Headed to the US

I've taken a much needed reprieve from surfing the web, to clean my house and pack, in anticipation of my trip back to the US on Monday.

The flight to New York is 15 hours.  Then I'm off to Sacramento and Houston.  In preparation, I've download the latest issue of magazines and more than a few books.  There's usually a wide selection of in flight movies, so I'll be good to go for entertainment.

Our last day of work is tomorrow, but many people have either left already or are planning to as soon as we're released.

Interestingly, like years before, the students stopped coming about a month ago.  I'm not sure why the calendar isn't adjusted to reflect that.  At any rate, there has been little to do beyond tying up loose ends and preparing, as much as possible, for the coming year.

It's really obvious the impact that expats have in this community because come the weekend, it will be a ghost town here.  Of the 55 teachers on staff, only seven are locals.  Ten were Westerners and they from the US, Ireland and South Africa.  The other 38 are from Egypt, Iraq, Syria, Tunisia, and Jordan.

I've said this before, but it bears repeating - some of the nicest, kindest, warmest, most generous, and most loving people I've ever had the pleasure of meeting and working with are these Middle Easterners.  It is criminal how the media portrays this area and the people who live here as an albatross that must be dealt with harshly, and justifies this in the portrayal and treatment of the people.

OK.

I'll hop off my soap box now.

Looking forward to seeing many of you soon.

Best . . . always.