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!
Sunday, December 03, 2006
Weekend of Firsts
Posted by SP at 5:26 AM
15 worthy responses:
Awesome adventures! I would have LOVED to see those storks...and of course, your face when handed a fish head for lunch.
Becky, I also saw two owls near our school the other night when I was walking around the track. They were beautiful! I'd love to find out what kind they were. They were smaller, dark in color, and so cute!
What an experience! What are you talking about - we used to feed you fish heads all the time when you were little and bad!!! Love, Dad
Awe, I can hear dad's voice in my head! Sounds like a great adventure. I hope you're going to write a book about all this. Hint: take good notes now :)
Shannon--I know a plea in disguise when I hear one! Was this the owl?
http://www.owlpages.com/pictures/species-Asio-capensis-1.jpg
The African Marsh Owl is 32-34 cm (thanks to your mom, we know how big that is!) and lives anywhere from Southern Africa to Southern Spain. They have tufts over their eyes (like a Horned Owl), but they are often "tucked in" and therefore not visible.
Becky, you are good! Yes, this looks like the one. And I'm glad you got my "hint." ;) I saw it again tonight as it was hunting. Too cool!
Oh, Shannon, what great adventures you are having! That certainly explains the video you sent. There is going to be a great book from these adventures. Take notes, notes, notes. The fish story is too much----a head?? Aren't dates delicious? TOM
I checked out your blog again today and love the stork story. I own a business that deals with storks....maybe I can email you my web address. :)
This is Mandy's sis-in-law...what a great adventure!
becky- you are a total bird dork and i love you for it! hehe!
oh, i loved reading this, shannon! that girl's house sounds amazing! and the fish sounded yummy too-minus the presentation. :)
i wish i could play the video but for some reason i am not able to play these things! :(
LOVED the video. I didn't want it to end =). love you!
Hey! I'm not a bird dork! I'm an EVERYTHING dork!
Becky, you are a master dork, with a specialty in birds. HA!!!
Fisheads....MMMMMMMMMMMmmmmmmmmmmmm.
Oh my gosh! We have alot to look forward to in February! Loved the videos and could hear your unmistakeable laugh in the back ground!! Amazing Race was in your city and showed camel heads hanging in the meat markets! Have you eaten camel meat yet??
The children are beautiful! What grand adventures! How did you fare after the dates? Aren't you supposed to be allergic to dates? Is it dates or something else?
I am loving reading of your fun adventures. Boo hiss though, Mitch and I missed the Amazing Race where they were in your city. We heard of it afterward.
Love you! Miss you.
I wouldn't have known what to do if they put a fish head in front of me! Haha. The video was awesome, great pictures! I miss you!
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