Merry merry merry Christmas!

It is early morning on Christmas Day, 2015. 

It is not a white Christmas and that is probably a good thing, as we are taking a quick trip to southwestern Ontario to deliver gifts to the grandchildren, that was not in the original plan, but traditions do change over the years to suit the circumstances.

 

The tree is trimmed, the lights are on, the house is a decorated as it is going to get. Dinner is in the pre-preparation stage. Gifts have been opened, except for the stockings Santa lovingly laid out, and my heart is full. I am consciously deciding to choose joy over sorrow, peace over conflict, hope over despair, love over hate, and gratitude instead of depression! 

Until next time, 

Bee Rich

Just Breathe!

Lately, there comes a point in almost every day when I need to remind myself to take deep breath, in through the nose and out through the mouth. I remember watching an old cartoon where the character would say, "in goes the good air, out goes the bad air."

When training in the pool, swimmers are often exposed to "hypoxic" swimming, where you move through the water without taking a breath, or limit your breathing to once or twice a length. I remember quite distinctly the moments of imbalance. What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger.

Later during lifeguard training we learned about the role of carbon dioxide in triggering breathing and how, if one took multiple deep breaths before attempting to swim 50 yards underwater, sometimes one would get dizzy and almost pass out.

The breath is something that defines our birth, proves we are alive, and ceases when we die. The unconscious flow of air in and out of the lungs sustains our living. Perhaps that is why many people include deep, cleansing breaths in their daily routines.

Breathing makes all the difference. A reminder to "just breathe" goes a long way to reduce stressful thoughts and increase an appreciation of the moment.

So until next time, keep breathing, and

Bee Rich

A Funny thing happened...

Finding the right words to craft sensible sentences that somehow form a coherent piece of writing is always a gratifying challenge. The process of drafting, revising, editing, rewriting and eventually publishing a blog post, a letter, an email, or even a thank you card, serves as a creative outlet and form of communication. Writing becomes a subtle form of therapy.

Writing is a way to record a memory, an experience, and idea, or a thought.

One day after school, I had to shop for a few essentials. Deciding to walk to the Hawally Sultan Center, I realized that I needed to cross a busy street. The footbridge was definitely the way to go. Feeling somewhat energized, I started to jog up the steps, just as a man was coming down. As our paths crossed, I lost my footing and fell flat on my face, up the stairs. Thinking that this man saw my peril, I was mortified. Fortunately, he must have missed the incident or kindly ignored it. I stood up, brushed myself off, and had a very good chuckle, so happy that no one apparently, had witnessed the stumble.

The bridge from on side of Beirut Street to the other.



The pool is on the right, and yes there is a TV on the wall!

I went back to the pool this week after more than two weeks of feeling sub par. It was refreshing to go back to the club, greet the ladies at the reception, and spend a good thirty minutes of focused attention to kicking, pulling and breathing my way through the calm waters...a quiet and relaxing time. This followed by an hour massage set me up for the best night's sleep, ever.

Two days later, with a Thursday holiday, and I enjoyed 45 minutes of uninterrupted water time. Hopefully, by the end of this weekend, I will be back up to an hour or so.

In the meantime, the massage ladies are trying to sell me a "special" variety package of 15 hour long sessions of various types of treatments. I will report on how that is going, after pay day!

Until next time, my plan is to think positive, be positive and do positive.

Wishing you well,

Bee Rich

Fighting the Blues with Joy

Some days are tough. It is hard to get out of bed having not slept well. I wake up in the night and begin to worry about what the next day is going to bring. Depression rears its ugly head and the black cloud seems to follow me around, wherever I go...

This blog post was started many days ago. My health had taken a turn for the worse. There is something about swimming and then air travel with consequent changes in pressure that affects my sinuses, and not in a good way. As physical and mental health are interrelated, I found that worse I felt, the worse I felt. Fortunately, this generalized anxiety, distorted thoughts, and feelings of defeat passed shortly after the symptoms of sinusitis subsided.

Out of the pool for almost two weeks, I had missed the post school day ritual: an hour long swim, a cup of tea at a local shop, a long walk back to the apartment for some quiet time. Following this plan three or four times a week works miracles for physical and emotional well-being. Before long, balance is back, the cloud of sadness breaks up, and a sunny attitude prevails. As I write, I am on day four of the comeback!

I am learning to push away the dark days by focusing on the moment, being positive and grateful, and reaching outward, rather than turning inward. Browsing through thoughts on depression, this picture caught my attention, documented here for future reference:

 

 

All for today, so until next time, with love,

 

Bee Rich



Professional Development on the Weekend!

It has been a while since writing. There is no excuse, other than I have had a serious case of the blues. Feeling better now, I am determined to finish some posts that were started over the past month or so.

Three weeks ago, I was fortunate to travel to Dubai to attend a Professional Development event. The start of that entry goes something like this...

Damian Cooper, Educational Consultant from Toronto

November 8, 2015

I have just returned home from a remarkable weekend in Dubai. When I applied to the PD department at our school about one month ago, I thought to myself, this looks like a great opportunity. And indeed it was!

After a busy week at school, which included sending home report cards and meeting with parents about their children, I escaped to Dubai for the N..ES.A. Fall Training Institute. I had never been to an "institute" and I quickly discovered that these people take professional development seriously. A wide variety of two day institutes were offered. Although I was interested in many of the eight topics, I selected Assessment-Redefining Fair, by Damian Cooper.

The name was familiar to me from teaching in Ontario. Mr. Cooper's background includes teaching English and Drama in high school, as well as working for the Ministry of Education in Ontario. His work forms the basis of assessment practices in my home province.

The timing of the event was appropriate because we had just completed progress reports at school, as well as Parent/Teacher conferences. The information was exactly what I needed to learn right now. The speaker was personable, knowledgeable, interesting, and extremely helpful to both older and younger teachers...

Today I am happy to revisit this experience and reflect on its relevance. The workshop was not just about assessment. The speaker demonstrated many practical ideas to engage learners, as well as plan units, lessons and assessments. All in all a worthwhile experience.

Because there were teachers from all over the Near East and South Asian area, representing grade levels from 1-12, rich and interesting discussions happened, which provided opportunities for networking.

I was asked to share the information with the elementary staff at the first faculty meeting upon my return to Kuwait. This motivated to consolidate the learning and then reflect on a very positive experience.

For that, I am truly appreciative.

Until next time,

Bee Rich

PS Closer to home, our school had a school wide Professional Development day today. Some very interesting initiatives were introduced, including TRIBES training and implementation, and Genius Hour.

Rainy Days in Kuwait

One of the most interesting things about living in a different country is to see the way that different places cope with their weather conditions,

This morning I awoke to the bang and clamour of thunder. At first I thought it was furniture moving in the apartment above, but I checked out the window and noticed flashes of lightning. It was sheet lightning, which seemed quite a distance away, I ventured outside for the trip to school and enjoyed a natural light show on the walk to school. It started to sprinkle, so I put up my red umbrella, only to have to wind turn it inside out. Fortunately, the walk was otherwise uneventful. 

I arrived a school, greeted the guards, cleaning staff, and a few teachers who also arrive early. Within ten minutes, the sky opened up to a beautiful rainstorm. Within another ten minutes the school yard was completely covered in rushing water. It the city itself, cars were crawling through the fender high water. The Ministry canceled all public schools and many children's parents decided it was too risky to take the trip to school. 

The day in my classroom was lovely. By 8 a.m., eleven of the 23 children had arrived. Plans for the day were shelved for the most part in favour of a more open schedule. By end of the day, six students remained.

"See you tomorrow," I told them as they went out the door for home.  But that is not to be...I just received a call to tell staff that due to a forecasted storm tomorrow, school will be canceled. So much for Thursday plans, which include a dress down day (stripes and polka dots), and a "Get Ready to Read Celebration" with parents in attendance.

It is what it is...I will be spending some time at the pool and a few hours reading my latest addictive Rick Mofina crime novels. 

Until next time, 

Bee Rich

P. S.  Here are a few of the students who remained at school for the day!

What Can Happen in Two Weeks?

Time for Tea!

I have often pondered the passage of time. To me it is odd that the same 24 hours can sometimes seem to go by so quickly on one day, and yet so slowly on another. This past fourteen days has gone by so slowly. I thought it had been months since last writing...

Probably the main reason for the sluggish passage of time is that I have been feeling somewhat tired lately. A sore throat, stuffy head, and on and off fever have kept me somewhat uncomfortable, but not so sick as to have to stay home.

Another reason was the "long" weekend just last week. We worked for three days and then had a four day weekend to celebrate the Islamic New Year.  Although I didn't travel out of the country, I did manage a small excursion to Emily's place in Mahbulah, ate a Thanksgiving potluck dinner with the ASK Canadians, had a sleepover, and then enjoyed International Cake Decorating Day at Lindsay, Phil, Nory, and Jet's place. The children enjoyed decorating cupcakes with amazing colours and special sprinkles. I enjoyed tasting one, or two. Fortunately, I did get in two swims at the pool, went out for a nice dinner with friends, and tutored one of my favourite students. All in all a pretty busy time.

Time for Play! 

This past week at school brought us quickly back to reality. It was only our THIRD five day week so far in the school year. Can you imagine? It is almost the end of October and we have had just 27 class days.

Last night was like a Friday night. Usually exhausted I thought I would get out of the rut of staying home and go to a comedy improvisation evening with a colleague...it was awesome. Laughter is the best medicine. Tonight is a Thanksgiving dinner put on by the Canadians in Kuwait group. And my gym membership runs out today...I might get there this afternoon.

Delightful Improv-one of the lighter moments!

They picked two ladies' purses from the audience.
I would have been mortified!

Next week promises to be a very busy one...report cards are due on Sunday, Picture Day is Monday, a fire drill and staff meeting are scheduled for Tuesday, Wednesday includes a medical screening for my class (eyes, ears, height and weight), and on Thursday we have invited the parents in for a Ready to Read Celebration. Thursday is also our first dress down day of the year. I am presently looking for my striped and polka dotted outfits (or at least thinking about looking!)

I really am loving teaching one Grade 1. It is interesting and challenging because everyday is a new one. The children are sociable, emotional, chatty, and cute. However, they are also sensitive, caring, smart, and highly motivated to learn to read, write, experiment, solve problems, and learn classical Arabic. I feel very fortunate to have found this work, even if it is far from home.

The staff members at the school are positive, supportive, and hard working. Sadly, this is the time of the year when some international teachers are making decisions about their futures. Shall we stay put for another year or move on to a new place. There is a sense of excitement when you hear someone is going to a International Job Fair. There are so many opportunities for teachers!

I forgot to mention our Trivia team- Dead Weight!
We did not win, but had a few good laughs. 

The excitement from Canada has had its ripple effect in Kuwait. The Blue Jays are in the playoffs and the Liberals won a majority in the federal election. Who would have predicted those two events would transpire in the same week?

Does history repeat itself?

Boys in Blue! Two more GAMES!

It is times like this that I wonder about retirement, a time when I will be back at home in Canada, spending the rest of my time not working. I wonder if that will ever happen. Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift...the present. And while this is happening, I am content, for now!

Until next time,

Bee Rich

PS And yes, I am becoming accustomed to cats...not a crazy cat lady, yet!

Cat before coffee!