Undrank Tea

   I am back.  Recently, I have been looking a Facebook posts and realizing how important my experience of living here in the Middle East is.  The time has come for me to share about our lives here in Qatar to bring awareness and peace.  Josh is getting his doctorate so having time to contribute is going to be limited.  Yes I know we have been here for two years now and a lot of gone undocumented but the time has come to get back in touch with my people.

   I am going to write about the cups of tea that never get drank.  So often in my teaching career I make a cup of tea and return to it three hours later remembering "oh that would have been a nice moment."  Let me tell the story of this cup of tea.  Yesterday we began our first Model United Nations conference of the year.  I have recruited and trained ten special education students to participate in a highly academic setting competing against kids that aspire to go the best colleges in the world, these students are the top performers at the best schools in Qatar.  These kids come from all over the world because Qatar has a population of  2.4 million people and only 10% of those people are Qatari.  We arrived with ten students highly charged with nerves and fear, one of which is in a wheel chair and another has very unstable diabetes.  I wheeled Abdullah to his room to get started, he is an eighth grader which is a very young age to participate and he is the only one here in a wheel chair.  This boy also doesn't interact with others on a frequent basis so is a little awkward...he is also a teenager:)  I felt like a mom leaving her child knowing that he needed this experience but also knowing it would be a painful day.   I also had faith that students would help him get where he needed to be.  After all these kids were going to be talking about helping the world all day, an opportunity to help a young boy in a wheel chair is an immediate way to show how serious you truly are in changing the world, I had to have faith. 

    I wasn't given much time to fret about this because I was on to the next adventure, Fatima called to say "my blood sugar is at 35 Miss."  From my knowledge this is a problem  I know very little about medicine because my mom and sister in law are nurses and I leave all medical issues up to them. So after quite an ordeal of tracking down juice and protein.  Fatima begins to complain about her stomach hurting, which come to find out is her pancreas having spasms due to the lack of insulin.  I am just trying to stay calm because I have no idea what to do.  We decide Fatima needs to go home.  After a finding a wheelchair and traffic we get Fatima home, Now time to get back into the the conference it was time for the opening ceremony.  

   At the opening ceremony this Vice Principal gave a great speech about taking chances and being ok with making mistakes, we are all here to change the world, "have enough guts to say something is all that matters."  He also informed me that Coca Cola owns the rights to 40% of the water in India...what.  There was also a very large girl that got up and sang Valerie by Amy Winehouse which did not fit and was one of those moments where you are trying not to lose your shit and laugh your head off.  Now that I am a chaperon it is time for me to lead by example:)    

   Finally, I get back to my cup and tea and I laugh "how nice it would have been to drink that cup of tea." I am overwhelmed by a realization, when I was a student I had no idea what went on in order for me to get the love I needed as a child.  I had no idea the sacrifices my teachers made in order to make sure I got to go on that field trip or learned everything I needed to know in order to grow to my fullest potential.  Now that  I am a teacher I want to bring awareness to all of us that teachers do more than teach us 2+2 or that Hunter Gatherers were nomads (yes that is the unit I am on now with my 9th graders).  Teachers give their hearts and souls to their work and sometimes save lives.  Teachers do whatever is needed at the time.  I am not asking for a raise or words of affirmation, what I am asking from you is recognize you had teachers that gave you their world.  Teachers are amazing people, appreciate your children's teachers.  Do we make mistakes yes but most of us are just trying to do the best thing for your child.    

The Beginning of Another Month

As we enter into November we are beginning to get more into our groove here in Doha.  We spent Halloween watching trick or treaters from various expatriate families run around the neighborhood.  It amazed me that these parents pack their bags with Halloween costumes and decorations for Christmas and Easter baskets for the spring.  These are all things we need to start thinking about I guess.  So when we come home this summer we have to plan for all of the holidays that seems crazy.  I think our child will have a lot of homemade costumes from Pinterest and we will make Christmas costumes because he wont know any different. 
  We did go to a house party to hand out candy which was really fun because I always grew up in a neighborhood that didn't have many people.  We would put out a basket and let kids take as much as they wanted and then went on with our trick or treating.  I am sure my dad was in the basement watching movies and ignoring anyone who came to the door.  It was fun to hand out candy. 
   Teachers always seem to work for our breaks, now that we are coming out of a break we are preparing for our next break which is at Christmas time when we will spend it both in Minnesota and in Texas.  I am not sure how this is going to go because I feel like I get bigger by the minute and my back has been killing me.  I have been doing a ton of yoga to try to combat the problem.  We shall see, hopefully I will just be so excited jet leg wont even effect me.  I have heard that it is easier to go West than it is to go East because of the time change.  I am sure it will be hard to go back to work after we return but Josh has been fabulous and makes sure I get my baths and yoga time in. 
  Since we have returned from Sri Lanka I have been meditating daily in the mornings at 5:00 AM, even on the weekends.  Just in the last couple of days have I really felt like it is working.  My meditation teacher says that in meditation you can only move sideways and forwards, never backwards.  I think I finally began to move forwards.  I started the week having a very upsettable mind with my students and have come to a point where I have expectations but you are not going to make me mad.  Kids are kids no matter where they come from or how much money they have.  I find that my students are very similar to my kids that I taught in the projects of Austin.  They want instant gratification and some work hard but most need a little push in the right direction, and there are always those three students that need a constant push in the right direction.  I am trying to be more calm and detached from my job.  I know being detached sounds like a bad thing to do but I have been reading about this and when you are detached it makes it so you can be more reasonable and less emotional about the outcome, it is easier to stick the facts instead of taking it personally.  We shall see how it works.  I have to remind myself every thirty minutes of my mantras and to be calm and peaceful but it is working for the most part. 
  Josh and I have been having a good time just living, doing what we have always done.  Making meals on the weekends and doing family dinners during the week.  We have made a lot of adjustments and have struggled in our relationship at times here but we have done a great job working together to be a team.  It is different here in Doha but we discuss these differences and similarities often.  I really enjoy my husband and amazes me how much of a natural born traveler he is. 
  Right now Josh is playing on the school basketball team.  They are playing some high school varsity team and he claims they are going to school them with there old man strength, we shall see when he gets home:)  He also plays volleyball once a week and plays on another basketball team on Saturdays.  So watch out Luling, when he comes home from Christmas he is going to have some moves. 
  I have been teaching a yoga class to the teachers at my school once a week and it is really enjoyable.  Everyone is so appreciative and I get practice for when I have a yoga studio someday. Josh and I have spent a lot of time in the past week dreaming about our brewery and yoga studio that we will have someday, hopefully soon.  Josh has started a business plan for it which I am not really sure what that means I just trust that he is better at business than I am:) 
  So for the most part life has been good.  Teaching is challenging but I am trying to conquer everyday with a smile on my face. 
Sending everyone lots of love!
Emmy

The Wonders of Sri Lanka

My turn to discuss Sri LankaJ Oh how amazing it was.  I want to write about it before I forget.  I find myself writing blogs as I am experiencing the event and then once I get back from the adventure I am too tired.  I am going to push through and make it happen this time. 

Day 1: we arrive in Sri Lanka and the sun is setting.  I have convinced Josh that we needed to see elephants.  After lots of research with people that have been there and contacting different safari companies we decided to go to Yala National Park which was 6 hours from the airport after arriving at 6 pm Josh was not excited about this pipe dream of mine.  The journey was precarious to say the least the roads were one lane with traffic coming and going in both directions in the dark. We took turns sleeping and got to see the nightlife of small villages as we traveled along.  Eating the many snacks that we packed to sustain us until who knew when.  Our driver did not speak English and was quite pleasant because he played American tunes and let us sing and play name that tune.  After 6 hours of questioning if this was the right decision on my behalf we arrived at a rickety hotel at 1 AM.  I had heard from people this was the place we had to go to see animals in the wild, so here we were. 

Day 2: We woke up at 5 am after a nice little nap, with peacocks outside our door we were ready to go.  The driver was there on time and we bumped down the road to arrive at Yala National Park.  We saw two leopards; lots of peacocks, some wild bore that kind of looked like elephants, water buffalo, deer and some monkeys.  I began to have a mental questioning of the meaning of life because we hadn’t seen elephants and the day was nearing 9 am and they later it got the less our chances got.  We took a detour to see the Indian Ocean and I finally had come to terms with no elephants, because Josh told me that I needed to embrace the experience and let it be what it was.  I was forcing myself to believe this.  Then our driver runs over to us and says “LET’S GO!”  We eagerly jump into the jeep and race off.  It felt like the moments in the movie where you didn’t know what was going to happen but you hoped for the best.  We bounced around a corner and there they were a mama, baby and toddler sitting there eating from the tree.  Life made sense in that moment, the journey was all worth it and I was instantly feeling a lot less anxiety about the meaning of life.  We watched the elephants walk side by side and give each other love.  It made me feel tears in my eyes and really excited to be a mom.  The whole journey was so amazing, I felt like Josh really went outside of his comfort zone for me, and in the process we got to fall even more in love with each other.

After the Safari we picked up two packages of Pringles and some Cokes that really brought us back to life and ready for the seven-hour drive to Hikkaduwa Sri Lanka, which are where, our friends Ann and Jason were staying.  It was really neat to drive through each village and watch them go about there daily tasks.  Josh slept which I am sure was nice for him as well.  It was quite a feat to get through the first 24 hours in Sri Lanka, we were ready for some beach time!

Then we were off to town to shop and see how the hippies live in Hikkaduwa.  There were lots of crafts and message places, all of which brought me excitement.  We ate a nice meal for dinner, as we ate we stared at the calming water and talked about enlightening things like weaving your life by likes and dislikes and how that makes people angry.  All of which made total sense at the time and still makes sense to me but probably not everyone. 

Day 3: We woke up to some good Sri Lankan breakfast curry potatoes and tea. We went back to town (Hikkaduwa) to look at the shops and to eat lunch that consisted of a cheeseburger that was made by a Dutch expat and pretty amazing.  Once we returned from town it was time to put on our swimsuits and get ready for the parade.  We swam in the Indian Ocean while we waited for this infamous parade to begin for a town holiday.  Boys with flowers strapped to their bikes ran up and down the rode to inform us that the parade was beginning.  This is one of the best parades I have ever seen dancers of all sorts, brace bands and bull wipes.  The excitement and the talent was endless and so eclectic.  I took a ton of pictures and my favorite part was seeing the little girls smile in their dance costumes.  My least favorite part was seeing the chains hanging from the elephants necks, everyone tried to convince me that this was necessary because what if the elephants got out of line that would be dangerous.  I understand that but elephants don’t need to be in parades either.  It was fun to see a parade with talent and not candy just pure beauty.

Day 4: We hired a driver named Upali to take us around to some of the tourist attractions around the area.  Our first stop was a moon stones mine, which started with teaching us how to harvest cinnamon.  Then we got to see the entire process of getting the moonstone from the mine all the way to the store ready to sell.  We went from the miners that were working harder than I though humanly possible and ended in the shop that was pristine with men in suites selling gems from all over the world.  I of course bought something because they did a good job at selling me with all the different people having to shine and mine the stones just for one ring. 

Next stop a Buddhist Temple; this was one of the things I was most excited about!  We walked up what seemed like hundreds of stairs that seemed to lead nowhere and then we reached the top and found a Temple that didn’t seem that special.  After continuing to explore we came across an amazing view that overlooked a jungle.  If I was a Buddhist monk this is where I would like to call home.  We explored got to see a statue of Buddha lying down which is super amazing I am not sure why but we saw it.  As we were leaving I saw two monks sitting on the front porch and I tried to slyly walk past them hoping they would at least smile at me.  I got better than that; they invited us in to teach us about the four noble truths.  These are kind of like the ten commandments of Buddhism.  We sat down and were given all kinds of knowledge by the most peaceful man; he was absolutely inspiring and has driven me to meditate again.  There was also a 90-year-old monk sitting peacefully petting a cat.  This experience was absolutely unforgettable and is the entire reason people travel.  I will never forget him.

Next stop lunch we went and ate a cheeseburger again which was not very Buddhist of us but “baby needed food.”  We of course shopped a little bit and then we went back home to contemplate the day.

Day 5: At this point in the trip I was absolutely exhausted but we had paid Mr. Upali to take us to on a river cruise and to a turtle hatchery.  Both were nice I was a little detached at this point and not very interested.  We had our feet eaten by fish; there are these fish that will eat the dead skin off your feet.  I thought this was absolutely horrible and Josh loved it.  It was still a nice day with friends; I just wish I could have been a little less tired.  On the river cruise we got to see some really large lizard that I am sure is related to dinosaurs?  After our adventures we ate at a very sketchy Chinese food restaurant and none of us got sick.  Then we went home and rested because we were absolutely exhausted.

Day 6: To Colombo we went.  It was our friend Jason’s birthday and we woke up to breakfast and Mr. Upali brought a cake that his wife made.  It was such a sweet gesture and very unforgettable.   As you can see this was a pretty unforgettable trip, Sri Lanka is full of friendly people and a culture that needs to be discovered.  After a couple rounds of happy birthday we were off to the train station for Colombo where we would fly from the following day.  One of my favorite things to do when I travel is to stare out the window and watch and observe how people live around the world.  With the window open I stared and took as many pictures as I could.  Josh and I also discussed how to raise a child properly in the  first six weeks of life and a man stopped by to give us a three hundred year history of Sri Lanka, all of which were very interesting. 

Once we arrived in Colombo Ann and I decided to venture out to the market and see what it had to offer.  True to the Trip Advisor reviews it was dirty and very chaotic.  I bought some fabric for a baby blanket and two bouncy balls that had the world painted on them, after that we gladly left and got ready for Jason’s birthday dinner. 

After a night with our friends we were off to bed to wake up and head for the airport at 6 am.  The trip to Sri Lanka will be a memory that Josh and I will always have.  Thank you for coming on the journey with us in these three pages of stories and enlightenmentJ We miss you and love you all!  Now it is time to eat some lasagna and go to bed.  I have gone to bed between seven and eight every night since we have returned and this weekend my agenda is international movie day(s)!

A few pics from Sri Lanka

A Week in Sri Lanka

Hey everyone!  I'm glad to be back home in Doha, after a six day trip to Sri Lanka.  We had a ton of great experiences.  I'll list some and then expand on my two favorite experiences.  If you want to hear more about one that's listed, just comment and I'll be glad to do it!

Things we did:
- Loosely planned adventures
- Crazy cab rides
- Sri Lankan Safari
- Batiks
- Masks
- Parade
- Beach
- Moonstone Mines
- Sea Turtle Hatchery
- Cobras
- Buddha Statue
- Tsunami Photo Museum
- River "Safari"
- Cinnamon harvesting
- Fish Pedicure
- Buddhist Monk convo
- Buddhist Temple
- Sri Lankan Breakfast (lunch & dinner)
- Met great people
- Enjoyed great friends
- Tea
- Arrack
- "Factories"
- Bus Rides
- BurgerS
- Train Rides
- Wreck(s)
- Colombo
- Mosquito Nets
- Fell in love
- Probably some things I'm leaving out

Buddhist Monk Convo

We sat down and spoke to a monk about the four noble truths.  He let us know he could explain it to us, but that people spent their lives in search of understanding them.  The first was that life is suffering.  The second is that the origin of the suffering is within us.  The third was that there is a way to end that suffering.  The fourth talks about the path to end the suffering.

It all sounds like a very pessimistic way to look at the world.  However, when you look deeper, you realize that the idea is simply realistic, rather than pessimistic.  The monk made references to information I had contemplated during some of my spiritual journey and gave practical knowledge using deep insight. Many people cause suffering to themselves through jealousy and always wanting the next THING.  In reality, the people are causing the suffering to themselves and they are the cure to the suffering.  The THING they want is never enough to end the suffering, only they are.

He talked about his travels to Europe and how he respected the work we did as teachers.  He acknowledged that he had trouble teaching schoolchildren during his travels and you could see that he appreciated four people staring at him and actively engaging in what he was teaching.  He conversed in a way that seemed truly at peace.  He left us with holy string that he tied around our wrists.  I'll wear mine until it falls off.

Tsunami Photo Museum

This may be a weird thing to put in my favorite category, but it was truly eye-opening.  You got to see and hear the stories on pieces of paper collected by a woman whose house was ripped away in the 2004 tsunami.  There were trash bags and rotten boards for walls, but the museum was no less significant.

One story told of how a woman lost a child after the first wave and was with her other child looking for their lost family member when the second wave hit.  The second child got swept away with the second wave and the story ended with the mother still in search for her children years later.

By being on the area that the wave hit, you were able to feel the story as you read about it and saw pictures of it.  One of the pieces of the museum that spoke to me most was how appreciative the Sri Lankans were of two things: the sea that brought the wave and the people of the world.

There was a sign that spoke of the sea giving life to Sri Lankans, taking it away and that the people would depend on the sea to give life back.  The forgiveness in those words is something that spoke to me.  More than forgiveness, there was hope and appreciation.  The people were thankful to have the sea so that they could continue to use it for their daily lives.

 There were multiple places that talked about appreciation to governments and private organizations from all around the world.  As we walked around, people would smile when we said we were from America.  They wouldn't hesitate to let us know that when the tsunami hit, Americans were there to help them.  I have heard the argument about how we have to "take care of our own first."  In my opinion, we do a pretty damn good job of taking care of our own.  There are many people out there that we can help also.  It made me even more committed to my belief that when the people of the world are in trouble, Americans don't have the duty to help; they have the honor of helping.  So many times, people around the world are struck by natural or man-created horrors and it is up to the leaders of the free world to protect and help the citizens of the world.

That day, I was so proud to be a US citizen.  It wasn't because of American pride or money that people appreciated America.  It was because of the side of America that is human.  The side of America that helps other people around the world, regardless of their nationality or skin color.  People loved us because we loved them.

Thanks for all the love!

A short trip around Doha

I put together this video if you want to see a little bit of Doha.  We've moved since I made the video, so the place I call home is now different.  Check it out below:

A Trip around Doha

A Culture of Hospitality and Dedication

I hope I never forget the moments of greatness I've seen in Doha.  On the last day of school before the Eid Al Ahda break, which was yesterday, students had tons of food that they brought to school.  I used the corny joke of reaching toward their food and acting like I was going to take a piece of whatever they had.  In America, all I had ever seen was a, "No, this is mine" reaction.  All day yesterday, kids consistently offered me what they had.  There were kids fasting (even though it's optional) so that they could understand how the poor feel.  Two things I appreciate most about Islam is the dedication that is shown and the hospitality that is shared.  Five times a day, you can hear the call to prayer all across the city at every mosque.  The people stop their day and pray.  You see a commitment to caring for the poor, to the point of even inviting the poor to your house.  You see a commitment to hosting and sharing the wealth they have.  I look forward to more experiences like the last few days.  I will take from those experiences the piece of me that is dedicated to the things important in my life.  Eid Mubarak!