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!