Birshday? Yes. This was what was written on the party balloons at my small group last night. "Birshday." we can only assume they meant "Birthday". Yesterday was a very special birthday for some very important people.
1) Saadam Hussein
2) My dad
3) Me
Yes - yesterday many birthday celebrations were had (and I'm sure they're still continuing somewhere in Houston). I had a good time eating, wearing, playing with, watching and again eating my presents.
I received a lot of great presents from my beautiful bride, but I also received presents from my 10B class at school! "Behind Closed Doors: Stalin, The Nazi's and the West" is now on my bookshelf waiting to be read (actually, its in a pile of books at school that grade 10 students are using in a research project).
I also got a new shirt, some Nutella, Mythbusters dvd's, and another book of which I cant' now remember the title.
Some neighbors came over and we played some games. I beat my 6 year old buddy twice in a row at Uno, and then went on to play her sister in chess. I'm not really sure who taught her to play chess... thought I'm confident they both let me win becaues it was my birthday.
But now the euphoria is over, and I must get back to reality. Today I teach 5 classes in a row. Well, actually, I teach one class and the other four class periods are working on project work. How do you like THEM apples?!
Apr 29, 2009
Apr 26, 2009
The Wonder of Technology
In the 11th grade history class, we are starting our final unit on "current history", or history of the last 20 years. Actually, its more of a unit about theories of how the world and international politics work. (Is it about the clash of civilizations? Or is the world flat? Or are ideologies the greatest catalyst?)
We were talking about technology the other day in class, and the following dawned on me. Below are the following prices for calls:
Call my family FROM Bahrain (using skype): 3 cents/min
Call friends IN Bahrain from my cell in Bahrain: 9 cents/min
Its actually more expensive to call my friends here in Bahrain with my cell phone here in Bahrain than it is to call my family (or friends) in the United States via Skype. Amazing.
In fact, I found out the other day that I can text anywhere in the world for the same price as texting someone in Bahrain. So I've started texting friends and family around the world with Easter greetings.
Why is it so cheap to call the US? Basically it has to do with the technology bubble of the 90's. There was massive investment in internet infrastructure, and profits were rising, spurring more investment. Well, nothing good lasts, and the bubble burst, leaving gigantic amounts of fiber-optic cables with few buyers. Prices fell, and wallah - cheap internet rates today.
And now I can call the US and China for 3 cents a minute.
We were talking about technology the other day in class, and the following dawned on me. Below are the following prices for calls:
Call my family FROM Bahrain (using skype): 3 cents/min
Call friends IN Bahrain from my cell in Bahrain: 9 cents/min
Its actually more expensive to call my friends here in Bahrain with my cell phone here in Bahrain than it is to call my family (or friends) in the United States via Skype. Amazing.
In fact, I found out the other day that I can text anywhere in the world for the same price as texting someone in Bahrain. So I've started texting friends and family around the world with Easter greetings.
Why is it so cheap to call the US? Basically it has to do with the technology bubble of the 90's. There was massive investment in internet infrastructure, and profits were rising, spurring more investment. Well, nothing good lasts, and the bubble burst, leaving gigantic amounts of fiber-optic cables with few buyers. Prices fell, and wallah - cheap internet rates today.
And now I can call the US and China for 3 cents a minute.
Apr 19, 2009
Apr 17, 2009
Post-Break
Its been a while since I've posted, so I'd like to share with all of my dedicated blog followers what has been happening in my life. And Alison's life.
Some of you know that we had our spring break holiday last week. Alison and I decided to take three days and go to the United Arab Emirates. Most people know the UAE for Dubai, but we decided we'd had enough of the city. Instead we headed to the other side of the country to Fujairah. Our intention was to do a day of diving, sit on the beach, and maybe do some exploring of the rugged terrain.
The diving was horrible, unfortunately. A red tide has appeared along the whole eastern coast of the UAE and killed all the fish and coral. It was just rocks in the water. Teh red tide was so thick, in fact, that at some points, I could only see about a foot in front of me. I had to keep my hand on the dive guide so I wouldn't loose him!
But we found other things to do. We explored the area of Fujairah, which has mountains and wadis (valleys in the mountains) and other small places. At the end, we met some friends for lunch in Dubai before flying out. We even got to go to Ikea and alison was able to buy some great stuff for the house! We came back and celebrated easter weekend. We even went to the 5:30am sunrise service at another church on Easter morning!
Now we're back in school - AND LOVING IT! No, really, we do enjoy school and our students. But this is our last stretch. The seniors only have 5 weeks before they are finished for the year, and the rest of the students are done about 3 weeks after that. Only a few more tests to grade and lessons to plan.
It almost seems as if the year is going by faster than we can get things done! Not that we had a particular list, but there always seems to be that "Oh yeah, I meant to do that..." whenever we leave for the summer.
Anyways. I'm sure I'll have something more interesting to say at another time.
Some of you know that we had our spring break holiday last week. Alison and I decided to take three days and go to the United Arab Emirates. Most people know the UAE for Dubai, but we decided we'd had enough of the city. Instead we headed to the other side of the country to Fujairah. Our intention was to do a day of diving, sit on the beach, and maybe do some exploring of the rugged terrain.
The diving was horrible, unfortunately. A red tide has appeared along the whole eastern coast of the UAE and killed all the fish and coral. It was just rocks in the water. Teh red tide was so thick, in fact, that at some points, I could only see about a foot in front of me. I had to keep my hand on the dive guide so I wouldn't loose him!
But we found other things to do. We explored the area of Fujairah, which has mountains and wadis (valleys in the mountains) and other small places. At the end, we met some friends for lunch in Dubai before flying out. We even got to go to Ikea and alison was able to buy some great stuff for the house! We came back and celebrated easter weekend. We even went to the 5:30am sunrise service at another church on Easter morning!
Now we're back in school - AND LOVING IT! No, really, we do enjoy school and our students. But this is our last stretch. The seniors only have 5 weeks before they are finished for the year, and the rest of the students are done about 3 weeks after that. Only a few more tests to grade and lessons to plan.
It almost seems as if the year is going by faster than we can get things done! Not that we had a particular list, but there always seems to be that "Oh yeah, I meant to do that..." whenever we leave for the summer.
Anyways. I'm sure I'll have something more interesting to say at another time.
Apr 2, 2009
Why You Should Click the Links Below
So I'm sure that many of you read my blog posts. Many many of you (for confirmation, see here). However, I have a hypothesis that many people see my posts on facebook. Why does this matter? Why would I bring this up?
Well, if you look at the lower right hand corner of my blog, you will see two things.
(However, someone from Bahrain viewed 45 of my blog posts the other day. Whew! A stalker we have here....)
Well, if you look at the lower right hand corner of my blog, you will see two things.
1) You will see a map with dots all over a world map. Whenever someone goes to my blog site, it records it on the map and the bubbles get bigger. If you only view it on facebook, it doesn't add to the bubble.There is a lesson in all of this: if you are reading this on facebook, click here. It'll make the bubbles grow. If only to humor me.
2) There is a counter at the bottom that counts the number of visitors. Each time you come to my blog, that counter goes up! But not if you visit my blog via facebook...
(However, someone from Bahrain viewed 45 of my blog posts the other day. Whew! A stalker we have here....)
