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!
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!
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