First day @ the Girls Campus

Today was the first day to go into the girls campus. We had a staff meeting and got the keys to our classrooms!! Here are some pics of my classroom that the "maids" cleaning staff set up for me. I will be moving everything tomorrow as I do not want my desk at the front of the room! teehee. I received my class list as of right now I have 22 students. 2 sets of students with the same name...but that can change. I like having an even number of students so I am very happy. My schedule looks great. Currently we don't have a gym teacher which means we have to teach our own class gym until they hire someone..aghhh.

NOTE: This is NOT how my classroom will be set up...the maids did it for me and put my desk at the front of the room. Silly silly, now I have to move it to the back left hand corner of my classroom. sigh

My classroom is clean!!!! But not for long....

After school I realized that I had not sent you any pictures of my apartment room. I am in room 605. If you feel like talking to me you can call my lan line or cell phone: (I have included the area codes for calling from Canada)

lan line - 011-954- 253-3675
cell phone - 011-965-783-6500
My living room....the rug on the wall is from my trip to Jordan. Matches perfectly!!


My Queen size bed and lovely sandpaper comforter.....I need to purchase a piece of art for my wall.

I have two large closets....I love them!!!


My shelves...I need to purchase items to go on here too.....

My kitchen....and FYI I am addicted to buying kitchen stuff. I seem to spend all my money in the kitchen department.


My spare bedroom....which is turned into my "office". I found the IKEA coat hanger thingy in the basement.

My bathroom...which I am in the process of purchasing a shower mat....and also finding a maid to clean it. I am picky though cuz I want them to clean while I am at school...and preferably on Sunday....why Sunday you ask? Well weekends have changed in Kuwait to Friday and Saturday (last year they were Thursday, Friday)....and so if they clean Sunday I will have all week and weekend to get it dirty.

Orientation Week

Better late than never...Here are some pics before I left for Kuwait.

Picture above...Me, Kristy and Amanada ready to go through Canadian Customs.

In Washington we met a really nice guy named Greg who was going to work for the military. He bought us a shot at the bar before we headed on the plane. Good thing we had some alcohol because you had to pay for it on the plane...no free booze like KLM gives.

Well I have been here about a week now and have been very busy so I apologize for not posting sooner. Here's what I have been up to with all of the other newbies....

Saturday, August 18th I met the ACA (American Creativity Academy)...my school's administration, signed contracts, received my living allowance $$$ and opened a Kuwait Bank Account to put all my hard earned money in. We ate lunch at Pizza Hut in Salmiya courtesy of ACA...but in my opinion it was not good. Then we went shopping at the Sultan Center where I bought FOOD to fill all my cupboards.

Picture above is of the group at Pizza Hut.

Sunday, August 18th we went on a tour of the Kuwait Towers. I even found the apartment building that I live in!!

Picture below is from the window of the Kuwait towers and I have pointed an arrow at the apartment building that I live in. Isn't that cool!?!?!Whoaa Check out that pit stain!!! WhooWhoo
After that we went to the Al Hashemi II (the largest wooden boat in the world)...we got to go inside it this time. Wow was it beautiful.

Below is a picture of a spool of fish that we saw looking down in the Gulf. I couldn't believe that there was that many fish!!!

Picture above is ....The view from the top of the boat...looks down at another boat.

Afterwards we went for supper but none of us were hungry so we went to the Chocolate Bar. I misinformed you last time by saying the entire restaurant only serves chocolate. Just so happens that they also serve a few non chocolate items. I got a milkshake and shared a chicken sandwich. It was good.

Ohhh la la that looks good!!!!

This was a very long day. After supper we went to the Aware Center where we learned about Kuwait such as their customs, dress and where to visit. It was really interesting. I had to get a picture of this lady that I saw. She looked amazing don't you think?!?!

Monday, August 20th - This was a slack day...I did not go to the Grand Mosque with the rest of the newbies because I went last time and that meant I got to sleep in!!! Then I took a taxi with Amanda and Kristy to the school for 1:00 and saw Kristy's KG Classroom and met up with everyone else to go shopping at Souk Salmiya, City Center. Which was AWESOME!! I got myself a cozy blanket which was the best thing that I bought! I love the City Center it was fairly cheap compared to the other shopping centers.

Tuesday, August 27th - This day we met with my principal and briefly went over the staff handbook. Then we got our school e-mail all set up. Lastly we went to Fahaheel and ate supper and shopped a bit ...and surprisingly all I bought was ice cream!! mmmm

Wednesday, August 28th - We went to the Crowne Plaza where we checked out the gym and pool area. I layed by the pool, went in the jacuzzi and steam room. It was very relaxing. Then we went back to the apartments to get ready for Supper at Mais Al Ghannam a fancy Lebanese restaurant. I ate here last time when I was student teaching and I was very anxious to eat here because I LOVE THE FOOD!!!!

Then.....one of the orientation leaders threw a big party which was a lot of fun. Met lots of new people.

Around 1:00am we decided to leave and go to Frese's parents summer house (he is a friend of Amanda's...who is Kuwaiti and really nice.) We drank at his chalet until 4:00 and spent the night going back to the apartments around 11 the next day.

This is the "summer house" the gulf is at the back of the house. Inside was really nice. I am sitting on the stairs in the house.

Officially Moved!!

I made it to Kuwait!!!! I have a few minutes to update you on my flight. If you have a choice DO NOT and repeat DO NOT go on United Airlines. Staff is rude, food is terrible and much more.
The flight from Winnipeg to Chicago had a TV hooked to the roof and everyone on the plane watched the office. We got Pretzels and a beverage on this flight. Then from Chicago to Washington we did not get to watch anything...no food...just a beverage. At the Washington airport we met a guy in the army who was on the flight to Kuwait who bought us a shot of tequila and then we drank as fast as we could a brown cow. On the plane Washington to Kuwait we thought we would get to have alcohol free...nope sure had to pay for it still. (unlike KLM that gives free booze) This flight we did have individual t.vs...so small I think I had to squint to see the movie..not to mention if you missed the start of the movie you could not rewind or fast forward like on KLM. The food was terrible not even going to describe it to you. It tasted like Alexander Stephanie Stephanie (aka ASS).

We arrived 30 minutes early to Kuwait...got our visitor visa, luggage (all of it arrived!!) and made it through the security scanners!! We got to the Bneid Al Gare apartments and I put all my bags in my room...605 ...found an office chair in the basement and some kind of other closet thingy that looks like it came from IKEA...

We had to be up and at the bus at 9:30am. I went to bed around 10pm woke up at 2am and had trouble falling asleep but managed to make myself doze off until 5:30am.

So far today I have met the ACA administration, signed my contract, got my $$$ they promised me for moving in allowances and baggage etc. Got pictures taken and then ate at Pizza Hut. We are going shopping right away...I have a few must haves on my list.
#1 - memory foam mattress
#2 - an extra pillow
#3 - cozy blanket...actually that should be at the top of my list
#4 -FOOD!!!

Aunty Anne...and Uncle Glenn....How did surgery go?!?! I was thinking of you while I was on the plane. Leave me a comment! :)

July/August Recap....

Well the 3rd annual Good Spirit Camping Trip is over and I have to say it was lots of fun! I am already looking forward to next year!

We celebrated Matthew's birthday!!!

Thanks to Mandi's parents who prepared a delicious feast for us! The steaks were AmAzInG!!! Breakfast was tasty as always all thanks to Jill's parents! I particularly enjoyed my pancake made in the shape of a K!!! Not to mention the bacon that was cooked to perfection...mmmm food. Unfortunately we did not have to cook anything over the campfire...wait that's not true T.C did cook smokies on the first night...Maybe next year we will be smarter and cover our firewood before it rains to keep it dry! oops.

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August Long Weekend Mom and Dad and I travelled to Saskatchewan...picked up my Baba in Wynyard and went to Saskatoon to visit with family. It was really great seeing everyone and of course I cannot mention the fabulous homemade food that was prepared each day for us!!! I want to send a shout out to Auntie Anne and Uncle Glenn....I will be thinking of you as you go in for your surgery. Taker easy and get better soon!

I cannot believe that the summer is over and I will be getting on a plane around noon on Thursday the 16th. Ekks I am flooded with many mixed emotions. 1 year is not that long but right now it seems like it... especially when you miss out on family functions ex) Corinne and Jody's wedding social.. :( I hope pictures will be posted ASAP of the special day!

Well that's it for me. Next post won't be until I am in Kuwait!!!

Road Trip

The "Fly by the seat of our pants" road trip was a lot of fun. Mom and dad decided that they did not want to make any plans as to where we were going to go and what day we would be there etc. We decided to start our vacation in Grand Forks ND. We stayed at my favorite motel Happy Host. Below is a picture of me in our hotel room.

For only a Quarter this bed vibrates! It is sensational...hehe

The next day we went to Fargo ND and shopped again. The sales were great. Of course it was only fair that dad got to go to 3 or 4 hunting stores. Here is a picture of Scheels that has a ferris wheel inside it!!

On the road again...to Superior Wisconsin. The next day we travelled to Duluth Minnesota.
In Duluth we went on the Vista Fleet (boat cruise on Lake Superior)

This is a picture of the Aerial Lift Bridge in Duluth.

We drove along the Superior Lake coast all the way up to Ontario stopping at many tourist spots.

First stop was at Two Harbors. This is a picture of the lighthouse there.

Standing in Lake Superior

My feet in the Lake Superior Water!!!

Next Stop was Gooseberry Falls. The falls were formed about one billion years ago.

Next we stopped at Split Rock to see the lighthouse.

Throughout the entire trip all my mom said she wanted was to stop along the road to pick rocks for her flower bed. So here they are picking rocks!!

Oh look at the Pretty Rock!

We also stopped at spots in Beaver Bay, Little Marais, Silver Bay, Schroeder, Tofte, Lutsen, and Grand Marais. We stayed the night in a cabin in Grand Marais. It is a beautiful town to visit and spend time in. We really enjoyed it. The next day we went to Grand Portage (large casino here) and then crossed the border to Thunder Bay Ontario.

Once in Ontario we went to Thunder Bay and stayed at a hotel that faced Lake Superior. It was very pretty there. (Our hotel is the building in the background)





Ship loading grain....I wonder if it has any of our grain there because this is one company we sell our grain to.
The falls in Canada are amazing compared to the ones in the United States right now. My dad says he can pee faster than the ones that we saw in the US.

Throughout Ontario we saw lots of Moose. This is the first set that we saw.

We went to Ignace to visit Patrick where we went to the dump and saw in total 6 bears and a cub. We also went to Sioux Look Out to pick up frozen fish and of course pick blueberries near the airport. We all got bitten by little black flies. Aghh I have been scratching ever since.

During our stay in Ignace we went fishing and everyone was catching fish left and right except me. I only got 2 and non of which were keepers. Better luck next time I guess.

Then we went to Black Sturgeon Lake near Kenora. This is where my dad's cousins' cabin is. I went fishing everyday and early in the morning I finally caught something. I caught 7 fish. (4 keepers, 1 jack and 1 that my dad did not get into the net in time otherwise it would have been a keeper too. The picture above is of the biggest fish I caught!

June Update

Okay so I decided to make a monthly update during the summer. What happened in June? Well I graduated, went to Yorkton for Jenn and Chad's Wedding and most importantly celebrated my mom's 50th BIRTHDAY!!!! Whoo Whoo. I also was the best substitute teacher the Park West School Division has ever seen!!! I taught in Birtle, Russell, Strathclair and Rossburn in

grades 1-11.

Here is the brownie I made for my mom. I am not going to lie it was delicious!!! We just happened to have a heart shaped cake pan to make the occasion even more sentimental.

For supper we went to the steak pit @ Spy Hill in Saskatchewan.

Photo of the month!!! I love you too Mom!!!!