The Lion King

WOW I work at an amazing school. During the second week of April all of the teachers and students in grades 2 through 5 pulled off a spectacular feat: preparing and performing The Lion King! 

Zazu and Scar at Pride rock. My camera performs very poorly in the low light of the
theater but for the purposes of this blog that's a good thing, because I can picture
the kids without them being identifiable.

Fourth and fifth grade students auditioned for the speaking roles, and every other child in grades 2 through 5 appeared at least three times during the performance, so as you can imagine it was a huge team effort. A 5th grade teacher wrote the script and directed 1/2 the play, 2nd grade teacher #1 directed the other half and choreographed it all, the music teacher taught all the kids their songs, 2nd grade teacher #2 designed ALL the costumes and set pieces, the art teacher helped out with that, and the rest of us helped them all put their plans into action! 

Kids lining the aisles singing Circle of Life during the dress rehearsal,
attended by Nursery through 1st grades.

Though the main cast had already been rehearsing their speaking parts after school for a month, the rest of it, including costumes, songs and choreography, got pulled together in just a week. 

Dead Mufasa with guilty Simba and Scar

Each grade was assigned a song, and all the grades sang Circle of Life at the beginning and end of the performance, so they had to learn and memorize the music for their songs. Then each class had to learn their choreography— no mean feat considering this included more than 200 kids.

I just can't wait... to be KING.

The same song during the performance, with the second graders turned
into elephants, zebras and giraffes!

Throughout the week the students made their own costumes in class, which involved lots of messy painting, cutting, and hot gluing, with super adorable results. For teachers it was all hands on deck, especially considering quite a few teachers were working on the play all day and needed help covering their classes. Being a specialist teacher meant all my classes were canceled and I was just helping out where needed, which meant I didn't sit down much the whole week! Plus since I'm the unofficial lower school photographer this year I was kept busy documenting the whole thing. I ended up with lots of great photos that I can't post here since they include the kids' clear and smiling faces!

  

 The play really came together when it needed to, and was a spectacular success! The parents, teachers and students were all incredibly proud!

The fifth graders had the hardest song: Be Prepared. But they did a great job
not only singing but also looking evil and scary!

Before the final performance for the parents on Friday at noon I made sure that the slideshow I had put together of pictures of the preparation during the week was playing in the auditorium. Then I ran around and got pictures of each class in their costumes! Here are the classes that had masks and I therefore feel comfortable picturing here:

Elephants, frogs, monkeys and birds!

It was an exhausting week (my FitBit logged soooo many steps) but tons of fun and well worth it! But of course the fact that the next week was Spring Break certainly helped us all get through it cheerfully. One way or another, I'm so thankful and proud to be part of a school that can accomplish so much!

Using our Christmas gifts!

Othman and I were very lucky last month to get some wonderful Christmas gifts, from other people and from each other, and we're so very thankful. Here's a blog post to highlight just a few of them.

A few days after Christmas we went outside for Othman to test out his new remote controlled car! Alyssa had so much fun, chasing it, being chased by it, driving it, and even being a part of the car's obstacle course! It was fun for everyone.

At work my H2O intake has dramatically increased thanks to this gift from Jess and Leny! I share an office with four other teachers—we make up the student support team of the elementary school—and this addition to our office has been very welcome.

When in France we received a big package from my family in the US for Christmas, and included for O were this tee-shirt from my mom (soon to make another appearance in another post) and a weekend bag from my big brother! Othman went on a 2-day business trip last week, and will be taking 2-3 day trips throughout the next few months for a new project at work, and this bag is absolutely perfect for them and super classy too.

Another welcome gift were these tea accessories (toast not included). Jessika got me some lovely loose-leaf Earl Grey and this super fun infuser and spoon which I've loved using!

But, in my opinion, the best present of the year had to be this one:

Othman's gift to me was a Fitbit Charge HR and I LOVE it. During the two weeks that I was healthy since I got it (yes you read that right; January hasn't been kind to me) I hit my 10,000 step mark 6 out of 7 days, and it even inspired me to join a gym with two friends, and we go three times a week now! (Well, not this past week, as I'm down with the flu, but I will be sticking to that when possible! Having two friends to make it social, and the fact that it's literally 50 steps from my house helps a lot, hehe.) 2016 is my year to get healthier, fitter, and start new good habits. What a good present to help me towards that!

2015 in review

A lot of people had a crappy 2015, at least that's what my Facebook newsfeed and the news in general seem to show. I, however, was not one of those people.

photo

I started 2015 with a much-needed and much-appreciated job change. I developed career opportunities and got some interesting new experiences as the spring went on. Othman and I also got to travel around Morocco a bit to some pretty inspiring places.

In the summer, I spent a wonderful two months with my family in their new home. It was truly a wonderful summer, full of close and extended family, sunshine, walks, beauty, celebrations, and joy.

Upon my return to Casablanca I got the job opportunity of a lifetime and started working at an international school, where I have been so fulfilled and happy. The difference in my personal life is huge, and my home sees a happier me much more often nowadays.

2015 was a year of portrait photography for me. I was able to experiment and explore with lots of different subjects and settings, and loved every minute.

Painting was another theme throughout the year, as I focused on trying out new techniques and subjects while developing my skills.

Othman and I gained new friends who we now can't imagine life in Casablanca without.

Though we're back in Casa as of yesterday, we ended the year in France, and had a holiday filled with family, children, and smiles.

Throughout the year I was able to rely on my caring, patient, and attentive husband for all the support I needed. 

It was a year full of changes, full of love, and full of life. Here's hoping that 2016 brings ever more of each of those.

Sunrise at School

This morning Othman and I took a new route to get to my school, one which cut the travel time almost in half. This meant I got to school before the rest of my teaching team and was locked out of our shared office space. It only took about 2.5 minutes for someone with a key to arrive, during which I walked out onto the roof and took out my phone to photograph the sunrise over the silent and serene school grounds.

Only about 10 minutes later, hearing the clamor of children's voices, I went back out to photograph the difference.

The change was palpable as the silent and peaceful fields became what they are meant to be...

...places where children can run and play, laugh and cry, learn how to solve problems and develop into little global citizens! I have after-lunch recess duty almost everyday with the Kindergartners (called Pre-Firsters here) through Second Graders so trust me, I know what I'm talking about when it comes to giggles and tears.

I'm just so happy to be working at CAS and so grateful for the opportunity to work at school that is truly a well-oiled machine and makes good educating seem easy! Today, for example, I watched some of the fourth and fifth graders' Student Council speeches in the auditorium (they had to give it up on the big stage with a microphone in front of the entire two grades!) and it was such a lovely experience. The students were so full of enthusiasm and big ideas, and managed to be big-headed and humble at once while promoting themselves for the coveted spots. At the end of the day the voting is mostly a popularity contest, as it would be anywhere, but the process of running has some serious character building hoops to jump through, and all in all I was pretty impressed. Plus a fourth grade girl who is brand new even got elected as an alternate above at least eight other students. Clearly, something right is happening in our school.

Moroccan month

Once tomorrow comes, I'll have been back in Morocco for a month. And I can tell.


How can I tell? Well for instance the "sheep Eid" (see here) is next week, and because it's still pretty hot, their pungence pervades. Read: it reeks of sheep pretty much everywhere, down to INSIDE our apartment. 

BUT, can I complain of the heat that brings the reek when I see my family at my little sister's color guard performance bundled up because it was 40 degrees Fahrenheit? After all, the smell comes in on the cooling breeze through our open windows.

stinky...

vs

brrrr...

Nope.

Why does the smell bother me so much? Because I'm stuck on the couch, sick for the second time in a month. My allergies are at their worst since spring and my allergist even doubled my Zyrtec dosage yesterday.

BUT, can I complain when I have a lovely and attentive husband who is making me soup as I speak? And a fabulous, caring doctor? And new medical insurance that covers all costs 100%? 

source

Nope. 

Why are my allergies so bad? Casablanca is on the sea, so it's humid, full of mold spores and pollen and pollution all throughout the year. Read: my closet is so humid that my folded, clean clothes get mildew on them if I leave them in there long enough. My allergies have been generally between unbearable and ugh since my arrival in 2011.

BUT, can I complain when I live in a country that allows my husband and I to book a place like this for 40 bucks a night for a weekend trip next week, to escape the city?

source

Nope.

Why am I sick on top of being extremely allergic? Well, I have a new job working as the English Language Learning Specialist at an International school here. I have busy days that leave me exhausted, plus as a teacher in a primary school one gets sick a lot.

BUT, can I complain when I'm LOVING the job, my principal, my colleagues, the school's professionalism and high standards, the lovely campus, and the kids? And that's not even mentioning the perks (see aforementioned new insurance) and the salary. Or the fact that I'm walking so much around campus all day that I've lost eight pounds in a month. 

Can I complain? No, no I can't. 

Can I complain about missing my family when I have my husband here, my cozy little apartment, wonderful friends within walking distance? When I have Whatsapp and Facebook and blogs and Skype to close the gap? No. 

That's one happy me in the middle of my fam AND hubby.

No, I can smile. I can be thankful, and smile again.