On the twelfth day of Christmas

Emerging from the fog of horrendous jetlag, we are finding ourselves on the cusp of the weekend, congratulating ourselves on surviving three days of school. Actually, it was pretty quiet and the kids were rather subdued. My highlight - being invited up to the science department for lunch two days in a row. A few of the teachers gave an extra credit project to write up a recipe (as one would do a lab report) and then bring in the baked or cooked item. It was an expansive smorgasbord of savory and sweet foods especially made for the teachers in hopes of some extra points. Brilliant. A funny Egyptian dish that I have had a few times over the past four months - kushari - which consists of rice, lentils, macaroni, garlic, spicy tomato relish, and crispy fried onions. It is the epitome of white starch and the lentils do not redeem the dish. Like wonder bread though, it can create strange and wonderful cravings.

Many of the teachers were out this week, at the job fair in Bangkok interviewing with other schools for next year. ASK is pretty lenient about giving people time off to do that, I think.

Our visit to Dalton already seems like a long time ago. More so since we found out that one of Russ' friends suddenly died two days ago. Russ has been grieving with friends on the phone and longs to be back. It is a very sad day here.

We did have a good visit at home although time went by quickly. The second week was inevitably more busy, a whirlwind of activity and food, but incredibly fun. The nephews and nieces are so grown up.

A few thoughts on our flight home:
I think Homeland security pays more attention to bags leaving the country than to those arriving in the US. Priorities?
Turkish Airlines did a great job of making us poor sods in economy class feel like we were upgraded for about fifteen minutes. At midnight on New Year's Eve, each person received a dark chocolate mousse and small bottle of champagne (not even just sparkling wine). It made up for the delays leaving NYC and Istanbul.
In the "one of the better decisions I've made" shortlist is deciding to get a Diner's Club card so we can access the airport lounges. It makes layovers a hundred times better. I am a sucker for free drinks and snacks, but mostly it is just a more civilized way to get from A to B.
Russ' brother Fred is a saint for not only picking us up at JFK on a Friday at rushhour (with Steve) but taking us back down two weeks later.

So on the twelfth day of Christmas, we will later turn off the twinkling lights, pack away our small Christmas tree, and put away the the holiday music for eleven more months. We will however keep the seven foot tree in the hallway outside our apartment up for a little longer. It is covered with colorful birds and bulbs, and it makes me smile every time I look at it.