Hangin' with Hollingsworth!

Remember when you were in school and you spotted one of your teachers at the mall, wearing jeans?!  It seemed so weird, so unnatural!  As students we all create a secret world in our head where teachers live - they only wear dress shirts, they never drink a beer and they certainly aren't cool enough to have a personal life or any fun.  (I'm looking at you here Dad.)

So when I received an email from Coatesville-student-favorite-teacher-of-all-time - Mr. Frank Hollingsworth - saying that he was spending the night in Dubai after concluding a cruise around the Middle East I was a) thrilled to have anyone from the 'Ville visiting and b) wondering if he was going to assign me homework?

Breaking News!  Teachers are apparently real people!  And in Mr. Hollingsworth's case they are really cool people.  As the messages on my Facebook would attest, he was much loved by his students and it's easy to see why.  He regaled us with stories of his trip so far: hiking the cliffs of Petra, riding camels in the Egyptian desert, going through the Suez Canal and even learning anti-pirating drills on his cruise ship as they prepared to sail around Somalia.

Matt and I were delighted to take them around our neighborhood and (gasp!) out for a drink (yep, they drink beer too...).  It was fun to reminisce about the Class of 2000 and get a little touch of home.  Although I don't envy the next step for him and Mariann - they've got a 14 hour flight in front of them and are leaving the 75 degree weather and returning to 0!  I'm sure Mr. H will use all his psych skills to deal with the adjustment!

Frank, Mariann, me, Matt at Bice Mare in Souk Al Bahar.

Mr. Hollingsworth tells me that the Burj Khalifa - tallest in the world - is Freudian manifestation.  A phallic symbol which is a clear sign of male insecurity.

Ok.  He didn't say any of that.

Hanging out in front of the Dubai Fountain.