Reflection

Reflection is such a huge part of the PYP program so I guess it's time I reflected!  Not that I'm not always reflecting on my teaching, but as the year is nearly over it's time to reflect on my first year at ENS.

As I reflect I am well aware of God's grace in bringing about the changes in me, the classroom, and my students.  Everything good comes from Him and I give Him all the glory and praise for making the changes.

As I sat in my class Thursday morning watching my students work independently I couldn't help but remember what it was like at the beginning of the year.  All the struggles with listening, working, not talking all the time, respect, tucking in of the shirt, fighting, bad language and just simply not wanting to be there (both me and the kids).  I remembered how hard it was for me to get up each and every day and go to work knowing that it was going to be a battle to get anything done as I would spend a majority of the day working on behavior management.  I recalled my frustrations with teaching them how to raise their hands and work independently.  Ashamedly I also recalled my harsh tone and anger towards them and many of the not so positive things I had said to them at the beginning of the year.  Remembering all that just made it even more wonderful to see what I saw.  I saw them working.  Working together.  Working quietly.  Raising their hand when they needed help.  I saw them reading, writing, checking their work, and getting help from each other.  I saw boys and girls working cooperatively and not yelling at each other.  I saw high students working with and helping lower students.  I saw a well working classroom that could have been anywhere in the States and yet it's here in the UAE where they struggle with education.  As I sat there watching them I couldn't help praise God for His grace in their lives.  He is working in them and His faithfulness is amazing. 

In addition to God working in them, I stand totally amazed as to how He worked in my life to bring me to the point of acknowledging that I needed His help in my life and in the classroom.  As God changed my attitude, my words began to change as well.  The situation didn't change, my attitude changed.  God reminded me that the job was a blessing from Him and that these students are created in His image and loved by Him and when I wasn't loving them I was living in sin.  He reminded me that I am called to speak gently, not harshly, and that my anger doesn't glorify Him.  I am called to love all people, even my Emirati students, just as God loves me.  It is a tall task and I often fail.  Even as I write this I am reminded that I still struggle in truly loving them, especially when things aren't going as well as I think they should in the classroom.  In addition to loving them I am called to work for God's glory so that my students, and the staff, can see Jesus in and through me.  And again I am reminded how often I fail, but thankfully I am also reminded of God's grace and mercy in forgiving me and giving me another day to try again.  I pray that these changes will take root in my heart so that the beginning of the 2013-2014 school year will be a much more positive experience and that I will be able to glorify God with the beginning of a new school year.

I still struggle, believe me I do.  Every day.  But I know that God is at work in me and that because of Jesus' sacrificial death on the cross I can rest assured that I have forgiveness for the times that I mess up in the classroom, and in every other area of my life.  So I praise God for sending His Son to die for me, for giving me the Holy Spirit to work in me, and for His never-ending love for me and all of His creation!

I do need to begin thinking about the 2014-2015 school year.  Where will I be?  I'm praying that I will be back in the States.  Brazil is a thought that I have, but it's just a thought.  I really haven't even began looking.  What are God's plans?  Not sure right now.  I do know that I will resign from ENS in December.  Even as I write about how God changed me I know that this school isn't for me.  I don't agree with grading English language learners as native English speakers and that is what is required here. 

Two more weeks with the students and four more weeks until I head home! We have our concert on Tuesday and Thursday is supposedly a holiday; we're still waiting for official word from ENS, but it's been in the paper so we should have it off. With a holiday on Thursday I'm wondering how many students will come back for the last week of school. I'm not sure what the last 2 weeks of school will have in store for me; hopefully we'll get some time to get planning done for the next year.

KidZania

Simply put, the best field trip ever!  Let me explain.

Do you remember micro-machines?  Well, KidZania is like a micro-city; they have just about everything that a real city would have just scaled down to kid size.  There are shops, restaurants, airports, garages, theaters, salons, radio stations, TV stations, fire stations, and coffee shops; plus probably many other things that I'm forgetting.  The streets are packed with running and screaming kids as they run from shop to shop and experience the joy of working for a living.  The kids get to pick a job and experience providing a service and then getting paid.  For example, if they pick chef they make the food (pizza) and then get paid Kidzos for it.  If they pick fireman they get to ride a firetruck and put out a fire in a burning building and then get Kidzos.  They can use their Kidzos at any of the shops to buy food or gifts.  What a great idea!  I think they should have these in the States!  But wait, I haven't told you the best part yet. 


The best part is that I didn't have to do anything!  Really.  And I didn't feel stressed about it or guilty about it either.  Amazing.  The kids get checked in and then they run off and do their thing.  There are tons of helpers around and only one way out, which is guarded by a security guard, so they couldn't go anywhere.  I wandered around checking out what KidZania had to offer and then ended up sitting in Dunkin Donuts with Kevin, the other teacher, and spent the day chatting.  Oh so relaxing!  Minus the annoying firetruck that kept coming by with kids shouting "KidZania fire team" and the marching band, but other than that it was wonderful!  We told the kids to meet us at McDonald's for lunch at 11:45 and surprise surprise they did!  We didn't have to round up anyone.  They ate a quick lunch and then went off to play for a bit more with the understanding that they were to meet us at the exit in 15 minutes.  Another shocker, they actually listened!  I only had to go looking for 2 of my girls and they weren't far from the exit, which means they were making their way there. 

We headed back through the mall and boarded the buses at 12:45 which was 15 minutes before our scheduled departure.  We were doing good:)  The ride home was uneventful until about the last 10 minutes; Saeed threw up.  The kids just ate so much junk food and it was hot on the bus; I'm actually surprised that Saeed was the only one.  I just wish he could have waited 10 minutes until we got off the bus.  We ended up arriving back at school around 2:15 so I just let the kids play in the room until it was time for dismissal at 2:45.  Like I said, best field trip ever!  I think all field trips should be to KidZania, or just as easy and fun!

Four more busy weeks with the students...

1. MAP testing and concert practice this week
2. Concert practice next week
3. Concert and end of the year party the following week
4. Hopefully they won't show up this week; we've been told that they stop coming the first week in June.  We'll see!

90 degrees at 7:00pm, only up to 99 today which was definitely cooler than during the week when it was 108.

PYP Authorization

The last few weeks have been very stressful as ENS got ready for its PYP authorization visit. We've all been very busy getting our classrooms and school ready. The students have been busy reflecting on their work and practicing using the PYP vocabulary to describe what they've been learning to strangers. Lots of build up and lots of stress for all involved.

A bit of background on PYP. PYP is primary years program and it's part of the IB (international baccalaureate) program. The IB is focused on inquiry based learning that is student driven. The main crux of the IB is the transdisciplinary theme; a topic that spans all the disciplines and can be used outside of school in the real world. There is a huge focus on character development through the learner profile and attitudes. Now all this sounds great, but here it's a bit of a challenge because these kids don't think. They don't ask questions and they don't do much of anything independently. We have to do a lot of modeling, prepping, and guiding. But, that's all really beside the point.

So for the past 2 - 3 weeks people have been coming into my classroom to ask the kids questions and to make sure it looks IB. To look IB there has to be authentic student work up, student questions posted, lots of reflection, and connections with the transdisciplinary skills, learner profile traits, and attitudes. I had the questions, student work, and connections with the learner profile and attitudes, just no reflections, answers to questions, or connections with the transdisciplinary skills. So that's what we worked on. As well as getting the students ready to talk about what they've been doing using the language. By the time the visit rolled around, according to our PYP coordinator, my class was IB driven. Thing is, that's only based on what she could see. I can't say for sure if all my instruction was IB driven (mostly because I still don't understand some of it!), but so long as I was doing something IB when the inspectors came in the room it would be fine.

Well, the inspectors were coming on Monday and Tuesday and they would be in the primary school on Monday so I had planned a lot of reflection and cooperative group work for the morning. We were just finishing up our unit of inquiry so it was time to reflect anyway. I didn't really do anything that I wouldn't have done at the end of the unit, so that part wasn't all that stressful for me. The only difference was that I prepped the kids on Sunday so they would be prepared to have good reflections (grade 4 appropriate - sentences, neat, spelling...) on Monday. I was ready. The kids were ready and they knew their stuff. They could talk the talk and they wanted to show off.

We went through our normal morning routine, minus checking math homework since math wasn't until the afternoon, and began filling out the reflections. For the first part the students worked independently, reflecting on their learning about transport and electricity. They have a form to fill out after every unit that goes in their portfolio so that's what they were doing. After everyone was finished we went out in the quad for some group reflections. I had questions written on large paper and the students rotated around and answered the questions about their learning (this is something we've done for the past 2 units so the kids are pretty familiar with the routine). By the time they got all the way around the first 2 periods were done (the 2 periods when the inspectors were doing classroom visits). Did anyone come in my class? Nope. Period 3 and 4 are Arabic and Islamic so I typically leave and get stuff done. Did anyone come in during those periods? Nope. Turns out that Brian and some other guy (not an inspector) stood at the door for like 5 seconds, during Arabic, and then they left. We did some math during period 5 and still no inspectors. Period 6 is break, 7 and 8 are PE, and 9 is another break. So that just left period 10. We did the typical end of the day routine (communication books, packing up, and independent reading), but no visitors. Man was I bummed. We had worked so hard getting everything ready and no one showed up. Frustrating. There was the possibility that they could stop in on Tuesday, but that was the day they were supposed to go to the KG and it's early dismissal and I only teach 3 periods so that doesn't leave a lot of time for someone to come and observe. Tuesday we did the normal routine of math groups in the morning and independent reading before dismissal and we still had no visitors. The kids were upset. They asked why no one came and why the sat with 4C and asked them questions. I didn't have an answer for that other than I had told them that they might come in the class or they might not. That's not a very satisfying answer to a 4th grader who has worked really hard and wanted to show "important people" what they knew. I felt bad for the kids. They waited and they worked really hard and no one came. What a let down.

The inspectors left on Tuesday with an "overwhelmingly positive" report. We should know in anywhere from 6 weeks to 6 months if we have passed inspection and become an IB school. If not, we may have to go through this again next year.

In other news...

1.      We have a field trip to Kidzania in Dubai Mall on Wednesday. Check back later for my post about the trip.

2.      Just 5 more weeks of school for the kids and 7 for me!

3.      Summer is here. Temps are back in the 100s with it going to 108 this week. No more rain, artificial (check it out, it's called cloud seeding) or real.

I guess that's about it. Everything else is pretty normal. Can't wait until June 27th! That's when I fly home!!! Now that the stress is over, hopefully it'll fly by!

Lebanon

Lebanon – a country rich in history with many different faces.  Lebanon is filled with ancient ruins from the Romans, Byzantine, Phoenicians, Ottomans, and Crusades.  All of these ruins tell a different story of the development of the country.  In addition to the ruins are old buildings that are riddled with bullet holes from the many wars they have had with their bordering countries.  The borders to Israel and Syria are dotted with Palestinian (between 500,000 and 800,000 refugees) and Syrian (over 1 million refugees) refugee camps (little cities).  And finally there are the new glitzy, shiny, tall buildings that line the Beirut landscape.  Despite the many warnings to not go to Lebanon, it is a very safe country and I never once felt like I was in danger.  Police and military presence are everywhere.  It is a beautiful country, with mountains and sea, and I am glad that I went.

April 2 - Arrival

My flight out of Abu Dhabi was scheduled at 12:25, but we didn’t start boarding the plane until 12:45.  Not sure why though.  The plane was not full and I ended up getting moved to an exit row seat.  Nice!  It was a nice ride over filled with mostly Lebanese citizens.  I was probably the only American on the plane, although there were a few (maybe 5) other westerners.  We arrived around 3:45, which was pretty much on time.  The Beirut airport is old, but well laid out and well labeled.  I didn’t have any problem making it to customs and baggage claim.  No problems at customs, I was just asked why I was coming to Lebanon.  Once I got my baggage I headed out to meet the driver from Nakhal that was coming to take me to my hotel.  I arrived at the Queen’s Suite Hotel in downtown Beirut around 4:30 and got checked in, cleaned up, and ready to explore downtown.  I explored Hamra Street (main street that has all the cafes and shopping) and had a nice traditional Lebanese dinner.  A traditional Lebanese meal is not much different from the Arabic food that I have grown accustomed to here.  The only difference is the Lebanese bread is puffy, not flat like the Arabic bread.  I love the Lebanese bread, especially when it is served warm.  Warm, puffy, and delicious.  So my first evening was spent doing a bit of exploring on my own before I made it back to the hotel.  Since I had to be ready for my tour guide to pick me up at 7:45am the following morning I needed to have an early night.  I was back at the hotel around 9:00 and ready for bed, excited for what the following day would hold.

 

 

April 3 – Cedars of Lebanon, Kozhaya, and Besharreh

I woke up bright and early ready to explore all Lebanon has to offer, but first I needed breakfast.  After a shower and spending some time in prayer, for safety and protection for the day, and reading the Bible I headed down to breakfast.  I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I certainly didn’t expect what I got.  There was a small selection of croissants (zatar/thyme, cheese, and chocolate), fruit, hotdogs (which I suppose were to be sausages), some weird omelet thing, and the typical Arabic breakfast fare (lunchmeat, cheese, olives, hummus, bread, foul/beans). I had a zatar croissant, some fruit and a few mini hot dogs – I figured I needed some sort of protein - along with orange juice.  Not my typical breakfast of granola, yogurt, and a banana, but it was free and it would do.  Well nourished, I went downstairs to meet my guide.

My tour today would take me north to the famed cedars of Lebanon, with stops along the way.  On this trip I met Daniel, a divorced father from the UK who was spending 2 weeks exploring Lebanon.  We paired up and chatted on the bus ride and throughout the tour. 

Our first stop was in Besharreh (Basherry) at Gibran Khalil Gibran’s museum.  Gibran is a famous Lebanese author who wrote The Prophet which has been translated into 30 languages.  Not sure how famous it is, as I have never heard of it, or him, before but I suppose that doesn’t mean he’s not famous.  The town of Besharreh is 1,500 meters (4,920ft) up the mountain and offers wonderful views of the Qadisha Valley (Valley of the Saints) that we stopped at on the way down.  The museum was ok, but I enjoyed the views more and I was ready to board the bus and continue our journey up the mountain to see the cedars.

The second stop was 2,000m (6,560ft) up the mountain to see the cedars.  Unfortunately there are not many cedars left, only a small grove remain, and the park was closed to tourists due to the snow.  That did not stop our tour guide though.  He had us climb the fence and hike through the snow to get to the remaining cedars.  That just added to the fun of it.  It was a beautiful sunny day and I didn’t mind the hike.  Even with the snow covered ground and being at an altitude of 2,000m I began to get hot, so I took my trusty sweater off.  It was amazing to think that I was in the same place as Old Testament Prophets from the Bible who used the cedars of Lebanon to make many parts of the Tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant.  The cedars are tall and flat topped and there are at least 12 in the park that are over 1,000 years old!  Being out in the fresh air tinged with the smell of cedar was a wonderful experience.  I would have liked to have spent more time there, just wandering around the forest, but I had to hike back through the snow to get back on the bus.  That’s one downfall to being on a tour; you only have a short amount of time at each stop.  Oh well.  At least I got to see the cedars and I didn’t have to drive up, or down, the mountain. 

 

 

Once we were all on the bus we began our descent to Kozhaya/Qadisha Valley (1900m/6320ft) where we stopped for lunch.  Lunch was typical Lebanese cuisine which consisted of appetizers – hummus, babganoush (eggplant), pickled vegetables, fresh vegetables, cheese rolls, meat samosas, spinach samosas, and tabouleh – main course – mix grill (chicken, beef, and kofta) – and dessert – fresh fruit.  Tons of food.  It was all delicious, as typical Arabic food usually is.  The only thing is there was no Lebanese bread, just the flat Arabic bread.  After lunch we continued on our way to St. Anthony’s Monastery – one of the many monasteries that lie in the Valley of the Saints.  St. Anthony’s Monastery is nestled in the lush valley and offers great views of the surrounding valley.  It was built in the 12^th or 13^th century and houses the first printing press ever built.  We toured the monastery before having to say good-bye to the northern part of Lebanon and begin our trip back to Beirut.

 

 

On the ride back Daniel and I talked about walking around Beirut when we returned.  Since he had been there for nearly 2 weeks I let him be my tour guide.  Since neither of us were really hungry, who would be after the lunch we had, we just stopped at a little café for dessert then walked along the corniche.  He took me to the Pigeon Rocks, which are two rocks that were formed by an earthquake and are continually being shaped by the waves.  He walked me back to my hotel where I nearly collapsed in bed around 10pm.  It was a long day filled with awesome sights and I was pleasantly exhausted.  I was ready for bed knowing that I would have to get up early for my 7:45 departure from the hotel.

 

 

April 4 – Tyre, Sidon, and Maghdouche

My alarm went off at 6:00am; way too early, but I crawled out of bed so I could get ready for my second tour which would have me traveling south to within 20km of the Israeli border and walking in the same place that Jesus and Paul walked.

There was a change on the breakfast buffet this morning.  Instead of the weird omelet thing there were fried eggs on toast (basically warm bread).  I got my protein from that this morning.  The eggs weren’t that bad, but I didn’t eat the warm bread. 

After breakfast I headed downstairs and met Monique and Margaret on the tour bus.  Monique is a teacher from Australia who is teaching 11^th grade in Abu Dhabi and Margaret is a teacher from Austria who is teaching secondary grades in Turkey.  We chatted about our international teaching experiences as the bus made its way to our first stop in Sidon.  Our first stop in Sidon was a little café for breakfast, where the specialty was a cheese or yogurt roll.  I had the yogurt one; it was fresh and kind of sour and there was a faint citrus taste to it.  I watched it being made by the “chef”.  He slathered it with yogurt then sprinkled some zatar on it followed by fresh olives from the nearby olive groves and then squirted some fresh olive oil on it.  Sidon is known for its olives and olive oil.  The flavors all blended nicely and I enjoyed my second breakfast.  Knowing that I wasn’t going to be able to eat lunch until after 2 I knew I would need something to tide me over, so that served as a nice snack. 

It was in Sidon at this little café that I nearly got in trouble.  You aren’t supposed to take pictures of the military and as I was taking a picture of the surrounding landscape I got stopped.  My mind was racing and my heart was pounding: “what was he going to do?” was my only thought.  Would he take away my camera?  Would he send me to jail?  Would he send me back home?  He was across the street and he yelled at the driver who came over and talked to me.  I explained that I was just taking a picture of the landscape beyond them, not of the military at all.  OK so I did get a picture of the checkpoint, but no military personnel.  The military guy was ok with that explanation and the driver explained to me that the Lebanese army are very nice.  Agreed!  The stop was only for ½ an hour so it was back on the bus to continue on our way to Tyre.

 

 

In Tyre we saw ruins of the Phoenician Necropolis, which has nearly 300 tombs, and the hippodrome, which is where the chariot races and markets were held.  I climbed many stairs to get to the top of the hippodrome and capture spectacular views of the surrounding city.  We were allowed ½ an hour to explore the ruins before having to board the bus for our next stop in Tyre.  I enjoyed wandering around the ruins and trying to imagine the people living there and how they survived their daily life.  In the necropolis there was evidence of a house and the guide explained that the ancient Romans like to live near their dead!  Weird!  The carvings on the tombs and the columns were pretty intricate and detailed.  Someone or, quite possibly, many someones had spent a great deal of time making the necropolis and hippodrome something to not be forgotten.

 

 

The next stop in Tyre was at a little cave where Mary supposedly waited for Jesus while he spent time preaching in Tyre.  As a Jewish woman Mary was not allowed in pagan Tyre so she waited for her Son outside.  This was just a brief stop as the guide explained that Jesus performed the miracle of healing the Canaanite woman just 12km between Tyre and Sidon in Lebanon.  The thought that I was in the same country and region as Jesus was awe-inspiring.  I spent the time wondering what it would have been like back in Jesus’ time and walking around with Him as He taught and performed miracles.   Would I have believed?

 

 

Time for lunch so we got back on the bus and headed back to Sidon where lunch was going to be at a restaurant across from the Castle by the Sea.  Lunch was almost the same as yesterday, other than the main course was chicken and rice instead of mix grill.  I have to say I liked the chicken and rice better than the mix grill from the day before.  The view was amazing as well; I mean looking out at the Mediterranean Sea and a castle, what can beat that?

After lunch we toured the castle that was built by the Crusaders in 1228 atop Phoenician ruins.  I walked around the ruins with Monique and Margaret and we chatted about the royalty that would have lived there and how they would have entertained their guests.  We climbed the stairs to the top of the castle to get impressive views of the city and Mediterranean coast.

Our final stop in Sidon was the souq and soap museum.  We wandered around the souq for a while, avoiding the men who were trying to push their pashminas on us, before heading to the soap museum.  Due to its location Sidon is known for its olive groves which produce some very good olive oil.  It is this olive oil that is used to make the soap.  The soap museum was the old soap factory, but it is no longer used for soap making.  Not surprised by that as they would have moved on to better and more efficient methods of making soap, although they still use the olives that grow in Sidon.

On the way back to Beirut our guide showed us the massive Palestinian refugee camp.  There are between 500,000 and 800,000 Palestinian refugees living in Lebanon and most of them live in the camp that she showed us.  Although they use the word camp there are no tents; it is a little city complete with markets, groceries, schools, and hospitals.  The Palestinians aren’t confined to the refugee camp; they are allowed to get jobs in the city itself.  Hopefully one day they will be able to go back home.

 

 

And that ended the tour for the day.  Another day when history came alive to me.  I think that’s the best way to learn history instead of memorizing names and dates.  Monique and Margaret talked about getting together for dinner later that night, but I opted out due to the fact that my knees really hurt.  Too much walking and too many stairs.  I needed to rest them because I knew I would have more walking ahead of me and I wanted to see all that I could see.  So before going back to the hotel I went to a nearby pharmacy and got some pills for inflammation and then had dinner at the hotel before calling it an early night.

April 5 – Baalbek and Aanjaar

This was the day of my scheduled walking tour of historic Beirut, but I ended up changing it.  From all the talk on the previous tours, Baalbek is the one place in Lebanon that you can’t miss.  It was only offered on Friday and then again on Tuesday, so I switched.  In hind-sight I probably should have stayed with historic Beirut, but I am glad that I saw Baalbek.

The day dawned cold, rainy, foggy, and overcast but we headed out to Aanjar nonetheless.  In Aanjar I saw another palace in ruins; actually two palaces.  The big palace for the men and the little palace for the women.  Ironically though the little palace was bigger than the big palace!  From Aanjar we continued on to the most important Roman era archeological site in all of Lebanon, Baalbek.

 

 

I guess I would have to agree that it is the most important archeological site in Lebanon.  It is massive and impressive!  Baalbek is composed of three temples before you even reach the main temple that was set aside for worshiping Baal the god of agriculture.  In comparison to Petra I would just have to say that Petra is longer.  The ruins in Baalbek are located in one central place and there are hundreds of them.  Temples.  Columns.  Hamamms (baths).  Altars.  Tombs.  Theater.  Court.  City Council.  Lots of stairs in multiples of 3 (they believed that if you started on your right foot you needed to end on your right foot) and many many other ruins.  Impressive!  You just can’t help stand in awe of how those people built it and how they carved, let alone moved, those enormous stones.  The columns are huge – at least 22m high - and wonderfully preserved.  There were originally 64 sets of columns around the entire site, if that gives you any indication as to how large an area this is.  You can tell this was an important part of their lives.  We walked up, down, and around the ruins snapping pictures and just standing in awe of the entire city before we had to get on the bus for lunch.

 

 

Lunch was mix grill again and all the talk around the table was what we had just seen at Baalbek.  After lunch we headed to the Beqqa Valley for some wine tasting at Ksara. The wine is stored in a cave that was discovered as a farmer chased a fox wo stole a chicken.  We tasted white, blush, red, and desert wine.  Since I am not really a wine drinker this wasn't one of my favorite parts of the tour.  Of all the wines I liked the sweet desert wine the best followed by the blush.  Now if they had sangria I would have been happy!  Back on the bus and back to Beirut.

 

 

Once in Beirut I rested for a bit and then went to walk along the corniche.  There are amazing city views from the corniche and it is just nice to be able to walk outside by the sea.  I got many stares on my walk, but nothing happened.  Typical staring at a tall blonde woman in a country comprised of short-ish brown haired people.  I tried not to look like a tourist, but I just couldn’t help it!  Since I am not a fan of the club and bar scene I skipped Hamra Street and went back to the hotel to catch up on some reading and rest my knee for another day of walking.

 

 

April 6 – Byblos, Jeita Grotto, and Harissa

Jeita Grotto was the first stop of the day.  This was probably the one thing that I really wanted to see.  The grotto is a massive cave full of multi-colored stalagmites and stalactites.  We had a short cable car ride up to the higher cave and a boat ride in the lower cave.  Unfortunately pictures were not allowed as we had to lock up our cameras and cell phones.  That’s too bad because it was amazingly beautiful.  If you want to see you’ll have to check online; there are pictures available.  The sizes, shapes, and colors of the stalagmites and stalactites varied in different parts of the cave.  Some looked like bunches of cauliflower, while others looked like snow covered hills.  Still others looked like long sparkly daggers extending from the ceiling and rising up towards the ceiling.  The colors ranged from white to green with pinks and reds as well.  The river that ran through was amazingly calm and dark.  There was no way of telling how deep it was.  Without the boat running on it you could mistake it for dark colored glass.  I guess that’s what happens where there is no wind to create waves.

 

 

After Jeita we continued our journey to Byblos where we saw St. John’s Church which was built by the Crusaders in the 12^th century and the crusaders’ castle.  The castle has 5 towers that circle a courtyard and a watchtower.  Comparing the castle at Byblos to that at Sidon I would say that I liked the one at Byblos better.  Not sure why, other than maybe the area surrounding it.  Monique and I talked about finding a house and putting it there.  Right on the Mediterranean Sea where we could go to the souq and have coffee or tea while watching the shoppers.  I guess it was just the atmosphere of the castle; it wasn’t anymore impressive than the one at Sidon.  There was a house just outside of the castle that is, uninhabited but still standing, to show how far down the archeologists had to excavate to find the castle and remaining ruins.  I thought I could just move into that house.  Monique and I explored the souq for the ½ hour that we were given before lunch.  It was at this souq that I found my jar.  I have taken to collecting jars from the different countries that I have visited.  I have one from the UAE, Jordan, Australia and now Lebanon.  I guess I will have to go back to Dublin, Oman, and Bangkok to get a jar!  Oman will be easy enough. 

Lunch was huge!  The impressive amounts of appetizers followed by a full plate of rice and fish.  The rice was good, but the fish was salty.  None of us finished our meal; so much wasted food.  We had fresh fruit for dessert which included pineapple this time.  The pineapple was delicious and juicy.  Despite how full I was I was able to eat 2 slices along with a banana.  I just can’t pass up fresh fruit.

Full from lunch, we rode to Harissa where we would get on cable cars to journey up the mountain to see the Our Lady of Lebanon statue.  We rode the cable cars 500m up to the top of the mountain where the statue stands guard over the country.  The view was amazing.  Despite the cloudy skies you could see for what seemed like miles.  Ocean meets mountains with houses and buildings in between.  Like I said, amazing.  The views of Lebanon just can’t be beat.  Living in the desert for three years has surely made me miss the mountains and sea and greenery.  Lebanon has it all.

 

 

Our Lady of Lebanon is a statue of the Virgin Mary which was erected in 1904 and sits atop 100 steps, which I climbed to get the views of the city.  While walking up the steps I noticed that many people were bringing their babies up to the Virgin Mary.  The guide says that it is tradition to take your baby to Harissa to have him/her blessed.  In addition to the statue they are in the process of building a Catholic Church in the shape of a cedar tree.  It will be quite remarkable when finished.

 

 

Back down to Beirut and my tours are finished.  I spent another evening walking along the corniche, and saw another amazing sunset, before heading back to the hotel for some much needed rest.

 

 

April 7 – Free day

Oh a free day; what to do?!  Sleep in first of all!  No alarms.  I slept until 8 and made it to breakfast by 9:30.  After breakfast I went back to the room to do some reading before heading out to explore the new part of Beirut.  Since I didn’t take the Beirut walking tour I was left on my own.  I was just going to have to find things myself.  I’m sure I didn’t see all that would have been shown to me, but I wasn’t going to get in a taxi alone so it was all on foot.  I walked along the corniche towards the newer part of town and saw an old church built on top of a restaurant nestled in between two new, tall, shiny buildings.  I would have liked to have gotten a better view of the church, but it was fenced off for construction of some sort.  I hope they don’t plan on demolishing it.  The new part of Beirut, that I saw, consists of tall building that appear to be made out of glass, the marina, 5 star hotels, and the souk.  It has names like Rodeo Drive and Park Avenue.  I walked around this part of town and explored the souk for a bit before heading back to the hotel.  I wasn’t sure what else to explore and I didn’t want to get lost so I just walked along the corniche back towards the hotel.  On the way back I stopped at a little bazaar that was set up and got a few more souvenirs.  I also saw a group of street performers acting out Jesus’ death and resurrection.  Back at the hotel I did some reading and resting and began packing up getting ready to leave the following day.  Around 6:30 I had finished my book, The Help, and I was beginning to get hungry so I went out to Hamra Street and had another characteristic Lebanese dinner, shish tawouk/chicken, with garlic paste.  Not as good as the garlic paste at Al Noor but still pretty good.  I walked back to the hotel and was in for the night.  And that ends my adventures in Lebanon. 

 

 

April 8 – Departure

My flight was scheduled to depart at 11:45 so I had asked for my ride to be at the hotel at 9:00.  I got to the airport by 9:15 and had to figure out where to check-in; east or west.  It’s a good thing I can read Arabic because I was able to read the sign that said Abu Dhabi along with an arrow pointing in the direction to go.  I noticed the departure screens later.  No problems leaving Lebanon, just a lot of waiting before check-in.  The lines in Lebanon are just like the driving; no rules.  There was one conveyer belt for security prior to check-in and there were 3 lanes of people merging into one line at the end.  Frustrating.  I think that’s what took the longest; getting those 3 lanes merged into one.  Even with the waiting and merging I had plenty of time to spare so I toured the duty free shops and bought some Lebanese sweets.  No dates when I go home in June, we’ll be trying Lebanese sweets this time. 

Another late departure but on time arrival.  The flight wasn’t full and I had a whole row to myself!  I enjoyed stretching out and reading and watching The Life of Pi (by the way I watched Argo on the way to Lebanon).  We arrived in Abu Dhabi around 4:45 and I discovered that’s the best time to arrive.  No one was there.  Really.  I walked right up to the customs agent and right through.  Amazing!  My luggage was one of the first off the plane so I was out of the airport by 5:05 and in the taxi by 5:10.  Ridiculously quick!  I arrived home around 6:20 to a car covered in sand thanks to the sandstorm that we had on Friday. 

As much as I enjoyed being in Lebanon it was great to be home.  To be able to sleep in my own bed and enjoy my own desert town.  I do miss the mountains and sea though, but it’s good to be back to normalcy.  Just 11 weeks until I’m home for the summer!  Time to start planning my NC trip as the other vacations are either already planned or in the process of being planned.

Little Explorers

Yes, I know this should have been posted a long time ago since our field trip was March 24^th.  Better late than never, I guess!

The day started out quite uneventful.  The kids that were going were excitedly talking to each other and waiting for our 8:00 departure.  We talked a bit about behavior on the bus, especially sitting down, and behavior once there.  I reminded them that we were going to a mall, which is a public place, and that they needed to represent ENS Al Ain City Campus well.  They all knew exactly what that meant as they were able to tell me: “no shouting, no running, walk in a line, and listen.”  The question would be would they actually do it?

Sixteen excited kids and I boarded the bus headed for Dubai at 8:05.  Not too bad, if I say so myself.  The ride began as any other field trip ride would have begun: kids chattering and looking out the windows.  I’m not sure exactly when it happened, but we were on the Dubai-Al Ain road when Mubarak came to me asking for a garbage bag.  He had thrown up.  Poor kid.  I sent him back to his seat and got him the garbage bag and told the driver to pull over so he could get off.  The driver looked at me like I was crazy, but pulled over nonetheless.  I got off the bus with Mubarak, telling the kids to remain seated, and tried to clean him up the best I could with tissues.  I had him take off his school shirt; luckily he had an undershirt on underneath.  We got back on the bus and I opened the windows in the back and had him move to the front.  I asked the driver if we could stop at a petrol (gas) station so he could get some water and get cleaned up better.  He said he needed permission from Mr. Rabeeh (transportation guy).  Well I didn’t have his number so I called Brian, I figured the principal superseded the transportation guy, and got permission from him.  So we stopped at the nearest, and of course smallest, petrol station.  Mubarak and Mohammed went in the bathroom and got cleaned up as best as possible while I went in and got him a bottle of water.  With Mubarak cleaned up, his school shirt rinsed off, and seated up front we continued our journey to Dubai.

As soon as we reached Dubai the kids got all excited.  You would have thought that they had never been there before!  Looking out the windows, asking “is this Dubai?” taking pictures, and excitedly chatting.  Crazy.  They spend just about every weekend in Dubai and here they are acting like it’s their first time.  We arrived at Mirdif City Center shortly after Vemal, at around 9:30, who didn’t have to stop twice for a sick child.  The kids did fairly well walking around the mall.  No questions as to stopping and shopping, which totally surprised me.  They didn’t really walk in a line, but it didn’t bother me.  They weren’t running and the mall wasn’t open yet so it wasn’t a huge deal.  Vemal really wanted them to be in a line though so we tried.  His class did much better than mine.  I guess that’s because my class could tell that I didn’t really care because usually they are amazing at walking in a line.  We got to Little Explores, which is right by Fly Dubai and the kids wanted to go there instead, and they formed a line to get their colored vest which would keep them in a group.  The people at Little Explorers totally took over, which was nice.  They took them around to the various centers and led the activities. 

The first thing they had to do was build a house with foam bricks.  The girls did the bottom and the boys did the top.  They loved it!  Running around to find the right size block to fit in the specific hole or how they could combine blocks.  I think as much fun as they had building the house they had twice as much fun breaking it.  Cleanup, on the other hand, wasn’t much fun.  Typical though, but we did get all the blocks back where they were supposed to go.  They then went through some jungle zigzagging thing to get to the maze, which really wasn’t a maze for them since they could see over the top.  They went through the maze and walked on wobbly “stones” to work on their balance.   They did this a few times and you could really see who had good balance and those that almost had to hold on.  It was funny to watch because it’s geared towards young kids and there were some that were struggling.  Their balance hasn’t developed yet.  There were a few who figured out it would be easier to just run along side the wobbly “stones” to get back to the maze.  Good problem solving!  They went to a water and air area next where a few of them came out soaked!  Just like taking Alexa and Mason to the science museum and letting them play in the water.  Kids will be kids no matter how old they are!  We finished the rest of the activities and headed out into the mall for lunch.

 

Lunch was at an Italian café where they had chicken parmigian and juice.  After lunch we headed to Cold Stone Creamery for ice-cream.  The kids that didn’t want ice-cream went to the store at Little Explorers while the rest ate their ice-cream.  After ice-cream and shopping it was time to start walking back to the bus.  We needed to be on the bus by 1:00 so we could be back to school by 2:30.  The walk back through the mall wasn’t as nice as it was on the way in.  A line was pretty much necessary this time as the mall was open and getting crowded.  The kids didn’t want to walk in a line; no surprise there.  After stopping a few times to make sure we had everyone we made it back to the bus and began our journey back to Al Ain at 1:05.  Only 5 minutes late.  No problem.  As soon as we got on the bus Suhail told me he had to go the bathroom.  Great timing!  I told him to try to hold it and I’d see what we could do; I was hoping he could make it back to school.   No luck there.  He couldn’t even make it to a petrol station.  He did make it to the Dubai-Al Ain road, but I had to have the driver pull over so he could get off the bus and go to the bathroom.  Easy for a boy and 20 seconds later we were driving again!  Other than that the ride back was uneventful.  Mubarak sat in the front so he didn’t get sick.  The kids were tired and a few of them slept while a few others played with the toys that they bought.  It was a nice ride back.  We made it to ENS at exactly 2:30. 

What a nice way to start the last week before spring break!

Contradictions

I am so fed up.  I'm tired of regulations that make no sense and policies that contradict themselves.  Here's part of our language policy that we "reviewed" on Tuesday during our "professional" development. 

1. All students who enter ENS take an entrance exam and they will not be admitted if they are more than 2 years below grade level.
1. OK fine with that.  But if that's the case, how did Mohamed, Shaikha, and Kahdija end up in my class (4th grade) without knowing all their letters of the alphabet and how to read?  Yes, I understand that when they entered they may not have been that low, but I'd venture to say they probably were, and in reality it's a bit tricky to say how far below grade level a kindergartner is.
2. All students must be performing on grade level standards based on the MAP test.
1. Well, how is that possible if you are admitting students who are 2 years below grade level?  How am I supposed to get a student who is performing on a 2nd grade level to pass a 4th grade American test?  Yes, I know they can show growth, but 2 years of growth in 1 year.  Not impossible, but highly unlikely especially for language learners who rarely use the language outside of school.

I talked to the principal about the differentiation vs. grade 4 American standards that we must grade by and he told me we have to grade according to the standards.  When is this country going to get it figured out that these students are not native English speakers and they should not be taught, or graded, as such?

In other news I went shopping yesterday!  I was totally bored with my wardrobe and it took me 20 minutes (maybe a slight exaggeration) one morning to figure out what to wear.  So I bought a few new tops and skirts and I'll be getting rid of some old stuff.  Made me feel better!  Plus I got lots of compliments on the new top that I wore today.

My plans for the summer are in the works.  I'll most likely be going to Vegas and The Grand Canyon with my parents and Amy the first week of July.  I've never been to either place so I'm looking forward to it.  We're thinking of going to see Cirque du Soleil while we're in Vegas!  Interestingly enough, the show that I saw in Dubai isn't playing in Vegas so I won't have to see a repeat show (although I definitely would, it was that good;).  Then Amy and I are planning on taking Alexa and Mason to MI Adventure and Ludington the first weekend in Aug.  I've never been to MI Adventure and I love Ludington so I'm looking forward to this trip.  Once those dates get finalized I can begin planning my trip to NC.  I'll be home for nearly 2 months, but I'm sure it'll fly by.

Spring Break Take 2

Well, actually it's more like take 4!

My plans are finally truly actually finalized!  Tickets are bought, so there will be no more changing.  Where am I going you may ask?  India?  Greece?  Turkey?  Nope.  I am headed to Lebanon!  What happened to India?  Well the tickets went up, way up, according to Padmini and she just couldn't afford them for her family.  So, why Lebanon?  For starters it's a place that I definitely wanted to visit while I was over here (as are Turkey, India, and Greece).  So what made me settle on Lebanon?  In reality it just came down to price.  Etihad was having a great deal on flying to Beirut so I checked it out in comparison to Greece.  I was just a bit hesitant going to India by myself and Padmini mentioned that we'd plan the trip again in November, when ticket prices are lower, we can do more actual planning, and the temperatures are lower.  I found out that I could spend a week in Lebanon (flight, tours, and hotel) for just 1,000 dirhams more than the flight to Greece.  I could have gone to Greece and just spent a few days in Athens, but if I'm going to go to Greece I'm going to see some other islands and that just wasn't feasible.  So I'm off to Lebanon April 2nd!  Now don't worry.  Yes, it's by Syria and yes there have been some warnings, but I did my homework and everything that I read says that it's very safe.  Just stay away from the Syrian border.  OK.  Beirut is even safe.  Well I guess as safe as it can be for a middle eastern capital city. 

My hotel will be in downtown Beirut near all the shops, but I will be doing a lot of traveling.  I'll actually only be in Beirut for 2 days.  That's fine with me.  Lebanon has a lot more to offer than just Beirut.  Plus Beirut is known for its night atmosphere and partying really isn't my thing.  I'll check out the shops, restaurants, and cafes, but I'll stay away from the clubs.  Honestly after all I have planned I probably wouldn't have time even if I wanted to.

The weather in Lebanon is supposed to be perfect in April; upper 60s to mid 70s!  I may even need a sweater, especially in the mornings and evenings.  I'll take one just in case!  It will be a nice break from the upper 80s to mid 90s that we've been experiencing here. 

My itinerary

1. Arrive in Beirut April 2nd around 3:30, check in to Queen's Suite hotel, and then do some sight seeing in Beirut.
2. Tour to Cedars of Lebanon, Kozhaya, and Besharreh leaves Beirut around 7:45am and returns around 5pm.
3. Tour to Tyre, Sidon, and Maghdouche leaves Beirut around 7:45 am and returns around 5pm.
4. Historical Beirut walking tour leaves the hotel around 7:45 and returns around 12.  If the weather is nice I'll head to the beach in the afternoon.
5. Tour to Byblos, Jeita Grotto, and Harissa leaves Beirut around 7:45 and returns around 5pm.
6. This is my free day!  Not sure what I'll do.  Maybe the beach.   Maybe just sit in a cafe and read a book.  Maybe some more sightseeing in Beirut.  We'll see!
7. Leave Beirut April 8 around 11:00am

Once back in Al Ain I'll probably spend a lot of time at the pool.  Gotta enjoy sitting out in the sun before it gets too hot to do that.

82 degrees at 7:10