Spring Break Part one.....

So I recently had spring break. Now normally that would consist on sitting around the house doing nothing and relaxing so to speak but not this spring break. This year I had the amazing opportunity to go on an amazing 7 day Mediterranean cruise. Now since I saw so much stuff I am going to break this post into two parts so I can adequately describe the vacation and add pictures. So Part One.......

If you have been reading my blog than you know that when I travel nothing is every easy. So I decided to only check one bag so If they lost my bags then I will still have some clothes. So the adventure started in Kuwait where we were taking three planes and 12 hours to get to Barcelona where our cruise was leaving from. Our first leg from Kuwait to Abu Dhabi was 90 minutes late leaving. We only have a 90 minute layover in Abu Dhabi, but thankfully since there was so many people on our flight to Rome they held the plane for us which was great. So since our first flight was late it caused our second flight to be late. So once we arrived in Rome we had to sprint through the massive Rome airport to barely make our last connection to Barcelona, but we made it.

Once arriving in Barcelona you will be shocked as I was when my one checked piece of luggage actually made it Barcelona. After a series of confusing trains we make it to the ship and board, which didn't take too long. First order of business after 12 hours of travel was FOOD!!!!!!!!! We settle into our rooms and relax before exploring the ship and dinner. Our first night on board was good, we went to a show which was less than impressive. Our first stop on the Journey was Marsaille. France. Instead of booking an excursion we decided to take a shuttle into town and just explore ourselves. We ended up going on a little train ride which took us too Notre Dame de le Garde which was beautiful check it out.

Then we had lunch at this charming little restaurant. You would think since I was in France I would eat french food but nope, I had Gnocchi which was to die for. After a long day of exploring we headed back to the ship for dinner. We were seated with a couple from Alabama which was great and ended being so much fun to sit with.

Our next stop of the tour was Savona, Italy. Instead of staying in Italy my friends and I decided to take an excursion and go back into France and go to Monaco and Monte Carlo. It was a 2 hour bus ride each way, but it was well worth it. Monaco and Monte Carlo was amazing!!!! We got to visit the famous Hairpin turn from formula one racing, which is the sharpest turn in the world for racing. We also got to visit the Monte Carlo casino which was beautiful. My friend Laurie who was traveling with us was unforunately horrible sick. She didn't know she would get sick and was throwing up sick all day, and was miserable sorry Laurie. Here are some pictures from the day.

That night we decided after dinner go to the chocolate bar on the ship. This beautiful italian man named Luca was performing on Guitar. He was amazing and we ended up spending the next 5 nights going to listen to him perform. It was one of the highlights of the cruise. I was even lucky enough to get a copy of his CD which is AMAZING!!!!!

The last part of this post will include our next stop on the adventure which is the amazing city of Naples. Italy. Now this is the highlight of all the cities for me. We booked an excursion to Pompeii. I know what your thinking Pompeii?!?! Yes I got to see the ancient roman city that was covered in ash by Vesuvius . It was completely and utterly stunning. We took a 2 hour tour of the city and then got to eat amazing Pizza. It was by far the best pizza I have ever had. Here are some pictures from the day.

So thus completes part one of the adventure. Part two coming to a theater near you real soon!!!

Magical March...

Now I understand I am well over due for a blog post. I apologize to all my faithful readers, I have been so busy (a good busy) that I have not have time to blog. So this will be a longer post to make up for that. I was sitting at my desk the other day and couldn't believe that it is already March!! I mean where did the time go? I remember in August saying that the year was going to be so long, but it has honestly flown by. I am amazed that I have already been here for 7 months and in just 3 short months I will be home for summer vacation and my first year in Kuwait will be gone. It has been an amazing adventure so far with lots of ups and downs (more ups then downs).

Back at the end of February I took a mini vacation with some friends to Amman, Jordan. I went with; Thelma, Laurie, Karla, and Martha. Kuwait was celebrating National Day and Liberation day so we got 5 days off from school. So we took the short trip to Jordan for some R&R. It was an amazing trip. We spent the first day settling in and going the The Citadel which is an ancient city with ruins. It was cold and windy but it was a lot of fun. We also had lunch that day at Hashem which has the best hummus and falafel in all or Jordan. They had no menus and only served 5 dishes it was one of the best meals in Jordan.

On the way home from The Citadel we took a taxi and we hit the jackpot because our taxi driver was in the lonely planet guide book. He told us he could take us anywhere we wanted during the week in a van and he would give us a cheaper price than our hotel we were staying in. So we took a chance and used him for the following day.

The first full day was spent going to Madaba city of Mosaics, Mt.Nebo, and the Dead Sea. It was a long and exhausting day but was so cool. My favorite part of the day was floating in the Dead Sea. It is so salty that you naturally float no matter what it's a really weird sensation but so cool. The Dead Sea is also the lowest point on earth. After floating in the dead sea for a little while we got covered head to toe in this special mud that is mined from deep in the ocean and supposedly has healing powers. So we got covered head to toe in this mud let it dry then went back into the dead sea to wash it off. It was really neat. I still can't get over the fact that I got to float in the dead sea so cool. Here are some pictures of the things from day one.

Day #2 was dedicated to Petra which is one of the seven wonders of the world. It was in the southern part of the country and a 3 hour drive to get there. Needless to say we left very early. We made a few short stops along the way and made it to Petra around noon time. We immediately paid for our tickets and were off on our way. We decided to pay for a tour guide to get the full experience. The tour/ trail is about a 2 1/2 hour walk each way. It was all downhill going which meant all uphill coming back. The tour was great and we had an amazing tour guide and who we had a lot of fun with. On they way back they offer carriage rides which we happily payed for and cut our commute time back in half. After arriving back we had a 3 hour car ride home....(gross I know) most of us fell fast asleep as we were exhausted from all the walking. Here are some pictures from one of seven wonders of the world.

   

Friday our last full day in Jordan was spent going to a couple places. The first stop was this hill where you were standing in Jordan but could see Israel, Syria, and Lebanon. It was so surreal and cool to be one place and to see all those countries.Take a look Israel to the left, Syria to the right and Lebanon way off in the distance.

After that we made a few more stops a couple at different ancient castles. The last stop was Jerash the most well preserved ancient Roman city in the world. It was really cool and nice but you could tell our group was exhausted and while it was great to see by this point it was 3pm and an ancient ruin is an ancient ruin is an ancient ruin.....lol

Since returning from Jordan I have started rehearsal for Shrek the musical. I was cast in the ensemble as a couple different characters. Papa Bear, Duloc Villager, and a Rat in the tap dancing scene. We have had a couple of rehearsals and it is so much work but I have met some amazing new people and we are all having a great time. More details to follow with this.

Also last Thursday was my birthday. I am now officially 29. It was a pretty good birthday, I got to talk to everyone in my family. It happened to be my friend Karla's birthday too so a bunch of us went out for dinner at the olive garden. It was a lot of fun and nice to celebrate with friends.

Lastly I have decided to paint my apartment.... I know I'm nuts to be doing this with so much going but hey I like chaos I live for chaos. I am painting my entrance way/ dining room/ living room a soft grey and my bedroom a greyish blue. The entrance way has been completed and so has the dining room. Next up will be the living room which is a big project. I will post pictures once it is completed.

Well............I guess that is all for now. Life is good and things at school are good and I am feeling pretty settled in here in Kuwait. I can't wait to see what the next chapter in the adventure is. Stay Tuned!!!!!!

Happy New Year!

Wow, I can't believe it's already January and it's not 2014. I am sure most of you already know this but I surprised my parents and came home for winter holiday. I left Kuwait on Saturday 12/21 at 11pm and arrived home on 12/22 at 10:30pm. It was a really long journey home with some missed flights and lost baggage but I am so glad I came home.

So we had our winter concert the week before we left for vacation and it went beautifully. The kids amazing and the back drop looked great thanks to Eileen the art teacher. I got a lot of compliments from both parents and staff members saying they loved it and how great it comes out. This is why I teach because of how much fun the kids had and to show off their hard work. I love to see students succeed and have fun while learning!!!

So my flight home was long and tedious. I flew from Kuwait at 11:00pm and took a detour south to Dammam Saudi Arabia to pick up more passengers. We then took the 6 hour flight to Amsterdam arriving there around 6am. Not too bad so far. I then had a short 1 hour flight from Amsterdam to Heathrow at 7:15am so I boarded the plane and we were all ready to go when the captain came on..... uh oh what does he want we all said. " Ladies and Gentlemen we are just waiting for some more passengers whose flight just landed"...... 40 minutes later..... "Ladies and Gentlemen we are trying to get the door unlocked and it looks like it has been opened and the emergency button on the outside of the door was pushed by a passenger and it looks like we might all have to deplane and go through security and get back on the plane but I will keep you posted."..... 30 minutes later "Ummm I have some bad news we are all going to have to deplane and go through security again and re board I am really sorry about this." So we all deplane go through security again and finally get on our way 2 hours later at 9am. My flight from London to Boston was at 9:30am so I knew that was never going to happen. We land in London at 9:30 because there is an hour time difference and I race to the other terminal to be told nope your plane left and you need to go back to your original terminal to re-book. Fine I go back and they had already re-booked me on the 4:30pm  flight to Boston arriving at 6:50pm So I sit around the airport for 6 hours and relax. I finally board for Boston and our flight is going to be an hour late because of tail winds. So I arrive at 8pm go through customs and go to get one checked piece of luggage and uh oh it's not there. So I do the claim and finally at 9:30pm I take the hour drive to Hooksett arriving to surprise my parents at 10:30 at night. Yes they were surprised and so glad that I was home and were so happy to see me. As you can imagine I was exhausted and jet lagged so I crashed. Oh and I received my luggage 4 days later.... :-(

The rest of vacation was a whirlwind. My mom rushed out to buy me Christmas presents since I had none and I spent vacation trying to squeeze all my friends and family into the 10 days I was home. I honestly think the only meal I ate at home was Christmas dinner with the family and my last night at home. I went to all the places I can't go to in Kuwait; Portland Pie Pizza Company, The Red Arrow Diner, The Farm (twice), Friendly's, British Beer Company, Denny's, Uno's, Olive Garden (you can get this in Kuwait but I haven't been there yet), and Chelbys. I never thought I would see the day that I would be sick of eating out. I also went bowling with some people from my old team which was a lot of fun. I did way too much shopping, I got 6 new dress shirts, 3 new sweater vests, 4 new bow ties, 2 new pairs of shoes, some DVD's, books for my kids in Kuwait, a Ukulele, and my favorite thing my Christmas gift to my self my brand new Oakley Sunglasses!!!! Hallelujah!!!!!

I thought I was going to turn into a Popsicle it was so cold at home. I mean hello I know it's NH and it's winter time but remember I am used to being bundled up for 50 degree weather and being cold. People think I am nuts when I say I am freezing at 50 degrees but I am like "Hello remember the temperature 2 months ago was averaging 120 degrees... so yeah just a bit of a change." Thank god I had all my winter clothes at home in NH. One of my favorite days being home besides spending time with the family was New Years Eve. My friends and I kept it simple we had delicious crock pot chicken and pesto and then ice cream with homemade chocolate whipped cream while we had a twilight marathon. We only got through the first 3 of them and yes I know what your thinking that I have the movie taste of a 15 year old girl...... and you would be correct!!



Naturally when it was time for me to come back to Kuwait a major snow storm hit the northeast and the night I was flying out was supposed to get 12-18" of snow. My flight was at 6:50pm and surprisingly enough my flight did get out and was only about an hour late due to de-icing. I arrived in London and had a 2 hour layover and then with no problems hopped on a plane to Bahrain. Arrived in Bahrain no problem grabbed a quite bite to eat and then waited for my flight to Kuwait. Boarded my flight an hour late not too bad then arrived in Kuwait at 10:30pm Friday night 1/3. Of course because my flights had been nice and pleasant something had to go wrong it's the law of Ericphysics. So Gulf air lost not only one but my 2 pieces of checked luggage. Thankfully It was only lost for a short time and I got it back Sunday afternoon.

The other great news is that on Monday I finally received my civil ID which is awesome and means I can get things I need in Kuwait and I don't have to bring my passport everywhere I go. 

Settling back into life in Kuwait has been very easy and I have many places I want to visit on the current list are; Istanbul Turkey, Jordan, Greece, Cyprus, Rome, Spain, Paris, London (outside of the airport), Amsterdam (again outside of the airport), Ireland, Prague, Thailand and many more.

Stayed tuned for the next installment of Eric's adventures in Kuwait.

Delightful December

So December had finally arrived, when I first got here in August I never thought December and the cold weather would ever arrive. Things are starting to become more and more routine here in Kuwait. Grocery shopping has become less of a chore and the little things that used to frustrate me ( still sort of do), I have let go of. I am really enjoying job even if at times it is stressful. If you know me very well then you know that I am a pretty easy going person.

Last week the good news came in the form of my passport. After a week after my medical stuff was done I received my government medical card which means I can go to the public hospitals and get treated for 1KD ($3.50 USD) instead of like 300KD, so that's awesome. A few days later I received my passport back with my one year resident visa in it, which means I am now just waiting for my Civil I.D to come but I am free and clear to travel and leave the country now. WAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!


Back at the end of November we were invited to the Kipco Family day 2013 since our school is owned by Kipco. This even is held at an amusement park in Kuwait City and runs from about 10am- 12 midnight. We went earlier in the day which was great because it got super crowded later in the day. It was a typical amusement park/ Carnival type place with rides and games. The rides were free but the games were not. They also gave us vouchers for free food which was cool. Another thing they do is have 2 different raffles each raffle had about 40 prizes. Everything from gift certificates to restaurants, a free year of internet to ipads and even a vacation for 4 anywhere you wanted to go. Of course I won nothing but it was a nice day out and I had a great time with my friends. Here are some of the pictures from the day.

Another big event that took place in November was Thanksgiving. Now I will admit that this was the first major holiday away from my family back home. It was a little rough but we had an american Thanksgiving meal at school which was nice. After we decorated ornaments for our school Christmas tree.That night I got to facetime with my family back home since they were all in the same place. It was 4am my time but I didn't care. We had some..... technical issues with the internet but I got to see them for brief moments and got to talk to them all which really was the best part. Even if it only was for a little while it was nice to hear there voices. Now on friday we had a Thanksgiving potluck in our apartment building. My friend Brandi and I made mac&cheese together. We had all the staples, two turkeys one was smoked and it was amazing, mashed potatoes, and lots of other amazing food. It really was a great night and made it almost like home and here are some photos from that....

Last week I got the great opportunity to go on a field trip with the Pre-k and Kindergarten students to Kidzania. This place is a kids dream. The students are given money and give the chance to explore and try out different careers and make money or do different games and activities and spend money. I was assigned 3 Kinder students and we visited 8 different professions and we had such an amazing time it was great.

This week is our first annual winter concert and the first performance of the year, so I am a little stressed because I want to make sure it is perfect and goes off without a hitch. The kids have been really hard and I know that they will do amazing and the parents will love it. After this week it's just next week then winter vacation which is 15 days. Where am I headed you ask?...... well if you want to know then you will just have to send me a message on facebook!!

Overall I am really settling in and loving it and just living the adventure and enjoying every minute of it. Stay tuned for the next installment of the journey.