the pros

Meet Sonny and Jackie. They fitted people for eyeglasses at a free clinic we offered in a local neighborhood today. Not the greatest picture of them, but they are awesome!

all things new

This is one of my favorite places in the city. A center that teaches women a trade so they can provide for their families. Here, they are making stationery out of recycled paper and using the flower petals for decoration. Something beautiful comes from what had been tossed aside. I love that.

a dark picture

For a dark room. We took some visitors out to eat tonight and just as we were getting ready to leave, the power went out. Quite a welcome! They were troopers and the food was great, so it was a good night.

the simple things

Some friends brought these to me from the States. Amazing!

awesome

Possibly the most common word used on this show. And it's appropriate. Lots of laughs...lots of awesome.

iftar-ing on the roof

Another sunset, another quiet street, another evening meal. This family chose to have theirs on the roof. Good choice.

do you want dessert?

"The answer to that question is always yes." One of the MANY reasons I love my team. We said goodbye to one family tonight and hello to another that had been the States. Such a fun evening!

i'm sorry...what?

I spent a really great night with two of my dear friends. We laughed, talked about travels, drank coffee and discussed plans for the future. Also, we had a good laugh at this awesome gift bag.

thanks for nothing

After several phone calls, endless awful on-hold songs, and a "repairman" visiting the house, the internet company told me that it was our actual phone line that was the problem. However, the repairman wasn't equipped to fix it. Our awesome electrician friend came over and in about 3 minutes the phone line was fixed! 5 hours later, I get this text message from the internet company. Thanks. Thanks for nothing.

one of my favorite things about this city

is watching the sunset over the tops of the buildings. There's just something about it...

mamma mia!

Tonight, my roommate and I hung out with a friend that has been away for a few months. We went to dinner then came back to the house for a movie.

meet the neighbors

This is the scene just outside my living room. I love it.

my kind of fruit basket

Bananas, cherries, strawberries, oranges and lemons...all right there together.

this is why I love what I do

Afternoons spent with little ones like this. Today was fun teaching, playing and laughing with some hilarious kiddos.

where are all the people?

I can't get over these empty streets. Sunset, dinner time, and the beginning of celebrations all over the city. Awesome for traffic, not so awesome for taxi catching. :)

sigh...

Oh, the things we take for granted. These green bars and green check make me happy. We went nearly 24 hours without internet and it came back up today. Man, there is a lot of things I do online. Today has been much more productive than yesterday.

iftar

Come 6:30 and the streets are empty and the dinner tables are full. These guys work at the shops down below and have their evening meal together during Ramadan.

pictures can't do this place justice

We went snorkeling in the most amazingly beautiful, clear water today. Definitely one of the coolest things I have ever done. I am so thankful for all my experiences here.

"thank you my friend!"

We walked into town for dinner tonight and found this little gem. The manager said if we ate here, we would thank him afterward because it was so good. He was right. It was amazing!

aaaand spin!

I took a weekend trip to the beach today with a few friends. Tonight, there was a show at our hotel with a traditional Sufi dancer. Very cool, but I would totally get dizzy if I had to dance like that!

is it closed??

Nope, just dinner time. I met up with a friend for dinner tonight right as everyone was breaking the fast for the first night of Ramadan. It felt like the mall was closed, kind of weird with no one out and about.

ramadan karim!

Ramadan starts tomorrow and the mall is all decorated. You can't see it very well, but they have the 99 names of God in Arabic hung from the ceiling.

saint mark's

This is the church on my street, and I think it is just beautiful. There is always something going on there. Tonight, one of the higher-ups was giving a sermon...hence the red and gold fabric out front.

reason #784

...of why I will miss it here. I just love these sunsets on the river. Amazing!

yes, this was my dinner tonight

Yes, it was awesome.

christmas in august

A friend came to visit today and she brought us some goodies from America including these shirts.

vacation!

I booked my tickets to Morocco today! I still can't believe I'm going. It's been at the top of my list of places to go for a long time. I can't wait.

inception

Amazing movie. Go see it. Now.

we know we look good

I spent the day at the pool with my friends today. This pool, however, requires that you wear a swim cap. We had a great time swimming, laying out, and posing in our awesome hats.

so, that was fun.

Actually quite the opposite. We changed out the water bottle today, only to find 30 minutes later the kitchen floor flooded with water. 12 towels later and the rest of the water salvaged--all is back to normal.

august.

August. Hard to believe that 2 years ago this month is when I started this journey. Oh, how the time flies!