New Subject Area...Skincare

Class Location:The Face Shop

It's a shame that I've been in the UAE for almost 3 years, have seen this store whenever I come to the city but completely ignored it. Well that was until earlier this week but let's rewind. I've struggled with my oily acne prone skin for well over 15 years now. In the past few months I've been becoming more and more consistent with my skincare regimen but the cleanser I was using was harsh(even though I didn't realize it) and the other products were eh ok. Now I'm also youtube obsessed-learning people, learning. I stumbled across this video below by The Island Beauty. In this video she talks about some Asian skincare products and how she incorporates them to keep her skin healthy. She also mentioned her skin was similar to mine! So I decided I would give the masks she talks about a try the next time I saw them.

Well as fate would have it I went to Abu Dhabi Mall in search of a new battery for my Dell. Sadly I could not find the battery but I ran across The Face Shop. For the first time I stepped in and my skincare life will never be the same! The sales lady, though initially a bit standoffish warmed up and was so sweet, explained my options and recommended two masks to me-Mung Bean and Rice. After trying the Mung Bean Mask  and a few of the samples I was sold! I went back and dropped probably more than I should have on skincare products. However these should last me a good 2-3months so I feel justified.

Top Row(left to right): Charcoal Phyto Powder in Cleaning Foam, Mascara, Chai seed toner, Mild Papaya Peeling Mask, Flebot White Crystal Luxury Eye Cream, Arsainte Eco-Therapy Crystal Water Ultra Cream
Bottom Row(left to right): Green Tea toner, Real Nature Mask Mung Bean, Baby Face Hydrogel Mask Collagen

After I told her I was leaving the UAE she also gave me more samples! And who doesn't love free samples. I told her how I loved the Papaya mask so she gave me a 6week supply! I can't wait to share some of these goodies with my Mom, sister and cousin when I go home for a short visit!

Top Row: Sleep Mask, Real Nature Mask Aloe Vera, Mild Papaya Peeling Mask
Bottom Row: Wash-Off Mask, Sseal Escargot 24k Gold Cream

Stay tuned for reviews!

And then the plan changed

So in my most recent post I said I was moving to EG well...the plans have changed. I've accepted a position in neighboring Cameroon. I'll be moving to Yaoundé to teach at the American School of Yaoundé! I'm over the moon about this! I realized I've never lived in a major city in my life so this should be a very interesting move. Yaoundé is home to 1.5-1.8 million people...this small town girl is moving to the big city. So far I'm very positive about the school. It helps that I have connections there already-both in person and via social media. I should be landing in the great city of Yaoundé on August 9th and a new adventure will begin!

Stay tuned till then...

Progress!(An old post from 2012)

Yay! Whose front door is now fixed after 10 months????
That's right. This chick right here! I'm so happy! No more getting stuck in my apartment and calling my neighbor to come rescue me. This is progress indeed :-)

Janet(Another 2011-12 post)

This weekend I did something I thought would be AMAZING! I went to see Janet Jackson in concert. Sounds great right? Well as it turns out it was one of those things that is great in theory and that's the only place it's great. Sad to say, I liked the IDEA of seeing Janet more than actually seeing her. I left shortly after intermission. Eh, guess I'm not a true fan but I'm sure that doesn't hurt her heart too badly. Though I will say during the concert I was completely freaked out and convinced that Michael was still alive. At one point she sang some slow song that I didn't know but she looked JUST like him and SOUNDED just like him too! So freaky....

And for a break from Ghayahti Pt 1(2011 post but a must see)

Moving on

My, my, my it's been a long while since I've done anything on here. So update! My run in Abu Dhabi is coming to a fast end. I've been here for a little over two and a half years(three school years about) and I'm ready to say good-bye(for now anyway). The process of getting over here is as convoluted as the process for leaving. I can't blame them about the exit process though 'cause so many expats have come, run up thousands of dollars in debt and run away. So now those of us coming behind have about a million hoops to jump through...not bad so long as you start a good 2months ahead. Well at this point I've only a few big things left in my apartment and at the rate things are going I'll have just about everything cleared out within the next week or two. I'll just be living out of my bag(already doing that) and sleeping on an air mattress. At this point in my leaving process I've become a pro at listing my things at a great price and sticking to it no matter what is said. I'll tell you these people are so good at trying to get every last fil(same as penny) out of you smh...

Anyway so now I'm moving to....long dramatic pause..... Malabo, Equatorial Guinea! Si! I'm moving to a Spanish speaking nation in west central Africa. So I've started brushing up on my Español. So far I've loved my time there-been there twice. I'll be posting more about this place and what I expect out of this new adventure. Below are pictures of a visit to Sepopo Beach with they boys(I'm always with the boys lol) during my first trip- December 2012- to Malabo.

 

The People (Morocco Pt2)

From the time I arrived in Morocco till I left each person I met fortified my faith in humanity. The warmth, concern and easy nature of these people-Moroccan or otherwise-provided a soft place for me to land after the tiring/draining term I had.

Yousef-my unofficial tour guide from Agadir. He and I met through others and he decided to show me around Marrakech on his little scooter. We had a great time.

The above two pics are of dinner with folks I met through couchsurfers.com. These people were from all over the world and the conversations we had were absolutely wonderful.

My roomies-one from the Philippines and a mother/daughter team from the UK. Lots of conversation about so many topics-women's issues to love of travel to passion for work.

Jayme-one of the roomies I went sightseeing with. I was amazed by the conversations she and I had. It felt like talking to one of my friends from the states.

The two Jamals...we made tagine with beef in the Menara Gardens. 

My boys...Jamal, Mirwen and Robert. Mirwen is a hippie from Iraq-yea I was surprised. He had just come back from a 4 month stint in India. Robert is from Slovakia and is in a state of change which made for great conversations about what really matters in life. Jamal is Moroccan. He's from a small village in the Atlas Mountains and was a great source of information.

Morocco-pt.1

I arrived in Marrakech with a very simple idea...to be open and have fun. I let go of my normal need for planning and had written down two things I simple had to do while there. First on the list was to cook a traditional Moroccan meal(whatever that was lol) and second to visit a spa. That was it. I let go of the tourist mentality of hotels, guided tours and "safe activities" and embraced whatever came to me. Let me say this was the best decision I've made in a long time. I loved every minute of my time in Morocco...so much so there were tears in my eyes as I walked away this morning. Never before have I connected with a place and people so deeply so instantly. Over the next few days I'll be uploading pics of my time in this great place...let's get started.

The dorm I stayed in...my bed was the far right. I was the first one there so I got to choose the best bed lol. Everything was very new 'cause the hostel had only been open 3 weeks.

Shot of the breakfast/dinner area. This hostel is a riad which means there is an open ceiling in the middle-lots of natural light.

These hats hung from the ceiling as decoration and a game. The game is a betting game. You choose a hat and stand where you think it'll land. If you choose right and it lands on your head you get money if you don't you give some money. I didn't play.

One of the chill out lounges.

The other lounge.

Stay tuned for more pics and videos.

This week's realizations...

First this week our librarian gave a PD on how to teach young children to read. Nothing she talked about was new information but it was nice to have it come from an Arabic staff member. I know that because they've taught with each other for so many years the same information I or any other new staff member gives is looked at slightly askew but from her it was fact. No problem. The best part of this very fun, honestly it was a blast, presentation was when I remarked on how great the information was and she wispered to me "My husband did it" lol. I can't tell you how many times I hear this from the ladies. Well it got me thinking about the reputation Arabic men have in the west. They really have bad rep. Yes I'm very sure there are some absolute monsters out there but in talking to more Arabic ladies they love their men. From the stories they share their husbands are very supportive and caring. They call them in the middle of the day when they're in need of something and immediately receive the help they need. These men truly seem to balance their wives. Yes there are gender roles that I frankly don't get but I find that in the US too. No their marriages are not perfect 'cause I've also been the sounding board when they have problems with their husbands. Yet overall they seem very happy with their situations. Maybe these woman are just very lucky but I have a feeling their husbands may just be the rule and those that we hear of are the exception...I could be wrong but I don't think so.

My other realization this week is how much control I, and those who are from similar societies as mine, have over our lives. Growing up in the US, with our "pull yourself up by your bootstarps", "be the change you want to see" and "just do it" mentality, there are things here that I just cannot process. The lack of control some have over their lives just breaks my heart. This was brought into sharp focus yesterday. I had to travel to Sila'a, a town about 20min from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, for a meeting. When we arrived we were given a tour of the school and as we walked around I saw one of the former cleaners at my school. I called her name, she turned to come to me but hadn't seen me yet. When she saw it was me she hugged/held onto me and broke down crying. Her tears last a good while and made me so sad. She asked me if I was going back to Ruwais but she honestly seemed to be asking if I would take her with me. I don't know why she was removed from our school, people just are removed at random and usually for no good reason, but it was clear she was so unhappy with her present situation. From chatting with other English teachers around the Emarite, the way we at Al Jinan treat our staff is very different  from most schools. My school functions, even with all our mess, as a family. When we have a staff breakfast, everyone from the principal to the cleaners to the security guards are included. When we have staff appriciation days EVERYONE receives a gift and small speech from the principal about how they contribute to the school community. We encourage our students to treat ALL the adults with respect. I don't know what is happening where she is but I really did wish I could take her back home to Al Jinan. I know one thing, I'll be chatting with the other cleaners on Sunday to see what's happening. Afterall 80% of us here in this country are expats and in my opinion we've got to look out for each other as so many of us here are without family and close friends. 

Soup's on

Yay! I made soup! All by myself and from scratch! The best part? It's edible. I'm so proud of me lol. To be honest I've been on a cooking kick lately. Mostly I've been baking though but I was inspired by the cold winds of today to attempt homemade chicken soup. It's all good but a bit on the salty side but when it's really hot you don't notice. Now I know what adjustment to make for the next batch. Go me!

The Battle

I hate to clean. I mean it. In fact I'm not sure if I've already written about this but it's happening again. I'm dreading the cleaning I have to do yet while I could very well call up Raquel to do the deed. The problem is my middle class midwestern upbringing won't let me. Ugh...

The Green Card

As any immigrant to the US knows, your green card is your ticket to freely living and working in the US without fear of the government with limited worry about USCIS. Well I've learned of a different green card over here. Yesterday I gave the sister of our school secretary a ride home from her college that's five minutes or so away from our school. Silly me, I thought it would be a matter of getting there, picking her up and driving back to Ghayathi...simple as pie. WRONG! lol I think I get accustomed to things, slip into my western way of thinking and forget where I am sometimes. Honestly the fully veiled women no longer hold any wonder and I can figure out who's under each veil. I've adjusted to Arabic time where 5 minutes really means one hours. their penchant for over staged productions only slightly fill me with a mix of amazement and distaste. I've learned the flexibility of their truth...what I perceive as a lie is simply a way of not being rude/causing an uncomfortable situation. But the green card incident shocked me back to reality.

As we pulled up to the school her sister called her to come out. She walked out of the building and was immediately greeted by a security officier who escorted her back inside. Well after calls back and forth it turns out that she did not have her green card processed yet. What is this magical green card you ask... My people it's a card that says she has permission to leave the school premises. This card allows her to go for walks around the community and be picked up by whomever. Sounds great...if she were in high school, away at boarding school but this is a married woman with children. Who gave her this permission??? Her husband had to sign. Her sister went on to explain that your husband, father, brother...whatever man is in charge of you can sign for it. My brain started to hurt a bit. As a result of her unprocessed green card I had to give the security guard my license so they could record who she was leaving with. It was a big ordeal, as most everything here is and it brought me back to where I am.

Once we finally got going though it was a most pleasant trip home. Listening and participating in their conversation made me miss my own sister dearly. They are really very funny and now I've been told to come over on the weekends so we can hang out and have a language exchange. I think I'll take them up on their offer.

Trust...

I am having an issue of trust. Someone is lying but I'm not quite sure who. The sad thing is this lying is occurring over an event that does not require ANY drama whatsoever. The hermit in me wants to just close off all unnecessary contact...however, I know that what I do affects not only me but also my English teachers. It seems a very difficult task to ask they be judged on their own merit rather than being painted with the same brush as me. It is with this in mind that I will negotiate borders that allow me to remain true to myself-I'm an authentic person and don't know how to fake it with anyone- and preserve the good name of my English teachers. Leadership is rough...just a bad patch and a great lesson in cross-cultural politics. Thank God it's the weekend.

Oh no it's me!!!

I had a revelation this weekend. I was watching Wanda Sykes and she was doing a bit on how arrogant the Bush administration was with their surprise trips to Afghanistan and Iraq to visit the troops. Her point was "Who is ever happy when their boss does a surprise visit to "encourage/support" them?" As I laughed and thought back to all the times I've been ecstatic when I got to work only to find my supervisor was out for the day. It was always amusing 'cause nothing about how I ran my classroom changed but just knowing that no one would pop in to visit me made things easier then it dawned on me...that's me now lol. Ugh. I've become the one that folks may not necessarily dislike but my absence does bring a bit less pressure. Oh my...lol I thought back to thursday when I called my 3 LTs into my office just to chat 'cause as I reviewed their plans I honestly realized there was disconnect with what was expected and what I was getting but the look on their faces was priceless. I just wanted make sure we were all on the same page but I guess my position does put chats in a different light.  I'm beginning to understand the saying "It's lonely at the top" and I'm not even at the top...just middle management basically smh. Ah well, I've decided if I'm to accomplish my goal(and it's a big one) I must master adult management...as skill I've always shunned lol.  

Not my will but thine be done...

At my school there has been alot of controversy over the selection of our Arabic Head of Faculty. I've just been waiting to know who I'll be working with but the ladies have been doing battle. One in particular was absolutely livid about the initial choice and was not afraid to make her views known to any and everyone. She and I spoke multiple times about the rational for our principal's selection but she was not satisfied. Well yesterday, during our National Day program, she and I had a conversation about faith. She told me that she was now at peace with whatever decision our prinicpal made. Why? She had prayed. She told me "There is a prayer we make about what is good for us. We ask Allah to do what is good for us. I prayed it three times and now I am ok." I explained to her that we Christians also have the same prayer. I explained that also believe in God's will for our life above our own. We then talked about how difficult that prayer can be when you REALLY want something but how we just do not know that grand plan for our lives. We talked about how you end up exactly where you are meant to be, even when it isn't where you want to be. It was a wonderful conversation. I absolutely love when I have these random and bridge building moments with my ladies.

It was a good idea...

at the time.

These seemed like a good idea. I deserved a treat. Yes, I did. So I got a whole bag...make that two bags. In the space of 12 hours I consumed one entire bag. They were so yummy going down. After about 20min I began to remember why we don't let small children do this...ugh I feel awful. Like I said...it was a good idea, at the time.

2011 Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving for me occured at 3am Nov 25, 2011. This is never been a big holiday for me. I've never really cared much for the holiday itself but I've always loved the fact that my family would get together. I love the random debates. Mostly started by one of the boys picking someone's mouth lol. I love the amount of food consumed but it's only good when I'm with the family. I love the laid back feel of the day. In the past 5 years I've loved the kids.

This year Skype allowed me to participate in almost all the things I love. Listening to my mother and cousin singing hymns as my brother quoted Bible verses was a treat. Talking to my 3 year old nephew who insisted that "We don't need a plane" to come see me. His first thought was "We need a truck and diver to take us" but he eventually decided "We need a ship to go on the water." lol Lord love him. I loved the short puppet show and pre-k talk with my almost 5 year old niece. Seeing my Dad in his mismatched classic polo and shorts was comforting as was the brief to the point conversation with my oldest brother. I am so thankful for the family I have. I absolutely love everyone of them with their quirks lol.

Can't wait to see the family in 4 weeks...even if it's only for a few days.

my siblings and I with my father peeking in the back, mom prefers not to have her pic online(sigh)

The road less traveled

Well I've been here for one month shy of a full year and I guess it must be time for the next phase in my adventure over here. I didn't want to talk about it for fear it would disappear lol but now it's official. I've been asked to leave the classroom and work as the English Head of Faculty for my school. This is such a wonderful opportunity and I gladly accepted. In the past I've always shyed away from any role that would take me out of the classroom 'cause I do soooooooo looooovvvveee teaching but it's time. When I think back, this position(or one similar to it) has come my way twice before and each time I've walked away. I've always wanted to be sure that I had a firm enough grasp of my craft because when I am questioned, as I know I'll be by my ladies, I need to feel that I speak from a place of theory as well as application. I've been in the trenches with these ladies and I know how their minds work. I know they'll question and push me and frankly I look forward to it 'cause they did the same when I was an LT. I love that they're open enough with me to question. I love that they're also willing to really listen to what I have to say. They trust my intentions are good and I think that will take me a long way. Our leaving Head of Faculty was a pittbull but she knew her stuff and got us to where we are. Now I can help us get to the next level in providing the best possible education for our kids. I'm so pleased and all fear has gone away. I am ready for the challenges that lay ahead.

Again I am reminded that the Big Man Upstairs really is listening. For the past few months my mantra has been "I am open to all the possibilities God has in store for me." Not asking for anything specific just fighting the fear that often accompanies change. 'Cause as much as I am not a fan of change(says the girl who packed up her life to move accross the world lol) I hate being stagnant even more. So here I go, stepping out on faith...faith in my God and my education gained from years of study and application.

Things that make me smile

-Driving down Ghayathi streets blasting Kanye, Beyonce, Katy Perry etc
-The odd looks I get when dancing in my car(got that in the US too lol)
-Hearing a Rhi-Rhi ringtone in the middle of the desert
-Hearing things that distictly African(ie-my Nigerian friend suck his teeth when irritated)
-Hearing things that are distictly American(most any song on the radio-their love of Snoop Dogg)
-Spending all day doing my hair without feeling guilty
-Phrases, gestures, folk tales used by my Arabic ladies that I've heard/see my whole life
-The unexpected
-Random conversations
-People/Events that connect me to home
-Knowing that my kids are fundamentally no different than my previous kids(great hugs, eager learners, adorable smiles...little people in the making)
-Understanding little kids conversations...in ARABIC!!!
-Discussing which sheikh's successor is hot...while at school...with the Arabic ladies
-Learning about standards of beauty over here-the eyes are where it's at
-Speed limits are merely a suggestion
-The Beautiful Camel Competition
- Looking at the real desert at the Tilal Liwa Hotel(just beautiful)
-Realizing I don't need much
-The excitement of going home in 5 weeks
-Skype
-Facebook video chat
-Lame pick-up lines delivered in broken English(lame is lame no matter the language lol)
-Falling asleep on the couch (some things never change)

MY RINGTONE

This song makes me smile all the time!!!

40th Annual Camel Festival

Last night we went to see a camel race here in Ghayathi. Well we didn't see the reace but we did have quite the experience. We ended up meeting the big wigs, getting interviewed by a reporter from Dubai and taking a million PR pics. At first we were very concerned about going to the official ceremony area since none of us were dressed appropriately...I mean when we left our apartments we thought we were going to a casual camel race. Oh and there were a grand total of 9 women at the event-we 7 of them were in our group. Anyway, true to Arabic form they were very hospitable and showed us around, gave us a rundown of the history and purpose of the event(to maintain their cultural identity) and lots of tea, coffee and sweets. It was a good night.

The event is running for 6 days. Each day there's a Beautiful Camel competition with 10 winner and the winners get a luxury car. There are also camel sales and last year one camel went for 25million dirhams! We were told that the first day of competition is open to all (folks come from Saudi, Qatar etc to compete) but the rest of the days are restricted to UAE nationals. True to form I did not bring my camera along but others did so here are some pics of last night.