One of THOSE days!

Did you ever have one of those days?  I mean, a day where you really shouldn't complain, nothing has gone tragically wrong, everyone is healthy and happy, safe and sound, but you still just want to slap someone?!   Well, today was one of those days.

It all really started about 3 weeks ago.  OK,  not about 3 weeks ago, exactly 3 weeks ago.  It all started on January 25.  I received a recorded message from Chase bank.  Of course this call was received in the middle of the night since they are calling from Houston and just can't figure out that nasty time change.  Well, the call informed my..via recorded message ...that my account may have been compromised and they are cancelling my debit card.  The friendly voice on the phone said they would be mailing a new card in 7-10 business days.   Thus began the fun!  I called Chase the next morning and informed them that they could not mail me a new card, that the card needed to be sent via courier (Fed Ex, DHL, UPS) because Dubai does not have home mail delivery.  The friendly man on the other end of the phone informed me he would put all that information in the record and that they would send the card via one of those couriers.  Yea!  So easy! 

Well, as the weeks have gone on I have made 3 more calls to Chase Bank.  I have been trying to track down my new debit card.  During one call, when I asked how the new card was shipped to me, the friendly blond lady on the phone (pretty sure she was blond) told me the card was sent in a white envelope with a window in it!  (See what I mean!) 

I have come to find out through many expensive phone calls that Chase has mailed my card - US mail (evidently in a nice white, window envelope!)   Now, all of us living in the UAE know that this card is now in the great expanse of the desert and will never be seen again. 

My last phone call and written e-mail correspondence instructed me to FAX -- yes FAX -- in a letter asking them to courier a new card.  I have been told that because of all the trouble (who's trouble?), that they can not take an e-mail, it must be a FAX.    OK..I'm getting to today now!

SO, I wrote a lovely letter instructing Chase to ship me a card - any kind of envelope will do, as long as it is sent via an international courier service!   When I took Brian to the doctor today, I saw a little office sign at the gas station.  It said they have e-mail, bill pay, and FAX!  Yea!  This isn't so bad.  I drove over, went inside and was greeted by three lovely young ladies.  "Good Morning, Madam"..three times over!   I gave a wonderful greeting back and told them I needed to send a FAX.  They smiled so sweetly and said their fax machine is broken.  When asked if they knew of another location to send a fax, well, I won't continue, you know the answer.  Away I went! 

Later today as I drove to the gas station to get Wendy's for Brian (yes, I buy lunch at gas stations now), I saw the sign on the shop of the station.  It said 'FAX'.  I was so happy!  I went in, told the man at the counter I needed to send a FAX.  He told me they don't send faxes there.  Since I was standing next to the sign that read "FAX", I questioned him, pointed to the word "FAX" - as if that would help - and said "it says FAX".  He told me they don't have a phone in the gas station and you need a phone for a FAX machine.  Oh...silly me.

So, tonight I went into Kevin's room.  I happened to look at his new printer.  It has a button labeled FAX!  Oh my, I have been driving all over and I have a fax machine in the house.  I moved Kevin's dresser, unplugged the wires from the machine, unplugged the machine from the wall and carried it to my bedroom.  I know that sounds romantic, but that is really just the only place in the house that has a telephone line connected.  I was so happy to have solved my own problem.  I moved my bed, unplugged my phone line from the wall, unplugged my lamp and reconnected Kevin's printer.   YEA!  DONE!!  Then this beeping noise and a message "Printer out of ink. Replace cartridge before you fax something you idiot!"   OK, I am exaggerating just a little here, but I think you get my point - no fax!  

It is 9:50  PM.  I run to the garage, jump in my car and zoom over to Spinney's hoping to find a printer cartridge. I am determined to get this FAX out today.  Well, surprise surprise!  No ink cartridges at Spinneys.  You knew that was how the story was going to end, right!? 

As I get back in my car to drive home, I begin to laugh.  I mean, what else can I do?  I begin my nighttime prayers early.  I thank God for the wonderful day.  I thank him for keeping us all healthy and safe.  I thank him for the opportunity to experience life as an expat.  AND,  I thank him for giving me a sense of humor.  Without it, I'm pretty sure I'd be kicking dogs, growling at kittens, and eating an entire row of mint cookies.

Tomorrow is another day - fax machines of the world...LOOK OUT!             

Happy New Year!

Well I can hardly believe it!  It has happened again this year.   It happened last year and the year before that and will probably happen again next year.  One minute we are putting up the Christmas tree, it is Thanksgiving weekend.  We watch Elf (tradition), then Santa Clause 1, 2, and even 3.  We make out our Christmas list, work on cards and are totally into the holiday season.  Then without warning, it is over!  It is time to send the kids back to school and take down the tree.   How does the month of December go by so fast every single year?  I guess it is just one of those things we had better learn to live with!

This holiday season was wonderful.  It started Thanksgiving weekend when we were able to join the Buck family in hosting some marines and sailors for dinner.  That weekend we also put up our Christmas tree.  I just love that time together putting up the tree.  The kids recall when they were little and I wouldn't let them put on any breakable ornaments.  Now that they are so big (ha!), they can do it all.  Decorating here is very different than when we were living in Texas.  Here, as in Holland, we have one tree as opposed to 7.  There is not a Department 56 village to put up, there is not a Santa Claus collection or a snowman collection.  It is all very simple.  The decorations we have were all purchased in Holland, Germany, Dubai or on our travels.  I did not bring anything from home.  The first year away from Texas, we really missed our things.  Now, we just love our new stuff and recall the vacations where we collected our treasures.

The Tree!

This holiday season was filled with parties.  There was a cookie exchange, two gift exchanges an ornament exchange and a company party.  It was all so festive.  I loved it!  Of course as with every expat adventure, there were highs but also some lows - more on that later.   The high was the opportunity to host 10 sailors from the John C. Stennis for Christmas Eve dinner.  We made two turkeys, a 10 kilo ham, and all the fixins'.  Our dear friends, the Oswalds, joined us for dinner and helped prepare lots of side dishes.  It was truly a feast.   We had purchased lots of fun Dubai items, wrapped them up and had a gift exchange.  What a great day.  The kids just loved meeting this exceptional group of young people.  They had so many questions about what it is like to live on a boat and why would they do it!  Just an incredible experience with new friends made.

Sailors from the John C. Stennis

I do have to add my little low for the holiday.  My dear friend, Emily, and her family moved from Dubai to Singapore.  Emily and I met shortly after we arrived in Dubai.  We became fast friends and made a point to get together once a week for lunch.  Emily's children are quite a bit younger than mine.  She has three beautiful girls and a very handsome young boy.  My Sarah fell in love with the "Bryant babies" and felt as though she finally had little sisters.  She and I were both very sad when they left for their next adventure.  The upside is that the Bryants do call Texas home too.  Actually, their home is about 5K from our house, so we know we'll see them this summer.

Sarah's "sisters"

See you soon, Emily (and Lilly!)

During our winter break we took a trip to Oman.  We stayed at a wonderful resort that was built right in the mountains.  The boys took a diving trip while Sarah and I kept an eye on the sunshine!  The highlight of the trip was our dolphin watching excursion.  We saw hundreds of dolphins!  Just wonderful.  Kevin was thrilled too that he was able to connect with a boy (guy!) that he was friends with when we lived in Holland.

Dolphin Watching

Hotel Tree

The rest of our holiday was spent at home, relaxing, going dune bashing, to the camel races, and normal things like movies and eating at the new Hard Rock Cafe.

Hard Rock Dubai!!!

So now, here we are.  It is 2012.  The countdown has begun for many things.  First, we wait for March 1 to hear about college acceptances (positive thinking) for Kevin.  Then we begin planning our return move home  to the States.  It will be bittersweet, but that is for another day.

Happy New Year to everyone.  May your lives be filled with happiness and love this year and always.

Carol

Giving Thanks

When you are an expat, being away from your family, friends, and church is always hard.  No matter how hard you try, you can't help but miss out on family celebrations; you hear about exciting news after everyone else, and you feel a bit of jealousy when you see pictures of our loved ones actually having fun without us.

Now that is not to say that us expats are sitting in a corner, pining away and wiping our tears.  We make it work. We look for the positives in our new situation.  (Sometimes the positive is difficult to find, but we always do!)  But most importantly, we make new friends and they make up our expat family.  Our expat family is pretty big.  The people who are a part of that family come from all over the world.   Having this new family is pretty much what sustains us so far from 'home'.   

This year our Thanksgiving was spent with 65 expats.  There were people everywhere!  There were four turkeys, one ham (yes, ham!), five huge bowls of stuffing, four massive bowls of potatoes, rolls, squash, green beans, cranberries....oh...so much!  I am full again just thinking about it!!    Our dinnertime stories shared were of  the places we have lived, the vacations we have taken, and the tales of our real families so far away.   It was a wonderful cool evening (around 80) spent dining in a beautiful yard.  We are so thankful to have this family.

The day after Thanksgiving is typically when Sarah and I would head out at 3AM for black Friday shopping.  There were several years where this adventure was shared with Jim's sister, Janet.  We loved this day.  This year as black Friday approached Sarah and I did lots of reminiscing and dreaming of the day we'll get to do it again!  Then we were invited to another Thanksgiving dinner.  We have now found a better way to spend the day after Thanksgiving.


The USS Whidbey was coming into port on the day after Thanksgiving.  The school was contacted and asked if any ASD (American School of Dubai) parents would consider having around 20 marines and sailors over for dinner.  A wonderful friend of mine, Stephanie Buck, didn't hesitate to offer up her house.  She then contacted a few other friends, and dinner number two was created.  We went through the usual planning as the expat dinner.  Stephanie coordinated who would bring the turkey, stuffing, potatoes, etc., etc.   My mind pictured another Thanksgiving dinner.

Around 2 PM a small bus pulled in front of Stephanine's house and a group of young men and women unloaded.  Aside from looking very young (which is really just a reflection of my age), they just looked so happy.  Here were these kids in their early 20's who were just thrilled to be, as one young man put it, "on solid ground for a while".   They went out Stephanie's back door onto the beach.  Some quickly picked up the volleyball, some jumped into the water, and others sat on her wonderful deck and just enjoyed the breeze.  When the food was ready to be served we all shared in Grace.  The Chaplains words made my heart full.   When the guests stepped into the kitchen and saw the remarkable buffet, there were little shouts of "yes!!    Smiles everywhere.

As the day continued we watched these dedicated young people enjoying their downtime.  We talked about their families and their home towns.  He learned they had been on the Whidbey for seven months already and still had another four to go.   When the Dubai hour grew late enough, Stephanie informed everyone that the US was now waking up.  Time to Skype!   Each taking their turn, these young men and women had a chance to call home.  What a valuable gift. 

Towards the end of the evening the Chaplain presented Stephanie and her husband, Mike, with a plaque.  They thanked the Bucks and everyone else who provided food.  Then he asked the guests if they had anything to say.  As I think about it my eyes still fill with tears.  These young kids were so thankful to be welcomed into a home.  They were so thankful for their Thanksgiving dinner, and they were thankful to be apart of our expat family, if only for a few hours.

Today they are gone.  They are out somewhere in their "grey box" floating around.  They are a presence in the waters.   They are there for us.  They are there to keep us safe.    They are giving us something for which we are sincerely thankful.   Sarah and I still do miss the chance to wake up at 3AM and go shopping, but the gift we are receiving from these dedicated men and women is something more valuable than anything we'd find in any store.

HGTV

Being an expat has given us some amazing experiences.  Over the past three years the kids have learned how to ski in the Alps, floated in the Dead Sea in Jordan, and rode segways through the streets of Prague.  They have visited 16+ countries (the number varies because of school and sport trips).  It has all been just amazing.  But I now have another adventure to add to the list.  We are all going to be on TV!

HGTV has begun filming for a new show, Living Abroad.  It is a show that features American expats living in many different parts of the world.  One show will feature Amsterdam, another Paris, yet another Australia.  There are 11 cities in all.  And...Dubai is one of them.

In August, shortly after we returned from our summer vacation, the school newsletter had a short note announcing that HGTV was looking for expat families for their new show.  I filled out the brief application and sent it out along with a few pictures of the kids and the villa.  Towards the end of September I received a note from the HGTV casting director asking me to complete a questionnaire.  It was 8 pages long!!  I e-mailed that back in (all to Colorado) .  A week later on a Thursday night (10 PM), I received an e-mail telling me they wanted to "pitch my family to the network - tomorrow".  They asked for a short video introducing the family.   Because of the time, we were all sitting around in our PJ's watching TV.  I told everyone to get dressed - quick!  We had to make a movie.   Kevin took out his video camera and away we went!  By 11PM we were done, Kevin had sent off the video, and we were back in our PJ's!   The following week we received notice that we had been selected to be on the show!!

So, time to prepare!  Jim and I took some of our pictures we had purchased on our travels to be framed,  I went shopping for a few arab decorations and, of course, a new outfit!  Jim arrived home the day before the shoot and we hung pictures, dusted high places, and tried on clothes.  We were ready!

The HGTV crew along with High Noon Productions and a local crew arrived at our house on Friday, Octobober 25.  They arrived at 8 AM in two vans filled (FILLED) with cameras, lights, sound stuff, make-up, absolutely the works!   We began by showing them around the house.  Every room was shown and talked about.  Then the two producers sat down alone and made the decisions on where and what to film inside of the house.  (editorial:  I don't know if I would have made the same choices, but, hey....I'm not the star yet!)

The took Sarah and I into Brian's room, which by now had been converted into the make-up room.  We both were completely made up and hair done.  For me having eye shadow and liner is a major deal!  I felt like I had on 3" of make-up!   The boys just received a little powder to get rid of their shine!

Next they put the mics on Jim and I.  At this point, we were the only two "wired up".  We then all were asked to be seated on the couch in the TV room and just be casual.  The show host would come in and join us as if just stopping in.  She came in, sat down, and we talked about living in Dubai.  She asked us some very direct questions and then gave the prompt of "let's see the rest of the house!"  We all stood up.  Then we sat down and did it again.  Then we sat down and did it again!  Each time they director would say "looked great, let's do it again!"  They wanted us all in the same places so they could be consistent with the shot while editing.

After the living room scene, they told me they wanted to film my closet and bathroom.  So here is the part where I was pretty surprised.  Having shown them around the whole house, I would not have picked the closet and bathroom as highlights.  The reason they picked the closet was to give me an opportunity to talk about the "red card" I received while shopping in the Dubai Mall last year.  It was a card reminding me to dress conservatively.  The reason they picked the bathroom was to highlight the fact that there are no outlets in the bathroom and that I have an extension cord running from the bedroom, down the hall, and into the bathroom.   (editorial:  they told me to refer to the bathroom as a man's room because of the lack of outlets.  I think this is to add humor to the portion.  In hindsight, I would have preferred just referring to the area as being designed by a man...lack of storage and outlets.  Again....not my show!)

We then went down to the kitchen where they discussed my lack of cooking but my expertise in ordering in!  I had referred to this in my application when I talked about the food delivery options here and how they will deliver one "happy meal" to your house...on a scooter!  This segment was a bit scripted too, but no editorial from me this time!

Now came the hard part (for me).  They sat Jim and I down in the living room on our kitchen stools.  The producer asked us interview questions, told us to look at the camera while answering, and to answer the question with  the question.   I was SO NERVOUS!   The lights, the microphone, the camera, and the people watching just made the butterflies in my stomach go wild!   I kept saying over and over in my head...."sit up, keep your shoulders back, smile, don't giggle, answer nicely,stay positive, keep smiling".   OMG AND OMG!  AND keep your hands in your lap so that you don't touch the microphone tucked down in your shirt!    I so wish I had a do-over for that part.  I don't think my friends and family will be impressed at all with my interview skills!   I am not sure at all what I did say, but have been dwelling on what I did not say.  OK, I'll get over it!

After our interview, we all headed to Ski Dubai.  They wanted to film the kids skiing.  That was a long 2 1/2 hours of standing in the cold and snow for Jim and I, but it was so fun to watch the kids and watch the people watching our kids!  The camera man went down the slopes backwards filming the kids.  Sarah was skiing and the boys snow boarding.  They missed Sarah a few times because she came down so fast.  By the time we spotted her, her run was done!  The boys were not as quick, so they filmed them plenty.  They also filmed them going up in the ski lift.  The camera man sat on the lift in front of the kids and the hostess.  Then they filmed they tubing.   It was SO fun.

From Ski Dubai we headed to a small local grocery store.  None of the grocery stores here would let them take pictures inside except some little market.  I was the only one interviewed inside and was giving the hostess a tour of the Dubai favorites and odds and ends.  We took several shots in there too, all the time smiling and trying to cover it all.

After the grocery store shoot, the hostess and make-up artist left and the rest of us headed back to the house.  The asked Sarah to change into soccer gear and filmed her doing a brief training session with Jim   You will notice she is wearing her Friendswood Mustangs shirt in this segment!  Kind of a plug for our home town and, hopefully, her try-out for the FHS soccer team all in one shot!

They then told us that our kids are the only teenagers filmed in the entire show. I mean from every city.  They then did an interview with the kids like the one that Jim and I had earlier.  They asked them questions and told them to answer the question with the question.  "What food do you miss the most, Kevin?"  Kevin answers "The food I miss the most from the US is baby back ribs.".  See....how clever!  

The filming wrapped up around 6 PM.  It was wild.  It was crazy.  It was so fun!  The show will begin airing in the US in March.  They don't know when the Dubai episode will air, but have told us they'll send us a DVD of the show.

One more editorial:  While the experience was absolutely amazing and I am so glad we did it, there were so many things about living in Dubai that were not covered.   I would have loved to talk about and introduce Maris, our maid.  Tell how much she does, how inexpensive it is for live-in help, and how EVERYONE has a housekeeper.  I would love to talk about driving on Sheik Zayed Road, our 12 lane highway.  How driving here has made me such an aggressive driver.  I would love to talk about what I do at the school .    I am hoping that I was not asked about these things because another family will cover it.  There were 4 families filmed in Dubai. 

We love HGTV.  I now know that they do script many of the comments from people.  I do know they don't always film what you would want, and I do know that they have an amazing group of people working for them.   I can't wait for this to air.  I am so hopeful that everyone will gain a true understanding of life here.  The good, the bad, and the dusty! 

It was such a fun day!  I told the kids it was the best experience EVER!  They asked me if it was "better than the experience of being an expat?"    Another experience I would not change.

 

Dubai Driving

I actually started writing this blog several days ago. Then I hit delete. You see, the message was a little bit negative, and I don't want to write negative things. I want to have fun, be happy, and only see the positive in every experience. That is really hard when you are driving in Dubai!

While I don't like to generalize, it really safe to do so when it comes to driving here. Dubai drivers are pretty horrible. The UAE has one of the highest motor vehicle fatality rates in the world. As a rule, the Emiratis do not wear seat belts nor do they put their children in car seats. Combine this with the fact that they drive incredibly fast, well that spells disaster.

I have seen more crazy things on the roads in Dubai than anywhere else.  I am becoming a bit more obsessed with the driving habits here as Kevin will be starting drivers education by the end of the month.   I now give Kevin commentary as I drive him to and from school daily.  I point out the people that cut me off in traffic.  I am sure to add that I have to know what vehicles are around me at all times in order to know whether to brake, to swerve, or to just pray!    

You probably think this is just a nervous mom talking.  Well, I know that is part of it, but it is also a mom who has seen people back up on the highway whenever they miss their exits; people just stop on the side - even if there is no shoulder - to let workers out or pick people up.  I have seen men run across the highway trying to get across even though the cars are speeding by at 120 kph! And I won't even get started on the "optional" turn signals!

I have seen two major safe driving campaigns here in Dubai over the past year.  The one last spring on posters read "Speeding is a Sin.  Speeders are Sinners."   So, I didn't notice any difference in driving during that campaign.  This fall the campaign is "Save our Sons".  They want people to slow down when going past the all-male schools I guess!  Poor girls!

So, Kevin driving?  I know he'll go through the 5 week training.  I am certain he'll pass the test.  I know Jim and I will take him on early Friday morning driving sessions.  (The roads are completely empty on Friday mornings).   But the real dilemma will be on where I can buy enough bubble wrap to surround him and my vehicle when he actually hits the road.
  

The Storage Locker

Our home in Texas is big, just like every other Texas home. We have lots of storage space, like every other Texas home. Our house has attic space above the 2nd floor, a walk-in attic just off of one of the bedrooms, and several walk-in closets. Along with that, we have a three car garage which allowed for, you guessed it, more storage.

When we moved to Holland we didn't bring any Christmas decorations, Halloween decorations, Easter; well, you get the point. I had so many boxes of holiday decorations in the attic spaces, I decided to not go through them and just put them all in the Nalco provided storage facility. By the way, I have no idea where they are physically being stored, but I am assured it is a nice, temperature controlled space.

In addition to our huge Nalco storage locker, we also rented a space of our own. This space was used for our photo albums, important paperwork, and anything we just might need access to while we were on our adventure abroad. We have visited our 'stuff' each year when we go home. This year we all sat on the very clean floor of our storage locker and looked through photo albums. We need pictures for Kevin's year book.

Our house in Holland had lots of storage too. There was a basement, a walk-in attic space, a garage, and a storage shed. Lots of space to stash all of the new holiday decorations we purchased along with the many items we brought overseas which we did not need.

So, let's jump into the desert. Our house here is a very nice size. While my housekeeper says it is small, it is approximately 4,200 square foot. Just a shack! The problem with the homes here are their lack of storage space. There are no basements, no attics, no linen closets, no under the stair storage, no place to hide our treasures. When we finished unpacking last year we set out to find a nice climate controlled storage locker. Well, we found it! If you have been to a storage locker in Texas, picture it now. OK, now picture the 100% complete opposite! That is my Dubai storage locker.

Our locker is in an industrial area that is just on the edge of nowhere. To access the building you have to go down a narrow sand alleyway. The buildings on either side of the alley appear to be occupied by workers that probably have no where else to go. On Friday, the day off here for all workers, there is laundry hanging in the alley and men just sitting around on overturned paint buckets. It actually looks pretty scary, but that is true of lots of places here.

The locker itself is nothing more than an area that is fenced off from the locker next door. There are no solid walls, not private metal doors, and actually, no real floor! The floor is a metal grate. If you happened to drop something through the floor, it would land in the storage locker below yours! There are big black rat traps all over the place and an elevator that is designed for moving person belongings only - NO PEOPLE. This weekend when we went to the locker, the elevator was hanging by its cable with an "out of order" sign. No kidding!!

So after paying $200 a month for this lovely facility, we decided to bring our stuff home. It took four car loads and lots of sweat, but we now have all of our stuff here. Jim is now parking his car outside and we have some very happy geckos as they now have new places to explore!

I described the locker to Kevin and when he came with me to clean out the unit, he commented that is was much worse than he had imagined. It really isn't that bad....it is just Dubai.

Best First Week of School....EVER!!

Last week the kids started school here. They had a shortened week, but we'll still count it! On Thursday night (our week is Sunday-Thursday) Kevin said that this was the best first week of school ever! Coming from someone who has had first weeks at 6 different schools, that is pretty high praise!

When you attend school in the States, there is nothing really special about the first week. You pretty much see all the same faces, know all the teachers, and really know your way around the place. When you attend a school Internationally, your week is very different. You will see many new faces and many new teachers. The turnover of the student body is typically 10-20% per year.

When we first moved abroad, the kids went to The American School of the Hague (ASH). It was a wonderful school. The week before they started school, ASH had 3 days of orientations, testing, and ice breakers for the new students. They had a wonderful Student Ambassador program that would match a new student up with a returning student. Your first day of classes, you were guaranteed to see a familiar face.

Last year we moved to the American School of Dubai (ASD). This was a very different year for ASD as they moved to a new campus. This move created many challenges for the school. First, the move enabled the school to expand its student population by 400 kids. The returning students felt like their little school had now gotten SO BIG. It was hard to get acquainted with people, spirits were down, and the entire experience just was not very positive.

There also was the challenge of the new campus itself. If this building was in the US, it would never have been opened. Not only were the walls bare, but there were areas of the school blocked off by plywood doors because of the construction and there were construction workers everywhere. It was a mess.

This year we have had a completely different experience. The construction is almost done; yes, we are still waiting on a middle school playground, more artwork, signs that identify where to go, and the completion of a new parking lot and entry gate. BUT...a man named Daniel Mendes decided to make a change. Daniel is the Middle School IT teacher. Last year he and his wife (who just happens to be the Vice Principal of the HS) joined ASD from a school in Moscow.
Daniel witnessed and experienced the frustration of the students and new faculty last year. He decided to try and organize an Orientation Program for ASD. What a difference he has made.

First, on the Sunday before school started all of the new families were invited to the school. They received a wonderful, informative Welcome Packet (put together by the Welcome Committee which I co-chair). They received a tour of the school and an opportunity to buy school supplies and uniforms. It was a great day, but just the tip of the iceberg.

On Monday the school had an all-school assembly. Everyone from our 4 year old K1's to the graduating class of 2012 were there. The assembly began with the Seniors walking the 1st graders into the Field House. Then began the flag procession. ASD has over 60 nationalities represented. The flag from each country was paraded into the building. It was really moving.

The rest of the week was filled with ice breakers and get-to-know-you activities. The grande finale of the week though was the Field Day event on Thursday. In the morning the field house was filled with the High School kids. They had grade level cheer competitions, spirit competitions, and team building (read fun) games. The afternoon was the Field Day event for the Middle School.
Just before the end of the day, but still during the Middle School Field Day, the High School kids walked into the Field House (gym). They appeared to just be wandering around, but suddenly the music changed. Some girls started dancing... then...the entire High School began their Flash Mob! It was awesome! The Middle School kids quickly gathered around them and watched and cheered. They played the music a second time and the High School kids were pulling the Middle School kids into the routine. It was fun, it was crazy, and it was 700 kids dancing and laughing. It just doesn't get any better than this!

I can honestly say that I have never witnessed such a fun event. The kids all left the field house laughing and even dancing. So thank you to ASD...thank you to Daniel Mendes. This was a wonderful way to end our week and start our year. Best first week of school...EVER!