So I've been bullied by my mother to start blogging again! I'll try to bring you up to speed on life in the desert. We've been back at school for almost 3 weeks now. I got to come back to a newly painted periwinkle library that I completely rearranged myself. I'm in love with it. I have a new student assistant. She's a 12th grader. Her name is Maryam (along with seriously about 70 other girls at the school). She's Iraqi-American......say what? Apparently those exist. She grew up in America and wants to go back to college there. She's so hilarious and outgoing. She does cover, but only her hair, not her face. She helps me skim the new books to see if they are appropriate. So far she's pulled out on that talked about bong hits and one that talked about getting a boyfriend. I really appreciate her help because I would have let that bong hit one slide, haha.
In other news, it was my boyfriend's birthday yesterday so I took him to a really nice bar at the top of the Address Hotel downtown. There was an excellent view of the fountains and the Burj Khalifa. It was gorgeous. Too bad I forgot one tiny little detail. He's terrified of heights! Anddddd girlfriend of the year award goes to me!
Since I haven't blogged in so long, I'll give you a list of random things that I have found bizarre:
1. Arab teachers are always coming up to me and telling me how beautiful I am (I know, right?) They always say I have the most gorgeous pale skin. I want to say "girl, I layed out all weekend!" They spend so much money on bleaching creams here to try to whiten their skin, it's crazy.
2. I moved out of teacher housing into my new apartment and I love it! It's in a little community that has shops and restaurants.
3. My new landlord is this hilarious/crazy Iranian guy. The first time I met him he looked at my American passport and said, "Americannnnnnnnn! Are you scared to go to Iran?" I said, "Why the hell would I want to go there?" He said, "Good question." LOL. He also sang Justin Beiber to me on the phone. Everyone in that office takes their shoes off when they enter the door....a fact I realized on my way out of the office with my shoes on. Oops.
4. I'm in charge of all the textbooks at school, including the Arabic and Islamic ones. I can't believe that I now know which Arabic book students need without even knowing the language. Also, the Islamic textbooks are called I Love Islam which I find myself saying all the time when talking about the books. Ironic, lol.
5. I learned that Islam is based on a kind of scale where in order to get into heaven, the good you do has to outweigh the bad. It's basically a point system.
Ok, that's it for now. I hope this appeases you! I promise to blog soon. Let me know if you have any questions you are curious about and I'll try to answer!!!
In other news, it was my boyfriend's birthday yesterday so I took him to a really nice bar at the top of the Address Hotel downtown. There was an excellent view of the fountains and the Burj Khalifa. It was gorgeous. Too bad I forgot one tiny little detail. He's terrified of heights! Anddddd girlfriend of the year award goes to me!
Since I haven't blogged in so long, I'll give you a list of random things that I have found bizarre:
1. Arab teachers are always coming up to me and telling me how beautiful I am (I know, right?) They always say I have the most gorgeous pale skin. I want to say "girl, I layed out all weekend!" They spend so much money on bleaching creams here to try to whiten their skin, it's crazy.
2. I moved out of teacher housing into my new apartment and I love it! It's in a little community that has shops and restaurants.
3. My new landlord is this hilarious/crazy Iranian guy. The first time I met him he looked at my American passport and said, "Americannnnnnnnn! Are you scared to go to Iran?" I said, "Why the hell would I want to go there?" He said, "Good question." LOL. He also sang Justin Beiber to me on the phone. Everyone in that office takes their shoes off when they enter the door....a fact I realized on my way out of the office with my shoes on. Oops.
4. I'm in charge of all the textbooks at school, including the Arabic and Islamic ones. I can't believe that I now know which Arabic book students need without even knowing the language. Also, the Islamic textbooks are called I Love Islam which I find myself saying all the time when talking about the books. Ironic, lol.
5. I learned that Islam is based on a kind of scale where in order to get into heaven, the good you do has to outweigh the bad. It's basically a point system.
Ok, that's it for now. I hope this appeases you! I promise to blog soon. Let me know if you have any questions you are curious about and I'll try to answer!!!
