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!
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