Hey there, Friends and Family,

Thanks for checking up on my progress here in Saudi Arabia.  And yes...it has been an incredibly long time since I wrote up my thoughts here in my blog.  I could probably fill up this entire page exploring why it has been hard to keep up with it...which I won't do.  But it probably is worth a few words since it has, in fact, been a part of my life that it has been very difficult to be a writer on this leg of my life's journey.

One of my most persistent struggles here in the desert has been a sense of isolation.  We do not live around anyone with whom we work, and our only source of connection and friendship is with our working colleagues.  Carolyn and I crave our alone time - time away from conversation and interaction by virtue of the fact we're both introverts.  And so our separation from friends at the end of the working day hasn't been all bad.  It gives us time to do things we love like read, exercise, and play music.  But the balance hasn't been right.  It is too much alone time even for us.

I think it is no coincidence that I'm writing this from a workshop in Bahrain - a nearby island nation with a much more inclusive and relaxed life style from Saudi Arabia.  These professional workshops give me, in addition to great information on how to improve my classroom practices, a chance to hang out with my teacher friends in a way that fills some of that void.  Somehow it makes it easier for me to write out into the world from a place of connection.

But enough about that.  Let me move on to more interesting aspects of my life here in Saudi.  Actually, the most interesting parts have been my travel opportunities OUTSIDE of Saudi.  Life here in the kingdom is fairly routine in a good way.  Driving feels natural and easy after the first shock over how aggressive some drivers are.  But now I just stay out of the way of the yahoos bombing down the left hand shoulder and keep an eye on my own safety and sense of courtesy and mutual accommodation with other drivers on the road.  That said, I just paid my third speeding ticket since arriving.  Speeding tickets are a result of machines that take your photo.  Unfortunately speed limit signs are few and far between and I've been paying the price...literally...for not being more vigilant.  How the unrepentant, habitual and reckless speeders deal with this problem is beyond me.  Anyhow, the ticket is relayed directly to your bank account where it shows up with all the other bills and you just pay your fine by clicking on the button and viola, out goes your money and poof goes your fine.

I recently returned from a conference in Mumbai that I absolutely loved!  It was a conference on Responsive Classrooms - a program whose philosophy can be summed up by saying that a student's sense of community, safety, and a feeling of being accepted and well-liked in the classroom is essential to their growth as a learner.  If any of you teachers get the chance to go to a Responsive Classroom workshop, I highly recommend it.  I implemented aspects of it the day I returned to my classroom.  But Mumbai itself was a trip!  Loud, vibrant, dirty, colorful, daunting, and welcoming all in equal measure.  Mainly, thought, I traveled with some folks from school that turned out to be a LOT of fun.  The highlight was a trip to Elephant Island by ferry under which are rock caves that were carved into places of inspiration and divinity by ancient peoples.  It reminded me of the rock churches in Lalibela, Ethiopia.  But without the sense of reverence and worship that Lalibela embodies.

Carolyn and I also traveled to Oman where we relaxed on the sandy beach and looked for interesting shells that, in the end, overwhelmed us with it's plentitude.  I've never seen so many shells in one place.  That was so much fun!

And, hard to believe, I never wrote about our Christmas trip to Italy and Spain where we met up with two of our three kids - Erin and Jacob.  Barcelona was initially overwhelming with its sprawl and busy-ness.  In the end we caught on to a few of the modes of transportation and got a good sense of that fascinating city.  But by far the best part was hanging out with Erin and Jacob.  As far as the actual travel experience, Rome was my favorite.  It was a constant source of enjoyment to see the ancient sites and imagine life as it was.  They were on the cutting edge of technological advancement in their time, and yet lived so different from how we get on with our rapidly changing technology and devices.

Looking ahead, for Spring Break Carolyn and I will be going to Thailand where we hope to hop on a motorcycle and tour around some countryside in the north where traffic is relatively light and easy to negotiate.  More about that when the time comes.

Keep in touch, everyone.  I can't wait to see you all come summertime.  I miss Portland and the blooming cherry trees, the coffee shop, and yes, even the rain!