My Coasters

Back before Christmas I decided that I wanted to make a mosaic...someday. I didn't have a particular design in mind, or even a place where I wanted it to be displayed; I just knew I wanted to make one.

I have an affinity for mosaics. I think they're so beautiful - especially after seing the incredible mosaics at Hagia Sophia in Istanbul and the spectacular mosaic floors in Madaba, Jordan.

Anyway, back when it was still cool enough outside to go for walks, Darren and I made the twenty-minute trek to Ramada signal where we had dinner at Johnny Rockets and then walked across the street to visit the well-known bookstore, Al Jarir. It was in the craft section there that I spotted a simple way to get my feet wet in the art of mosaic making: a coaster kit.

The kit came with everything I would need to make a set of mosaic coasters: plaster powder, a mould, adhesive, grout powder, tiles, brush and instructions. Excited, when I got home I opened up the kit to read the instructions and get inspired. After taking inventory of the kit's contents I realized that there was no grout included. Disappointed, I put the kit and reciept by the front door intending to return to Al Jarir to exchange kits.

Well, life happens and it was a month later when we finally returned to to the bookstore and got a complete kit. Newly excited, the following weekend I set about the fist step of the process: making the coaster moulds out of plaster.

This was a time consuming process because only one coaster could be made at a time and each had to be left for 1 1/2 hours to set before removing it from the mould in order to work on the next one.


So the following weekend I continued the coaster making process by breaking up the tiles. I put each tile between two pieces of cardboard and hammered it. I found it surprisingly satisfying to be so destructive. I tried to contain all the slivers of tile on the plastic sheet I was working on but I suspect one or two got away. Fortunately Sathi, our Sri Lankan cleaner, comes on Mondays so we only walked on treachrous floor for a couple of days.


After the tiles were broken up, they had to be arranged on the coasters and then glued in place.

The "pattern" the instructions told me to follow on the front of the kit box was a random distribution of the three colours of tiles. I tried to arrange the pieces into a pattern or image of some sort but found it to be too difficult with the quantities of each colour I was working with. So I went with the random pattern, as instructed.


After gluing, I cleaned up my mess, placed the coasters on a small dresser to dry and proceeded to leave them there for about two weeks. The next step was grouting them and this required gloves to protect my hands. I had it in my head that I needed some surgical gloves because they would be tight fitting and allow me to get the grout into the crevices between the tile pieces. But it's hard to buy a single pair of surgical gloves, and I certainly have no need for a box of them, so after a few weeks I gave in and used a pair of rubber dish-washing gloves. (Don't worry; we have another pair so the dishes continue to get washed!)

Once the grout had dried a little, I took a sponge and some water and "washed" the coasters, cleaning off excess grout and allowing the stones to show themselves. Then I let them dry for about a week - just to be sure! :)

A more experienced grouter, or a person with a metal file, could have gotten the edges straight, but I am neither of these. Proud of my first attempt at making anything involving plaster and/or grout, I replaced the rubber CNA-Q coasters we had been using in the living room with my very own creations.

Everything was fine until I moved the coaster and realized it was scraping the table. So I dug around in our "everything hardware or fix-it related drawer" for the remnants of the adhesive felt pieces we put on our chair legs to minimize the terrible noise they made when we dragged them across the tile floor. Adding the felt to the bottoms of the coasters seemed to do the trick!

So, at long last we have a set of 4 functional and semi-attractive costers, created by me! It's amazing how much I dragged out the process, but they're finally done. I'm not sure if I'll ever make a real mosaic - this project may have gotten it out of my system. Then again, inspiration may hit someday...who knows!? One thing is for sure: I certainly have more appreciation for mosaic makers!

Jordan, our favourite trip?

After looking at my pictures from Jordan on facebook, a friend asked me if it had been my favourite trip so far. I haven't answered yet because I simply don't know. It's really a difficult question. Each trip we've taken has been good in a different way.

Paris was magical. The weather in Doha was oppressively hot and humid in August and September. Being able to breath in the fresh, French, autumn air and walk around outdoors until our feet hurt each day was just the reprieve we needed. Also, we have so many wonderful memories from our two days with Dan and Marie in Paris; they are our perfect traveling companions!

Turkey was relaxing. This was our first time in another country with a large Arab population, and although there are similarities with Qatar, it was so very different. We loved seeing Istanbul at our own pace - which was slowly! We loved meeting/getting to know better Hannah-Lee and Eric. We loved the fact that we could enjoy a couple of days of snow in Ankara - somthing we thought we had given up for good. We loved walking around the ancient city of Ephesus, which happened to be my first experience with real ruins.

Dubai was business. Enough said.

Kuwait City was refreshing. A city I describe as "a bigger version of Doha," Kuwait was an unlikely place for us to visit. But spending a weekend with Darren's former youth pastor and family was just what we needed this spring. We've been finding it difficult to find like-minded people here, and I was starting to get frustrated about it. Our visit with Steve and -especially- Naomi was encouraging; I determined anew not to give up on finding people to truly connect with here.

Jordan was...well, it was...awe-some.

Like in Paris and Turkey, we enjoyed being outdoors and walking around. The temperature in Jordan varied from place to place (elevation to elevation), but the mornings and evenings were beautifully chilly. We got a good amount of physical exercise walking around Petra and climbing up Dunes in Wadi Rum – the kind of exercise it’s too hot to get outdoors in Doha these days.


Like Kuwait, Jordan is part of the Arab world, but the country is much greener than the Gulf countries - trees are a real treat for us these days! We did get a chance to use our dozen Arabic words/phrases, though, which was another treat. Besides our students, no one we interact with in Doha speaks Arabic. If we said shukran to our waitress, she might understand, but it would be like we were speaking a foreign language to her – which we would be!


Like in Turkey, we experienced antiquity. There are Roman (Byzantine) ruins throughout the country - often right beside or even under present-day buildings. Although I missed experiencing Jerash (heat-induced anxiety got the better of me), I really loved all the mosaics in and around Madaba. The first mosaics I’d ever seen in person were in Istanbul, but the quantity and diversity of the ones in Jordan really impressed me.


So if a visit to Jordan was so much like previous vacations, what inspired the awe?

Petra. The Nabateans created such incredible sculptures; I’m glad I got a chance to see them – especially the Monastery! It took years to complete some of the most ornate facades, and they include symbols from a variety of cultures and religious points of view, in order to welcome others and encourage trade. Interesting, no?



The Dead Sea. I have a really hard time floating. It has something to do with the fact that I hate getting water in my ears so I don’t relax my neck enough. But even tense-necked, I floated like nobody’s business in the Dead Sea! If it had been a few degrees warmer, I think Darren could have spent all day in there. I’m not sure what the effects on his body would have been, but he would have enjoyed himself!



Bible Stories. There's just something about being in the Holy Land that is amazing. Growing up hearing stories of Moses, Abraham, Jacob, Jesus..., and then seeing the sites where these stories might have taken place creates an emotional response. Of course, some of the stuff is cheesy – part of Moses’ spring has been covered with a building and a rock was put in there to symbolize the rock he hit to make the water flow. Just a random rock! But standing on Mount Nebo, overlooking the Promised land, or listening to Darren read fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls, or just seeing rocky hillsides made the Bible stories come to life.

There are lots of places with incredible history, but this was one place whose history I’ve read and studied.

The night we stayed at the Dead Sea, Darren and I spent about half an hour sitting on a bench overlooking the sea. On the other side we saw the lights of Jerusalem. It was right there – Jerusalem! And Jericho, the city whose walls fell down when the trumpets blew was just to the right. Amazing.



Diversity. Not awe-some per se, but wonderful nonetheless. While in Jordan our activities varied from driving through the desert in an old 4x4 jeep to lounging by the pool at a resort. Our meals ranged from take away falafel sandwiches to formal dinner buffets. The temperature fluctuated from "can I borrow your jacket, honey?" in the morning to "where's the nearest shade?" in the afternoon and then back to "I just want to snuggle under the covers!" in the evening. Our sleeping accommodations ranged from a tent in the desert to a 5-star suite. The landscape varied from sand to rocky mountains with sparce greenery to manicured gardens. It's hard not to enjoy yourself when every day is different from the last!



Unlike all our previous trips, we didn't arrange the vacation with anyone else. I wasn't sure whether this would be a positive change or not, since the highlights of previous trips included time spent with friends. However, it was nice to be just the two of us. And we did end up having drinks with a group of colleagues in Amman, and lunch with another colleague and his girlfriend in Petra. Also, we met some interesting characters along the way, like our driver Amer, and Abu Fadi the gentleman who served us tea at one of the mosaic sites near Mount Nebo.



So, yes, I certainly enjoyed our visit to Jordan. Was it my favourite trip? That's really hard to say, but it might have been. While we were there Darren adn I were already talking about the places we'd like to see next time we're in Jordan. That will be a longer trip in which we combine parts of Syria, Israel, and maybe even Egypt. But for now we will be thankful to have had this experience and regularly refer to our pictures to remember our time in Jordan.

Life as a non-sweat-er

I don't sweat. I never have. In fact, I can't.

“You’re so lucky!” is the initial reaction I get from almost everyone, especially those who perspire profusely. But once the full consequences of this reality sink in, jealousy often changes to pity. Or at least a look that seems to say, “Man, you're weird.”

Sweating is the body's major means of thermoregulation. Simply put, sweat cools a person down. So what happens when one, such as myself, lacks the ability to sweat? Well, simply put, one overheats and one faints.

My mother and at least one of my sisters are in a similar predicament. Fortunately, however, they don't have the same kind of un-sweat-related stories to tell as I do.

My first memory of heat-induced fainting happened in grade 5 at the track and field meet. I was in line waiting for my turn to compete in high jump. Not feeling well, I asked the supervising teacher if I could go sit down inside. He said ok and as I walked away my legs kind gave way. I must have been stumbling about because the teacher noticed and ran up to me in time to catch me as I fell. A lady from the refreshment stand brought me some cold orange drink and I sat on the cool concrete in the school building. It wasn't too long until I was feeling better but I opted not to participate in any more events that day. I still came home with the same award I would have if I had finished all the events: a purple participation ribbon.

The next incident occurred when I was 14 years old in Thailand. I was walking in a crowded market place in Chiang Mai in the middle of the day with my father. I started to feel light headed and my vision was cutting in and out. I lost my balance and stumbled into a stand selling watches. I heard someone yelling at me from somewhere off in the distance, but I sure didn't care. Somehow my dad dragged me into an air conditioned Burger King and plopped me down on a cool bench. While he was getting a Pepsi from the counter I lost control of my bladder - the most embarrassing thing I could think of at the time. After about twenty minutes I was able to walk again and dad and I headed back to our guest house, after a quick wash up in the bathroom.

In the summer of 2003 I volunteered with an organization in Bosnia teaching English. At the end of our time there, the team traveled to the sea to spend a few days relaxing and regrouping before heading home. We took a bus with no A/C and whose windows didn't seem to open. I was fine for a while but hours of sitting on a warm bus with no sweat to cool myself down took its toll. When the bus stopped, the group I was traveling with headed left but I stumbled to the right, in the direction of what looked like a bathroom. I ignored the lady who was asking for money to use the facilities and almost fell face first in the sink. I wet my hands, face, neck, feet...whatever I though would help. It cooled me down enough to make it to the hotel where I rested for the remainder of the day while my friends headed to town to do some souvenir shopping.

Unfortunately the stories don’t end there. One day in the spring of 2005 while Darren and I were dating I got a terrible sunburn, some of the effects of which can still be seen today. Not fully realizing the extent of the burn and the heat it caused to build up inside my body, that evening we went out to see Darren's buddy's comedy show. Despite the A/C and the ice from Darren's drink I was melting on my skin, I was hot. When the show was over I begged Darren to take me home although he wanted to stay and chat with his friends. On the way back to the car, -you guessed it- I passed out from overheating. The incident happened to occur in front of a Lebanese restaurant, so Darren dragged me inside. The hostess got me some cold water, some of which I drank and some of which was poured on my head. Just as before, it wasn't long until we were on our way again.

Then on our honeymoon in the Dominican Republic, Darren and I went on a jungle safari where we stopped at a traditional home. It was beautiful but hot inside. As the guide was explaining the way the people who lived there would have made bread and ironed their clothes I could feel myself getting faint. I excused myself and went and sat outside where there was a breeze. But it was too late and the blackness overtook me. This time, however, Darren knew what to do: a little water on my head and I was (almost) as good as new.

There was another small incident at a Conley family picnic. A group of us were playing volleyball. Apparently I was too busy attempting not to embarrass myself or frustrate the real volleyball players with my lack of skill to notice how hot I was getting. But once I realized the imminent danger I was putting myself in, I found a nearby bench under the shade of a tree with a cool breeze blowing and lay down until I was myself again.

I wish that were the last incident. We arrived in Doha around midnight on August 13, 2008. The next day we were awakened early and taken to the college to gather our paperwork and then bussed to a medical facility for blood work. The men and women have separate facilities for the medicals, and although we took separate transportation to these facilities, we had to wait for each other to go to the next place for blood typing. The men took a very long time and the women waited for them in the bus, which was air conditioned but only to the extent a stationary vehicle can be. Then we were transported elsewhere for blood typing and again waited on the packed bus. While I didn’t ever lose consciousness, by the time we arrived back at the college for lunch, I was too hot and weak to do anything but wet my face with the lukewarm tap water in the washroom and sit on the concrete floor to try to cool down. Thankfully the administrator took pity on me and sent me to the hotel to sleep while Darren checked out our accommodation and went shopping for household necessities.

That brings us to the present.

Needless to say, I have to be careful when and where I go in the heat. But I'm lucky that the problem of overheating which I face is easily overcome, with minimal side effects (lingering headache, fatigue...no big deal). I’m also lucky that it’s something that can be easily treated and even prevented, provided I’m surrounded by people who work with me (giving me water, finding me shade) rather than against me (panicking, gathering around).

Reading through the incidents it’s easy to see how I’ve learned to deal with the situation. My body warns me before it passes out (usually I bloat up, start to itch, and turn red), and I’ve learned to take precautions such as carrying water with me wherever I go and avoiding extremely hot situations.

I certainly do not want to be foolish and put myself in situations where fainting is inevitable. On the other hand, I do not want to live in fear or miss out on experiences because I might get too hot.

I'm still working on this balance. On our first full day in Jordan, Darren and I had a city tour of Amman and then we were taken to the nearby city of Jerash to see the Roman ruins there. It was cold in the morning - I was wearing the warmest clothes I had brought. But when we arrived at Jerash it was significantly warmer (partly due to the lower altitude, and partly because the sun had come out). Walking from the parking lot to the entrance (Hadrian's gate - which is quite magnificent) just about did me in. My body was flashing me some of its warning signs, so rather than take the 2-hour guided walking tour of the unshaded ruins, I opted to sit in the car with the A/C on and read my book/doze. I made the right decision, but every now and then I second guess myself, afraid that I'm giving in to fear. (ironic, no?)

Two days later was THE day: Petra. Because of my experience at Jerash (and all the previous heat-caused incidents), I was afraid. But it turned out that for the entire tour of the main street I was actually cold. I was elated! I kept saying to Darren, “I’m freezing; isn’t that great!?”

We decided around 10:00 to climb the 1000 + stairs to the Monastery which was supposed to be breathtaking. I was fine for a while until the breeze quit and the sun moved higher in the sky, making the shade slowly disappear. All of a sudden I got scared. Thoughts such as, “What if I get too hot? What if I pass out? How will I get back down to ‘civilization’? This path is too narrow and steep for Darren to carry me down safely. How could I be so foolish to think I could climb this mountain?” went screaming through my head. But we proceeded, with caution. More than once I asked Daren to stop in a shady spot for me to sit a while. I dumped almost an entire bottle of water on myself on the way up. And at least twice I announced that I couldn't go any farther. But he persuaded me to continue, stopping whenever I felt I needed to.

I'm proud to report that I did make it to the top, where there was a cool breeze and plenty of shade. The sand that hadn’t seen the sun yet that day was cold and I buried my feet in it (feet are a good temperature regulator). While Darren ran around taking pictures of the site, I stood in the shade, sand up to my ankles, rejoicing to myself and being thankful. Although it sounds like nothing much, it was a big victory for me. I need to have positive experiences where I managed to do something ‘normal’ despite my abnormal heat sensitivities so that I have something to cling to next time – especially if I never, ever sweat.

Oh, and yes, the view was breathtaking: