December

Gerald's cooking assistant who comes running whenever there is a slight chance of meat!

At a fancy hotel we went to in search of Christmas lights on Christmas Day.

Our school celebrated Ashoura (Muslim New Year), Christmas, and Hannakuh in the same week! I was in charge of the Christmas part and divided the kids into 6 groups who rotated around to centers. Here is one of them led by our art teacher. It's such a change from the French system which is so secular that you can't talk about anything. It's refreshing to be in a place that acknowledges each of our cultures/religions!

Decorating the tree with a German teacher who was happy to talk about the origins of the tree!

Saying goodbye to a great group of students. Most of them are military kids who would normally go to Egypt or Jordan to study Arabic but can't because of the problems there. We have really enjoyed these kids and been very impressed with them.




Lessons and Carols. Gerald rebelled against the jelaba (Moroccan sack) option, and ended up having to wear a scarf instead! You should have seen the look on his face! The girls sang with us this time which was extra fun. Gerald was also part of a fabulous brass quartet which added so much.

School Christmas party in our home - on the left is Kendra's teacher. They are from England so Kendra is picking up a few phrases. It's funny because I grew up with British teachers too and haven't heard some of this stuff for years! Again, it was so nice & healthy to have a staff/teacher party - something the school has not seen for at least 5 years.