Finding Your Face
So if you are wondering where Paulo has been for the past month or so, well I have been working hard on cranking this yearbook out. It’s been a great experience - challenging at times but great. I guess what I enjoy personally was feeling we had created something which reinvents how we look at yearbooks. It’s always nice to be original.
Enjoy this preview of The American School of Kuwait’s 2008-2009 Yearbook. The total publication is actually 220 pages long but was shortened for easier viewing.
The cover is a hard cover with a duplicate dust jacket. The title is embossed on both and the school name is embossed and stamped in silver. The cover raps around the bind continuing the cityscape mosaic but also includes a silver stamp of the school emblem center back.
This book was directed by me, Paulo Valenza and Patrick Cauley. 2 classes, 33 students both from the middle school and the high school collaboratively working together.
Click here to view “Finding Your Face” full screen
By the way, really glad I found this Calameo site. It’s works just like YouTube but for publications. It’s the only site I could find that would do a flip book for free. Very nice!
Moving Sale and More!
I’ve made two pages regarding stuff we are tying to sell before moving to China. Unfortunately taking furniture and electronics into China has a high tax on it. If you are a new hire to ASK and are interested in any of our goods, please let us know. If you want to buy an item we easily can do it through PayPal. Choose from one of the preselected amounts or you can simply click pay now and adjust the amount once on the PayPal site. It might be wise to first email us so that we can confirm the item is still available.
Also our big ticket item is our valenzamobile, our 2003 Pajaro. Wonderful for battling the traffic here in Kuwait and off-roading in the desert. This vehicle is selling from 2700 KD to 3200 KD on www.Q8car.com, the only used site for purchasing automobiles in Kuwait. Actually the 2 Pajero’s currently listed are for 2700 KD and they are only 3 door, unlike our 5 door we are selling. Just so you know the Pajaro is the equivalent of a Montero in the US.
Scroll under Pages in the top main menu to find out more information about our sale and feel free to look around our site and maybe get a better feel for your new home here in Kuwait.
Amira and her Kuwaiti Cousins
In preparation for Cousin Kiira’s 1st Birthday, we got all of the Kuwait Cousins together to take some pictures. It was quite the fiasco trying to get all four kids to stay still long enough to take a picutre. It actually took two mommies, two nannies, and one fantastic, fast-action camera to get these pictures. It was the first time I used Paulo’s fancy camera for something like this and am quite proud of how the pictures turned out. 
Now I understand why child photographers make so much money!!!
Special thanks to Amira & Tate Valenza, our nanny Mina, Kiira Ghosn, her nanny Chintha, and Aidan Cauley for being such willing participants. And also to Jennifer Cauley and Paulo for all of their help.
http://www.valenzalife.com/flv/With%20the%20Kuwait%20Cousins.flv
a change for the better
After much frustration and continual runarounds, I have decided to make the switch from Apple’s iWeb to WordPress. I am confident for the size of my website, this will be a good move in the long run. I am still working out how to get all of my old content back up on the web but hope it will be integrated soon.
I still believe in iWeb and think it is an amazing tool that Apple has created. For a simple page it is the way to go. Once you start adding pages of content however, it is a very risky investment as I have found out. After the last update to 3.0 I found many problems with publishing and spent hours trying to figure out how to get my content back up. Well, I’m now ready to move on.
Thanks for all your patients and hope you enjoy the new layout.
Amira Meets Tate
She couldn’t have been any cuter!
Amira was extremely gentle and well behaved - thank God - as she held Tate for the first time. Enjoy these photos of Amira as she meets her baby brother for the first time. We’ve even included a short video for you to watch.
Even though this video is all about Amira meeting Baby Tate, half way through this song you’ll hear a great song called “Son of Mine”. This provides a perfect backdrop for a very tender moment as I hold Amira and Tate in my arms. Everything this song says is true for me and my new son. Thanks Ralston Bowls for such a great song!
Ralston is a personal friend of mine and you can learn more of Ralston’s great music by heading to site.
Our New Addition
What a great day. Thanks for your thoughts and prayers. It was a smooth delivery that took only 3 pushes during one contraction. We tried to get our family up on iChat for a video conference but it happened so quickly no one made it. That’s alright though. We have great photos and video of his birth.
After much thought, we decided on two names that carry significant meaning to us. Paulo’s close friend way back from High School is Mike Tatu. He has really been there for us all the way and is a creative and godly man. It is with great honor that our son’s name is inspired by him.
Laurence is the first name of Paulo’s favorite Jazz piano player, Laurence Hobgood. He plays for Kurt Elling, Paulo’s most favorite singer ever. If you really know Paulo, you’ll know Elling and Hobgood! Larry is also the name of Karin’s step-dad who has been there for her throughout the years.
http://www.valenzalife.com/flv/Tate's%20Birth.flv
Born March 24, 2009 10:40 am
Weight: 3.18 kg
Height: 50 cm
Blue eyes, brown hair
Visiting China and SCIS
Who would have thought we would ever be visiting China? How great it has been. Last minute we thought we would take advantage of our recruiting days off to visit our new home in Shanghai China. Let me just say we loved it. It was so good to get a feel for what the big city had to offer. Modern, clean, efficient are all ways to describe Shanghai.
It was great to see Don and Jane Macmillan, our former principals at ASK, and to hook up with our friends Eddie and Eva, whom we know from TTC in London. Our new school campus is incredible. Students and teachers will be making the move to the new campus within 2 weeks. So as you can imagine, everyone was quite busy. Very tech oriented and geared towards a learning environment. All we can do is make the appropriate arrangements and simply wait for fall of 2009 for the big move!
So hopefully this video can give you an idea of what life in Shanghai will be like. Unfortunately, I did not take very good footage this time around but it will do. The first half of this video will show you Shanghai. The second part will give you a tour of the new SCIS campus where Karin and I will both teach from. I have included small captions to explain what everything is. Again, SCIS will be making the move within 2 weeks to this new campus! It is incredible.
A Bit Confused…
So check this out. We bought Amira a bed for her baby doll. Or did we? She seems to think this is a mini bed for herself! Check out the pics below!
Christmas at the Valenza’s
Merry Christmas everyone. Thought you might like to see what Christmas in Kuwait looks like. Here are so pictures of Amira opening up her gifts (Christmas Eve and Christmas morning). I placed this entry under Amira’s photoblog cause they are mainly of her. Well, Karin’s exciting bracelet is also in the shots. I bought it for her in Prague. Amira really got into her broom from Grandma Hope and the baby bed from us. Although she still doesn’t fully get that the beds mainly for her baby doll and not her. [see below pictures]
Prague: Charles Bridge, Prague Castle, & Stare Mesto - Day 4
Day 4 was a bunch of walking in the cold. We first started by heading to the famous Charles Bridge to find it half under construction. But that’s ok. It was still nice. Of course every building on the way was a sight to see.
We walked on uphill towards the Prague Castle. This was impressive. A massive gothic church was inside the castle walls. We really didn’t have much time because we had to make it down the hill for a scheduled tour but while leaving we saw the exchanging of the castle guards.
So we met our “not so favorite” tour guide who took us on a fairy to see the river at night. Several of us made it to the top deck to take pictures of the beautiful Vltava river by night.
Well, we could have ended our night after the boat ride but come… we were in Prague. So we continued to walk towards Stare Mesto, the famous yet not so impressive apostles clock. This was a great city square with the Church of Our Lady Tyn in the background. Again another massive and impressive church.Also, a huge Christmas tree lit up the square demanding attention.
While most decided to head back to the hotel after some shopping, Paulo and Patrick decided to get a fix of jazz once again. This time they enjoyed a jazz trio (piano, bass, and drums). After the musicians were finished with there sets, Paulo found out that the piano player was a teacher at the conservatory. It was outstanding… who knows, maybe another night of jazz will be in the works! [photos below]
Prague: Jazz, Pork Knuckles, Breweries And Good Friends - Day 1,2,3
Well we finally did it. After 3 years of trying to do a trip with our close friends, we finally did it. Last year we took at trip with Omar and Mira but this year we were a party of 6 with Patrick and Jennifer adding to the group. And yes, it was a party. We had such a nice time wondering the streets of Prague with its cold and wintery feel. It gave all of us a task for the holidays. Hot apple cider and Christmas tree lights added to Karin’s excitement.
Below you’ll see pictures from our first day arriving in Prague and heading out to dinner where Karin and Paulo both ate a pork knuckle. Paulo could not get over the hard skin that covered it and the dark hairs just waiting to get stuck between his teeth.
Unfortunately, on the way back to the hotel all of us were fined about $40 for not buying a metro ticket. The metro guards appeared out of nowhere and pulled their badges on us as if it was a speed trap. We were not necessary trying to be deceptive we just could figure out where to buy tickets. Oh, well, it made for a good story.
The next day we simply wandered the streets enjoying the many sights. The boys enjoyed taking photos while the girls window shopped - well, the guys wish that’s all they did. At night Paulo, Omar, Mira, and Patrick took in some excellent vocal jazz at one of Prague’s exclusive jazz clubs. It was excellent. Great musicians… we knew we would need to go back.
On our 3rd day, we played it simple. The girls headed to a crystal factory while the boys studied up on how beer is manufactured at one of Prague’s oldest breweries. They gave us free samples at the end of the night. Seriously good beer and very interesting to witness the process.
Imagination
Time and time again Amira would slide down playing her heart out. Every time up and down, I couldn’t help thinking what was going through her little mind. Fortunately, I had my handy iPhone with me to take some pictures of her playing. Later I decided to try and capture a child’s imagination. An imagination without boundaries, fairies, treehouses, kitties, and yes, sometimes with wings!
Download to see it in better detail.
[update] I’ve added some more photo’s of Amira playing at a local park.
Kiira and Amira
Here are some shots of Omar and Mira’s baby girl, Kiira, with Amira. Anytime Amira gets to be around her she is so excited. It’s fun to see her trying to baby Kiira. Leaves us with a taste of how she might be with her baby brother who is on the way. Hey you can even get a quick look at our huge Christmas tree! Wow! We went all out this year.
Ballerina & the Bee
My cousin Kiira and I dressed up for Halloween. I was a ballerina and she was a bumblebee. Together we went up and down the elevator collecting candy (for my parents). We had a great time. I was a bit startled by the fairy dressed in white, but he seemed nice enough.
Mina… my Nanny
This is a great picture of my nanny, Mina. She is great! All day long while mommy and daddy work she takes care of me.
Thank you Mina
Judy and the Birthday Camel
So who says you don’t get what you wish for on your birthday. Apparently my mom wished to ride a camel. So on her birthday we decided to first drive down to the Saudi Arabian boarder, which is only a 40 minute drive, and then we simply went off-roading into the desert. Suddenly we came across a man and his herd of camels. After a couple smiles and a friendly tip my up on her camel.
Checking out the Heritage Sauq and Husain’s Carpets
Another fun day with my parents as they explored the Kuwaiti Heritage Sauq. As a birthday gift, Karin and I treated my mom to a Persian carpet. So we stopped by Husain the Carpet guy and let her pick out her very own carpet. As you can see, Amira enjoyed walking all over the many carpets.
Taking the Fam on a Dhow Ride
What a great day for heading out into the gulf. My parents had a nice time seeing Kuwait from a different perspective. Some teachers from our school where nice enough to set up this ride for us and other teachers. We had great catered food as we enjoyed the ride. Amira was very well behaved as she sat with grandma.
The best part was when my dad of 69 decided to jump in the water along with the other teachers. Way to go dad!
Sneak peak at my baby brother… but I still stole the show…
Today we all went to the doctors to look at my baby brother, although all we did was stare at a computer screen. The doctor kept pointing at the screen saying “look there’s his head”. I don’t know what he was thinking - that didn’t look like a head to me!
After that, Grandma and I walked downstairs in the lobby of the hospital. They had a nice Asian lady who was playing some kind of instrument with strings and sticks. She let me sit next to her and color. And then, she actually gave me the stick and I got to make music! It sounded really good.
Later Daddy told me this instrument is called a yangqin 扬琴 a Chinese hammered dulcimer.
A Photo Day
Today my friends and I decided to head out simply to take pictures. We started off by going down to the local mall where there is a marina with dhows and fisherman. The fisherman were nice enough to allow us onboard to take pictures until the security guard from the mall told us we were not welcomed there. After that we headed into the market area of the mall where they have fresh meat and fish for sale. And yes, not only is that goat you see but camel hanging!
To escape the smells we decided to head out into the desert for a real camel experience. For the first time we were chased by an alpha male camel. We had to quick run around the car and jump in for our lives!
Finding Valenza
On our last outing in the city of Torin Italy, it was only fitting to do what any true Italian family would do… Look for your family name wherever you can find it! So we punched in Valenza to our GPS and came up with two quick finds. A jewelry store named Valenza’s Gold and a 2 block street named Valenza Ave. Ah, the pride!
Bath and Bubbles!
On my last night in Torin with Grandma gave me a fun bath. She gave me many baths at her house. It was always so fun. She would blow bubbles while I was in the tub! I love my Grandma!
A Day In The Park
What a great way to end our time with Paulo’s parents in Torin. We spent our last day wondering this huge beautiful park full of grassy fields and colorful flowers. The four of us attempted to peddle our way up windy hills in a monster bike that allowed for all of us to ride. Amira took advantage of running freely, walking in the streams, and watching the duckies. We all had a great day relaxing and enjoying the sun along with each others company. All this made for some fantastic pictures!
So Much More To Torino
After resting up from our family road trip, we thought it might be a good idea to take advantage of what Torino has to offer. We gotta admit, at first neither of us were really impressed with the city. After all it was known for being a factory city. We kept asking how could this be a city where the Winter Olympics visited? But after a day exploring, that opinion quickly changed.
First we checked out the National Cinema Museum. Truly amazing. It was built inside the tall dome looking building (the one in the picture above), which Torino is known for. What’s so incredible about this dome is that it is completely hallow. The museum surrounds the outer walls of the building and then the a glass elevator with no shaft takes you up the center to the top for a birds eye view of the city. This elevator ride and the view is just as impressive as the museum itself.
Next we visited the Egyptian Museum, which my mom was real excited to see. Great place but they really need a/c throughout the place. The rest of the day we wandered the streets and took photos of all the amazing building and plazas. Definitely a nice day.
