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
Amira Turns 2
How it goes fast. Hard to believe all that has happened in the past two years. As we celebrate our little girl’s big day we can’t stop thinking how much we have grown up in the past two years! We love Amira deeply and really wanted to do something special for Amira on her second birthday. And we did. It ended up being a great day with lots of friends, food, and trash?
Yeah, I had a great idea of having a party at a local park near Fintas. Lot’s of trees, green grass and a playground area. I wish I knew when the cleaners picked up all the garbage around the park. One would hope it would be constant - but I guess they had the day off or something. I just happened to swing by the park in the morning and discovered it was a landfill! Garbage everywhere! So I quickly went to the store and bought some cleaning gloves and trash bags. I managed to kind of clean the area where I thought we would be hanging out the most and then roped off our piece of land.
In general, it all worked out. We ended up having a great time. Ordered McD’s for lunch and just let the kids run around. The weather outside was gorgeous and the company of friends was great! Over all, despite the dirty park, I think everyone had a real nice time - and most of all Amira really enjoyed herself.
Happy Birthday Amira!
http://www.valenzalife.com/flv/Amira's%202nd%20Birthday.flv
You’ll find two great short videos I’ve posted. One is video footage taken from our new HD Canon video recorder and the other is a fancy slideshow of all the photos I took with my Canon D30. Hope you enjoy!
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!
THe Adventures of David Romero
Here is a collection of movies that you can enjoy. Filmed and edited by David, you will see Kuwait and the Middle East through a different lens. Please take the time to watch these great short films. For more photos and video from Cuban Viking Productions, head to VidaRomero
After 5 months of having our friend David with us, he has now left Kuwait and headed back to the States. We had a really great time showing him around the sandy desert and watching him dive into understanding the Middle East culture. He kept himself busy by tutoring, subbing, co-directing play productions, traveling, and meeting new friends. We will all miss you!
Renovating the auditorium
http://www.valenzalife.com/flv/Auditorium.flv
This is an interesting little video I made as a proposal to renovate our school auditorium. Currently, this large room feels more like a gym than an Fine Arts Auditorium. This will be an important year at our school as we are hosting the annual EMAC Fine Arts Conference - an event where schools from around the middle east will merge on our campus or a week long event. The response from the proposal is unknown, but hopefully this presentation will assist in their decision.
My best friend “King Tut”
Everyone needs a best friend. For our daughter, that’s our cat, King Tut. While friends are better when it’s mutual, at least Amira has someone to play with … right? As weird as Tut is, he actually does a pretty good job with Amira. It’s been good for her to learn the meaning of “gentle”.
While I am not one for posting blurry photos, I thought these were too cute to pass up! And there are definitely some keepers in the mix.
Amira’s Gotta Boyfriend?
Last night we were walking through the mall with our friends Tom and Sue MacDonald, when all of a sudden their son Jordan, who’s a year and half, decided to hold Amira’s hand! Basically, he put the moves on our daughter.
Now daddy’s not rushing to any hasty conclusions, but he is putting the two under very tight surveillance. If this develops into anything more than just a friendship - swift action just might be needed. Remember, no dating till at least 26.
A Very Merry Christmas At Home
After jumping around Turkey, we made it home just in time for Christmas morning. This was a special Christmas because it was Amira’s first. Not that she will remember that much, but she had a good time ripping off the wrapping paper from her gifts.
Fortunately for us, our good friends, Omar and Mira and Patrick and Jennifer were also home for the day. So we had a great time all day eating pancakes, opening gifts, and looking at pictures from our trips.
ASK Kid’s Christmas Party
Here are some great photos from Amira’s 1st Christmas Party for the ASK Staff. She kindof was scared of Santa… oh well, maybe next year.
99 Pink Balloons
One of our favorite places to eat in Kuwait… Johnny Rockets! A great American Dinner. Despite Karin being deathly afraid of balloons, Amira fit’s the great look with her balloon and pink coat.
A Look at Our New Apartments
With much excitement today we were allowed to take a tour of our new apartments in Kuwait. This was a first for all! Currently, the owner of our school, has been renting out two apartment buildings for all of the teachers to live in together. Within the next month or so, we will be moving into brand new apartments, built for us and owned by the owner of the school.
It is a big improvement from our current building. While it is maybe not perfect, it is much appreciated. Nice tall ceilings, a huge living room with nice big windows, 3 bedrooms - two of which are masters, and a laundry room next to the kitchen.
The complex is still two buildings - one for singles and the other for couples/families. The family building is 15 stories high over looking the Gulf. Based on seniority, we are expecting to be on the sea side on about the 9th or 8th floor… currently we are on the 9th floor in are old apartments. If we want higher, we can always choose the other side which will have the sunset view shared by a freeway. But the sunsets are beuitiful!
Chillin’ with my homies…
So the cap is a bit big on her… but isn’t she cute!
Regifting Amira - Karin’s 29th Birthday
To make Karin’s birthday a memorable one. Paulo decided to bring Amira to school for all to see. Amira came to school with Simanti, our nanny, and was hidden in Paulo’s room during his prep hour. With a cute Happy Birthday sign and fancy cupcakes, Paulo and Amira walked into Karin class to surprise her and her class. Will Karin was extremely happy to see Amira, the class was empty. It was also Karin’s prep!. Oh well, eventually the kids all saw Amira.
It was Paulo regifting Amira.
Seeing Kuwait with a Different Set of Eyes
Paulo’s dad, Frank, and Karin’s mom, Hope, visited us — but mostly Amira — for about two weeks. They were able to get out a little and see the sites of Kuwait.
