Where does time go? For some reason life gets too busy to sit and type a few lines. School continues never to have a dull moment. This week we had holiday parties, head shavings, less students because many have left on travel already, and quizzes. Glad most of my students are keeping their head above water and like math.
This break I am heading to Bangladesh for 2 weeks. It will be a new place to explore and I will be with a family I know and I will end with meeting a distant relative who happens to be living in Dhaka.
At the end of Nov I have a long weekend and enough time to high tail it to Old Sana'a for a few language lessons and to walk aimlessly around the old city. I was fighting a head cold the whole time but it could have been worse. I would really like to go back there for 3 to 6 months to study. Who knows, maybe in 2011 will be the right time.
Happy New Year and I know I will be writing 2010 wrong for the first few weeks.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Wednesday, September 2
My plan of attack for this Wednesday was to have a good breakfast to last me until 1pm. I made an egg sandwich and it did the trick. The first two periods the students measured books, desks, their height, and anything else they wanted in the class room. They had all sorts of measuring devices to choose from and they enjoyed it and took it seriously.
For advisory we went to the cafeteria for announcements and learned we will have houses now and friendly games for the best house. In two weeks my advisory will have to perform a short skit and have a banner ready for their name. The winning advisory gets points for their house.
The other two classes went fine. Had a brief after school department meeting to give a status on missing books – yup, still missing.
This afternoon I went to the hospital by me to get the cash receipts verified as being official. The nice woman reprinted them on letter head and stamped then PAID. I hope they take them now.
From 5 – 6pm a group of us went swimming in the big pool and we were able to mix. It was nice to be out right before sunset. We had the pool to ourselves but I know that won’t happen often. Tonight is a group BBQ outside. Tomorrow back to school to prep. All in all a good week. Oh, another new teacher showed up last night. I think we are waiting on one more teacher.
I just remembered. I got mail today, 2 letters. One was open with the letter missing and the other letter was still sealed. I was disappointed about the missing letter.
For advisory we went to the cafeteria for announcements and learned we will have houses now and friendly games for the best house. In two weeks my advisory will have to perform a short skit and have a banner ready for their name. The winning advisory gets points for their house.
The other two classes went fine. Had a brief after school department meeting to give a status on missing books – yup, still missing.
This afternoon I went to the hospital by me to get the cash receipts verified as being official. The nice woman reprinted them on letter head and stamped then PAID. I hope they take them now.
From 5 – 6pm a group of us went swimming in the big pool and we were able to mix. It was nice to be out right before sunset. We had the pool to ourselves but I know that won’t happen often. Tonight is a group BBQ outside. Tomorrow back to school to prep. All in all a good week. Oh, another new teacher showed up last night. I think we are waiting on one more teacher.
I just remembered. I got mail today, 2 letters. One was open with the letter missing and the other letter was still sealed. I was disappointed about the missing letter.
Tuesday September 1, 2009
I swear I don’t know where the time goes? Whatever happened to April or June? I am afraid when I wake up tomorrow it will be Halloween rather than Sept 2. Sept 2 will mark the end of the second week of school and also indicating there are two weeks left before vacation – crazy isn’t it since we just got back.
Tuesdays are my light days for classes with having the HS computer science class first period. I have plus or minus 22 students and 24 computers in the room. Students are still adding and dropping but I think I will hover around the 22 mark. Their first assignment is due soon and I have been amazed at what they have done using Publisher. Their assignment was to design 3 business cards for the same company and then chose the one they like best and then make an accompanying letterhead and postcard. I thought the nail artist business was creative and I can see the student having a future in this. She is already doing it for herself and friends and seems very passionate about it. A funny one was Ben’s TV’s where Bigger is Better. It matches his personality. Others were creating engineering firms, auto business, Sushi restaurants, or Halloween parties. It is a good group and a good mix of all different grades. They come in and start right away.
In 6th grade we are starting the unit on Measurement and Geometry and the essential question is, “what is length”? How would you describe it? I also had the second part of my math club today. We solved problems to get a snake through a maze.
After school I am making time to do embroidery while the natural light is still good and practicing tennis. I have been going to the courts to practice my serves and yesterday I started with 6 balls today I am done to 2. I am losing them over the walls and they go places that are fenced in. Tonight I ended up hitting with Rudy because he was there doing the same thing. He is more consistent than me and hits harder. I hope I can find a female soon to hit with. Next week I will go back to the club to play again.
Between all that and making brownies I witnessed Roy who lives upstairs battling major water leaks from the hotwater heater. People are slow to respond here but someone eventually did come and they said he should dry out in a day or two. Then, to my delight, I saw Michele. She is back and looking rested. She stopped by for a quick visit because she was trying to beat the next prayer time to go food shopping. We plan to meet over the weekend. Yeah, the weekend is here tomorrow.
Tuesdays are my light days for classes with having the HS computer science class first period. I have plus or minus 22 students and 24 computers in the room. Students are still adding and dropping but I think I will hover around the 22 mark. Their first assignment is due soon and I have been amazed at what they have done using Publisher. Their assignment was to design 3 business cards for the same company and then chose the one they like best and then make an accompanying letterhead and postcard. I thought the nail artist business was creative and I can see the student having a future in this. She is already doing it for herself and friends and seems very passionate about it. A funny one was Ben’s TV’s where Bigger is Better. It matches his personality. Others were creating engineering firms, auto business, Sushi restaurants, or Halloween parties. It is a good group and a good mix of all different grades. They come in and start right away.
In 6th grade we are starting the unit on Measurement and Geometry and the essential question is, “what is length”? How would you describe it? I also had the second part of my math club today. We solved problems to get a snake through a maze.
After school I am making time to do embroidery while the natural light is still good and practicing tennis. I have been going to the courts to practice my serves and yesterday I started with 6 balls today I am done to 2. I am losing them over the walls and they go places that are fenced in. Tonight I ended up hitting with Rudy because he was there doing the same thing. He is more consistent than me and hits harder. I hope I can find a female soon to hit with. Next week I will go back to the club to play again.
Between all that and making brownies I witnessed Roy who lives upstairs battling major water leaks from the hotwater heater. People are slow to respond here but someone eventually did come and they said he should dry out in a day or two. Then, to my delight, I saw Michele. She is back and looking rested. She stopped by for a quick visit because she was trying to beat the next prayer time to go food shopping. We plan to meet over the weekend. Yeah, the weekend is here tomorrow.
Monday, August 31
A few days got away from me. Last night at school was an Iftar meal inside the gym. They did a nice job with the decorations using Ramadan cloth to cover the walls in the gym, lots of Ramadan lanterns in all sizes outlining the stage and then there were plenty of tables formally set. Parents came looking very dressed up and so were the teachers. The food was also good and we were home by 8:30pm.
Finally I am starting a math unit in math class. I know the students are anxious to use their brain rather than listening to all the rules for the classroom. We are starting with measurement and geometry. That will be hands-on and they can move around.
On Saturday night I mailed some letters and I would expect them to be there by the end of Sept. Tonight is errand night with Sanwar. First is ordering more contacts. There is a shop about a 10 minute ride away and the last set I ordered from there worked out fine. The saline will break the bank because it is $13 a bottle here. Well, I guess that doesn’t look that bad but when I see the 50 SAR price it seems high.
Drat, more ants crawling around the laptop. Where do these things live and feed off of? Still have a minor problem with them in the kitchen with the bigger ones. They come out at night patrolling the counter tops.
I also want to find a place that laminates. On the way back we will stop for juice.
Finally I am starting a math unit in math class. I know the students are anxious to use their brain rather than listening to all the rules for the classroom. We are starting with measurement and geometry. That will be hands-on and they can move around.
On Saturday night I mailed some letters and I would expect them to be there by the end of Sept. Tonight is errand night with Sanwar. First is ordering more contacts. There is a shop about a 10 minute ride away and the last set I ordered from there worked out fine. The saline will break the bank because it is $13 a bottle here. Well, I guess that doesn’t look that bad but when I see the 50 SAR price it seems high.
Drat, more ants crawling around the laptop. Where do these things live and feed off of? Still have a minor problem with them in the kitchen with the bigger ones. They come out at night patrolling the counter tops.
I also want to find a place that laminates. On the way back we will stop for juice.
Friday, August 28
Friday Aug 28
I think I found my new Friday morning routine. Get up about 7am, go over to a bigger pool that is open at 8am, swim there for 40 min and then go to the Star market to do food shopping and then come back to cook a nice breakfast with my special milk chai tea.
I like to do the cooking listening to NPR and today I enjoyed the show with Nora E. about her movie Julie and Julia. I saw the movie right before leaving for Jeddah and I enjoyed it too. Maybe I should attempt a few of her recipes here and impress people and myself with maybe making a skillet steak.
The plan of attack for today is to plan out the next 4 weeks of school. That will take us to the Sept break starting the 17th. I want to start with the unit on Measurement and Geometry to piggyback with Ron the science teacher when he does measurement with his students. Activities will be making a huge number line in the classroom along the walls half way around the room and the other half will be the metric and customary scales. Need to mix it up this year with some desk work and lots more physical applications.
Then I want to work on my camel and cook. Maybe a walk outside after dark to sit and write a letter some where. Speaking of writing letters, turns out a new teacher is also a fan of the communicating the old fashion way. There are few of us left and we need to stick together.
I think I found my new Friday morning routine. Get up about 7am, go over to a bigger pool that is open at 8am, swim there for 40 min and then go to the Star market to do food shopping and then come back to cook a nice breakfast with my special milk chai tea.
I like to do the cooking listening to NPR and today I enjoyed the show with Nora E. about her movie Julie and Julia. I saw the movie right before leaving for Jeddah and I enjoyed it too. Maybe I should attempt a few of her recipes here and impress people and myself with maybe making a skillet steak.
The plan of attack for today is to plan out the next 4 weeks of school. That will take us to the Sept break starting the 17th. I want to start with the unit on Measurement and Geometry to piggyback with Ron the science teacher when he does measurement with his students. Activities will be making a huge number line in the classroom along the walls half way around the room and the other half will be the metric and customary scales. Need to mix it up this year with some desk work and lots more physical applications.
Then I want to work on my camel and cook. Maybe a walk outside after dark to sit and write a letter some where. Speaking of writing letters, turns out a new teacher is also a fan of the communicating the old fashion way. There are few of us left and we need to stick together.
Thursday, August 27
The weekends are Thursdays and Fridays with Thursdays being the better day to go shopping when stores are open in the morning hours. However, this Thursday I went to school to spend the day in the room catching up with everything. Student numbers are higher than last year and the average class size is about 15 students compared to 13 last year. After sitting for 6 hrs my butt said it is time to leave. New teacher Nick was finishing up too and we walked over to the nearby sandwich shop. This is a convenient place to get a decent omelet or egg sandwich and fresh juice.
On the way home the restaurant a group of us were going to this evening called asking us it would be better to come for Iftar to break fast about 6:45pm. That meant I had to call or knock on doors to let people know the change in plans. When all was said and done we had 12 people going for dinner. Ali took us in the van and going anywhere in Jeddah is an adventure if you don’t know where it is.
Location is based on points of interests or landmarks or roundabouts but rarely street names. Even though I have been to this place before I was a little shaky on where to turn right. We ended up on a mini goose chase – no surprise there, but it is frustrating. A man from the restaurant had to stand on the street corner to flag us down telling us which street to turn down. We ended up arriving there the original time we set.
The Iftar food was on the table and we sat down to our teaser appetizer. We were all hungry and wanted more of the parokas but that was it. We had a nice feast of biryanis, mutton ginger, butter chicken and lots of naan. It was a pleasant crowd and a successful night out.
On the way home the restaurant a group of us were going to this evening called asking us it would be better to come for Iftar to break fast about 6:45pm. That meant I had to call or knock on doors to let people know the change in plans. When all was said and done we had 12 people going for dinner. Ali took us in the van and going anywhere in Jeddah is an adventure if you don’t know where it is.
Location is based on points of interests or landmarks or roundabouts but rarely street names. Even though I have been to this place before I was a little shaky on where to turn right. We ended up on a mini goose chase – no surprise there, but it is frustrating. A man from the restaurant had to stand on the street corner to flag us down telling us which street to turn down. We ended up arriving there the original time we set.
The Iftar food was on the table and we sat down to our teaser appetizer. We were all hungry and wanted more of the parokas but that was it. We had a nice feast of biryanis, mutton ginger, butter chicken and lots of naan. It was a pleasant crowd and a successful night out.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Wednesday, August 26
Wednesdays are going to be rough. I have two 6th grade classes followed by an advisory class followed by another 6th grade class and then with the 5 min hall change I have to skedaddle outside across campus to the front of the school where there is a HS computer lab. This class ends at 12:45pm and this is when I collapse from fatigue. No breaks at all but then I do have last period free. I am sure once classes are in a groove it won’t be as demanding as it was yesterday reviewing all the classroom rules and policies to the students. At least in HS the majority of students had their usernames and passwords and five new students are waiting for theirs but I hated to see them sit there and wait. I wanted to show a video but the QuickTime player didn’t respond. I need to go over there before school and get that to work.
I started reading the letters students have written to me and I am impressed with their writing skills and who they are. Some are very focused and have goals like joining the volleyball team or wanting to be on the junior national honor society or others wanting to be doctors or astronomers. Every now and then I think back to my time in 6th grade and I recall sitting in Ms Hyde’s math and science class / home room. We listened to the teacher and wanted to please. Silly things held our interest; the same still applies. We held a combination lock contest with all the 6th graders and they stood in the hallway backs against the wall, locks on the floor and on the count on 3 they all swooped down and started twisting and turning with lightening speed to hear the “click” when they tugged on the lock. It was unbridled enthusiasm with kids jumping up and down with glee yelling “I am first, I am first” when they were clearly in the second pack rounding the corner to the finish.
There were winners for the fastest student, the fastest advisory class and the fastest boy and girl. Next we want to hold the most organized locker contest.
With it being Wed, the last day of the work week, and Ramadan I made plans with Areej to spend the evening with them at a mall. First it was going to be the Mall of Arabia which I was excited about because it is touted as the largest mall in the ME and with all the ones in Dubai and Doha it must be big. But I have learned here big might just mean a big shell with few stores opened but a thriving food court. Instead, due to her husband being on the job overseeing a construction job at the Red Sea Mall, we headed over there. It is a nice and big mall too with most of the stores open and this time they had the Khan Al Khalil souq part open and that was nice. By the signage another bazaar type area is to open “soon” and that is for the Anadulsia area. As the night grew on the mall became more festive with groups dancing and singing and drumming and twirling and passing out zamzam water. We finished about 2:30am and took a drive along the cornice on the way back so Nick could see the Red Sea for the first time.
I started reading the letters students have written to me and I am impressed with their writing skills and who they are. Some are very focused and have goals like joining the volleyball team or wanting to be on the junior national honor society or others wanting to be doctors or astronomers. Every now and then I think back to my time in 6th grade and I recall sitting in Ms Hyde’s math and science class / home room. We listened to the teacher and wanted to please. Silly things held our interest; the same still applies. We held a combination lock contest with all the 6th graders and they stood in the hallway backs against the wall, locks on the floor and on the count on 3 they all swooped down and started twisting and turning with lightening speed to hear the “click” when they tugged on the lock. It was unbridled enthusiasm with kids jumping up and down with glee yelling “I am first, I am first” when they were clearly in the second pack rounding the corner to the finish.
There were winners for the fastest student, the fastest advisory class and the fastest boy and girl. Next we want to hold the most organized locker contest.
With it being Wed, the last day of the work week, and Ramadan I made plans with Areej to spend the evening with them at a mall. First it was going to be the Mall of Arabia which I was excited about because it is touted as the largest mall in the ME and with all the ones in Dubai and Doha it must be big. But I have learned here big might just mean a big shell with few stores opened but a thriving food court. Instead, due to her husband being on the job overseeing a construction job at the Red Sea Mall, we headed over there. It is a nice and big mall too with most of the stores open and this time they had the Khan Al Khalil souq part open and that was nice. By the signage another bazaar type area is to open “soon” and that is for the Anadulsia area. As the night grew on the mall became more festive with groups dancing and singing and drumming and twirling and passing out zamzam water. We finished about 2:30am and took a drive along the cornice on the way back so Nick could see the Red Sea for the first time.
Tuesday, August 25
Started off with a computer science class and little did I know that the students do not have their usernames to log onto the computer meaning they weren’t able to start the assignment. Going around the room I asked why they were interested in taking this class. Answers ranged from “I had to”, “I like computers and want to learn more”, and “I don’t know”. This will be more or less a self paced class and most of the students seem responsible.
Went swimming after school and with no one in the bigger male designated pool I requested to swim there until other people (strange men, boys) came. Well, male teachers from school came which is fine by me but the man on duty said – nope, time out, you need to get out. But I can sit on the side of the pool no problem.
Tonight a walk to the Filipino souq at 9:30pm to shop once the stores are open again. Some of the new teachers will come to see what is behind the walls. Tomorrow night I will hit the Mall of Arabia.
Mondays will be my long and short days. Long because I have all 4 grade 6 classes and advisory which is a 30 minute class to make announcements and to develop the whole child. The first break is at lunchtime and then there is one more class before early dismissal. This all translate to having 4 classes in the morning and one after lunch. Despite it being a long day, it was a good day today with seeing the rest of the students. They are eager, happy, and excited – just the kind of kids you want to teach. Already I see the stellar, hard working conscientious students who like to take notes, please, and want to do well. Then there are the ones who don’t know anything. AR, what do you like to do in your free time? I don’t know. Nothing I guess. Maybe watch TV. Then there are the talkers, jokers, wiggle worms, fidgiters, and know-it-alls. This is all part of what makes teaching unique and challenging and creative. How to reach everyone? After the classes were over and I caught my breathe, it was time to get down to brass tacks and make a lesson plan for the HS computer science class.
This class is a mix of all HS students but mainly 9th graders and we all know what 9th graders are like and what they are interested in and little of that has anything to do with school. We will be using Publisher and my thought is for them to think of a business they would like to run and then design business cards, letterhead, and a flyer for that business.
Sunday – first day of school and it was a bit hectic but everyone survived. First the mike in the caféteria did not work so the principal had to yell but he has a good voice for that. I had my advisory class for the first 3 classes forgetting I had a HS one during one of those periods but not much I could do about it. By 11:00am I got a good feel for the 11 students I have and they are seem decent. I can tell a few of the boys will have a hard time focusing because already they are figity.
Oh, a classic moment was about 11am when a bell rang but it was early because dismissal is at 11:10 so why was this bell ringing and why was it ringing so long – was it a fire drill? On the first day of school? Some kids were dismissed and walking out the bldg when principal says let’s make it a fire drill and now confusion sets in. Two seconds later the HS principal says no, it is not a fire drill, go to your next class. Then, finally an announcement comes on to say to disregard the irregular bell alarms, they are fixing the bell schedule. After that there were no more bells so some kids are being let go early and others late. Chaos but only temporary.
Now it is time for me to focus on the CS class and Publisher. I meet them on Tuesday. Met a newly arrived teacher this evening. He had a heck of a time getting here with late flights and long layovers. I bet half his time was flight and the other half layovers and plus waiting around to get baggage but one is still missing.
Time to rest.
Went swimming after school and with no one in the bigger male designated pool I requested to swim there until other people (strange men, boys) came. Well, male teachers from school came which is fine by me but the man on duty said – nope, time out, you need to get out. But I can sit on the side of the pool no problem.
Tonight a walk to the Filipino souq at 9:30pm to shop once the stores are open again. Some of the new teachers will come to see what is behind the walls. Tomorrow night I will hit the Mall of Arabia.
Mondays will be my long and short days. Long because I have all 4 grade 6 classes and advisory which is a 30 minute class to make announcements and to develop the whole child. The first break is at lunchtime and then there is one more class before early dismissal. This all translate to having 4 classes in the morning and one after lunch. Despite it being a long day, it was a good day today with seeing the rest of the students. They are eager, happy, and excited – just the kind of kids you want to teach. Already I see the stellar, hard working conscientious students who like to take notes, please, and want to do well. Then there are the ones who don’t know anything. AR, what do you like to do in your free time? I don’t know. Nothing I guess. Maybe watch TV. Then there are the talkers, jokers, wiggle worms, fidgiters, and know-it-alls. This is all part of what makes teaching unique and challenging and creative. How to reach everyone? After the classes were over and I caught my breathe, it was time to get down to brass tacks and make a lesson plan for the HS computer science class.
This class is a mix of all HS students but mainly 9th graders and we all know what 9th graders are like and what they are interested in and little of that has anything to do with school. We will be using Publisher and my thought is for them to think of a business they would like to run and then design business cards, letterhead, and a flyer for that business.
Sunday – first day of school and it was a bit hectic but everyone survived. First the mike in the caféteria did not work so the principal had to yell but he has a good voice for that. I had my advisory class for the first 3 classes forgetting I had a HS one during one of those periods but not much I could do about it. By 11:00am I got a good feel for the 11 students I have and they are seem decent. I can tell a few of the boys will have a hard time focusing because already they are figity.
Oh, a classic moment was about 11am when a bell rang but it was early because dismissal is at 11:10 so why was this bell ringing and why was it ringing so long – was it a fire drill? On the first day of school? Some kids were dismissed and walking out the bldg when principal says let’s make it a fire drill and now confusion sets in. Two seconds later the HS principal says no, it is not a fire drill, go to your next class. Then, finally an announcement comes on to say to disregard the irregular bell alarms, they are fixing the bell schedule. After that there were no more bells so some kids are being let go early and others late. Chaos but only temporary.
Now it is time for me to focus on the CS class and Publisher. I meet them on Tuesday. Met a newly arrived teacher this evening. He had a heck of a time getting here with late flights and long layovers. I bet half his time was flight and the other half layovers and plus waiting around to get baggage but one is still missing.
Time to rest.
Saturday, August 22
Tonight is the night kids either love or hate; tomorrow is the first day of school. Or at least at our school it is. Other surrounding schools are starting after the Ramadan break and with Ramadan just starting they have another 4 weeks vacation. The summer would have been too long for me so I don’t mind starting now.
My room is finally put together allowing me to start laying out plans for the next 4 week. The big unknown for me is teaching Computer Science with not much written material to go by – I will be shadowing what the other teacher is doing and he even suggested it. I don’t want another HS experience like I had last year with some of the students being down right annoying and I know I am partly to blame with being too uptight with them. It is a new school year with new students. Amen.
Tomorrow I will have my advisory group for the morning and then I will be free from 11am on so I can get more planning done. I feel like I have the pieces but need to put them in place.
After coming home I went for a nice swim and then hopped on a bike to go play tennis at the tennis club. I joined last week to have another avenue of activity. There are lots of members and many were welcoming to me. I went tonight hoping I could hit some. Well, the timing was such that they put me right into a game that was just starting. I was hoping to have eased into tennis again after not playing consistently for about 2.5 years. Nope. Tonight was sink or swim. Two of the other players were very good and weren’t too annoyed with playing with me. We had some good rallies and I did make some good shots. Luckily it did start to rain which is unusual but just enough to get the courts wet so we had to stop. It is hot and muggy and everyone there is dripping sweat whether they are playing or just watching.
Another new teacher comes tonight and he is having an eventful journey with a plane troubles in Detroit and Saudia Airlines not accepting his ticket for the next leg but he has a back up on Qatar Airways. Tehmina upon her arrival had her passport stamped but then the clerk had her held until a male staff member came to claim her but no one ever logged in her via the computer so officially she is out of the kingdom. Now this will hold up her iqama process. There is always something.
My prayer for tonight is to make math class more hands on this year.
My room is finally put together allowing me to start laying out plans for the next 4 week. The big unknown for me is teaching Computer Science with not much written material to go by – I will be shadowing what the other teacher is doing and he even suggested it. I don’t want another HS experience like I had last year with some of the students being down right annoying and I know I am partly to blame with being too uptight with them. It is a new school year with new students. Amen.
Tomorrow I will have my advisory group for the morning and then I will be free from 11am on so I can get more planning done. I feel like I have the pieces but need to put them in place.
After coming home I went for a nice swim and then hopped on a bike to go play tennis at the tennis club. I joined last week to have another avenue of activity. There are lots of members and many were welcoming to me. I went tonight hoping I could hit some. Well, the timing was such that they put me right into a game that was just starting. I was hoping to have eased into tennis again after not playing consistently for about 2.5 years. Nope. Tonight was sink or swim. Two of the other players were very good and weren’t too annoyed with playing with me. We had some good rallies and I did make some good shots. Luckily it did start to rain which is unusual but just enough to get the courts wet so we had to stop. It is hot and muggy and everyone there is dripping sweat whether they are playing or just watching.
Another new teacher comes tonight and he is having an eventful journey with a plane troubles in Detroit and Saudia Airlines not accepting his ticket for the next leg but he has a back up on Qatar Airways. Tehmina upon her arrival had her passport stamped but then the clerk had her held until a male staff member came to claim her but no one ever logged in her via the computer so officially she is out of the kingdom. Now this will hold up her iqama process. There is always something.
My prayer for tonight is to make math class more hands on this year.
Friday August 21
Another few hours of inhaling paint fumes. Poor Ron the Science teacher was painting his walls without the AC and he looked like a drowned dog. Did some fruit shopping for the new teacher coming in tomorrow. Had a good swim and chat with Derrek in the pool.
Thursday, August 20
Shopping in the morning to get a printer for school and other things. The room is just about ready so now I can concentrate on the planning. Quiet night which is good since I didn’t sleep well last night.
Had an invite to the beach but need to finish school work and be ready for Tuesday. Started my teacher’s web page on teacherweb.com.
Had an invite to the beach but need to finish school work and be ready for Tuesday. Started my teacher’s web page on teacherweb.com.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Wednesday August 19
A full day with meetings and IT trainings. The whole school is being painted and the smell was getting to me. I called it quits at 5:30pm and headed to Starbucks to watch the sunset with other teachers. It was very nice but I went too long without food and I was dying. I got home about 8:30 shaky and felt out of sorts until 3am.
I think I will switch to hot chocolate from now on at night time. Back at the apartments there was a teacher BBQ going on outside.
Also found out I will be teaching CS 1 and 2 and that is about web design and development. New territory for me. A bit scary too.
I think I will switch to hot chocolate from now on at night time. Back at the apartments there was a teacher BBQ going on outside.
Also found out I will be teaching CS 1 and 2 and that is about web design and development. New territory for me. A bit scary too.
Tuesday August 18
Busy day at school with meetings, looking for my room key, setting up my teacher web page using Teacherweb.com, and more work on the room.
It was 5pm before I had a chance to run to the loo. Had a nice swim before more school work on the computer tonight. Listening to NPR and the upcoming TV shows. I have no clue what Mad Men is about, Network City, Weeds, Cougar Town. Don’t miss being tied to a TV at all. A true sense of who a person is, is what they do with their free time.
My room key was located – what a relief. Now waiting to be able to get supplies and being able to print.
It was 5pm before I had a chance to run to the loo. Had a nice swim before more school work on the computer tonight. Listening to NPR and the upcoming TV shows. I have no clue what Mad Men is about, Network City, Weeds, Cougar Town. Don’t miss being tied to a TV at all. A true sense of who a person is, is what they do with their free time.
My room key was located – what a relief. Now waiting to be able to get supplies and being able to print.
Monday August 17
First day at school. Lots of changes there and it looks much better. Spent most of the afternoon getting my room in order and still have a few more things to do but now the push is getting my thoughts together for the overall plan for the year and then the first quarter.
Joined the tennis club here tonight. Will go back to play later this week. Waited for 30 min during prayer to get my dry cleaning – I timed it wrong.
Joined the tennis club here tonight. Will go back to play later this week. Waited for 30 min during prayer to get my dry cleaning – I timed it wrong.
Sunday August 16
Arabic Word of the Day: mafi mooshkila – without problem
No problem with the water truck being over three hours late.
Today several of us helped get some apartments ready for new hires coming in. A load of new and old teachers are coming in tonight and poor Ali has been driving around like crazy attending to last minute needs with all needs being last minute. Needless to say he is wiped out and has not rested in three days.
I am happy to report the Internet in my apartment is working with no fuss what so ever. While attending to one of the apartments this morning I noticed an Ethernet cable I could borrow for my laptop. I plugged it in and viola – Mozilla responded quite well.
Also had several hours to sort through school papers and to start thinking about what needs to be done for the first day of school.
A good day is when I can get to the pool twice and swim in peace and that was today. I am heading out now to meet with my Syrian friend and her friend.
Tonight marks the end of summer with all teachers reporting at school tomorrow. Bus leaves at 7am – ouch!
No problem with the water truck being over three hours late.
Today several of us helped get some apartments ready for new hires coming in. A load of new and old teachers are coming in tonight and poor Ali has been driving around like crazy attending to last minute needs with all needs being last minute. Needless to say he is wiped out and has not rested in three days.
I am happy to report the Internet in my apartment is working with no fuss what so ever. While attending to one of the apartments this morning I noticed an Ethernet cable I could borrow for my laptop. I plugged it in and viola – Mozilla responded quite well.
Also had several hours to sort through school papers and to start thinking about what needs to be done for the first day of school.
A good day is when I can get to the pool twice and swim in peace and that was today. I am heading out now to meet with my Syrian friend and her friend.
Tonight marks the end of summer with all teachers reporting at school tomorrow. Bus leaves at 7am – ouch!
Monday, August 31, 2009
Saturday August 15
No major problem with jet lag unlike others who are wide awake by 3am. Had a good day for getting the place back in order. Walked over to the store to drop off laundry and to get some vegetables. The round trip takes about 50 minutes. I was ready for a quick dip in the pool before going abaya shopping. I was told by many ladies wearing beautiful abayas at Effat college to shop at Al Sharq souq on Macaroni road or at least that is what it sounds like to my ears. Sanwar knows the place and he dropped me off and I had an hour before prayer time.
There were many abaya stores and I browsed through two of them. The first place had prices from 250 – 450 riyals and I was hoping to spend about 200 SAR. I really wanted to get one with crochet but these were the higher end ones being handmade in Turkey. After much debate on style and size I ended up with a size 56, having kimono style slevees, and new embroidery on the slevees and head scarf. The starting price was 250 SAR and I paid 230 SAR about $61. I am happy with it but still need a cheap one for over the head to wear out on my walks.
The rest of the day was cleaning, washing, swimming, ironing, and attending the BBQ for the new teachers. Everyone who is back attended the event and it was nice to be all together again and to hear about vacations. People went to the Philipines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Germany, Greece, Caymans, Canada, USA, South Africa. Ended the day with watching a special on Bernie Madoff – he gets 150 years for ruining people’s lives. He played the con game and people played along.
As you can see not much focus on school yet. That starts on Aug 17. I heard there have been many changes made over the summer. I will wait until then. Tomorrow is setting up the last few apartments for the new people.
I will insert a photo of the abaya when I take one.
There were many abaya stores and I browsed through two of them. The first place had prices from 250 – 450 riyals and I was hoping to spend about 200 SAR. I really wanted to get one with crochet but these were the higher end ones being handmade in Turkey. After much debate on style and size I ended up with a size 56, having kimono style slevees, and new embroidery on the slevees and head scarf. The starting price was 250 SAR and I paid 230 SAR about $61. I am happy with it but still need a cheap one for over the head to wear out on my walks.
The rest of the day was cleaning, washing, swimming, ironing, and attending the BBQ for the new teachers. Everyone who is back attended the event and it was nice to be all together again and to hear about vacations. People went to the Philipines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Germany, Greece, Caymans, Canada, USA, South Africa. Ended the day with watching a special on Bernie Madoff – he gets 150 years for ruining people’s lives. He played the con game and people played along.
As you can see not much focus on school yet. That starts on Aug 17. I heard there have been many changes made over the summer. I will wait until then. Tomorrow is setting up the last few apartments for the new people.
I will insert a photo of the abaya when I take one.
Friday, August 28, 2009
Friday August 14
Arabic Word of the Day: saakinah (female) – living
Ana saakinah fee Jeddah. I am living in Jeddah.
The living room.
The living room. Arrived yesterday to Jeddah on time after a nerve wracking start in Mystic, CT. The bus I wanted to catch at 4:30pm was and wasn’t at the “bus stop”. The bus was in the huge parking lot but did not swing by the designated stop as told to me by the PeterPan bus person. That meant instead of relaxing on the 4:30pm bus arriving at Logan Intl airport in Boston at 7:05pm in plenty of time for my 10pm flight to Germany, I scrambled with my mom to get to the Providence train station by 7:19pm for a train to Boston. I did make it with an hour to spare but too close to comfort for me. Thanks to my sister playing info assist at home with her laptop giving us updates, train schedules, and directions and to my mom for making the drive to Providence and back.
Sanwar was at the airport with his brother-in-law and we made the necessary stops to get fruits and vegetables, juice, water, and rice & chicken before stopping at the apartment. Besides a few ants scurrying about, the place was as I left it with no major surprises. Nice to see Sanwar’s smile again.
Today was a day for cleaning, unpacking, visiting, swimming, and washing clothes. I met three of the new teachers: Harry from CA, John from Kansas City, and Jim from Pittsburgh. Two of them have taught in Saudi before and were even roommates during their stay. They also know other teachers here so that will make the transition easier.
Despite being yelled at by another teacher ("you had no right…"," what were you thinking…"," I told you not to…" as you can see she won me over with her kind words) I am glad to be back in Jeddah and ready for another school year.
Tomorrow abaya shopping because I left one of mine on the dining room table at my mom’s house by mistake. A few glances came my way at the airport with me wearing a skirt. Good thing I was at the foreign airlines terminal where it is a little more forgiving than at the Saudia Airlines terminal.
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