Another boring post about the weather

It started raining when I got to work. When I got home Jenna asked me to check the weather widget to see what the weather would be like tomorrow.... more rain!

I love the rain. The sound, the smell. It makes me happy, especially after a very long and dry summer.

Moody weather

The weather is driving me crazy. Last week it rained and I was so happy because I like rain. Two days ago it was hot and I had worn a sweater thinking it was going to be chilly. I ended up feeling miserable. Today the weather is still undecided - it looks like it might rain... but then maybe it won't.

Jenna makes me check the Yahoo Weather Widget every morning before she goes to school so she knows which coat to put on and whether she should wear a sweater or not. Today I told her 'Changeable! The weather is changeable today!'.

I am hoping it rains again. My raincoat is hanging on the door waiting to be worn again.

Let it rain..............

(How sad... my life is so dull I have taken to blogging about the weather...hehe)

School exams and Movie Night

The kids are in the middle of exams and as usual I am trying to keep myself under control so I don't yell and scream at them. I've given up turning off the TV... they just turn it back on again.

Top that off with the fact that Hubby went off to Suk Juma this morning and came home with one of those old-fashioned Tetra 'Brick' games. He paid half a dinar for it and the kids are wasting time playing with it and the sound is driving me mad. He said it was for Ibrahim, who doesn't have exams, but of course the other kids are having a great time with it too. What was he thinking? I am waiting patiently for the batteries to wear down.

On another note: Last Wednesday I staged 'Movie Night' at my school. My students and a few guests watched the movie The Kite Runner (while we stuffed ourselves with popcorn). I stopped the film between scenes so we could answer comprehension questions and make predictions about what would happen next. We'd prepared earlier in the week with a character list and some vocabulary to get an idea about what the film was about. The film is based on a book by Khaled Hosseini that is available at some of the bookshops in town and some of the students are now interested in reading the book.

Participation in Movie Night wasn't mandatory for the students. Participation wasn't 100% because some don't like films, or weren't interested in this particular film and some couldn't come because it wasn't during regular class time. But even so we had a full house because we combined more than one class and now the students want to see more films at school in the future.

So now I am on the quest for putting together the next and future Movie Nights. Does anyone have any suggestions of what they think would be the perfect film to show to Libyan English students? Click on comments and let me know.

Where's Safia?

What has happened to Safia Speaks? The blog has disappeared!

Oh my ... and I was addicted! What shall I do now?

Shopping Therapy

Jenna has informed me that she has hardly anything to wear. That was hard to believe considering her wardrobe is filled to overflowing; the door is nearly falling off because the the amount of clothes she's got stuffed in there! Last night she dragged out all her clothes and tried them on and and sure enough hardly anything fit anymore. My little girl is growing up! So we're planning to do some shopping this weekend. Just the two of us.


The big problem that we'll face is that she is in that in between stage; she doesn't fit into kiddy clothes anymore and she isn't big enough to get into women's clothes. The range of her size is extremely limited. So this is going to be a project. It's hard to be a pre-teen girl in Libya! They want to look good - not like a little kid but at the same time many of the clothes available make them look too old. Shopping for clothes is a chore.

On our side is the fact the Jenna likes shopping and is good at it. She has the ability to walk into a shop and know almost instantly if there will be anything she might like. She also doesn't like to buy pre-matched outfits - she prefers to match things herself and she's excellent at doing that too. These are qualities she inherited from her mother. Her father's a good shopper too, but he takes forever to make up his mind which is why he is definitely NOT coming along on this trip!

In a way I'm looking forward to this upcoming shopping expedition. We'll make it even a more memorable event by stopping at a cafe or restaurant - just the two of us. What better way to begin the new year? New clothes and accessories - and some shoes too! Just gotta get out the cash and make it happen.

My year

1. How was this year?

I survived it!

2. Was this year better or worse than last year? How come?

This year was much better than last year. I made some drastic changes in my life (stuff I don't blog about!... and you thought you knew everything..lol). The changes made me a better person, I gained confidence and I found out some things about myself that I didn't know about before (but people would point out - I never believed them until now).

3. What was the happiest thing for you this year?

Seeing my son Ibrahim make huge progress in his school life and behaviour.

4. What was the saddest thing for you this year?

Deaths of friends and family.

5. What was the toughest thing for you this year?

So far I managed to achieve what I set out to do. At the time some things seemed very difficult but when I struggled through and found that in the end nothing seemed that tough afterall. At the beginning of the year I was rearranging things both at work and in freindships. That was hard and stressful, but I came through.

6. What was the best movie for you this year?

I don't watch many movies - but I had a good laugh watching Borat. So funny!

7. What was the best music for you this year?

A friend of mine suggested Vassilis Saleas, a Greek clarinetist. Having spent nine years of my childhood playing clarinet I really appreciated the mastery of this wonderful musician.

8. What was the best TV show for you this year?

Nope... never bother to waste my time on television.


9. What was the best place you visited this year?

Nalut - being invited to attend Nalut's annual festival last April was an honor I will never forget.

10. What was the best food you had this year?

Pizza in Malta with Tara. Pizza Hut delivered to our hotel and we had a feast! I saved some in the mini bar's fridge to eat the next day and it was even great cold for breakfast.

11. What was the best restaurant you went to this year?

In Malta Tara and I went with some friends to a small sidewalk cafe. We leisurely people-watched, enjoyed the weather and had a nice time.

12. What was the most useful thing you bought this year?

My laptop. I don't know how I managed without it in the past.

13. What was the most expensive thing you bought this year?

Again.. that would be my laptop.

14. What was the best item of clothing you bought this year?

For dressing up it would be the outfit I got to wear to my friend's daughter's wedding. For everyday it would have to be a jean skirt that is really comfortable.

15. What was the biggest waste of money this year?

I'm pretty frugal when it comes to most things. I think things out before buying anything. The thing I wasted most on was probably junk food - both for myself and the kids. It's so much easier to stop and buy fast food on the way home from work to eat for dinner - I feel tired by the end of the day and never want to come home to go straight in the kitchen. But the cost adds up, especially if you are feeding eight.

16. What was something you lost this year?

Car keys! I went to visit someone at khadara Hospital and had them in my pocket. When I came out the keys were gone and it was a pain in the neck because they had the car alarm on the key so I had to replace the keys and the alarm too. And I took my time replacing the alarm, only doing it after my car was broken into and the car stereo was stolen.

17. Do you have any regrets about this year? What are they?

Regrets... hmm.. I wish I had gotten to go to the US for a visit to see my family. Hopefully this year.

18. Did you make a New Year's Resolution this year? What is it?

No way! I will only give myself a guilt trip if I don't fulfill my New Year's promise.


So there you have it. Eighteen questions about my year.

I hope you all have a very

Happy New Year!

Teenagers are driving me crazy!

'Yusef! You get out of my car right now!' I shout. 'But Mom, I'm only sitting in the car listening to music.' he answers back.

Lately Yusef has this idea that he can go off in my car for a joy ride every time he sees it parked in front of our building. When he's not riding around in my car he's sitting in it with his cousin listening to music.

'You are only thirteen years old! You get out of the car this instant!' I say in a loud and irritated voice. 'I'm fourteen!' says Yusef. 'You are NOT fourteen. Your birthday is not until next month and even so you are still not old enough to drive a car!'

Yusef has been practicing driving his father's truck around the farm. Two weeks ago, on the second day of Eid he lost control of the truck and drove it into a tree, much to the displeasure of his father.



Last night Yusef came in to tell me that he had moved my car in order to wash it and scraped it on the gate. 'It's dark outside Yusef! You never want to wash the car in the daylight. What makes you think I would believe that you would wash the car after dark?' I asked in total disbelief. I'm afraid to go out and look at what he claims is a 'small scrape'. 'Oh, and I knocked my head against the rear-view mirror and it fell off. But it should be easy to fix.' Yusef said sheepishly. How do you knock your head against the rear-view mirror I wondered.

Am I supposed to keep my car keys stuffed safely in my bra? How do you beat your son when he towers above you? I hate shouting at the kids... everyone in the neighbourhood can hear.

Yusef is downstairs 'fixing' the mirror. I can hear that he has turned on the car. He's revving the engine. I'm gonna kill that boy!

I am so fed up with the drama caused by teenagers... sigh