Saying Good-Bye is Never Easy

This is a Brazilian couple whom we have gotten to be very close to. They are leaving today, to go back to Brazil for the summer.

This is an Iraqi family who came here 4-5 years ago. I have gotten very close to the ladies of this family. (In particular the little one I am holding.) They are relocating and will not be returning to Egypt.

This young man has been a friend of both of my sons and my husband's student for the last 6 years. He is graduating and going on to University in the States.

This is one of my very special KG-2 students. She is Brazilian (the daughter of the Brazilian couple above).

This time of the year is always a time of many emotions. The end of the school year is quickly approaching, so there is excitement, joy, and happiness. Also, though, there is sadness, because the end of the school year, and the approach of summer, means having to say good-bye.

As a person living on a foreign field, there are always people coming in and out of your life. This is something that can be particularly hard on your kids. I know my kids have personally experienced this way more than they would have liked. Every end of the school year means there are probably friends who are leaving for the summer, for a year, or maybe even forever.

Our kids are not the only ones who have experienced this though. We have been very fortunate to have our kids in a wonderful American school. Through this experience, we have met some wonderful people from all over the world, and as I said before, each year we have to say good-bye to some.

Yesterday, we saw some of our friends that are leaving Egypt: some for just a short time, but some forever. Yes, this can be a very hard thing to do, year after year, but then again, I thank God for bringing all of these people into my life, even if it is for just a short time. I have been so richly blessed with friendships that will last forever.

Several Reasons I Miss the States

I love kids, and I really love all of these little girls. They are just several little reasons I miss the States when I am overseas. The one I am holding, and the one behind me in the turquoise t-shirt are my nieces. The rest of them are my sister's best friend's little girls. Aren't they all sweet? They are sweet to look at anyway. They can be a bit of a hand-full and a bit mischevious when they are all together, but I miss them anyway.

If you notice, they are all wearing "Egypt" t-shirts. Even the baby, who is only 3 months old is wearing one.

I really hate missing out on their lives as they grow up, but most of them are at an age now where they pretty much remember me. I'm just happy about that, and I'm also happy that when I do return, I get so many hugs.

Feeling Old

Back when she was my flower girl.
In the hospital after having her 2nd baby.

Yesterday, I went and visited a friend in the hospital. I hadn't seen her in a long time. She was in the hospital after having a baby. This is her second child. What does this have to do with me feeling old? Well, this particular friend just happened to be the flower girl at my wedding.

I can't believe the cute little, 4 year old girl that was my flower girl is all grown up, married, and now has 2 kids. Just doesn't seem like that much time has gone by since Tim and I were married.

If you ask me, she's still cute, and I'm so happy for her and her husband who seem so happily married and seem like they really love being parents.

Levi and his Friends

My son Levi is 14 years old, soon to be 15. One of the nice things about living in another country is having friends that are in the same situation as you are. There is a term used to describe these kids that were born in one country, left that country, and are living in another country. That term is "Third Culture Kids". This term refers to someone who [as a child] has spent a significant period of time in one or more culture(s) other than his or her own, thus integrating elements of those cultures and their own birth culture, into a third culture". Because of living in a foreign country, sometimes these kids do not feel like they totally fit into the culture they were born in, or into the one the are now living in. So, it really helps when you are surrounded with friends that understand this.

Levi is involved in a youth group from a church here in Egypt where there are lots of TCKs. He has friends from all over the world that are involved in this group. There are of course Egyptians in this group too, but most of them have lived abroad in places such as America, Australia, and Europe, so they are considered TCKs as well. Other nationalities from Levi's circle of friends include Brazilians, Koreans, Germans, and Canadians, just to mention a few. These kids go through all kinds of struggles, but I think in the end, they realize they are very blessed to have been able to meet people they ordinarily would never have met and experience things that most people in the world do not get the chance to experience.

Today, Levi's youth group had a scavenger hunt out in the area we live in. For those of you who do not know what that is, I will explain what they had to do. They divided into 3 groups. Each group was given a list of things they had to accomplish, then they set about on their "hunt" to accomplish them. They had to go to different areas of our small suburb to do these things. One of the things they had to do was come by our apartment and one of them had to volunteer to do an assigned "task". The task was that this person had to put 12 pieces of bubblegum in their mouth and chew it till it was ready to blow a bubble, and then blow a bubble. I don't know what their other assigned tasks were, but I do know that this group of teenagers were having a great time together. It makes me feel good to know that Levi has so many friends, and that all of these friends are in the same predicament as Levi. When he grows up, what wonderful memories he will have of his childhood, growing up in a foreign land, and he will probably have friends all over the world.