A Very Quiet Life...

This silence is new for me. Livingin a place where I am not able (because of language) or not supposed to (because of men) speak to people. I am used to conversation with friends, family strangers you meet on the street or in stores (even the "here is your total", "do you want a bag" conversations we have with cashiers) and of course a steady of stream of one-

way conversation with my dogs but without Serena to rattle on to I find that I don’t hear my voice in the day – and what an odd feeling that is.I am silent. I sometimes will read things that I write aloud to myself and if I drop something on my foot as I did today I will yell aloud but for the most part, I am silent. I enjoy my solitude. Being alone is just fine with me - but I realize now that that is because with the dogs

I am never really alone. Until now. Last night I could not sleep – probably a combination of the nap and the time difference. So I was up. And I was unsettled so the normal reading/knitting passtimes held no appeal. Now at home – even alone in the middle of the night - I would have had company – could have taken the dogs for a walk or had a cuddle or a play or even a little chat. I would normally have been fine with just laying in bed, relaxing, not needing to do anything. Anyway so what does one do with eight hours, no phone, no internet, no company of any sort and not yet comfortable enough to leave the apartment.

1) Reading was the obvious first stop. I tried to read teaching resources. Then tried a n

ovel. Then tried an Egypt guide book. For some reason my attention wasn’t there – I think it was just too big of a day to settle down and focus on a book. Finally read a Dr. Seuss book (The Lorax) which solved the problem, capturing my attention but unfortunately it was quite short (I read it aloud to myself by the way). I then read “The Dot” by Peter Reynolds – a classic favourite – again read it aloud and again this only entertained me for a short time.

2) I tried to meditate – make good use of my silent day – but found I did not have the concentration and was not in the right place for it

3) I worked on getting the nail polish stain out of my clothes (from when a bo

ttle of bright pink nail polish -which I did not put in a bag in my suitcase because they are hard enough to open on my own with my hands – opened in my suitcase ruining 2 skirts and a dress shirt). As it turns out there is really no way of getting nail polish out of fabric.

4) I took out a deck of cards and tried to think of good math games that my students can play. This turned into several games of solitaire (which I don’t think I have played since I was nine and is actually not an easy game to win – lucky for me because it meant I played several rounds) and then yep, believe it or not, a game of war where I was both sides. I imagined I was playing a friend – I lost.

5) I tried to get my stove to turn on. Either the burners or the oven part. No such luck. Looks like another day of bananas, mangoes, almonds and dates.

6) I listened to music and got bored. Then switched podcasts (thank you very much Meghan) and had found my solution, at least temporarily!

7) I did my nails – avoiding using the colour that was splattered all over my clothes and my suitcase.

8) I looked for a good place to hide my suitcases – found one. I wished I had not already unpacked so that I could do that

8) I cut out some materials for my classroom – welcome signs, alphabets. That sort of thing.

11) I practiced my Arabic – aloud. I still only know one word Shukran (thank you)

12) I decided to observe Ramadan partially and extremely loosely. I would not wake up at 5:00 am to eat but I would not eat from breakfast to sunset. I would still drink water (because I do not think it would be wise to cut that out in this heat) but I would not drink it in public where others were so diligently following this practice. This is not because I am Muslim but because I interact (well I don't actually but I pass them on the street and imagine what their lives are like) with people who are observing this tradition every day.

One thing I did not think to do was get up and take a shower. Now I certainly regretted this when I woke up in the morning and tried to take a shower only to find that there was no water. There has now been no water all day. I used the leftover water in the kettle from last night to wash my hands. Now I, in a strange way, like not having all the water that I need. I like feeling

connected to all of the people in the world who do not simply turn on a tap and have an unlimited supply of fresh water. It reminds me of what a luxury that is and of how careful we should be with this resource. In Nepal, there was something beautiful about getting my water in a bucket from the well and using that to “shower” and there being times when there was no water and we had to wait and hope for it to rain. So really I am ok with this. But I am hot and feeling like…well like that shower is going to be awfully wonderful when it finally does happen.