The Long Plane Ride and Jet Lag

Well, it's Thursday and I decided to write a blog on this cool, dreary day in Georgia.  The weather has changed a lot since I've arrived.  Started out warm and very pleasant and has turned cool and cloudy.  There's a crispness in the air that I've missed...

On the airplaine, met a nice family from Jordan on their first visit to the US.  Teenager was full of questions about what America was like.  In Jordan and the UAE, teenagers cannot drive until the age of 18.  She was fascinated that 16 year olds could drive here.  She asked if they were "mature" enough...I smiled.  She asked about the dress for young ladies. She wears a shela (head covering like a scarf) when in public.  She took it off on the plane.  Told here that she would see lots of different types of dress for young ladies, but since it is winter, they would be a lot more conservative????  She's going to visit family in Chicago and will be there for the big snow storm that's coming.  She's never seen snow.  Very mature young lady and I was most impressed with her.

The 14 hour flight from Abu Dhabi was longer than I remembered.  I sat straight up and very close to my neighbor for the entire flight.Only getting up to go to the restroom was a big mistake...swollen ankles.  Upon arriving in Chicago, waited in a very long line for Custom's and several security stations.  Everyone decided to fly back home today...the first full day after school let out for Winter break.  After over an hour at the airport, I finally found the restroom and brushed my teeth and hair.  Felt somewhat human.  Then began to search for food.  Found Marcaroni Grill and had the nicest waitress.  I know it's hard to believe, but never been to one before.  Had the pepperoni pizza, a "real" Caesar salad (my favorite), and "real" Diet Coke....delicious!!!!  Had a 4 hour lay over between flights, so changed my SIM card from UAE to USA and called my family.

Found my gate and sat down for the long wait....turned around and saw CNN reporting about the school shooting.  Tears formed in my eyes.  My first memory of the US was this horrible person who took his anger out on innocent children, teachers, and administrators.  I was glued to the tv for the next few hours trying to hear the "why" for this horrible event.  There were no answers and we will probably never know.  In moments like this, I pray for the Lord to give the families peace and feel his loving arms wrapped around them.  This will impact these families and this town for the rest of their lives....only God can help them make it through this.

Finally, my flight was called and I boarded my plane.  A man was sitting in my seat and asked if I would trade with him because he wanted to sit with his wife.  I agreed and sat down next to a woman from Hawkinsville who had been in the UAE teaching....what are the chances???? We'd never met, but found that Teri Coley Adams from Eastman was a mutual friend.  We chatted for a bit about our schools and soon gave into the darkness and took a nap for our short flight.  At 12:03 a.m. on Saturday, I landed in ATL and headed to pick up my bags.  Then, I saw Dan and Danielle.....words can't describe how happy I was to see them.  My bags beat me to the airport, so we picked them up and left the airport quickly....it was as empty as a ghost town.  At 2:30ish, we landed at my home.  Words cannot describe how much I wanted a shower....31 hours later.....you get the picture.  Crawled into bed and don't remember rolling over....good to be in my own bed.

Saturday was spent in a fog of sleep and semi-consciousness.  No memory of that day.  There is a 9 hour difference, so I went back in time...I didn't feel like Michael J. Fox.  On Sunday, I went to Sunday School and church at Vienna First Baptist.  I was greeted with a Welcome Back Banner from the children in my Sunday School class....so sweet....along with a breakfast from McDonald's and "real" Diet Coke!  We talked about the Christmas story and I brought frankincense and myrrh from the Spice Souk (Market) in Dubai to share with the children.  They loved it.  We also tasted chocolate made with camel milk....they were hesitant at first, but LOVED it and couldn't stop eating it....Sorry to the person who had Children's Church.  They were a little wired :)
Enjoyed a good sermon from Pastor Matt and enjoyed visiting with all my friends at Vienna First Baptist.

Went for lunch at Marise's....cornbread dressing, "real" mashed potatoes and gravy, "real" fried chicken, butter beans, and cornbread....yum!  Went to Gary and Janice's place for a party with my friends from our cooking team and had a blast.  Good food and fellowship!  LOVED the food and the green salad....Do you notice a pattern?  I've missed southern food.

Monday was a rainy, cool day, so I stayed inside and tried to catch up with the time difference.  Tuesday began early with a haircut with Stacey Posey and lunch at El Girasol with Freddie Gilliam and Tripp Blackwell.  Laughed, talked, and shared war stories from the UAE and heard all about Ms. Freddie's retirement.   Ran into Lisa Lewis and Suzan Smith while there. So enjoyed the visit with my friends.  Not to mention, had a big bowl on queso dip (not in the UAE) and a taco salad....yum! Definitely have to do a return visit to El Girasol before leaving.

Went to WalMart and browsed to scope out what I want to take back with me.  Ran into several good friends and talked about my adventure with them.  They looked so good!  Went to pick my mother up so I could see her and finally landed at home.  Slept all night.  PTL

Today I get to see my "Biloxi Babes" and am so ready to laugh, giggle, and just spend time together!  It's been a long time!  I've really missed my friends.  Thank goodness for Facebook and Skype.  Helps me keep in touch with my friends!  Until we meet again!!!!!

Rich Experiences and Culture Shock

When visiting another country, it is important to remember that the way you've always done something is not the only way.  Each culture has its own ways of doing things.  This week I've been involved in some deeply cultural events.  I would like to share these with you and ask that you think about them with an open mind.

On Tuesday, my Head of Faculty arranged for several kindergarten teachers to visit another kindergarten school in Al Ain.  This school had really cool murals painted on the walls and there was a great sense of community. Upon entering the school, we were asked to go to taboor, which is a morning assembly where students gather, sing the national anthem, and have other morning activities.  All the kindergarten students were gathered and singing when we arrived.  They were dressed very ornately in honor of the National Day activities going on.  The principal greeted us and asked that we have a seat and enjoy the program.

Two ladies came and brought ood to share with us.  Ood is scented wood or charcoal like material that is burned in a small bowl.  The smoke is very aromatic.  The ladies brought the ood to each individual teacher and shared with us.  By sharing, the bowl is brought to you. They wave the bowl close to your clothes and the aroma encompasses you.  This is a sign of hospitality and not taking the ood would be a sign of disrespect.  When going into malls, the smell of ood and other incenses are everywhere.

Next, the women brought Arabic tea, which was served in small ornate cups.  I'm not a tea drinker, but to refuse the tea would have been disrespectful.  Actually liked the taste of it and will try a little honey next time.  We left the taboor and went to our assigned class. Visited with Mrs. Sheila and saw some really good strategies.  Loved how she had centers set up.  Her children were adorable...speaking in complete sentences in English. Loved the role playing center.  One little boy dressed like a soldier was sitting in a chair and his "wife" was preparing and pouring tea.  He had his feet propped up and everything....too funny!  

On Wednesday, a group of parents treated the staff to a very special lunch.  This lunch was very different than I've ever had. (Would have loved to have taken pictures, but Arabic women do not like to be photographed.)  The following description is my take on a very cultural event...eating.  No matter the culture, it's always very social.  We laugh and catch up with old friends while enjoying the cuisine.  

Picture this:  There were 2 HUGE, HUGE, HUGE, HUGE silver bowls covered with ornate tops at the end of 2 long cafeteria tables and many other huge covered dishes inbetween.  Was very curious what was inside....couldn't wait for the reveal.  Well, I couldn't believe my eyes when the top came off....These huge bowls had half of a goat in each sitting on a HUGE mound of rice, veggies, and other items.  Yes, one bowl had the upper portion...including the head, while the other bowl had the lower half.  It was cooked tender and was falling off the bone.  When the tops came off the bowls, the line or lack there of, began to go down the table loading up plates. Most of the Arabic teachers LOVE goat.  The table was swarmed like Walmart on Black Friday.  I stood back and watched...love to go last in line.

Walked over to the dessert table and grabbed a banana from an ENORMOUS basket with almost any type of fruit available here.  By the time I went back to get in line, most people had made their selections.  As I came to each bowl,  asked what everything was and they gladly shared information with me....can't remember any names now, except for goat :).  When I came to the goat, it looked picked over, but could still see those poor little eyes staring back at me.  A very nice Arabic woman   asked if I liked goat.  Told here that I'd never had any and she scraped around and found a piece for me to try...oh boy!  I smiled, thanked her, and went to my chair.  She was watching me to see if I was going to eat the goat, so I had no choice....in it went....NOT MY FAVORITE, but I smiled and gave her a thumbs up.  

Then, I saw something I'd never seen before.  In the bowl that I had just gotten my goat out of, the hosts were reaching in making rice balls and putting in their mouths and putting hands back in to make another rice ball.  In this culture, it is common to eat this way.  Groups of friends sit around, chat, and share the bowl. Different cultures have different ways and I'm always respectful.  As an American, I'll share my fries with you, but not sure about my bowl.   

National Day Celebration happened on Thursday.  The children came ornately dressed and sang two songs in Arabic and "If You're Happy and You Know It" in English.  They danced and did a great job.  Everybody's Momma, Momma's Momma, Poppa, Grandpoppa, and 2nd cousin twice removed showed up.  The room was packed with people...wall to wall.  Even the aisles of the auditorium were packed with people and it was sometimes difficult to keep my children together. In the Arabic culture, standing in line, making a line, and following procedures is sometimes a difficult task. Everyone wants to be first, but someone has to be last. I like being last.  You get to see the whole picture, not just a little part :)   

In terms of behavior, this week is like the last week before Christmas.  Teachers, remember how tired you are?  Well, I'm there!  We have a 4 day weekend and looking forward to some rest and fun.  Only a short time from now, I will be coming home for Christmas!!!! Dec. 14th, I'll be on American soil :)  So looking forward to seeing my family and friends.  Until we meet again!!!  :)

A Week of Thankfulness

This week has been very emotional for me.  Being away from home at Thanksgiving was very hard.  I felt the urge to cook celery and onions and make cornbread casserole.  At home, Wednesday was spent cooking and preparing as much as possible so the big day was fairly stress free.  The closer it came to Wednesday, the more desire I had to cook.  Made a decision to cook a meal for my KG English Teachers and my Bus Crew.  Much easier than normal, but cooked Spicy BBQ chicken (hard to find turkey here), broccoli casserole, homemade mac and cheese, sweet cornbread, peanut butter cookies, and pound cake.  Wanted to say thank you to all my bus mates for making the long ride into the desert fun and to KG teachers for taking me under their wings and all for being my family away from home.

The KG teachers are mostly American, but there are two Irish teachers (Sarah and Audrey) and one Canadian teacher (Whitney).  The above mentioned food is not "normal" to them, but wanted to give them a good experience.  THEY LOVED CORNBREAD (Went back for multiple pieces) and all the food!!!   All the Southerners were in heaven!!!!  Made my heart smile :)

Didn't want to leave the Arabic teachers out, but there are so many "rules" of what they will/won't eat and cannot cook with pans that have ever had pork in them.  Well, let's just say, I've fried some bacon and ham in my pots, so...decided to NOT give them a Southern experience.  Even if I bought brand new pans and followed all the rules, it is highly possible they wouldn't eat it because they weren't sure I followed the rules.  They are committed to their beliefs and know the "rules" and follow them...commitment. So, I decided to give them Arabic sweets and cake (chocolate and sweets are like cornbread to them :) )  Went to the best bakery in Town Center and bought lots of different types.  Funny thing is the owner insisted that I taste each sweet before buying it.  By the 10th sweet, I said "La (No), need to eat dinner." He smiled and kept giving me sweets to taste.  5 lbs. later, I left with a box of sweets and slices of cake (very rich cake)...and yes, he sent home a box of treats "just for me".  THEY LOVED THE CHOCOLATE and SWEETS!!!


Thursday evening, went to Thanksgiving meal with my bus mates...food was fabulous!  We laughed and enjoyed the host's almost 3 year old child...blond hair and cute personality. She entertained us all.  Went home and Skyped my family....Girls cooked all the food by themselves...so proud of them! I watched them while they ate.   At least I didn't add any additional calories by just watching them eat! :)  Now, only a few more days left before I leave on the plane for home.  Can't wait to put my feet on American soil if only for a few weeks.  Until we meet again!!!!!

E.F. Hutton, My First Formal Observation, and Broccoli Casserole

On Sunday, I returned to my ENT for a 7 day checkup.  He was pleased with my progress and changed my allergy medicine to something I take at night....makes me very sleepy.  Have to go back in 3 months for a checkup.  Went out to the desk to pay for my office visit and the attendant said, "7 Day Checkups are free.".  I said, "NO WAY!"  Obviously it was loud because everybody in the waiting area stopped talking and stared at me! OOPS! (I was the only American there)  The attendant did say I could give him a tip if I wanted....and smiled at me and winked.  I sat down quickly :)  and waited on my appointment with an endocrinologist (thyroid).

As I looked around the waiting room, realized that I was the only woman in the entire room.  This area is about as big as the waiting room at Crisp Regional and every chair is taken.  There are many more men in this country than women and don't really think about it until I go shopping or to the hospital.  There are herds of men that walk around together. After sitting there for about 5 minutes, I noticed directly behind me there was a ladies only waiting area, but it was full of ladies in abayas.  5 minutes later, I was seeing the endocrinologist and giving blood for my thyroid level checkup.  He replenished all my prescriptions and scheduled a checkup in 3 months.  His nurse will call if I need to change my thyroid medication.  30 dirhams ($8.25) for the visit and I'm on the way to fill my prescriptions.

Pharmacies are inside the hospital and can be filled there before going home.  Upon entering the pharmacy, you take a number.  In the UAE, every business that deals with the public usually has a machine that gives you numbers.  Some people don't quite understand the process of waiting.  Every time I am waiting my turn, there's always someone who comes up without a number trying to get service.  Emirates (hometown people) are the worst and don't wait well (I said it nicely!).  After a 30 minute wait, I saw a pharmacist and all prescriptions were filled.  I trudged home at 7:45, ate leftovers, and went to bed...4:30 will come early.  

Tuesday tested my children on the Baseline test and worked really hard on the Community Helpers unit, counting, and patterns/nonpatterns.  On Wednesday, I had a surprise.  30 minutes before my children leave for the day....all teachers know that the last 30 minutes of the day are not prime teaching time.  Well, my Head of Faculty came in for my first observation....I saw the "clipboard" and I knew it was my day.  We were on the rug reviewing centers and introducing new ones for tomorrow. I haven't had a classroom observation for about 9 years.My heart was in my throat and beating wildly. I have no idea what I said or did during the time she was there.  Auto-pilot came on and I went into teacher mode.  She stayed until we lined up for the bus.  When she left I looked at my Arabic counterpart, Hanaa and shrugged my shoulders.  The good news is my children were fairly well behaved and enjoyed the activities.  My procedures were in place and children knew what to do.  I was positive and we used English and Arabic while she was in the room just like always.  One of my students made a connection to our big/small lesson from earlier while HOF was in the room....yes!  As a whole, think things went well for my first observation in a LONG time.  Can't wait to see the feedback and see how to improve my teaching.  I LOVE MY JOB and MY BABIES!!!!!  

Thursday is holiday for us.  Everything here is based upon the moon.  There have been 12 lunar months, so there is a new year on the Islamic calendar.  We still write 2012 like US and will change to 2013 in January.  Regardless, I'm happy for a long weekend.  Chilling at home and catching up on some of my favorite shows.  

Next week is Thanksgiving and all the EMT's here are thinking of their families back home.  I've Skyped my family more this week than normal and am planning on Skyping around lunchtime on Thanksgiving.  Several of the EMT's are getting together on Friday for our own Thanksgiving celebration (we work on Thursday).  Everyone is bringing a dish....broccoli casserole and homemade mac and cheese from me.  It will be fun!  Having friends here helps pass the time and make missing family a little easier.  Nice to know there's someone to talk to when you need an ear.  God has blessed me with some great friends here that help take care of me and I watch out for them.  Hope all my friends back home have a great Thanksgiving with your family and enjoy those after Thanksgiving sales!!!!!!  Until we meet again!  

One Proud Momma and Booorn to Beeeeeee Wiiiiiiiild!

Last Thursday night, I went home and got in the bed and only left on Saturday to go to the doctor.....Thank you Andrea Brown for making me go.  I've been fighting what I thought was a really bad cold for about two weeks and kept losing my voice, running a fever, and well....feeling like dirt.  Went to New Medical Center and saw a very nice ENT and he prescribed 4 medicines, including an antibiotic and no talking until Tuesday.  WELL, those of you who know me closely know this is quite a chore :)  Immediately called my Head of Faculty (Assistant Principal) and notified her that I was on voice rest until Tuesday morning.  I HATE MISSING SCHOOL.  Makes me feel like a bad person if I'm not there taking care of my babies. And to boot....Hanaa, my Arabic counterpart, had hand surgery last Thursday and will be out all week....Bad time for me to get sick.  There are no subs here....The other KG teachers divided my students up and really helped me out.  Special shout out to them!  LOVE Y"ALL!  The best part of it was they all told me how well behaved and smart my children were....I was one proud Momma.  I have 25 children....2 great women at home and 23 in Al Wagan.  I'm proud of all my children (Go Danielle and Shelby!All A's :) ).

Well, for someone who's on voice rest for three days, there's only two things to do...sleep and watch TV.  Why is it when you CAN watch TV, there's nothing on.  There's no HBO, but there's OSN Movie Channels.  Movies from 80's to today.  Caught up on Criminal Minds and watched Nashville on Hulu.  Watched Good Morning America and caught up on all the information about the upcoming presidential election.  I feel so removed from all of that and know very little about what's going on....may not be a bad thing.  Grew very tired of the bombarding political commercials and I only watched it for 3 days.

Tuesday morning I woke early with excitement to be able to go back to school and see PEOPLE!  Went out to wait on the bus @5:45 and all my friends were as happy to see me as I was to see them...always a good sign. Shahab the bus driver told me welcome back....made me smile!  We ride 2 and 1/2 hours+ a day on the bus and are like a little family.  Glad there are people who I can talk to and share in my struggles of getting up at 4:30 every morning.  We sleep to and from school most mornings and afternoons.  The later in the week, the more of us sleep.  Shahab just drives and honks his horn!

My children were so happy to see me on Tuesday and we had a really good day.  They were kind of like after a long holiday break....I call it holiday hangover.  Sleepy and have to get used to being back on a schedule and had to shake some of the cobwebs out.  On Wednesday, we had a really great time working on our "Community Helpers" unit.  This week we are learning out our school, principal, librarians, etc.  Really working on vocabulary development.  There's something different about the UAE than in the US....flexibility.  Things just come up here and have to be flexible and willing to go with the flow..Example....I'm in the middle of a lesson on patterns and the Music teacher comes to my door.  My students have already had Music this week, so I'm confused.  She doesn't speak much English and I speak little Arabic.  We try to communicate and I understand that she wants my children....why I don't know.  Resorted to getting the Arabic teacher from next door and determined that she wants to practice for an upcoming program for National Day (Dec. 2 and 3). Headed to our auditorium and practiced the song in Arabic and English.

UAE has only been country for 41 years. Streets will be lined with the UAE flag and there will be lights on everything and will look like Christmas. Already starting to decorate everything that will stand still.  Can't wait to see how the decorating progresses.  This is the equivalent of 4th of July in America.  As you can see, it is a very big deal here and there will be lots of celebrations, parties, and yes....eating.

On Tuesday afternoon when I came home, made a decision....today was the day....getting a car!  Called United Car Rental and made the necessary arrangements.  Sent in all documentation and they delivered a 2013 Kia Rio (Dary Grey) to my door on Wednesday afternoon.

I'm nervous!  Now I have to face the roundabouts again.  Went with Andrea to Carrefour (Care Four) and bought a GPS. Funny thing is...when you open the box and turn it on..it's in Arabic.  Had salesman change language to English!  Went to get in car on Friday to go to church....turned on the GPS and it's in Arabic again.  Luckily I watched him and Ali, my building manager, stood over my shoulder and gave assistance as needed.  Thanks, Ali!  Made it in one piece to Andrea's, to church, dropped her off, and back home using the GPS.  Whew!  

Getting really excited about the idea of coming home for the holidays (Dec. 14th).  Only think I'm going to miss is Thanksgiving. First time I won't be cooking the turkey, dressing, and all the trimmings.  Some of the American EMT teachers are considering cooking a full Thanksgiving meal (if we can find everything) and sharing with the Arabic teachers.  Food here is very different and Arabics are very careful about eating something they are not sure of the contents. They can't eat anything that has been cooked in a pan in which pork has been cooked or bowls which have contained pork.  Still thinking about what we are going to do about Thanksgiving.  

In case I don't get to tell my friends....I'm thankful you are in my life.  God has truly blessed me with some of the greatest friends and people who support me...NO MATTER WHAT!  Love y'all and miss talking with you in person!  Until we meet again!!!!!!   

Arabic People Time, Dubai, and Morsels

Good morning from the UAE!  Well, this has been a very interesting week.  As you might recall, last week we had a long weekend due to EID (a huge Muslim holiday).  We had Sunday off and returned on Monday.  Only 3 students showed up in the whole school.  One in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd.  I stood there shocked not believing that any KG students came to school.  Teachers used this valuable time as a much needed work day.  As some of you might remember from previous blogs, I didn't have any work days before having to teach.  My assignment was delayed from ADEC (Abu Dhabi Education Council) and walked into a classroom and taught the first day of school cold. Well, since then, I have never felt like I've caught up....always behind the 8 ball.  This much needed time was appreciated.  On Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, the same thing happened...no students. We had meetings, meetings, and more meetings and professional development, along with time to work on our classroom and upcoming baseline testing. 

Prior to English teachers coming to Abu Dhabi, the students were given 2 weeks for this important Muslim holiday.  Many families travel great distances to relatives and go to Mecca.  People walk a path from Abu Dhabi through Saudi Arabia to Mecca (about a day and a half walk) for a large religious gathering called Hajj.  All Muslims are required to make this trip at least once in their lives if they can afford to go.  Most Muslims go several times in their lives.  Mecca is considered to be a holy Islamic place, birthplace of the prophet Mohammed.  All those white dots are people....They walk in cirlces around the large black box ( Ka'ba ) seven times while they raise their hand up to Allah (God) and chant an Islam prayer. There are ten days of activities required to complete the hajj. 



After the English teachers came, they changed the holidays to a week and this year to just a long weekend.  Most of our students and their families are still there or with families during this week of school.  Thus, no students in schools. 

Another important thing happened this week....I drove my first roundabout and survived to tell.  A friend needed my help and asked me to drive to Dubai and pick her up.  Dubai is Atlanta X 10+.  More people, cars, and roads are very confusing.  When leaving Al Ain, you drive out into very remote desert.  As you are driving there are dunes on both sides of the 4 lane road, camel farms very close to the road, and wild camels everywhere.  There are large fences on the side of the road to keep animals from wandering into traffic.  This is important because the speed limit for this road is 120 kilometers which is 75 mph.  You are allowed to drive 20 kilometers over the speed limit, which is about 87 mph without fear of a ticket.  There are no policeman hiding behind the dunes.  They have cameras set up in strategic places so they just take a picture of your tag and mail the ticket to you...convenient, huh?  Well, let's just say that locals don't abide by the speed limit.  They know where the cameras are and will fly by you driving 180km+. 

Interesting thing is that on all cars you rent in the UAE, there is a warning signal that goes off when you go over 120.  In America, it sounds like an engine warning sound...scared me the first time I heard it.  Thought something was wrong.  It's very easy to speed here because the radio stations are all in Arabic, religious oriented, or are techno music...not 80's on 8 or rock.  Dubai is about 1 hour and half plus ride and most is rural. Had to stop for gas along the way and was so nice.  Attendants come to your car, pumped gas, and take money.  There are no self-service gas stations here.  Paid 17.00 to fill up my friend's car and he cleaned all my windows with a smile! At the gas station, there was a Red Lamborgini was on one side and a Porsche on the other...don't see that everyday.

Glad to say I made it to Dubai and back safely during rush hour and survived to tell the tale.  So proud of myself because I am a country girl.  Don't like all that traffic and people honk horns here like I've never seen.  They are very patient people until they drive and all the anger comes out.  Drivers are very aggressive and impatient in the UAE.  They honk and flash lights like they other people use the blinkers.  Very strange from such a patient society. 

This week I discovered something about myself....I'm a workaholic. Relaxing is hard for me because I always feel like if I'm not busy someone will say that the job is not being done.  Guess this comes from years of having way too much to do.  Someone said that if you admit it, it's half of the battle.  I'm going to try really hard to learn to relax and not get so wound up about work.  Everyone here is so laid back and I'm going to take some lessons from them.  Asked my coworkers to call me out when I need to stop working long enough to eat....old habits die hard. 

Want to send a shout out to my husband, Dan, and daughter, Shelby.  They had birthdays this week and really missed not being there.  Enjoyed our talks, but can't wait to give a real hug and kiss!  Received my first box from home and am really enjoying all the goodies.  There's just something about receiving something from home that just brings a smile to your face. The grits were unbelievable and I'm enjoying wearing my favorite shirt which was left at home by mistake!  Thank you, Dan!  Can't wait for the next package!  I miss all my friends terribly and can't wait to see you!  Until we meet again! 

EID , My Knight in a LandRover, Camels, and Goats

Well, another week has passed in the UAE and as usual it was anything but boring.  Sunday, we began a short week of school (Sun-Wed.) and will have long weekend Thurs-Sunday and return to school on Monday.  EID is an Islam holiday celebrated here this week.  It is a time when locals and Muslims give thanks for their blessings and share with those who are less fortunate.  Goat is the meat of choice for celebrations and entire families get together for big meals.  Reminds me of Thanksgiving and Christmas rolled into one...there's lots of gift giving.  Sunday and Monday went by and we used this as a review weeks for all letters, sounds, numbers, English words, and patterns we've taught.  On Tuesday morning, something weird happened....I have 24 students and only 6 showed up.  Thought it was a fluke, but all the other KG teachers only had 5-7 students each.  I asked why and the teachers said that some families had already left for relatives homes and wouldn't be back the rest of the week.  I had the best time.  One on one review and teaching was great....and yes, we played some fun games....we laughed, giggled, and got to know each other better.  Well, Wednesday rolled around and there were 3 students who came to school in the entire building.  Principal called parents and sent them home.  We stayed and worked in our rooms for a bit and my principal let us go home early for EID....I smiled all the way home! 

Slept in and then decided to go to the Camel Market to see if it was open today....I still haven't been up close and personal with a camel.  Took my trash out and noticed a LandRover following me.  Walked back across the street and waited for Andrea Brown to come and pick me up.  As she turned in and I got in the car, noticed the LandRover again.  When we headed out to the main road, he pulled up beside us and had the biggest grin on his face.  He was waving and obviously wanted to talk to me. 

 This was the view out of my window.....no worries Dan.  I'm a one man woman and he probably wanted me to be wife number four.....I'm always number one :).  I waved, told him to have a good day, and he kept following us.  He loved that I took his picture....Well after about 5-6 roundabouts, he went his way and we went ours.  Nice to know I still got it!  (well, the flirt was nice anyway!)

Well, when you turn the corner before the Camel Market, you smell money....camel poop.  Reminds me of the pig farm, but stronger.  There were cars, trucks, and all types of people lined up to enter the market to purchase goats for their EID celebrations.  The strangest thing I saw was a man carrying a sheep on his back.  He opened his trunk and stuck the goat in with there with the other two already in there. Guess he was using what he had, but it was weird.  As you drive through this area, there are people taking goats to cars and trucks.  Andrea and I hoped that some of the goats would make a run for it!  We shouted "Run, Forest, Run!"  and "Free Willy!"  in the safety of Andrea's car :). 

 

 

 

Every person we saw was buying not one or two, but three goats.  And I wondered why, so I did research?  Here's what I found:

 

On the first morning of Eid al-Adha, Muslims around the world attend the Eid prayer and a brief talk from the Imam at mosques. After that, every household sacrifices a goat, sheep, cow or camel, in much the same way that Abraham sacrificed a ram if he or she can possibly afford to do so.

The meat would then be divided into three equal parts to be distributed to others. The family eats one third, another third is given to relatives, friends or neighbors, and the last third is donated to the poor and needy. Thus, The Feast of the Sacrifice symbolizes obedience to Allah and its distribution to others is an expression of generosity and compassion.

 

So this explains the three goats....

 

Next, we decided to go an find camels.  From the smell, we could tell they were close.  :)

 

 

This camel wouldn't let me get very close before he/she started moving.  Couldn't believe how quickly he got up from this position.  The camel rangler came over quickly and shooed me out of the pen.  Well, let's just say...he smelled just like the camels :).  We made a quick retreat to the car and headed out for a day of roaming around getting lost.  Thanks, Andrea for having my back!

 

I'm going to have a lazy weekend and catch up on some tv shows been missing.  Have to be prepared for next week because Hanaa is going to have surgery on her hand Wednesday and will be out for two weeks.  She has to do it now or surgery will have to be more extensive by Christmas break. Hanaa told me that she knew the next two weeks would be hard.  I care about her as a person and know it has to happen now to ease her pain. Praying very hard for the Lord to help ease my worries and fears about being alone for that long.  My children are sweet and well behaved most of the time, but they act like I do in meetings where they are speaking Arabic...I only listen to the English part. I'm putting on my big girl panties and digging deep! 

 

 

 

 

 



 

Another One Gone, Pampering, and EID

This week has been filled with much emotion.  On Sunday, my school week began with a bang.  At 7:30, my telephone started ringing and then 3 text messages came one after the other.  I'm already at school by now, but have no children yet.  Decided that something must be important, so I checked the phone.  There was a number I didn't recognize in missed calls and 3 text messages from the same number.  Turns out the person calling was someone from my next door neighbor's school.  She had not shown up for work this morning and she'd been sick last week.  This person was concerned that something had happened to C.  Immediately I called back and let the person know that I hadn't seen her all weekend.  C usually goes to church on Friday (that's our Sunday) and spends time with her friends.  C and I speak in the hall and check on each other.  When I cook in my crock pot, I always shared with her....don't know how to cook for 1.  C doesn't cook, so nice to be able to see her smile when I hand her the bowl.  She brings me dessert....good plan, right? 

C's friend came to our apartment building on Sunday to see if C was okay.  No one was home.  Friend called me again and asked if I had any way to contact C.  I pm'ed her in Facebook and she answered me sometime during the day.  She was tired of being sick and missed her family, so C went back the USA.  I will miss seeing C's smiling face, her Southern accent, and her checking on me.  It's awful quiet next door.  Who will I share my food with? 

My HOF (Head of Faculty) notified us that we will have to give a pre-test to all of our students in English.  General K stuff.....letter identification, sounds, colors, shapes, numbers, counting, etc.  All directions are given in English....needless to say, my students are going to show so much growth by the end of the year.  A majority of the students know the letters and numbers I've taught , so there's a bright spot!  During snack time, one of my students held up his banana and said "buh nah nuh" in his best Southern accent....I was one proud Momma!  :)  You have to find joy in the little things...that's what makes life interesting!  Life is about the stories! 

Speaking of stories.....a certain friend of mine, Andrea Brown, is having her 21st birthday again this year on Saturday!!!!  In honor of this monumental moment, we had a spa afternoon...hot rock massages, haircut for Andrea, and a spa pedicure for me. I was lucky enough to have my massage first.  The 98 lb. young lady who gave my massage had "magic" fingers.  She removed all my tension and worries from the week and made my back feel the best its felt in years.  She even massaged my face with warm rocks....sinus opened right up...AH!!!!

Next, I took a shower and went for my spa pedicure.  Anyone who knows me well, knows  that I don't like people touching my feet....creeps me out.  In the UAE, your feet get extremely dirty and dry.  I understand why people always washed feet as a sign of hospitality in bible days.  It's dry and dusty here and your feet show it.  Most people wear sandals/open toed shoes.  The skin on your feet gets extremely dry...no matter how much lotion you put on your feet.  Since moving here, I treat myself to a pedicure every two weeks.  The last time I came, the pedicure lady looked at my feet and well....she said I needed major work :)   I signed up for a parrafin and spa pedicure for this visit.  Normal pedicure, special treatments for my feet (nice oils and lots of scrubbing) plus a parrafin (wax) dip for your feet.  Think of it like dipping an apple into the caramel to make a caramel apple....yep, it was hot.....Then, she wraps your feet in plastic bags, insulated shoes, and warm towels.  Then, you sit and wait for it to cool.  Must admit that I fell asleep.  When she came back, she peeled the wax from my feet and shazam....my feet were as soft as a baby's bottom!!!!  Some of you may have already had this experience, but I'm sheltered!  This is a definite do again......Maybe someone touching my feet isn't so bad after all. :)

Well, I've been in Al Ain since September 2 and no school holidays yet.  Our first holidays are coming up...woo hoo!!!!  (picture me doing the happy dance!)  EID is coming up.  My next post will discuss EID in detail, but for now, you need to know that it's an Islamic holiday.  Everything here is based upon when the moon.  When it is sighted, the official days of the holiday are set and fasting occurs for 10 days (not me!).  EID is a celebration to mark the end of the fasting and a time to give thanks for what you have and to share with those who are less fortunate than you.  There are big feasts and families get together and travel great distances to see relatives they haven't seen in a while..sounds like Thanksgiving in America...except here, goat is the meat of choice instead of turkey (I will not be partaking!).   There are BIG sales on electronics and other items and everyone and his brother and his brother will be out shopping for deals....yep, still sounds like Thanksgiving.

The weather will begin to change and a little cooling will occur.  Hanaa says that weather will begin to change and we will need a jacket in the early morning and if I go out at night.  During the day, it will be more like 75-80 instead of 100....waiting to see this.  I know there is at least one more EID celebration in the Spring, so I associate EID with changing of the seasons too....not sure if this is correct, but that's how I link it up.  Next week I will tell you more after EID has passed and I've lived through it.  The good news is that next week, we go to school Sun-Wed.  Thursday-Sunday are school holidays.....that means two 4 day weeks...woo hoo!!!

 

Sometimes Words are Not Enough!

Think back to my last post...Remember how I told you that one day my Arabic counterpart would be out and I would have the children by myself.....well, it happened this week!  Sunday, the first day of my school week, Hanaa fell while standing on a countertop trying to put something on the wall.  She landed on her tailbone and broke it. She was out Monday and Tuesday.  Needless to say, I was worried about her, but worried about me too...I speak very little Arabic and my children speak very little English.  My Head of Faculty came and told me that Hanaa would be out 2-3 or more days.  Honestly, my heart sank to my toes and I felt my stomach do a flip.  In this case, there are no substitutes...I would have them all day by myself.  

Quickly, I started running through my activities for the day in my head. Yesterday we took a tour of the building and talked about all the things we saw with our eyes.  One student was blindfolded and was the "blind" person who couldn't see.  I am really working on building vocabulary through real experiences.  We took pictures with a camera and labeled all the things we saw.  Today, we are talking about hearing.  I prepared a Powerpoint which has an embedded sound and on the following slide, there is a picture and word for the sound (telephone ringing).  There were 24 different sounds because I have 24 students. 

The moment of truth arrives.  As the children lined up in the courtyard, they noticed Hanaa wasn't there.  They lined up quietly and we went inside.  Children put bookbags in the normal spot and headed to the rug.  They followed our morning procedures.  We sang our good morning songs, sand days of the week song, months of the year song, and "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes".  Thus far, our routines have helped them stay on task.  Then we did the activity with sounds Powerpoint....they loved it.  They would tell me the Arabic words for the sounds...or at least I think they were....and I would say the English.  Please know that I am using small words....sit, look, listen, and broken English at best to try to get them to understand me.  By the end of the Sound Powerpoint, I had worked up a sweat!  Thought I was having a "FLASH" and then realized the air conditioner wasn't working.....I thought "what else could go wrong????" 

Then, I went to click on my "Rainbow Fish" video link and the computer freezes.  I have to restart and by this time the children are chatting with each other in Arabic...have no idea what they are saying.  Two boys get into a disagreement because one bumped into the other one and it's on.  They start shoving each other and I say "La, La (No, No)" and move them away from each other.  I turn around and there's a girl sitting in my chair at the computer and is punching buttons...guess what...the computer is frozen again.  I say "La, La (No, No) and tell her to sit on rug.  By this time.....sweat is in places ladies don't discuss and I take a deep breath.  Start clapping a pattern and they copy me.  They are back on track.  We sort some pictures by color and then by shape...with a mix of Arabic and English.  Then, there was a smiling face at my door.  One of my fellow teachers came to check on me during her break time.. She said, "Well, you seem to have everything under control!"  I said if only you'd been 10 minutes earlier...not so much.  Then, a few minutes later, my neighbor came to check on me too.  Just seeing a friendly face meant so much.  Finally, the Art teacher came to the door for my break time.  I have never been so happy to see an Arabic person in my whole life! 

I took a much needed drink of water and wiped the sweat from my brow.  Sat down to contemplate Plan B and C or the rest of the day.  One of the Arabic teachers came and volunteered to teach my children an Arabic lesson tomorrow so they wouldn't get behind.  They have to learn 150 Arabic words and sight words this year.  I thanked her up and down and pulled myself together.  When students came back, the day seemed to fly and we made it to the buses safe and sound....My line was not as straight as normal, but I was just glad everyone made it without any major problems.  I dragged my weary body to the room and tried to think about tomorrow. 

I studied up on directional Arabic words, like "stop" (gif) and tried to think about tomorrow's lesson....Smell.  I put things inside ziploc bags to smell (popcorn, tuna, perfume, flowers, etc.).  Some good smells and some bad smells.  Thumbs up for like smell and thumbs down for do not like (we've done this before with other things, so I knew they would understand it).  They didn't like the tuna or my perfume (lol!).  They were much more well behaved today and having an Arabic lesson today with Mrs. Amira really helped.  Before Amira left, I asked her to tell them two things.....Shukran (Thank you)  for listening and helping Mrs. Christine learn Arabic.  The children laughed!  We had a much better day!  Needless to say, by the time I walked all the children to the bus, I was whipped.  I turned around and started walking back from the buses.  From nowhere, one of my students who was standing with her nanny started running toward me saying "Mrs. Christine!Mrs. Christine!" with her arms wide open.  She almost knocked me down she hugged my legs so hard! Thank you, Lord!  Shamsa loves me!  So needed this after my tough two days :) 

The good new is Hanaa was back on Wednesday and bad newis is she  has a broken tail bone.  Six months to heal and pain medicine is nowhere as strong as American drugs.  She's one tough lady!  I hugged her when she came in on Wednesday.  Never been so glad to see someone!  Good news for me is that I could've been a weak person and given in when the going got tough, but I didn't.  That which doesn't kill us makes us stronger.  I have a long way to go, but definitely grown as a person and as a teacher this week.  All things are possible through Christ who strengthens me! 

My Week, Memorable Moments, Church

This has been a very hard week for me....personally.  At school, I've been teaching All About Me-My Family.  We discussed the differences in what an American family might look like and an Arabic family might look like.  Introduced vocabulary-mother (momma), father (poppa), brother, sister, grandma, grandpa and read Goldilocks and the Three Bears this week (They've  never heard before).  Five Little Monkeys was one of my students' favorite songs this week. Students are beginning to find letters in environmental print (around the room, on fronts of books, etc.).  They seem eager to learn new things....little sponges. 

As a teacher, there are moments you will never forget.  Well, I had a first in Al Ain.  The first Arabic child threw up in my classroom....I know its gross, but all teachers can relate.  There's a virus going around.  The child that was sick speaks very little English and he just stood there stunned...like it didn't really happen.  I tried to be the calm and help clean up.  The cleaners (janitorial staff) don't have the antibacterial sawdust, so they just come and mop.  They don't use as many chemicals as we do in America. I found antibacterial wipes and cleaned up quickly and Hanaa took him to the school nurse.  We have 2 full-time nurses and they do complete physicals for the children once a year.  They keep records of illness and yes, check for bugs....

Up until this point, I have felt good about what I'd taught my students and thought they understood what I was saying.  Well....not so much. I had a moment.....one that scared me.  Hanaa left the room to take the student to the nurse and I was alone with 23 five year olds who have extremely limited English.  Not thinking, I just started talking to my students if they were native English speakers.  Giving directions and talking about our next activity.  They looked at me as if I was speaking a foreign language......I was!  Then I said to myself....they don't understand you....what was I thinking.  Then two little boys started hitting each other and I said "La,"which means NO! He seemed shocked that I spoke an Arabic word, then he turned right back and hit the boy again.  I went and moved him from the circle and told him La, La, La.  If they don't understand the first time, you say it longer and louder, right?  Nope!  When I turned around one girl was on my computer.  I looked as her like...Oh no you didn't!!!!!!  I must have had a look on my face.....you know the Momma look...the girl froze in her tracks.  I moved two more students to chairs and began singing a song I knew we'd been practicing and things calmed down. 

Hanaa came back from the nurse's station and I told her what happened.  Hanaa translated my words to them and we had church with them about listening to me even when she wasn't there....This was very sobering to me.  In America, my classrooms had very good discipline.  Here, the language barrier is a problem.  In KG1(4 year olds) and KG2(5 year olds), there is an English and Arabic teacher in the room because they know very little to no English.  I had a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach.....I know very little Arabic and there's going to be a day that Hanaa is sick and I'm going to have them by myself all day with a language barrier.  Have to rethink.  Sit, Stand, Look, Listen, Table, Color, Pencil, Good Morning, Hello, Teacher, Miss, Mrs. Christine, La (No), Sway Sway (Slow in Arabic....they like to run here), and Moffi (Zero or none in Arabic) are phrases I know they understand.  I was trying to treat this like native English speakers.  Next week, I will work on adding more English words to their vocabulary and more Arabic words to mine.

This week as I talked about family with my students, homesickness has crept in.  Skype has not been working for me since I left Abu Dhabi and moved to Al Ain...about 6 weeks.  I Facebook and call my family a lot, but "seeing" them is so important.  Evan, an American who helps us with technology issues, has been working so hard and there have been problems like before I left home, my computer crashed a week before leaving for Abu Dhabi.  Geek Squad in Warner Robins helped me get a new computer up and running in 2 days...fully loaded.  All I had to do was turn it on.  Bought an extra router to bring with me so I could talk to my family on Skype.  Skype is not downloadable here, so must be done before leaving home and extra router makes Skype think I'm in America! On Friday morning at 5:00am  my time (9:00pm Thursday night in Georgia-I'm 8 hours ahead), I finally Skyped Dan and was able to "see" him.  Made everything better.  Let's see who really reads my blog....Dan wanted to keep it a surprise, but I'm coming home for Christmas holidays.  The girls were coming to see me, but they have to work. 

I am not sure if I have talked about the Muslims here or not.  Religion is very meaningful to them here and all children are trained in Islam and National Studies from KG1 on up until graduation.  Each day, all students have 40 minutes of study in Islam and study about their country.  The Arabic teacher teaches this lesson in Arabic each day.  The teaching of religion is allowed in school....nice idea. I have no idea what Hanaa is teaching them, but there are lots of songs and the children know the words.  She teaches them about prayer and Mohammed each day....just guessing...I don't speak Arabic.  I sit at the back and do crowd control while she teaches Islam.  Hanaa told me that she is going to teach prophets later.  Muslims believe that Noah, Abraham, Jesus, and Mohammad were prophets.  Muslims recognize the bible, but believe that since Mohammad was the last prophet, he was given the Quoran, which is the last information given to the people. She will teach the children about Abraham and Isaac, Noah and the Flood, and other bible stories I will know.  She says they will be very similar.  I've been in the UAE since August 8 and Islam symbols are everywhere.  Each morning, I sit and listen to my children and Hanaa recite scriptures and other Islam songs.  It makes me want to find a church where I can worship.  I miss singing and listening to the message from my pastor. 

Andrea got her car this week and we discussed going to church on Friday (Sunday in America).  There is one church that is not Islamic, Catholic, or Mormon (my next door neighbor is a Morman).  A friend from Andrea's school invited her to come to the Al Ain Evangelical Church and I tagged along.  Got up early this morning, dressed for church, and headed out.  This church has two services-9:00 and 11:00.  We went to the 11.  This church was a warm place where everyone cares about each other.  They act like a church family.  Reminds me of home.  There was almost a full house.  The preacher's wife, Cathleen, came up and introduced herself and welcomed us.  We had 20 different people come up and welcome us even before the service started.  There was a church member that had a fire and the church reached out to them and bought new furniture the her apartment.  One member who is from America died in childbirth....very sad story and the church is having her memorial service tomorrow.  The baby lived and the church is helping her husband with getting her home.  I feel such a sense of community in this church. 

As a good old Southern Baptist, I was prepared for the traditional 54 1/2 minutes service.  Leave early so you can get to the restaurant early.  Watches start going off at 11:55 and everyone gets mad when the preacher is long-winded....just being real.  Not so much here.  We sang with the praise band for 45 minutes and the preacher spoke for another 45 minutes from Mark.  We studied about the Garden of Gethsemane (sp).  Rev. Steve, an American from Littleton, Colorado (Columbine), is our pastor.  He did a great job by linking the heat here to his sermon.  We have to prepare for the heat....here, you don't go anywhere without water.  As a teacher, you make plans before going in the classroom.  Jesus prepared for what he was going to face at Galgotha (?) by praying in the garden. When bad things happen, be prepared to stand up for what you believe in. It was so good to be able to worship with others who believe in Jesus as the Savior...not a prophet.  "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!" Time flew during the service and I hardly knew that almost two hours had passed.  Definitely going back next week!  Feel rejuvenated and ready for another week in the UAE.  Until we meet again! 

 

Never Judge a Book by Its Cover!

Well, another week down in Al Ain and have settled into a routine.  My students are settling in really well and we studied the letter "Mm" this week.  The curriculum here has certain words beginning with m which are required (mosque, mouse, mountain, man, etc.).  I added Mickey Mouse, M & M's, and several other words.  Made a powerpoint with the focus letters and pictures.  All the students knew Mickey Mouse and M & M's.  Practiced writing, tracing, and saying words with M all week.  Thursday came (our Friday) and we had an M & M party to celebrate the end to the M week.  We sorted colors using M & M's and had fruit snacks (mango, melon, and milk).  The students are doing much better on the sorting and learning the English words for colors.  One of my students, Mohammaed, saw that there was an M on the bottom of his shoe and pointed to it and said "M".  Then pointed to a lowercase m on the rug....my heart sang! 

This week has been filled with lots of chores after school.   I picked up my passport with the residency visa inside, which means I'm official.  Only thing waiting on is my Emirates ID, which should be coming any time now.  I picked up my translated driver's license document on Wednesday and am now ready to go and get my Emirate driver's license and yes......rent a car!  Each morning at 5:45, I have a bus which drives me and 10 other teachers to school and returns us home around 4:00 p.m.  ABella Supermarket is not far down the street from my apartment and I can shop, buy pork if necessary, send money home, go to a pharmacy, and a dry cleaner.  During the week, I usually stick close to home and use cabs sparingly, but cab fares add up.  It's difficult to find a taxi here and sometimes have to wait 15 minutes in the heat for one. Trying to decide if I REALLY need a car.  Truth is, I miss the convenience of hopping in my car, running errands, and pulling up in the garage with my groceries.  I miss listening to my music!  Called a car rental place today, which is Friday (our Sunday) and left a message to get more info...torn. 

Andrea Brown and I went to dinner last night for our weekly girls night out.  We bought slippers!  Slippers here are like walking on a hard piece of plywood.....no joke.  Last night, we saw soft, fluffy, slippers and snapped them up in a heartbeat.  Then went to dinner and had a good time chatting about our  week.  On the way out of the restaurant, Andrea and I started to talk about all the strange things we've seen here. 

When visiting any mall in the UAE, there are LOTS of lingerie shops...and we are talking manneqines in the window with very suggestive sleepwear.  There's not one in a mall, but literally 10-20.  These women are covered in abaiyas (black outifit) and head is covered with sheala (black scarf).  Why are there so many lingerie shops?  Arabic women may be very conservative in their public dress, but behind closed doors, not so much!  Words of wisdom....never judge a book by its cover.









There are an equal amount of formal dress shops....we are talking over the top floor length formal dresses with lots of rhinestones and glittter, which are worn to weddings.  Shoes, shoes, and more shoes.....bedazzled 5 inch heels.  Look under the abiayas when women walk and they are wearing these shoes. Perfumaires are everwhere and you can create your own unique perfumes.  There's always lots of strange smells in the shopping malls.  Perfumes, incense, and lots of other smells are everywhere.  Lots of ice cream, donuts, and chocolate shops.  People in the UAE love dessert and chocolate. 

 

 

From this great experience, I've learned to not judge a book by its cover.  On the other side of the world, I've met so many interesting people who were nothing like my expectation. I must admit that my eyes have been opened to being more understanding of other cultures.  They have traditions just like I do and I don't have to agree with them, but I must respect them.  There are many things that are so different than where I live in Georgia.  Miss so much from home and I miss my friends, but know that there's a reason I'm here. Hope everyone has a great weekend!  Until we meet again!  

First Two Weeks of School and the Kleenex Lady Returns!

The first two weeks of school have been very busy.  Since my last post, ALL of the nannies and mothers have stopped coming in with the children.  Only had one cryer (sp?) last week and by Wednesday, she was smiling and ready to come in the classroom with out tears.....YES!  Been working a lot on teaching the children basic "functional" English....bathroom (hamam), sit, look, listen, boys, girls, good morning, days of the week, months of the year, and really working on procedures in the classroom.  They are beginning to get in the routines and understand more of what I am asking them to do.  I must admit that I LOVE my students....as always, they become part of my family while they are MINE!  In every family there are the good, bad, and ugly!  I must admit that I have about 4 boys that just make you want to pray to Jesus every day, every hour, every minute,...but I still love them anyway! 

On Wednesday, I woke up with a sore throat, fever, clogged nose, and very little voice.  The air-conditioning here is very strong.  When I came home Tuesday from school, I was having a "flash" and turned the air down and forgot to turn it up before going to sleep.  All night the cold air blew on my head and alas.....felt horrible!  Took some Tylenol and Sinus Medicine and hoped for the best.  When I arrived at school, feeling even worse.  My Arabic counterpart took one look at me and said....you don't look good.  I said....Well, thanks Mrs. Hanaaa in my best rasppy (sp?) voice.  She laughed and offered me a cough drop!  By about 9:00, my voice was going downhill and I must admit that I felt like dirt! 

Hanaa taught her Islam studies...Every day for 30 minutes students here have an Islam lesson on their religion and all the importatnt components.  Taught completely in Arabic, I have no idea what she is saying to them.  I must admit that everytime she teaches, I'm impressed with what the children can recite at the age of 5.  They seem so proud and confident when she asks them to repeat parts of the Quoran (at least I think that's what it is).  When she finishes, it's time for breakfast.  No...not cooked by the lunchroom, but brought from home.  Think I've discussed the unhealthiness of the snacks, but it bears repeating.  At 9:40, they eat sandwiches (nutella, cheese, chocolate, or sometimes fruit spreads (figs) ), potato chips, fruit juice, water, chocolate milk, and even chocolate in a tube with a pixie stick....breakfast of champions.  Next week, I'm teaching about the body and healthy eating.  Going to encourage students to bring fruits and drink water....not so much chocolate. 

By the time the students leave, my voice is nonexistent!  I have 12 boys and 12 girls.  Hanaa took the girls and I took the boys.  They were doing a good job until we had to wait for someone to unlock a door so we could go out to the buses.  10 minutes of waiting on the security guard.  They became restless.  Remember boys are harder to handle....On the way to the bus, the boys were off the chain.  I was ready to throw them all away by the time we made it to the bus!  But remember, I love them, so I forgave them before I made it back to my room.....We did have church the next morning and discuss the error of our ways!  Hanaa and I discussed changes for tomorrow and then decided I didn't need to talk anymore. 

As soon as the bus dropped me off, I went to ABella Supermarket, which is just down the street from me.  I don't have a car yet (next week....hopefully) because I have to get my residency visa back before renting a car.  By the time I arrived at ABella, I was voiceless.  Walked into the pharmacy and talked to the pharmacist....well, I tried.  Opened my mouth and tried to talk and nothing came out.  He started asking me questions and I shook my head yes or no.  He gave me an antibiotic and nose rinse.  Told me to go home and rest and....NO TALKING. Gladly, I went home, put on my pajamas and crawled in my bed.  30 minutes later, my doorbell rang.  It was IKEA.  They brought the cover to my sofa.  I answered the door in my pjs....He smiled.  Women here cover everything, so I'm sure I embarrassed him (pjs, socks, and blanket).  Next day, I bought a robe! 

Thursday when I woke, laid there trying to decide if I needed to go to school...Well, starting a new job, want to show them I'm committed, so I decided to go to school.  Took my antibiotic, nose spray, Tylenol, Kleenex and headed for the bus. Slept the entire way to work and felt a little better. 

While living in Georgia, I was allergic to everything green and everything that blooms.  My nose constantly drips and I carry Kleenex with me everywhere.  At the Crisp County Academic Coach meetings, I was famous for having a box of Kleenex with me...Since moving here, my allergies have been nonexistent.  Well, on Thursday, my nose ran all day long and I had a little bit of voice back today.  The children were as good as possible and we made it through the 2nd week of school.  Today is Friday and I'm feeling much better.  The antibiotics are kicking in and I am going to move my bed around so the air isn't blowing on my head as much....lesson learned! 

I feel a sense of accomplishment after completing my first two weeks of school.  I survived!  Bonded with my students and my Arabic counterpart.  Learned to use a computer that types in English and Arabic.  Started trying to make a new schedule  At the end of my typing, looked up and it was all in Arabic...freaked me out.  Arabic begins on the right and goes left. English goes left to right.  Hanaa saw the look on my face and began to laugh.  She said, "What's wrong, Mrs. Christine, you don't read Arabic?"  I said, "No habla Arabic!"  The keyboard is split and can shift between the two languages.  There's also a button on the toolbar that transitions between Arabic and English.  Thought for a minute I was going to have to learn Arabic!

Next week, we start centers and a new schedule so this will be challenging. Half of the centers will be in English and the other half in Arabic.  Fingers crossed! Hopefully tomorrow I will get a P.O. Box and Dan can send me a goodie box from home filled with all the things I miss or can't find here (hint, hint, Dan!).  Until we meet again! 

My Second Day, Nannies, and Meetings

At 4:30 each morning, I wake to prepare for the ride to Al Wagan (Wagon).  Conveniently, loud speakers begin to play the first call to prayer for Muslims at this precise time.  There are 5 times during the day when music will begin to play on loud speakers in the streets, in malls, and on tv.  This is a 15 minute reminder that they have to pray.  There are prayer rooms in malls and schools for men and separate rooms for women.

At 5:40, my bus pulls up and I climb on.  The morning ride is either filled with laughter or silence.  We either sleep or talk about our evening or funny things that happened at school.  We have several stops along the way and arrived at school @7:00.  My school is a co-ed.  Boys on one side and girls on the other.  Only Kindergarten classes have mixed boys and girls.  At 7:15, the boys have an assembly and some of the teachers on my bus teach boys, so we have to be at school early.  When I arrive, there are already nannies sitting outside my door with children....school doesn't start until 8:20.  Children are running up and down the halls and it is very loud.  I'm wondering how did these people get down this hall??????  There are 4 full time security guards at the school at all times and there is one who stays there at night.  My Head of Faculty (Academic Coach) locks the side doors to a courtyard that the nannies used to get in...security guard unlocked it for the day.  She tells me to put a sign on my door that says 8:20 (numbers are the same in any language,,,Most nannies are from other countries and speak broken English.) 

At 8:20, I open the door and the children enter.  Practice putting bookbags/backpacks at the back of the room and attempt to tell nannies they can go.  About half of the nannies leave and go home.  The others sit outside in the hall and watch us through the glass walls.  Most of the mothers leave within the first 15 minutes, but they sit outside in the hall and watch.  The rooms echo like open classrooms and they can hear every word I say and I can hear my neighbor too!  Give smiley face stickers to those who come in, put bookbags up, go to seat, and get started on activity at table.  Without any words, they quickly figure out that they can earn stickers for doing what I ask....GOOD!!!!  Then  we practice cleaning up and coming to the rug for circle time.  Review rules and talk about how well they did coming in.  Introduced the calendar and showed them a picture of my family and talked about them.  Hanaa (my Arabic teacher) and I are really getting in a groove with the translating.  I say a sentence in English and then she says it in Arabic.  Really working on having them look at me when I'm talking and listening to me in English.  (Imagine someone is speaking French in a room and an English person is translating for you....naturally, you would wait and look at the English person waiting on her to translate.) 

Around 9:30, we stop for breakfast. There is no lunchroom lady here.  The children bring a packed breakfast from home each day. I ask the children to return to their chairs and by tables I ask them to go and get their breakfast.  Once I start calling the tables and the audience of mothers and nannies see we are eating breakfast, the flood gates open and they come in wanting to help children unpack their breakfasts.  In my nicest voice, I told them....we got this!  Asked them to wait outside...Hanaa is translating for me.  These children are used to someone waiting on them hand and foot.  They sit there waiting on someone to unpack their food.  Well, there are 23 of them and 2 of us, so we will teach them some survival skills....Told them to unpack food and put on tables.  We eat bagels, poptarts, scrambled eggs, fruit, and yogurt....not here.  There are chips, chocolate (very big here), sandwiches with fruit inside and something that looks like nutella or cheese sandwiches (very big here), flavored milk, and fruit juice.  None of the children know how to open the straws for juice boxes or milk because nannies do this for them....we taught them how today.  When we finished eating, it looked like a war zone.....They are not used to cleaning up behind themselves...again, we taught them how today. 

Then, we prepare for dismissal at 10:00 (for the first two weeks).   The children did better than yesterday and are learning the dismissal procedures.  After the students leave, we have KG meeting discussing numbers.  Each class has between 21 and 28.  One of the Arabic teachers took 2 students without them enrolling in the office....then she complained because she had too many children.  She knows the family and thought it was okay.  Parents want cousins, brothers, second cousins removed....to all be together and will tell the teachers anything to get them in a class.  Our Head of Faculty explained to Arabic teachers that this was not okay.  American teachers knew better.  Maximum class size is supposed to be 23.  We will  probably get a new teacher from ADEC. After a 2 hour meeting, I finally get to go back to my room and clean up, decorate some, put up my class list, and prepare for tomorrow.  Oh...and American teachers, I don't have a stapler, tape dispenser, construction paper, writing paper, or scissors.  I must buy my own.  There are very little materials here.  What I wouldn't give to go to the supplies closet and go shopping!!!!

At 1:30, the rest of the school is dismissed for the day.  We have another faculty meeting until 2:45 and then the long ride home.  I drag my weary body from the bus around 4:00 and collapse onto my bed!  Took a 30 minute nap!  Had a turkey sandwich for supper(still no stove) and headed to bed at 8:00.  Know I'm on schedule because the 5th call to prayer is playing in the background.  It was a long, tiring day, but I felt good about my accomplishments. 

 

The Long Drive Into the Desert, Social Hour, and Meeting New Friends

In Abu Dhabi, the school week runs Sunday through Thursday.  Friday is the sabbath almost all stores are closed until after lunch and some don't open at all. So, Saturday night, I didn't sleep well anticipating the first day of school....just like in Cordele.  Sunday morning at 5:40 a.m. (I am not kidding!), I was picked up by an airconditioned bus with 10 other lady teachers from my school.  If you are housed more than 50 km away from your school, ADEC provides transportation to and from your school.  The bus I ride is a cross between a small school bus and a greyhound...comfy seats and room to stretch out.  The ladies who ride the bus are lots of fun and make the early mornings very enjoyable.  We are headed to Al Wagan (pronounced Wagon) which is a co-ed school.  Boys on one half of the school and girls on the other.  There is a special wing for the KG1 and KG2 classes.  KG1 is ages 2-4(yep!) and KG2 are 5 years old.  KG2 is more like a pre-k at the beginning and builds into kindergarten material.  The building is new, so the rooms are very pretty and the have glass walls so everyone can see and hear what the children are doing. 

The night before school, my Head of Faculty called to let me know that I would be a floater for the day and help as needed.  When I arrived at school on Sunday, they had assigned me a KG2 homeroom.  Remember, I've never even seen the school before today.  Is the door decorated? Are the bulletin boards done?  Do I know how to find the bathroom?  NO!  For a moment, I went.....WHAT!  Then I realized that I was famous for saying I could teach school if I only had a dry erase marker and a board.  Well...today might be that day.  Fortunately, in KG2, there is an Arabic teacher and an English teacher because the students are so young and just learning a new language.  My Arabic counterpart, Hanaa (pronounced like Hannah) had some things in her centers that I put into baskets for the early arrivers.  Parents always want to talk and you don't want to leave the children without something to do.  I found crayons, pencils, etc.  and tried to come up with a game plan for the day.  Hanaa came in about 20 minutes later and told me not to worry that the children would trickle in today and be prepared for them to interrupt the class (just like America).  I couldn't help but feel at knot in the back of my throat...this was real!  Children were about to come in my room...did I still have it?  I've been out of the classroom for almost 9 years! 

When the doors opened to let parents into our hall, it was like open house in American schools.  Huge crowds of people coming down the hall like a herd of cattle with screaming children in tow!  There are mothers and nannies bringing children!  In Abu Dhabi, nannies literally raise children and in some families spend more time with them than their parents.  Most of the nannies are not Emirates (as we would say in Georgia...foreigners) and speak broken English. They often become nannies as a way to acquire housing and to be able to send back money to the family.  Most nannies are live-in here and work 6-7 days a week 24 hours a day (no kidding).  There are nannies that are sponsored by a family and are "legal" and then there are others who are not.  Some nannies are part of the family and others are treated very poorly and look miserable.  Many of the children think of the nanny as Mom. 

Class lists are posted outside the door, but there's last minute changes (nothing new!).  Parents,children, and nannies rush up and down the hall looking for their babies' teacher.  Most children are looped with last year's teacher between KG1 and KG2.  Since I am "new", I have an assortment (always fun!).  KG1 and 2 are mixed classes (boys and girls) and this is the only grades that this will occur.  The Arabic parents are trying to communicate with me, but no habla Arabic.  Thank goodness for Hanaa.  She knows most of the parents and the children from last year.  These parents don't know me, so I'm the "new" teacher and no one ever wants the "new" teacher.  Everyone wants to be in the same class with all 20 of their best friends (just like America). 

Since the children are so young, it's like pre-k and K.  Most of the children were fine, but there were some cryers (sp.?) who hold onto mom's abaya or the nanny's hand and are very shy. After some coaxing, all the children are at the tables enjoying playing with blocks and other toys and I'm thinking the grown ups are leaving......NOPE!  I have a room of about 22 students and there are 12 mothers with some small children sitting in the front corner of my room while I'm trying to get the children settled.  I begin talking about who I am, where I came from, told them where I live now, and how excited I was to be here.  Told them I'd been a teacher for 23 years and that I would bring a picture of my children, husband, and cat (Mufasa) so they could see my family.  Picture this....I'm doing all this talking...Hanna is repeating everything in Arabic, and the grown ups are in the front of the room having social hour. When they weren't talking, they sat like people do when they watch tv.  Most of these women haven't been in schools or seen how teachers teach.  They stayed until 10:00....when we went home for the first day.  I survived the day with no wounds!!!!! Started putting my procedures in place for classroom management and felt good, but tired!!!

At 11, all the KG teachers had a grade level meeting with our Head of Faculty (Academic Coach) to discuss numbers and changes for tomorrow.  Meetings are bi-lingual here.  The HOF speaks English and then an Arabic teacher translates for the Arabic teachers.  Meetings are a little longer, but this group of ladies were a "hoot!"  Even though I don't speak Arabic, there's a way a lady can shake her finger and have a sassiness that needed no interpretation.  Arabic women are very passionate about what they believe, so there is always lively discussion.  This tight-knit group of educators welcomed me with open arms and were so impressed that I stepped up and taught without any preparation. On a wing and a prayer, my first day was a success.  Remember how tired you are on the first day of school...couldn't feel my feet when I left....teachers know that feeling....Maybe I still have it!





 

You're Not in Kansas Anymore, Dorothy!

So, last Monday, we were moved from Abu Dhabi to Al Ain to be closer to our schools.  We were divided into three groups.  I was placed at the Danat (Formally the Intercontinental) with one of my friends, Andrea Brown.  We were given Tuesday off in order to finish shopping.   Shopped from 10:00 am-10:00 pm...Words cannot describe how tired my feet were by the end of the day. On Wednesday, all the teachers were taken to the local branch of the Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC) in Al Ain.  Planned to start at 8:00 and began an 8:20.  Things here tend to run behind schedule and people here are very relaxed about time....different than I'm used to.  After a very short meeting, the Heads of Faculty (HOFs) were introduced.  These are our best friends for this year.  They support instruction, do staff development, and basically do what I used to do in the US.  Some HOFs did not come because they were so far out of town or last minute assignments were made.  Unfortunately, my HOF did not come due to my assignment coming late.  So, I was sent back to the hotel for a day of rest....wrong, more shoppping. The amount of time waiting in line makes the shopping experience longer here, that's why it has taken so long.  Think about all the "stuff" you have to buy when starting a new apartment...I have nothing. 

On Thursday morning, we attended our "orientation".  Several teachers from different grade levels spoke to us about what the first day/first week would be like.  Students tend to trickle in here and rosters will not be "settled" for a couple of weeks.  Teachers are moved between grades if needed when the final counts come in...For those of you who know me well, know that I have a plan A, B, and C for everything. I have had to learn "patience" here.  I spend two weeks decorating my room and getting myself together...not here...On the first day of school, Sunday, I do not know my grade level.  My HOF called a few moments ago and asked me to be a "floater" on Sunday and go where needed.  I will help with 1st grade on the first day and then go to K.  This eased a little of my "stress".

 My school, Al Wagan (sounds like wagon) is an hour or longer away from Al Ain and will have to ride a shuttle bus provided by ADEC to school for now.  Leave early in the day and get home by 3-4 (much earlier for me).  Al Wagan is a co-ed school. Part of the school is for girls and the other part is for boys. Classes are unisex here except for some KG classes (2,3, and 4 year olds). Not sure if I will have boys or girs. The school is located in an agricultural area (no different for me).  Brand new school building with lots of technology....excited about this because some schools here don't have internet and some don't have computers.  13 new schools will be built here this year in order to bring all buildings up to technology standards.

 I don't have a car here because a residency visa is necessary to rent and I want to learn my way to work before going into the desert alone...safety first!  The driving is better here, but roundabouts are scary.  Roundabouts are circular roads (3 lanes)  that have statues, fountains, rocks, or gardens in the the middle.  Each roundabout has a name.  When driving around these roundabouts, there are exits (roads) that go off of the roundabouts.  Some roundabouts have 3-4 roads branching off of them.  It's kind of like riding on a carousel and having to get off the roundabout on your road without hitting someone else who's trying to do the same thing.  Blinkers/signals are not used as much as I would like.  Some drivers go from the inside lane closes to the statues all the way across to the third lane without a blinker.  Once I learn the roundabout, I may try driving.  For now, this girl is going to let the taxi drivers do the driving!  

Today I checked out of my hotel and officially moved into my apartment.  I only have a bed, refrigerator, and internet at this point.  Rest of things supposed to be delivered here today....Inshallah (Means Lord Willing and the Creek Don't Rise in Southern English!)  Had a cold diet coke from my refrigerator and started putting my things away.  Need to go grocery shopping, so will write more later.  Until we meet again!