Almost half-way there?

Tomorrow is our 70th day of school.
[I think...all the K through 2nd teachers have different counts!]

Tomorrow is also the last (half) day before the holiday break. Part of me is shocked to be at this point in the year already! Another part is not surprised at how fast it's gone. With so many holidays and breaks throughout the fall, it felt like I did a lot of everything except teach!

But we have had some good times in room 205...

 We started the year with a unit on Dinosaurs! After learning about paleontologists and all the tools they use, we grabbed our tools (toothpicks) and dug for fossils in the dirt (chocolate chips in a cookie)!! Added challenge: create a dinosaur out of the chocolate chips you recover. My friend on the left had the best (albeit only because everyone else ate the 'fossils') attempt!

 They made these masks in French class. I have no idea why. But they loved them!! I still find the stray mask tucked into a desk or cubby.
They also had a storyteller come in for French class one day. I left to make copies and came back to find my kids staring at a man in a cape wearing a Fez hat and playing the guembri (guitar-ish). My non-French speaker informed me later that his friends all translated for him so he didn't miss out! Sometimes, they're sweet like that!




We studied Morocco! From the different mountain ranges to the symbols on the flag, we looked at different parts of life here in Morocco. The students all prepared presentations at home and shared them in front of classmates and parents! One presentation was on couscous, the national dish. His mother made a huge plate of couscous that my students couldn't wait to devour! Shortly after our unit was the school's annual Moroccan Festival and Traditional Moroccan dress day. *I don't think pink fur actually qualifies as 'traditional' but it was a chilly day.



We joined with the other second grade classes and all of the lower school to sing in the Jazz-inspired Holiday Concert. 2nd grade sang 'Winter Wonderland' and 'How High the Moon.'
(I would like to brag for a moment...in the top picture, all those kids to the far right sitting quietly in nice little rows, that's MY group! Classroom Management Win!!)

 Most recently, we did a math unit on polygons and 3D shapes. We used straws and play-doh to create 3D figures like pyramids, cubes, and prisms. We also did a classroom scavenger hunt. They were struggling to find many pyramid shapes... an object that joins in a pointy tip...with this group of boys... I'm glad they struggled!




Overall, this group is certainly different from my bunch last year. But also wonderful! They have crazy imaginations that never seem to end (nor would I want them too!). They love to hug, giggle, and talk. and talk. and talk. But they are also a kind, respectful, sweet, and helpful little community!

Basically, I won the class lotto! ;)

It's been a fun year so far and I am very excited to see them grow and discover even more!

Poetic Genius

I love seeing my students from last year in the dismissal area each morning and afternoon. Actually, today I got to see them a lot! One of the third grade classes had extra recess during our recess time and I was able to see several of my kiddos... I can't believe how much they've grown! I got lots of hugs and pleas to 'come back' to them. At the beginning of the year, I did miss them dearly. Now, I like my current group just as much. Last year's kids will always have a special place in my heart though. After all, they were my first ever class!

Anyway, today one of them ran up to me at dismissal with a piece of paper in his hand. He asked me to take the paper because he wrote me note.  Instantly, I remembered all the bizarre and inappropriate things he said last year ('note' is already a slightly terrifying term to hear from a student. He then called it a poem and I felt better. kind of.) so with the anticipation of regret, I asked him to read it to me. Unfortunately, he had a bus to catch and no time to read it but I took the note/poem anyway. And I am so glad I did!

Sidenote with information really only relevant to this story: If I had to rank the comments I hear most throughout the day, "Miss, I don't have a pencil" is definitely in the top 5. And I am sure all my teacher-friends can understand the emotions that follow that comment. At the beginning of the year, each student was given a lovely red pencil box complete with two pencils (and I have given them several more since then). But of the 17 pencil boxes in my room, I am guessing only 4 would actually have a pencil in it. I remind the students DAILY that I am not responsible for their pencil. They are.

Now that you have that thrilling tidbit of info, here's the 'poem':

Lost your pen = no pen

No pen = No notes

No Notes = no study

No study = fail

fail = no diploma

no diploma = no work

no work = no money

no money = no food

no food = skinny

skinny = no lover 

no lover = no marriage

no marriage = no children

no children = alone

alone = depression

depression = sickness

sickness = death

Lesson: Don't lose your pen.  

I was laughing out loud! I showed it to my teaching partner and then went to the boy's current teacher to ask what exactly he has been teaching them. 

I plan to frame this poem. It may just be one of the best note/poems I've received. 

Paris!

If you found out on a Wednesday that you didn't have to work at all the next week, what would you do? Travel? Stay at home and rest? Catch up on all the things you've been neglecting (like a semi-responsible adult)?

I chose travel!

We get the Moroccan, Muslim, and American holidays off at school. Yes, it is pretty awesome. However, from the teaching standpoint, its kind of a planning-nightmare. One of the BIG Muslim holidays was approaching, but the dates are tentative and based on the lunar schedule. So basically, we knew there would be a break somewhere in mid-October. First it was Monday/Tuesday. Then it was Wednesday/Thursday, school on Friday, then the normal weekend. (Right there- school on a Friday after 2 days off and before a weekend...pointless planning nightmare.) But then the King decided to declare Tuesday-Friday off for schools and the school tossed in Monday also! Thus...a full week off!

The BIG holiday pretty much shuts everything down (even a week later a lot of things are still closed) so leaving town is best. Jasmine (roommate) and I were trying to decide where to go.  Spain, France, Italy, ... oh, the tough choices! We were about to resort to a coin flip but Paris won out in the end. Surprisingly, since neither of us really wanted to go to Paris. But we hadn't been and the flights were cheap so why not!


We planned a week in Paris in a matter of two days! And it was awesome!

We did the typical taxi, train, bus, plane, bus, metro ride to our final destination! I jokingly (but really not jokingly) mentioned to Jasmine that someday when I travel and only use one or even two forms of transportation, I won't believe I've actually traveled!

We stayed in a little apartment in Le Marais. Which is apparently a more popular and famous neighborhood than we knew/expected. It was within walking distance of almost everything and the metro was only a minute away! Thank you airbnb!
 
We got there late Saturday night/Sunday morning. We had beautiful weather on Sunday! Blue skies and warm, sunny weather (not as warm as Casa, but we were hoping to escape that anyway!). We started the week with a hop-on/hop-off tour of the city. I love being a tourist! Snapping photos from the open roof second level of a bus all throughout the city....it's fantastic! And a quick and easy way to see the sights and get a feel for the city!

We took full advantage of our week in Paris! We went to the top of the Eiffel and watched the sunset over Pairs. We went to Louvre and Musee d'Orsay. We saw Notre Dame and St Chapelle. We took a boat tour down the Seine (although, I fell asleep for a good part of it!). We wandered down streets,sampled wine, and enjoyed lots of delicious food! We ventured out to Versailles and biked around the gardens (we also got lost and quite confused in the gardens. I blame the terrible map we were provided.). We also escaped the rain one day inside the aquarium and went to Disney Paris on our last day there!

I was completely surprised by Paris! It was not at all what I had expected it be, and I couldn't be happier about that! I don't know if I will go back to Paris, but I will certainly encourage others to visit!

Berber Hike

After a classy, relaxing weekend in Tangier I went south toward Marrakesh to hike up in the mountains and stay in a little Berber village.

To sum up the weekend, it was beautiful. Gorgeous. Quiet. Refreshing. Breathtaking (in more than one way since we did climb a mountain!).

So much for those clean, new shoes!

The village has no cars. They have only had electricity and running water for the last few years. Our guide showed us the school they built two years ago. One room (half the size of my classroom) with little tables and enough chairs for the 33 students. All between the ages of 3 and 6. With only two teachers. (Have I mentioned how thankful I am for my small group of 17 students!). The guide was also excited to share that some of the older kids go down the mountain to continue their education and return home over the weekends to help with life in the village.

A true highlight was spending time on the rooftop enjoying the countless stars! Living in the city this year has been wonderful, but I do miss being able to see the sky like I could on campus.

TanJazz!

A few weekends ago I crossed yet another Moroccan city off my travel list!

Tangier is located on the coast where the Straight of Gibraltar connects the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. It has a very European feel and lots of Spanish influences. It is also much more laid back compared to Casa and it was a nice (and cheap) escape!

I went with NINE others to Tangier for the Jazz Festival there.... okay, I really just went to see Tangier. But there was a Jazz Festival happening also and that was why many of the others wanted to go. We left right after school ended and in true travel style took several forms of transportation to Tangier. Grand Taxi, Tramway, Train, Kangoo (think mini-van meets SUV), with plenty
of walking in between each (that is why we have legs right!)

We arrived in Tangier later on Friday evening and were all ready to just go to bed! The ten of us shared a 'cozy' two-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment! I slept on one of the three mattresses in the hallway.



The festival didn't start until Saturday night so we had the whole day to explore the city! We started with a nice breakfast in a cafe (complete with Mint Tea!) then ventured to the medina (city center). We wandered around and ventured down random streets and into some shops. We found some pretty spectacular views of the water and port! We could even see Spain! (it was faint and slightly hidden in fog, but still Spain.

We went down to the Corniche (boardwalk) for dinner. We watched camels sleep on the beach, a few people kite-board (that is definitely on my list of things to try now!), and enjoyed the beautiful Tangier weather.

Then it was time for TanJazz! The festival was at the Italian Consulate...such a beautiful location! The performers were from all over the world and all did an excellent job! One girl sang, played the piano and the trombone! It was quite impressive. TanJazz was a great and relaxing way to spend the evening.

Sunday included another cafe breakfast (more Mint Tea!) and then a journey home. That train ride seemed longer for some reason but traveling in the light allowed us to see some cool things we had missed Friday night.

I really enjoyed Tangier and certainly wouldn't mind visiting again!

TGI(wa)F

Thank Goodness It (was a) Friday!

This has been a very long week! Not a bad week, just long. Perhaps it was because of Parent's Night. Maybe it was that this felt like the first week I was really teaching (last week was pure review and lots of procedures). I don't know. But when it was finally Friday, I was happy.

Last year, I was very spoiled by my schedule. Both of my plan times were at the end of the day. That certainly had it's drawbacks also, but most of the time it was pretty great. The even better part was Fridays. I had an additional planing hour right before the other two. So on Fridays, I was done teaching at 12:35. Best Fridays Ever.


This year, I am blessed to have specials (music, PE, arabic...) at the end of the day again! And French (aka my other plan time) is in the morning. I LOVE morning plan time! This new schedule places my largest teaching block in the afternoon. It is amazing how different they are in the morning versus the afternoon. I walk an attentive, reasonably well-behaved group to lunch/recess only to return with 18 stuffed, sweaty, sleepy kids who cling to their water bottles like they've never had a drink in their life!!

The students have done a great job since school started. They truly are a great group and I feel blessed to have minor issues in my classroom.  This week we finished our unit on Dinosaurs. We reviewed on Wednesday. Took a small quiz on Thursday. And on Friday, we were making fossils!

'Making Fossils' was an activity the kids did in art class last year. I had no idea what a blessing that was until I had to do it with the students this year! (They don't have art anymore)

I had been asking the kids to bring in lids for the activity, I even asked their parents on Wednesday, but of course on Friday we were short a few lids. I thought about waiting to do it on Monday, but this was not a Monday activity. This was something that needed to be done on a Friday- when I would have two days to recover because anytime there are seven year olds and plaster involved, you're going to want recovery time.

Thus, my morning plan time was then devoted to a quest to find enough lids to make fossils on Friday! Thankfully, I borrowed (except I can't return them now. Shh!) some from a neighboring teacher and took others off of various containers in the classroom (which I will now have to replace with containers that do in fact have lids). But it was worth it, because we made fossils!


The former art teacher had walked me through the process. She told me I wanted the plaster to be the consistency of sloppy, mashed potatoes. She failed to fully emphasize how fast this stuff hardens. And I mean Fast. The students were silent reading or free writing while I quickly made a huge mess of the sink and small group work area! I had a very shallow bowl from the cafeteria to mix in and a popsicle stick because I didn't think to grab a spoon. First, it was too watery, then I would add to much powder and it would get too thick, then too much water again, then finally I got it! In the time it took to call the closest three kids over, hand them a lid, and tell to them to pick a bug or dinosaur, the stupid plaster had practically hardened in the mixing bowl! Adding water again did Not solve that problem. It just made things messier. Eventually, I figured out the plaster to water ratio (even if was with the last group!) and each student had their plaster-filled lid with bug or one of Adam's small dino figures pressed inside.

Then came time to remove the plastic toy and reveal the imprint/fossil. I went through to pull all the bugs/dinos out first because some were tough to break loose. Especially the dinosaurs. Some of the kids had failed to remember the 'press it HALFWAY in' part and had a better portion of the dinosaurs legs, tail, and even a head buried in the plaster. I was seriously digging for dinosaurs! I was nervous with a few because they were so stuck in the plaster and the dinos belonged to one of the students. I didn't want to break the dino or the fossil! It was a good thing the 'silent' reading carpet wasn't so silent because I may have had a few words for the very stuck plastic toys.

Within a matter of 30 minutes the fossil making was done, I was covered in plaster, the table and sink area were totally destroyed, and my kids were amazed with imprints they had inside their lids! Then it was time for the second batch of birthday cupcakes for the week. Her parents own a bakery and these cupcakes had a mound of frosting on top. A huge, delicious, sugary mound of frosting. Basically, it was time for the students to make a mess.

It's a good thing huge messes and clothes covered in plaster can be canceled out by big, happy student smiles!

It's also a good thing it was Friday ;)

Wise Woman

I have always thought my Grandma was smart! She always has a creative way to solve things. She has said or written the perfect words to me on more occasions than I count. And once again, her wisdom and forethought have blessed me!

Last spring, there was a very unfortunate incident with some pillows (from Grandma) I have had and cherished since childhood-- basically they were ruined. And so was I.

But as any good grandma would do, she replaced my poor, violated pillows with new ones! She even made them look just like the others. With the exception of one which she covered in MSU fabric... clearly an upgrade!  

When I returned home from school to this sight on my bed:




my first thought was not "Yes, a nicely made bed" but rather "I'm missing two pillows." Yes, I know this not really a major problem and I do recognize how ridiculous it is to be concerned for pillows, but that still did not stop my heart from missing a beat as I thought for sure the past was repeating itself.

But, not to worry! These pillows were made by my brilliant Grandma! The two missing pillows were not in fact in missing. This time she made them with pillowcases, that can easily be removed and washed (but not replaced. Especially with pink and cream...I don't even know where those pillowcases came from!).

As I wandered back to the living room I found the missing covers on the drying rack. And then I shamelessly moved the drying rack to the center of the room and placed the pillowcases directly in front of the fan. (We don't have a dryer, so we wait for things to air-dry.) My roommate, Jasmine, gave me a funny look when I bypassed our shirts, pants, and underwear to place the pillowcases in front of the fan. I simply pointed to them, and she understood.

Treasures from home. She gets it. 

Once again, I am saved and blessed by the wonderful and wise Grandma Ree!

Now to swap out those imposter pillowcases...

Normal...

I think the thing that surprises me most about being back in Morocco is the fact I am not really surprised. Life here seems rather ... normal.

Internet is touch and go. Normal.
Cockroaches. (Although I secretly refuse to accept them as) Normal.
The school loses power, momentarily, about once a week. Normal.
I don't understand most of the conversations around me. Normal.

People on the street stare. Normal.

I now depend on taxis, buses, or my own two feet to get anywhere. Normal. 
And so on and so on.

Has this crazy and often unbelievable culture really become home to my daily routine and life? Is this my new normal?

I was eager to return to a routine and work by the end of summer, but I did not expect to fall back into things so quickly and easily. Don't get me wrong- the alarm clock is still my worst enemy in the mornings! I am not that excited to be at school again. But in so many ways it feels as though the summer never happened. But that my life here just continued on as... normal.

Round Two

After a wonderful few weeks at home in the chilly, fall-like Mitten it was time to return for year two- and it is anything but chilly here! It was definitely more difficult to say goodbye this time. With less of an unknown ahead and a stronger appreciation for what I was leaving, it was tough. Still is a little bit.

My old roommates met me at the airport to take me to my new apartment! We dropped off my things and left again to head for campus (another girl was with us and she was also eager to start getting settled). After spending the afternoon there we went back to my apartment in the city where I planned to stay for the night (with Cherith because I wasn't about to stay alone!). Unfortunately, there was another welcome home party going on there...hosted by the cockroaches! New apartment, same problems. They were hanging out in the kitchen like it was happy hour at the bar! Not a care in the world, pretty excited about the food I had purchased I'm sure. So instead of unpacking I re-packed a bag and headed back to campus for the weekend. (Of course they were there also, but it's not my apartment anymore so its less disgusting)

It was nice to be on campus again; a good way to transition back. I met a lot of the new staff and got to attend the Wine and Cheese party on the rooftop. Wine, Snacks, Ocean View, Sunset....a great reminder of the wonderful things here!

On Sunday I rode into church on the school's bus with the other campus residents and taxied back to the apartment after church to met Jasmine (new roommate) who was just getting back. We carried her things in, chatted for a while, checked out the roaches, and went to lunch. Stopping for Raid on the way back of course!

Since Sunday afternoon Jasmine and I have sprayed and spread enough roach killer to take at least 7 years off of our lives...so it better kill them too! Most of these have been babies, but babies get bigger. And the bigger ones terrify me!

We also had our first day of in-service this week. Followed by two days off for Moroccan holidays. I did catch a ride out to work in my room a little bit and tomorrow we are headed to the beach! School starts in a week! So we have to soak in the summer while we can!

Cockroaches

I have always hated bugs. Or anything small that crawls really.

I thought my hatred was at its max after my 10th grade Biology teacher made us  do an insect project. Catch, smother, stick a pin through, and label a bunch of nasty insects....I've never been so proud of a C grade in my life! Yea, I thought that was bad.

But now I am discovering the joys of Cockroaches. And by 'joys' I mean shockingly-terrifying, momentarily-paralyzing, nightmare-causing, phobia-of-every-little-sound-I-hear Joys.

It started about 15 days ago. And since then we have seen at least one a day, although lately it's been two a day (with the exception of my birthday...wishes do come true!!)

The first one was laying belly up in front of the patio door. I, of course, ignored it leaving it for one of my roommates to pick up. They naturally did the same. Who wants to pick up a cockroach! The next day when I didn't see it anymore I thought one of them had caved and moved it. I thought wrong! A day later I moved the curtains and startled the little 'friend'. Cherith and I were instantly on chairs commanding the other to kill it. Cherith ran for a neighbor while I continued to stand on the chair and babysit it. Don't judge...they. are. terrifying.

If only we had known then what was to come....

Cherith and I were watching a movie and I kept hearing a sound behind us. I couldn't take it anymore so we stopped the movie and went to the kitchen only to find a cockroach chilling on the counter- the kitchen counter!- munching on some bread crumbs. Naturally, we screamed for Megan and she came to kill him. Unfortunately he escaped behind the counter first. I didn't spend more than 10 seconds in the kitchen for three days. Also, he might still be on the loose...

I have walked into my room and the bathroom to find them belly up. But I have also found two Live ones in my room! Last night, I woke up from a dead sleep with the certain feeling that one was in my room. I debated turning on the light to look and ignoring and trying to sleep again (ignorance is bliss right?). I couldn't handle it anymore so I flipped on the light and sure enough there it was by the dresser at the foot of the bed. I grabbed one of the flip-flops I now sleep next to (for reasons such as this) and threw it at the bugger! Thankfully, I hit it!! I opted to leave the shoe and dead roach and attempted to sleep again. However, by this point I was covered in sweat and convinced the cockroach  army was preparing to come for me! I alternated between waking up because of a nightmare (cockroach related of course) or because I was violently thrashing about because the covers touched me, and one time it was because I had slapped myself so hard in the arm convinced there was something.  Needless to say, it was a long, rough night. I also left it this morning because he was still a little wiggly. I joked with Megan she could throw it away for me. When I got home I went to clean the scene and the shoe had been moved slightly and the roach was NOT there! I cannot describe the fear that ran through me. At first, Cherith and Megan denied throwing it out and I contemplated moving right then. But I could see the smirks and they finally admitted it was a joke. The most NOT funny joke Ever. Bllaah!

I suppose the only good from this real-life nightmare is that my students are loving it! I have been telling them my daily cockroach stories and how a simple house-fly was able to get all three of us on chairs and couches ready to attack (or flee for life). Their new favorite thing to say is "Miss, there's a cockroach!"...and then they giggle and point like its the funniest thing ever! Life may be rough in Apt 18, but the kids in 205 sure are enjoying it!

Fun Facts from 2B

I have been compiling a list for quite a while now of all the little things I love about my second graders. It's a great reference to look at after a long, not-so-good day!

• Some of them have superior imaginations. Others have none.

• They had a party in art class, yet somehow my classroom floor was covered in popcorn.

• They have the most advanced selective hearing abilities ever! It's astounding.

• I only trust the girls to teach me words in Arabic. The boys purposely lie.

• When my students want to say "octopus" it comes out as "octopiss." Every time. All of them.

• I killed a baby cockroach and two spiders in my classroom all before 7:15 one morning. Productive, I know!

• Saying "keep your hands to yourself" is a challenge to them. I'm convinced of it.

• They are far too comfortable with me! I went to get a fork at lunch and came to back to find one eating my pretzels and another trying to hack into my phone...both of which were inside my lunch-bag!

•  The days I encourage the kids to try really really hard to open their water bottles in the lunch room are really the days when the bottles are too difficult for me to open!

• I have the cutest second-graders. (Okay, this one might be more of an opinion)

• Soccer is more than a thing to do at recess...it is their lifeblood.

• They are quite Unaware of each other...I watched my smallest girl carry four chairs, one at a time, across the room. A few minutes later I watched my biggest boy carry all four at once back to the same place she had moved them from.  There was no need to move the chairs in either instance.

• They are very nosy!! They beg me to share any letter from home, they watch me like a hawk during their French class (but when I am teaching it's like I'm invisible), they make up silly things to ask just to come over to my desk and look at things, if I smile at something they will also smile even though they have no idea why I am smiling (I've tested this!) and then they will ask why I am smiling. 
• They answer questions like this:  
•  
• They make me smile (and usually) laugh Every day!  

Heartbroken!

Today was a great day at school! We had a great time in the classroom, we were learning and laughing...the perfect combination! And exactly what I needed because I came home to a tragedy!

On Mondays we have a house helper come. Say what you will, but it is awesome to return home to a clean apartment, clean laundry, dinner in the oven, everything tidy, and clean laundry (yes, I said that twice. It is my favorite part.) But, today that wonderful feeling was replaced with disappointment.

When I was little (age 3ish) my grandma made a little pillow for me that I have taken everywhere...camp, college, Morocco. She made me new ones to replace the original when I was 16. Instead of replacing, I kept them all! So now I have 4 small pillows (combined they are maybe the size of a normal pillow). Or should say had...

Apparently, our house-helper did not approve of my dated and faded childhood relics. She Cut the fabric off the pillow and I can only guess she threw it away because I have searched every drawer and shelf in this apartment! She was so kind as to leave the inner pillow but that is not the same.  I have had that pillow since I was 3(ish)! And it's not the fluff inside I am attached to. It was the soft formerly-blue fabric with small pink kittens (again, I was 3). And, now it's gone!!

I understand it is a pillow and this is slightly ridiculous. But it really is more than that. I have had this pillow for 20+ years and it is a constant reminder of my grandma. I feel like a part of home was taken away today. And at this point, I don't part with things from home lightly.

Also, I could go to the dumpster and search for the 'pillowcase'. However, I am also the one who cleaned out the refrigerator this morning and I am well aware of what was in that garbage.  Even if I did find it in there, it would never be the same!

It may be silly for an almost 24 year old to be so sad over losing her little pillow, but I really am a little heartbroken!

À la ferme

I am pretty sure Old McDonald has never had a farm quite like the one the second graders went to on Friday! The farm is designed for school groups and families hoping to experience and learn about the goings-on at a farm.  It has some typical things, like cows, donkeys, hens, chickens, and lots of different gardens. It also had some unexpected things like two camels, emus, a dog living on the roof, and this weird hen/duck like creature I thought for sure was going to attack one of my students. (For good reason, the boy was picking on it). The additional animals confused my kids a little and they kept saying it must be a zoo instead.

We got on the bus first thing in the morning and my students' biggest question was "can we eat snack now?" We never have snack at 8:15 in the morning, and I wouldn't really have cared except for the fact many of them had been telling me they get sick in car. Nothing strikes fear in me like hearing students talk about getting carsick right before our one and half hour bus ride! I made it explicitly clear there was to be NO eating on the bus! I did however neglect to ban sunscreen. And with five minutes there was sunscreen everywhere!!!!  Also, they have no idea how to apply sunscreen. That was fun. Madame B (the French teacher) and I were up front with the driver since there weren't anymore seats back with the kids. So eventually, she and I ignored the cream-covered faces behind us and enjoyed the ride.

When we arrived at the farm, the first activity was a welcome snack. Thankfully, because my kids were starving (not really, since half of them sneaked a snack on the bus). They each got a pancake and cup of juice. Attika (the Arabic teacher) grabbed the other teachers and said the farm employees would take care of the kids and we needed to follow her. We went to our own little tent where we also received a snack and, of course, tea. Moroccan hospitality is nothing to joke about! Madame B explained what the kids would be doing for the day as we sipped our tea. I watched the farm workers herd my children into a barn while the other two classes went to their first activity. I felt too odd being on a field trip with my kids, and yet being nowhere near them! I excused myself and chased after them to take photos and watch my little city-slickers milk a cow!!

Watching my kids interact with a large cow was hilarious! Some of them have farms here in Morocco and most of them have been around sheep and goats, but milking a cow is quite different! They so wanted to do it, but they were terrified at the same time. The best part was their face after trying to milk the cow. They had huge smiles full of pride or they were totally disgusted and couldn't get away fast enough!

After milking the cow, we moved to a bread making demonstration. She explained everything in French/Arabic, but that didn't stop the kids from asking me "what did she say?" to which I smiled kindly and said "I honestly have no idea what she said!" Surprisingly, I did follow the demonstration, but I think it's because I have seen/made bread before. They started to feel the heat and notice the bugs at this point and were very eager to move on to the next activity.

The third rotation was pottery making! Each student got a small chunk of clay to play with. They also got a chance to try the pottery wheel. Getting their hands dirty isn't exactly their favorite thing to do! But they still got into the clay and most enjoyed it.

After the rotations, all 60 kids were ushered into a small room to watch a video of a cow being born. At this point, it was 70 and sunny, with no breeze (which is a constant since we are so close to the ocean in Casa), there were flies everywhere and they really were hungry! So, watching a cow being born was not exactly high on their list. Eventually, the students got up and walked out of the room and back toward the playground/open field. Lunch was served shortly after.

They went back to the small tables and each received a spoon for the large dishes of couscous being served. Lunch was served two and half hours later than we usually eat and they were so hungry even my picky eaters were making do! Again, the adults were served away from the kids and while we ate, the children ran wild. Seriously, they were everywhere! But, no one else seemed worried, so I sipped my tea and ignored the chaos around me! 

After lunch, we boarded the buses (just what I wanted to do with my 19 couscous stuffed kids!). I was hoping the ride back would be quieter but, oh no! One or two fell asleep the rest made up for their silence 10 fold! And felt the need to reapply sunscreen (or just smother their faces in it). Again, Madame B and I ignored them and we fell asleep! My roommates and I have decided I have travel narcolepsy...I will fall asleep in a car (or train or plane). every time. Even if there are 19 crazy kiddos screaming behind me.

We got back to the school 4 minutes before dismissal. I am not really sure if they all got to where they needed to be,  but 20 minutes later they were all gone! Overall, it was a really fun day! I think the kids really enjoyed it and I can't wait to hear more of their thoughts on Monday.

IRELAND

The nice thing about living in Morocco is that it is so close to Europe!! For our last break of the school year, five other teachers and I headed off to Ireland. And it was amazing!

Our flights there were a little tight but we made it and arrived in Dublin Saturday night. Stepping off the plane into an airport where I could read every sign and understand almost every conversation around me was almost overwhelming! We didn't really know how to get our hostel for the night, but since we could read signs and ask other people around us it was easy to figure it out. (Hearing/Seeing English just may have been my favorite part of the trip!)

Megan, Cherith, and I by the rope bridge

First thing Sunday morning we went on a bike tour of the city! I think am going to do these more often when I travel because it was a great way to see different sites, we got some tips from locals, good exercise, and it oriented us to the city (kind of!). Dublin's city center was surprisingly smaller than I imagined, but like most European cities, it had tons to explore. We spent the rest of the day wandering the city. Sunday night, Cherith and I went to a comedy club in one of the pub's....If you ever go to Dublin, check out this show. Best part...it was free! 
 
On Monday we left on a tour of Northern Ireland. We stayed in Belfast the first day and were educated on some of the tension that still exists in the Northern Ireland. I honestly had very little knowledge of Ireland's history but the tours we went on were really informative and interesting. The city is divided by a huge wall and each side keeps to their own- except for the stray rock or object tossed over.

Rope Bridge

Giant's Causeway

Tuesday, we went to the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge and the Giant's Causeway! Both on the Northern coast, both beautiful! I even enjoyed the drive to the these places. Plenty of green pastures and cozy little homes. Sheep that were actually white and fluffy! Horses that did not look like skeletons. It was great to be in the country again! It was also considerably more cold there than in Morocco...but again, being from Michigan, it felt like home! I think I enjoyed the chilly weather a little too much!

Galway

After exploring the coasts, we landed in Derry (or Londonderry) for the evening. Another divided city, but this time by a river. We explored the city and crossed the Peace Bridge connecting the two sides. The next day we headed down to Galway, but sadly we were only there for a few hours before leaving our tour and heading back to Dublin.

Thursday, some of the girls I was with went to the Cliffs of Moher on the Western side, but I stayed back to see more of Dublin. It was a rainy day, which we really upset about! It had been blue skies and beautiful up to this point. We ventured out in hopes of seeing all the major things in Dublin. But since it was Cherith and I, it didn't take long to get lost! Thankfully, we could just ask anyone for directions because they understood us and we understood them! (Really, this was a big deal!)

Rainy Day in Dublin!

Churches! (not mosques!)

We did manage to see most of the things we wanted to see until our feet couldn't handle it anymore! We opted for a relaxing night of going to bed early! (lame, I know, but it was our break too, not just a vacation!). Friday was our last day in Ireland, and most of us went to the Guinness Storehouse...when in Ireland, you know! It was a pretty typical brewery/tour but it did end with an awesome 360 degree view of the city! That was pretty cool! After the tour, we hunted down all our favorites we can't find here in Morocco to stock up on! We got some pretty funny looks for being so excited about pop-tarts, reese's, and Subway but when it's been months since you've had one it totally worth it! Even if you don't really like it, you still get excited! Friday night, we went on a Musical Pub Crawl. We got to hear some old Irish tunes from the 'only real pubs' left in Dublin. It was a nice way to end the week!

Saturday was just sad. We ate breakfast and headed to the airport. None of us were really excited to leave. I certainly wasn't! Everywhere we went there was such a peace and comfort.  Everyone was kind and cheery and funny! With an accent of course! It was the closest thing to home I have felt in a long while! I would love to return to Ireland....there is still more to see!

Mary and Co

My great Aunt Mary and her two friends ventured to Morocco and then on to Spain for a while.  I realized I have quite a bit of anxiety when people come to visit. I want whoever it is to enjoy and love Morocco but it truly is a diamond in the rough. Coming here without an open mind is probably not wise and knowing that my loved ones disapproved of my new home would be heartbreaking for me. Thankfully, Mary and her friends (Robbie and Mike), were awesome! They were no strangers to overseas travel and totally proved that by hitting most of the major Moroccan cities in three days!

They arrived early enough on Monday to meet my students. I gave them the tour of campus and my classroom and then the kids returned from gym class. Visitors alone are enough to excite my students...add candy to the mix and it is a circus! My Aunt brought each student a little Easter egg filled with American(!) candy. The kids kept saying 'Miss, your family is the best!' I heard that for the rest of the week! I felt awful getting them all hyped up right before French class, but she didn't seem to mind and was able to get them under control(ish).

Tuesday they went to Marrakesh. It's a three hour train ride (one way). I thought they would be home around 10:30 or 11 so when I woke up at 11:35 and found Mary's couch/bed empty, I was a little concerned. Like some overprotective parent I immediately began thinking of the worst case scenarios and the hope of falling back to sleep was Gone. I had no way to know where they were, no clue when/if they would be back, and worst of all no way to contact them! I tried telling myself they were perfectly capable of surviving Morocco and all would be fine, but still couldn't fall back to sleep. If that was any indication of what parenthood is like….ugh.  Finally, at 1:15 am, they bounded into our apartment not even looking tired! They had been fine all along, they just brought a later train home. All that worry for nothing! And within minutes I was OUT! :)

Wednesday they headed inland to Fez and I knew not to wait up for them. Although, they got home earlier that evening.

I was only able to get Thursday off (due to a shortage of subs) but it actually worked out well. They were slowing down a little bit from the first two adventures and I had to teach the next day so we took it easy and stayed (relatively) local. We went to Hassan II, the third largest Mosque in the world.  It is an amazingly beautiful and intricate Mosque. Since, that's really the biggest tourist thing in Casa we were headed to Rabat after that. Rabat is Morocco's capital city about an hour north of Casa.  I have only been there once- a very rainy day at the zoo! So I was excited to see more of Rabat. In an attempt to get directions to the train station we met a tour guide who offered to take us around for the day and return us home that night. Since I really didn't know where we were going and traveling with 4 is tough (small cabs only allow 3 people) we went with it! Probably the best choice of the day!

Ahmed, the guide, was great! He told all about Morocco, Rabat, and himself :)  He kept us laughing and busy for the day! We ate lunch right on the ocean, ventured through a blue-walled kasbah and some nice gardens, saw the mausoleum of Mohammad V and the unfinished minaret, cruised past the Embassy, stalked storks at Chellah (amazing ruins set on a hillside), a did a little souvenir shopping at a place in Casa before returning to the apartment. We did way more than I had expected to do and I have to thank God for a fun guide like Ahmed. He really did take great care of us. He even made the shop owner take me to an apartment next door to use a real bathroom instead of the squatty potty in the shop! He told me I have a family in Casa now ;)

I was nervous about leaving my students (this was the first time I had been gone for a whole day!) and showing Mary and Co. a good time. But in the end, I am so glad I got to spend the day with them. Other tidbits from the day: I got henna, involuntary, from a woman outside the gardens; A guard at the mausoleum decided it was okay to have a feelskie of my leg, which my Aunt and Robbie found to be Hilarious; Ahmed equated my challenging name to the word for Queen in Arabic, then called me 'the queen' for the rest of the day, he even introduced me as the queen to the shop people; One of the gift shop guys gave me a little jewelry box while we were in the store, it was awkward but I accepted it anyways...and then broke it in the van. There were so many other wonderful moments!  My stomach hurt from laughing and  my eyes were red from crying with laughter!  It was so comforting to have a piece of home here and to play tourist for a day! My kids were so right...I do have the best family!!!

March Madness!

I want to be up front and say this post has nothing to do with the Basketball tournament...there,  you've been warned.

This month has been absolute madness though! I can't believe March is almost over.

We had four full weeks of school this month, which we haven't had since....September. It's actually been quite nice to have consistency and routine. And even though we haven't had any long breaks to enjoy, we have had lots of fun in 2B!!!

The first week back from Feb break was literacy week. I admit to failing miserably with this! To be fair, we had little warning and a travel break right before this so I had little time to work with. No big deal, we celebrate reading all the time! Part of literacy week was "Dress as a Book Character Day" on Friday. When kids are required to wear uniforms all the time, a dress up day is pretty exciting! They spent all week talking about who they would be: "Cinderella" "Rapunzel" "Harry Potter" "Big Nate" and my favorite suggestion was Mohamed with "Captain Underpants" and then he burst into a silly giggle! What I ended up with was...

Rapunzel, Julie the cashier, Cinderella, I'm pretty she made up her character, Granny Fix-it, two Claras (from Nutcracker), Carlos from Magic School Bus (a total match for this kid!), Dragonballz or some karate kid, Harry Potter, and two soccer players.
I teamed up with other two Second Grade teachers for a group costume. We've been reading Magic Tree House books to our students so we dressed as Jack, Annie, and Morgan Le Fey.

I wore glasses (sans lenses), a ball cap, and a backpack. The glasses were a little weird but the backpack was oddly handy! It was a fun day!

The next week was Career week. Again, put together at the last minute! The kids wrote a great paragraph about what they wanted to be when they grow up and we had two parent presentations. The first presentation was about pharmaceuticals. The kids got to mix some concoction and the highlight quickly became using the gel in the unmarked container...no worries, it was vasoline. Their reactions were priceless- some were shocked by how soft their skin was others were grossed out it. The second presentation was at the very end of the day on Friday...the perfect thing to hold over their heads for excellent behavior! One of the dad's works at the US Consulate. He talked about law enforcement and brought in little police pins for all the students. They affectionately refer back to that as "the time James Bond came to the classroom."

That Friday was another dress up day and I got to see my student's futures...

 Racecar driver
(although, I think his true ambition is to be Lightening McQueen)

Teachers.

For the record, I have never worn a short leather shirt with fuzzy boots, or carried a bag that expensive before!

 

 Tarik was a business man. Honestly, he nailed the Moroccan business man look!

The Doctors. 

 Horse Trainers.
This was a popular one in the second grade.

Vet. 

Complete with barking dog.

 And, my personal favorite...
The Pilot.

He had a legit outfit thanks to his dad (a real pilot). I asked Omar who his dad flew for and with his signature 'Miss, are you that crazy' look he replied "people."
Well played, Omar. Well played.


In addition to the many events within the classroom we've had plenty going on outside too! I experienced the hammum for the first time. The hammum is like a spa meets the women's locker room at the Y.  Disgusting amounts of dead skin are scrubbed off you in a room where other women are getting scrubbed. Needless to say, I've heard a lot of interesting hammum stories. Jo, my teacher next door, took me to a really nice private spa. The scrub down was definitely weird, but the massage afterward was totally worth it!!

After the hammum, Jo and I ventured to the International Festival. GWA hosts a festival each year to celebrate the diversity at the school. Parents volunteer and run booths that share information and food from their culture. My class helped make some jewelry and a map of Brazil. There were booths about Syria, South Korea, Switzerland, India, Spain, France, Canada, and of course Morocco and America and that's just to name a few. It was so fun to see the students showing off their cultures and to see the other students taking an interest in them.

This past Saturday, I ventured in town for some shopping, good eating, light cooking, and tv watching. There was a huge thunderstorm complete with hail! Once I got back to campus, we had the neighbor kids over a movie and watched "The Rescuers Down Under"...perfect since we are currently learning about Australia.

This week the madness continued when my great-aunt Mary and two of her friends came to Morocco to visit! They came in on Monday and I was able to introduce them to my students. Mary brought candy for them and naturally they loved her even more! They have been telling me all week I have the best family! Between letters to them from my grandma, stickers from my mom and sister, and now candy from my aunt it's no surprise they feel that way!

Other tid-bits of madness from room 205...
One of my boys wanted to show me his athletic skills by doing a somersault...instead he successfully kneed himself in the forehead. Then spent the remainder of recess lying their being silly and dramatic about it. He laughed about it later.
On Monday, my students informed me I am meaner now than I was at the beginning of the year. Today we made bar graphs using M&Ms and suddenly I am such a great teacher they are begging me to move to third grade (and then fourth and fifth....) I can't imagine what changed their minds ;)

Tomorrow will be the first full day my students have a sub. I am taking the day off to tour around with Mary and Co while they are here. Lord only knows what will be waiting for me on Friday! Oh well, I'll just let the madness continue!

The Heart and Blood of Morocco

On this past Winter break I explored more of Morocco! This time I went with Megan and her mom who was visiting for the week. We went to Fez first; according to a man on the train it is the "heart and blood of Morocco."

Another kind man on the train set us up with his guide (a man trained and licensed by Morocco to guide tourists through the craziness that is the Fez!). He called him and our guide, Mohamed, met us right at the train station to take us to our riad and around the city. Fez is in the Middle Atlas mountains so the views outside looking in and inside looking out were all amazing! The first place he took us was a panoramic viewpoint. Fez is absolutely huge.

This was one lookout. There was another on the opposite side of the city. It's very common and easy to get lost in Fez...standing here looking down left no doubt as to why that it is! 

 After seeing the big picture of the city, we went to a ceramics place and saw them creating their hand-painted wonders! Fez is famous for blue and white ceramics...I may have gotten a few souvenirs for friends and family back home! We also went to the King's Palace and walked through the Jewish quarter. For dinner, we ate camel burgers...and they were delicious!

The next day, Mohamed returned and showed us more of the Medina. He took us around to various co-ops from pushy carpet men to Berber herbs and cosmetics. The first stop was a carpet shop. When he offered us a seat and Moroccan tea, I knew escaping would be tough! We were able to see the looms and the views from the roof of the building! And we eventually made it out...without a carpet!

We saw all of the major trades and crafts of Morocco and were able to learn a little bit about how those things are made. I think that was my favorite part! We went to tanneries, Berber blanket shops, a shop for Moroccan clothes, lunch a fancy and overpriced place (but Megan's mom loved it and we decided to indulge her). It started to rain, so we started taking refuge inside the various places we stopped at! We saw many mosques, a few schools, public bakeries, we toured an old Koranic university, went into a shop that did metal/bronze work and met the son of the guy who made the seven doors outside the King's Palace, we ventured in to another old home full of antiques and weird statues, a Berber/Argon oil co-op where I bought some green lipstick ;) and my favorite was the scarf shop, which I walked out of without purchasing a single scarf (personal victory!), but I did receive a marriage proposal...I said no. After a long day of being totally lost and wandering down countless alleys we had yet another 'traditional'  Moroccan dinner and headed back for some rest!

We left the next morning for Moulay Idriss. Like the people on the train told us, we were not in Fez for enough time!

The Marker Mystery

I had a box of 18 smelly markers from the states. The Mr.Sketch brand that smell good (or sometimes bad). I used them almost daily with my students to make posters or do daily equations. Then I noticed they started to disappear.

At first there were only one or two missing and I didn't think much of it. Maybe I had misplaced them or I had one or two on my desk. No big deal. But then I was down to only 8 markers and the students mentioned how my markers were missing. I also had the yellow marker on my desk because I used it for agendas. When that one went missing, I got a little curious!

I asked my students if they knew anything about them and to please return them if they had any. I explained that I really didn't care who took them, as long as I got them back so we could keep using them. I reminded them about the markers for a day or two and then it got personal!

I had 8 markers and after asking them to return them, three more went missing! They all claimed to have no idea. They suggested putting security cameras on the markers. They also accused the wonderful cleaning lady. To her face. Yeah, that was fun!

After a discussion on why it is NOT okay to accuse people and why we should be honest instead, I informed them I would be taking away part of their recess until the markers were returned. So we would go to recess, sit on the line, and watch the other 2nd graders play. Then I would give them 5-10 minutes to play.

After four days of this I figured someone would confess. Instead, the entire box went missing! The last few markers and box included! My kids are brave, if nothing less. Many of them opened their bags to show them they were not the thief. I peeked into a few of the bags and I did ask a few of them to show me. (I wasn't accusing, just using logical reasoning!) I knew it was a student now I just wasn't sure who!

The next day at school I told them they wouldn't have any recess since I didn't have any markers! They felt this was very unfair (and I hated taking away their recess) but I wanted to see it through. So after lunch we walked down to the playground and I had them walk laps around the track because I did want (and need) them to move. The next day, we did the same thing.

I was getting nervous because I didn't really want to continue robbing them of recess, but I couldn't cave either! Wednesday was Parent-Teacher Conferences though...can you say perfect timing!

I wrote a little slip for the parents with a few notes and reminders as well as a blip about the markers. I had a set of parents (whose child I did kind of suspect) tell me they had the markers and thought they were a gift. I told them they were not and that the students had been missing out on recess because of the marker mystery. The parents were quite embarrassed and promised to have the markers returned the next day! I had many parents after that asking about the markers and assuring me they had checked and their child didn't have them. I was glad most of the students took this seriously.

The student's older sister brought the markers back to me the next afternoon. The student and I had a conversation about honesty, forgiveness, what a reputation is, and what they wanted their reputation to be. The student also missed out on some more recess-- which apparently doesn't bother them too much. After the parent conference I have a feeling they had a pretty fierce punishment at home. I figured some forgiveness might speak louder.

And, the markers are pretty awesome!!!

And also locked away in my cabinet now ;)

Rabat in the Rain

We had another four day weekend!!

Wanting time to relax and do some work in my classroom, the roommates and I decided a day trip would be best. Rabat is Morocco's capital, it is an hour away (by train), and it has a zoo! (It also has many other things/places we were hoping to visit)

Thursday was a busy day! We went grocery shopping at the Morocco Mall. We haven't shopped in almost two weeks, meaning we had a huge list and lots to get. Thankfully, we are getting better and still had time to fun shop while the others finished getting their groceries. After a morning at the mall we went to a friend's house-warming party and to a few other stores. The laid back and chill weekend I anticipated was not so laid back!

Friday, we got up (EARLY) and it was raining. Real, big drops of rain. Megan didn't feel well and chose to stay home but Cherith and I braved the weather and her dad drove us to the train station. We met Jasmine and Jon there and caught the 8.30 train to Rabat!!

Notice the small lakes we walked thorough

Jasmine has some awesome Arabic skills and was able to negotiate a taxi ride to the zoo for us! He even agreed to meet us later and bring us back into town! The zoo opened at 10...we got there at 10:04. No one else was there. Apparently, no one else wanted to do the zoo in the rain! That meant we had the whole place to ourselves! Except for the MANY guards and cleaners we encountered hiding from the rain.


Within 5 minutes we were pretty well soaked. Things here are designed to stop sun, not rain. The paths also hold water like a jug! I had puddles in my shoes!!! Thankfully, it wasn't a cold rain and it seemed to bring the animals out.


We saw all kinds of fun creatures- lions, zebras, monkeys, rhinos, hippos, bright pink flamingos, and many more! Sadly, we did not see the giraffe or elephant...we are also not really sure how you would hide those two animals.

Warthogs hiding from the rain. They smelled AWFUL!

Jasmine and I hiding under the umbrella (and still getting wet!)

 

 

 

After an hour or so we climbed back into the cab with our soaking wet clothes! The driver took us back in town and recommended a place for lunch. We went somewhere else, because we are cheap! 7 rounds of tea, some couscous, tagine, pizza, panini, and frites later we took our still wet clothes and headed for the train station. (sidenote: 36+ hours later my boots and purse are still drying out) We even got home in time for a good ole fashion barbeque! AND a movie night with the super cool neighbor kids!

There is plenty we would love to see in Rabat...but we can save that for a not so rainy day!