Just a quick update as to how things are going at school and in the UAE in general. As of Tuesday there have been no girls at school; well not really no girls I guess there were about 10-15 each day although I'm not sure what they're doing with them. So although the official end of school is June 23rd they have stopped coming. I'm not really sure what was so significant about Tuesday June 14th, but I guess that's when the parents thought that school should end! So I've been working in my rooms and trying to get things, but trying to work slow. I have a hard time with that. I always finished the end of the year stuff before the last workday. And that was when I only 3 workdays at the end of the year. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with a month of workdays! It's weird, because they don't give us any days during the year to work and only 1 week before school starts, so why 3 weeks after school ends? What in the world am I supposed to do? I got too many things crossed off my list already and that's after only 2 days.
Now that school is done I am ready to come home. Feeling homesick again. I know it's because it's the end and it's almost time for me to come home, but I want to go home NOW. One more month+ I haven't gotten my ticket yet so I'm not really sure when I'll be leaving but it'll be sometime around July 24th. I'm tired of school, tired of Arabic, tired of Andrea, tired of the heat, tired of roundabouts (I almost got in two accidents on the same roundabout just a few seconds apart; seriously people (not you of course the drivers here) you're supposed to yield to those in the roundabout!!!), and tired of ADEC.
The latest ADEC decree is that we may not get all our summer money before July! Yes, they are going to pay us, but it may not be all in one lump sum at the end of June. The only problem with that is that I hope/need to be in the States at the end of July. But, if I don't get all my money I will have to wait here until I get paid. Because what good is that money going to do me sitting in my bank in the UAE when I'm in the USA?
OK enough complaining. The lunar eclipse was amazing! It was amazingly beautiful to see the moon get black and then disappear. Now, I didn't see the red-orange glow that they said to look for (I don't have a telescope) but it was a sight nonetheless. It was also pretty amazing to be watching the lunar eclipse from my bedroom balcony in the UAE overlooking Oman. Not too many people can say that. OK well all the people living in/near Hili could say that, but you know what I mean!
That's about it. I will survive until I leave, whenever that may be.
Friday, June 17, 2011
Friday, June 10, 2011
Small Success in Arabic
Good lesson yesterday. We were talking about the words but (لكن - lakin),
because (لان - liana), and useful (مفيد - moofeed). "Useful" was in the story that I had to read, so that's why we were talking about that word. She asked me to tell her some useful things and why they are useful and then to use "liana" and "lakin" in sentences and this is what I came up with.
because (لان - liana), and useful (مفيد - moofeed). "Useful" was in the story that I had to read, so that's why we were talking about that word. She asked me to tell her some useful things and why they are useful and then to use "liana" and "lakin" in sentences and this is what I came up with.
سيارتي مفيدة لانها تأخذي إلى مدرسة
الطاءرة مفيدة لان تستطيع تذهب إلى بلدان بعيد
قلم مفيد لان تستطيع تكتب
أنا مدرّ سة لانني أحب الاطفال
أريد ان أذهب إلى امريكا لانني أريد ان أرى أمي و أبي
أحب تفاح لكنني لا أحب مانجو
أحمد ولد لكن شمة بنت
أتكلم الإنجليزية لكنني لا أتكلم العربية
My car is useful because it takes me to school. (seeyaratee moofeedah lianaha takhatha ila madrasa)
The plane is useful because you can go to far countries. (adaui'ra moofeeda liana tostaddeea'a tathhab ila baladan bae'ed)
A pen is useful because you can write. (qalam moofeed liana tostaddeea'a taktab)
I am a teacher becuase I like children. (ana modaresa liananee ohebo aladdfal)
I want to go to America because I want to see my mother and father. (orreedo an athhab ila amreeka lianananee orreedo an ara omee wa abee). By the way I want to see the rest of my family, but I don't know family in Arabic.
I like apples, but I don't like mangoes. (ohebo tofaah lakinnee la ohebo manjue)
I like apples, but I don't like mangoes. (ohebo tofaah lakinnee la ohebo manjue)
Ahmed is a boy, but Shamma is a girl. (Ahmed walad lakin Shamma bint)
I speak English, but I don't speak Arabic. (atakalam alinjleezeeah lakinnee la atakalam ala'arabeeah)
Wow it really is hard writing Arabic words in English, it's difficult to figure out what to write for the sounds
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Graduation, Grades, and Field Trip
Wednesday was 5th grade graduation at Ammoryiah. It was the worst graduation ceremony/celebration ever. I found it very surprising since they love to put on a show and celebrate here. We gathered in the theater and had our attendance celebration since we are no longer having morning assembly (it's too hot). After the class with the highest attendance was recognized the 5th graders stood up and walked to Ms. Keltham, the principal, and shook her hand. Then they returned to their line and sat down. The 5th grade teachers said a few, litreally just a few, words and then 2 students said "shukran/thank you". Khallas/finished. And we exited the theater for break. Pretty pathetic.
Grades were due May 30th and Wed. Ms. Keltham was reviewing the grades and deciding if any needed to be changed. Yep that's what they do here. They change grades if they don't "look" right. So I'm talking with Andrea about my final evaluation from her (which was good by the way) and Ms. Salama, the assistant principal, comes in to talk to me about one of my students' grades. She is getting a C in English and all her other grades are As or Bs. This just didn't look right and she asked me if I would change it. I told her that Aya can't read and her writing is not good at all. She is just beginning to be able to write a sentence, when my A and B students can write 3-5 sentences on topic. She shouldn't even be getting a C, but Esis (the computer grading program) wouldn't give her anything less than a C. So I explained this to Ms. Salama and she replied "does her mother know?" Well, she has been a C student all year so I would think that she knows. She can't read. I can't give her a B. She agreed to let me keep it a C and left the room.
Today was the third grade end of the year field trip. Yesterday they got a note (in Arabic) telling them that they were going to Al Ain Mall Action Zone (an indoor amusement park like thing). I was able to read that much of the note. This morning I collected 20dhs from every student in 3/1. This process went much smoother than it did when we went to the zoo in October. The girls and I have learned a lot since then!!
After I get their money we go out and board the bus; one bus for 4 classes. It was a packed and hot ride. Plus I think the bus driver took the longest possible route to get to Al Ain Mall. We finally get to the mall and we walk them upstairs and head to the cinema. Yes, the cinema. Imagine my surprise, and the girls'. They were upset. They wanted to play not watch a movie. They were told that maybe after the movie they would have time to play. Yeah right, we got to the mall around 9 and we had to be back by 11:30 for dismissal. There would be no time for playing. We get settled in the theater and the girls get their popcorn, juice, and 3D glasses and the movie begins. We are watching Animals United (a very very stupid movie) in English with Arabic subtitles. The girls are bored, and angry and most of them don't really know what is going on. About 1/2 way through the movie a lot of the girls came to sit by me and we were talking about the movie and America. They loved to hear me sing the songs with the movie; The Hookey Pookey, Splish Splash I was Takin' A Bath, and Fun, Fun, Fun (she'll have fun, fun, fun, till her daddy takes the T-bird away). After the movie we went to the food court for a Hardees lunch. Most of the girls had brought money and wanted to buy ice cream, candy, or balloons so that took a long time. We did make it back to school just in time for them to reboard the bus and go home. I think Action Zone would have been a better field trip.
Scary things about field trips in the UAE: 1) they don't believe in counting the children to make sure they're all there, 2) they let the girls stand up on the bus, and 3) the girls were allowed to leave the theater unsupervised. I can't change everything, but I did count my girls in 3/1 before we got on the bus at school, before we left the mall, and when we got on the bus. I also tried to get my girls to sit down, but when everyone else is standing and walking around why should they be sitting?
108 degrees at 8:45
Grades were due May 30th and Wed. Ms. Keltham was reviewing the grades and deciding if any needed to be changed. Yep that's what they do here. They change grades if they don't "look" right. So I'm talking with Andrea about my final evaluation from her (which was good by the way) and Ms. Salama, the assistant principal, comes in to talk to me about one of my students' grades. She is getting a C in English and all her other grades are As or Bs. This just didn't look right and she asked me if I would change it. I told her that Aya can't read and her writing is not good at all. She is just beginning to be able to write a sentence, when my A and B students can write 3-5 sentences on topic. She shouldn't even be getting a C, but Esis (the computer grading program) wouldn't give her anything less than a C. So I explained this to Ms. Salama and she replied "does her mother know?" Well, she has been a C student all year so I would think that she knows. She can't read. I can't give her a B. She agreed to let me keep it a C and left the room.
Today was the third grade end of the year field trip. Yesterday they got a note (in Arabic) telling them that they were going to Al Ain Mall Action Zone (an indoor amusement park like thing). I was able to read that much of the note. This morning I collected 20dhs from every student in 3/1. This process went much smoother than it did when we went to the zoo in October. The girls and I have learned a lot since then!!
After I get their money we go out and board the bus; one bus for 4 classes. It was a packed and hot ride. Plus I think the bus driver took the longest possible route to get to Al Ain Mall. We finally get to the mall and we walk them upstairs and head to the cinema. Yes, the cinema. Imagine my surprise, and the girls'. They were upset. They wanted to play not watch a movie. They were told that maybe after the movie they would have time to play. Yeah right, we got to the mall around 9 and we had to be back by 11:30 for dismissal. There would be no time for playing. We get settled in the theater and the girls get their popcorn, juice, and 3D glasses and the movie begins. We are watching Animals United (a very very stupid movie) in English with Arabic subtitles. The girls are bored, and angry and most of them don't really know what is going on. About 1/2 way through the movie a lot of the girls came to sit by me and we were talking about the movie and America. They loved to hear me sing the songs with the movie; The Hookey Pookey, Splish Splash I was Takin' A Bath, and Fun, Fun, Fun (she'll have fun, fun, fun, till her daddy takes the T-bird away). After the movie we went to the food court for a Hardees lunch. Most of the girls had brought money and wanted to buy ice cream, candy, or balloons so that took a long time. We did make it back to school just in time for them to reboard the bus and go home. I think Action Zone would have been a better field trip.
Scary things about field trips in the UAE: 1) they don't believe in counting the children to make sure they're all there, 2) they let the girls stand up on the bus, and 3) the girls were allowed to leave the theater unsupervised. I can't change everything, but I did count my girls in 3/1 before we got on the bus at school, before we left the mall, and when we got on the bus. I also tried to get my girls to sit down, but when everyone else is standing and walking around why should they be sitting?
108 degrees at 8:45
Sunday, June 5, 2011
The Beginning of the End of Year 1
3 more weeks of school! Well, at least for the kids; I have another 2 weeks after that. So, when are they going to stop coming like everyone told me they would?! I thought it had happened on Thursday, but they showed up today.
Flashback to last Tuesday. Andrea comes in my room and asks "Have you seen the note?" I hadn't and even if I had, I most likely wouldn't have been able to understand it due to the fact that all communication is done in Arabic. Anyway, the note said that the student schedule for the remaining of the year would be from 8-11:30. Which meant no morning assembly!!! and only 5 periods. I was extremely excited about this, but even more so about the fact that modeera (principal) said that we could leave at 1:00 instead of 3:00. Right then and there Andrea and I started the Happy Dance! The girls thought this was hillarious and couldn't stop laughing. The girls eventually got the note and understood the Happy Dance so they joined in! It was a fun afternoon with 3/2.
We adjusted to this new schedule and had a pretty normal day on Wednesday. On Thursday I had 6 girls out in 3/1 and 8 in 3/2. I let them all play on Thursday, even 3/1. I know weird! 3/1 was actually really good last week and I had even stopped giving them candy and prizes!!! Amazing:) Who knows what is up with these girls! I just hope it continues.
Based on the attendance on Thursday I thought the dwindling had begun. Well I was wrong because they all came back today. I only had 4 absent in 3/1 and 2 absent in 3/2 (that's a good thing because I forgot to take their class picture on Wed. and today but there is an excuse for forgetting today, I only had them for 1/2 an hour. Hopefully they show up tomorrow when I have them for 3 periods.). It's just going to be a day by day thing and we'll see what happens tomororw. At some point in the 1/2 hour I had 3/2 today they were talking in Arabic and although I can't fully understand what they are saying I was able to pick up a few words and discern the meaning. لا مدرسة يوم الخميس (la madrasa youm alkhamees)They were talking about this coming Thursday being the last day of school. As much as I want them to not come I just couldn't let them beleive this so I called them together and we looked at the calendar where I kindly pointed out June 23rd and told them that was the last day. What in the world was I thinking?! I'll just have to keep teaching and see what happens.
More bad news was delivered today. We have to stay until 2:00 now:( What am I supposed to do for 2 1/2 hours each day for 3 weeks and then all day for 2 weeks?! I could plan, but I don't know what grade I will be teaching next year and if I get 4th like I requested there isn't a curriculum yet. Even if I did know what grade I was teaching I can't access the Internet because we don't have the Internet or a consitently working computer in the LT room. We don't even have electricity consistently (they are working on installing wires for the Internet and that's messing up the electricity). I didn't know it was either the Internet or electricity I thought we could have them both! So, I finished my mapping and cutting out word wall words for next year. Oh, I wish I knew if I was going to have 1 or 2 rooms because that would help me in planning. Right now I am hoping and planning on only having 1 room, but that could change. Now I am working on making file folder games for centers for next year. Andrea wants to plan, but we can't do that since we don't know what grade we'll be teaching. It's going to be a long 5 weeks.
Flashback to last Tuesday. Andrea comes in my room and asks "Have you seen the note?" I hadn't and even if I had, I most likely wouldn't have been able to understand it due to the fact that all communication is done in Arabic. Anyway, the note said that the student schedule for the remaining of the year would be from 8-11:30. Which meant no morning assembly!!! and only 5 periods. I was extremely excited about this, but even more so about the fact that modeera (principal) said that we could leave at 1:00 instead of 3:00. Right then and there Andrea and I started the Happy Dance! The girls thought this was hillarious and couldn't stop laughing. The girls eventually got the note and understood the Happy Dance so they joined in! It was a fun afternoon with 3/2.
We adjusted to this new schedule and had a pretty normal day on Wednesday. On Thursday I had 6 girls out in 3/1 and 8 in 3/2. I let them all play on Thursday, even 3/1. I know weird! 3/1 was actually really good last week and I had even stopped giving them candy and prizes!!! Amazing:) Who knows what is up with these girls! I just hope it continues.
Based on the attendance on Thursday I thought the dwindling had begun. Well I was wrong because they all came back today. I only had 4 absent in 3/1 and 2 absent in 3/2 (that's a good thing because I forgot to take their class picture on Wed. and today but there is an excuse for forgetting today, I only had them for 1/2 an hour. Hopefully they show up tomorrow when I have them for 3 periods.). It's just going to be a day by day thing and we'll see what happens tomororw. At some point in the 1/2 hour I had 3/2 today they were talking in Arabic and although I can't fully understand what they are saying I was able to pick up a few words and discern the meaning. لا مدرسة يوم الخميس (la madrasa youm alkhamees)They were talking about this coming Thursday being the last day of school. As much as I want them to not come I just couldn't let them beleive this so I called them together and we looked at the calendar where I kindly pointed out June 23rd and told them that was the last day. What in the world was I thinking?! I'll just have to keep teaching and see what happens.
More bad news was delivered today. We have to stay until 2:00 now:( What am I supposed to do for 2 1/2 hours each day for 3 weeks and then all day for 2 weeks?! I could plan, but I don't know what grade I will be teaching next year and if I get 4th like I requested there isn't a curriculum yet. Even if I did know what grade I was teaching I can't access the Internet because we don't have the Internet or a consitently working computer in the LT room. We don't even have electricity consistently (they are working on installing wires for the Internet and that's messing up the electricity). I didn't know it was either the Internet or electricity I thought we could have them both! So, I finished my mapping and cutting out word wall words for next year. Oh, I wish I knew if I was going to have 1 or 2 rooms because that would help me in planning. Right now I am hoping and planning on only having 1 room, but that could change. Now I am working on making file folder games for centers for next year. Andrea wants to plan, but we can't do that since we don't know what grade we'll be teaching. It's going to be a long 5 weeks.
العربية
أعلم كلمات وأستطيع أصبع جمل لكنها تكون صعبة وأستطيع أفهم و أتكلم و أقرأ و أكتب
Arabic
I know words and I can make sentences but it is hard I can understand and I read and I write (and that's about all I can say about it in Arabic so I will finish the rest in English). Sometimes I don't know why I am continuing to pay for lessons. It feels like I'm not learning. And then there are days like today when I can understand the girls and I can understand what she is saying to me and I can put my thoughts into words and she can understand me. (Look I'm even writing English like Arabic, they use and and and all the time). I swear the hardest part for me is the verbs. She even asked me what I tell the girls in Arabic and all I could come up with was little phrases like:
على طاولتي - on my table (she asked what do you want them to do?) Put their papers there of course!! I know the words for put and paper, but I don't use them. They just understand that's what I want them to do.
قلم صبرة - pen for the board (every writing utensil is a pen so they get confused if I ask for a marker). She asked what about the marker? Give me one of course! I know how to say "can I have a pen for the board" and "I want a pen for the board" but I don't.
I ask for my key, bag, a book all by just saying the noun instead of saying a complete sentence. So, that's what I need to do. It's good that she asked because I don't think I would have realized that I was doing that. The few times I have tried a complete sentence they laugh at me and don't understand. I don't have a problem with them laughing, it's the not understanding. I know I'm going to make mistakes like when I asked them to sit on the floor I said جلسي على الارض (jalasee ala'al ard) instead of إجلسو على الارض (ijlisue ala'al ard). It's making the verb a command and plural that I got stuck on. They did what I asked even though I said it wrong, but they laughed and didn't correct me. Which is odd because they usually have no problems telling me that what I said was wrong and this is how you should say it. Practice, practice, practice and maybe just maybe I'll get it.
Other Stuff
I think I found a new favorite restuarant. Al Noor is awesome:) Their hommous and zatar chicken is delectable. It's chargrilled and you can tell, but you can still taste the zatar. Which by the way is something quite difficult to explain. I'm not really sure what it is except that it's wonderful. The Golden Sheep (simply referred to as the sheep) is really good too.
We (LTs) went to Lara's for dinner on Friday. It was wonderful. She made lasagna:) and some type of briyani rice. It was delecious food and nice to get together outside of work.
My trip to Europe/Italy is cancelled. One way tickets are just so super expensive! I can buy one round trip business ticket on Etihad (check out their site and the pearl business class, just for fun) for the same price as 2 one way tickets. I would have to buy 3 one way tickets and the huge one is from Chicago to Abu Dhabi. So even though I would love to go to Italy I am going to travel business class and save money. Maybe one day I'll get there. The travel date is looking like it's going to be July 26th-Aug.30th. All will depend on prices as the date gets closer. I can't buy my ticket until ADEC gives me my travel allowance and summer pay. Hopefully it doesn't go up too much. I'm still trying to figure out a NC and Portland visit.
As of right now things are cooling off with Khaled. I think we just need to be friends. I can't get involved in anything knowing that I am only going to be here for 1 more year. And, I can't go to Morocco with him.
So I think that pretty much catches you all up on what's been going on. Thanks for reading!
109 degrees at 8pm tonight.
I am living in the Middle East and learning Arabic. Go figure!
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
One Year Ago
Where were you May 24th, 2010? I was in St. Louis interviewing for this job. At this time last year I had "unofficially" accepted the job in Abu Dhabi and was told the official contract would be coming within a week. One year ago today Susan saw me for the first time. She just happened to be in St. Louis for her interview as well, and she was waiting for her interview when I came downstairs for mine. I don't remember seeing her, but she remembers me. Weird how things worked out.
So, I guess it's time to reflect.
Am I glad that I took the job? Well, mostly yes. There are times when I don't like my job and I say that I want to go home and not come back next year, but I haven't gone home and I will be back next year (I think my parents would kill me if they couldn't come and visit:) Just kidding. If I hated it, I wouldn't be back. I do not regret the decision I made a year ago.
Am I a better teacher for being over here? I don't know. Sometimes I think when I go home to teach that I will have forgotten how to teach because I am not using a lot of the strategies and teaching styles that I used back home. But then I have to remind myself that I am learning a whole set of new skills; teaching students whose first, and primary language is not English. And, I am truly learning that teaching is more than just reading, writing, math, science, social studies, and health. It is character builidng, instilling values and morals, helping children value education and want to learn, teaching appropriate behaviors (that's a HUGE one, especially here:), and helping children to understand that they need to respect everyone (even if they're not Emirati and they are just a servant; ok that's pretty specific to here, but the respect part isn't).
What's the biggest obstacle I've overcome? Learning to deal with the fact that there really isn't a schedule here. That was a huge obstacle at the beginning, and yes it still bothers me, but I don't react like I did when I first got here. I am learning to deal with the uncertainty of daily events. In the interview I was told to bring my flexibility and patience, I just never imagined that I would need my flexibility and patience along with 5 other people's flexibilty and patience.
Would I do it again? Yes!
What have I learned about about the world? It is HUGE!!! OK I knew that, but it is. There are so many different cultures and people that I never would have encountered in my tiny worlds of NC and MI. Yes, I have met Arabic people and people of other cultures, but I hadn't really experienced the culture.
What have I learned about the Arabic culture? I am definitely not claiming to be an expert, but this is just what I have experienced. Love for country and Allah (God) are very important. Family is also very important. The more children the better. Boys are more highly regarded than girls (a woman is not addressed as someone's mother until she has a son, same for the father). Children are expected to be/act like adults (especially when it comes to relegion) when they are in 4th grade. It's a very respectful and formal culture. The food is delicious (other than the no pork aspect:). The languge is extemely difficult.
So, after being here a little more than 9 months I am ready to come home. I am ready to experience US culture! I am ready to see my family and friends! I am ready for a break from the heat (109 today; it's a cold front!! We had temps near 120 already!). I am ready for school to end, we all are. I will be home July 26th or 27th depending on flight prices. As of right now the 26th is cheaper than the 27th, but I can't pay for the ticket until the end of June when I get my travel money. So we shall see. 2 more months!! It seems like a long time, but the past 9 1/2 have gone pretty quickly so 2 should fly by.
So, I guess it's time to reflect.
Am I glad that I took the job? Well, mostly yes. There are times when I don't like my job and I say that I want to go home and not come back next year, but I haven't gone home and I will be back next year (I think my parents would kill me if they couldn't come and visit:) Just kidding. If I hated it, I wouldn't be back. I do not regret the decision I made a year ago.
Am I a better teacher for being over here? I don't know. Sometimes I think when I go home to teach that I will have forgotten how to teach because I am not using a lot of the strategies and teaching styles that I used back home. But then I have to remind myself that I am learning a whole set of new skills; teaching students whose first, and primary language is not English. And, I am truly learning that teaching is more than just reading, writing, math, science, social studies, and health. It is character builidng, instilling values and morals, helping children value education and want to learn, teaching appropriate behaviors (that's a HUGE one, especially here:), and helping children to understand that they need to respect everyone (even if they're not Emirati and they are just a servant; ok that's pretty specific to here, but the respect part isn't).
What's the biggest obstacle I've overcome? Learning to deal with the fact that there really isn't a schedule here. That was a huge obstacle at the beginning, and yes it still bothers me, but I don't react like I did when I first got here. I am learning to deal with the uncertainty of daily events. In the interview I was told to bring my flexibility and patience, I just never imagined that I would need my flexibility and patience along with 5 other people's flexibilty and patience.
Would I do it again? Yes!
What have I learned about about the world? It is HUGE!!! OK I knew that, but it is. There are so many different cultures and people that I never would have encountered in my tiny worlds of NC and MI. Yes, I have met Arabic people and people of other cultures, but I hadn't really experienced the culture.
What have I learned about the Arabic culture? I am definitely not claiming to be an expert, but this is just what I have experienced. Love for country and Allah (God) are very important. Family is also very important. The more children the better. Boys are more highly regarded than girls (a woman is not addressed as someone's mother until she has a son, same for the father). Children are expected to be/act like adults (especially when it comes to relegion) when they are in 4th grade. It's a very respectful and formal culture. The food is delicious (other than the no pork aspect:). The languge is extemely difficult.
So, after being here a little more than 9 months I am ready to come home. I am ready to experience US culture! I am ready to see my family and friends! I am ready for a break from the heat (109 today; it's a cold front!! We had temps near 120 already!). I am ready for school to end, we all are. I will be home July 26th or 27th depending on flight prices. As of right now the 26th is cheaper than the 27th, but I can't pay for the ticket until the end of June when I get my travel money. So we shall see. 2 more months!! It seems like a long time, but the past 9 1/2 have gone pretty quickly so 2 should fly by.
Monday, May 16, 2011
The Joys of Missing Work
لا ذهبت إلى مدرسة اليوم و ذهبت إلى المستشفى و اريد أنام.
I did not go to school today and I went to the hospital and I want to sleep. (la thahabto ila madrasa alyoum, wa thahabto ilala mustashfa wa oureedu anaam).
No worries about me going to the hospital. It was nothing serious. That's just where you have to go here. They don't have doctors offices and if you miss work you have to have a doctors note. I just don't know how to say all of that in Arabic.
I left work yesterday with a headache which somehow evolved into an upset stomach. I woke up this morning feeling like I was going to throw up. Now, I typically would have went to work and worked through this issue but given the water and bathroom situation at my school I figured it was best to stay home. Just in case I did throw up, I would be somewhere that had a decent bathroom and consistent water. So I stayed home.
This is the process for missing work in Abu Dhabi. I had to call Andrea, the faculty head, and email the vice principal. I probably should have emailed the principal as well, but I don't know her email. The worst part is actually going to the hospital. I mean for an upset stomach come on, but that's what's required here. So I arrived at NMC (New Medical Center) at 11:00 and waited for 1 1/2 hours for a 5-10 minute check up. She even asked why I was there. I told her that I missed work and I needed the paper. She smiled, laughed, and said she understood. Now that I have the doctors note I have to get it "stamped", but I'm still not sure where to go for that. Ashley has one that needs to be stamped as well so hopefully we can go together. So, when I would have liked to just lay in bed and do nothing I had to get up, dressed respectfully, and spend 1 1/2 in the hospital. Oh well.
I also think I just needed a day off. Things have been quite frustrating at work with Andrea and I needed a break which is why I convinced myself to go through the entire process. Just a day at home away from Andrea.
So now I have the rest of the afternoon to relax and veg!
Saturday, May 14, 2011
I am Still Here
Yes, I am still here but it's just been pretty much day to day living lately. Nothing too exciting has been happening until this week. But, I have this blog and I must keep my followers informed!
School
After my observation and evaluation things have been pretty normal. Everyone is just ready to be done. The only issue is that we just don't know exactly when "done" is. I am pretty certain my last day will be either July 7th or the 13th. But, with ADEC, anything can change at a moment's notice. The girls' last day is a huge question. I was supposed to the do the morning assembly in June and I was telling 3/2 this, but they were shocked. They told me that they only had one more month, which means they are thinking the end of May. 3 more weeks?! That would be great, but then I would have another whole month to month and a half when I would have to be at school. What am I supposed to do? I can't do much planning because I don't know where I will be or what grade level I will have. Even if I did know those 2 things the school doesn't have Internet so that means planning is pretty restricted. I have heard that even though we are required to be at school we may just have to show up for 1/2 days. All of this is just speculation and rumor. The girls may actually keep attending school until the end of June. Who knows?!
I have totally resorted to bribery in 3/1. I am giving them candy:( Not good at all, but I don't know what else to do. They get candy when the come to the carpet when I ask them, when they do their assignment, and when they do a center activity when they are finished. I must add that all of this has to be done quietly and in a timely manner. This is done on a daily basis and some girls are earning quite a bit of candy. I have slacked off (for about a week I was giving them candy everytime they did one of the above mentioned things), but it is still a lot and quite expensive. Plus I give them a reward on Thursday if they are good the entire week. Even though it is expensive and goes against everything I know to do, it is working! Their behavior is so much better and I can actually teach a small group! I should have implmented this strategy long ago.
I can make it 3 more weeks:)
Arabic
It has its moments. Some days are better than others and I am able to communicate a lot better, and then there are days when we resort to much more English. I still am not using it enough. I try to force myself to use it, but it's so hard. When I want to say something I have to think too much. I said something in class the other day فكرت الشة عاشت مع ابنتك (fakarat alsha a'ashat ma'a ibnatik - I thought the sheep lived with her daughter). Now this was totally a correct sentence, not right based on the context of what I read but I was trying to explain my misunderstanding. The only thing is when I asked her to tell me what I said this is what she said "I thought, full stop. I thought, full stop. I thought the sheep lived with her daughter." It just takes me a long time to put my thoughts into words. I have to think of how to say things using the few words that I know and I have to think of how to change the verbs that I know to match the nouns. And I have to think of how to attach the right pronoun to the end of the noun. I really wanted to say that I thought the sheep lived with their daughter, but I couldn't remember the pronoun to attach for their so I resorted to using your daughter. It just takes a long time. I know it would be easier if I were using it more, which is why we are doing more of the lessons in Arabic because I have to force myself to use it. I was able to tell her this sentence in a rather timely manner; ساذهب إلى عمان في يوم السبت (saathab ila Oman fee youm asabt - I am going to Oman on Saturday) and it was actually correct. I was a little concerned about the verb because I had to make it personal and future, but I did it!!! Then there are the times when I mess up the simple things like when I say ما اسمها (ma ismoha - What is her name?) when I really want to say ما اسمه (ma ismoho - What is his name?) The thing is I know the difference and I know how to correct it, but I couldn't figure out why she kept telling me I was wrong. So in order to help with conversational Arabic I started meeting with Khaled. More about him in the next section. I have graduated from grade 1!!! I think I should be held back! We are now working our way through the grade 2 books.
Khaled
This started out purely for help with Arabic. It has since evolved into more than that. We have gone on 3 dates and little to no Arabic has been involved. He's nice, funny, and I enjoy spending time with him, but things got a little weird (and when I say weird, I think you know what I mean by now) when we went out last night. He took me to this coffee shop near Oman and I had shisha!! It was very interesting. I was no good at it as I kept gagging, but it wasn't terrible. We had strawberry (farawlah in Arabic) shisha since he calls me farawlah. When I first met him we were going over fruits and vegetables and I had a very hard time with farawlah; I think it's the combination of the r and w that made it hard. So he kept repeating and now that's what he calls me. I think it's cute! Totally off subject, so back to the shisha. I have tried it and I am glad that I did, but once is enough.
So, we are in this little room by ourselves and he tells me that he loves me and that I should go home with him. Both to his home in Al Ain and home to Morocco. Well, I was, and am not, for that so I suggested that we take a walk. So we went to the Al Ain Paradise Garden. Very nice. It was nice to walk around and see all the flowers and not be super hot. We went at 9:00 pm and it was probably in the 90s but that was much better than the 111 that it had been earlier in the day. Plus the sun wasn't shining and that helps tremendously! The garden was beautiful and I will definitely be going back in December or January when I can go during the day.
Later that night I tried to explain to him that this just can't go anywhere based on the fact that I'm a Christian and he's a Muslim, but I don't think he understood. Not due to language issues, I just don't think he wanted to understand. So next time I see him I will have to be a bit more firm and make it known that even though I enjoy spending time with him I can't if he is going to be thinking of a relationship. Where are the nice, single, western, Christian men?
Oman
Susan and I planned a trip to Oman for today. We left at 8:00 and we headed to Muscat, about 3 1/2 hours in. It was going to be a nice day trip and something totally different. Evidently road trips just aren't for me. We did enter Oman, but didn't get past passport control. We crossed the border at Hili and told the guy that we wanted to go to Muscat and he gave us directions. He did not stamp our passports though. Now, Susan mentioned this but neither of us thought to do anything about it. So we drove for a while and we're actually not in Oman. The space in between Hili and Oman is technically a no-man's land. It doesn't belong to anyone. I believe they are still arguing over it. We drove about 40km (25 miles) and we came to the actual border. We told the guy that we're going to Muscat and he looks at our passport and tells us to go inside. No problem we figure. We just need to get tourist visas. So we go in and get ready to get our tourist visa. The only problem is we can't get a tourist visa because we can't get an entry stamp because we didn't get an exit stamp from the UAE. Oh great, now we are illegal aliens!!! That's all I need. So we explain this to the guy and he tells us to go to the Khatam Al Shiklah border, about 15 minutes away and get our exit stamp and come back so we can get an entry stamp. No problem. So we drive 15 minutes out of the way so we can re-enter the UAE so we can exit correctly. We re-enter the UAE and try to exit, but we can't because I don't have a paper from the car rental agency saying that I can take the car out of the country. He tells me that I can park the car and call the agency and have them send/fax the paper to them. So I drive a little and figure out that he kept my drivers license. I park the car and walk back to get it. I was smart enough to bring my passport with me, but not my phone. When I get back to his little stand I am escorted into this little room. My first thought was: oh no, I am about to be interrogated because I illegally left the counrty and tried to enter another country. And I left my phone in the car so I couldn't call Susan or Gavin (LT support guy who said we could call him for anything) if necessary. One of the guys in the office is talking on the phone in Arabic, and we all know how good my Arabic is, so of course I couldn't understand anything of what he was saying. My fears were relieved when the other guy started talking to me and offered me some water, Arabic coffee, and tea. I don't think they would treat criminals that nicely. So I had my little cup of Arabic coffee, which I do not like but you have to accept when someone offers it to you, and I shook my cup to indicate I didn't want anymore and they laughed! I think they were surprised that I knew to do that. Turns out the guy on the phone was just calling for the fax number so I could have the paper faxed. I am handed my drivers license and the fax number and I head back to the car. Susan and I decided that we had already had enough adventure so we decided to head back to Al Ain. This was extremely embarrassing because all the men were the same ones that we had seen when we first exited Oman and re-entered the UAE. So we had to re-explain what we were doing. Everyone seemed to get a laugh out of the situation. I must say that everyone was very nice and helpful, which was a huge relief. We will have to try this road trip again with the proper documentation. What a morning!
We headed to Al Ain Mall where Susan got a facial and new clothes because someone at the border said she was my mother! I did not get a facial, but I got some lipstick and blush that I'm going to try wearing. We had lunch at the mall and walked around and then headed home.
Summer
Turns out Kisha is not able to go with me and Cassie on our little Europe trip. That should make it easier to plan for since Cassie and I are in the same city, but we can never seem to get together. I just hope that Cassie is still planning on going. As of right now we're thinking of Italy, but who knows. I will have to talk to her about it sometime this week.
Weather
HOT! HOT! And HOT!!! I don't know exactly how to explain this other than it just slaps you in the face when you walk outside. I feel as though my eyeballs are burning. The average is about 108 with temps reaching 115. It cools down at night to the upper 80 to low 90s which is a relief but it's still hot. June and July are going to be totally unbearable.
OK I think that's about it. Now, aren't you glad that I haven't posted in a while! 3 more weeks, I can make it:) I just hope it's only 3 more weeks!!!
I have finally made enough money to pay off one of my college loans!!!
School
After my observation and evaluation things have been pretty normal. Everyone is just ready to be done. The only issue is that we just don't know exactly when "done" is. I am pretty certain my last day will be either July 7th or the 13th. But, with ADEC, anything can change at a moment's notice. The girls' last day is a huge question. I was supposed to the do the morning assembly in June and I was telling 3/2 this, but they were shocked. They told me that they only had one more month, which means they are thinking the end of May. 3 more weeks?! That would be great, but then I would have another whole month to month and a half when I would have to be at school. What am I supposed to do? I can't do much planning because I don't know where I will be or what grade level I will have. Even if I did know those 2 things the school doesn't have Internet so that means planning is pretty restricted. I have heard that even though we are required to be at school we may just have to show up for 1/2 days. All of this is just speculation and rumor. The girls may actually keep attending school until the end of June. Who knows?!
I have totally resorted to bribery in 3/1. I am giving them candy:( Not good at all, but I don't know what else to do. They get candy when the come to the carpet when I ask them, when they do their assignment, and when they do a center activity when they are finished. I must add that all of this has to be done quietly and in a timely manner. This is done on a daily basis and some girls are earning quite a bit of candy. I have slacked off (for about a week I was giving them candy everytime they did one of the above mentioned things), but it is still a lot and quite expensive. Plus I give them a reward on Thursday if they are good the entire week. Even though it is expensive and goes against everything I know to do, it is working! Their behavior is so much better and I can actually teach a small group! I should have implmented this strategy long ago.
I can make it 3 more weeks:)
Arabic
It has its moments. Some days are better than others and I am able to communicate a lot better, and then there are days when we resort to much more English. I still am not using it enough. I try to force myself to use it, but it's so hard. When I want to say something I have to think too much. I said something in class the other day فكرت الشة عاشت مع ابنتك (fakarat alsha a'ashat ma'a ibnatik - I thought the sheep lived with her daughter). Now this was totally a correct sentence, not right based on the context of what I read but I was trying to explain my misunderstanding. The only thing is when I asked her to tell me what I said this is what she said "I thought, full stop. I thought, full stop. I thought the sheep lived with her daughter." It just takes me a long time to put my thoughts into words. I have to think of how to say things using the few words that I know and I have to think of how to change the verbs that I know to match the nouns. And I have to think of how to attach the right pronoun to the end of the noun. I really wanted to say that I thought the sheep lived with their daughter, but I couldn't remember the pronoun to attach for their so I resorted to using your daughter. It just takes a long time. I know it would be easier if I were using it more, which is why we are doing more of the lessons in Arabic because I have to force myself to use it. I was able to tell her this sentence in a rather timely manner; ساذهب إلى عمان في يوم السبت (saathab ila Oman fee youm asabt - I am going to Oman on Saturday) and it was actually correct. I was a little concerned about the verb because I had to make it personal and future, but I did it!!! Then there are the times when I mess up the simple things like when I say ما اسمها (ma ismoha - What is her name?) when I really want to say ما اسمه (ma ismoho - What is his name?) The thing is I know the difference and I know how to correct it, but I couldn't figure out why she kept telling me I was wrong. So in order to help with conversational Arabic I started meeting with Khaled. More about him in the next section. I have graduated from grade 1!!! I think I should be held back! We are now working our way through the grade 2 books.
Khaled
This started out purely for help with Arabic. It has since evolved into more than that. We have gone on 3 dates and little to no Arabic has been involved. He's nice, funny, and I enjoy spending time with him, but things got a little weird (and when I say weird, I think you know what I mean by now) when we went out last night. He took me to this coffee shop near Oman and I had shisha!! It was very interesting. I was no good at it as I kept gagging, but it wasn't terrible. We had strawberry (farawlah in Arabic) shisha since he calls me farawlah. When I first met him we were going over fruits and vegetables and I had a very hard time with farawlah; I think it's the combination of the r and w that made it hard. So he kept repeating and now that's what he calls me. I think it's cute! Totally off subject, so back to the shisha. I have tried it and I am glad that I did, but once is enough.
 |
| smoking Shisha |
 |
| Al Ain Paradise Garden |
Later that night I tried to explain to him that this just can't go anywhere based on the fact that I'm a Christian and he's a Muslim, but I don't think he understood. Not due to language issues, I just don't think he wanted to understand. So next time I see him I will have to be a bit more firm and make it known that even though I enjoy spending time with him I can't if he is going to be thinking of a relationship. Where are the nice, single, western, Christian men?
Oman
Susan and I planned a trip to Oman for today. We left at 8:00 and we headed to Muscat, about 3 1/2 hours in. It was going to be a nice day trip and something totally different. Evidently road trips just aren't for me. We did enter Oman, but didn't get past passport control. We crossed the border at Hili and told the guy that we wanted to go to Muscat and he gave us directions. He did not stamp our passports though. Now, Susan mentioned this but neither of us thought to do anything about it. So we drove for a while and we're actually not in Oman. The space in between Hili and Oman is technically a no-man's land. It doesn't belong to anyone. I believe they are still arguing over it. We drove about 40km (25 miles) and we came to the actual border. We told the guy that we're going to Muscat and he looks at our passport and tells us to go inside. No problem we figure. We just need to get tourist visas. So we go in and get ready to get our tourist visa. The only problem is we can't get a tourist visa because we can't get an entry stamp because we didn't get an exit stamp from the UAE. Oh great, now we are illegal aliens!!! That's all I need. So we explain this to the guy and he tells us to go to the Khatam Al Shiklah border, about 15 minutes away and get our exit stamp and come back so we can get an entry stamp. No problem. So we drive 15 minutes out of the way so we can re-enter the UAE so we can exit correctly. We re-enter the UAE and try to exit, but we can't because I don't have a paper from the car rental agency saying that I can take the car out of the country. He tells me that I can park the car and call the agency and have them send/fax the paper to them. So I drive a little and figure out that he kept my drivers license. I park the car and walk back to get it. I was smart enough to bring my passport with me, but not my phone. When I get back to his little stand I am escorted into this little room. My first thought was: oh no, I am about to be interrogated because I illegally left the counrty and tried to enter another country. And I left my phone in the car so I couldn't call Susan or Gavin (LT support guy who said we could call him for anything) if necessary. One of the guys in the office is talking on the phone in Arabic, and we all know how good my Arabic is, so of course I couldn't understand anything of what he was saying. My fears were relieved when the other guy started talking to me and offered me some water, Arabic coffee, and tea. I don't think they would treat criminals that nicely. So I had my little cup of Arabic coffee, which I do not like but you have to accept when someone offers it to you, and I shook my cup to indicate I didn't want anymore and they laughed! I think they were surprised that I knew to do that. Turns out the guy on the phone was just calling for the fax number so I could have the paper faxed. I am handed my drivers license and the fax number and I head back to the car. Susan and I decided that we had already had enough adventure so we decided to head back to Al Ain. This was extremely embarrassing because all the men were the same ones that we had seen when we first exited Oman and re-entered the UAE. So we had to re-explain what we were doing. Everyone seemed to get a laugh out of the situation. I must say that everyone was very nice and helpful, which was a huge relief. We will have to try this road trip again with the proper documentation. What a morning!
We headed to Al Ain Mall where Susan got a facial and new clothes because someone at the border said she was my mother! I did not get a facial, but I got some lipstick and blush that I'm going to try wearing. We had lunch at the mall and walked around and then headed home.
Summer
Turns out Kisha is not able to go with me and Cassie on our little Europe trip. That should make it easier to plan for since Cassie and I are in the same city, but we can never seem to get together. I just hope that Cassie is still planning on going. As of right now we're thinking of Italy, but who knows. I will have to talk to her about it sometime this week.
Weather
HOT! HOT! And HOT!!! I don't know exactly how to explain this other than it just slaps you in the face when you walk outside. I feel as though my eyeballs are burning. The average is about 108 with temps reaching 115. It cools down at night to the upper 80 to low 90s which is a relief but it's still hot. June and July are going to be totally unbearable.
OK I think that's about it. Now, aren't you glad that I haven't posted in a while! 3 more weeks, I can make it:) I just hope it's only 3 more weeks!!!
I have finally made enough money to pay off one of my college loans!!!
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