Lately in GBA...

Well.... It was just another day around Christmas time when Little Old Miss Emma (Oh she of the great ideas) decided it would be a good idea to plan a whole school 'Health Week'.... being that healthy lifestyle choices are not the kind usually made in this part of the world!! Anyway, everyone agreed it would be a positive learning experience...So I planned, and I planned and I planned... And in all honesty it went well!! we learnt about Terry Fox, we learnt about keeping our bodies happy and healthy... we learnt about healthy food and drinks, and on the whole had a good time!! Here are some of the things we did:

We lerned how to make juice...

We trained very hard for sports day...

Although Mr Terry and Miss Emma seemed to be pratising for the 'special olympics'...

Look Mama... I'm a winner!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sports Day came and went...and this is my first ever trophy.....Ok ok, it's not mine, it was the winner's cup from the parents race - I was just carrying it to the car....although it did feel good to hold it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Christmas in Kuwait!!!!

So it was Christmas day, it was Kuwait... and it was absoloutely pouring down with rin (so at least something felt like home!!), there was a flat, there was a Christmas Pudding and... not the recipe for any normal holiday!!! This is how it went...

This is the closest I got to a kiss under the mistletoe....

Here's a sample of us after our dinner of bbq lamb and chips (I kid you not!!!)...
Christmas is a big thing here in Kuwait!!!!


Well, not that big.....


Oh how I miss my family... if only I had an ice cream to cheer me up...


Oh look at that... there is a GOD!!! See....greedy Emma wherever I am!!!!

How I spent my 27th birthday - I woke up to this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Can you believe that getting older is a reason to celebrate out here???? This was brought in to school for me by the parent of one of my students - they really do make a big effort to make you feel at home!!!!

I thought it'd be strange as it was my first year away from family, but everyone made a huge effort to make me feel at home, I had so many presents from friends, students and teachers that I really didn't know what to do with myself!!!! All in all, a good year!!!

Meet the flatmates..... There's me (obviously - the brunette one in case you've forgotten), Lisa the ginger Irish one, and Brette the blonde Canadian, we're quite a bunch, young, sometimes dumb, but usually having lots of FUN!!!!



And they say there's no partying.....







Quad biking in the desert... This is the day we decided it was time to see some of 'rural'Kuwait, ha ha ha.... We went quad biking (and thank you for the comments but I will take this very public opportunity to defend myself against the accusations of being a Welsh 'Miss Daisy'and say SLOW CAN BE FUN TOO!!), we went to see the Iraq border (don't even ask why) and just generally had a good old time!!!!

A peek into life here...

So you want to see what life is like out here, and what we do for fun.... here you go!!!
This is the Kuwait Nomads RFC playing at home - check out the pitch, sandy eh??!!

My new motor!!!!

Meet the neighbours!!!!!

Just a regular Friday night out.......


Only kidding......This is actually the Kuwait that I see.......



These are the parts that make me HAPPY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!





This is the view from my living room at sunset.....So you see its not all doom and gloom!!!

I converted!!!!!!!!! Ha ha only joking... This is me just a couple of weeks into my contract, thought it'd be a good photo to scare the wits out of you dad!!!!!!

So believe it or not this is me, here in 'sunny old Kuwait' just a couple of weeks ago. When I first came out here in August I was inundated with people asking how I was adjusting to the temperature...the honest answer was 'with extreme difficulty'as it was somewhere in the 50s and it it is such a dry heat, at times even breathing felt uncomfortable (see it's always the same with us Brits, we moan if it's cold, we moan if it's hot...you just cannot please us!!!).

I was told by the locals however, that come December I would experience the opposite... that it would be very cold (yeah ok, honestly I believe you!!), and, not only would it feel cold, but I'd feel it right through to my bones....I scoffed, ALOT!!! But I now have to stand corrected and tell you, they were right.....Good God I have never seen such extremes....Out here it rarely rains, but when it does it pours for days on end (and the roads have no drainage - FUN)....It isný cold for long, but good GOD when it's cold it's BLOODY COLD, hence the scarf and 3 layers of clothing (not counting the coat)!!! but hey, it's all fun right??!!!