A new house, a new year!

I'm baaaack!  I could not believe how much I missed Jeddah until I left for two months in the summer.  By the end of the first month back in the States, I was ready to come back.  I have developed some great friendships over here, which makes Jeddah feel like my home.
After a tough year of managing 1st grade boys, I look forward to teaching a class of 1st grade girls.  I will post pictures of my classroom once I get it set up.  I get to keep my same classroom, but thought I should probably change the "frog" theme to something more gender neutral or "girly".  My plan is to implement the CHAMPs classroom management program in my classroom this year, which will hopefully help me keep my class a little more structured and disciplined.  I highly recommend the CHAMPs program to any teachers or schools.
In addition to the excitement of teaching girls this year, I have moved to a more "western" compound.  I am sharing a villa with two other teachers at my school.

Our new villa

Living room with our newly recovered brown couches.

Our living room opens into our dining room.

Our dining room

My bedroom - small but cozy :)

The compound itself feels like a resort, from the Mediterranean architecture to the bougainvillea trees adorning the landscape to the 54 pools sprinkled throughout the compound.  Conveniences like a restaurant, small grocery store, gym, salon, dry cleaners, bowling alley, library, travel agency, clinic, and taxi service are all located in a central building across the street from our villa.  I love it because I can walk to the gym (which means I am more likely to use it!) or pick up a quick item from the grocery store if I forgot something.  As a woman, it is such a hassle to do something as simple as grocery shopping because you have to arrange a taxi and shop around prayer times.  The store on our compound is open all day.  The only thing we don't have on our compound is a bank and a pharmacy.
Living on a resort-like compound and teaching all girls...what could be better than that?