For her 13th birthday, Claire asked to go cave exploring with the Reimers. We were honored! Here we are at the entrance of a 'tunnel' cave which we explored until about 500 yards/meters. We found stalactites, cool formations, a lake, a mini-waterfall, and that we need better flashlights!
Katrina and Ahd got second place at the badminton tournament - doubles, 10-12
The beginning of the sled run!
The gorgeous and dramatic Dolomite mountains
Grades 5 - 12 at the Rabat zoo. Most of my class is at the top.
Katrina at Easter
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| Kendra |
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| Cache Cache is apprehended by Yuda Man |
After
5 months of gentle
off-and-on-rain-and-snow, the sun has come out and the Moroccan
countryside is delighted! Rolling green hills and blankets of
wildflowers line the road to Rabat. Here in Ifrane the leaves are still
trying to decide if it's safe to come out since snow is in the forecast
for next week - but it won't be long!
And
now, to catch up!
Spring Break
Following
careful deliberation on where to go for
spring break (i.e. wherever the cheapest Ryan Air flight could take
us), we happily ended up in northern Italy. We stayed in a cute little
farm house with the owners Georg, Christa, Katrine, Julia, and Stephan
who told us right away that although we were in Italy, they (and all the
people in the city) were German in their hearts. We spent the time
hanging around their farm with the horses, eating pork products,
enjoying fresh milk and eggs, discovering we are not sauna material, and
saying, "Oh, how cute!" about everything. But the highlight was
definitely the dramatic Dolomite Mountains (part of the Italian Alps).
Coming to the top of the cable car, it took our breath away to see the
views in every direction! We hiked for over an hour to a sledding
starting point and then began the 12 km+/8 mi
down the
mountain on our sleds! It was truly amazing to be flying for mile after
mile through forests with spectacular mountain views beyond! Of
course, some of the time was spent trying to figure out how on earth to
steer the sleds and not end up in an Alpine joke book about stupid
lowlanders who can't stay on the path. After a not-very-subtle hint
from Kendra about how Mommy didn't go as fast as Daddy, the "Crazy
German Woman" persona took over, and although my bravado was mostly in
word only, the girls were suitably scared. We got to do this fab
experience multiple times (thanks to free cable car lifts), stopping
only to drink cappuccino and warm up little toes. Gerald spent one
afternoon skiing while the girls and I went to another town to see Otzi -
an amazing 5000-year-old naturally mummified man found under ice near
there. He looked rather cold and old, but that is to be expected.
Saying Goodbye
Upon arrival back in Morocco, we were met with a call from
Karen saying our director,
Kim, was dying. We went to go say our last goodbyes, shocked at how she had deteriorated since we had last seen her. She was
not able to talk to me, but when I prayed with her, she mouthed the word, Amen.
A few days later, she slipped from this world to her
eternal home. Karen did the funeral and it was an incredible
experience. To hear all the words of scripture, sing all the songs
including Abana (the Lord's Prayer in Arabic), and hear the message -
all while being surrounded by our Muslim friends - was beautiful - and
something nothing but a funeral could do. Resurrection hope was running
out and spilling over all. Praise. Later we had a memorial for Kim at
the school so more could attend. The kids were so sweet and a lot of
them shared memories, poems, and songs.
And again - a time of crisis and transition
During
the last months of Kim's life, our assistant director (Joanne) did a
wonderful job of holding everything together. And yet rumors, lies, and
emails about Joanne and school problems began to circulate.
Culturally, parents here do not go to the source (the teacher or
director) if they have an issue - they go straight to
the university officials. In
the confusion and 'power vacuum'
of the last
few months, some parents have been wielding
a surprising amount of power and negativity against the school -
largely over minor problems or misinformation. After things came to a
head last week, productive discussions have actually started and we are
feeling much more hopeful now, although the road still seems long and
hard. I somehow ended up on the search committee for a new director so
we have been having a lot of meetings and interviews for that too.
Family
Gerald - A happy result of not ever having a regular pianist is that Gerald has begun playing piano for church!
He goes by chords and does a fabulous job,
adding a lot to
the worship time. The same
group of parents that is
causing upheaval at school is doing similar things at the university
which has been frustrating for him. He enjoys playing basketball with
colleagues and Moroccan students Friday night with whom, he is pleased
to report, 'he can hang'.
Katrina -
has her first job! She
has been asked to tutor a little Korean girl on Mondays. It is cute to
watch them together. Katrina wanted a mystery birthday party which was
a stretch for her mother whose idea of a challenging mystery is finding
her favorite green pen.
As it turned out, the (poorly made) pinata contained clothespins and
not candy! Horrors! After we were all told we were suspects by 'Youda
Man' (Gerald) - even the birthday girl ('Ima Theef') - and getting our
mug shots taken, we all followed clues which led us to the culprit who
was trying to stop the party because he doesn't like lots of noise -
Cache Cache (the cat).
Kendra
- seems to think it's hilarious to yell "Torture me!" to Katrina who
picks her up and slings her onto the couch and tickles her while Kendra
laughs hysterically. I fail to see the attraction in this, but
it does
keep them entertained. Kendra and her best bud, Laila, have had lots of
fun working on a little gymnastics routine for PE outside in the fresh
spring grass the last few days. The other day she managed to get her
shoulder caught in an umbrella. I had no idea this was even possible.
moi -
My class has finally stopped trying to be the most infamous one in the
school and we
now regularly go for days without
anyone getting whacked, knocking over
furniture, or spilling oil onto my lap during science experiments. We
have survived the making of paper mache planets, a 'planetarium' tent
(which didn't work), and various other pursuits which have put me on the
maids' black list.
