Hallas, done!

Faithful Readers,
We are back home after our great adventure. It took us 38 hours to get home from Cairo, with stops in London and Frankfurt, but we made it! Laura is a little weary, but I've still got some energy!
This adventure was challenging and different, rewarding and extraordinary. We had a chance to visit 24 schools in 3 countries, and we talked to dozens of teachers and administrators. Although we found things to be different in many ways, it is clear that the heart of a teacher is the same everywhere. Teachers all want their students to thrive and meet their potential, and they know that teaching children to read will open the doors to unlimited joy and knowledge.
This experience was humbling and affirming, and all-in-all "splendid,"  as Ms. Blossom would say!
Thanks for following my blog! Until next time. . .
Salaamou Alaykom, my friends.
Your trusty correspondent,
Alf

Here I am back home, with my good friend Charlie. He reminds me of Golly. It is good to be home!

This is the beautiful mosaic depicting the holy family's ride into Egypt.

We also visited this beautiful Coptic Christian church. This is sometimes referred to as the "hanging church" because the foundation of the entire church rests on two columns.

In Cairo, we visited the Mosque of the Citadel, sometimes referred to as the "Alabaster Mosque"

The pyramids and Sphinx at night

Sightseeing in Cairo

Dear Reader,
Friday is a non-work day here, so we saw the sights of Cairo. The museum is filled with priceless artifacts, and our guide Hussein helped us navigate the vast collection from the age of the pharoahs (over 5000 years ago). We learned so many things! We saw the 5,200 pieces from King Tut's tomb, including his sarcophogi, his headdress, his chariot, throne, clothing, shoes. How these items have survived intact for thousands of years is a mystery. King Tut reigned for 10 years, beginning when he was a mere 10 years old. His cause of death is unknown; his mummy (at Luxor) reveals a head injury, so some believe he was assasinated by a rival, others that he fell from a horse.

We also saw mummified animals, including sacred animals such as crocodiles (!), animals used as religous votives (people would purchase these animal mummies then bury them in tombs as gifts to the gods), and animals that were beloved pets to be buried with owners.

One of the most interesting pharoahs was King Akhenaten. He was considered a "heretic king" because he introduced many new ideas to the people, including the equality of men and women, the fact that kings and queens were not gods, and that their was only one god, the sun god Amun-Re. He was assassinated by a priest. His wife was the famous and beautiful Nefertiti. He was followed by King Tutankamen, who became king by his betrothal and eventual marriage to Akhenaten and Nefertiti's daughter.

Another interesting pharoah was Cheops. There is only one known statue of Cheops, and it is only about 4 inches tall! He believed that the king was one of the people, and that what we leave behind of importance is our work. Although he is not glorified in grand statues, his pyramid is the largest of them all, 455 feet tall!

We learned that a king's statue with a straight beard was created while the king was alive, while if the statue had a curved beard, the king was dead. Statues often showed the king with one hand in a fist (for fidelity) and one hand palm down on his thigh (for prayer). King's statues may have include a falcon (Horus) to represent protection.
In addition to the lotus and the papyrus as symbols for upper (southern) and lower (northern) Egypt, many artifacts show the vulture and the cobra, the 2 protectors of upper and lower Egypt.

Although we could have stayed at the museum for days, we had much more sighseeing to do! Fritz would have enjoyed our float on the Nile, on a boat called a "faluka." Then the rest of our day was spent at the pyramids and sphinx. There are 113 pyramids in Egypt, and 9 of them are here at Giza. The pyramids (ahrams) are hard to describe--the mere feat of engineering is astounding.  It is believed it took 100,000 their lifetimes to create the pyramid of Cheops. To walk to a chamber inside required us to crouch very low and walk up a ramp hundreds of meters. But inside was amazing, in that it is clear that the blocks of stone or granite are perfectly fitted together, yet with no filler in between; again, amazing. The craftsmanship of the artifacts inside the tombs is beyond compare.
This ancient civilization was an advanced culture of language, art, music, architecture, and extraordinary Egyptians.

Signing off for now, your intrepid adventurer,
Alf

In addition to the Ahrams (pyramids) we also saw the Sphinx. The Sphinx is half-man, half-lion. It was originallly covered with gold and priceless gems.

Here is Casanova, with the pyramids in the background.There are 9 pyramids here at Giza. Amazing!

We rode a camel at the pyramids. Laura actually got our camel, Casanova, to run. It was a crazy way to travel around the pyramids.

We visited the pyramids of Giza. This is the largest pyramid, the tomb of Cheops. It is impossible to tell from this picture how large this is! Try to picture that this is made up of 2 1/2 million stones, and each stone weighs 10 tons! Laura went inside the pyramid, with me in her pocket. It was an eerie experience.

We were unable to take our camera into the museum, but needless to say it was vast and splendid (as Miss Blossom would say!) Can you see me at the foot of this sphinx?

Here I am with Laura and Hussein (our guide) at the Cairo museum. This is home to 110,00 artifacts, all original except for the Rosetta Stone, which is in England.

Dear Reader,
Cairo is an extraordinary city. There are 20 million people in Cairo, which makes it the third largest city in the world (after Mexico City and Tokyo). Every day more than 4 million cars are moving through Cairo, so traffic is always congested. The very rich live here (with flats in downtown overlooking the Nile costing millions of dollars) and the very poor (there are some people literally living in family burial tombs or in makeshift huts alongside the highway). The country is predominately Muslim, but they have a rich history of many religions. Egypt is divided into lower Egypt (represented by the lotus) and upper Egypt (represented by the papyrus), and Cairo is the capital city.

Egypt is in a state of change since the uprising of January 2011, after which  president Hosni Mubarak was forced to step down after a 30-year reign. This was considered a "leaderless revolution," primarily organized by the working people and youth of Egypt. Since then, the military chiefs have promised "free and honest" elections, and of course the citizens are hopeful that this will be true. We drove past Tahrir Square, the site of the protests and riots of January-February of 2011, where there are still gatherings. From the square you can see the burned out building of Mubarak's national party.  Last night there was political rally across from our hotel, with hundred of people chanting and rallying for one of the presidential candidates. Elections will take place in May.
We have been very busy visiting schools, and they are enchanted with Superkids! As we navigate through the city with our trusty colleague Waleed, we are often stuck in traffic for a very long time, so we have a lot of time to observe our surroundings. One day, Laura tracked these interesting sites, all seen within one 15-minute span of time on the road:

• A truck with 2 buffalo in the back
• A BMW dealership
• A bicycle coffee cart
• People along the highway (literally just feet from traffic) selling anything from fruit to toys, to cooked food, to paper.
• A donkey cart piled high with garlic
• Makeshift huts alongside palacial new apartment buildings
• Hundreds and hundreds of buildings being built
• Roundabouts with dozens of people waiting for buses and vans
• Military posts with armed guards
• Women fully covered, women in western garb
• A waterpark next to a mosque

A beautiful city of contrasts!
Your faithful correspondent,
Alf

Chapter Three of our adventure begins: Cairo, Egypt!

Today we had to say good-bye to our colleague Haroud. Here he is with me and Sossi. Haroud was also our driver, and his favorite word is "Yallah!" which means "Let's Go!" He taught Laura some other interesting words in Arabic which I cannot repeat, but which are also apparently very useful in heavy traffic.

This is the view of "The Rock" from the shoreline of Beirut city central.

Even the principals love me! Here I am with Laura and principal Diana at Shouf National College.

Here are some new friends from the KG-1 class (4's) at Marj Al Toufoulat school in Baakleen. Aren't they beautiful?

Being in Beirut

Dear Reader,
Laura and I are enjoying visiting schools in Beirut. The teachers and principals are warm and welcoming, and love the Superkids! We are meeting teachers at the "nursery" level (3-year olds), KG-1 (4's) and KG-2 (5's), as well as Grades 1 and 2.  We are being driven to school by Haruit (whom Laura has nicknamed "Triple Trouble"), and it is a good thing he is driving, because traffic here is crazy and congested! Drivers are careening through the streets, honking indiscriminately and frequently.
Here are some other interesting things we have learned on our visit:
If you want to get around Beruit without driving, you can take a taxi, or you can also take a service. The service cars are heading in a particular direction; you flag them down and get in, often with other people, and take the car as far in that direction as you need to go for about $1. The driver will pick up other people as you are traveling, so you need to be willing to share.
The food here is marvelous:  tabulleh, souboreg, manti, labeneh, hummus, Arab bread, many different types of olives and fruits. Foods are often seasoned with red pepper. Fresh mint is also prominent. And Lebanese pastries are like none other. Cass would have a blast here!
Most people here live in flats (apartments) so Beirut residences are primarily apartment buildings. Everything is very modern here, and you can find anything you could possibly want; neighborhoods are designated by their markets. For example, our hotel is in the Zalka district, which has small shops of every kind. There are also huge malls, wonderful restaurants, cinemas, grocery stores, and every modern convenience. The electricity here is somewhat unreliable so it will go off throughout the day, but most places have generators which kick in, so there is only momentary lapses in electrical service.
There are some television stations which broadcast in English with Arabic subtitles, but of course most television is in Arabic, including "Arab Idol."
Laura and I went to a musical called "On the Land of Gypsies." It was very good with lovely singing and dancing. It was completely in Arabic, so it was an interesting experience to figure out the plot! Icky would have loved it.
Our experiences in Beruit have been wonderful. The people are lovely, the hospitality unsurpassed. We hope the children here will love the Superkids!
Your trusty correspondent,
Alf

Ettabetta would love this page of puzzles and word games in Arabic!

The view of beautiful Beirut and surrounding areas.

This is Laura, Sossi, and me going up the "teleferique" (cable car) to see the Lady of Lebanon shrine in Harissa.

A local food is the shawarma, a sandwich made with sliced meat or chicken, wrapped in Arabic bread. Delicious! This shop is in an Armenian area of Beirut.

Here are some of our new friends from Westwood School in Beirut.

This is the view from our hotel in Beirut. That is the Mediterranean Sea in the distance.

What I've learned about Lebanon by Alfalfa

The Republic of Lebanon is a small country bordered by the Mediterranean Sea, Syria, and Israel. Originally home to the Phoenicians (who invented an early phonetic alphabet!), Lebanon has a rich cultural history, which some say dates back as far as 7,000 years. After World War 1, Lebanon was mandated to France, so there is a great deal of French influence here, including the architecture and the language (French and English are second languages here, after the official language of Arabic). At one time, Lebanon was referred to as “Paris of the Middle East.”  Lebanon became independent in 1943. The capital city (and home to most of the population) is Beirut. Lebanon is a parliamentary democracy, which implements a special system known as confessionalism, which is intended to fairly represent the demographic distribution of the 18 recognized religious groups in government. The majority of Lebanese are Muslim, but there are high numbers of Christians and Catholics as well.

Lebanon was engaged in a civil war that lasted from 1975-1990, resulting in significant loss of lives, property and the economy. There was also a war in 2006 between Israel and Lebanon, which resulted in serious damage to the city of Beirut. Now, Beirut is undergoing growth and rebuilding and is a popular tourist destination. 

The Dead Sea is the lowest place on earth, and here I am, right at sunset.

What is Petra?

Petra is a vast city carved into sheer rock by the Nabataeans, Arab people who settled in this area more than 2,000 years ago. This was a thriving city that served as an important junction for the silk and spice trade that linked China, India, Arabia, Egypt, Syria, Greece and Rome. Petra was a “lost city” for 300 years, and was rediscovered by a Swiss traveler in 1812.  Petra is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and one of the 7 World Wonders.

Here I am at Petra!

Here I am, sunset in Amman!

Here is something we won't see at home. . .a herd of camels right alongside the highway.

The schools we have visited

Laura and I have been very busy each day visiting schools here in Amman. Yaman takes us around the city each day (madly navigating the crazy traffic) to make our visits. Our potential customers here are private schools where they teach reading in English. They also teach reading in Arabic. All the children are native Arabic speakers. The teachers are extremely courteous, and welcome us warmly.  Also, at each school we are offered drinks and sweets, and it is expected that we will partake of their hospitality (so of course Laura does!)  The schools here typically use one of the major basal programs, and although some of the teachers and principals are satisfied with their programs, they have all been intrigued with and open to hearing about Superkids.  In our presentations, participants will comment positively, nod approvingly, and laugh at me and my fellow Superkids. The attributes of our program that they notice and appreciate are the engagement, the systematicity and explicitness, and the concise, linear quality of the materials. In other words, many of the same attributes recognized by teachers everywhere. Class sizes are typically between 20-25, and in talking to the teachers, Laura reports that they face many of the challenges our American teachers face.
Apparently kids are kids, but my friends and I could have told you that!
Your trusty correspondent, Alf. 

The majority of Jordanians are Muslim, so there are many mosques in Amman, and the call to prayer can be heard throughout the city. This is the King Hussein mosque, the largest in the city.

Tomorrow is Mothers' Day here in Jordan. We were invited to a Mothers' Day pageant at Sands National Academy.Here on Mothers' Day they give their moms flowers and sweets, just like we do.

This is the view from our hotel in Amman.

This is my good friend, Israa. She is truly a bright and shining light!

"Girls' Night Out" with some of my new friends!

This is Sossi Mahdessian, our colleage and friend. She is with us for all of our school visits.

Roman ruins in Amman. (You can't see me because I took the picture).

What I've Learned About Jordan

We are here with our colleagues and guides, Sossi and Yamman. Here is what I've learned about Jordan from our friends (and from the guide book Laura read to me):

Jordan is a kingdom of 6 million people. It is bordered by Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Israel. It is primarily desert, and is landlocked except for one small area of shoreline along the Gulf of Aqaba (Red Sea).  The largest city is the capital city, Amman.

Jordan is 98% Arab, and most citizens speak Arabic (the official language), English and French. The country is considered a constitutional monarchy; their current king is Abdullah II, the son of their beloved King Hussein.  There are two primary religions in Jordan, Islam and Christianity.

Jordan has been inhabited by several civilizations. There are ruins in Amman from the Roman Empire (around 100 AD), including a Roman amphitheater which seated 6,000 people.

There are many ancient and amazing sights to see in Jordan. Wadi Rum is the vast, magnificent desert made famous by Lawrence of Arabia. The Dead Sea is the lowest point on earth (1,312 feet below sea level). Jerash is an ancient city dating back more than 6,500 years.  Petra is the country’s greatest tourist attraction, a city carved into sheer rock more than 2,000 years ago. It is a World Heritage Site, and often described as the eighth wonder of the ancient world.

Our first school visit. Kindergarten teachers at Mayar School.

I love all this attention, and don't you just love her jaunty cap?

We have a very brief layover at Heathrow, then on to Jordan!

Good night! We fly overnight for 8 hours from Chicago to London.

But I really like the flight attendants

I'm not too sure about this airplane food!

Here I am on the plane, ready to take off!

I"m on my way to the airport