The Fridge etc.

First off-All The Bye Bye Birdie performance pix were taken by Nawara and the after party pix by Logina-and no I didn't ask for permission-I just took them off of Facebook because that is how we roll here in Egypt. 

News that is fit to print: Darth Seth and Kupcake Krystal are expecting their first born-we had pegged them next and they didn't disappoint. FYI-the Turkish Coffee grounds say Jose and Lili are next! The Nile is fertile and so is our school. No joke-if you have trouble baking a bun, a year or two here will fix that right up. 

The weather here has been great...nice breeze in the evenings, clear skies, low to mid 70's, CA weather. When we come back in mid-Aug it will be a different story. Ok, I took the camera to the kitchen for no good reason but there are some stories to tell. 

My parents had taught me to be a decent host and I have kept that tradition by keeping the fridge stocked with beer because you just never know who'll stop by for a cold one. The Sam Adams came from a parent connection! Luxor and Stella gets the troops by. Peanuts, no we don't like cold peanuts but the ants here like theirs room temperature. The butter below the mangos is salted-an expensive import here. The orange with the partial peel was done at the BBB after party by Dr. Greg who was the smoothie master of the evening. I'll explain more later. The Diet Coke is for our Egyptian guests, they love the stuff. 

Barberries and saffron. You think drugs are expensive, ever bought a gram of Iranian saffron? We were almost out and our friend Bob had to take students to Kuwait for JV Tennis so we asked him to pick us up an ounce of it. Did I say ounce-I meant gram. Well at a third of an ounce and $100 later he wondered why I needed so much AND why didn't give him money. A big lesson learned in conversion that day.  

Siwa Olive oil from the oasis. Good stuff. Stacks of different zatars, spices from Thailand, Laos, and Morocco. Crazy flavors to wreck your taste buds. 

 

Hugo Peabody and The Sweetapple teens pre show jitters. 

OMG...it's Kim, Ursula.....with the Police Officer???

You Gotta Be Sincere...

Moments after a jealous Hugo punches out Conrad Birdie on the Ed Sullivan Show as Mr. MacAfee is pleased that he is on TV. 

Heart Throb Conrad singing "One Last Kiss" to Kim.

The after party poster signing and fruit smoothie party. 

Dr. Greg serving up the smoothies. Greg thought that it would be cool to have the after party be somewhat of an intimate and healthy experience. So instead of the kids forking cash and going someplace impersonal for food and beverages we decided to invite the kids over to our place and let Greg have at it with the fruits and blenders. He had a great time chasing the cast and filling up their cups...he was a rare form and of course the life of the party. BTW Greg is a musical genius and I don't mean that lightly...he has conducted the Cairo Symphony etc. and is basically waiting for a conductor to retire or buy the farm. Hang in there Greg, your day will come!

All in a days work.

Showing Conrad the love!

In the 15 years of teaching I have never shown my tattoos to students. Of course we all think we are Conrad Birdie 

Most of the cast was ready while I try to remove my glasses. Epic failure! 

The show must go on

Ana has left the building and is over at the Lower School for the annual sleepover. It just so happens she was told earlier this week that the school was built on top of old burial grounds and thus the building is haunted. This seems to be the prevailing story at every school I’ve ever worked at.

The past couple of weeks have been brutal as far as putting in the hours at work. My former principal Dr. Carrillo once told me that teaching is a profession and as a professional the workday never ends at the said time. True, if you are passionate about something, you do whatever it takes to get the job done not only because it’s your duty, but also because you love what you do. I worked hard back in Atlanta, just slightly above minimal effort in San Diego, and off the charts here. Maybe the karma bill has arrived for the lost hours of all the times I raced out of the parking lot at my former school.

You can almost hear the song and smell the hair product.

Had a beard for one week.

We will miss Frank and Jane

The music teacher Dr. Greg and I have been working feverishly with our students on our production of Bye Bye Birdie and today during after school rehearsals I did the unthinkable, I showed the students where I tied my goat; something my mentor never told me to do. I can’t take back my sentiments and a couple of them might not ever look at me in the same way. It was a bittersweet confrontation of laying the down the law especially with the musical one week away. The songs continually replay my head and it would an accurate statement to say: I eat, sleep, and s**t BBB. Two students insisted on adding an extra song at the end of the play from the 1963 version of the movie where Ann-Margaret sings “Bye Bye Birdie” which was never part of the original Broadway musical. Granted we have taken a couple of minor artistic liberties with our production but not to the extent of patching in another song. Dr. Greg commented that metaphorically it would be similar to taking an artist’s painting and cutting out part of it and replacing it with your own square of canvas. Basically the integrity of the play would be compromised and with respect to the writers it was something we were unwilling to do.

The Jewelry Museum has re-opened and it is fab. 

BTW-you have to wear slippers in the museum.

Home is sounding scary, maybe I have been spending too much time on Craig’s List Rants and Raves reading up on Arizona’s new law to help curb illegal immigration. There are a couple intelligent arguments posted by both sides of the debate but it is far in between all the hate that is being circulated. Illegal boarder crossing isn’t much of an issue here in Egypt other than people leaving for places like United Arab Emirates to find work. Hell, take a look at us; we left the states and sacrificed our family and friends to wait-out an ailing economy. Like it or not immigration-the legal brand or not is here to stay.

 Students vs. Workers match.

Students 10 Workers 0

Conrad Birdie

Ana and I have had some funky stuff happen to our bodies since moving here, I suppose we are being exposed to different virus strains. Last week was no exception; one of my boys grew to the size to a tangerine coupled with a mild fever just in time for our school’s annual fundraiser at the Four Seasons. The event was a hit as we sat on the sidelines watching people dance the night away. Thankfully the swelling went down as the doctor predicted. The pharmaceuticals over here are slightly more potent than the ones back home and side effects are an added bonus.

Ana with archeologist Dr. Kathleen Martinez at the Taporsiris Magna dig site.

Dr. Martinez is thinking that Mark Anthony and Cleopatra are buried here.

They are under the guise of Osiris and Isis.

 

Coins with image of Cleopatra.

Mummies once covered in gold.

Taporsiris Magna is the largest cemetery discovered in Egypt. To learn more visit our friends Seth and Kristal's blog HERE

I was telling Huck Finn tonight that I finally found a barber that I’ve been to twice, call it a steady. I reassure him that there was “no hanky panky “ at this establishment. Then after a short pause we realized the implications of my statement and laughed. People back home just don’t understand. This was soon followed by a conversation with the dean of students that homosexuality is illegal here and doesn’t exist, but sexual relations, happening, moments, or whatever you want to call it between two men is not uncommon.   

On a positive note, I’m going to take a stand and state the best-roasted peanuts we’ve ever had are right here in Alex! Tomorrow night Ana and I are chaperons for the Upper School prom and on Sunday the student council is taking the teachers out to dinner.