Wed. - Sept. 15th First mail from "home!!

First mail from the US arrived two days ago!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was wonderful to receive something....anything from the USA! My favorite was a letter from a teacher friend that included a photo of she and her hubby....what a treasure! I will hang it in my room and think of them often. Thanks, Linda!! :)

Well, tonight was "Curriculum Night" where the parents come to hear about what their children are learning in my class. It went really well! I had 20 out of 24 parents there!! One of the fathers offered to translate in French for me, so it all worked out very well. That was my first time ever having to give my "talk" and wait for the French translation to happen.

The parents seemed very sweet and asked great questions. They wanted to know how I would compare these children to a 2nd grade in the US.... I told them I thought each have pros and cons....American children know their language very well, they read and comprehend what they read well, but the Arabic children know three languages. These children struggle a little with the English language and understanding all the words. So....both have strengths and weaknesses. All in all a good day!!

What I didn't share with the parents was that most of us new staff at the school find things there VERY disorganized and backwards.....everything takes a long time to do and nothing is orderly or even really thought out.... There has been a lot of complaining and frustration this week, so on the way out of school today I had to laugh when one of the teachers came up and shared that she finally just figured out something important! We have been seeking the answer lately to "Why did God send us here??" She's pretty sure there was a mix up and God was really telling us all to go to Maui instead of Morocco....just a small mistake!! :) ...anyone could have made it, right? But...how long did we sign on for?????????? :)

Well, it is late and tomorrow is another day of school (even though Marcia thinks we should have it off because it is her birthday!!). I'd better go to bed and be chipper for the am!

Blessings to all my family and friends in the USA!
Jill