HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS!

    Because they issued me the wrong visa type, and because that visa was in my stolen passport, I am being flown home for the winter break.  School ends on Dec. 21, but the first available flight is Dec. 23.  No problem.  Zantika and I will get a ride to Jeddah on the 21st and spend a day and a half shopping in Jeddah.  Unfortunately they have me flying Saudi Air so I will not have a cocktail until I hit JFK for my 4 hour layover.  I have booked a flight an car so I can swing by Arkansas and see dad.  I told Mary to buy whatever ingredients I need to make whatever he wants to eat.  Aside from Roladen, not sure what he will ask for.
   So, I have made the trip to Ikea and I have been to Jeddah twice.  The first trip was to Ikea, the second to the embassy to replace my STOLEN passport.  My friend's husband was able to pick up my passport and bring it to me when he came to visit his wife.  The road to Jeddah is down the mountain and I am just glad I didn't have to drive it!

Sheep on their way to "market".

More sheep.

Sneaky baboon.

Roadside baboons.

Jeddah

Road to Meccah.

I am not allowed in Meccah.

      It is about a 2 hour drive and I took the bus the last time.  The Saptco bus reminds me of the ADO bus in Mexico.  They have buses that make the trip from base each weekend, but I have had no cash and too many things to do at home.  Payday was a tremendous relief as I no longer had to beg an allowance/loan from co-workers.  

The drive to "town" aka Taif, is about 25 minutes.  On the way to town, there are literally 5-6 amusement parks.  I wish I was kidding.  They make me laugh every single time I see them.  No idea why Taif seems to be the amusement capital of Saudi, but there are TONS of parks, playgrounds, and amusement parks.

     

     Once I got paid, it was off to Taif for shopping.  I was able to get a co-worker to explain to the phone guy my wallet was stolen so he allowed me to recharge my phone.  I was also able to stock the fridge for Thanksgiving.  I cooked supper for about 5 of us.  One of the teachers procured TWO frozen 7 pound turkeys, as they didn't have anything bigger.  I had my students make thankful birds to bring home.  Thanksgiving is a totally non-religious holiday!

This is the view of the school yard from the 2nd floor of the girls' building.

I have done crafts with all of my classes now, and tie them into one of the stories we are reading.  The 7th and 8th grades no longer get art classes so they are happy to do the projects.

Paper machete heads.

This is a bird that comes by almost every day to say hi and beg for seeds.

Could not pass this up!

 Building in Taif.

Really old buildings.  There are pieces of stone buildings all over Taif.

     So, I will be home for the holidays and I have booked my flights to see my dad.  After everything I have been through, glad to not spend Christmas and New Year in Saudi.  Before I go, I will briefly mention that I finally got sick in Taif.  I wound up with an ear infection and tonsillitis.  Fortunately, the biggest perk about working for the military hospital compound, is that medical is literally across the street.  Thursday morning I was able to leave "teacher training" about 9am and head to medical.  A long wait at pharmacy was lessened by replacing my lost base ID (yes, the hits just keep coming) and getting my second of 3 Hep B booster (?) shots.  Home and in bed by noon.  Slept until 4:30, up to eat turkey soup, nap, more turkey soup and evening antibiotic, then back to bed by 9.  Feeling a bit better today, but my chest feels like a monkey is sitting on it.  Hoping it is not becoming pneumonia. 

Honeymoon is SOOOOOO over!

     I was finally getting my act together.  I was getting caught up, figuring out the system, and had survived my first end of term.  So, after school on Sunday, trying to shop on the "weekend" is INSANE!, Zantika and I headed to the "home" store to get the shelving/storage items I needed to get everything organized.  We first went to the stationary store.  We waited half an hour for the place to open, as it was closed for prayer.  My wallet zipper has not been working well, so I mentioned that it was way past time to get a new wallet, while I was putting my wallet in my purse.  We then walked to the "home" store, having found an empty shopping cart in the street.  I pulled a wipe out of my purse to wipe the handle, and had to move my wallet to get to it.  (I think you know where this is headed).  When we arrived at the store, I left Zantika with the cart and headed upstairs with my purse over my shoulder and under my arm.
     While I was upstairs searching the very cramped aisles for exactly what I needed, I was pushed and bumped and jostled by 2-3 women in full abaya/hijab/niqab.  They were pushing past me, crowding me, and basically blocking whatever aisle I tried to go down.  When I went back downstairs, I mentioned what had occurred.  I was being rushed to leave the store because OF COURSE it was f'ing prayer time AGAIN!  I did NOT want to have to wait for the store to reopen to pick up the last few things I needed so I rushed around to get my last few things.  I had brought a big Ikea bag to put my larger purchases in and spent time arguing with the clerk and bagger about not putting it in MORE plastic bags.  When it came time to pay...no wallet.  My receipt said I had checked out at 5:44 pm.  Zantika was kind enough to lend me the cash.
      The clerk, manager, and security guard all started telling me I had to leave so they could close for prayer.  I explained I needed to check for my wallet but they told me no.  They had turned off all the lights so it probably would not have been possible.  They refused to deal with the issue of my wallet in order to close for prayer.  I was forced to sit outside and wait for the store to re-open in order to actually search for my wallet.  When I was unable to find it, and I was able to find someone to translate I thought it had been stolen, they told me, I shit you not, "No problem,  we will contact you if we find it.  You must have lost it, because NOBODY steals ANYTHING in Saudi.  This just does NOT happen here."
      The manager had the workers search the store and reported that it was not there.  He also had someone, allegedly, view the video and then told me they saw nothing.  I was lead to believe they did not even see me on the cameras.  REALLY?!?!  Yeah, because there are SOOOOOO many uncovered white women in Saudi with red hair, I just blend right into the crowd.  While we were waiting, it was time for prayer AGAIN!  They tried to usher me out of the store and I refused to leave until they had at least called the police so I could file a report in order to replace my passport.  Yes, my wallet contained my cash, my passport, and all my credit/debit cards.  It also contained the Iqama number I need to refill my phone.  I had tried to fill it earlier, but was told the "system was down" and there was nothing they could do.  Did I mention that they kept telling me, "No problem, we will contact you," but they had NOT taken my contact information?
      They FINALLY called the police.  When the very young, very new, very junior officer arrived, he spoke not a word of English.  The store manager translated some of what was going on, so the newbie called his supervisor.  The supervisor told me to go to the police station to file a report.  They do not carry reports in their squad cars.  Oh yeah, and I would have to take a cab to get there.  After I screamed, "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?  I HAVE TO PAY TO TAKE A CAB TO FILE A THEFT REPORT?  WITH WHAT?  THEY GOT MY WALLET!  The manager hailed a cab, gave the driver cash and directions and sent us off.
      When we got to the police station we were ushered into a room and told to wait.  I had tried to explain that I needed to file a report and they just kept saying, "wait".  The newbie arrived, explained what I needed, and they told me I was at the wrong station to file a report.  no words....  They found a guy to translate for them and anytime I got a bit vocal or loud he told me to be quiet.  YES!  I finally told him, in no uncertain terms, "If you tell me to shut up one more time, I will snap you in half!"  The supervisor showed up and told them to take the report, but they refused and called us a cab.  I refused to get into the cab because the supervisor kept telling me here.  Zantika finally got me into the cab and we were taken to a police station that was one block from the scene of the crime....really (VERY HEAVY SIGH)
     We were turned over to a guy with 3 stars on his shoulder, and told he would take care of it.  He put us in an office, offered us bottled water, and left.  He showed up quite a while later with someone how apparently spoke passable English.  I again explained what had happened and he said they would check the store tapes.  He also said it was highly unlikely my wallet had been stolen, as that was very rare in Saudi.  Was I sure I did not leave it at home or drop it?  After forever, the 3 star captain came back to say there was nothing on the tapes, but they all agreed, in part to shut me up and to get rid of me, they would take a report saying I had lost my wallet, probably outside of the store.  I had not eaten, had no water, was tired.  The police did finally take my phone number, after insisting and yelling at them they should, at about 10:55pm.  We got home at 11:30pm.
     When I went to school the next day, exhausted, I was useless.  I had gotten home, taken a shower, and realized that, because I did not have my phone with my during all the above, I had to get online and put a lock on all my credit cards, etc.  Zantika had notified the vice-principal the night before, as well as the principal, so we would have an excuse when we were late the next day.  The vice-principal came in to check on me and I lost it.  The principal took my class assignments for the day and sent me home to contact the embassy.  My wifi chose that day to not work.  I did my laundry and then went to bed.
     I was finally able to get a good connection about 6pm.  I went online and followed the directions to apply for a replacement through the embassy in Jeddah.  I was told they would NOT accept a handwritten copy, it had to be done online.  I filled that bastard in about 10 times, each time getting the response that I did not HAVE a passport to report lost or stolen....FUCKING REALLY?!?!  I did manage to make an appointment for Wed. to go to the embassy and fill out the application for a new one.  We managed to get a human on the phone who said they would take a written copy of the writing was clear and legible....no problem.  I borrowed SAR 1000 for things like food and water.
     So, SAR 78 for the bus round-trip to Jeddah, SAR 513 for a new passport, a lost day of work, and a LOT of tears, I should have a new passport in 2 weeks.  I was very fortunate in that one of the teachers has a husband who lives in Jeddah.  He was kind enough to pick me up, take me to the embassy, explain all the ropes, wait until I was finished, drive me to the grocery store containing imported stuff, and then drop me off back at the bus station.  With a week like this, chocolate chip cookies are a must, not a want!
     The day after this happened, I informed the principal, that because I was being forced to leave the country and return home in December to obtain a new passport, I might not be coming back.  They had issued me a wrong visa so I was being forced to take that shitass 14 hour flight AGAIN.  I had hoped I would be able to go to Bahrain like last time, but nope, it was the USA or bust.
     My current flight to the US is set for Dec. 27.  There is NO WAY IN HELL I am spending Christmas in Saudi, so fingers crossed, I can change the flight to the day after school gets out Dec. 21.  I will have to be back Jan. 6.
     It has taken a lot out of me these last few days.  I survived cancer, but I knew what I was up against.  I knew the enemy.  Here, the enemy hides behind coverings and Saudi culture.  I came to realize, I was not that upset about the wallet, or replacing everything, but rather, in the way I was treated by everyone involved.  I am still being asked if I am sure I didn't just misplace it because that just doesn't happen in Saudi.  It took me 5.5 HOURS to file a fucking police report and I had to FORCE them to take my fucking phone number....really?

Did I Mention the Weather is AMAZING??

   After 3 weeks, I made it to Ikea!  I bought a new bed, 2 mattresses (they are foam and one was on clearance, they are not very tall, so I bought the 2nd one), bedding for my NEW FULL-SIZE bed, a nightstand, a floor lamp, a coffee table, and a bookshelf.  I will post pictures when I finish unpacking my stuff that I reclaimed from Riyadh...another story.  I am beginning to settle in, and am down to just the last few little things I need to be fully at home.  Last night I bought my FIRST real coffee maker overseas and a new 32" TV, so I can actually see what I am streaming from my 13" laptop.  I am SUPER happy I spent the $$ to buy the slimmer, lighter, sleeker laptop as I actually take it to school with me most days.

That is my REAL SIZE coffee cup :-)

     I still need to buy some organizer things so I can put everything in its place, and have a place for everything.  I like to say that I live in a home that is homey, lived in, and organized chaotic at times.

     SCHOOL!  School had started before I had even arrived.  I had been told before I left that I would be teaching middle school science....no comment.  I did not get the books ahead of time, and good thing, because the day AFTER I arrived in Taif, I was informed that I would be teaching middle school English Language Arts.  I told the principal that I was bummed as I had planned to teach the kids how to blow shit up.  She must have thought I was kidding, because she laughed.
     I received both 10 pound (?) textbooks for 7th and 8th grade ELA the day before I started teaching.  I was also given the smaller workbooks that accompany these behemoths.  I was told to get my lesson plans in by the end of the week and to make sure I assigned homework, etc.  Also, I had to get online and start posting my welcome letter, grades, and other notes to parents....really?  For anyone who cares, they are teaching according to this (whackass) system in the US, called "Common Core" standards.  I dare you to google it and just try to make sense of it.  Fortunately, they gave me sample lesson plans to coincide with what they wanted from me each week.  Yeah, it didn't help.
     I spent the first 3 weeks I was here in pure survival mode.  They kept telling me to start entering grades...they didn't have me listed in the system, or they had not assigned me classes in the system...can't do what I cannot access...one less stresser for the next 22 minutes....LOL  I teach 7th and 8th grade ELA.  Because this is Saudi, at this age, the boys and girls are in separate classrooms and separate buildings.  My first class is grade 7 boys, and the admin is in the girls' building, so I camp out in the boys building.
     For my second period (my first is "teacher prep time" and I usually finish my coffee and eat breakfast, check email, etc.) I have 25 7th grade boys in a room that is too small.  I liken it to trying to herd cats.  They were the cause of my rant a while back about assigning punishment homework that I then had to grade.  I did not actually grade it, I marked it to the degree it was complete.  They pissed me off again, so I had them write a 2 page paper on why they should pay attention in class (so as not to waste my time), and when they had all turned them in, I immediately ripped them up and tossed them out in front of them.  Mouths agape, they demanded to know what I was doing and why I had done what I did.  I simply told them, that is what it feels like to have someone waste their time.  (Wicked grin).
     My 3rd period is free and then I babysit the same 7th grade boys for lunch.  My "afternoon" is 3 periods in a row.  The first class is 4th period 7th grade girls.  I go out of the building, up the hill, up two flights of stairs - did I mention we are at about 2700 feet?, and arrived sweating and panting.  There are only 10 of them.  They are better behaved, but their grades tend to be lower than the boys.  My second to last period is 8th grade girls.  There are 7 of them, and getting them to do work is like pulling teeth.  This is Saudi.  Women are less than men, and women are told to concern themselves with finding a rich husband.  In Saudi, the man pays for everything and any money she earns is all hers to keep.
     My last period is 8th grade boys.  There are supposed to be 8 of them, but one boy's parents pulled him out so he could go with them on his father's annual leave from work.  I don't miss him, as it was like he was never really there to begin with.  I think is GPA is like 8%.  Did you do your homework? Shrug.  Are you planning to turn in your paper late for partial credit?  Shrug.  One less body to keep track of.  My total is 50 students.

     Yesterday was end of term, so we had to get all of our grades in.  I was told to do it, but it wasn't clear what I was to do.  I did my first set of marks (for homework that I simply checked as complete or incomplete) was wrong as everything had to have a number value.  Ok, 50 entries later, I was told that 1 or 2 points was not enough.  Ok, I went back and changed all 50 marks (times 2 for each student as I was told that there had to be 2 per week).  So, every time I entered a set of grades, I was told the point values were wrong or the type of assignment was wrong, or I didn't explain what the assignment was well enough in the program... I added it up and I think it took about 2 hours total of my time for them to lecture and correct me so I would do it their way.  If they had told me what their way was the first damned time, I would have done it that way the first damned time....(very heavy sigh).
     My week last week was hell (see above) and I spent HOURS working on simply getting all my grades collected and entered.  On Wednesday morning, I came in already wiped and stressed to find a huge mess in the teacher's room.  My WTF? was quickly explained to me by one of the other teachers, as the result of monkeys getting into the room (the cleaners left the windows open, not just unlocked) and the teacher who took TOTAL possession of the actual teacher's desk in the room, was apparently the source of the food supply.  Peanuts and a cup of coffee.  This is the teacher who "recites" (read sings....they say they do not "sing" but rather "recite"...sounds hella like singing to me) the Qaran so loudly that I cannot drown her out.
     She proceeded to start lecturing me on the evils of keeping food in my work area and in the room after work.  I just looked at her.  I informed her that my food is gone (in my tummy) before I leave, any extra stuff is locked in my locker, and the source of the mess was, in fact, her food.  That only seems to have made her more angry and she got louder and more adamant in her lecturing.  I plugged in my headphones and gave her the palm.  NOT EVEN!  NO MOOD!  I then received another talking to about getting my grades into he system.  I told them to stop interrupting me while I was entering grades.  Thursday (my Friday) could not come soon enough, but that only made things worse, because grades were due by the end of the day...I did what I could and walked away in utter defeat.  I told my coworker it was a good thing they messed up my visa or I might have left to Oman for a bender and not returned.  Two words...retail therapy! (see tv and coffee maker pictured above).
     While I was wasting my time, I mean standing door duty, this guy came up to see if we would let him get into the trash.

 Nope, not on my watch.

     I feel confident that I can do this, now that I know what the hell they want in the first place.  I have my books, a basic template for making lesson plans, an idea of how long it takes to finish a unit, how many assignments to give per week, and how many points each should have.  If they had just told me this the first damned time, I would not be pulling out my hair!  These are the days I hear the chardonnay actually calling me from another country!

     The weather is truly amazing.  Never too hot, always a breeze, it only rains for minutes, and it rains every month.  As to missing my old job, the only thing I truly miss is the pay thing. I would cash my check, hand them back most of the cash, and they would wire it home.  I make lots more now, but I can't seem to get it to my US accounts as easily.  I cannot have another teacher send the money because NFCU does not have a SWIFT code for international transfers.  Western Union said they could only send to a person, and not a bank.  But my grades are not in the system...LOL

     

My FABU costume I was not allowed to wear in public...:-(  Made my roomie say trick-or-treat and gave her candy...not the same

     

It is a 10 minute walk UPHILL to get to work.  Glad the weather is amazing.

     My day starts at 7:15.  I walk up the mountain and then up the hill and stairs, to the girls building to sign in.  No fingerprint scanner here, just good old paper and pen.  My first period is free and I enjoy the empty room for coffee and email or candy crush...shhhhh  My last class ends at 1:30pm, but I cannot let the 8th grade boys out until the boys who want to pray in the common area are finished praying.  I then trudge up the hill to stand door duty (see above monkey pics) and then leave about 2pm.  Sounds easy, but I do work at home as well.  Any grading I do not finish, any lesson plans to be created, any downloading/printing, is "homework" for the teacher.  I tell my students, you have to write 3 pages, I have to grade 150 pages.  Ohhhhhh.....not so bad for them.

     I used to come home and try to take a nap, but if I do, I cannot get to sleep at night.  I find the best thing to do is come straight home and do my homework.  I save lesson planning for first thing Saturday morning, after my first cuppa.  It is getting easier as I get more used to how things run.  If I get everything planned this year, next year is a coast!

     I LOVE TEACHING!  I am finally teaching hard core English Lit and I am loving it!  I have 4 months off for the summer and am talking to them about teaching art to students and adults on base.  A bit of extra money would be nice, and I can spend whatever I make working on vaca...guilt free!  The next post is a bit more about life in general here.

NEW SCHOOL and a while new way of life!

     I have to admit, when I first left the US, I managed to leave my feminist card behind.  I knew that life in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) would be hella different than life in the US, especially for women.  Where I was living in Riyadh, I had easy access to the mall and used Uber as my new BFF.  The one good thing I had to say about my old company, was that they paid "on time".  I can neither confirm nor deny if they paid in full, because I never received any form of pay stub.  I was told this is what you get.  If I asked them to detail, they gave me some line of crap and moved on.  It was a take it or leave it moment almost every month.
     That said, I hated the hours, despised the housing, but I enjoyed the company of most of my co-workers.  I miss nothing about my former life except my friends, Danube, and Tamimi markets.  I do not miss "the life" of working at a language center while living in a crappy apartment.  I will say that it was nice to be able to go to work and take off the abaya, but then I was required to wear a long black skirt and black jacket.  I do NOT miss the skirts, but...
     Ok, back to where I left off.  I headed out at the buttcrack of dawn to the airport.  Again, thank you Becky for the ride!  I corralled my 2 huge bags, my large as they allow it "carry-on", and my "purse".  Every woman reading this knows purses are suddenly huge and heavy when flying!  My first leg was on Delta from O'Hare to New York for a layover, and then NYC to Jeddah, KSA.  I paid $300 for the overweight bags, and was told to talk to Saudi Air when I got to New York.  Ok, fingers still crossed!
     The Delta flight was ok, and I was happy my bags had been checked through to Jeddah.  I did NOT have to do the customs thing at NYC and shuttle my bags across many terminals to get to the international terminal.  So far, so good.  I made my way to the Saudi Air check-in and held my breath.  My first question was, "Am I able to upgrade?"  They quickly told me the flight wasn't even close to full, and if I wanted to pay extra, I could indeed upgrade to business class.  The upgrade would mean I did not have to pay another overweight fee for my luggage.  Fingers crossed, I asked the next question, "How much?"  I actually screamed, "YES!" when they informed me that the cost was only $500.  Because the company had booked the ticket at the last minute, and therefore paid full-price, I was able to get by with what I felt was a nothing fee.  So, total cost, $800, life just got better.  Last glass of Moet before I left and I headed to my cubby!

     After flying business class across an ocean, you are spoiled!  I cannot imagine ever flying coach more then 3 hours again.  Oh well, have to collect my miles!  I was very glad to be able to sleep, or at least lay down for a good part of the trip.  I was able to watch a bunch of recent release movies, so even though there are no movie theaters in Saudi, I get to see movies when I fly!

     I landed about 12:30 pm and was met by someone holding a sign.  He informed me that the gentleman with him was a doctor awaiting the arrival of his family, so I had to chill until they landed about 2pm. No problem!  I actually recharged my Saudi phone, had a latte, and a bite to eat.  I had no problems waiting, and the doctor had the number to call our driver.  So, myself, the doctor, his wife, and 3 children piled into a minivan and headed from Jeddah to Taif.  I guess the ride was about 2 hours, and with the stops for the driver to get something to eat (which he sat down and ate there), and time for the driver to pull over and pray, we arrived on the base at about 5:30pm. 

 This was what we saw on the ride from Jeddah to Taif.

Hard to see, but if you look closely, this is a hooded falcon in the back of this guy's car.

     When I arrived on base, and I am living on a military hospital base, I was taken to the security hut across from the Community Center (OMG will talk about that in a bit).  He called the woman in charge of female housing and I was escorted to my room, right around the corner from where I had landed.  The outsides and halls of the buildings are nothing to look at, so I was a bit apprehensive.  I was told that I would have my own room, and I would share a common area between the two with a roommate.  I have my own private bathroom (WITH A TUB AND A SHOWER CURTAIN ALREADY THERE!), and the common area consists of an actual kitchen, with sink and stove, 2 refrigerators, and a BALCONY!  The couch is the WORST thing I have ever sat on but there is a TV with limited cable.

 Much bigger then it looks.  I believe it is bigger than the place in China.

 SHOWER CURTAIN

 TUB!

Wardrobe

BALCONY!  Although we are East facing so sipping coffee on the balcony in the morning can be brutal.

     By landing on a Thursday, I had the weekend to "orientate" myself and get the lay of the land.  This time, I had water (the gal who delivers for cash arrived shortly after I did), Saudi Riyals (SAR), and an abaya.  My roommate is named Christine and she is from South Africa.  She is about my age, and she is the head nurse in the pediatrics department at the hospital.  She is always cooking, so we have to sort of dance around each other on the weekends.  We both enjoy cooking for the week on the weekend so we can heat and eat the rest of the week.  The convection toaster oven is because our oven doesn't always like to work and has been fixed half a dozen times.  I am in no mood to fight with an oven when I wanna bake...just sayin!

 My room is the door on the left behind the fridge.

This is from behind the counter.  There are 2 burners in the countertop, but they don't work so they brought us an oven.  We can only use 2 burners as the other two are under the countertop.  We have 2 fridges because the freezer works in one and the fridge works better in the other.  Note a pattern here? 

     If you go back to the first picture, I have a tiny twin.  In Riyadh, I had a "single", which is bigger than a twin, but smaller than a full.  I put padding on it and was able to function.  The bed they gave me is wretched. It is hard and lumpy and tiny.  I need something big enough to roll over while I am sleeping, so when I have a massive hot flash, that wakes me up, I can roll over to the cool side of the bed and go right back to sleep.  Hard to go right back to sleep if you roll off the bed or hit the wall.  No problem.  They have an Ikea in Jeddah!  Next post, I promise!

How I Spent My Summer

     When I finally knew I was coming home for a bit between jobs, my sons immediately informed me that they did NOT have a couch.  If I wanted to stay with them, and this was VERY STRONGLY DISCOURAGED, I would have to buy a mattress of some sort and follow their rules.  The thought of staying for an indefinite period of time on an air mattress was not making my old body happy.  When I posted this distressful news, I was immediately offered a room, and a bed, with my friend Becky.  Her and her mother live in a big old house (my favorite kind) in Evanston, and they would welcome the company.  I very quickly said YES!
     Before I left Riyadh, I made sure to book a hotel near the airport in Riyadh so I would not have to worry about making it to the airport on time.  I was of the understanding that the "airport shuttle" was included, but regardless, I would pay anything to leave.  I had paid the equivalent of my "bonus" to upgrade to business class, as I had "just" returned from the US a short time ago and was not up to sitting for another 14 hours.  Also, because I knew I was almost immediately turning around to do it in reverse, the money would be my small "vacation" treat to myself.  WELL WORTH EVERY PENNY TO LAY DOWN FLAT!  Also, because I had paid for business, I was able to spend my 3 hour layover in Istanbul in the business lounge!  I figured it would be a while before I got a bite to eat, so I grabbed a snack and a chardonnay :-)

     I had also booked a hotel for the night I arrived, so as not to have to deal with anyone until my body had adjusted to life back in the good 'ol US of A!  BTW, WTF has this asshat who calls himself the supreme leader been up to while I was gone?  Seriously, what is wrong with that man?  I find myself traveling the world and apologizing for him.  I have to swear I did not vote for him (I voted absentee in Saudi) and promise to work hard to never let this happen again.  I leave the country for one minute and the Cubs win the pennant and Lord Feltersnatch tries to start WWIII.  Don't even get me started on the race riots he has instigated and supported....sorry, hard to watch.  I don't bother trying to watch anything but world news anymore.  I figure the big shit will get reported on the BBC (Las Vegas?!?!)
    So, I stayed with Becky and her mom.  They were the world's best hostesses.  Mom and I had some great conversations and Becky....OMG that woman can cook!  One of the best parts of staying with them, is that the house came complete with CATS!

 This is Mr. Winston. He is a most regal old man.  He is 17 years old and quite the dignified cat.

 This is Niko.  He is a young hellion, and he loves to annoy Mr. Win.  He has the SOFTEST fur of ANY animal I have EVER petted!  He used me for a pillow quite regularly and I did NOT object!  I did not take a picture of Dali dog, as her and I butted heads the whole time I was there...LOL  She has her humans quite well trained and I just wasn't playing that game.

They had installed a bird feeder in the front window, so I could sit by the window with a lap full of fur and watch the birds....squirrel!

     I was able to spend some quality time with my boys as well!  Ian and Mike both picked me up from the airport and we had dinner at Longhorn.  I barely ate and barely finished my cocktail before I knew that all I wanted to do was crawl into a soft bed and sleep til I could sleep no more.

     Mike was quite proud that he was able to buy me dinner one night (a fish meal with the pizza he ordered), and make me dinner one night (He called it "spaghetti", I called it pasta casserole.  Then he made me dessert....hot baked chocolate chip cookies with vanilla ice-cream!  He took me to the BEST Mexican place I have eaten at in ages and had them cook me up some fresh, hot churros.  OMG they were good!  This was what we saw in the gift shop window next door.  Did I mention the neighborhood is predominately Hispanic?

I also did not question the beer on the shelf in the shower...

I did finally get a picture of the third afghan I crocheted for Ian.  The picture does not do it justice, as it is beautiful shades of blue and green!

     As is turned out, it was actually quite fortuitous that Becky had invited me to stay.  She had made plans to attend a concert in Minneapolis and it was comforting to her to know that someone else was in the house in case mom needed anything.  I was happy for the opportunity to cook mom dinner.  Becky is an AMAZING cook and preferred to cook while I happily (except for the day I got my manicure :-) did the dishes.  They have a dishwasher so it was not that hard.  In addition to the concert, both Becky and her mother had tickets to attend the Shakespeare festival in Winston, Canada.  I was happy to spend a great deal of quality time with Win and Niko.  

      Dali dog was NOT happy at their departure and let me know in no uncertain terms that she was unhappy.  Apparently when they have gone before, she has a habit of taking a crap on the white bathroom rug in the large upstairs bathroom.  She also has a horrible habit of eating the cat food if it is left unattended.  When she does this, she gets horrible diarrhea.  So......

This was the second round.  The first round had been cleaned up before I went to bed.  (very heavy sigh).  They have a woman who walks the dog, and I was happy she arrived that morning.  I was worried that there was something wrong with the dog and was freaking out because they had not made a point to give me a number for the vet.  Fortunately, the dog walker was very well versed on all things dog and informed me the problem was the cat food, she would keep an eye on the dog, and I simply needed to add some white rice and plain chicken to the dry food.  She also told me that it was perfectly fine to have Dali sleep outside on the covered porch at night.  The porch I could hose off if need be. :-)

     I was also able to spend some real quality with my friend Holly in her fabu penthouse rental.

     She took me out for "life changing fried chicken", and I have to admit it was pretty damned good! The mac and cheese was amazing, and the peach cobbler for dessert? The long things are fried green beans that were, in fact, life altering...I stuffed myself silly! YOLO

Speaking of food, you KNOW I hit up Portillo's before I left...ok, hit them hard a few times!

 I was also able to fulfill my promise to my dad and check on mom's grave.  I had picked up some flowers at Meier's and planted those.

I had mailed in my passport to the visa processing center in D.C. immediately upon returning home and had it back with the visa in a week.  I immediately contacted the recruiter to inform them that visa was in hand, and I was told the ticket would come.....so I waited.... Two weeks later I received an email from the principal telling me she was excited about my coming.  I told her I had the visa was and waiting on the ticket.  After another week, she contacted me again asking, "Where the heck are you?"  School had started....told her ask the office...  She told me she would take care of it and sure enough, the next day, I had a ticket.  So Monday morning, about 10am, I was informed that I was leaving on a 10 am flight on Wednesday.  Cool.  48 hours to get my shit together to fly out of the country.

     So, I tried to call the airline to upgrade and was told to just check in and deal with it then....great, but in coach I get 20kg in each of 2 bags, and in business class, I get 32kg in each of 2 bags...so, books? underwear? clothes? toothpaste? (I actually seem to have lost that)  I packed the bags at 32kg and figured I would just eat the over baggage fees if I couldn't upgrade.  I set aside $3000 on a credit card to pay for baggage and upgrade.  Fingers crossed, I headed to the airport (Becky gave me a ride) and my next grand adventure!