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.
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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.
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!!!!!!
glad you are feeling better,. Thought I noticed a new car parked out front! Congrats on being a driver again.
ReplyDeleteRotana is having a Thanksgiving meal from 6:30 to about 9:00 p.m Thanksgiving Day. Have to make reservations though. Would love for us to go together if you are interested.