Settling in

The first 2 weeks of school are behind us and we are very busy. Our shipment arrived on the first day of school and we also got the car that day. So we are feeling like we live here, but haven't had much time to breath. The good news is this week the painter came while we were at work and he finished today so we are sitting in our nicely painted house and we feel like we can start to put up some of our stuff and make it feel like home. Just being able to see a difference from our house to the other 11 on the block is refreshing. (Same layout, same furniture, same paint, felt a little bit like Stepford wives. )

This weekend the goal is to get some carpets, get pictures up, and buy some plants. Today after school to get ready for the weekend I went and got a Thai foot massage with two other first grade teachers. A good bonding time and now I am very relaxed and ready to enjoy two days off! In a bit we are going down the street for a few drinks and a relaxing evening with some friends.

Ramadan started last Thursday so no eating or drinking of any kind (including water) in public areas from sunrise to sunset. Young kids can but my assistant is fasting, so every time she leaves the room I gulp down a liter of water. Sean however has fasting students so no eating or drinking out of the dining hall. Kind of is hard to do when you are talking all day in 100 degree weather. Luckily his room is near the dining hall so he can duck inside if he needs to. But once the sun goes down the party begins. So we try to stay off the roads and out of the way of hungry people on their way to food!

Next weekend we have been invited to a breaking fast dinner. It is set up in giant traditional (air conditioned) tents with men sitting around smoking a sheesha (fancy Arabic pipe like thing that boils/burns fancy flavored tobacco) and whirling dervishes. Oh and lots and lots and lots and lots of food. So, the idea of going without for a month is just an excuse for parties of excess every night. At least, though, it is good clean fun with no alcohol. Much easier to deal with than drunks partying every night.

The car that we have is a Mitsubishi Pajero Io (a small Forester sized SUV). We filled it up the first day we had it...7 dollars! I feel like such a bad person buying an SUV, polluting the environment but at least I am not going broke from it. It is good to have a larger car here due to the way locals drive. Last weekend we saw our first SUV taking a corner on 2 wheels. We heard it is really exciting to see them going around and round the roundabouts on two wheels. There are so many deadly accidents the government has really cracked down on traffic fines. Speeding is around 1,000 to 3,000 DOLLARS plus the possibility of jail time. They even have traffic tickets specific to motorcycles driving on one wheel and cars driving on two. Running a red light is minimum of 2,000 dollars. If you are caught (all video) it is your responsibility to check the web site to see what tickets and demerits you have. And you are not allowed to leave the country until you have paid all your fines!