Random thoughts...

Well it is time for a bit of a ramble I think. It has been a long time since I have done one so here goes. I have no idea where I want to go in the next 5 years... I know that most of us do not know what their 5 year plans is...but we are talking about me here so please if you have advise fire away. I have done the normal things like written down what I want in life, where I would see myself in 5-10-15 yrs. It is a bit of a blurry picture to tell the truth. Anyway, my thoughts have been interuppted in the last hour with meetings and such, I will get back to it now.



I like Dubai, I really do...the traffic not so much. It is a great city with a lot of things to offer a person in my situation. My situation if you wondering is that a single gainfully employed male, expat. I have had more reffing opportunities in rugby then I ever thought possible. I am very thankful for that. I have met some of the most amazing people that are driven, determined and have a desire (sorry for the aliteration) for life and exploring that rubs off on me. I have heard life stories that have been both inspirational and devestating to me. My only (well I am sure I can think of more) gripe in life at the moment is that I feel that I am floating with little direction. I do know I am the only one who can provide it for myself too.



I have been told that the early 30s for most men is a panic state, either they have committed to a life they are not happy with or have felt (as I am) that they wonder when the grown up in them will take over. I know that I am much more mature then I was in my 20s. I can sustain myself in life, I have a great job and some friends I can call on when I need a beer or to figure out the cosmos of life. I guess at times in life we have to think what we need in our lives and whom we need. I definatly think that has been happening for me for the last little while. I look forward to the day i sort it all out...ha ha.

Well I am going to go on living life and trying to sort it all out, I need to focus a little more on what will make me happy in life and where I want to be, I do believe that where I need to be in near family, I am grateful for this amazing experience but family is important to me and I need to keep them close. I not sure when I will be coming home, but I do think it will be in the next few years, lets see if that plays out or not...

Curtis

Funny kids

Well I have not really talked to much about the funny stuff that happens in my classroom. Well for those whom have been waiting for said subject with a Dubai flair....here goes.

Me: "Class today we are talking about and drawing idioms"

Class: silence....

Me: "Does anyone know what an idiom is?"

Class: silence....

Me: "How about I say a few and see if you have heard them before"

Class: "That would be a good idea Mr. Hegge"

Me: "it is raining cats and dogs..."

Class: "Yea we have heard that before, what does it mean?"

Me: "It means it is raining really hard, that water drops are so big it is like cats and dogs..."

Class: "ha ha ha, that is funny"

Me: "here is another, your eyes are bigger than your stomach..."

Girl in my class: "not my mom, she had a tummy tuck and now her stomach is the size of her thumb cause my dad says she got too fat after having kids......"

Me:"Ummm......ok but most people have a bigger stomach than their eyes.....moving on..."

kids do say the darnedest things....

have a good week all...

Mixed bag of info

Well, this blog like most comes with information that may or may not be interesting but I have found it to be helpful in getting down on paper. (or the web) The good news first is that I have been appointed to referee at the Bangkok 7s in Thailand at the end of the month. I am very excited for that. I would love to be in better shape for it but I do feel that I am in alright shape and should not embarrass myself too much. It is a free trip to Bangkok for 5 days altogether, well not free I do have to run around on a rugby pitch for a few days and help out where I can too. So I will keep everyone up to date on that fun event in the next few weeks!

I have sat down last night and talked to a job recruiter for search associates to decide what my next 2-5 years will look like. It was a very strange conversation to talk about working somewhere else next year when we have barely started this year, international teaching defiantly teaches you about planning. It is different feeling for me...planning. anyway so in the next 6-10 weeks I have to make a decision, to stay here, go to another school in Dubai or elsewhere or come home. This is not an easy one. I will keep you posted on what happens.

well, I do have more stuff I could talk about, I hope everyone has a fantastic Thanksgiving! I would love to be with my family on Sunday and Monday but we will be having our thanksgiving here in Dubai with friends too.

It's all Greek to me...

Well there are parts of being an international teacher that have serious benefits. Like for example when the Ministry of Education decides to extend a 4 day holiday to a 9 day holiday for the end of Ramadan. you do not question you book a ticket last minute to somewhere nice and warm. That is what I did and with a buddy of mine we went to Corfu, Greece. It was fantastic to say the least. It was the low season so it was not crazy busy so it turned into a very low key, stress free week in Greece.

We went to Athens first to check out some of the most amazing history I have seen in my travels to date. Eric and I got off the plane and tried to figure out exactly what we were doing for the day and not to let too many people see that we did not have a clue to what we were doing. (to my surprise no one ripped us off) With 3 maps open and buying a Athens guide at the airport we sorted out that the bus into town. It was a good choice to drop our bags off at the main bus terminal and set out for the day. After talking to a really nice woman at information we set out to see all that we could in the day ahead.

First off to the Museum of Archeology, that showed some of the most amazing sculptures and pieces from the past that I have ever seen. It took us a few hours to get around the displays and take as many pictures as we wanted to, which was very surprising. We did however find out that no flash was to be used...I used flash for the first couple of pictures and NO posing beside the exhibits...we had to erase the pictures that we did that for. So we managed to have a woman follow us for a good 20 min to make sure we were following the directions. I do have to say in my defense that the rules are poorly explained in a hand drawing outside of the Museum....

One of the display guards did however let us touch a statue that was 2000 years old they had recently found it and it was the only piece that was not to be photographed as it has not yet been released to the media that the Museum even had possession of it yet. it was a very amazing time to be had.

We finished that off and went to a local watering hole for some food and to sample the local beverages. we found such a place and had some great food and a few local pints it was right beside the museum and had a open patio so we could watch people walk by as they were coming from the museum and milling around in front. At this point it finally sunk in that we were in Athens...it was a great feeling!!

We then travelled down by foot to the Acropolis, I have to say one of the most incredible walks I have been on, you can see this thing from miles away (that's even further in Km), seriously though it is a sight to see. It is also a bloody long walk and even more fun up the hill/mountain it was built on. I felt sorry for the poor people who had the pleasure of building it up there. Anyway it was crawling with people but still an amazing sight to see. there were all walks of life there and I think I got some really amazing pictures!

Once we took all of our pictures of the Buildings we were a bit tired and needed refueling so we went to find food and to sit and watch the hoards walk by. The food is quite amazing, and yes for those who know me I did ask for no onions, tomatoes and mushrooms....I am still 4 years old...

At this point in the day were needed to find out bus to get to Pattras to catch the ferry to Corfu. The bus was hard to find as the bus was Labelled in Greek....the good thing is that the local winos are more then happy to help for a Eruo or two. We took the 3 hour bus ride to Pattras with out much incident...The bus was full enough that people had to stand and Eric my friend was lucky enough to have a little girl with downs fall asleep on him and the proceed to snuggle him for 2 hours. He does not deal well with little ones so he struggled a bit, I could not get access to my camera to take pictures but it was quite a special moment they shared...

We got to Pattras which again was not announced but everyone with a backpack was getting off so we figured it was time for us too. We walked to the ferry, which is massive too and sat down for our 7 hour journey to Corfu. At this point Eric asked why we had not paid for a flight to Corfu over the ferry as the chairs had less then an inch of padding on them. We upgraded to a bed to sleep the night away...it was the best 20 Eruo extra I have ever spent.

We got to Corfu and the Pink Palace bus was there to pick us up....it was great. more to continue on the next blog...do stay tuned....I have to work sometime.