My Journey to Egypt Continues...

Khan el-Khalili

This fascinating Egyptian marketplace was built in the 14th century.  This is the best place to get  souvenirs, but I had to be prepared to haggle!  I am somewhat acquainted with haggling for prices, but I don't really like doing it.  I had downloaded a currency converter so I knew the exchange rate between Egyptian pounds and the US dollar, so when they quoted me a price I knew what I would be paying.  When they quoted me a price I would always say, it was way too high and begin to leave.  Then they would lower the price and tell me that, of course, they would make no money on the sale, but they would make an exception and sale me the item at a special discount only for me.  I would imagine they were certainly make a good profit even if they slashed the price by seventy-five per cent.  I didn't stay too long.  I was with my guide and the next day was a holy day for her and I knew she wanted to get home and get prepared.  Also, I knew if I stayed I would be spending way too much money on souvenirs. When you visit these exotic places, it's really tempting to to buy more stuff than you need for yourself and friends and family back home, so after visiting about three shops I decided I had about as many souvenirs as I could stuff into my suitcase,  so we headed for the  Naguib Mahfouz Cafe.  

              

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 Egyptian Fytir Mashaltit.  This beautiful flaky Egyptian specialty is served with honey, molasses, and cheese.

This was a government building within the Citadel currently under restoration.

Saladin Citadel of Cairo

You can see most of Cairo from the top of the citadel.

The Saladin Citadel was built by the ruler Salah al-Din between 1176 and 1183 to protect Cairo from the Crusaders.  My guide told me that he used limestone blocks from the pyramids to build this citadel.  Hieroglyphs have been found on many of the blocks creating the fortifications.  From the top of the wall you can see the entire city.

Muhammad Ali Mosque

Beautiful well on the grounds of the Mohammed Ali Mosque.

Commissioned by Muhammad Ali Pasha, this mosque was built between 1830 and 1848.  It was built in memory of his oldest son, Tusun Pasha, who died in 1816.  Because it is situated within the citadel, it is one of the first structures to be seen when coming to the city of Cairo.

Saints Sergius and Bacchus Church

Cavern Church and the Martyrs Sergius and Bacchus known as the Abu Serga Church built in the 4th century.

This is one of the oldest Coptic churches is Egypt. It is believed that this is where the Holy Family rested at the end of their journey into Egypt where they stayed hidden for three years until the death of Herod the Great.  

The Coptic church in Alexandria, Egypt, is said to have been established by Saint Mark at approximately AD 42, making it nearly 1900 years old.  The Coptic Christians believe they are the subject of the Old Testament prophecy written by Isaiah in chapter 19:19. "In that day there will be an altar to the Lord in the midst of of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the Lord at its border."

There are between 10 and 14 million Coptic Christians found in Egypt which is roughly 4.5% of the population.

Winding down the 2017-2017 School Year

These preschooler are all dressed up for Girgain, which is the Kuwaiti answer to Halloween.  Girgain happens during the holy month of Ramadan.  The children go from house to house singing for candy.

I just did the math.  I have been teaching since 1977, so that makes this my 40th year in the teaching profession.  I have taught every age from three year old nursery students to high school choir.  I remember my professor in my elementary music methods class telling us that we should be prepared to teach a lot of things we may not have thought we would ever be asked to teach. 

He was sure right!  I started out in a little dot on the map in rural Nebraska called Inman:

population129 as of the last census taken in 2010.  I taught K-8 music and 5-8 English and spelling.  I did that for one year, then I taught K-12 music in a couple of different communities for five years. We moved to Iowa where I taught elementary music at BCLUW in Conrad for seventeen years and then three years teaching half time elementary music at Carol Kuemper Catholic school and half time at Coon Rapids public schools.  The last nine years in the states I taught K-12 music at Baxter, Iowa.  I even taught 5th grade band for two years. My ears still remember those beginning clarinet players!  

I never get tired of the sweet letters from kindergarteners!

A wonderful likeness!

It has been not always been easy, but never boring.  And that professor was right.  In order to survive in this profession, I had to be prepared to put on a lot of hats that I wasn't quite sure I wanted to even try on!  I sure never dreamed I would someday be teaching three year olds here in the Middle East.  I have had to be adaptable in order to survive.  God gave me a love for music and children and I went where I was led, not always willing. But God has been beside me every step of this journey and it's not over yet!

"You are the light of the world.  A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden." Matthew 5:14

I'll be leaving Kuwait very soon for my beloved Iowa, but I will be back in August!

My Journey to Egypt

I never had a bucket list.  Four years ago I just assumed I would continue teaching music in Baxter, Iowa, until I retired to "Grandmaland" and that would be how my life would unroll.  I have since learned to never assume anything and because life doesn't necessarily play out in the way you would imagine.  "Life happens" as they say, and there you are one day, broken and bewildered because you have no idea why you were singled out to have your life turn upside down.  Thankfully, I was not alone.  God was right there at my side and incredibly I came to realize that His plans are far better than I could ever dream on my own. So here I am four years into my journey in this amazing part of the world they call the Middle East.  I teach music to our tiny little three year olds up through grade four.  The teaching part isn't all that different (other than the fact that until I came here I had never taught below Kindergarten level) but the day to day life took a little getting used to and that is a whole other blog!  But one of the perks of life in this part world is being able to travel.

I didn't necessarily regard traveling as a perk.  Traveling was pretty terrifying at first. I could barely make out the information on my first plane ticket. The thought of having to navigate O'Hare on my own was bad enough. When I realized I would have to find this train that would transport me to a different gate, I almost had a panic attack.  People back in Iowa think I'm so adventurous.  It really wasn't that so much as the fact that I had no other skills other than teaching music.  As far as I could make out, it seemed like Kuwait was the only place on the planet that was hiring middle aged women to teach elementary music and I wasn't ready to start living out of my car!  So I was on my way to a different world.  

My first year I didn't travel at all until I was on my way home after that first school year.  I met my daughter in Portugal, a place she had visited when she was in college, and she and I shared a magical week in Lisbon. I spent both Christmas and spring break in my tiny apartment in Kuwait.  I couldn't imagine actually traveling on my own.  Since that first year I have grown to like traveling, but I don't really love it.  It's great once I get to my destination, but the whole process of booking tickets and hotel rooms and navigating strange airports I find pretty stressful.  But it's getting easier and now I find myself actually contemplating where I will travel next.  A person can sit and stare at four walls for only so long before you begin to think there are better ways to spend your time. So here I am, four years later writing a blog about a solo trip to Egypt.  So come along for the ride!

According to Wikipedia, The Great Pyramid of Giza (also known as the Pyramid of Khufu or the Pyramid of Cheops) is the oldest and largest of the three pyramids in the Giza pyramid complex bordering what is now El Giza, Egypt. It is the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and the only one to remain largely intact.

The Great Sphinx of Giza is thought to be built for the Egyptian Pharaoh Khafre.  The most widely held theory states that the Sphinx was built to serve the cult of the dead king and the sun god, Re.

The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities 

The Egyptian Museum of Antiquities in Cairo houses the most valuable collection of its kind.  The museum was founded by Egyptologist Auguste Mariette in 1858 and moved to its present site in 1902.  It houses over 120,000 items in the museum including some 1700 items from the tomb of Tutankhamen.

The Gold Mask of Tutankhamen.  I didn't want to take my eyes off of it.

Tourists are not permitted to photograph the mask.  I heard an American walk up to a guard and offer him 150 USD to take a picture.  The answer was a firm NO!  I downloaded this picture from Wikipedia. This mask weighs 24 pounds.

Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the license is included in the section entitled GNU Free Documentation License.

Canopic jars used for the burial of internal organs of the deceased.  Each was protected by one of the four sons of Horas whose heads are seen on the lids of the jars.

Statuette of a nobleman, his wife and son.

Statue of King Chephren, the builder of the second pyramid.

They have so many mummies in this museum that they have to stack them on top of each other!

A gold chariot belonging to Tutankhamen.  One of many chariots found in his tomb.

This is King Seqenere.  He was not having a good day!  He was about 40 years old when he died of dramatic battle wounds while fighting to liberate Egypt from foreign invaders.

This is the head of the statue of Kaaper, the chief lector priest in charge of reciting prayers for the deceased in temples and and funerary chapels.  My guide told me an interesting story regarding the discovery of this statue.  Apparently, one of the workers peered through a window in the door of the room where this statue was placed.  It looked so lifelike that the worker ran all the way back to his village to get help because he was convinced that there was a man locked in the room.  The statue is indeed a masterpiece.  The eyes that are so lifelike are inlaid with rock crystal and Quartz.

It has been a challenge to decide which of my many, many pictures to select for this blog.  I love museums, in fact, I returned a second day because we got there too late to see the mummy room and I wasn't about to leave Egypt until I laid my eyes on a real bonafied Egyptian mummy!

More on my trip in a couple of weeks!

Bits and Pieces from Kuwait

Hamad Al Fuzia Museum for Antiques

Last October I had the opportunity to pay a visit to the Hamad Al Fuzia Museum for Antiques.  The owner of this collection of family antiques has them displayed in the basement of his home and is happy to arrange personal tours.  He had a story for every object on display and it was very interesting to hear him weave the stories of old Kuwait as he described the relics and antiques from his families' past.

Hamad's lovely granddaughters posing in their National Day attire in front of a hand carved antique door commonly found in Kuwait at the turn of the nineteenth century.

A very unique museum.  

Take a peak into the wedding chamber!

Expat Kent Ewing

Kent's family....Scott, Jackie, Mary, and Kent

Last fall I had a conversation with Kent Ewing who was beginning his second year at UAS.  Kent is one of the high school English teachers here on our staff.  In addition to teaching at UAS, he is also a free lance journalist for the Hong Kong Free Press.

Kent grew up in Kansas City, Kansas.  Kent decided that he didn't want to spend the rest of his life in the Midwest, so when he graduated from high school, he enrolled in Northeastern University in Boston, where he majored in journalism and English.  He graduated in 1978 and was hired at Fryeburg Academy in Freyburg, Maine.  In 1981 he received his MA in English Literature from the University of Wisconsin.  In 1986, Ken decided he wanted to take a different direction in his life and accepted a position teaching English at the International School of Kenya.  He found more than adventure in his new life in Kenya.  It was in Kenya that he was introduced to the love of his life, Mary.  She was working for an international organization in Nairobi.  They met at a wedding of mutual friends and it wasn't long before they decided that marriage would be in their future.  

In 1990 the couple decided it was time to experience life in another part of the world, so they set off for Hong Kong where Kent taught English at Hong Kong International School.  Soon after they arrived in Hong Kong, they discovered that they were going to be parents.  Their son, Scott, was born in 1991 and daughter, Jackie soon followed in 1993.  

In 2014, with both offspring out of the nest, Kent and Mary decided it was time to make another move.  Kent found a position here at UAS, hoping his wife could also obtain a visa.  Before that could happen, Mary was offered an a opportunity to become an administrator at a new school in Hong Kong that was just opening its doors.  They decided that this was an opportunity she should take, so for now, they are living apart.  They spend Christmas and summers together and save their future.  They will one day retire in Kenya where they are building a home in the beautiful coastal city of Mombasa.  Sounds like plan well worth waiting for!

UAS Singers

UAS Singers getting ready to sing with the UAS band

I organized UAS Singers when I started teaching at Universal American School in 2013.  I work with these energetic fourth graders every Sunday after school in the fall preparing for the Christmas shows we do with the high school band.  Every group has their own personality and this group was no exception.  It is fun to work with children who love to sing and a joy to watch their progress from shaky beginnings in the fall to confident performers by December. 

They love to mug for the camera!

                                                     'Sing Galing Duo'

Hedy Menendez and I were two of four judges for the Sing Galing Duo contest

Here I am being presented with my certificate of appreciation from the Philipine ambassador and his wife.  No event is complete without a certificate!

Among the more unusual things I've been asked to do in this country was a request to judge a vocal duet contest organized by Pinoy Arabia FM - advertised as the "most listened to internet based community service radio station catering to Filipinos in Kuwait, the Middle East and across the globe."  By the way, only 31% of the approximately thirty million people who live in Kuwait are Kuwaiti.  According to the latest census figures, Filipinos comprise 4.4% of the population coming in third after after India and Egypt.  They play a vital role in the service and hospitality industry and many Filipinos are employed as nurses in private and public hospitals.  They work very hard here in Kuwait so as to provide for their loved ones and families back home.

News clipping that appeared in the Kuwait Times

Music plays an important part of the culture in the Philippines, which is why these

local talent contests are so popular.  We had sixteen couples to judge.  We rated them based on vocal quality (30%), blending and coordination (40%), consistency and vibrancy (40%), dynamics (10%), and showmanship (10%).  It was very entertaining to watch all these couples compete.  Like any contest, some contestants were outstanding and some could use a little more work.  But they all were winners in the "give it your all" category and I give them all major respect for their performances.  There is a lot of musical talent talent in the Filipino community and I was honored to be asked to judge the 2016 'Sing Galing Duo.'

The winning couple received 500 KD and a two way ticket home to the Pholipines from Philipine Airlines

A beautiful view of the Arabian Gulf from a lovely Lebanese restaurant called Burj Al Hamman