Thursday 10/24
Well, today started out as a short day for both the English and Arabic teachers. The kids started the day with Islamic and Arabic studies and then I came in to teach them English. After English, we took the kids into the playground area where their normal tables for eating at were set up. The students were instructed to bring in their "breakfast" and sit and wait. Today the kids were going to learn about HEALTHY EATING. I capitalized this because you will need to remember it. So the kids all ate at the same time, and while they were eating, the cleaning ladies, vice principal, principal and nurse passed out a milk (Strawberry, Chocolate or Mango) and a piece of fruit. The healthy eating assembly continued with videos about healthy foods, and eating contests. Two of my students were selected to race each other to see who could finish 3 fully stocked fruit skewers. The student who finished his first was out cold, head down on the table 30 minutes later (sugar crash). The contests continued and then the kids were given a coloring sheet of a fruit to color and my HoF came by to see which one from each class was the best. This assembly went on for almost 2 hours, it was the LONGEST and most stressful time. Trying to get the kids to sit for that long was near impossible. Not to mention, the music teacher passed out in front of the kids and they had to wheel her away in a wheelchair. She ended up being ok, but it was definitely a scary situation. They also brought in a beautiful cake into the assembly area. This was supposed to be for the parents and teachers, however one of the classes received cake. I was shocked at the lack of healthy foods being eaten as well as the amount of food that was given to the kids. I know I am in a different country and this is how they think, but I feel that healthy eating is universal, but apparently not. So Thursday ended with a rooftop gathering at the other teacher villas. I met some new people and saw some of the teachers at my school. Rebecca and I, on our way home, had the best silent laugh of our lives. You know when something is so funny that you are laughing so hard, no sound comes out and there are tears rolling down your face. Well, that's what we experienced, and it was GREAT! I haven't laughed like that in soo long and I couldn't have been more thankful for it! It still makes me chuckle thinking about it.
Friday 10/25
Today I watched the dogs. They were totally thrown off that I had furniture, but I think they enjoyed it. We hung out all day and went for a mini walk around the play area. I swear the kids in my complex just sit by the window and watch, every time I go outside with the dogs, they see me and start telling everyone in their home that there are dogs outside. They also make noises at the dogs, it is very odd.
Saturday 10/26
This morning Rebecca and I were up bright and early to be at the bank by 8 AM. The bank in town is only open Sun-Thursday and Saturday. Their hours are ridiculous 8-1:30. Anyway, I went in to show them my passport since I finally have it back with my Visa in it. I also transferred money and signed up for online banking. So online banking is VERY strange here. In the US, if you want online banking, you simply sign up online. Here, not the case. You have to have a token which is a little key ring thing with numbers on it which change every 30 seconds - minute. This code will allow you to access your account online and do normal online banking things. This is so technologically advanced, however some other things are not here. It just makes me laugh. The rest of the day was dedicated to catching up on shows and lesson planning.
Sunday 10/27
The bakery that I have been going to everyday now knows me and what I order. I came in this morning and the gentlemen inside greeted me with a good morning and asked me how many I wanted today (I threw him off last week when I asked for another one for a teacher at school). School wasn't bad today. The kids were engaged in the letter D activities and the number 6. While I was teaching, the principal and a parent with two girls came into the classroom. From what I gathered, this is a potential new student in my classroom. Everything was going great, until they all started speaking Arabic really loud while I was trying to teach. So you can imagine who the kids were listening to?!?!? This went on for quite a few minutes which really annoyed me, but I kept on teaching. For math, we are working on simple patterns which my kids ROCK at, so tomorrow we will do more complicated patterns. I will be sending homework home this week, just practicing writing the number 6 and letter D. Apparently we are going on another field trip this week. This time we are going to the beach, hopefully all day. I will need to pack my sunscreen everyday this week since I am not sure when it will happen. Anyway, I don't have pictures for this entry, but I will try next time!
Sunday, October 27, 2013
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
Internet!
Well, this entry is dedicated to Mrs. Margie Mykland, the heart of Visitation Catholic School (my old school). The reason I am dedicating this entry to her comes from my video chat a few minutes ago. She payed my a very nice compliment, saying I should have been a novelist and that when she reads my entries she feels like she is right there with me. I have always struggled at writing, all through my schooling and in college. I have always said I write how I speak, and it warmed my heart to have someone other than my family tell me that my writing was good. To everyone at Visitation that I saw this morning and those I didn't, I truly miss you all.
Let's see there is a lot to cover, so here it goes!
Tuesday 10/15
Today I watched the dogs again, something had Gizmo (normally the more outgoing one) freaked out, it could have been my washing machine, but I think it was all the activity from the morning. I was woken up at 6:15 this morning to what I thought was the call to prayer, but it turned out to be the start of Eid. This "call to prayer", which was louder than normal went on for an hour! Rebecca and I made our way up to the roof of our building to see if we could see what was going on. Sure enough, we saw the big outdoor arena with tons of people! Since our view wasn't the greatest, we got into Rebecca's car and drove closer to it. This is what we saw:
There were a few hundred men on their prayer rugs praying. There was a man standing on a podium who was reciting the prayer very loudly. We drove up near the end, as soon as the man stopped speaking, EVERYONE got up and started to leave, we high tailed it out of there because we knew it was about to get crazy crowded. It was very interesting to hear what was happening, the arena was reciting one thing, but a mosque down the road was doing something different.
Wednesday 10/16
Well, this morning turned out to be different than spontaneously planned. Rebecca and I were going to drive to Dubai, but while trying to make reservations for tickets to the top of the tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa, we weren't able to get tickets until Friday. We bagged that idea and being as there really isn't anything to do where we live, we decided to drive to Abu Dhabi just to go to a mall. There is one on the edge of the city that we thought we would try, and it was a success! I walked away(paying for these things of course) with a coffee pot, Sonicare toothbrush (I had been brushing my gums off using a regular toothbrush), rice cooker, hair dryer, and some freshly ground up Starbucks coffee to brew in the morning! After the mall, we made our way to a grocery store called Spinneys. Now, you may be asking yourself why I am telling you this next part, well, trust me. Spinneys has a non-Muslim section, consisting of things that contain pork and pork meat itself, which means BACON! I don't know how much it cost, and frankly I didn't care, I bought it!
We also thought we might find some adult beverages, but this one didn't carry any, so the owner/manager told us how to get to the one in the industrial area across the highway. Well, this "little" journey turned into us driving around for about an hour and a half, determined to find it. We asked two different people where it would be, but they couldn't communicate to us where it was. By the way, driving in the industrial areas is scary, they honk, get super close, don't know how to drive around a roundabout, etc. Well we were in a parking lot where we thought it was and stumbled upon an American! He couldn't exactly tell us where it was either, but we noticed that he had come out of another place that had adult beverages. We drove around some more and couldn't find what we were looking for, so we went back to the place where we saw the American and called it good. Let me tell you something, in the industrial areas, there are lots of workers (all men) and good Lord do they stare! As if they have never seen a woman before, let alone one with red hair. It's really annoying and uncomfortable! So, needless to say we got what we wanted and drove back home.
Thursday 10/17
THE BEST DAY EVER! Furniture day!! The Ikea trucks arrived at 11 am and the two men who assembled my furniture left at 3:30. During this time, I sat on my kitchen counter (the only place to sit) and watched episode after episode of Friends. After they left, the real work began, I was able to FINALLY unpack my suitcase in my new HOME! For some reason when I was in Ikea for 5 hours I thought that 20 hangers would be enough to hang my clothes, yes, HALF of my clothes. I needed more hangers, but I hung what I could. I finished decorating and making my bed at about 6 and enjoyed watching a movie while sitting on my couch!
Friday 10/18
Today started EARLY, we left our places at 7:00 AM. We headed to Dubai with a mission, to visit the largest mall in the world, the tallest building in the world, and the largest indoor aquarium in the world. Mission accomplished! While waiting in line to go to the 124th floor of the tallest building(it goes to 140), we got complimentary henna tattoos. The woman who was doing them was so talented, and quick!
Being at the top of the tallest building in the world was amazing! We could see the islands in the distance that are shaped like countries (man made) and we could see the city for miles. Here are just a few pictures.
After our tour, we met up with a girl I met before I came here, she lived in Tacoma and was going to be teaching at a GEM school in Dubai. We got a little lost trying to find her in the mall (it is the largest mall), but when we found her, we had a blast! We visited the aquarium and zoo with her, she hadn't seen it either. I was able to see lots of cool animals there, including the bast of Finding Nemo!
After the aquarium, we decided to eat at The Cheesecake Factory. We sat and ate for probably a good 2 hours +. After dinner, we decided to walk around the mall a bit more and then decided to venture to another mall which is known for something famous, the indoor ski slopes! We were so excited to see it, we didn't go in because it is ridiculously expensive and plus I don't ski or snowboard (have no desire to). We found a restaurant that over looks it and parked our tired feet there.
After this mall, we were spent and it was about 10:30. Krista was nice enough to let us stay at her place. We brought our air mattresses with us and were good to go! We got up early in the morning to head back home since school started back up the next day. A HUGE thank you to Krista for letting us crash, and we will be back soon I am sure, if you will have us of course!
Saturday 10/19
Today was a lazy day. I planned for the week and relaxed.
Sunday 10/20
First day back from break. I only had 11 kids today, which was nice! I was also able to teach English first thing in the morning because the principal wanted to have a meeting with the Arabic teachers. This was amazing, the kids were engaged and listening! This is not the case every day, since I teach them after breakfast which consists of lots of sugar, you can imagine what I am dealing with and add to the fact that most of them don't understand me, makes for an awesome day (not). For dinner, Rebecca, Cormack and I went to dinner at a Lebanese restaurant. It was delicious! I had a dish that consisted of ground up lamb with herbs pressed between two pieces of the bread they make and grilled. The dish came with a plate of veggies and three different types of hummus. Delicious! I have realized that I cannot find the most basic things at the grocery store here. I was in need of band aids, I couldn't find them anywhere! I am assuming that they are at the pharmacy which is like a Walgreens back home. I guess I should explain who Cormack is, he is a gentleman who teaches at Rebecca's school and is from Ireland. He is here alone as his wife and four kids are back at home. He is the sweetest man! He told Rebecca and I that if we come visit Ireland (duh, that's my first trip!) we could stay in an apartment he rents out for free. He has given us so many cool places to visit when we go, I asked him if I could hire him as our private tour guide because he is so full of information.
Monday 10/21
Teaching today was difficult, they kids decided they weren't going to listen to me, so that made it difficult. I was on a mission after school today, one to get home and two, to set up my Internet. I was successful in this, with the help of the company I have Internet through. The gentleman on the phone with me walked me through what to do and it worked! I also hooked up my Roku, but I forgot to turn my VPN on first on my computer, so it registered that I was here and not in the United States, so the Teacher Tech guy will have to come out and help me. I am one happy camper, I can finally watch the shows I have been missing!
Tuesday 10/22
Well, today sucked. It started with my co-teacher telling me 15 minutes before hand that we were going on a field trip to the fish shop in town. This is just how they do things here, very last minute. So, we took the kids to the fish shop (a 2 minute bus ride) and the kids went in (it was a store with coolers of ice and fish inside) and my co-teacher took out a fish and explained to them about the parts of the fish, fins, gills, etc. After that we got back onto the bus and went back to school. Who in the hell takes 4 and 5 year olds on a field trip and then comes BACK to the school and tries to teach??!!?!? Oh, that would be my school. The rest of the day was a disaster, kids weren't listening, they were running everywhere, laughing when I would tell them to stop something and continue to do it, etc. Even my co-teacher said "children, no good today!" At least we are on the same wave length! So when I got home, I printed their pictures out for the behavior chart and told my HoF that tomorrow they would all be on RED (which is not good) because now all their pictures are on the chart!
Wednesday 10/23
Well, teaching English went really well. I had them collage a traffic light with red, yellow and green paper since we are learning the letter T. They loved it! Math, went Ok, I moved lots of kids from Green to orange right away and they didn't like that at all. The colors for the chart are green, yellow, orange, red and then a chair separated from the group. I walked them to music and found out after being in the room for 10 minutes with no music teacher that she wasn't there. Well it would have been nice is someone had TOLD us that! I took them into the playground area instead and just kept them in there. My HoF told me that if they just aren't listening, that it was ok to keep them in there as long as I make up what I am supposed to be teaching later in the week. I met a student's mother today, one of them that was laughing at me and running away when I would tell him to stop. She wanted to know how he was doing, I flat out told her he was NOT listening to me, and she wasn't very happy with him and made him apologize to me. If I get sent home for telling a parent that their child isn't doing what they are supposed to be doing, then so be it, but I am not going to sugar coat it for them. Anyway, tomorrow is Thursday and the last day of the week, THANK GOD! Now that I have Internet, I will post more often and they won't be as long! Here are some pictures from Tuesday-Today, enjoy!
Let's see there is a lot to cover, so here it goes!
Tuesday 10/15
Today I watched the dogs again, something had Gizmo (normally the more outgoing one) freaked out, it could have been my washing machine, but I think it was all the activity from the morning. I was woken up at 6:15 this morning to what I thought was the call to prayer, but it turned out to be the start of Eid. This "call to prayer", which was louder than normal went on for an hour! Rebecca and I made our way up to the roof of our building to see if we could see what was going on. Sure enough, we saw the big outdoor arena with tons of people! Since our view wasn't the greatest, we got into Rebecca's car and drove closer to it. This is what we saw:
Wednesday 10/16
Well, this morning turned out to be different than spontaneously planned. Rebecca and I were going to drive to Dubai, but while trying to make reservations for tickets to the top of the tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa, we weren't able to get tickets until Friday. We bagged that idea and being as there really isn't anything to do where we live, we decided to drive to Abu Dhabi just to go to a mall. There is one on the edge of the city that we thought we would try, and it was a success! I walked away(paying for these things of course) with a coffee pot, Sonicare toothbrush (I had been brushing my gums off using a regular toothbrush), rice cooker, hair dryer, and some freshly ground up Starbucks coffee to brew in the morning! After the mall, we made our way to a grocery store called Spinneys. Now, you may be asking yourself why I am telling you this next part, well, trust me. Spinneys has a non-Muslim section, consisting of things that contain pork and pork meat itself, which means BACON! I don't know how much it cost, and frankly I didn't care, I bought it!
We also thought we might find some adult beverages, but this one didn't carry any, so the owner/manager told us how to get to the one in the industrial area across the highway. Well, this "little" journey turned into us driving around for about an hour and a half, determined to find it. We asked two different people where it would be, but they couldn't communicate to us where it was. By the way, driving in the industrial areas is scary, they honk, get super close, don't know how to drive around a roundabout, etc. Well we were in a parking lot where we thought it was and stumbled upon an American! He couldn't exactly tell us where it was either, but we noticed that he had come out of another place that had adult beverages. We drove around some more and couldn't find what we were looking for, so we went back to the place where we saw the American and called it good. Let me tell you something, in the industrial areas, there are lots of workers (all men) and good Lord do they stare! As if they have never seen a woman before, let alone one with red hair. It's really annoying and uncomfortable! So, needless to say we got what we wanted and drove back home.
Thursday 10/17
THE BEST DAY EVER! Furniture day!! The Ikea trucks arrived at 11 am and the two men who assembled my furniture left at 3:30. During this time, I sat on my kitchen counter (the only place to sit) and watched episode after episode of Friends. After they left, the real work began, I was able to FINALLY unpack my suitcase in my new HOME! For some reason when I was in Ikea for 5 hours I thought that 20 hangers would be enough to hang my clothes, yes, HALF of my clothes. I needed more hangers, but I hung what I could. I finished decorating and making my bed at about 6 and enjoyed watching a movie while sitting on my couch!
Today started EARLY, we left our places at 7:00 AM. We headed to Dubai with a mission, to visit the largest mall in the world, the tallest building in the world, and the largest indoor aquarium in the world. Mission accomplished! While waiting in line to go to the 124th floor of the tallest building(it goes to 140), we got complimentary henna tattoos. The woman who was doing them was so talented, and quick!
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| There were still 16 more floors! |
After our tour, we met up with a girl I met before I came here, she lived in Tacoma and was going to be teaching at a GEM school in Dubai. We got a little lost trying to find her in the mall (it is the largest mall), but when we found her, we had a blast! We visited the aquarium and zoo with her, she hadn't seen it either. I was able to see lots of cool animals there, including the bast of Finding Nemo!
After the aquarium, we decided to eat at The Cheesecake Factory. We sat and ate for probably a good 2 hours +. After dinner, we decided to walk around the mall a bit more and then decided to venture to another mall which is known for something famous, the indoor ski slopes! We were so excited to see it, we didn't go in because it is ridiculously expensive and plus I don't ski or snowboard (have no desire to). We found a restaurant that over looks it and parked our tired feet there.
Saturday 10/19
Today was a lazy day. I planned for the week and relaxed.
Sunday 10/20
First day back from break. I only had 11 kids today, which was nice! I was also able to teach English first thing in the morning because the principal wanted to have a meeting with the Arabic teachers. This was amazing, the kids were engaged and listening! This is not the case every day, since I teach them after breakfast which consists of lots of sugar, you can imagine what I am dealing with and add to the fact that most of them don't understand me, makes for an awesome day (not). For dinner, Rebecca, Cormack and I went to dinner at a Lebanese restaurant. It was delicious! I had a dish that consisted of ground up lamb with herbs pressed between two pieces of the bread they make and grilled. The dish came with a plate of veggies and three different types of hummus. Delicious! I have realized that I cannot find the most basic things at the grocery store here. I was in need of band aids, I couldn't find them anywhere! I am assuming that they are at the pharmacy which is like a Walgreens back home. I guess I should explain who Cormack is, he is a gentleman who teaches at Rebecca's school and is from Ireland. He is here alone as his wife and four kids are back at home. He is the sweetest man! He told Rebecca and I that if we come visit Ireland (duh, that's my first trip!) we could stay in an apartment he rents out for free. He has given us so many cool places to visit when we go, I asked him if I could hire him as our private tour guide because he is so full of information.
Monday 10/21
Teaching today was difficult, they kids decided they weren't going to listen to me, so that made it difficult. I was on a mission after school today, one to get home and two, to set up my Internet. I was successful in this, with the help of the company I have Internet through. The gentleman on the phone with me walked me through what to do and it worked! I also hooked up my Roku, but I forgot to turn my VPN on first on my computer, so it registered that I was here and not in the United States, so the Teacher Tech guy will have to come out and help me. I am one happy camper, I can finally watch the shows I have been missing!
Tuesday 10/22
Well, today sucked. It started with my co-teacher telling me 15 minutes before hand that we were going on a field trip to the fish shop in town. This is just how they do things here, very last minute. So, we took the kids to the fish shop (a 2 minute bus ride) and the kids went in (it was a store with coolers of ice and fish inside) and my co-teacher took out a fish and explained to them about the parts of the fish, fins, gills, etc. After that we got back onto the bus and went back to school. Who in the hell takes 4 and 5 year olds on a field trip and then comes BACK to the school and tries to teach??!!?!? Oh, that would be my school. The rest of the day was a disaster, kids weren't listening, they were running everywhere, laughing when I would tell them to stop something and continue to do it, etc. Even my co-teacher said "children, no good today!" At least we are on the same wave length! So when I got home, I printed their pictures out for the behavior chart and told my HoF that tomorrow they would all be on RED (which is not good) because now all their pictures are on the chart!
Wednesday 10/23
Well, teaching English went really well. I had them collage a traffic light with red, yellow and green paper since we are learning the letter T. They loved it! Math, went Ok, I moved lots of kids from Green to orange right away and they didn't like that at all. The colors for the chart are green, yellow, orange, red and then a chair separated from the group. I walked them to music and found out after being in the room for 10 minutes with no music teacher that she wasn't there. Well it would have been nice is someone had TOLD us that! I took them into the playground area instead and just kept them in there. My HoF told me that if they just aren't listening, that it was ok to keep them in there as long as I make up what I am supposed to be teaching later in the week. I met a student's mother today, one of them that was laughing at me and running away when I would tell him to stop. She wanted to know how he was doing, I flat out told her he was NOT listening to me, and she wasn't very happy with him and made him apologize to me. If I get sent home for telling a parent that their child isn't doing what they are supposed to be doing, then so be it, but I am not going to sugar coat it for them. Anyway, tomorrow is Thursday and the last day of the week, THANK GOD! Now that I have Internet, I will post more often and they won't be as long! Here are some pictures from Tuesday-Today, enjoy!
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| Largest mall directory! |
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| Most expensive part of the mall |
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| Most expensive part of the mall |
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| In front of the aquarium, check out the shark that photo-bombed my picture! |
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| I didn't see Carrie Bradshaw... but I saw her shoes! |
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| Shamsa wrote the letter T in a pattern, capital then lowercase! |
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| thousands of bails of hay on fire in the industrial area in my town, it was under control |
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| At the fish shop, that is my co-teacher |
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| I love penguins! |
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| I get to see the sun rise on my way to work every morning |
Monday, October 14, 2013
Long Time, No Blog
We are going to start all the way back on October 8th for this one. Here goes! My lessons went well today, the kids are starting to listen more. I did have to sit two Mohameds out because they were BOTH not listening during center time and running around the room. For Science, I they are learning about themselves and the basic parts of their body (head, shoulders, knees and toes) and so I had them draw a picture of themselves. I demonstrated first, drawing my head, orange hair, green eyes, neck, shoulders, arms and hands. I drew my clothes also. Well, when they drew themselves, some of them had green eyes as well. Let me tell you something NONE of them have green eyes, so that made me chuckle. I received a call during school from a number I didn't know, I couldn't call it back since I don't have any local minutes left, so I found out from Rebecca it was the place we got our mattresses calling to say they were going to deliver today sometime after 8PM. Well, since we had specifically asked for it to be delivered on Thursday since we wouldn't be out of the hotel until them, we were a little ticked off. The delivery driver kept calling saying trying to get us to have someone else let them in, and we firmly had to tell them NO and that we weren't going to be there. They finally said OK and that it would be delivered sometime next week, thank goodness we purchased air mattresses to sleep on for this exact reason.
October 9th
This morning I video chatted with Justine and Isabelle while Isabelle was getting ready for bed. I got to see her open one of the birthday presents I sent her. She made sure to tell me that she "loved me very much", which melted my heart. She also told me all about her wonderful birthday party! I also chatted with my parents about nothing in particular. During our morning assembly today, I noticed that all of the Arabic teachers had their faces covered which meant to me that there was a man in the room. However, I didn't see one until after their morning pledge. Into the playground area came about 4 men, two in Kandoras and two in their bus driving uniforms. They did a presentation about bus safety, showing the children how they should walk around the front of the bus, don't run and be careful when exiting the bus. I found out from my HoF that we are required to take them on field trips, which is something I love to do (I used to take my class on at least 5 field trips each year), but in a foreign country where my students don't understand me?!?! I was assured that I would be going with one of the other KG2 teachers and our co-teachers would accompany us as well, that made me feel much better! One of my students was wearing a Kandora today with the Keffiyeh(head scarf) which was red and white. This means that he is from Saudi Arabia. He looked absolutely adorable, I tried to get a picture of him, but he had taken the Keffiyeh off and it came undone. Apparently if they wear a Kandora or an army uniform it is meant to let others know they are well behaved children and looked at as leaders by their peers. School went well again, the kids did a very good job of listening, had to sit another child out and he thought it was funny, myself and my co-teacher however did NOT think it was funny at all.
After school, Rebecca and I drove to MZ to check and see if our villas were cleaned, which they weren't, so we happened to run into a woman that cleans a lot of teacher's villas and we paid her to clean our places, she didn't do the best job, but for the first initial cleaning, it was acceptable. We also ended up catching the Internet guys outside out place, so they half way hooked up our Internet, they didn't have routers, so they have to come back with them. We also received a call from the Living room store telling us our mattresses would be delivered on Friday!
October 10th
I can honestly say I now understand why the people who speak Arabic, speak so loud, they play their music SO loud! During our assembly for Eid, I think I lost part of my hearing, the music was SO loud! The assembly for Eid was very interesting to watch, the brought in a big black box with gold around it. Here is what I found out about it:
The Kaaba (Arabic: الكعبة al-Kaʿbah IPA: [ælˈkæʕbɐ], "The Cube"), also known as the Sacred House (بيت الحرام Baytu l-Ḥarām) and the Ancient House (بيت العتيق Baytu l-'Atīq), is a cuboid building in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is one of the most sacred sites in Islam.[1]
Al-Masjid al-Haram, the most sacred mosque in Islam, is built around the Kaaba.[2] Muslims are expected to face the Kaaba during prayers, no matter where they are. From any given point in the world, the direction facing the Kaaba is called the Qibla.
One of the Five Pillars of Islam requires every Muslim to perform the Hajj pilgrimage at least once in his or her lifetime if able to do so. Multiple parts of the Hajj require pilgrims to make Tawaf, the circumambulation seven times around the Kaaba in a counter-clockwise direction. This circumambulation is also performed by pilgrims during the Umrah (lesser pilgrimage).[1] However, the most dramatic times are during the Hajj, when millions of pilgrims gather to circle the building on the same day.[3][4] In 2013, the number of pilgrims coming from outside the kingdom of Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj was officially reported as 1,100,544.[5]
So, during the assembly, the children walked around it seven times saying a prayer of some sort. It was really neat to see. After breakfast and recess, we kept the children in the play area where they sang and received balloons (which they LOVED) and then our principal gave each child a picture of a lamb with AED 5! The lamb is something that they sacrifice during Eid, which is sad to me because every time I see them in a truck, I know what their fate is, but I understand it is part of their religion. The school called the buses to come get the kids early, but we had to stay until 12:45 so our clock out wasn't early. We sat in the meeting room where we were given fruit drinks and just chatted until we could leave. We said goodbye to the Arabic teachers and did this cheek kissing thing with them, they all do it differently, so you can imagine how stupid I felt when one did it 5 times and the next only did it 3! I found out from my HoF that my co-teacher really likes me and is happy I am here. That made me feel good, she is so sweet, but I just didn't know if she thought I was doing a good job or not. It is really nice to have someone tell you that you're doing a good job instead of pointing out everything you're doing wrong as I had in the past. After school, two of the teachers from my school that live in Abu Dhabi City drove me to the airport so I could rent a car. I knew exactly what I wanted, however they didn't have any Honda Civics, and I didn't want to drive a Camry, so I asked for an SUV and I got a Honda CRV. I LOVE IT! It is more expensive, however their the stipend we get for living in the Western Region, it only comes out to being about $500 a month with insurance. I attempted to go to Ace Hardware to get another teacher an air mattress, I found it easily enough, however I got stuck on the damn island and couldn't get off! I finally made it off and made it back to MZ just in time for my appliances to be delivered. So the first night in my villa I had curtains put up in my bedroom and I slept on my air mattress.
October 11th
This morning Rebecca and I went grocery shopping, twice. We had to be back by 11 so that I could meet the dogs I would be watching Saturday. Another teacher in the other teacher villas has two little dogs, one is a gray poodle and the other is a gray mutt of some sort. They were in need of a dog sitter for a few days during the break and another teacher at my school got a last minute plane ticket home and so she asked me if I still wanted to do it. DUH! So they brought the dogs over to check out my place and get firmilar with the smells, etc. Their names are Vinnie and Gizmo and they are adorable. Vinnie is a very frightened little dog, he was a rescue that they picked up in June. He spent most of his life in a puppy mill and because of what happened to him, he is terrified of things. They stayed for a bit and afterwards, we ventured to the grocery store again (different one with more variety). Right before we came back to the villas though, we stopped at the fish, meat and produce market. WOW! FRESH fish for your to buy, they clean, cut AND cook it right there for you! We were only there for a bit, but we will be back. The prawns were HUGE!!
October 12th
I had the dogs today from 9:30-10:30. They cuddled with me on my mattress (only thing to sit on as of right now) the whole day. We did venture down to Rebecca's place for dinner with her and the boys. Rebecca made the most amazing HOME COOKED meal! She roasted a whole chicken, made mac and cheese, green beans and onions, and salad! We also had chocolate cake and ice cream! It was amazing to have a home cooked meal, I enjoy eating out, but there comes a point where it gets to be too much and you get sick of it. That point came about 2 weeks ago for me, so this was quite the treat! After dinner, we ventured over to the boy's villa and watched a movie because one of them had a couch, so we watched a movie with his laptop sitting on an ironing board. American teacher in the Middle East problems haha.
October 13th
Rebecca and I ventured into Liwa to see the hotel that some of the teachers were put up in. On the way we found the camel racetrack. Holy balls it is LONG! We saw lots of camels and their owners practicing (the season starts soon). They were crossing the road, as we were taking pictures of them the riders/owners were waving at us. I drove my car onto the sand road where the camels were penned up and we got out to take pictures. I really wanted to pet one, so I kept inching closer and closer. I got pretty close to one of them and then she sneezed on me and scared the crap out of me! I tried again and was successful! I was suddenly face to face with about 5 camels, they were so cool! We took lots of pictures and then ventured back into MZ. We found some teacher stores in the co op in town, purchased a printer and some supplies. Then we went out to the industrial area where we found the BIG teacher store, we found lots of good things there!
October 14th
Today we drove into Abu Dhabi City to get a crock-pot and go to Ikea again. We met up with Casey and Lindsey at the mall and it was as if we were seeing long lost friends! We spent the whole day together, just shopping and talking. We ate lunch at an Ethiopian restaurant which was delicious, I've never had that kind of food before, but I would totally go back! We also made a stop at Starbucks, I was extremely happy! They are going to come visit us on Friday after our furniture from Ikea is delivered. I can't wait for Thursday so I actually have a couch to sit on and not my mattress on the floor! Enjoy the pictures!
October 9th
This morning I video chatted with Justine and Isabelle while Isabelle was getting ready for bed. I got to see her open one of the birthday presents I sent her. She made sure to tell me that she "loved me very much", which melted my heart. She also told me all about her wonderful birthday party! I also chatted with my parents about nothing in particular. During our morning assembly today, I noticed that all of the Arabic teachers had their faces covered which meant to me that there was a man in the room. However, I didn't see one until after their morning pledge. Into the playground area came about 4 men, two in Kandoras and two in their bus driving uniforms. They did a presentation about bus safety, showing the children how they should walk around the front of the bus, don't run and be careful when exiting the bus. I found out from my HoF that we are required to take them on field trips, which is something I love to do (I used to take my class on at least 5 field trips each year), but in a foreign country where my students don't understand me?!?! I was assured that I would be going with one of the other KG2 teachers and our co-teachers would accompany us as well, that made me feel much better! One of my students was wearing a Kandora today with the Keffiyeh(head scarf) which was red and white. This means that he is from Saudi Arabia. He looked absolutely adorable, I tried to get a picture of him, but he had taken the Keffiyeh off and it came undone. Apparently if they wear a Kandora or an army uniform it is meant to let others know they are well behaved children and looked at as leaders by their peers. School went well again, the kids did a very good job of listening, had to sit another child out and he thought it was funny, myself and my co-teacher however did NOT think it was funny at all.
After school, Rebecca and I drove to MZ to check and see if our villas were cleaned, which they weren't, so we happened to run into a woman that cleans a lot of teacher's villas and we paid her to clean our places, she didn't do the best job, but for the first initial cleaning, it was acceptable. We also ended up catching the Internet guys outside out place, so they half way hooked up our Internet, they didn't have routers, so they have to come back with them. We also received a call from the Living room store telling us our mattresses would be delivered on Friday!
October 10th
I can honestly say I now understand why the people who speak Arabic, speak so loud, they play their music SO loud! During our assembly for Eid, I think I lost part of my hearing, the music was SO loud! The assembly for Eid was very interesting to watch, the brought in a big black box with gold around it. Here is what I found out about it:
The Kaaba (Arabic: الكعبة al-Kaʿbah IPA: [ælˈkæʕbɐ], "The Cube"), also known as the Sacred House (بيت الحرام Baytu l-Ḥarām) and the Ancient House (بيت العتيق Baytu l-'Atīq), is a cuboid building in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is one of the most sacred sites in Islam.[1]
Al-Masjid al-Haram, the most sacred mosque in Islam, is built around the Kaaba.[2] Muslims are expected to face the Kaaba during prayers, no matter where they are. From any given point in the world, the direction facing the Kaaba is called the Qibla.
One of the Five Pillars of Islam requires every Muslim to perform the Hajj pilgrimage at least once in his or her lifetime if able to do so. Multiple parts of the Hajj require pilgrims to make Tawaf, the circumambulation seven times around the Kaaba in a counter-clockwise direction. This circumambulation is also performed by pilgrims during the Umrah (lesser pilgrimage).[1] However, the most dramatic times are during the Hajj, when millions of pilgrims gather to circle the building on the same day.[3][4] In 2013, the number of pilgrims coming from outside the kingdom of Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj was officially reported as 1,100,544.[5]
So, during the assembly, the children walked around it seven times saying a prayer of some sort. It was really neat to see. After breakfast and recess, we kept the children in the play area where they sang and received balloons (which they LOVED) and then our principal gave each child a picture of a lamb with AED 5! The lamb is something that they sacrifice during Eid, which is sad to me because every time I see them in a truck, I know what their fate is, but I understand it is part of their religion. The school called the buses to come get the kids early, but we had to stay until 12:45 so our clock out wasn't early. We sat in the meeting room where we were given fruit drinks and just chatted until we could leave. We said goodbye to the Arabic teachers and did this cheek kissing thing with them, they all do it differently, so you can imagine how stupid I felt when one did it 5 times and the next only did it 3! I found out from my HoF that my co-teacher really likes me and is happy I am here. That made me feel good, she is so sweet, but I just didn't know if she thought I was doing a good job or not. It is really nice to have someone tell you that you're doing a good job instead of pointing out everything you're doing wrong as I had in the past. After school, two of the teachers from my school that live in Abu Dhabi City drove me to the airport so I could rent a car. I knew exactly what I wanted, however they didn't have any Honda Civics, and I didn't want to drive a Camry, so I asked for an SUV and I got a Honda CRV. I LOVE IT! It is more expensive, however their the stipend we get for living in the Western Region, it only comes out to being about $500 a month with insurance. I attempted to go to Ace Hardware to get another teacher an air mattress, I found it easily enough, however I got stuck on the damn island and couldn't get off! I finally made it off and made it back to MZ just in time for my appliances to be delivered. So the first night in my villa I had curtains put up in my bedroom and I slept on my air mattress.
October 11th
This morning Rebecca and I went grocery shopping, twice. We had to be back by 11 so that I could meet the dogs I would be watching Saturday. Another teacher in the other teacher villas has two little dogs, one is a gray poodle and the other is a gray mutt of some sort. They were in need of a dog sitter for a few days during the break and another teacher at my school got a last minute plane ticket home and so she asked me if I still wanted to do it. DUH! So they brought the dogs over to check out my place and get firmilar with the smells, etc. Their names are Vinnie and Gizmo and they are adorable. Vinnie is a very frightened little dog, he was a rescue that they picked up in June. He spent most of his life in a puppy mill and because of what happened to him, he is terrified of things. They stayed for a bit and afterwards, we ventured to the grocery store again (different one with more variety). Right before we came back to the villas though, we stopped at the fish, meat and produce market. WOW! FRESH fish for your to buy, they clean, cut AND cook it right there for you! We were only there for a bit, but we will be back. The prawns were HUGE!!
October 12th
I had the dogs today from 9:30-10:30. They cuddled with me on my mattress (only thing to sit on as of right now) the whole day. We did venture down to Rebecca's place for dinner with her and the boys. Rebecca made the most amazing HOME COOKED meal! She roasted a whole chicken, made mac and cheese, green beans and onions, and salad! We also had chocolate cake and ice cream! It was amazing to have a home cooked meal, I enjoy eating out, but there comes a point where it gets to be too much and you get sick of it. That point came about 2 weeks ago for me, so this was quite the treat! After dinner, we ventured over to the boy's villa and watched a movie because one of them had a couch, so we watched a movie with his laptop sitting on an ironing board. American teacher in the Middle East problems haha.
October 13th
Rebecca and I ventured into Liwa to see the hotel that some of the teachers were put up in. On the way we found the camel racetrack. Holy balls it is LONG! We saw lots of camels and their owners practicing (the season starts soon). They were crossing the road, as we were taking pictures of them the riders/owners were waving at us. I drove my car onto the sand road where the camels were penned up and we got out to take pictures. I really wanted to pet one, so I kept inching closer and closer. I got pretty close to one of them and then she sneezed on me and scared the crap out of me! I tried again and was successful! I was suddenly face to face with about 5 camels, they were so cool! We took lots of pictures and then ventured back into MZ. We found some teacher stores in the co op in town, purchased a printer and some supplies. Then we went out to the industrial area where we found the BIG teacher store, we found lots of good things there!
October 14th
Today we drove into Abu Dhabi City to get a crock-pot and go to Ikea again. We met up with Casey and Lindsey at the mall and it was as if we were seeing long lost friends! We spent the whole day together, just shopping and talking. We ate lunch at an Ethiopian restaurant which was delicious, I've never had that kind of food before, but I would totally go back! We also made a stop at Starbucks, I was extremely happy! They are going to come visit us on Friday after our furniture from Ikea is delivered. I can't wait for Thursday so I actually have a couch to sit on and not my mattress on the floor! Enjoy the pictures!
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| Leaving the racetrack |
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| Crossing the road |
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| View from my bedroom window |
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| View from my second bedroom window |
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| Isabelle opening her present from me |
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| One of my girls dressed up for Eid, twirling in my classroom |
Monday, October 7, 2013
Another Day in KG2
Today started with a video chat with my parents as last night when I was chatting with them, the Internet stopped working. I cannot wait to be in my own place and have fast Internet that hopefully will not cut out! Nina and I arrived late to school today, she had overslept and so we arrived slightly late to school. We have to report by 7:45 each morning and today we arrived at 7:55. We didn't have to stop at the bakery in town for breakfast, however we decided to anyway. I get something called Labnah which is Arab cream cheese put onto a piece of a lightly salted and grilled flat bread. It is delicious and that plus a drink only cost me $1!
Today we worked on the letter N again. It went ok, it is just really difficult to teach them when they maybe understand every 10th word I'm saying. But, like my HoF has said, they will end the year knowing more than they knew at the beginning. My students had art today, which gave me a break to go through my cabinets in my classroom. I now have a mental picture of my resources, which are actually really good. I talked a little bit more with my co-teacher who had asked me if I had taught before :/. I explained to her that I have taught for 6 years and told her the grades I have taught. I made it really clear that I had never taught kids this young and she giggled at me. She told me she has taught for 19 years, she is from Egypt and taught there a few years before coming to this school for 16 years. She really is an amazing teacher and I have already learned so much from her in the 7 days I have known her.
While my students were in Art, I rearranged my cupboards and shelves. I also hung up a poster I found with the numbers 1-20 on it. My co-teacher told me that I can hang up the alphabet on the blank :/ wall. I explained to her that the alphabet that was left is not complete so I need to buy one and I will hang it up. She is so kind, she told me that I can hang anything I want and I can hang it anywhere. I need to make my own behavior chart with pictures of the kids as well as their names(since I have so many repeats) so that I can move their names if they are not listening. Today I tried to move a kid's picture and (I just had a craving for hot cocoa.....) I couldn't find it probably because he wasn't at the school last year. I will be making a chart over our break next week. We have a week long break called Eid. It has something to do with Abraham and the Islamic religion.
I have had some strange cravings since being here, one of which is Mexican food, there are NO Mexican restaurants that I have found and boy have I been craving it. I have also been craving good coffee. While I was living in the other hotel, we were spoiled with a mall full of multiple coffee shops on each floor including a Starbucks. At this hotel, they believe in instant coffee (vomit). I have also craved popcorn (no microwave to pop it) and hot cocoa. I can't wait to make a HUGE salad with all different kinds of veggies when I move into my own place. I feel like I have been eating really heavy food at this hotel since there isn't anything but the hotel food to eat really. Well, that is all for now, no pictures today, sorry :(.
Today we worked on the letter N again. It went ok, it is just really difficult to teach them when they maybe understand every 10th word I'm saying. But, like my HoF has said, they will end the year knowing more than they knew at the beginning. My students had art today, which gave me a break to go through my cabinets in my classroom. I now have a mental picture of my resources, which are actually really good. I talked a little bit more with my co-teacher who had asked me if I had taught before :/. I explained to her that I have taught for 6 years and told her the grades I have taught. I made it really clear that I had never taught kids this young and she giggled at me. She told me she has taught for 19 years, she is from Egypt and taught there a few years before coming to this school for 16 years. She really is an amazing teacher and I have already learned so much from her in the 7 days I have known her.
While my students were in Art, I rearranged my cupboards and shelves. I also hung up a poster I found with the numbers 1-20 on it. My co-teacher told me that I can hang up the alphabet on the blank :/ wall. I explained to her that the alphabet that was left is not complete so I need to buy one and I will hang it up. She is so kind, she told me that I can hang anything I want and I can hang it anywhere. I need to make my own behavior chart with pictures of the kids as well as their names(since I have so many repeats) so that I can move their names if they are not listening. Today I tried to move a kid's picture and (I just had a craving for hot cocoa.....) I couldn't find it probably because he wasn't at the school last year. I will be making a chart over our break next week. We have a week long break called Eid. It has something to do with Abraham and the Islamic religion.
I have had some strange cravings since being here, one of which is Mexican food, there are NO Mexican restaurants that I have found and boy have I been craving it. I have also been craving good coffee. While I was living in the other hotel, we were spoiled with a mall full of multiple coffee shops on each floor including a Starbucks. At this hotel, they believe in instant coffee (vomit). I have also craved popcorn (no microwave to pop it) and hot cocoa. I can't wait to make a HUGE salad with all different kinds of veggies when I move into my own place. I feel like I have been eating really heavy food at this hotel since there isn't anything but the hotel food to eat really. Well, that is all for now, no pictures today, sorry :(.
Sunday, October 6, 2013
CAMELS!
Friday started with a trip to Ikea where Rebecca and I shopped until we literally dropped! This is going to sound so silly, but it is exhausting trying to furnish a 2 bedroom 2 bath villa in the matter of one day! We spent 5 hours in Ikea and didn't even make it through the entire store. Our carts were full by the time we left the bathroom section and still had lighting and decorations to go through. We decided to bag both sections and come back after we've moved in this weekend. So, Ikea is great except for the fact that the furniture items which were the most important to us have to be found in the warehouse after you've made it thought the last section. Luckily we found two amazing workers to help us locate and load everything onto carts for us. I was completely overwhelmed when it came to looking for the different pieces and then going through the check stand with 2 flat carts full of furniture boxes as well as my completely full cart. And after we made it through the check stand, we had to move ALL of it to the delivery section where we had to have it delivered and assembled (I have tried to put together Ikea furniture myself and let's just say I don't understand 1,000 picture directions!). After we left the delivery section, we made our way to Rebecca's car and completely filled it with all of our stuff. I am so thankful to Rebecca for one, letting me tag along with her and two, for letting me keep my stuff in her car until Thursday. I will be getting a car next week as I would like to be able to drive myself to school and back, plus on the road I will travel on I will get to see camels probably every day! So, after Ikea, we made our way into the city and stopped at the Living room store where we picked out a mattress. We made our way back to the hotel and called it a night, what an exhausting day!
Saturday began with breakfast at the hotel with Rebecca. Today was a day of pampering in honor of Rebecca because it was her birthday! We headed to MZ where we will be living by the end of this week. Rebecca had scheduled massages and pedicures for us at a spa that was recommended to her by another teacher who lives in MZ. We had time to kill before that, so we made a list of things we needed to do. First up, we stopped by our villas and checked them out to make sure the power was on and the AC was working. Luckily everything was working, however they were not clean, they were very dusty! We were promised that it would be cleaned by Thursday(we will see). Next we went on a journey to find the place where we sign up for Internet. In Abu Dhabi, there is one ONE company you can sign up for Internet with, we finally found the building after asking someone at the Tamm station where we tried to get a PO Box. We filled out a form and were on our way, hopefully it is hooked up by Thursday or I won't be able to communicate with anyone until it is. They ensured us that it can be hooked up without us being there, but I am not sure that is the case. After that, we ventured into the Industrial Area where we were told they have good deals on appliances. I am not sure if everyone is aware of this, but these apartments are completely empty except a toilet and shower and sinks. I have to purchase a stove/oven, fridge and washing machine. So after stopping at 2 separate places and being told they don't have enough fridges, we finally made it to a place where we ordered our fridge, washing machine, stove/oven, TV, and microwave. They will all be delivered on Thursday night. I cannot express how amazing it will feel to sleep in my own bed, shower at my own place, and WASH my own clothes in a washing machine. Washing my clothes in the bathtub is not cutting it and they take forever to dry! The spa that we went to was lovely, my pedicure was great and my massage was amazing. It was my first one (I have a friend who was going to massage school and would practice on me) and I am hooked. It was inexpensive as well which is great! OMG! I forgot to tell you the most exciting thing of our whole trip on Sunday! We were driving into MZ and totally scouting for camels when ALL of a sudden I saw a whole herd of them! I was screaming and yelling and Rebecca pulled over on the shoulder of the highway (safely) and we got out of the car and moved closer to them. I am still in awe of how beautiful they truly are. I have decided I want one as a pet! (Not ever going to happen, but I can dream right?!?) On our way back to the hotel, we saw another herd (it may have been the same one, I'm not sure) this time they were making their way under the highway and through a tunnel and being followed by a truck. I am not sure if this was a herd that was owned or if they were wild and just being moved for one reason or another.
Sunday actually went ok, I started teaching my students the letter N. They know the sound and what it looks like. My teaching is supposed to be child based learning, so I teach them for about 5-10 minutes about the skill and then put them into centers to work on various things. For example today After watching a short educational video on the letter N, we practiced writing the letter N on the board and then I put them into centers. The centers included individual whiteboards where they practiced writing the letter N, the next center was the "play center" where they assembled an alphabet puzzle, and the last center was writing the letter N using paper and pencil. They actually did fairly well writing the letter N. For Math, I introduced the number 5, the lesson started with a short video on the number 5, we practiced writing it on the whiteboard and then went to centers. The centers were the same for math as they were for English only writing the number 5 and the floor puzzle was a number puzzle. They seem to understand Math a lot better than English, but I am working with them everyday and I am sure it will get better. Yesterday (Saturday) was Teacher Appreciation Day here, so today, we received ice cream candy bars from our Arabic principal. She praised us after school at our Professional Development meeting for being on time. The Arabic teachers were slightly late to the meeting, and she was not happy with them for it. I took a video of my villa and I will post it if it will work, however the Internet connection isn't the best here so it might have to wait until I have Internet hooked up in my place. Enjoy the pictures!
Saturday began with breakfast at the hotel with Rebecca. Today was a day of pampering in honor of Rebecca because it was her birthday! We headed to MZ where we will be living by the end of this week. Rebecca had scheduled massages and pedicures for us at a spa that was recommended to her by another teacher who lives in MZ. We had time to kill before that, so we made a list of things we needed to do. First up, we stopped by our villas and checked them out to make sure the power was on and the AC was working. Luckily everything was working, however they were not clean, they were very dusty! We were promised that it would be cleaned by Thursday(we will see). Next we went on a journey to find the place where we sign up for Internet. In Abu Dhabi, there is one ONE company you can sign up for Internet with, we finally found the building after asking someone at the Tamm station where we tried to get a PO Box. We filled out a form and were on our way, hopefully it is hooked up by Thursday or I won't be able to communicate with anyone until it is. They ensured us that it can be hooked up without us being there, but I am not sure that is the case. After that, we ventured into the Industrial Area where we were told they have good deals on appliances. I am not sure if everyone is aware of this, but these apartments are completely empty except a toilet and shower and sinks. I have to purchase a stove/oven, fridge and washing machine. So after stopping at 2 separate places and being told they don't have enough fridges, we finally made it to a place where we ordered our fridge, washing machine, stove/oven, TV, and microwave. They will all be delivered on Thursday night. I cannot express how amazing it will feel to sleep in my own bed, shower at my own place, and WASH my own clothes in a washing machine. Washing my clothes in the bathtub is not cutting it and they take forever to dry! The spa that we went to was lovely, my pedicure was great and my massage was amazing. It was my first one (I have a friend who was going to massage school and would practice on me) and I am hooked. It was inexpensive as well which is great! OMG! I forgot to tell you the most exciting thing of our whole trip on Sunday! We were driving into MZ and totally scouting for camels when ALL of a sudden I saw a whole herd of them! I was screaming and yelling and Rebecca pulled over on the shoulder of the highway (safely) and we got out of the car and moved closer to them. I am still in awe of how beautiful they truly are. I have decided I want one as a pet! (Not ever going to happen, but I can dream right?!?) On our way back to the hotel, we saw another herd (it may have been the same one, I'm not sure) this time they were making their way under the highway and through a tunnel and being followed by a truck. I am not sure if this was a herd that was owned or if they were wild and just being moved for one reason or another.
Sunday actually went ok, I started teaching my students the letter N. They know the sound and what it looks like. My teaching is supposed to be child based learning, so I teach them for about 5-10 minutes about the skill and then put them into centers to work on various things. For example today After watching a short educational video on the letter N, we practiced writing the letter N on the board and then I put them into centers. The centers included individual whiteboards where they practiced writing the letter N, the next center was the "play center" where they assembled an alphabet puzzle, and the last center was writing the letter N using paper and pencil. They actually did fairly well writing the letter N. For Math, I introduced the number 5, the lesson started with a short video on the number 5, we practiced writing it on the whiteboard and then went to centers. The centers were the same for math as they were for English only writing the number 5 and the floor puzzle was a number puzzle. They seem to understand Math a lot better than English, but I am working with them everyday and I am sure it will get better. Yesterday (Saturday) was Teacher Appreciation Day here, so today, we received ice cream candy bars from our Arabic principal. She praised us after school at our Professional Development meeting for being on time. The Arabic teachers were slightly late to the meeting, and she was not happy with them for it. I took a video of my villa and I will post it if it will work, however the Internet connection isn't the best here so it might have to wait until I have Internet hooked up in my place. Enjoy the pictures!
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| Fog in the morning, school can be canceled because of how thick the fog gets! |
Friday, October 4, 2013
Kids, Keys, Cars and Ikea!
Well, as you can imagine, I have been crazy busy the past few days. I will backtrack and try and remember as much as I can. I will start with school, I am getting the hang of it more and more with each day. I have mastered all the names of the boys and about half of the girls. The problem with me remembering their names is that they are not spelt as they sound, so my memory hasn't made sense of it yet, but it will come eventually. Wednesday was an interesting day, my students were not behaving when they came in from breakfast and since they don't understand what I am saying to them, my Arabic co-teacher pretty much ripped them a new one. I couldn't nut understand what she has saying but when you raise your voice, cross your arms and scowl, that's a pretty universal sign of being disappointed. They had to apologize to me saying "sorry teacher". My lessons are going ok, I need to come up with more simple centers for them, or ones they will really understand if I demonstrate. I was able to accompany them to music and boy was that fun! They were able to play simple instruments and run around to the beat of the song. Yesterday was our Friday here since our work week is Sunday-Thursday. I actually had a really good day with my kids. I think the fact that I am trying to get the hang of their names and they can see the effort makes a difference with them. That is not to say that they had their moments today, they were ripped a new one by my co-teacher twice. It is especially hard after breakfast to get them to calm down because they have had so much sugar for breakfast. I have seen Twix candy bars, Oreos, nutella filled sandwiches, chocolate milk and juice. My co-teacher encourages them to order popcorn in the morning when she takes breakfast count which is good, she totally understands what sugar does to a child. I did find out that my co-teacher has been teaching for many years and is one of the most cooperative teachers at the school. She truly is an amazing teacher, I have no clue what she's saying, but she is so animated for the kids that I can't not pay attention to her lessons, I will probably be fluent in the Arabic alphabet by the end of this year! I sat with most a few of my lower students to do a matching math worksheet with them. One little boy receives some sort of speech therapy at the school once a week and seems to be an aggressor. I have noticed that no matter where I am (American or UAE), the students that are low or high can cause behavior problems, and those are the ones I tend to gravitate towards. I helped him with his worksheet and every time he answered correctly I had a huge deal about it, clapping and smiling. He LOVED it! I got the BIGGEST smile out of him, his naughty behavior during the week was completely erased with me just because of that smile and pride he took in his work! I had the students at this station draw on paper if they chose after the worksheet and one little girl was drawing a face. I asked her if she was drawing herself by pointing to her and then the picture and she shook her head yes. So, I decided to draw the boy I worked one on one with and her. They could not stop giggling, they thought it was so funny that I was drawing them! We didn't have library today, so my co-teacher split the break with me, she took 20 minutes and I took 20 minutes. I had them play with what they chose while I watched them. They love the culture/dress up corner! I had some that were STILL at their table for math working on writing numbers on a whiteboard. Here's something that threw me for a loop, when writing Arabic, they write backwards, not too sure how I MISSED this when I was researching the place I was going to be living for two years! So, can you imagine trying to teach them to write from left to right when all they've known is right to left?!?!
I forgot to mention that I had my first encounter with a student's parent today. She is a lovely woman who asked if she could speak to me outside the classroom about her son. She wanted to know how he was doing because he will be transferred to a private school next year and has to take a test in March for it. She wanted to know what she could help him with at home. I explained to her that it was my first week at the school, but from what I could see he was doing very well and I will be starting to send home practice things for the kids next week. She was very appreciative of this and thanked me. I remember in my interview for this job that I was asked what I would do if a parent comes into my classroom in the middle of a lesson and wants to know how their child is doing. I witnessed it first hand today, however it was my co-teacher who was teaching and she just stopped her lesson and talked with her and then me.
Ok, now lets get to the good stuff. I came "home" from school on Wednesday and was whisked off to the town of Madinat Zayed where I will be living. There was a group of 6 of us in a van headed to look at our accommodations (villas). We arrived at the ADEC offices and met the famous Mocmood (I am totally NOT spelling that correctly, however that is how it is pronounced). He is an interesting fellow, let's put it that way. He showed us to our villas and they are gorgeous and HUGE! I am one person and I get a 2 bedroom 2 bath to myself! We finally received our keys after a few hours and made our way back to the hotel. Our poor driver was exhausted from such a long day and drive and after talked with him we found out he had to drive all the way back to Abu Dhabi City that night (we didn't get back to the hotel until 11:30 and Abu Dhabi City is about an hour/hour and a half away).
Oh, I completely forgot to mention that my new town of residence has a STARBUCKS! I about peed myself when I saw it exclaiming that everything was right with the world again! It's on he way out of town, so I can grab something as I head to school in the morning if I choose. So, needless to say, I finally have my accommodations and have until the 11th to get out of the hotel and into my villa. Rebecca and I are in the same villa (there are 5 apartments in each) which is awesome! The other women that are in my villa are nice as well, 2 from England (I think), one from America and we haven't seen the other person, she wasn't with us.
Yesterday when I arrived "home" from school, Rebecca and I immediately set out to find a ride to the bus station in town to take a bus to Abu Dhabi to rent a car. This seems simple right? Wrong! Apparently according to the ladies at the front desk, the only "taxi" driver in town is on vacation! So, we were pretty much stuck at the hotel until a teacher with a car came back to the hotel. We decided to grab a quick bite to eat and wait. We expressed our disappointment to the wonderful bar tender who told us he would find something out for us. He came back with two numbers of people that would drive us places. He even offered to talk to the man if we couldn't understand him or he didn't speak very good English to which he did not. A lot of the people in town are from India, so our bar tender was able to speak to him and he would be at the hotel in a few minutes! We love our bar tender, he is such a kind hearted man. We hopped in the car, were dropped off at the bus station and on our way to Abu Dhabi. The bus ride to Abu Dhabi cost AED 25 which is about $6. It took us almost 3 hours to get there because we sat in traffic with all the other people trying to go to Abu Dhabi. Oh, here's an interesting fact, if you are sitting in traffic and you would like to keep moving, just drive on the sand along side the road! BTW, this is NOT legal, but we saw SEVERAL people doing this! Also, vehicles can also just stop on the side of the exit and let people out of their car, saw that too! We finally made it into town, right by our old hotel. We walked into the bus station and asked a man what bus takes you to the airport to which is responded E1. Ok, so we went and stood where there were a lot of people and a lot of them had suitcases. While standing there, we saw a bus on the other side that said Airport A1. We asked something we were standing with if this bus went to the airport to which he shook his head no. Ok, lesson number 5,000, write what they say down and ask if it is correct next time! A and E with a thick accent apparently sound the same! So, frustrated and hot, we went into the mall to get car phone chargers and a prepaid card for my phone. We then hopped into a cab and headed to the airport, our driver was very speedy which at this point I was ok with. By the time we got to the airport it was almost 8:30, mind you we left Mirfa at 4:00. I couldn't get my prepaid phone card to work, so I stopped at Du (my cell carrier here) before we went to the car rental area. He simply dialed the SAME number I dialed and it worked. Whatever, I was just thankful that my phone is functional now! Rebecca ended up getting a car (Toyota Rav4) and we were off to Ikea. Ikea closes at 11 here, so we had about an hour and a half to shop. We stopped at Ace Hardware before Ikea to get an air mattress just in case our beds don't arrive in the time we have at the hotel. Ikea was completely overwhelming but we only had an hour, so we were able to write down some things we wanted and are headed back tomorrow. We made our way back to the hotel. The drive was quite interesting, apparently flashing your lights at someone means MOVE in this country and tailing someone is normal. We made it back to the hotel at about 1 AM. I video chatted with my parents and Moe for about an hour and a half and then went to bed. Today starts the day of MAJOR shopping! Enjoy the pics!
I forgot to mention that I had my first encounter with a student's parent today. She is a lovely woman who asked if she could speak to me outside the classroom about her son. She wanted to know how he was doing because he will be transferred to a private school next year and has to take a test in March for it. She wanted to know what she could help him with at home. I explained to her that it was my first week at the school, but from what I could see he was doing very well and I will be starting to send home practice things for the kids next week. She was very appreciative of this and thanked me. I remember in my interview for this job that I was asked what I would do if a parent comes into my classroom in the middle of a lesson and wants to know how their child is doing. I witnessed it first hand today, however it was my co-teacher who was teaching and she just stopped her lesson and talked with her and then me.
Ok, now lets get to the good stuff. I came "home" from school on Wednesday and was whisked off to the town of Madinat Zayed where I will be living. There was a group of 6 of us in a van headed to look at our accommodations (villas). We arrived at the ADEC offices and met the famous Mocmood (I am totally NOT spelling that correctly, however that is how it is pronounced). He is an interesting fellow, let's put it that way. He showed us to our villas and they are gorgeous and HUGE! I am one person and I get a 2 bedroom 2 bath to myself! We finally received our keys after a few hours and made our way back to the hotel. Our poor driver was exhausted from such a long day and drive and after talked with him we found out he had to drive all the way back to Abu Dhabi City that night (we didn't get back to the hotel until 11:30 and Abu Dhabi City is about an hour/hour and a half away).
Oh, I completely forgot to mention that my new town of residence has a STARBUCKS! I about peed myself when I saw it exclaiming that everything was right with the world again! It's on he way out of town, so I can grab something as I head to school in the morning if I choose. So, needless to say, I finally have my accommodations and have until the 11th to get out of the hotel and into my villa. Rebecca and I are in the same villa (there are 5 apartments in each) which is awesome! The other women that are in my villa are nice as well, 2 from England (I think), one from America and we haven't seen the other person, she wasn't with us.
Yesterday when I arrived "home" from school, Rebecca and I immediately set out to find a ride to the bus station in town to take a bus to Abu Dhabi to rent a car. This seems simple right? Wrong! Apparently according to the ladies at the front desk, the only "taxi" driver in town is on vacation! So, we were pretty much stuck at the hotel until a teacher with a car came back to the hotel. We decided to grab a quick bite to eat and wait. We expressed our disappointment to the wonderful bar tender who told us he would find something out for us. He came back with two numbers of people that would drive us places. He even offered to talk to the man if we couldn't understand him or he didn't speak very good English to which he did not. A lot of the people in town are from India, so our bar tender was able to speak to him and he would be at the hotel in a few minutes! We love our bar tender, he is such a kind hearted man. We hopped in the car, were dropped off at the bus station and on our way to Abu Dhabi. The bus ride to Abu Dhabi cost AED 25 which is about $6. It took us almost 3 hours to get there because we sat in traffic with all the other people trying to go to Abu Dhabi. Oh, here's an interesting fact, if you are sitting in traffic and you would like to keep moving, just drive on the sand along side the road! BTW, this is NOT legal, but we saw SEVERAL people doing this! Also, vehicles can also just stop on the side of the exit and let people out of their car, saw that too! We finally made it into town, right by our old hotel. We walked into the bus station and asked a man what bus takes you to the airport to which is responded E1. Ok, so we went and stood where there were a lot of people and a lot of them had suitcases. While standing there, we saw a bus on the other side that said Airport A1. We asked something we were standing with if this bus went to the airport to which he shook his head no. Ok, lesson number 5,000, write what they say down and ask if it is correct next time! A and E with a thick accent apparently sound the same! So, frustrated and hot, we went into the mall to get car phone chargers and a prepaid card for my phone. We then hopped into a cab and headed to the airport, our driver was very speedy which at this point I was ok with. By the time we got to the airport it was almost 8:30, mind you we left Mirfa at 4:00. I couldn't get my prepaid phone card to work, so I stopped at Du (my cell carrier here) before we went to the car rental area. He simply dialed the SAME number I dialed and it worked. Whatever, I was just thankful that my phone is functional now! Rebecca ended up getting a car (Toyota Rav4) and we were off to Ikea. Ikea closes at 11 here, so we had about an hour and a half to shop. We stopped at Ace Hardware before Ikea to get an air mattress just in case our beds don't arrive in the time we have at the hotel. Ikea was completely overwhelming but we only had an hour, so we were able to write down some things we wanted and are headed back tomorrow. We made our way back to the hotel. The drive was quite interesting, apparently flashing your lights at someone means MOVE in this country and tailing someone is normal. We made it back to the hotel at about 1 AM. I video chatted with my parents and Moe for about an hour and a half and then went to bed. Today starts the day of MAJOR shopping! Enjoy the pics!
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| VERY impressed with her alphabet from memory, missing a few, but WOW! |
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| English Teacher's Lounge |
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| Traffic |
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| Apparently traffic out here is optional, if you don't want to sit in it just drive on the sand! Totally not legal BTW. |
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| He saw me!!! <3 |
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| There is a reason this car is blurred, they drive dangerously fast here! |
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