Life as an expat – Teaching Abroad- American Teacher Overseas

Attending a Desi Wedding

Love brings us all together!

I was invited to an Indian Henna party by a friend. Her brother was getting married so Jennifer and I attended the brides party. I felt much more comfortable attending this wedding-one because I had recently attended a Qatari Henna party, two I had the inside scoop being a friend of the grooms sister.

I regretted not purchasing the Saree, I’d tried on in Sri Lanka, because it would have been perfect to wear to this wedding. At the time, I didn’t think I’d ever have anywhere to wear it, but this is one of the unexpected things that happen when living abroad, you get opportunities to experience other cultures.

Here I am in Sri Lanka wearing a traditional Saree

Since I didn’t have anything Indian to wear, I got something made. This is a Lehenga Choli and Dupatta. Although blue is my favorite color, I fell in love with this hot pink and gold material. Jennifer wore blue. How do we look?

Only women were allowed at this party as this is the Muslim way. Jennifer and I was pulled up to the dance floor as soon as we entered. I couldn’t do the traditional dances but they didn’t care; they told me it was all in the feet. I noticed it was also in the hands. We thought it a little strange that several women also asked to take our pictures. I’m used to being stared at when I wear my baldness, but taking pictures not so much. Jennifer and I both decided that this is what it is probably like in China, when you are the only tall blonde, white women at a party, and the only black bald woman at a party. We weren’t offended; we just smiled and kept dancing. I actually felt quite comfortable. Being asked to be photographed amongst a room full of hair and beautiful women, made me feel special. I’m glad I decided to go as my beautiful, fun, bald self. The strangest part was phones were supposed to be collected at the door, but no-one seemed to mind the many phones and pictures being taken, so I whipped mine out too.

These women had dance routines and everything

I thought I was in a Bollywood film. That’s the bride by the way in the green and pink.

Watching these women dance was the highlight of the night. These women sure know how to cut a rug. I tried to be respectful of the ‘no phones’ policy and only film in short clips but I wish I could have captured more. The bride’s family even battled the groom’s family in a dance off. Everyone was so nice and friendly.

We ate and even got henna tattoos.

The groom and company arrived later and did some dancing too.

Thank you friend for the invitation. I had a fun and lovely time. All the best to the bride and groom!

The major differences, I’ve noticed in American weddings and Desi and Qatari weddings are these: the exchanging of gifts, separation of sexes and the separation of the ceremonies and receptions. In both the Desi and Qatari wedding, the guest received gifts, male and female celebrated separately and the actual wedding did not occur on the same day as the party. The major similarity is this: Life is about being happy and love brings us all together!

Protected: From Lemons to Lemonade

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My First Experience Traveling Solo- Copenhagen

Since I would be traveling alone back to Philly, I was looking for an in-between place to stop to break up that 12.5 hour straight flight. This was my first time traveling alone internationally and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous. Is it safe? What if I got lost? Would it be fun? What if…? What if…? Then I remembered a quote:

So I started thinking about the positives that would come out of this. I could eat all the vegan food I wanted without compromise or hearing complaints. I could go where and when I wanted. If I felt like doing nothing, I could, because it was only me. Finally, when was the last time I was alone?

It was when I stumbled across a picture of the little Mermaid statue in Copenhagen that I decided this would be my stopover. The Little Mermaid is my favorite Disney movie of all time. My connection to the movie has a lot to do with my sheltered child hood and how I longed to be a part of ‘their world’. I felt everything Ariel did when she sang that song, Part of Your World.

My plan of what I would do there started by researching what the city is known for: World’s Oldest Amusement Park – Bakken, Cycling, Shopping Avenues and Beautiful Gardens. That’s nice but I wanted to see my statue (of course), some pretty scenery (overdue from Qatar), Christiania (something different) and whatever else I stumbled across. Oh, let me not forget, EAT! Before I went, I purchased a Hop On Hop Off Pass and a Copenhagen Card. With these two purchases, I could tour the city, have transportation to major areas and have free admissions to a variety of places. I booked my hotel room at Wakeup Copenhagen, a budget hotel in central Copenhagen close to popular sights. I made sure I had ‘The Happy Cow’ app downloaded (for vegan restaurants), as well as ‘google maps’, and ‘From Rome to Rio’ for getting around and ‘Unit Converter’ to check on my spending. I was ready.

The Hop on Hop off bus Pass was the best choice for Copenhagen. With it, I was able to basically travel all over and since they don’t have uber it was perfect. I found Copenhagen to be a great city for solo travelers. I felt very safe and there is a lot to see and do, even for vegans.

They have this thing called brunch for vegans. I enjoyed the brunch at each of these three vegan restaurants: 42º Raw, SimpleRaw and Souls. Their apple ginger shots are amazing.

There are several castles there. I even took a 40 minute train ride to see Hamlet’s castle. It’s the last castle in the pictures below and my favorite. It was worth it to take the train ride in the rain alone.

It’s a pretty city too and they are big on sustainability as evident in their green roofs and bikes. There are more bikes in Copenhagen than cars.

I put out a bat signal on Nomadness travel group to see if anyone was in Copenhagen and wanted to show me around. A fellow group member named Michael was kind enough to meet up with me. He even accompanied me to FreeTown Christiania before it was raided and pusher street got closed. In fact, the police showed up while we were there. It was a very interesting experience. I recommend you stop by there if you’re ever in Copenhagen.

Michael even took me to and shared the background on the ‘I Am Queen Mary‘ statue.

And during my travels all around Copenhagen I managed to find these gems, which made this trip dear to my heart and one of my favorite trips ever.

The Little Mermaid’s sister- Voluptuous, just a few feet away

Another mermaid that I discovered in front of The Black Diamond

I stumbled across this lonely chap looking for his mermaid at the pier of Hamlet’s castle

There were a few things that I didn’t get to do like Tivoli Gardens and shopping due to a flight delay that threw a monkey wrench in my plans, caused me to stay an additional day in Copenhagen some place else and cost me unexpected money. It also rained a lot but I didn’t mind that since I haven’t seen rain in almost a year. Besides these, I really enjoyed Copenhagen and solo travel.

Highlights: Kronberg and Rosenburg castles, The Lock Bridge Nyhavn, ginger shots, Ride a bike around town, vegan eating, Freetown, The Queen Mary statue and background, canal tour, People waiting for the traffic lights even when there are no cars in sight, Karlsberg beer, Mermaids

Year 2 Rewind

**Written on May 25, 2018**

It’s hard to believe I just completed my second year of teaching abroad. My original contract term is satisfied and outside of student loans I am completely without debt in the U.S. I still owe Qatar some money so I’ll be there at least another year but I have accomplished a big goal of mine and it feels AMAZING! As I am typing away I am trying to distract myself from the turbulence of this plane ride. The plane that will prayerfully take me to the first stop of my summer vacation. (More on that later)

So how was year two? Let’s take a look in the rear view:

This year was sort of low-key. It was the first time hubby and I were empty nesters so we spent a lot of time indoors. We worked out and even took an Arabic course together. His support is without words. I can’t recall one meal that I cooked, one load that I washed, one room that I cleaned. He never complained about my bitching and whining when I came home from work. Me coming home with my stories was his favorite part of his day, at least he pretended it was anyway. He has not been able to find work but that has not stopped him from searching and applying constantly. I am hopeful that something will come through soon or we may have to re-evaluate our situation.

I only took one trip this school year but it was a big one. Cape town was absolutely beautiful and fun. You can click here to read all about my travels there. I may not have taken many trips, but I did take multiple vacations.

Work relationships were difficult this year. I started to write a whole paragraph on this but no. The school year is over for me and I will not dwell on the past. I need to start next year with a new plan. If any of you guys reading have tips for coping with team members that you don’t particularly mesh with, I’m all ears… As far as my students go, they turned out to be an okay group of kids. There were some doozies but I really enjoyed teaching them. I found ways to teach what I believe in my heart they needed to learn along with the required curriculum and it worked out. If I can’t teach my students so that we can see progress, what’s the point? I’m enjoying teaching the PYP framework too. It’s new for me but PYP along with some time to teach foundational skills is pretty damn good. PYP exposes students to subjects and skills that will help them to develop background knowledge that they may otherwise be lacking. I’m looking forward to our school becoming PYP Accredited so that I can add it to my CV. Next year, we are also supposed to be moving to a brand new school building with top of the line amenities. That gives me something to look forward to.

This year was filled with confidence boosters on a personal level. I did photo shoots, interviews, was a subject of college assignments, and even modeled, all while bald. Most of these events were to bring awareness to Alopecia. I felt like I was doing my part to help other women with alopecia feel comfortable or to at least let them know that they are not alone. My alopecia group grew to over 100 members. In a small way, I am doing something to help the world.

Something else that I am proud of this year, is that I was able to eliminate my high cholesterol without medicine. With the right diet and exercise, you really can be healthy. (If you need tips on this let me know) But unfortunately, I am vitamin D deficient now. This came as a surprise to me being as though I live in the dessert. But it makes sense because it is often so hot, that we stay indoors out of the sun and when we are outdoors, we are required to dress modestly and cover our shoulders and knees. And the only way to truly fix this, is sun exposure and or Vitamin D supplements. So now I have to take a pill a week for 8 weeks but the good thing is, it’s summer and I’m out of the desert. Time to get some sun! (This is something to consider if you are thinking of moving to the Middle East)

So what about the next school year? I will be in Qatar. I am taking it year by year. I am moving, again, to a new apartment, to be closer to the new school and to have more expendable money. I have moved every year that I’ve been in Qatar. That’s funny to me. It’s kind of like my life, if something doesn’t fit my needs, I move on. I have decided that starting now, I will try to be in the ‘NOW’! I want to enjoy the moment, not always looking for tomorrow. If I can find some joy in every moment, I believe I will be a better person.

Don’t forget to leave your suggestions in the comment section, on ways to cope with a team that you don’t mesh with.

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