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.