Settling In.

Day: 4
I can't believe that I have been here four days now. The past few days have been laid-back and easy. I'm glad that I did get here a few days early because it's given me time to get over jet lag and get settled in. On Monday my roommate arrived and in the afternoon we went back out shopping to get most of our basic grocery needs. Then we came home and cooked our first meal together! (Simple but good: chicken, green beans, carrots, and bread, and yogurt for dessert). I have to say, the one thing that impresses me about grocery shopping is all the yogurt! There's two refrigerated sections dedicated to yogurt and yogurt-like desserts. And the flavors are extensive! So far I've tried mango, pistachio, and coconut. I also found that it was helpful to have French as most people readily communicate in it, and most of the labels are in French and Arabic. Although... being able to speak in French didn't prevent me from ordering half a kilo of sliced turkey. haha. I'll also have to learn to fully switch over to metric.


Lindsay and I finishing up our first meal together.



Our view from our dinner table of the sun setting over the ocean.



Yesterday was another slow start to the day. I didn't wake up until 11 even though I set my alarm for 8:30. Yup... good thing I got here early to adjust to the time change. Then I finished unpacking and setting up my room.


An egg froze in our refrigerator! Guess we better make some adjustments...









Our lovely kitchen.










Our living room.





My Room



Goodbye cards from students, youth, friends, and family.



In the evening we had a girls night! One of the staff from here cooked us a traditional meal - SO AWESOME! We began the meal with Harira, a traditional soup with lentils and beans; an eggplant spread; olives; carrots with lemon juices and other spices; and bread. The main course was called Seffa, and it was delicious. It was a mound of noodles that were flavored with cinnamon , sugar, butter, and nuts. Buried under the chicken was saffron flavored chicken, and it was so good!
This was also a great time to meet the other new teachers here. They all seem like they will be great to work with! After the meal I got a Henna tatoo! One of the other girls that is from here decorated my foot.I see a lot of women here with their hands or feet decorated with them. I read that the Henna tatoos originated from the Berber people, the first people group here. And then last part of the evening... Belly Dancing! I guess that's what a lot of the girls do when they get together here. Never in mixed company though. :) THANK GOODNESS for my sake!
Another thing I am getting used to is hearing the call to prayer. I don't hear it too loudly from my apartment on campus which a bit outside the city, but five times a day we still do hear a loud voice in Arabic echoing into our apartment.


Our meal!



Getting my henna tatoo.



My henna tatoo!




















And that's what I've been up to.... Here are some things I am looking forward to:
- Meeting more of the staff. Our new staff orientation officially begins tonight, and the all staff in service begins on the 24th.
- My other roommate to arrive. She's taught here for a couple of years, including third grade!
- The start of Ramadan. I don't know how much of it I will experience seeing that I won't be fasting and I'm living outside the city a bit. But it starts in the next two weeks or so (whenever there's a new moon), and I'm interested to see what it's like in the city. I do hear the grocery stores do tend to run out of some food during this time though....
- Getting my classroom set up and finding out more of the curriculum.
- Meeting my students.
- Learning ARABIC! During the orientation we'll have Arabic lessons in the morning, and I discovered that twice a week Arabic lessons are offered on campus right after school.

So with that I leave you. It's been a good time getting here, and I am excited to experience more. Thanks for reading and thanks again for your support and e-mails.