Woke up at 4:17 am (on a Saturday, no less) ... so there was plenty of time to get things done. After devotions, breakfast, and exercising, all of which was completed by 6 am, I did a load of laundry, then got to talk to Mom on Skype. They had just gotten out of the pool in a hotel in Seattle (where they are staying for the boys' karate tournament). After we talked for awhile, I got to work on writing the final exam for fourth grade math. The final and re-take are nearly complete, I only have about 20 questions left to write (out of 100) and the answer key, so that was relieving. Around noon, I had had a full day. I sat down to read and ended up falling asleep for about 20 minutes. Around 1:30, I walked down to Gali Park and met up with Stacy and a friend. Went to three different shoe places afterward and couldn't find a thing (that's the trouble with having really narrow feet.) Came home and caught up on some emailing. The rest of the evening melted away ... definitely ready for an early bedtime.
May 6th:
On my way to school I actually saw a lifted F-150, extended cab! It was amazing! Not too many big pickups around here. If I get a vehicle here, I might have to consider that. It would definitely give me an advantage on these narrow roads where "chicken" is a normal part of driving. [Side story: on the way home from one of our picnics, I commented that it seemed like we were driving in the other lane the entire way TO the picnic to avoid potholes and now, on the way BACK, using the same road, we were still driving in the other lane to avoid the potholes. John dryly retorted, "Lanes? What lanes?"]
My "rowdy" class wasn't very good today. I took three of the boys down to the principal because they weren't responding to any of my corrections. It was supposed to be an easy day. We spent most of the time reviewing for the test tomorrow ... and it was one of those review sessions where I practically gave out the answers to the test!
After class I graded papers, then taught my 11am art class. I had to send one boy out of class, but after that they settled down and got right to work. The kids spent a lot of time on their drawings. This is the third day that they have exceeded my expectations! God has been very merciful to me with that class.
Had a half hour lunch break, then taught the second math class. We had a review session during their time as well, and I awarded extra points for the test to the students who were paying attention. We covered a lot more material and I am hopeful that they will do well tomorrow.
I graded more papers, and copied off the test (ahead of time). The copy machine obviously wasn't prepared for my cleverness and didn't have time to run out of ink or paper! After I finished grading and socializing, I hopped in a taxi and went to Mazi to get my wire. This last month I am living off my salary from the school, so SGI simply wired my rent money for the next three months. It was the shortest wire transfer yet! Stacy and I usually end up waiting for about a half hour when we go to the Western Union downtown ... this took maybe five minutes. I was really relieved that it went so well (and that I was able to make my weekly grocery run at the same time). Took a taxi home and napped for 15 minutes. I think the dust storm really affected my allergies - by the afternoon I am pretty zapped of energy.
Stacy and I grabbed a taxi around 4pm and stopped by to pick up Dan and Julie. The four of us headed to the Convention Center where one of our friends from the fellowship was participating in a concert. The convention center is amazing. Really up-to-date and impressive set-up. The participants were dressed in their Kurdish clothes and the whole performance was very professional. The only time I realized I was in different cultural setting is when I could hear the people around me talking on their cell phones, getting up to leave and most of all, when the TV cameras were directed on our group of foreigners (there were quite a few of us that showed up to support our friend).
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It was really neat to experience and I'm so glad I was able to go - not only to see the way a concert is "put on" on here, but to compare the elements that they value in music with the elements we emphasize in our music. Our friend wrote a song for the concert, and we all agreed that it was the best out of the nine songs they performed!
By the time the show ended, it was 7pm, and Dan, Julie, and I were starving. Texas Chicken was on the way home, so we stopped there to eat. We saw three of our students (who apparently eat there about two or three times a week!) I roped one of them into helping me explain my order, even though we are supposed to be able to order in English ... and all I wanted to do was change out my fries for coleslaw! :P
Took some pictures of the amazing moon when I got home, then visited with John and Mary for a little bit. Ready for bed ...
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