small group

Sometimes in life you end up in a community of amazing people and somehow a family is formed. A kind of family that is even more profound than a physical family---a spiritual family. I'm actually pretty sure heaven must be something like being with these guys. We just left a group of such people. I miss them dearly.

Every now and then, I look at the door to see if Jess or Joi are going to pop in for a dance session.
Or sit down and wish it was with an excellent glass of wine and John Penn.
Or drive down Lil lane and walk into an eclectic apartment to see the creative Alida.
Or sit down with a good cup of coffee and talk about feminism with Bonnie.
Or take a run around the block with Charles.
Or see Amanda with little Aiden in her belly.
Or do some dishes alongside Ciji.
Or hear a christian romance novel written and performed by the one and only Dan.
Or hear Aaron go on about fairies.
Or be bear hugged by Kelsey.
Or listen to Ken say something so profound that everything is silent after.
Or hear the gut laugh of Sherronda.
Or eat some of Ryan's gumbo.
Or see Jen dressed up like a graham cracker.
Or laugh and bust a move with Hope.
Or listen to Sherry tell some crazy story about something that could only have happened to her.
Or see Chris walk in and say "hey guys."
Or watch Morgan draw some hybrid animal.

I miss these people so much. I look forward to a day when we will be together for eternity and talk about the good old days back on earth.

Mot du Jour

Bibliophile: one who loves books; a book collector

Mount Sinai

One of my favorite experiences in Egypt was climbing Mount Sinai. We woke before dawn and began the ascent in the dark to see the sun rise at the top of mountain. It was a miserably hot long bus ride from Cairo to Sinai, but it was well worth it.

Ana bamoot fi Khan al-Khalili

I've already mentioned the Khan but we went again so I have some more pictures to share. The Khan al-Khalili is one of my favorite things about Cairo. It's so fun to walk through tiny alley ways full of people and colorful fabrics and hear people yelling in a language you don't understand. It is the experience that satisfies all your senses. Ana bamoot fi Khan al-Khalili (I love the Khan al-Khalili or more literally the Khan al-Khalili is to die for).

Alexandria (not the one in north louisiana)

We arrived in Alexandria pretty a late and found this little hotel recommended by a friend. Our room overlooked a harbor on the Mediterranean. The next day we went to the Citadel of Quaitbey which is a 15th century defensive fortress. The Citadel of Quaitbey was built upon the ruins of the Lighthouse of Alexandria complete in the 3rd century A.D. by Ptolemy 1. Next, we headed to the Bibliotheca Alexandrina (Library of Alexandria) which was built in commemoration of the Royal Library of Alexandria that was sacked a long time ago. Thy Royal Library of Alexandria was one of the greatest libraries of the ancient world and functioned as a major center for scholarship from its conception. Alexandria is a very unique place. It feels both Eastern and Western. It reminded me alot of Greece.

The Red Sea

We took a bus from Cairo to Suez and spent the night at this great resort. The Red Sea is incredible. We had plans to go snorkeling but there was no snorkeling available at the particular place we were. It was a great day relaxing then we jumped on another bus and headed to Alexandria.

Wonders of the Ancient World

The Pyramids and they Sphinx were everything I expected them to be. No let down in any way. The only thing is that I thought they were in the middle of the dessert, but they are just at the end of town. It so wild that people live right across the street from the pyramids. We took a camel ride around the area.

Book List

JP had this great idea to pick thirty books from the top 100 novels from the mid-1900s to present. Jess, JP, and I each picked ten which are listed below. We started with the 'Cather and the Rye.' It was a witty, entertaining book. Ken T. wrote a great blog about it at http://kendlebooks.blogspot.com/2010/06/catcher-in-rye.html.


1. The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald
2. The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger
3. Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
4. Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov
5. All the King's Men, Robert Penn Warren
6. A Lesson Before Dying, Ernest Gaines
7. Animal Farm, George Orwell
8. Lord of the Flies, William Golding
9. A Confederacy of Dunces, John Kennedy Toole
10. A History of Love, Nicole Krauss
11. Light in August, William Faulkner
12. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
13. The Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemingway
14. Franny and Zooey, J.D. Salinger
15. Sons and Lovers, D.H. Lawrence
16. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
17. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, James Joyce
18. A Hand Full of Dust, Evelyn Waugh
19. A Passage to India, E.M. Forster
20. Mrs. Dalloway, Virginia Woolf
21. Lucky Jim, Kingsley Amis
22. 1984, Orwell
23. Appointment in Samarra, John O' Hara
24. The Power and the Glory, Graham Greene
25. Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh
26. All the Pretty Horses, Cormac McCarthy
27. To the Lighthouse, Virginia Woolf
28. Catch-22, Joseph Heller
29. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Ken Kesey
30. Ulysses, James Joyce

The Citadel

Today, we went to an Ottoman Mosque built during the early 1800's. It is real touristy now so we didn't have to wear a head scarf. Women who were wearing sleeveless shirts or shorts had to wear a covering over their torso (not us). The lighting was my favorite part. There is a chandelier in the middle surrounded by circles of hanging glass globes.


We took a taxi home by ourselves today for the first time since we've been here. Thank Allah for Jess because she remembers the Arabic Hannah taught us and surprisingly knows how to get back to Hannah's flat.

Pharoah, Pharoah

We spent the morning in the Egyptian Museum. Three stories filled with thousands of artifacts from ancient Egypt. It is amazing to see things thousands of years old. The museum also houses mummies. Real deal mummies. It's so insane to see thousand year old dead bodies still intact-skin, eye lashes, hair, teeth. We saw the body of Ramses II, who was the pharaoh during the time of Moses.

Hannah took us to a local 'restaurant,' it was more like a outdoor/indoor kitchen with plastic chairs and tables outside. One of the common local dishes is called 'fuul' (pronounced 'fool'). It's a bean that is soak, boiled, and cooked with spices. Fuul is also a common dish in Sudan. Traditionally, fuul is eaten with bread (kinda like pita). It was flippin delicious! While I was eating, I was thinking about Jon and how he would have loved it. Ethnic food, eating outside, ect. He loves that kinda stuff. Hannah invited a friend of hers from language school who is originally from South Korea. She said her English was not that good because her and Hannah always speak to each other in Arabic. Hannah's Arabic is great by the way. Not that I would really know, but everyone she talks to seems to know what she is saying. Her roommates say the same and a taxi driver told us today that her Arabic is 'kwees' (good).

Khan el-Khalili

We started out the day at a mosque. Head coverings are required for all women. Most of the women wear head coverings anyway. Actually almost everyone here is clothed from head to toe. Even though it's 100 degrees. Jess calls this reverse adaptation. Very few women reveal their head. There is a decent size group of women in burqas (only their eyes showing). It's a very interesting feeling for someone to see you while you're unable to see them. The mosque had a tower that overlooked the city. Cairo is dry and dusty, full of cement buildings with mosques scattered in between.

Next, we headed to Khan el-Khalili, a huge local outdoor marketplace. Khan el-Khalili gave us a real taste of Cairo...tons of people, colorful clothing, spices, bargaining, ect. I love outdoor markets where people are yelling and shoving stuff in your face and bargaining their hearts out.
One of Hannah's students from Sudan is on holiday in Egypt with her family. We spent the evening with them at a huge 'western' mall. Everything we have in the U.S. was there. It was like Mall of America or something. It was so interesting to spend the morning at the market and the evening at the mall. There is such a huge gap here between the lower class and the upper class. A huge portion of the population is on the lower end of the totem pole while another decent size portion of the population is very wealthy. Coming from a country where the middle class dominates (in size anyway) the middle class here seems to be sparse.

Sailing on the Nile

We spent the morning in Coptic Cairo. A Copt is a native Egyptian Christian. Egypt has a long history of Christianity. According to tradition, the Coptic Orthodox Church was established by Saint Mark in the 1st century. We visited the Coptic Museum and The Hanging Church. The Hanging Church (El Muallaqa) is one of the oldest churches in Cairo dating back to the 3rd century A.D. In the museum we saw coptic manuscripts of the gospels and psalms also dating back to the 3rd century. It was really amazing to see a part of the history of Christianity. I sometimes forget that Christianity is an Eastern religion that ended up in the West, not the other way around.

We ended to the day by sailing down the Nile. We met up with Hannah's room mates and some other friends and ate chicken swarma wraps and played dominos on the Nile. It was a great day.

Amsterdam-great place for a nap

On our way to Egypt, we had a very long layover in Amsterdam. After walking around and seeing more than our fair share of hookers we found a park for a much needed nap. One of my favorite things in the world: taking naps in parks. I thought Amsterdam would be cool enough to have city wide Wi-Fi so I could call my husband, not so.

Masters anyone?

After 3 years of research, writing, reading papers, comprehensive exams the end has come. The master's degree is completed. It's interesting that the more graduations you have the less excited they are. The most exciting part was probably the hood, which was accompanied by 'how to wear' instructions. Thanks to all my friends and family for your support and encouragement.

pretty...

"The bird that would soar above the level plain of tradition and prejudice must have strong wings. It is a sad spectacle to see the weaklings bruised, exhausted, fluttering back to earth. "
-Kate Chopin ('The Awakening')

Thesis Defense

Yesterday, I finally defended my thesis. It's official, I'm a master of biology. I presented my thesis work to to the biology department (all graduate students and professors were invited to attend). After the presentation, it was opened to questions. Anyone could ask me anything. Somethings I knew...some I didn't. Then I went into a separate conference room with my committee members and they asked me specific questions regarding my thesis work and made suggestions for improvement. After the 2 hour ordeal (an hour to present and an hour with my committee), they asked me to leave the room as they discussed among themselves. Dr. Watson called me back and stretched out his hand and said, "Congratulations, you passed. You're a master." I shook hands with rest of the committee members as they congratulated me. And then...I think I flew home. If I didn't actually fly, I certainly felt like I could have.

The journey of graduate school has been the best educational experience of my life. I started off clueless hardly even able to read a scientific paper. I began doing experiments I didn't even understand, but slowly the things started to become clear. My mind began to comprehend at the level of a protein and the discovery of very small pieces of a very big puzzle became so exciting. The final process of analyzing the two years of data I'd collected was more difficult but more rewarding than I expected. I began to see patterns in the different aspects of my research and produced a model for how all the pieces could possibly function coherently. Yesterday, I had a coming out ceremony in the scientific community. But for me, It was so much more. It was the culmination of a journey that has produce in me a way of thinking that I didn't know existed. I'm so grateful for the past three years. I started graduate school for many different reason, one of which was I didn't know what else to do. Looking back it was the right thing to do. I'm better for it.

Throw Me Something, Mister!

Today we celebrate....for tomorrow we shall repent. Our new house is in the center of the festivities. More cars parked on our street than is safe or legal. People were everywhere...walking back and forth to the parade. Jeff, Melissa, and Ethan came in to check out our new pad and hang for the holiday. Charles and Amanda came over for the day. Mike and his posse were in and out. We bbq-ed, hung out, went to the parade. It was a great day.

For some very hilarious unknown reason Jon decided to dress up as a French Fry to attend the parade. He convinced Jeff to dress as a can of 7-Up. Ethan came prepared with his ninja turtle costume which was jacked by Charles at some point. Needless to say we had some serious bead action coming our way. Mardi Gras is a great holiday. What other holiday does everyone gather in the streets to dance and catch colored beads?

you can call me the lady with the very large straw hat and green thumb

i've been wanting to take up gardening for while now. living in an apartment made it slightly difficult. since the move i've been planning to get started. my favorite christmas present was some gardening gloves, seed packets, and a shovel (from joi*). i love people who have hobbies and i kinda want to be one of those people...and i'm tired of buying onions and tomatoes. today, jon and i went visit some gardening professionals (aka sue and ken-thanks!) to get some info and tips. they grow sage, oregano, rosemary, cilantro, lemons, blueberries, onions, green beans, bellpeppers, tomatoes, etc. i want it to be a communal thing. once it gets started i'd like to have whosoever will come and help keep up and take whatever produce they need. if you haven't noticed i haven't posted in a while and i haven't posted about teaching...well, i'm realizing that i'm an idealist who through the help of the public school system has swallowed a very large dose of reality.

i teach science

I received a call two days ago from the school board informing me of a science position at a local high school. I went to the school yesterday for an interview and they offered me a job (I think they were in a bind)! Today, I started teaching biology and environmental science. It was a overall good day, considering that I was thrown into a teaching situation in the middle of the year that I found out about the day before before I started. I'm really looking forward to it. I love teaching. This is a great opportunity to sharpen my teaching skills. If I can explain biology to 15 year olds who mostly think about cute girls than I should be equip to explain anything to anyone. Another thing that I'm looking forward to is being able to connect with student and speak life into the gifts and talents inside of them. One of my favorite things in life is watching people develop in their individual aptitudes. It is even more exciting to be a part of noticing potential inside of someone that they can't see and encouraging them in it.

lessons on science

Interesting series of short videos on science and christian education...worth checking out.



to watch the rest click here:
http://www.blog.beyondthefirmament.com/video-presentations/science-and-christian-education/science-and-christian-education-page-1/

home sweet home

"So, you still want to buy that house?" (Jon)
"I don't want to talk about it." (Me)
"Seriously, you still want to buy that house?" (Jon)
"Why are you asking me !!???" (Me)

BECAUSE WE'RE APPROVED, BABY! Today we have purchased our first home. Woot woot! We have been under contract to buy a house for over 3 months now. Due to a series of unfortunate events, the actual buying has been delayed. Today we finalized the purchase. It feels a bit anti-climatic considering the stress we've been through to get to this point, but exciting nonetheless. It's a three-bedroom wooden frame house, walking distance from pretty much everything and bike riding distance from everything else. Let the moving begin...