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Happy Late Valentine's Day and Happy Early Saint Patrick's Day Everybody.  I started thinking the other say that it's been almost six months since I've arrived here in my new home.  It's amazing how quickly time flies here but looking back how long it seems to last as well.  We've been telling stories in language the other day and while I still have serious problems with verb conjugation, I can still manage to tell about Goldilocks and the three bears (or the girl with golden locks and the bears three as it is translated here).  I got back from vacation last month and while it didn't seem to last as long as I would have liked it was still a much needed break from work and school.  We got to see the tallest building in the world and eat at all our favorite restaurants while on vacation.  We also got to hang out at the pool (which is an awesome thing to do in January), go the movies (we saw Les Miserables), get massages, and just relax. 
Speaking of school I have about three weeks left before I am done with official classes.  It doesn't even seem real though and there are still some days I get so confused with language but overall it is good. 
We've been taking different trips around the city to look at different place and two weeks ago we went to a palace in our city.  The pictures below are of the palace (as you can see it's seen better days but is still gorgeous).  We also ate street food (which we've been doing lately but still is always an adventure).
The weather here lately has been amazing and my roommate and I have begun opening up our windows and only lighting our heater at night.  We've been told spring is about to start which if that's true I will be so glad, but I'm also cautious about getting too excited because we were told spring was close then it snowed like two and half weeks ago.
It always amazes me at how much western things I can see here, not western like cowboys but western like America.  The other day we were at the market and heard Taylor Swift music playing and saw a poster with her picture.  We can also see posters with people like Orlando Bloom and George Clooney outside of the local barbershops.  My favorite thing would have to be the Starbucks logo, McDonald's Big-Mac picture, and KFC emblem that are outside of Kabob shops and street vendors' stalls.  Although my favorite food story happened one day coming back from school when my roommate and I stopped and got fish at a local vendor (which was kind of a risk because we are a landlocked country and you never know how long the fish has been sitting there).  So anyways we stop and get fish and our driver gets out of the car goes to the street vendor and comes back with a whole dead fish asking my roommate if this is an acceptable fish.  She says sure and they then proceed to cook it and then we take our bag of deep fried fish home for lunch.  What we didn't know is that the fish was still whole head, tail and all.  They had only cut it in half and deep fried it, and we didn't realize this until we had taken it out of the bag.  Needless to say it was an experience (pictures included below).
Oh I mentioned we had snow a few weeks ago.  Well since it was hopefully the last snow we'll have we made local snow-women.  Mine had the brown head scarf and is the one in the picture that looks like ET.  Well I'll write more later.  And I do realize I need to get better about keeping these up to date and am working on writing more often.  All for now.  Enjoy the picture.

Pick Your Favorite Part

Fish for Lunch

Local Snow Women

Ever heard the expression time flies when you're having fun?  Well I'm here to tell you time also flies when you are learning to speak a new language, adjusting to a new culture, mastering a new job, and meeting new people.  That being said I also know that's no excuse for not updating this blog in over a month.  So without further introduction here is my update. 
Christmas was an experience for more than one reason.  As most of you know it was my first Christmas I've ever spent away from my parents.  However, I did get to talk to them for a little while which was of course an awesome present.  Even though I didn't get to spend it with my family back in the states I did get to spend it with my family here.  It's amazing to see how people who you've meet only months ago can become close to you and act as surrogate family while you're in a far away place.  And even though it wasn't the same as waking up on Christmas day with my parents and family back in the states, it was still an experience here.  We had a traditional BBQ Chicken lunch and played games all afternoon.  Then later that night my roommate and I went to our friends house were we played games and had an amazing time just hanging out.  I have recently learned to play a few new card games and a board game called Settlers of Catan, and man am I hooked on that game.  I highly recommend it to anyone who loves board games. 
New Year's Eve we had a small party to ring in the New Year.  Again we played more card games.  Another game we played which is slowly becoming my favorite is called In A Pickle, but I only recommend this game for people who can argue a point even if it's illogical (obviously you can see why I love this game......arguing a point that might not make sense; that so says Jessie). 
Language is going fairly good.  I caught myself thinking about how far I've come in the brief four months I've been here and it's so amazing to see the progress I've made.  When I first got here I could barely say hello and now I am having conversations about my day and telling stories from back in the states.  There's a good chance most of you have unknowingly been included in a story I've told in class.  Scary thought huh?  I can't wait to see how much more I will learn in the remaining two months we have left of language and then not to mention what language I will pick up outside of class over the next few years just living here.  I don't know if I ever mentioned that I have a local name.  If I have sorry here it is again, if I haven't then hey I have a local name.  Please keep in mind the spellings may be completely wrong because there are various ways to spell them.  Anyways, when I first got here the name Marsal (which means flower) was given to me.  However, some of the local staff thought it was too far from Jessie to be able to remember, so some of the staff decided my name should be Jamilah (which means patience).  How fitting my name should be patience when as most of you know, that is a trait I am sometimes lacking.  However, I have come to think of it as a good daily reminder of something I strive to have even in the most difficult situations from my inmost being; making it a very lovely name after all.  
I've heard from people back in the States that some of them have had snow recently, well I would be more than glad to share some of ours with those of you haven't had any.  Although I must request that you not get it from the mountains, because whenever it snows the mountains look gorgeous.  We've had quite a bit of snow recently and it's always nice when it snows on the weekends because then we don't have to go anywhere and we can just stay inside watching the snow fall while drinking hot cocoa. 




I mentioned telling stories in class.  Well I've also meet a few new people here and they are always interested in hearing my story, which is always great when I get to tell people about my family and friends.  I have also begun to tell stories about my life at waterville which is so exciting.  There's so much more I could say in this blog I'm sure but I will keep this one short and I certainly won't wait so long to update it from now on.  Oh hope you all enjoy the pictures from life over here.

Me and My Christmas Tree

The mountains after our first snowfall.  Now all of them are
covered white and oh so gorgeous.

The guys at our office putting up our pipe to our heaters.
No fear of heights.

Well I know it's been long since I've written but man has it been crazy here.  We had a great Thanksgiving celebration here and I even got to watch my first turkey be prepared; which was interesting to say the least.  My roommate and I also put up our Christmas tree the other day (lights, ribbons, ornaments, tree skirt and the rest - all of which we got at the market).  After we put up the tree we then watched Elf (my holiday tradition) and then A Muppet Christmas Carol (my roommates holiday traditions).  It feels weird that Christmas is almost here and I can't wait to start baking Christmas cookies and maybe even some bread.
So there is now a new addition to our family here.  My roommate and I have adopted a little kitten that we found in our farm a month ago.  We were going to name it The Dread Pirate Roberts but then we found out it was a girl so we changed the name to The Dread Pirate Roberta aka Little Bit.  She is the cutest thing and we decided to keep her inside with us.
It snowed the other day and even though it didn't stick it made me feel like winter really is on it's way.  We've had a lot of challenges here lately but it's still been good being here.  We met some new people the other day and had some interesting conversations about this month's special events and celebrations; it was amazing to have that discussion.  My language is coming a bit better but it's still hard sometimes to find the right word.
I know have a few more things to add to my list of things I never thought I'd do.  One is wash my clothes by hand in a bucket then dry them on a rack because our washer is broken.  The washer is broken here so we wash them by hand then put them in the washer to rinse and spin (because our washer will do that much which honestly makes me laugh).  Our power has also been out here lately so now we only have power for about three hours everyday (which I heard is normal here sometimes - so I'm glad that we have had this much time with full power).  I think I can now say that I am fully living in a different culture :)

We have had a lot of fun here going to the bazaar, hanging with friends, and meeting new people.  Well that's all for now more to come with more pictures coming soon.

I realized the other day it has been a long time since I posted any new blogs.  It’s hard to believe that November is half way over and this year will soon end within a little over a month.  It’s been a crazy yet exciting year and while I’m fairly certain that at the beginning of the year if you’d told me I’d be living here I would have laughed.  But even through all the ups and downs that have brought me here I wouldn’t change it for the world.
With Thanksgiving soon approaching it made me realize how different my holidays are going to be for the next couple of years and how much I’m going to miss the crazy traditions I had back home; like waking up at 3am to go shopping or watching Elf the day after thanksgiving, but I’m excited to begin new traditions here and then take them back with me.
This month has been fun and full of new experiences.  Remember that list from the previous blogs?  Well add watching a live turkey get prepared for Thanksgiving and dance at a Tatooine wedding to the list.  I don’t know if I mentioned it the other blog but I went to the women’s salon type thing the other day and got an amazing pedicure and my first ever facial (it was so relaxing…..add those to the list too; I never thought I’d get those done once I left home).  I’ve included some pictures in this blog (hopefully they show up correctly). The one of my hand is from an Eid visit we went on a couple weeks ago.  The girls did henna for our hands and I got my first ever real henna on my hand.  It’s a local tradition here to do henna for holidays, weddings, or really any special occasion.  Speaking of weddings, the other picture is of me in my wedding outfit for the wedding I went to.  While I was there my roommate and I, along with a few other friends, were actually taken to the dance floor and we danced for the first time at a wedding here in Tatooine and it was so much fun.  I also got another henna design for my hand while I was there.  At weddings the family walks around with henna and they put dots in the middle of the hands of the single girls ( supposedly it means you will be married within a year; so I’m not sure how that will play into my life personally J but it was fun to get it done none the less). 
Tomorrow I officially graduate from the first month of language and then I begin the second part where I begin to talk a lot more.  Language has been hard but I feel like I’m learning a lot and I’m trying to remember it won’t all come at once (but you guys probably know how I am with patience).
Well that’s all for now; as always there’s more to come (and next time I won’t wait as long to post).

Today is my weekend and it's been a great day.  My roommate and I decided to have a relaxation day, so we went to a women's center and I got a facial and a pedicure, while she got a pedicure and manicure.  After our relaxing morning we came home and since today is Thursday we had our traditional chicken tenders and french fries Thursday lunch (very cultural......not, but still delicious and our staff loves it).  Last week we went on Eid visits to people's home and while at one of our friend's house her daughter drew henna on mine and my roommates hands for the Eid holiday.  It's funny I went from carving pumpkins, decorating trees, and hiding eggs for holidays to drawing henna on my hands for holidays.  My roommate and I did find some holiday movies we can watch as we put up the tree that was left for us to use this December.  We're already making plans for combining old holiday traditions with new ones as well.  For example watching Elf the day after Thanksgiving (and maybe even making a trip to the market even though there won't be crazy sales or people) then putting up our tree, and watching Ralphie in Christmas Story billions of times and baking peppermint cookies and peanut butter kiss cookies. 
This morning as we drove into town there was snow on the mountains and it made me realize winter is on it's way and I can't wait to make a snowman and snow cream.  My roommate has never lived in a place with snow so it's going to be fun to introduce her to all the joys of snow.  We both realized the other morning that this Saturday will mark one month we've been in Tatooine. Strangely enough it seems longer since we've been here, but in a good way.
I don't know if we mentioned before but we have turkeys in our garden area and the male doesn't like me and my roommate for some reason so every morning he tries to chase us.  I don't know about you but a huge turkey chasing me with a beak and claws on its feet scares me to death.  Our gate guard always comes and saves us from it and then laughs while we run away.  It's been a great week and while I wasn't feeling good earlier this week and I am feeling better and am excited about all this week has in store.  Well more to come soon.

It’s been almost three weeks since I moved to Tatooine (wow that’s a weird sentence to say – it’s hard to believe that I moved here and this is my new home for the next few years but it is and I’m not looking back).  It’s been great getting everything settled and getting into a routine; I still have days where I come home exhausted and just want to curl up and watch movies with my roommate but I still love living here.  Over the past two days I went to orientation for language and culture and got to learn some culture tips, eat national food, and get more familiar with the country.  I’m still learning about the culture and so far I have made a few small cultural blunders but fortunately the people have been very gracious about it. I love the language and even though it makes my heard hurt some days and I still get some words mixed up I love learning it and look forward to going to class every day.  My classmates are great and we have all meshed well and are experts at laughing at our own mistakes as well as making one another smile when we mess up.  Our classes are five days a week and last for four hours and each day I learn new words and look for ways to apply them (correctly – because I have used them incorrectly which also makes for some interesting conversations). 
The other day we went to a French restaurant and I had a Thai salad – oh the joy of multicultural cities.  I also went to the market today and got some fabric and “bling” to make some authentic Tatooine clothing.  It’s amazing how quickly things become normal here that would otherwise be considered out of the ordinary in other places – for examples look back to the previous blog at my list.  There was snow on the mountains the other day and I am getting so excited about the idea that I’ll get to see snow again soon when it begins to fall.  I may even try to make a snowman or some snow cream once it falls.
One of the greatest little surprises my roommate and I have are when we go to the market and we see products (even if they are sometimes expired or a bit expensive in this country standpoint) that are from back home.  My new favorite things are pop tarts (man do I love those things for breakfast) and Nutella – my roommate and I are always keeping our eyes open for those two things in the market because they remind us of home and usually aren’t that expensive and act as a nice “home” treat after a long day.
My roommate is amazing and we have slowly begun to learn each other’s routines, likes, dislikes, and quirks.  I’m really glad that it worked out that we knew each other a bit before coming here and so far we’ve hit it off great – even though we are complete opposites on some aspects of the spectrum of personalities.  Well I think that’s all for now but as always more to come.  Thinking of home and am so glad I know I’m loved and in peoples’ minds daily.

Well week one is done and over with now.  The night before last we made smores or as I called them "chewies" because the marshmallows were a bit old and chewie even when we roasted them.  Last night we had grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup (it was one of the best meal we've had since we've been here and the comfort meal was much needed).  After dinner we had lemon and chocolate pie and it was so good to have that comfort food after a long week. So over the course of the last week I've been working on a list of thing that I never thought I would do and then I moved here.  Not that they're bad things but I just never thought I would do them.  So here are the things on my list:

1. Eat stale expired cereal for breakfast because most of the dried canned products are expired here
2. Throw away toilet paper instead of flushing
3. Filter all my water before I use
4. Ride with ten people in a car
5. Make smores in Tatooine
6. Learn another language and try to speak fluently
7. Burn wood to keep warm at night
8. Use gas to cook all meals
9. Drink tea at almost every day
10. Dry clothes inside my house because there are no dryers

I'm sure I'll have more to add to this list later on but for now that's it.  So today we went to meet some new people and it reminded me of when I went to hang with some friends from H2O-ville.  It was great to meet new people.  Hopefully we will go to the market later this week and get local clothes made and do some local grocery shopping.  Well that's all for now; more to come later.