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!
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!
I'm so glad you have a church. It makes all the difference when you're in a new and different place. Thankfully, most Christians are the same everywhere. It helps ease home-sickness. I know you are beyond excited about coming home for Christmas! Soooo happy for you!!! Maybe we can have a "Friends of Christine Get-Together". I know so many would love to see you, including me. Such a good idea to do these blogs. I look forward to them. Keep 'em coming and stay strong.
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