One Rising Star

“The special bond shared between a mother and daughter is the one place in all the world where hearts can be sure of each other. Like branches on a tree, we may grow in different directions, but our roots remain one. And through the fury of the storm or the calm of the rainbow, we depend on each other for understanding and compassion. We will always share these moments, sparkling, like a star in our hand...keeping memories we have gathered through the years close to our hearts.” For approximately 5 years now, my mom and I have planned yearly trips to various destinations. We've been to Daytona Beach Florida, Phoenix, Arizona, Las Vegas, Nevada and Cancun, Mexico . These trips have allowed my mom and I to bond and to create ever-lasting memories. I am forever thankful. This year, a last minute decision was made to fly my mom out to Dubai, UAE . This was not easy. Those who know my mom know that she hates planes and rarely travels on them alone. Considering t

All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.  ( Walt Disney ) When you’re a young kid, adults regularly tell you to work hard and that you can do anything you want to do when you grow older. Often though, it can be hard to believe these words without proof. I’ve learnt in recent years that I can pretty much do anything I want to do, as long as I am willing to put in some hard work and to take some chances; it doesn't matter whether it be at the gym, at work, or in my everyday life! Just over a year ago, I took a chance when I left the stable job and life I had in Canada to move to Dubai, UAE. Some people may have thought I was crazy to leave everything I had going for me there, but others understood that I was taking a step in the right direction to pursue my dreams. Some of the most encouraging people were (and still are) my Canadian students. It was very difficult to tell them about my decision, but they showed great maturity

As soon as I set foot into Switzerland, I was pretty much in love with the place! The views of the mountains and the lake immediately took my breath away. The small town of Lausanne and its French speaking population made me feel right at home. I was beyond excited to be surrounded by French people, French school resources (I wish I could have bought everything) and the French culture in general. During my short stay, I got to spend some time at the beach / pool area, to walk around the city centre, to take a boat over to France and visit Evian, to drive up a mountain for amazing panoramic views and to eat some fondue. It was definitely a very nice and relaxing few days! I really didn’t know what to expect when I decided to make a trip to Switzerland, but I was pleasantly surprised. It’s really a beautiful country! Only downside is that everything is REALLY expensive here! Thank you to my friend and former work colleague Alena for showing me

My time spent in Portugal was made up of some relaxing moments and of course, some more sightseeing.  First off, I began my Portuguese passage in Lagos. Lagos is a great little touristy town with fine beaches, beautiful landscape and…VERY cold water. I enjoyed walking around there, checking out the little stores and market stands and eating in a variety of small restaurants. During my stay, I also had the opportunity to kayak through caves along the shoreline. That ended up being a fun experience! After a couple days in Lagos, I got to visit Lisbon, Portugal’s capital. In my opinion, Lisbon was a lot like most other big cities I have visited in Europe; fountains, monuments, parks, stores, restaurants... One day though, I did get to visit a cool place called the “ Oceanário ”. It was basically a very big indoor aquarium with a variety of water species displayed. Very cool! On my last day in Portugal, I went to Sintra, a small ma

Travelling through Spain has been a fantastic adventure!  Firstly, staying in peoples apartments (airbnb.com) and in hostels (hostelworld.com) in 4 different cities has been a really interesting experience.  Secondly, travelling with all my luggage by metro, taxi, bus and train from one city to another has been painful at times, but well worth it in the end. Here is a quick look at my thoughts on each city visited in the last week or so. 1-     Barcelona Barcelona was pretty much exactly what I expected it to be: a large touristy city with lots of things to see and do. While touring in the day, I had the opportunity to enjoy the beach and to see numerous architectural treasures; one being the famous Segrada Familia. In the evening, I got to enjoy wonderful tapas (basically like appetizers) and a great stroll down La Rambla (a long street with little market stands and many restaurants). 2-     Madrid Madrid was a very vibrant city at night; bus

Well, well, well! My summer vacation in North America has come to an end. The short time I have spent here has been pretty sweet! In Michigan, I had the opportunity to catch up with family and friends, to celebrate the 4 th of July, to do a fun Zumba class outside and to hang-out around the lake; boating, tubing, skiing and wakeboarding. In Québec (Gatineau, Hull), I had the chance to visit with more family members. These pictures were not taken during my visit...just wanted to showcase my cousins! :) During my 2 weeks in Ontario, I got to meet with friends for breakfast, lunch or dinner, to cook, to shop, to go see car races, to experience Iftar with some old students, to work-out at the gym, to do some Zumba and to play soccer.  Of course, throughout all of this, I also got to spend time with my parents and brothers too! 24 days went by pretty quickly, but I leave once again so thankful for the amazing family and friends I have here.

When I woke up this morning, I knew I had to make the best of my time in Rome, considering I have less than 48 hours to spend here. My first tour of the day was one of Ancient Rome (Colosseum and Roman Forum). I was so excited to finally see the Colosseum, as it is my 5 th World Wonder (only 2 more to go: The Taj Mahal and The Great Wall of China)! It was amazing to see everything that had been preserved for many many years. With just under an hour to spare, I quickly had some pizza before my second tour of the day; the one of the Vatican (Vatican museums, Sistine Chapel and St-Peter’s Basilica). The Vatican truly took my breath away. The statues, the mosaics, the paintings, the architecture…Everything was really beautiful.        After walking back from the Vatican to my hotel, I felt the need to eat some pasta and some gelato before touring the city a little more on my own for the night. I took out a map and found the Trevi Fountain, the Sp

Salam everyone! Every end of June, I ask my students to reflect on their school year. I ask them to speak about their highs, lows, what they have learned and what their goals are for the future. With just 1 week left, I think it’s only fair that I too reflect on my latest school year. Let me start by saying that the past 10 months have been filled with ups and downs. I have learned so much about myself and the people who surround me here in Dubai. I remember how excited I was when I moved to Dubai back in August. I was truly looking forward to my new adventure. Unfortunately, once work began, I encountered many obstacles. I struggled with how different things were in my new work environment; the position, the program, the people… Nonetheless, I was not going to let these things stop me from enjoying this great opportunity. After just a few weeks of school, I decided to apply for a new position; the Foreign Language Department Coordinator. I thought it was the

Since I've moved to Dubai, I have been working on becoming a more flexible person. Most of the time, I am a planner, an organizer, and a perfectionist; however, I am beginning to learn that sometimes not having a plan can be the best plan of all! A few weeks ago, we found out we were set to have a 3-day weekend in June. Obviously, I wanted to take full advantage of this situation and go somewhere for a few days. I spoke with a few friends and it was decided that we would do something together. Paintballing, Jet skiing, Hiking, Road trip...lots of ideas came up. Unfortunately, the weekend came faster than expected, we hadn't planned anything and all the hotels around the UAE were booked up. I was truly upset, thinking I wasn't going to do anything fun on my last long weekend of the school year. Nevertheless, my one friend and I decided that we would go on a road trip together no matter what and we were going to have fun!  Yesterday (June 6th), my fri

In the last 6 weeks, I have been privileged enough to witness the wonders of the G5 Exhibition in the PYP. What is the G5 Exhibition you wonder? The exhibition Students aged 10 to 12 who are in their final year of the primary years programme are expected to carry out an extended, collaborative inquiry project, known as the exhibition, under the guidance of their teachers. The exhibition represents a significant event in the life of both the school and student, synthesizing the essential elements of the programme and sharing them with the whole school community. It is an opportunity for students to exhibit the attributes of the student profile that have been developing throughout their engagement with the programme. It is a culminating experience marking the transition from the PYP to the Middle Years Programme (MYP). Schools are given considerable flexibility in their choice of the real-life issues or problems to be explored and investigated in the exhibition. First