Author Archives: lornaofarabia

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About lornaofarabia

I am a teacher from Medford, Oregon. I currently live and work in Bangkok, Thailand.

Weighing in

Posted on 18 Jul 2011 by lornaofarabia

We don’t travel light.  And we have a 1200 pound limit (500 each for Andreas and me, and 200 for Alekka, but of course we don’t have to divide it up exactly that way).  So we need to keep track … Continue reading →

Posted in Expat experience, Family, Syria | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Stuff

Posted on 17 Jul 2011 by lornaofarabia

When we started looking into shipping our stuff to Syria, the first few companies we called pretty much told us it couldn’t be done.  Like, you can’t get there from here. Axis of Evil and all that. Soon afterwards we … Continue reading →

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Typing lessons

Posted on 11 Jul 2011 by lornaofarabia

Our new insurance policy is underwritten by Lloyd’s of London.  For some obscure reason, they require us to submit our blood type.  This turns out to be much more difficult than you would think. Back in middle school biology class … Continue reading →

Posted in Background, Expat experience, Syria | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Hep cats

Posted on 9 Jul 2011 by lornaofarabia

Our school in Damascus has a full-time nurse. The staff at the school calls her Nurse Julie, and we’ve heard that she has been at the school longer than just about anybody.  She is responsible for keeping students and staff … Continue reading →

Posted in Family | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

FAQs

Posted on 9 Jun 2011 by lornaofarabia

1. Will you have to wear a burqa? No.  Although 85% of the population is Muslim, Syria is officially a secular state and there is no legally-mandated dress code. Some women wear burqas, some wear the hijab (headscarf), others wear … Continue reading →

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Teaching overseas

Posted on 4 Jun 2011 by lornaofarabia

Almost as soon as we got back from the job fair, Andreas and I started fielding queries from curious colleagues about how to land an overseas teaching job.  It’s hard to say whether this is because these teachers have (like … Continue reading →

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First, let’s buy a load of books

Posted on 2 Jun 2011 by lornaofarabia

Whenever I’m about to embark on a new project of any kind, my first impulse is to get on Amazon and buy a bunch of books about it.  Making tamales?  Raising chickens?  Shooting an animated movie? Moving to Syria? These … Continue reading →

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Siberia?

Posted on 30 May 2011 by lornaofarabia

When Alekka told the kids at her school she was moving to Syria, some of them weren’t  too clear on the geography.  “You’re moving to Siberia?” It drove her nuts for a little while, but that’s middle school for you. Now … Continue reading →

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The road to Damascus

Posted on 29 May 2011 by lornaofarabia

… has been a little rocky, and we haven’t even left Medford yet. Andreas and I went to an international teaching jobs fair in San Francisco in February.  We came away thrilled to have accepted positions at an American school … Continue reading →

Posted in Background, Expat experience, Teaching | Tagged | 5 Comments