World Kindness Day

For those who didn't know, Friday was World Kindness Day. Earlier in the week I recieved an email from a friend about the little boy Noah and his Chistmas wish. So on Friday, I had my kids make him lots and lots of Christmas cards! They did a good job. It was really funny to read some of them. Their writing skills are not the best, but their intent was evident. My 6th graders asked me to include a letter to Noah inviting him to write back :) I hope Noah is blessed by our huge envelope of Christmas cards from Morocco!

Being welcomed home...

One funny detail I forgot to add...When Sarah and I returned from Tangier, there was a little bird in our apartment! Getting it out was an adventure ;) And it had conveniently left it's markings ALL OVER our apartment :)

Tangier

This weekend's adventure...Tangier! Since Friday was a Moroccan national holiday, Sarah and I decided to take advantage of the extra day off from school :)
After a seven hour train ride, we finally arrived in Tangier. Our afternoon was spend at the home of Morgan and Bruce (a contact Sarah had recieved). We had such a good time. It was so nice to be around people who understand us! They were a sweet couple and very fun to be around.
Saturday morning we met John (another contact) at the Cafe de Paris (where Bourne Ultimatum was filmed!!!), got some food, and headed out for our hike. The climb was refreshing. It was really nice to be away from the city and enjoy clean air. The view from the mountain was gorgeous! We could see all the way across to Spain. On our way up the Rif Mountains, we came across a herd of sheep and goats. We even saw a baby lamb that had just been born! As we continued to climb, we were engulfed by a cloud. It was like we were in our own world.
When we got back to town, we grabbed dinner and headed to the carnival :) Riding the Pirate swing, we felt like kids...it was great! What a wonderful day!!! New friends, new sights, new experiences...

Am I really old enough to be a chaperone?

Yesterday was AAC's first Halloween dance! As the "cool young teachers", Sarah and I were drafted as chaperones :) We also volunteered to help set up for the dance. This was a bit frustrating, however. The girls had great plans but didn't know how to put them into play. The result...guess who did all the work? Yup...us! Instead of completing a task and moving on to something else that needed to be done, they just stood around, talked, and figured out what to wear!!! Every time we asked them to do something, they would agree and disapear. This, unfortunately, is due in-part to their wealth and having maids that do everything for them. I think this was a good learning experience for them and for us. Next time, we will be sure there is someone in charge and specific tasks are assigned :) In the end, though, everything looked GREAT!
The dance itself was a whole other experience. Beginning with our own chaperone dance party (because none of the kids were there yet), the evening was a lot of fun! One interesting thing about teaching overseas, is that it isn't weird to "hang out" with your students on the weekend. So, my students repeatedly asked me to come dance with them. I did...but it was a little strange. I didn't really feel like their teacher...it made our age difference feel even smaller :) We had fun though; and the kids really enjoyed themselves!