Bad Blogger...And the Best Summer Ever!

I know.

I'm a bad blogger. I haven't been blogging consistently for a while. No major excuse. I've just had other priorities that kind of super ceded blogging.

But I'm back. Not promising posts everyday, but I will try to post at least once a week.

Now that that's out of the way, on to better things...

My summer was AMAZING. One of my best summers ever.

I started out with a week-long trip to Phuket, Thailand. What I loved best about Phuket were the beaches (cos I'm all about the beaches). Gorgeous! And the people were friendly. Of course, they assumed that, because I was black, that I came from Africa, but I let that slide. It's not like there were many black people there. Every time I passed someone from Thailand, they'd greet me by singing Shakira's song "Waka Waka" which was the song from the Soccer World Cup in...yep, you guessed it. Africa. It got a little tiring, but like I said, I let it slide.

And they loved our skin color. We were given so many compliments about how beautiful our skin was. My friend, who was the darkest of us 3, had the most compliments. The darker your skin, the more beautiful they saw you.

There were many transgendered males. When we walked the strip (with night clubs & bars), we saw transgendered show girls & transgendered prostitutes. Some of them were obviously male, but others totally looked like gorgeous women! The thing that broke my heart, though, was the fact that some of the prostitutes were obviously teen boys. I so wanted to cry seeing that.

Let's see, besides relaxing, we went to a Ping Pong show (don't ask...my eyes will never be the same) and traveled to Phi Phi Islands, where some of the James Bond movies (The Man with the Golden Gun & Tomorrow Never Dies) as well as the movie The Beach (with Leo DiCaprio) were filmed, and went elephant trekking through the forest (AWESOME experience).

Next stop, AMERICA! I sooo missed my family and was happy to be home. I started out in Birmingham, Alabama where my sister attends seminary. I was able to meet (i.e. check out) her friends and see her in her new surroundings. It made me feel better to know my little punkin surrounded by wonderful people who take good care of her.

After Birmingham, sis & I drove home to Houston where I saw the rest of my family. Oh man, it felt good to hug & kiss my people! There's nothing like a family's love, I tell ya. We were only home for a few days before sis & I left for...PUERTO RICO!

OMG, Puerto Rico was AMAZING! The place, the people, the language...beautiful. It certainly lived up to my expectations. Did I mention I'd been waiting to visit PR since I was a SENIOR IN HIGH SCHOOL? That's 18 yrs, people. For 18 years, I'd prayed, planned, re-prayed, re-planned, etc. We'd get close to being able to go, then something always came up to stop us. Not this year. Everything worked out so well that my sis & I felt like we were dreaming. Lol.

But we spent a peaceful & glorious week in San Juan, PR. We didn't do too much; just relaxed and chilled. We did visit Old San Juan and the Bacardi Rum Factory. Next time (and there WILL be a next time), we'll visit with Isla de Vieques, which has bioluminescent bays (with glowing water) you can swim in along with other places we didn't get to visit. By the way, Bacardi Dragonberry...YUM! I'm not a drinker, but this right here? Mixed with fruit punch? Muy delicioso!

Oh and the men...GORGEOUS! And they have the sexy accents too? *fans self*

Anyway, after PR, we went back home, where I spent the rest of my summer vacation with my family. Ahhh, it felt so good to be surrounded by the love of my family and friends. It felt good to go to my home church. It. Felt. Good. I didn't want to leave, but alas, I had to. God isn't finished with me here. I still have work to do.

So, back to Abu Dhabi, I went.

I'll post about the start of the school year later this week. For whatever reason, I'm having a hard time posting my pics, so I'll try again tomorrow.



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I'm a Survivor

Well, I did it.


I survived my first year teaching abroad. It was a challenging year, but through God's strength, I made it. The school year is finally over.


The students' last day of school was officially June 21st, though many stopped coming before then. Unfortunately for teachers, the last day was July 12th. Why the powers that be chose to have that 3-week gap, I don't know, but it was excruciating. At least for me. Many teachers spent the last three weeks doing absolutely nothing. Well except for working out (at school), eating, reading, or chillaxing.


Not us.


Our last few weeks were spent in PDs (professional developments), preparing for the next school year, blah, blah, blah. To be honest, I mentally checked out sometime around week one. I was done working. My body was there, but my mind had already gone on vacation. It was a struggle to get up in the mornings and go to work, but nevertheless, we did. And we're finished. Thank you, JESUS! I'm seriously contemplating getting a shirt that says, "I survived teaching in Abu Dhabi." I have that Destiny's Child song in my head. "I'm a survivor. I'm not gon give up. I'm not gon stop. I'm gon work harder." Describes this year perfectly.


My brain rejects anything school-like, so enough about school.


My vacation will consist of a trip to Phuket (pronounced Poo-ket) Thailand, home (the US), and Puerto Rico. I know, awesome, right???


Tomorrow morning, my friends and I leave for Phuket for a 6-day/5-night vacation. I so can NOT wait. There is fun - and relaxation - to be had. Next week, I leave for home. I can't wait to see my family! Oh, how I miss them so. Then, it's off to San Juan, Puerto Rico with the sis for a 7-day/6-night vacation. Seven days may not be enough, I know but we'll make the best out of the time we have. I can't wait to see the gorgeous men...uh, I mean the gorgeous beaches of Puerto Rico. Heehee. I spend the rest of my vacation back in Houston with the fam before I come back to Abu Dhabi for another great year of teaching.


I'm thinking this summer may turn out to be the best one yet.

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U/V is for...Ultimate Vacation

Yes, I'm cheating. This week has been draining, I had no energy to blog, and now I'm behind. To catch up, I'm putting a few letters together. Mafi mushkila, right? BTW, "mafi mushkila" means "no problem" in Arabic.


On to my post...


This past spring break, I was blessed to be able to visit one of the top countries on my "must visit" list: Morocco. As you can tell from my M post that I LOVED Morocco. But, as much as I loved it, Morocco is not my top place. No, my loves. That honor is held by Puerto Rico. I've never been, so I can't explain why it has such a hold on me. I just know I've always wanted to go since high school. 


My original introduction to Puerto Rico happened during my Senior year of high school. Was it through pictures? No. Was it through history? No. It was through a gorgeous Puerto Rican boy. I can't remember where I met him. I don't even remember his name. All I remember is that fact that he was FINE. Man, that boy was gorgeous! Then along came celebrities like Jon Seda, Ricky Martin (as an adult), and eventually, my crush, Adam Rodriguez, and like that, I knew I had to go to Puerto Rico. So yes. I admit it. I originally wanted to go cos of the gorgeous Puerto Rican men. But eventually, I looked up pics of PR and became even more determined. I mean, come on. You can't tell me this is not beautiful.

Photo courtesy Puerto Rico Vacation Rentals

Or this...

Photo courtesy San Juan Vacations

Paradise, no?


So, you're probably wondering what does this have to do with Abu Dhabi? Well, it's cos of my job here in Abu Dhabi and the good money it pays, that I can finally say after 18 years (Eep! I've been out of high school that long?) I AM GOING TO PUERTO RICO! Yep. That's right. This August, I will spend a blessed week - or week and a half - on the beautiful beaches of San Juan, Puerto Rico. Resting, relaxing, flirting, dancing, enjoying the wonderful view of gorgeous Puerto Rican men beaches, surrounded by beautiful cabana boys water, listening to the soothing sounds of sexy men telling me how beautiful I am and how much they love me the waves crashing. Heehee. This, my friends, is my ultimate vacation!


And now for some Arabic vocabulary...
up: foak (fōk)
vegetables: khudra (khoodra...kh sound from the throat, as if you were about to spit)

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