My back was hurting so much last night that I didn't sleep well at all. I was still awake when the call to prayer sounded at 3:30am, and decided not to go to school as I'd originally planned. I did laundry in the morning, then went to Andy and Lisa's for a Mexican lunch. Andy worked on my back afterwards. I stayed at their house until our Skype call and colored Lisa's hair in the meantime. After our Skype call, Lisa drove me home.
Thursday, May 30th:
Thankful for a better night's rest. I went to school this morning ... the kids were taking their Komality (Kurdish history) final, so I wasn't able to help with grading, but I helped a couple teachers write report cards, then handed out certificates and prizes to my 6th graders. The 6th graders invited me to Dream City tonight and Texas Chicken tomorrow, so we postponed goodbyes until then.
I said goodbye to most of the teachers and left around 11am. I went over to Andy and Lisa's to drop something off and ended up spending the whole afternoon there. Zander opened up his birthday gift from me (Legos and a Hot Wheels) and we spent some time building.
Around 6pm, I left for Dream City. We had a good time, and I went on all the crazy rides with my kids!
Some of my fifth grade boys were there and came running up to greet me. It was fun to spend time with everyone and celebrate the last day of school with them. As I was getting ready to leave, I had a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. I dug around in my purse and realized I didn't have my keys! I hadn't been home all day and didn't even think of it until then. Figuring I left them at the school, I called the curriculum coordinator and he said someone would meet there. I tried to catch a taxi (which was difficult since women don't do anything alone here, especially at night), but thankfully one of my students was able to give me a ride. The guard was waiting for me when I arrived and I hurried inside, apologizing the entire time. I went into the teacher room and found the keys right where I left them ... hanging from my locker.
I taxied home, grabbed some eggs from the corner market and then went over to John and Mary's to use their kitchen (all of our kitchen things are packed away, including the stove). I made cookies for fellowship, finishing them a little after 11pm. Reflecting on the day, I was thankful to realize how much God has changed me during my time here. I didn't feel great about leaving my keys, especially since I had to inconvenience so many people, but I didn't freak out either. I knew that God could have reminded me to get the keys earlier in the day, and that fact that I didn't remember until 9pm was still under His control. As we studied in 1 Peter ... this trial was brought so that I could overcome in it, not to make me feel like a complete failure. Instead of going through the what-ifs, trying to figure how I could've avoided this situation, I tried to focus on glorifying God through it. It was encouraging to see God provide in ways that I wouldn't normally experience if I hadn't forgotten my keys in the first place.
On the other hand, I still felt bad that people had to go out of their way to help me. I prayed about it, and before I went to bed, God answered my prayer! I had several reassurances (via email and phone) that those people were happy to help and weren't resentful of my absent-mindedness.
I said goodbye to most of the teachers and left around 11am. I went over to Andy and Lisa's to drop something off and ended up spending the whole afternoon there. Zander opened up his birthday gift from me (Legos and a Hot Wheels) and we spent some time building.
Around 6pm, I left for Dream City. We had a good time, and I went on all the crazy rides with my kids!
Here I am with 6B (some of my students from 6A came too, but they stayed in two separate groups, so I ad to jump back and forth between them):
This ride is called the disco ... everyone sits on the outside edge, getting flung around as the stage spins and gyrates up and down. Sometimes kids will stand up in the middle (like the boy here) staying focused on a point in the distance so they don't fall down and end up crashing into the side. (Another boy was in the middle and he fell into me ... ouch!)
We went into the "cinema" for a 3D movie. It was a short ride through prehistoric times (not really a thriller, and my kids talked through the entire thing.)
This is the Crazy Dance (John's favorite ... not really). As it spins around, the arms fly up and down and the bucket seats spin around too. The music is deafening, especially when you are on the ride. I watched my students the first time, and then they dragged me into going the second time. A couple of my students couldn't go on ... they said it makes them "faint and then get sick" which I can understand why! I was pretty dizzy afterwards.
Some of my fifth grade boys were there and came running up to greet me. It was fun to spend time with everyone and celebrate the last day of school with them. As I was getting ready to leave, I had a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. I dug around in my purse and realized I didn't have my keys! I hadn't been home all day and didn't even think of it until then. Figuring I left them at the school, I called the curriculum coordinator and he said someone would meet there. I tried to catch a taxi (which was difficult since women don't do anything alone here, especially at night), but thankfully one of my students was able to give me a ride. The guard was waiting for me when I arrived and I hurried inside, apologizing the entire time. I went into the teacher room and found the keys right where I left them ... hanging from my locker.
I taxied home, grabbed some eggs from the corner market and then went over to John and Mary's to use their kitchen (all of our kitchen things are packed away, including the stove). I made cookies for fellowship, finishing them a little after 11pm. Reflecting on the day, I was thankful to realize how much God has changed me during my time here. I didn't feel great about leaving my keys, especially since I had to inconvenience so many people, but I didn't freak out either. I knew that God could have reminded me to get the keys earlier in the day, and that fact that I didn't remember until 9pm was still under His control. As we studied in 1 Peter ... this trial was brought so that I could overcome in it, not to make me feel like a complete failure. Instead of going through the what-ifs, trying to figure how I could've avoided this situation, I tried to focus on glorifying God through it. It was encouraging to see God provide in ways that I wouldn't normally experience if I hadn't forgotten my keys in the first place.
On the other hand, I still felt bad that people had to go out of their way to help me. I prayed about it, and before I went to bed, God answered my prayer! I had several reassurances (via email and phone) that those people were happy to help and weren't resentful of my absent-mindedness.
