Spring is here!

The weather is always nice here, but it's starting to warm up some and is really feeling like spring! We've been spending a lot of our time working on language this week, and resting from the busy basketball times.



BEFORE
Okay, so I knew I needed my haircut... but seriously, I REALLY needed a haircut. It's been since July, and I was nervous to get my hair cut here, and it got out of control. I was told that even if you can communicate what you want, they will still cut it as they like! Yikes! Well, it wasn't so bad, and I was happy with the outcome!


AFTER


I took a short trip to another city this weekend with some ladies. I thought these men looked so cute sitting on the steps of the mosque.


One of the king's palace's. This part of the city is kept nice and clean for when the king comes!


This is one of the leather tanneries in the old city. This job beats all other "dirtiest jobs." These hard-working men spend their days in the HOT sun knee high in pigeon dung as they work the skin to make beautiful leather. The smell is so strong that the shop owners give tourists fresh mint leaves to sniff as we view the work. It was in the mid 90's while we were there, I can't imagine what its like to work there in the summer!


Doors are a huge symbol of this city.


Beautiful landscape


These men spend their days dying material that is used for curtains, blankets, etc. We spent about 3 hours walking through this old city, which consists of little shops and narrow streets.

Our busiest time yet!

It's been a crazy, but GREAT last two weeks! I've just now been able to sit down and update our blog. Lately, we have been doing a lot of basketball. Some coaches came in from the States, and we had a great time working with kids and coaches.


During the week, we went to a nearby city and toured through some ancient ruins - it was beautiful!

Basketball Pictures:





Real Roman Ruins!



We also experienced some of the wonderful hospitality here - they fed us SO MUCH food!

Happy Easter!

Its been a fun week. We had a nice holiday, and have enjoyed spending lots of time with our friends. We are getting ready for another team of coaches to come next week. Hope you all are doing well!


More cooking! This time I actually worked, and I think I will try msimmin (delicious pastry type thing) on my own next time!


There were 5 ladies helping me - I would say this is about the limit to the number of women you should have in a kitchen! Especially when they all have their own ideas:)


They insisted on me playing the guitar, but were highly disappointed when I didn't know "Hotel California" and the Celine Deon Titanic song. HA!


My new friend... she runs with me!!

Some more pictures from our trip to another city:

Pass, Shoot, Dribble!

It has been a SUPER busy week of basketball, but we enjoyed every minute of it! 7 coaches joined us from the States, and we did 3 basketball camps. Two in our city, and one in a city east of here.


The first basketball camp. This particular camp was in a poor neighborhood, and the community was so receptive to us being there, it was GREAT!







We ate SO much food! It was all delicious.


We also went to another city for a basketball camp. There were mountains there!!!! (Can you tell I miss mountains!?)


FANCY!


In one night, we had bastilla (pastry dish with chicken), a lamb, 5 chickens, fruit and dessert with tea! It was probably one of the biggest meals I have ever eaten.


Still hungry?


More basketball!

Beautiful Weather!

Hello family and friends! It has been a gorgeous week here. The weather has been perfect. We watched the sunset on the beach one night, and it was fabulous. Enjoy these pictures of our great city! We love you all!

SO BEAUTIFUL!


A "shanty" town on the coast. Not exactly what we think of as "beach front" property, but these people make their homes out of metal scraps. However, they still have satellite TV!

This is the park that I run in frequently. It's such a blessing to have it within walking distance from our apartment! The gardener's do a great job keeping it clean and green.

Its been 4 months!

It's hard to believe, but we have already been here for 4 months! Its been a great 4 months. I am posting some current pictures and some from the past. We had a great week, and went to TGI Fridays! It was a good American experience. I will post those pictures soon. Hope you all are doing well!

I did some more cooking this week. We had a great time, and made a beef and prune tagine. This is my favorite tagine - its SO yummy!!

And its served...

Another rug in our living room, Karl picked it out!

One of our first basketball events:


A beautiful picture of a nearby city: