I'm not sure if I have explained the water situation at my school yet or not. I guess to "inconsistent" is a good word for it. Some days we have some, and then there are other days when we have none. Not a very sanitary situation if you ask me, but I'm not in charge here. I just can't imagine children going to school without water in the States. And, I don't just mean drinking water!!
Today marked the beginning of the actual school year. The girls had to stay at school until 2:00, unlike last week when they got to leave at 1:00. At 1:50 the dismissal bell rang! I was so not ready for this. I had just gotten the girls started on their math assignment and was giving stickers. The girls weren't ready either and when that happens things get chaotic. They threw their sticker card at me, grabbed their stuff, and ran out of the room. I wasn't even going to try to fight this battle.
Why the 10 minute early dismissal? I'm thinking Salema just pushed the button early. It happens sometimes, but granted never 10 minutes early (unless of course it's the end of break). I was headed back from the bathroom when Alice tells me that Ms. Salama (assistant principal) told everyone to go home because there was no water! When Ms. Salama tells you to go home, you don't argue. I wasn't about to tell her that I just came from the bathroom and flushed the toilet and washed my hands with a good amount of water! I just grabbed my stuff and left!
So, I must ask, why today? Why was it ok to have school all last week without water, but today it's not? I'm not even going to mention all the times last year that we didn't have water, that's way in the past. But, what changed?
The teachers' lounge was very quiet when I went in at breakfast/lunch time today. No wonder, all the LTs weren't there!! Just kidding. I think the Arabic teachers realized they made a huge mistake and they weren't talking to us. Maybe I should say I "hope" the Arabic teachers realized they made a huge mistake. I grabbed my lunch, filled up my water bottle, and quietly left the room. I did find out that they changed their mind and if you pay for the breakfast you can eat in the room. I don't pay for the breakfast anymore so that still excludes me. Not that I would eat in there if I did pay for it. I'm just sick of it.
This teaching 2 grade levels is going to take a lot of time to get used to. I need to come up with a way to stay organized in the classroom. Unfortunately that probably means I will have to buy something. It's like I need 2 desks; one for 3rd grade and one for 4th grade. I have the 2 cabinets in the closet, but I need to organize what I'm using each day in the classroom so I don't always have to be running back to the closet and getting what I need. I'm super organized so I'll come up with something!
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Thursday, September 15, 2011
First Week of School
There definitely is a difference between year 1 and year 2. Although the girls are not anywhere near where I would expect them to be in the States it's much better than last year. The girls are still chatty, but I know to expect that and I can compare it to last year when they were completely disrespectful and didn't listen at all. So far, that is not happening this year. The girls know me and I think that helps. Although I think it's just that I have something to compare it to now and they were really awful last year. I think it also helps that my expectations have dropped, just a bit. Unfortuantely that's a neccessity here.
We really haven't been doing anything too formal yet, just a lot of procedure stuff. They are getting better at talking quietly during centers and cleaning up when they're done. The fourth graders chattiness seems to have dropped as well. Moza left!! She was in my class for a few days and it was chaos, like she usually causes. Now that she's gone things were quieter these past 2 days. Like I said, I just hope it continues!!
Acadmeically, I am really trying to work on rhyming words, but they don't get it. They seem to understand better when I write the words down, but then I have some girls that will just add on to the word to make it a compound word and they think that's rhyming. They'll get it. In math we've been doing a lot of counting; by 1s, 2s, 5s, and 10s. Most of the third graders get messed up on what comes after 49 (they say 40 10). Next week starts the real lesson plans.
Remember how I said last week that I felt like I belonged? Well, that's changed. As of today we (LTs) are no longer allowed in the teachers' room. We have to eat in our rooms. We make too much noise. Funny thing is that the noise comes from the Arabic teachers. If you were to walk in the teachers' room you would hear Arabic not English. There are just more Arabic teachers and they are loud. Anyway it was just a clear sign that we're not wanted here. So now the school is going to be more segregated than it already is. Why did the principal think this was a good idea? Does she not realize, or care, how this makes us as LTs feel? I have to walk in on Sunday acting like nothing is different. I have to get my lunch and full up my water bottle and then leave. I am just waiting for one of the other teachers to ask me to sit down and eat, so I can reply "I can't. I'm not allowed to eat in this room anymore." It's just another clear reminder of my actual place in this country; I'm not Emirati therefore I don't belong and I'm not as good as them. I came here for a "once in a lifetime experience" and I believe this qualifies. I have never been kicked out of a teachers' lounge before and I am almost 100% sure it will never happen again. A true "once in a lifetime experience!"
We really haven't been doing anything too formal yet, just a lot of procedure stuff. They are getting better at talking quietly during centers and cleaning up when they're done. The fourth graders chattiness seems to have dropped as well. Moza left!! She was in my class for a few days and it was chaos, like she usually causes. Now that she's gone things were quieter these past 2 days. Like I said, I just hope it continues!!
Acadmeically, I am really trying to work on rhyming words, but they don't get it. They seem to understand better when I write the words down, but then I have some girls that will just add on to the word to make it a compound word and they think that's rhyming. They'll get it. In math we've been doing a lot of counting; by 1s, 2s, 5s, and 10s. Most of the third graders get messed up on what comes after 49 (they say 40 10). Next week starts the real lesson plans.
Remember how I said last week that I felt like I belonged? Well, that's changed. As of today we (LTs) are no longer allowed in the teachers' room. We have to eat in our rooms. We make too much noise. Funny thing is that the noise comes from the Arabic teachers. If you were to walk in the teachers' room you would hear Arabic not English. There are just more Arabic teachers and they are loud. Anyway it was just a clear sign that we're not wanted here. So now the school is going to be more segregated than it already is. Why did the principal think this was a good idea? Does she not realize, or care, how this makes us as LTs feel? I have to walk in on Sunday acting like nothing is different. I have to get my lunch and full up my water bottle and then leave. I am just waiting for one of the other teachers to ask me to sit down and eat, so I can reply "I can't. I'm not allowed to eat in this room anymore." It's just another clear reminder of my actual place in this country; I'm not Emirati therefore I don't belong and I'm not as good as them. I came here for a "once in a lifetime experience" and I believe this qualifies. I have never been kicked out of a teachers' lounge before and I am almost 100% sure it will never happen again. A true "once in a lifetime experience!"
In other news:
- I joined the Rotana this year. The Rotana is a hotel and I joined the gym. I have been going about 3 times a week to use the gym and then relax in the pool. I should have gone today!!!
- Don't try to go the other way at a gas station. You know how gas stations in the States have a pump on either side and you can approach the pump from either direction? Well, there are pumps on both sides but you can only approach from one direction. Beware of the shooters!!! Evidently there are police watching who will shoot you or the workers. Yes, I actually tried this and was told that I couldn't because of the shooters. I just didn't want to wait in the line when there was an avaiable pump right on the other side. How frustrating.
- Dr. Mugheer (Ministry of Education head guy) said that the country was spending too much money on expat teachers. Yikes! Thanks so much Dr. Mugheer. That's just what we all needed to hear.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
بداية - Beginning
My 2nd year teaching in Abu Dhabi began quite nicely! There weren't any major issues and the day went fairly smooth.
It was great seeing my old students! They seemed quite happy to see me and came to give me hugs, hand shakes, and say hi. It was nice! My girls from last year looked so much older today; 4th graders have to wear a shaylah (head scarf). It was weird seeing them wear it, but it made them look so much older. That plus the fact that they had grown over the summer (as all kids tend to do:).
After greeting my students I went to my room, 3/3, to try to get ready for the day but discovered that I couldn't get much done because parents and students kept coming in to see which class they/or their daughter were in. I had one mom who wanted her daughter put in my class and asked if I could do that. I told her she needed to talk to modeera (principal). We'll see. Anyway since I wasn't getting anything done I left and went and chatted with the other LTs.
Everyone seemed ready to start just unsure of how to exactly start. There was no morning assembly which is why we were all confused. The students were told their homeroom (not really sure what this is as their homeroom teacher may not be their Arabic teacher), and then they went to their class.
Once the girls got situated in their class I arrived and began introducing myself to these little 3rd graders. We had a productive morning going over rules and routines. We did some letter games and number games and they made a name tag. I am really going to spend a lot of time going over the rules and routines this year; I do not want the problems I had last year. I had a good morning with about 15 3rd graders. I have some that don't know all their letters and can't count. But that is to be expected. As of right now I'm just not sure how many there are. From the informal assessments I did today with the letter and number games I identified 3 already. They either don't know or they froze, so technically I guess I'll have to wait and see.
I had grade 3 for 3 periods and then it was time for fussha (break). The only issue here was that the girls wouldn't/shouldn't be coming back to the classroom but I didn't know where they would/should be going. So I told them to leave their bags outside. Imagine my surprise when I came back in the room and saw their bags by their desks and chairs pulled out. I know we had pushed them all in before we left! Evidently their Arabic teacher was going to have class in my room, but changed her mind or was told otherwise because the students weren't there. They came back for period 5, but I was supposed to have 4/1. So I had to figure out what to do with these 3rd graders while I tried to supervise the 4th graders in their room (4/1). I had a student go to the teacher room to try to figure out where they needed to be. After 3 tries Fatima finally had a solution. Miss. Nowayer was going to come get them and take them where they needed to be. So I went and told 4/1 that they would be coming over to 3/3 in a minute and gave them instructions (they were chatty, I'll have to stop that). Once we got the whole thing straightened out I had 45 minutes with 4/1 before it was time to go.
I thought I would have a huge problem with the shaylah's, as the girls and women tend to take them off and put them on all the time, in essence play with them, but I didn't. The girls just wore them around their neck. That was nice. I really didn't have any huge problems with this class, but they were chattier than the 3rd graders. I think that comes from the fact that most of them knew me from last year, there were only 6 that I didn't have last year. The administration did a good job of separating 3/1 from last year so hopefully I won't have as many problems. I just know that I will have to work on the talking. I should have started today, but I only had 45 minutes with them. I'll see them tomorrow morning so we'll definitely be going over rules and routines then. Before I knew it, it was time to go home.
I noticed a huge difference in English ability between the 3rd and 4th graders. I had the 4th graders coming up with rules for the classroom in complete sentences, whereas the 3rd graders told me read, math, and science. The 4th graders also gave me complete sentences when we went over the calendar, whereas the 3rd graders just told me the day. I know the 4th graders are a year older, but they both have had English for 2 years now. I will bring this new group of 3rd graders to where the 4th graders are now. I did it last year, there's no reason I can't do it again!!
All in all I had a very good first day. I just hope and pray that it continues and doesn't go downhill once the honeymoon period is over!!
It was great seeing my old students! They seemed quite happy to see me and came to give me hugs, hand shakes, and say hi. It was nice! My girls from last year looked so much older today; 4th graders have to wear a shaylah (head scarf). It was weird seeing them wear it, but it made them look so much older. That plus the fact that they had grown over the summer (as all kids tend to do:).
After greeting my students I went to my room, 3/3, to try to get ready for the day but discovered that I couldn't get much done because parents and students kept coming in to see which class they/or their daughter were in. I had one mom who wanted her daughter put in my class and asked if I could do that. I told her she needed to talk to modeera (principal). We'll see. Anyway since I wasn't getting anything done I left and went and chatted with the other LTs.
Everyone seemed ready to start just unsure of how to exactly start. There was no morning assembly which is why we were all confused. The students were told their homeroom (not really sure what this is as their homeroom teacher may not be their Arabic teacher), and then they went to their class.
Once the girls got situated in their class I arrived and began introducing myself to these little 3rd graders. We had a productive morning going over rules and routines. We did some letter games and number games and they made a name tag. I am really going to spend a lot of time going over the rules and routines this year; I do not want the problems I had last year. I had a good morning with about 15 3rd graders. I have some that don't know all their letters and can't count. But that is to be expected. As of right now I'm just not sure how many there are. From the informal assessments I did today with the letter and number games I identified 3 already. They either don't know or they froze, so technically I guess I'll have to wait and see.
I had grade 3 for 3 periods and then it was time for fussha (break). The only issue here was that the girls wouldn't/shouldn't be coming back to the classroom but I didn't know where they would/should be going. So I told them to leave their bags outside. Imagine my surprise when I came back in the room and saw their bags by their desks and chairs pulled out. I know we had pushed them all in before we left! Evidently their Arabic teacher was going to have class in my room, but changed her mind or was told otherwise because the students weren't there. They came back for period 5, but I was supposed to have 4/1. So I had to figure out what to do with these 3rd graders while I tried to supervise the 4th graders in their room (4/1). I had a student go to the teacher room to try to figure out where they needed to be. After 3 tries Fatima finally had a solution. Miss. Nowayer was going to come get them and take them where they needed to be. So I went and told 4/1 that they would be coming over to 3/3 in a minute and gave them instructions (they were chatty, I'll have to stop that). Once we got the whole thing straightened out I had 45 minutes with 4/1 before it was time to go.
I thought I would have a huge problem with the shaylah's, as the girls and women tend to take them off and put them on all the time, in essence play with them, but I didn't. The girls just wore them around their neck. That was nice. I really didn't have any huge problems with this class, but they were chattier than the 3rd graders. I think that comes from the fact that most of them knew me from last year, there were only 6 that I didn't have last year. The administration did a good job of separating 3/1 from last year so hopefully I won't have as many problems. I just know that I will have to work on the talking. I should have started today, but I only had 45 minutes with them. I'll see them tomorrow morning so we'll definitely be going over rules and routines then. Before I knew it, it was time to go home.
I noticed a huge difference in English ability between the 3rd and 4th graders. I had the 4th graders coming up with rules for the classroom in complete sentences, whereas the 3rd graders told me read, math, and science. The 4th graders also gave me complete sentences when we went over the calendar, whereas the 3rd graders just told me the day. I know the 4th graders are a year older, but they both have had English for 2 years now. I will bring this new group of 3rd graders to where the 4th graders are now. I did it last year, there's no reason I can't do it again!!
All in all I had a very good first day. I just hope and pray that it continues and doesn't go downhill once the honeymoon period is over!!
Thursday, September 8, 2011
First Week
I survived my first week being back in the UAE and back to work! How many more to go?! Just kidding, I can't start counting down now! Not sure if I can count that high!!
I suppose that first sentence should be read literally since I am pretty sure that I had heat stroke on Tuesday. I had no idea it was heat stroke until Wednesday when Ashley told me that's what I had. Here's what happened. I was dressed in my ankle length skirt and long sleeve sweater (typical attire) and I guess I was just doing too much work. I began moving, unpacking, and walking around from room to room to find people and stuff that I needed. All of a sudden I got very very hot and dizzy. I thought it was one of my dizzy/low blood sugar spells, but this was different. The dizziness went away but my body temperature didn't come down. I was so HOT. HOT on the inside and outside. I stopped working and sat down in the office (one of the cooler places in the school) and drank water and put a water bottle on my forehead. I was still HOT. I couldn't cool off. The strangest thing was that I wasn't sweating (come to find out this is a sign of heat stroke), I was just sweltering. Andrea and Salha finally decided that I needed to go home and Alice took me home. I didn't think I should drive. I finally cooled off when I layed down in my bedroom (the coolest room in my apt). The whole episode started around 9 and I didn't get cooled down until around 11:30. I guess the cool MI temperatures made me forget the desert heat. I'm fine now and I survived the unpacking today. No worries.
Other than that the week was kind of boring. A boring meeting in Abu Dhabi, trying to get my classroom set up for Sunday (which by the way it is not), and a boring meeting with Andrea.
I will be slowly working on getting the classroom in order next week. The girls only have to come from 8-1 instead of 8-2 so I'll have an hour to begin organizing and putting up posters and stuff. Right now they have desks and chairs and books in the reading corner. I guess that's all that's needed. I'm going to make do! I am not going to go in on the weekend to set up my room. I'm just not doing that anymore. It will get done. This is hard for me due to my perfectionist tendencies, but I'm trying to let go and not work all the time. It will get done when it gets done and I'm not stressing over it. Help!!
No class list or schedule yet. They will come on Sunday and we'll see how many additions or changes need to be made before the final ones come out! Par for the course here:) Ready or not the girls come Sunday morning!
109 at 7:00pm
I suppose that first sentence should be read literally since I am pretty sure that I had heat stroke on Tuesday. I had no idea it was heat stroke until Wednesday when Ashley told me that's what I had. Here's what happened. I was dressed in my ankle length skirt and long sleeve sweater (typical attire) and I guess I was just doing too much work. I began moving, unpacking, and walking around from room to room to find people and stuff that I needed. All of a sudden I got very very hot and dizzy. I thought it was one of my dizzy/low blood sugar spells, but this was different. The dizziness went away but my body temperature didn't come down. I was so HOT. HOT on the inside and outside. I stopped working and sat down in the office (one of the cooler places in the school) and drank water and put a water bottle on my forehead. I was still HOT. I couldn't cool off. The strangest thing was that I wasn't sweating (come to find out this is a sign of heat stroke), I was just sweltering. Andrea and Salha finally decided that I needed to go home and Alice took me home. I didn't think I should drive. I finally cooled off when I layed down in my bedroom (the coolest room in my apt). The whole episode started around 9 and I didn't get cooled down until around 11:30. I guess the cool MI temperatures made me forget the desert heat. I'm fine now and I survived the unpacking today. No worries.
Other than that the week was kind of boring. A boring meeting in Abu Dhabi, trying to get my classroom set up for Sunday (which by the way it is not), and a boring meeting with Andrea.
I will be slowly working on getting the classroom in order next week. The girls only have to come from 8-1 instead of 8-2 so I'll have an hour to begin organizing and putting up posters and stuff. Right now they have desks and chairs and books in the reading corner. I guess that's all that's needed. I'm going to make do! I am not going to go in on the weekend to set up my room. I'm just not doing that anymore. It will get done. This is hard for me due to my perfectionist tendencies, but I'm trying to let go and not work all the time. It will get done when it gets done and I'm not stressing over it. Help!!
No class list or schedule yet. They will come on Sunday and we'll see how many additions or changes need to be made before the final ones come out! Par for the course here:) Ready or not the girls come Sunday morning!
109 at 7:00pm
Monday, September 5, 2011
Here we go Again!
Expect nothing except change! That should be the motto here. I know that, yet the change is still frustrating. Here I am only 2 days into the new year and I have already had to move my classroom!! At least I wasn't unpacked or anything, but I had moved into my classroom (4/4) at the end of last year. Which meant that I had to unload both my cabinets so they could be moved to the new room and then reload them so I could have everything locked up over the summer. Lucky me, now I get to do it again!! I am moving to 3/3 which is just around the corner, but still. So today I unloaded my cabinet and took the boxes and stuff to my new room, the cleaners will move the cabinet later (hopefully!). Then I had to take down all the Arabic stuff in 3/3. Mind you I already did this in 4/4 in July. The Arabic teachers just don't take down their stuff or move anything. How would anything get done if we weren't here?!
Oh one ironic thing: I am now in the room that I began in last year!!! I have gone full circle!
So, how many times do you think I'll have to move my classroom this year?!
Oh one ironic thing: I am now in the room that I began in last year!!! I have gone full circle!
So, how many times do you think I'll have to move my classroom this year?!
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Welcome Back!
Year 2 has started. It was a nice beginning to the year; a good way to ease into going back to work. Really I didn't do anything work related today. It was a wasted day and I must admit I was a little bored.
Setting my alarm, getting up early, and getting dressed in a long skirt and a sweater ugh! Putting the sweater on this morning was terrible. I had gotten quite used to wearing whatever I wanted, and man is it HOT! I can tolerate the skirt, it's the sweater that is awful.
I didn't know when to show up at school since no one had told us an official time so I assumed we needed to be there by 8:00 like during the school year. So, I got there at 8:00. Not many other teachers did. It was kind of a "come whenever you want" kind of day. Although we did have to stay until 1:00. I was hoping for noon.
As I compare my first day last year to today there are many differences. The main one being I knew everyone! That really helps. Last year all the Arabic teachers were kissing (cheek kisses) and hugging on the first day and they just said hi to me. Well this year I was included in the kissing and hugging! Boy oh boy was there a lot of kissing and hugging. Which meant there was a lot of standing up and then sitting back down. And since everyone didn't come at the same time it's like the greetings never ended. Someone would come in and we would all stand up wait for our turn with the kissing and hugging. The issue with the kissing is that I would never know how many to give. Sometimes it was three (that seemed to be the most common) but other times it was five or more. It all depended on the person giving them and how well they liked me. The number of kisses you get is basically determined by how much they like you. So if someone gives you only 3 kisses, that's just a standard greeting, but if someone gives you five or six kisses that means they really like you! Hard to figure out and a bit awkward. There were a few times when I would stop the kissing but the other person wanted to continue so I would lean back in and give/get a few more kisses. That was pretty much it for the day. We just chatted and kissed and hugged.
Another big difference this year was that I wasn't nervous and I felt like I belonged; like I was actually wanted there. I was actually a bit excited to go back. To see the people that I met last year and talk and laugh with them. I didn't feel out of place this year! The second year is already starting off better!!
Unfortunately Andrea is still there:( She is still the same. I swear if I hear her say "you need to go in with a face like a candle snuffer" one more time I'm going to scream. I just can't not smile and be mean. She did inform us that we have to have lesson plans for next week!! Really! What am I going to be doing? Let's see.... assessments, procedures, and rules. Nothing that warrants a lesson plan. I don't think I've ever done a lesson plan for the first week of school. Oh well. If she wants a lesson plan I'll give her a lesson plan but it's going to be short. Hopefully she'll be a bit preoccupied with the new LTs so she'll leave me alone.
One of the new LTs showed up this morning. We're supposed to be getting 2, so we'll meet one tomorrow. She seems nice. A bit overwhelmed. Man, I can relate! We all tried to tell her it's normal and things will settle down.
Back tomorrow and hopefully I'll work in MY classroom and get some stuff done! Just 4 more short days until the girls come!
108 degrees with 15% humidity at 3:05
Setting my alarm, getting up early, and getting dressed in a long skirt and a sweater ugh! Putting the sweater on this morning was terrible. I had gotten quite used to wearing whatever I wanted, and man is it HOT! I can tolerate the skirt, it's the sweater that is awful.
I didn't know when to show up at school since no one had told us an official time so I assumed we needed to be there by 8:00 like during the school year. So, I got there at 8:00. Not many other teachers did. It was kind of a "come whenever you want" kind of day. Although we did have to stay until 1:00. I was hoping for noon.
As I compare my first day last year to today there are many differences. The main one being I knew everyone! That really helps. Last year all the Arabic teachers were kissing (cheek kisses) and hugging on the first day and they just said hi to me. Well this year I was included in the kissing and hugging! Boy oh boy was there a lot of kissing and hugging. Which meant there was a lot of standing up and then sitting back down. And since everyone didn't come at the same time it's like the greetings never ended. Someone would come in and we would all stand up wait for our turn with the kissing and hugging. The issue with the kissing is that I would never know how many to give. Sometimes it was three (that seemed to be the most common) but other times it was five or more. It all depended on the person giving them and how well they liked me. The number of kisses you get is basically determined by how much they like you. So if someone gives you only 3 kisses, that's just a standard greeting, but if someone gives you five or six kisses that means they really like you! Hard to figure out and a bit awkward. There were a few times when I would stop the kissing but the other person wanted to continue so I would lean back in and give/get a few more kisses. That was pretty much it for the day. We just chatted and kissed and hugged.
Another big difference this year was that I wasn't nervous and I felt like I belonged; like I was actually wanted there. I was actually a bit excited to go back. To see the people that I met last year and talk and laugh with them. I didn't feel out of place this year! The second year is already starting off better!!
Unfortunately Andrea is still there:( She is still the same. I swear if I hear her say "you need to go in with a face like a candle snuffer" one more time I'm going to scream. I just can't not smile and be mean. She did inform us that we have to have lesson plans for next week!! Really! What am I going to be doing? Let's see.... assessments, procedures, and rules. Nothing that warrants a lesson plan. I don't think I've ever done a lesson plan for the first week of school. Oh well. If she wants a lesson plan I'll give her a lesson plan but it's going to be short. Hopefully she'll be a bit preoccupied with the new LTs so she'll leave me alone.
One of the new LTs showed up this morning. We're supposed to be getting 2, so we'll meet one tomorrow. She seems nice. A bit overwhelmed. Man, I can relate! We all tried to tell her it's normal and things will settle down.
Back tomorrow and hopefully I'll work in MY classroom and get some stuff done! Just 4 more short days until the girls come!
108 degrees with 15% humidity at 3:05
Friday, September 2, 2011
Back to the UAE
Traveling sucks! Unless of course you happen to be traveling for a vacation. I guess I should explain.
I left my parents' house at 2:30 Wed. afternoon and arrived at the Detroit airport around 3:15. No problem for my 5:00 flight. Checking in was terrible and extremely slow. They only had 2 people working at the American Airlines check in when I got there. I waited in line for quite some time before a lady asked me if I already had my boarding pass. I told her no, and she told me to use one of the kiosks to check in. I tried to explain that I couldn't but she wanted to know why. I had tried to check in online on Wed. morning but I wasn't allowed. The computer told me to check in with an attendant at the airport. Instead of arguing I went to an available kiosk and tried. It didn't come as a surprise when I was told to see an attendant. So I waited in the first class line (I wished I was traveling first class) and spoke to the lady there. She checked me in. I think it had something to do with the international flight being a different carrier, although I didn't think that should have been a problem since Etihad and American are partners. Oh well. I got checked in. Mom and Dad came with me and they wanted to go to the gate like they did last year, but the lady wouldn't let them. She said they could only go to the gate if I was in the military or under 12. New rule evidently, or just a rule for American since they came back last year. She wasn't really that nice. Mom tried to explain that I was going to Abu Dhabi for a year, but she didn't care. So Mom and Dad talked to a couple of TSA agents and they both said that if they could get a gate pass they could come back and that getting a gate pass was up to the individual airline. Stupid American Airlines! We ended up waiting out in the lobby for a while before I had to go through security. Saying good-bye was hard, but I know that I will see them in March. That made it a bit easier. Security and the flight to Chicago we very easy. The flight left at 5pm and I arrived in Chicago at 4:58. Weird! That's really 5:58 since Chicago is an hour behind Detroit.
Once in Chicago I made my way to the international terminal and checked in with Etihad. I asked for exit row seats, but unfortunately there weren't any avaiable. So I tried my second option which was getting an aisle seat. Those weren't available either. I was stuck in the middle. The guy was really nice though and he kept looking and trying to find me something. He did move me up to the front of the plane and into a row with only 3 people instead of 4 and he told me to check at the gate because something may open up. I thanked him for trying and headed to find something to eat prior to going through security. Once you go through security at the international terminal there is nothing but a few kiosks and all the gates. I stopped at the food court and had a sandwich and lemonade. I made it through security and to my gate at 6:30, an hour before my scheduled boarding time, 2 hours before take off. When the gate crew arrived, one of the members was the same man that was doing the check in, I went to see if any seats had become available. No luck, but he did say that he would let me know. I guess I just wasn't meant to be comfortable on the 14 hour flight because nothing became available. I squeezed into my middle seat and tried to stretch my legs as best I could. I knew I was going to have to get up many times during this flight. Oh well to the guy sitting next to me, I'd just have to bother him.
Turns out I was sitting next to a lady going over to be a school psychologist and across from a lady who was returning for her 2nd year. We chatted about school and our vacations and that helped the time to go by quicker than last year. I think I may have slept more than I did last year, but not much maybe like 4-6 hours total. I finished reading a book, watched Water for Elephants (great movie:), and chatted with the people sitting next to and across from me. I did get up every 2-3 hours to stretch and walk.
We were supposed to arrive Thursday at 7:25 and I thought we were going to be late since we left Chicago late, but we got to Abu Dhabi at 6:30. We could have been there even earlier if we didn't leave late! I made it through passport control and security without any hassles and I went to claim my luggage. The only issue with being early was I had arranged for a taxi to come and get me at 8:30 and I was ready at 7:30 so he sent a friend and I made it back to Al Ain by 9:15. I guess traveling sucks because it was a day and a half affair. That's too long to be on an airplane and in a car. Other than that though everything was fine and I arrived exhausted and slept for 11 1/2 hours!
School starts Sunday for teachers so I have 1 day to relax and recover from any jet-lag (right now I'm not feeling anything) and 1 day to do errands (shopping and get my car). Then it's back to reality. Who knows what this year will bring, but it can only be better than last year. Right? I mean I already know what to expect at school (which really isn't much), the students, the school, the teachers, where I live, where to shop, and all that other settling in nonsense that I had to deal with last year.
Check back on Sunday for an update about school!
102 degrees at 1:15. I am not ready for this heat!!! It was in the mid to upper 70s when I left and now I'm back to 3 digit temperatures:( At least the humidity isn't that bad!
I left my parents' house at 2:30 Wed. afternoon and arrived at the Detroit airport around 3:15. No problem for my 5:00 flight. Checking in was terrible and extremely slow. They only had 2 people working at the American Airlines check in when I got there. I waited in line for quite some time before a lady asked me if I already had my boarding pass. I told her no, and she told me to use one of the kiosks to check in. I tried to explain that I couldn't but she wanted to know why. I had tried to check in online on Wed. morning but I wasn't allowed. The computer told me to check in with an attendant at the airport. Instead of arguing I went to an available kiosk and tried. It didn't come as a surprise when I was told to see an attendant. So I waited in the first class line (I wished I was traveling first class) and spoke to the lady there. She checked me in. I think it had something to do with the international flight being a different carrier, although I didn't think that should have been a problem since Etihad and American are partners. Oh well. I got checked in. Mom and Dad came with me and they wanted to go to the gate like they did last year, but the lady wouldn't let them. She said they could only go to the gate if I was in the military or under 12. New rule evidently, or just a rule for American since they came back last year. She wasn't really that nice. Mom tried to explain that I was going to Abu Dhabi for a year, but she didn't care. So Mom and Dad talked to a couple of TSA agents and they both said that if they could get a gate pass they could come back and that getting a gate pass was up to the individual airline. Stupid American Airlines! We ended up waiting out in the lobby for a while before I had to go through security. Saying good-bye was hard, but I know that I will see them in March. That made it a bit easier. Security and the flight to Chicago we very easy. The flight left at 5pm and I arrived in Chicago at 4:58. Weird! That's really 5:58 since Chicago is an hour behind Detroit.
Once in Chicago I made my way to the international terminal and checked in with Etihad. I asked for exit row seats, but unfortunately there weren't any avaiable. So I tried my second option which was getting an aisle seat. Those weren't available either. I was stuck in the middle. The guy was really nice though and he kept looking and trying to find me something. He did move me up to the front of the plane and into a row with only 3 people instead of 4 and he told me to check at the gate because something may open up. I thanked him for trying and headed to find something to eat prior to going through security. Once you go through security at the international terminal there is nothing but a few kiosks and all the gates. I stopped at the food court and had a sandwich and lemonade. I made it through security and to my gate at 6:30, an hour before my scheduled boarding time, 2 hours before take off. When the gate crew arrived, one of the members was the same man that was doing the check in, I went to see if any seats had become available. No luck, but he did say that he would let me know. I guess I just wasn't meant to be comfortable on the 14 hour flight because nothing became available. I squeezed into my middle seat and tried to stretch my legs as best I could. I knew I was going to have to get up many times during this flight. Oh well to the guy sitting next to me, I'd just have to bother him.
Turns out I was sitting next to a lady going over to be a school psychologist and across from a lady who was returning for her 2nd year. We chatted about school and our vacations and that helped the time to go by quicker than last year. I think I may have slept more than I did last year, but not much maybe like 4-6 hours total. I finished reading a book, watched Water for Elephants (great movie:), and chatted with the people sitting next to and across from me. I did get up every 2-3 hours to stretch and walk.
We were supposed to arrive Thursday at 7:25 and I thought we were going to be late since we left Chicago late, but we got to Abu Dhabi at 6:30. We could have been there even earlier if we didn't leave late! I made it through passport control and security without any hassles and I went to claim my luggage. The only issue with being early was I had arranged for a taxi to come and get me at 8:30 and I was ready at 7:30 so he sent a friend and I made it back to Al Ain by 9:15. I guess traveling sucks because it was a day and a half affair. That's too long to be on an airplane and in a car. Other than that though everything was fine and I arrived exhausted and slept for 11 1/2 hours!
School starts Sunday for teachers so I have 1 day to relax and recover from any jet-lag (right now I'm not feeling anything) and 1 day to do errands (shopping and get my car). Then it's back to reality. Who knows what this year will bring, but it can only be better than last year. Right? I mean I already know what to expect at school (which really isn't much), the students, the school, the teachers, where I live, where to shop, and all that other settling in nonsense that I had to deal with last year.
Check back on Sunday for an update about school!
102 degrees at 1:15. I am not ready for this heat!!! It was in the mid to upper 70s when I left and now I'm back to 3 digit temperatures:( At least the humidity isn't that bad!
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