'accidentally' kick the ball over near the third graders."

Why am I out here? I think I'm getting gray hairs from this. And there's the car alarm. Again.

"Guys! Move it! Over to this lot. Let's go!"

(A student) "Miss! Sam got hurt! He hurt his knee on the curb!"

"Sam, are you going to live? Let's take a look at it. Yep. You'll live. Do you need to see the nurse?"

"Walid, if the ball goes over the fence again, you've lost your recess rights for the next week, understand?"

Why do these guys get so emotional and loud when they play soccer? They always look like they're about to fight. Wait...are they?

"Go get both water bottles you kicked and bring them to me. If your temper doesn't cool down, I can't afford to have you out here with the others."

"No, Amine, I do not have a brother. Yes, I do have a sister. Yes, she is married. No, she doesn't have children. Yes, I'd like to be married one day. No, I won't marry you."

Sigh.

One more day.

This is the blog...

...where I tell you one of my favorite new recipes. I've made it three times in the past two weeks. For Christmas parties, of course! They're called Toffee Bars, and if you know anything about me, you know I LOVE toffee! Anyway, I'm including the recipe. (It's easy -- promise!) I thought it might be fun to exchange some of our favorite holiday recipes...or favorite recipes in general. Feel free to post them on your blog (pictures not required) or in the comment section below.

What you need: 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, 1 cup butter (divided), 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk, 2 tbsp. corn syrup, 1 milk chocolate bar (100 grams) melted

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. In a medium bowl, combine flour and granulated sugar. Cut in 1/2 cup butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Press into ungreased 9-inch square baking pan. Bake for 15 minutes or until beginning to brown.

3. In a heavy saucepan, combine remaining 1/2 cup butter, brown sugar, milk and corn syrup. Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil. Cook, stirring continuously, for 3 minutes more. Pour hot mixture over cooked base. Cool slightly, then refrigerate for 15 minutes or until set. Spread melted chocolate over caramel. Refrigerate 30 minutes or until set.

Makes about 2 dozen.

For Becky (and Allie)

Because I couldn't find a picture online that was sufficient enough, I took a picture of my calendar. This is for Becky because she heard about it on Iron Chef, and for Allie because it makes her laugh every time she hears about it or sees it. Yes, these goats are in trees. The tree has leaves and a fruit that the goats like to feed on when the surrounding land becomes too dry to produce vegetation. The seeds from this tree are harvested and pressed to produce a very fine oil that is rather expensive.

Christmas surprise

Wow! These are all the goodies I got from the Holcombes and Bennetts. Thanks so much! Stickers, stationery, antibacterial hand wash, sauces and seasonings, brownies, mac and cheese, plastic baggies and no-bake desserts. I can't wait to start baking! The best part is that they delivered the box to the school (though it was beat up a little, the inside contents hadn't been hurt). I love you and miss you so much during this Christmas season!

Meet Aziz...

Meet Aziz. (His species seems to be appearing on blogs everywhere.) Ami acquired Aziz on our last outing to McDonald's when she ordered a Happy Meal. We keep passing around Aziz around between the three of us roommates. It is an unspoken ritual; I'm not even sure how it began. You never know where Aziz will turn up next. So far he has been discovered under pillows, in underwear drawers, in kitchen cupboards, inside pockets of robes, and most recently hiding on top of some shoes. No matter where we hide him for each other, it always brings a smile to our faces.

Steph and Karen, kind of reminds me of Pookie.

Bollywood in North Africa

We had a Festival of the Arts last Friday night to raise money for our Arts Program here at the school. It was a wonderful night displaying talents including poetry, photography, singing, instrumental playing, and dancing. I thought you would enjoy one of my favorite acts, a group of four Indian guys who mixed modern and traditional Indian dance to Indian music. It really was a taste of Bollywood. If you've seen Bride and Prejudice (Yes, BRIDE not Pride), then you'll really appreciate it. If you haven't seen it, go rent it! It's amazing the cultures these students are suscepted to at this school -- and how much they can learn and grow from that!

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My Accent

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Midland "You have a Midland accent" is just another way of saying "you don't have an accent." You probably are from the Midland (Pennsylvania, southern Ohio, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, and Missouri) but then for all we know you could be from Florida or Charleston or one of those big southern cities like Atlanta or Dallas. You have a good voice for TV and radio.
The West
The South
Boston
North Central
The Inland North
Philadelphia
The Northeast
What American accent do you have? Take More Quizzes

I do find it interesting...these results. I took a quiz on what accent I have. I thought it would be obvious that my accent was most closely associated with the South. According to the results, I'm wrong. Now, there's some debate about this. For one, when I speak to everyone around here, they undeniably say I have a Southern accent. Yet the description for the Midland results is somewhat fitting as well: I am from a city near Atlanta, my grandmother is from southern Ohio, and my parents grew up in Fort Lauderdale, FL. Maybe that's why my results are so wacked. (Yes, I did just use that word.)

See, in my HEAD I know what the words from the quiz are SUPPOSED to sound like. I can still remember my mom drilling it into me over and over again when I was little, " 'IIIIIIII'm goING to the store,' Shannon. Not 'Ahhhhh'm goin' to the store.' " I'm also sure that the fact I am an English teacher has something to do with it.

After talking with some Southern friends here, I think I've reached a conclusion. I have TWO accents. One for speaking to my students and one for speaking to my friends. When I'm in front of the class my "our" is pronounced like "hour" and my "for" is pronounced like "four." But with friends? "Our" becomes "are" and "for" becomes "fer."

Sounds like:

To students: "Hour friends are goING four tea."

To friends: "Are friends are goin' fer tea."

Isn't language fun?

(Many thanks to Mandy's sis-in-law Amanda for pointing out this quiz to me!)

The Sugar Plum Fairy visits Africa

I collect nutcrackers. I have always been a ballet fan, and took ballet lessons for nine years. I was in love with Baryshnikov as the Nutcracker prince in Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite. My mom and dad, on a trip to Dallas 1984, bought me a nutcracker. I would dance around the living room pretending I was Clara. It became a tradition; I received one nutcracker every year for Christmas. As I grew older, my parents bought me nutcrackers that signified something about that year. My last year as drum major I received a maestro nutracker. My first presidential election I received an Uncle Sam nutcracker. The year I went to Italy I received an Italian nutracker. The year I played golf for the first time I got a golfing nutcracker. The year I graduated college I got a UGA nutcracker.

It was kind of hard to load them all up and bring them with me. So I just packed them up in my memories. I received a package at school this past week from my parents. Enclosed in small bubble-wrap was this little guy. He made me smile. He may not look it here, but he's really tiny. Let me just put that into perspective for you...

Mom and Dad, I love him! I love you too! I miss you during this Christmas season!

The World Beyond

My school is enclosed by a reddish wall that spreads all the way around it. You can see it in the pictures below. The difference between what is inside the walls and outside the walls is tremendous. Not only the landscaping, but the animals. Below is a picture I took back in September. You can see the brown of the landscape. It really helps to bring out the black of the ginormous turkeys. They may not look big in this pic...but they are. You may notice a change in the landscaping here. It is now the "rainy" season and everything has started to turn green. The shepherd lady was outside this morning with a herd of sheep including two twin lambs.
And to the left, a fettered cow munches on the greenery. I never cease to be amazed at what I see outside of these walls.

Sing We Now of Christmas

Last night was the night for our weekly singles gathering. Some families wanted to host us and cook dinner for us. We traveled into the city and ate some delicious chicken and white bean soup, homemade bread and sugar cookies. Then, our host got out his guitar. We requested different carols and had fun singing them. One of our singles, a guy from the U.K., wasn't familiar with some of our Christmas songs. He was unsure of "All I Want for Christmas is my Two Front Teeth" (granted, it isn't a carol), and the version of "O Little Town of Bethlehem" is apparently different in the U.K. The song that he enjoyed the most, however, was the one below. You can tell because in the video, he is the one not singing and video-ing everyone else. Click on the Play button to view most of the song. (Note: Yes, you DO hear me singing in a nasally, redneck voice. I was trying to get some of those Northerners to sing it how it is REALLY supposed to be sung.)

Regardless, I think you'll enjoy it.

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A Friendly Letter

Dearest Melissa,

We were so happy to receive you as our dinner guest last night. Please know that you are always welcome to return if ever you crave more fruit and maggot salad.

Love,
Shannon, Bethany and Ami

Weekend of Firsts

What a weekend! I want to share it with you. As some of you know me well, you will get a kick out of some of the things I'm about to share!

I left school yesterday with a student whose chauffeur drove us to her house. Chauffeur. Did you get that? (Actually, that's not all too weird for our school. Most of the students have drivers. We see the drivers more than we see the parents.) Anyway, it was the first time I rode in the car with a chauffeur.

We arrived at her mansion, I mean house, and she gave me a tour. I had to force myself to keep my mouth closed. I was walking around in awe of everything. Most homes in this country are sparsely decorated and furnished. And if they are decorated, it all looks like it is from the '70s and doesn't match. Not this one. Lavish wall hangings, plush carpets and furniture, and sparkling crystal chandeliers hung everywhere! Silver tea sets were around ever corner and rich draperies covered the massive windows. It was room after room after room of this. She showed me her mother's room which looked like something in a palace. The huge balcony looked over her sprawling back yard with a beautiful pool in it. There were two "gazebos" with froshes in them and canopied ceilings. Then she left me in one of the salons to watch some American TV while she ran to give instructions to a maid. Oh yeah. Forgot to mention that they have FOUR maids (who seemed like they were live-in), two guards/chauffeurs, a gardner, and four cars.

She took me to one of the gazebos and we waited for the maids to bring out cookies, nuts and mint tea. Then we talked and talked and talked. Later that night she had her driver take us to one of her father's cafes where we were treated like royalty and ordered ice cream and msimmon. The driver picked us back up and took us to her house where we sat with her mother and socialized. The mother doesn't speak English, so my student had to translate. The mother ordered the maids to bring us some more nuts and some dates and they showed me how to take the seed out of a date and put a walnut inside and then eat it. (I'm not sure how I'd gotten around this before now, but I'd NEVER had a date before -- believe it or not. It was good!) The mom wants me to come back and have lunch with her, and she also wants to take me to her hairdresser to put color on my hair. Uh oh! Then my student and me and her twin sisters went to Pizza Hut, once again driven by the driver. I spent the night in town with a friend so I would be there the next morning for my next "adventure."

The next morning I got ready for a trip to our country's capitol with a different student's family. I really enjoy spending time with this family. They are the ones I went horseback riding with last week. They picked me up and I had lunch with them. Yum! Fish! (Some of you are already laughing!) The serving dish was a little too small for the fish, so it's tail and fins flopped out of the side. I thought maybe I could get away with pushing it around on my plate, but when the mother hacked off the head and served it to me, I knew I was out of luck. Thank goodness a tomato was covering the eyeballs! I once again surprised myself. The fish was really, really good! It didn't taste like fish at all. It was tender and juicy and had some really good spices on it! There was a LOT of meat in that fish's head, so I couldn't eat it all, but I gave it my best shot!

Following lunch we packed up the car for the hour and a half ride to the Capitol. It was me, my student, a ten year old and a six year old in the back seat. The mom and dad were up front. I had so much fun! Those kids are so cute. You'll see in the video how much fun we had. We visited the burial site of the former king and also a market area where I bought some presents. My student is the oldest girl...yet some of the pottery was almost bigger than her! We noticed storks building nests everywhere! Even on top of parking lot lights! We went to the mall last. It is the only mall that even somewhat resembles an American mall in the entire country! I almost forgot where I was for a little bit. (Then all I had to do was take a look around and it wasn't hard to remember...NO ONE looked like me!) The mall has ice skating and bowling, and we decided to go bowling since none of them had before. Also, there are only TWO bowling alleys in the ENTIRE COUNTRY! So it was a big deal. I thought I would, for the first time in my life, look like a good bowler. WRONG! The dad tied me! Oh well!

Now after I've written a ridiculously long re-cap...if you're still with me, enjoy the video!

Photo and video editing at onetruemedia.com

'Tis the Season...

...for cranberry juice! Cranberry juice is virtually impossible to find in North Africa. And even if you do, it's really expensive. Tonight I had a friend who found some and brought it home for me. Mary, my kidney stone and I thank you. Well, at least I do. I don't think he will be too happy if the "magic" juice works like people say it does. He seems to be quite happy having taken up residence in me. I don't think he's gotten the clue yet that he's out-stayed his welcome.

So long little stone. I won't miss you.

Christmas in North Africa

Wow! What a surprise we found last night. We had heard that there were some much coveted Christmas decorations at our local "Wal-Mart." And we heard right! There were about three or four shelves of goodies that were relatively cheap. We bought this wreath for about a few dollars. We also bought the tallest Christmas tree they had: 210 cm. Don't ask me how tall that is. I haven't learned how to convert yet. (And no snide remarks about that either!) The funniest part was watching all the women in their head scarfs loading up their shopping carts with decorations. Interesting... At first we were a little worried about the tree. It resembled Charlie Brown's more than a nice, plump American retail store tree.
But, it began to fluff out quite nicely in time.
Still unsure about these lights, though. For the life of me I can't figure out why you would need MORE plain wire than you actually have lights. My roommate suggested for decorating houses. But let me tell you, house decorations really aren't in high demand over here!
Bethany and me posing with our two cute stuffed animals we bought as we attempt to place the lights where you can't actually see the wires. (A feat in itself!) Oh the good memories it brought back from my childhood of my Dad hanging the lights on the tree. No wonder they have pre-lit now.
Sure, they sell ornaments. But not hooks. It's all about being resourceful in this land with no Christmas. So, we just decided to use all the small colored paperclips in our classrooms.
And then the ribbon that tied the ornament boxes together was cut down to make tiny bows for the tree.
When it was all said and done, it didn't look so bad. It's not much, but it is enough to get us in the Christmas mood and ease our homesickness just a little!

Conquering Fears

Today I conquered one of my fears. Many of you may not know that I had a horrible accident five years ago. My aunt breeds and trains Pasofino horses. She, my mother and I went riding one crisp day in October 2001. It was my first year teaching. I had owned health insurance for a total of sixteen days. Due to a combination of the horse only being ridden twenty times before, and it hadn't been ridden in several weeks because of an injury, and a family of quail decided to prance out in front of it in an open field, I found myself on the back of a fast-moving horse. Extremely fast. Have you ever seen The Lord of the Rings? Remember Arwen's harrowing ride with Frodo away from the Black Knights? That fast. Needless to say, I bailed. I jumped off like I was in some rodeo circus and had plenty of experience flipping off of speeding horses. Only I didn't. That's how I was knocked unconscious and cracked my riding helmet AND left arm. I spent the next seven weeks with a cast on.

I haven't been on a horse since. Until today.

Enter Jihane. She is a student of mine and absolutely precious. Her sweet family invited me to spend the day with them today. Jihane is an avid horse lover and has taken lessons for three years. This little pixie of a girl got me back on a horse again for the first time in five years.

Jihane shows me some of her favorite horses at the horseback riding club.
The ponies were so cute! Does this one remind you of anyone famous? I'll give you a hint:
"Have I told you lately, that I love you?" (He even sang it for us!)
Jihane on her horse, Ottawa. This is the horse that threw her yesterday while she was galloping. But it didn't stop her! She is back on him again today.
Her brother Othmane is still riding ponies. He jumps in competitions and usually places.
Finally, Fantasia and me. He was a kind and patient horse. See the lunge line? I needed some extra encouragement before I ventured out on my own. Oh, and the instructor? I have the tiniest little crush. Maybe I will start taking lessons. Just kidding!

North Africa Thanksgiving

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Cooking and Feasting

This morning Ami and I worked side-by-side in the kitchen preparing for Thanksgiving. It was fun to talk and cook and share the day together. It still didn't feel like Thanksgiving. Without decorations and Wal-Marts screaming turkeys and pumpkin pies on every aisle, you begin to feel like you're in a warped time zone without holidays. You lose track of what time of the year it is. Especially with a climate that stays *somewhat* consistent.

Ami was preparing an apple pie, and since I'd prepared my hashbrown casserole last night, I decided to make some mint tea. As I was washing the mint tea leaves, Ami pointed out that she had a little extra pie crust. If you're a member of my family, you know what that means! Mom's famous cinnamon rolls! I grabbed the small handful of dough and began to roll it out, coating it with butter, cinnamon and sugar.
Unfortunately, as I mentioned before, it was a *little* amount of extra dough. In fact, they were so small that some UNrolled. But it was still enough to have with our tea. Ami's apple pie came out looking absolutely beautiful, and it didn't taste too shabby either!
Later we went to our feast. Mark and Bruce, the dads of my two adopted families, cut the turkeys. These birds were monsters!

Thanksgiving Traditions

Today I will be celebrating Thanksgiving away from my family. To tell you the truth, I think it might be the very first Thanksgiving I've spent away from them. It is important to me to keep some of my family's traditions for this holiday.

My mom never fails to make her delicious hashbrown casserole. I decided to make that for the Thanksgiving meal that I will be sharing today with four families who are in my home group. The problem? Ingredients, of course. You can't exactly get the same ingredients in North Africa that you can in the States. However, I found some items that just might work. I was shocked to find frozen cubed potatoes at our verson of Sam's. But not so shocked that I didn't quickly grab them and put them in my buggy. I also found a sharp cheese that somewhat resembles cheddar, except not in color. Then there is the Perly -- our version of sour cream. And don't forget the cream of chicken soup that doesn't come in a can. Ha! You should have seen me trying to thicken that stuff! The real verdict will come when I taste it.

Another semi-tradition is the "Thankful" poster. We put up a poster and throughout the day each member of the family writes on it things he or she is thankful for. This year it is the thankful whiteboard.

"Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!" (Ps 118:1)
"Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift." (2 Cor. 9:15)
"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances" (1 Thess. 5:16-18)

MMMMM...msimmon

This is Msimmon. I'm not really sure how to spell it. It is a thick pancake-y like thing that is a local recipe. (Several are actually pictured to the left.) It is sort of a cross between a pancake and a really thick tortilla. But I'm not doing it justice. You can heat one in the morning, sprinkle some sugar and butter on it, roll it up, eat it, and be satisfied until lunch.

On to other things local...

Mom, who would have thought that your middle name would be the brand name for a toilet?

Let's get a close-up of that...
Sorry. Couldn't resist. For you other readers, I'll give you a hint. It's not Jacob or Delafon.

Happy Birthday Steph!

This is my best friend, Stephanie. My more faithful readers will probably recognize her. She's the one with the new, cute baby and... ...the adorable family. Oh yeah, and she also has a husband. (Ha! Just kidding Coco!)
Today is Steph's birthday, and I really wish I could be there with her -- just like I wish I could have been there when she had Hudson. Steph and I had some crazy times living together along with Karen. Oh how I long for those college roommate days sometimes! Steph, from flip-flops to snoring, tennis to your many projects, burri-toes to dropping the soap, you'll always be #1 with me. If I could, I'd send you a whole bouquet of wild orchids.

Retreat

This weekend my company went on a retreat to an ocean town about thirty minutes away from my apartments. It was a nice time of fellowship, worship and sharing.
The house we stayed in was across the street from this beach. It was a rocky/sandy shoreline, but absolutely beautiful.
Gotta love those self-made pictures. Lisa and me on the balcony.
Two of my seventh grade students and me. They are daughters of some families in my company, and I taught them in weather and climate last quarter. I miss you this quarter, Annie and Catie!
My birthday twin. Erik is one of my sixth grade students in my English class. He's a huge help and also the best birthday twin ever!

Kindred Spirits

I teach a Themes in Media class to seventh and eighth grade girls. We have recently watched Anne of Green Gables. Last Wednesday we ended on a part where a major character dies. The bell rang right as it happened. Not one girl left with dry eyes. Watching the movie brought up the idea of kindred spirits.

Meanwhile, I've been talking a lot recently to Joni and Lisa. (Joni, you seriously need to get a blog!) Lisa was my roommate at my training in the summer, and Joni was my suitemate. We are finalizing plans to spend Christmas together with three other teachers from my school. As I've had Anne on my mind lately, I realize that Joni, Lisa and I are kindred spirits. We spent a total of two weeks together in our whole lives, yet I feel like I've known them forever. Girls, can't wait to spend Christmas and New Year's with you!