Catching Up

The blog is finally back up.  The app died, but I found a way around it.  Enjoy some random pictures from the past four months in cyprus.

In the farmer's market- she is my hero

Spirit Week at school- Social Science Dept dressed up for Twin Day;
jean skirts, black clogs, white shirts, neutral sweaters.

When Thadd turns 40, we all dress our trashiest

sunset from the Dream Cafe, Limassol

in Bahrain

my colleagues working on a mapping activity

Booze Cruise afternoon, with my pal Brady,
who apparently moonlights as an olympic diver

Hiking in the Troodos Mountain

This is Cyprus- why haven't you visited yet???

Amsterdam and Berlin for the holidays

Christmas in Europe- outdoor markets, museums, amazing museums, music, and wonderful walks through urban areas.  My parents and I met up in Amsterdam for Christmas.  We took boat rides, dodged bicycles, walked up and down the steep stairs of our 4th floor walkup, and had a really nice week.  

a bowl of straight pancake syrup for the poffertijes

we got a lot of sunny days

The black houses were plague houses in the 1500s,
and now are historic bldgs- the owners cannot
repaint them

Oh Red Light District...

Christmas Eve dinner with Andrew, my buddy from Panama 

After a week in Amsterdam, I headed off to Berlin for New Year's Eve.  The fireworks were unlike anything I have ever seen- every person in the city setting off fireworks from 8pm on Dec 31st, crescendoing at midnight, still going strong until 2am.  My apartment had a 180 degree view of the city from the 12th floor, which was the perfect place to watch the madness.  Otherwise, I had a quiet week visiting museums, seeing friends, and discovering new adventures.

a section of the Berlin Wall, turned into public art called the East Side Gallery

Brezhnev and Hoenecker- East Side Gallery

the TV Tower- visible from everywhere in Berlin

Interesting enough to take a photo

the moon over the Anhalter Bahnhof, a station which was a
main deportation spot during the Holocaust

view from my apartment

Dubai

Dubai is known for having a lot of expats and a lot of international schools.  I have five friends who live and teach there, so over a long weekend in November, I went to check it out.  Sadly, I didn't take any pictures with my friends, b/c we were having too much fun.

While I see the Las Vegas parallel, I was consistently surprised by all that Dubai had to offer.  

The grid reminded me of Chicago.  

We went to the spice market.  It was amazing- colors and tastes and smells everywhere.  I got some great Arabian tea, and amazing garam masala.

The Burg Kalifa at sunset from my friend's patio

The street outside the Burg

As I said, I was pleasantly surprised by Dubai.  This huge park, which has 5 playgrounds, also has a food market every weekend.  The food was tasty, there were expats from every country, and the park was beautiful. 

Dubai was built on a "creek."  It's a pretty big creek, full of commerce. 

The Burg Kalifa- we didn't go to the top, but we did enjoy the tourist
activities ssurrounding it, especially the DANCING FOUNTAINS

Bahrain

In November, I got to serve on an accreditation team- we were a group of visiting teachers and admins who reviewed the policies/teaching/communications/finances of a school, and decide if they had shown the growth necessary to receive accreditation from the Middle States Association of Colleges.  Besides being an incredibly valuable professional experience, I also got to check out another country.  Bahrain is an island nation, attached to Saudi by a 2.5km bridge.  Three of my colleagues on the team teach in Saudi, so very much enjoyed Happy Hour every night.

architecture on tissue boxes

very fancy Starbucks, complete with sheiks

Accreditation started early.  We would get picked up at 6:15a to head to the school, which began at 7am each day.  I got up very early each morning to take advantage of the Women's Gym (same equipment, but smelled nicer than the Men's Gym).  I was always at breakfast by 5:30, so got to enjoy the sunrise with my cappuccino. 

The school loved swag

fancy building with electrical windpower built
into the structure

Kykkos Monastery

Cyprus is overflowing with churches, monasteries, and chapels.  I visited the Kykkos Monastery in Pedoulas, Cyprus.  It was a beautiful monastery built in the 11th century, but which has burned down many times with many invasions.   The Cypriot government has rebuilt it, and it is now the wealthiest monastery on the island.  Monks live there full time, and there is gold and silver everywhere. 

View of the Med from the mountaintop

A biblical passage immortalized in mosaics- but which Bible story
has a dragon???

main monastery, with small chapel on the hillside

Limassol wine festival

Every year, there is a huge wine festival in Limassol.  Entry is 5 Euro, which includes unlimited wine tasting from a lot of Cypriot wineries.  And by tastings, I mean 1/2 glasses.  It's dangerous, although at least there is a lot of great food to help sop up the alcohol.  At the festival, you can buy a cheap plastic jug, which has unlimited free refills.  The jug wine isn't the best quality, but it's basically free.

I went with some friends, and had a great night.  We stayed by the beach, and had a lovely time the day after the festival as well.

Welcome to the festival!

This is the plastic bottle which costs 3 Euro.  You can
refill it, FOR FREE, as many times as you want during
the festival

Me, Laramie, Tanya, Chelsea

At the beach the next day for some down time

Croatia

40 is a big birthday.  I wanted a big trip to celebrate this big birthday, and a big trip we had.  15 days in Croatia, four women, three cities, 5 boat days, and lots of wine tastings.  

view of the coast from our mini-cruise ship

The Plitvice Lakes

Wine tasting at Endivo Winery with Jewel, Amanda, me, Eleni
 (after 10 shots, I was done posing with my drink)

Split alleys

at the Plitvice Lakes

The Old City of Dubrovnik

Old City- the yellow roofs are originals, the orange roofs are buildings
that were damaged or destroyed during the Siege of Dubrovnik in 1991