A World without walls
everyday life while homeschooling overseas
There are two things that I'm really loving about Jordan. The first: The sun ALWAYS shines! Yes, I miss the rain sometimes, and it's dusty everywhere all the time, and I could use a good thunderstorm once in awhile, but, oh how I love LOVE LOVE the sun! I love the brightness, the warmth, the knowledge that I'm not going to freeze when I go outside, and the energy it gives to my mind and body. The sun is sheer awesomeness!
The other thing I love about Jordan: The call to prayer. Ok, so that sounds weird, but I love it. I love the sound, I love the fact that these people love to pray, I love that it reminds me of where I am... It's a beautiful, almost ethereal sound. I love it. In other news, we are STILL waiting for our shipments. So frustrating. Our air freight (UAB) arrived here in Jordan on the 20th of August, and it is still not released to us yet. I suppose I can continue to do without it--I've done without it for months now--but since I know that it's here, I just want it in my house now. I want to know that it's safe and that it isn't lost or being looted. That is my concern. Our HHE and our car....who knows? Devin's gone in a couple of times to the shipping office and politely asked about where it is and they tend to brush him off: "Oh, everything is on schedule. No problem." And the UAB? "We are waiting for the Jordanian ministry to return the papers, and then it will be the next day!" But they can't keep bugging the ministry because they want to 'keep good relations'. Hmmm...I'll show YOU good relations.... Regardless, I would just like to be able to move completely into my house so Peter will stop asking me when we're going to our real house. Any time would be good. We were spoiled in Finland, as our stuff all arrived 2 DAYS after we arrived! In Africa, it was 3 MONTHS before we got our stuff. A happy medium would be nice.
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You know you have some serious expat kids when your dinner consists of oatmeal and UHT milk and one of them says, “This is the BEST DINNER EVER!!” Ha! Today was our first Sabbath day in Jordan. It is just so weird to go to church on a Friday morning right after the work week. I suppose it’ll take some time to really wrap my brain around it, but it is still just weird to me. It was nice, though. Since we don’t have a car, we decided to walk. It’s only about a kilometer away, so no big deal. The only problem is that there’s a big wadi (valley) between us and the church. Over that wadi is the famous Jordanian suspension bridge (Andrew and Peter call it 'The Golden Gate Bridge'--Ha!). There are no walking paths or sidewalks on the bridge, though, so we had to walk under it! I was expecting Grand Canyon-esque walkways: switchbacks over dirt and rocks while passing donkeys, camels and sheep. Not so. It was lovely! The switchback section was gorgeous! The rest of the time, we either walked on dilapidated sidewalks, stairs, or roads. It was very cultural to me. One of those ‘little’ reminders that we’re in a foreign country that’s all new to us once again! Hi, we’re in the Middle East! How cool is that?!?!? We DID see some sheep, though, and some other cool views of the city from below and above: We found the church no problem and most everyone knew we were coming. It was happy. We met lots of new people and had a nice time.
In Relief Society, they asked if anyone knew how to play the piano. Just out of habit, I raised my hand. Seriously, though, I don’t play the piano. I’ve played most of the hymns, though, after my 2 ½ year stint as the ward organist in Helsinki…but today, they asked me to play the ONLY hymn I had never played in Helsinki, and it was a doozy. Oh well. I’m not a sightreader even on a good day, and made it through with only a few major car crashes (and a LOT of minor ones…). Maybe since I played so bad, they’ll not ask me to do it again. However, Devin and I are both speaking in sacrament meeting next Sunday, so we’ve got that going for us… And a funny thing: There was a guy there today from my high school graduating class! Yah, that was weird to see someone I knew! We’ve upgraded the kids’ room to a bunk room now. The GSO guys came today and put up another set of bunk beds and the kids are so happy to all be together! It makes ME happy that they like to be together! What a good bunch of kids I have. I have to be the luckiest mom in the whole world. Although, I may not have that thought running through my head when they wake each other up at 5am wondering if it’s morning yet, but such is the life. What a lovely stay we enjoyed in Vienna! We arrived in the city at 8:30am and found a large van taxi to take us to our hotel. Fortunately for us, the room was already ready! WOW! So they let us check in early! That was a first! I will HIGHLY recommend the Hilton Danube to ANYONE! If you go to Vienna, stay there. Yes, it ‘s a little ways outside the city center, but not really THAT far, it has great HUGE rooms, beautiful views of the Danube (Our rooms were on the ground level and the windows looked out right on the river! So pretty!), AND if you’re staying at the hotel, kids eat free in the restaurant! THAT was our favorite part! J We dropped our bags off in our rooms and Devin and I showered. After a LONG flight across the Atlantic, I have to admit that it was NICE to shower and get a little refreshed. I know I hardly slept on the flight. I sat straight upright the whole time. Andrew, Claire and I had the middle three seats, so Andrew lay down and put his feet across my lap and so did Claire, so I held their legs on my lap all night while they slept. It was alright. Then Claire woke up at 6am Vienna time—there is no stopping her internal clock!!!!—and asked me if it was morning yet! Gah! She spent the rest of the flight playing video games on her tv. Thank heavens for that! Anyway, we showered and changed and walked over to the train station so we could get day passes on the public metro/whatever system to go do some siteseeing. We got to the ticket machine and swiped the credit card, and it asked for a pin. Huh? It’s a credit card. There IS no pin. But then we read the fine print and it said that ALL credit cards required a pin and if you didn’t know it, you needed to call your credit card company. Um, it’s hard for people who have no phone, you know? So, our ticket transaction was denied. We couldn’t get train tickets! L We were all REALLY grumpy at this point, so we walked back to the hotel and realized that we hadn’t eaten for almost 24 hours. (Yes, they fed us on the plane—and unfortunately, it was the WORST airplane food I’ve EVER HAD, and I’ve been on lots of airplanes. They gave Claire, Andrew and me pasta because everything else was out. Number one, I don’t eat pasta. Number two, you open that up and it was DARK BROWN—almost BLACK from being overheated and was as hard as a rock! Gross. Everything was serious carbs. I would get less sick eating nothing than eating what they gave me. Same with breakfast. Sugary yogurt, a muffin, and orange juice.) So, we went to the hotel restaurant that had just barely opened for business and ordered a HUGE lunch for everyone. It took a little while (they cooked it!!!) but when it came, everyone ate in silence and at the end there was nothing left on the table! Hooray! We all felt much better after that. So, we decided to go for a walk on the banks of the Danube since we couldn’t see the city center. It was SO LOVELY!! The PERFECT way to see some of Vienna on our own terms. In the middle of our walk, we found a park! Now the kids will have VERY fond memories of Vienna! Then, we walked back to our hotel and watched some Olympics until dinner. It was a lovely, lovely day. I’d definitely go back to Vienna. |
Who Am I?
As a Stay At Home Mom of 4 wonderful children, I have the amazing opportunity not only to home school them, but to do so in many different places! I am married to the most amazingly wonderful (and handsome) man in the whole world! Together, we seek out, every day, that Joy in the Journey that makes life exciting! Archives
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by Dan Brown
I like that the plot twists and turns a lot...and it makes you think. However, I don't appreciate Dan Brown's endings in his books. I find the endings incongruent with the rest of his stories--why make it a romance for the last chapter...
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I loved this book. I'm a sucker for fairy tales/fantasy. This was so well written! I can't wait to read all the rest of her books!
by Shannon Hale
I'm reading this one again. I liked it the first time I read it. I'm still liking it for the second time around. I like all of Shannon Hales' books.
**Still lots of fun the second time around! I do like this book for a comfortable...
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