Super Saturday!

Today was our International Fair at school!  This is a time when each country dresses in their traditional clothes and is able to showcase food and items from their country!  It was such a neat experience! We also have the flag parade where each country comes together all dressed in their clothing holding their flag to walks through the gym.  It was a neat experience to watch! 

Here are some of my students waiting to start the flag parade

Korea

Zambia

Zimbabwe

Tanzania 

Oman

America (this is sweet Liam I babysit for)

Flag parade begins!

Korea

USA!

All of the flags and countries after the parade

Here are some pictures from after the parade and we all were eating:

Gambia

Japan (this is a brother of one of my students... love him!)

Joni and I in our US pride (and funny enough, Joni got her shirt in Amsterdam)

 After we left International Day, we headed to an artisan fair in an expo center near our apartment.  It had all different things made in Tunisia.  It was great to see all of these Tunisian made things and to get great deals! My big purchase was a leather ottoman.

This is Joni and the seller with the ottoman Joni really liked

Here they all are flat.  You pick the one you want and they stuff it for you

My ottoman all stuffed!

For dinner, Joni and I went to Fatburger!  It is an American chain we have been wanting to try out!  It did not disappoint!  Everyone there was so sweet (and they spoke English) and the burgers were thick and so yummy!

It was definitely a super Saturday!!

Why I am here...

Today as I danced with my entire school community a Senglese dance to the song Waka Waka by Shakira in our outdoor amphitheater, I realized this is just where God wants me to be and tears rolled down my face.  I looked over as my kids were dancing along with huge smiles on their faces and looking at me for affirmation.  I watched the adorable PreK kids want to do their best along with the dance too.  I just knew this is where I was suppose to be... a place with each child comes from their own country with their own language and is proud of it!  This week is World Language Week and we have done a variety of activities but today was my favorite and it was so simple.  The students brought in plain white t-shirts for their classmates to sign with their greeting in their own language.  My kids left with shirts that had 19 different languages and it was the neatest thing!  They were so proud and to watch them sign was an experience.  Six of my students' greetings were written with characters- not letters.  They signed it with such great ease and to watch them go from right to left was amazing!  This school year has been a challenge, don't get me wrong but to see where we were those first weeks and months and to see where we are now, it amazing!  It reminds me why I am teaching in North Africa and why I give my heart each day... even when the times are tough.  I love my students to the moon and back and am so proud!

 Here are my sweet second graders:

Just to give you an idea, here are the countries they are from:

Zambia, India, Germany, Oman, Libya, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Korea, Nigeria, Syria, Italy, America/Tunisia, Japan, Japan, South Africa, Tanzania, Gambia, Zambia

I love my multi-cultural kids and my multi-cultural school!!

Happy Easter!

I hope you all had a very happy Easter!  I have "survived" yet another holiday without family.  It is becoming easier as time goes on and I become more and more grateful for my friends here!  My Easter Weekend with blessed with friends!

On Saturday morning, I loved up on some sweet babies!

Afterwards, I picked up some friends and we headed to LaMarsa for lunch!

The Mediterranean Sea looked especially blue and gorgeous!  It was a warm but beautiful day!

(Excuse the spots... it is time for a new camera!)

On Sunday, I got dressed in my Easter clothes (too chilly for my Lilly P dress at an outdoor service) and went to church in downtown Tunis with my friend, Cheryl!  It was a church that many Africans go to and many are students in my class so it was neat to see them there!

After church, Cheryl and I got lunch in Lac 1!  It was a yummy lunch!

We finished out our Easter by swimming in the Embassy pool!  We had a great day spent together!

Preview of my new house...

Next year I will be moving to a townhouse with a yard!  I have loved my apartment this year and I will miss the newness of it, the ample closets, my neighbors, and how close it is to my school!  But I am so ready to be in a safe neighborhood (no wild dogs!) and a yard for Zoe to explore.  Here are some pictures mom took when we went to see the house when her and dad were in town.  Currently a single guy is living in there so take that into consideration when viewing these pictures. ;)

Street name

House number

 

Front view of house

Front door

Living Room

Dining Room

Kitchen (love the tiles)

Half Bath/ Laundry room (love these tiles too)

Stairs to second floor

Full bathroom upstairs

Master Bedroom (there are also two other bedrooms my mom did not get pictures of)

View from master bedroom balcony

Carport to park the car

Side yard

Front Yard

Front yard 

Front yard

Last day in Malta

I am at the airport as I type this and we are waiting on good old Tunis Air (it is known for never being on time).  This morning we said good bye to our sweet town of Zejtun, our amazing farmhouse, and even our trusty rental car.  Our time in Malta has been great!  It has been super relaxing but we got to see and do a lot as well!  It meant the world to me to have Mom and Dad here!  Malta is absolutely beautiful and I loved our time here!  But I guess now it is time to get back to reality (and my sweet Zoe)!

On our last full day on Malta, we took it easy.  My morning started with a pedicure in town. 

I loved the color but it was an experience for sure... I am not sure how many times she has painted nails...

This is right by our house and I finally took a picture... My brother and my cousin- two of my favorite people in one name! ;)

These two cats are in our neighborhood and always follow us home!  They are too sweet!

After our spa morning (if you can call it that), we headed to Marsaxlokk fishing village which is right by where we were staying.  This was our 3rd visit and I just love this place!

Lace is big in Malta and they were selling a lot of it at the stalls in the village.

Men unloading their catch of the day

We stopped for fried calamari and dessert!  This strawberries and cream was delightful!

Then we stopped for the must-have grocery shopping before headed back to Tuni!  This store was awesome!  It has Betty Crocker cake mixes and much more!

We went home and packed up all our goodies (always a feat) and then headed to our last meal of Chinese food (just like in Rome)!  It was so yummy and I so wish Tunis had a Chinese restaurant!

Last view of Marsaxlokk fishing village!

Goodbye Malta!  You will be missed! :)