Spending All The Money (But Not Really)

HEY GUYS!

So I just got back from a week-long vacation at school for Eid (religious holiday). A group of us went, 5 Ks and 1 T: Kendall, Katie, Kate, Kay, Kim and Taylor. We went to Dubai for 3 days and Abu Dhabi for 3 days. We missed a day of school since the holiday days changed a couple days before we left but it didn’t seem to be a huge deal since barely any kids were at school and many teachers left too. Anyways, the first few days in Dubai were spent doing quite a few tourist-y things like going to Atlantis waterpart, going to the Dubai Mall and Mall of Emirates, and going into the Burj. But first let me go into detail. We left last Monday night and got into Dubai around 8pm and spent like an hour searching for a hostel that no cab driver knows the address of because it’s so tiny and unknown. Not only that, but apparently the address they give narrows the search down to what we would call (in Iowa) residential area the size of about 10 or 15 acres or like 10 square city blocks. Not helpful at all. Eventually, both cab drivers (a group of 6 of us had to split between 2 cabs) found the place we were supposed to be after wanting to just kick us on the side of some road. We got there about 9pm and waited for the other group before about half of us went in search of food. The hostel was basically a bedroom with enough bunk beds for 6 people that shared a communal bathroom and an open shower with three other rooms of various numbers of beds. It was actually really interesting in a creepy sort of way because we didn’t know anyone else and the door didn’t have a key or lock. I swear to God nothing was stolen and nothing bad happened.

The first day in Dubai we went to Atlantis Waterpark which is, from what all of my students told me, something I had to do for at least one day. I’ll admit, it was a lot of fun and there was lots of rides to choose from. There were two sections to the park; one part had a mix of regular waterslides and watercraft slides and the other section just had waterslides. And of course a lazy river that went through the whole park that Kay, the oldest of us ladies, spent the whole day on (no joke, she got off for maybe 20 minutes). For the most part, 5 of us stayed together the whole day and went at least once on every ride. The very first one we went on was actually one of the best rides but we didn’t have time to go on it again. It was one that sent you down two or three stories at a 70 degree angle, go through the aquarium in the tube before being thrown out of the end about 20 feet. Oh yeah, did I mention that they had a shark and fish tank aquarium that was free and some rides went through? Well, anyways my other favorite waterslide was one I went on 3 times, once with four other girls and twice by myself. (Dad, you might remember this one from TV) It is one where you have to climb the stairs up about 8 floors-maybe more-then climb into a tube where you’re actually standing up crossing your legs and arms with your hands on the opposite shoulder. There is an automated voice that counts down from three before the floor you’re standing on drops and you are sent pretty much straight down until there’s a curve that brings you to the bottom and tops a whole lot more water on you. So fun!

Apparently I was the only one who really liked it. We had to leave at 5 pm to go to the Dubai Mall where Kendall was. She signed up to go scuba diving in the aquarium in the middle of the mall (because obviously every mall should just come with one). It was kinda cool because we watched the end of her dive and saw all the fishes and sharks she was swimming with.

The next day, our last day in Dubai, was spent in the Mall of the Emirates where we all got to meet and pet/kiss real penguins! Yes, that happened. We first met one king penguin who did a few tricks and played with us a little bit. We got to take a few pictures with her too before being sent to another area where we met two more penguins that were emperor penguins. One was named McFatty (and was being grumpy half the time) and the other was named Squeaky. We got to pet and take photos with all of them and then the last ones we even got to kiss on the head. Taylor was really excited about everything because she absolutely loves penguins. After we finished with the penguins, we went to the Burj Khalil which is the tallest building in the world. We went up to the observation deck which was only about halfway up and got to see most, if not all, of Dubai. It was really cool just to be in the tallest building but there wasn’t anything terribly interesting to see except that we saw where we had been standing, watching a water fountain set to music the night before.

The next day was just mostly spent travelling to Abu Dhabi via bus and checking in to our hotel. Less than an hour after we checked in, a jeep came to pick us up and we went on a desert safari. It included camel rides, henna, dune bashing, BBQ, and sand boarding. It was probably my favorite thing we did all week. What I have found out is that henna done in 30 seconds is not the greatest but pretty cool regardless, camel rides are not as comfortable or easy as horse rides, dune bashing is my new favorite sport, sand boarding just doesn’t work (I might have moved a foot in 10 minutes trying), and a BBQ in the middle of the desert is fun to watch when cooking but not always the best tasting. We got picked up a little before 4 and didn’t get back until almost 10 so it was well worth it.

The next day, everyone except Taylor went to Ferrariworld, which is a theme park in Abu Dhabi. It was lots of fun to just walk around and ride everything they had. There were some things I wanted to do but I would have had to pay for it so I wasn’t going to do it. The first thing we did when we got there was jump on Formula Rossi, the fastest roller coaster in the world. No brags there. The first time we went on, they give you goggles to wear and make sure you leave everything at the platform. Going on it, my hair became so tangled and knotted it took the rest of the day to get it untangled. Also my goggles flew off after the first few seconds. Oops. There’s no way I could have gotten a video of it even if I did sneak my camera on. Sorry dad. The next time we went on it, Kendall and I sat in the front and I made sure my hair was in a ponytail and that my goggles would stay on-which they did thankfully. But it was also really funny because my cheeks literally flapped in the wind and Kendall drooled out of the side of her mouth. It was so much fun being in the front though! We couldn’t go on it again though because the line was really long after that. The picture on the side is of me after I got off the second time…

The next day was a little bit more relaxing because we had originally planned to go to the beach, but it was abnormally hot and humid in Abu Dhabi so there was no way we would survive 5 hours outside like we were planning. So instead we went to go see the Abu Dhabi Grand Mosque which was actually really big and really cool. I don’t know what to say about it besides that. And that I wish I had that much money to make my dream house. That night we also went to a couple street markets that are called/spelled souk in the United Emirates but souq in Bahrain. Anyways, in Bahrain the biggest one is mostly along a few streets but the two we went to in Abu Dhabi were in a bigger building but had a variety of shops inside. There’s a lot of stuff you can find in there from restaurants to hand painted kitchenware to stuffed animals to apartment decorations like Persian rugs to clothing. I loved walking around the hallways just to see what they all had but I also can’t wait to explore the souq here in Bahrain again when it gets cooler outside.

On the last day we were on vacation, we spent most of the day getting from Abu Dhabi to Dubai where we flew out to come back to Bahrain. But before we left Abu Dhabi, we went to the Abu Dhabi Falcon Hospital which I’ve heard was the favorite part of the city for a lot of people. When we got there, we ended up going on a tour that lasted a little over two hours in which they explained the differences in falcons that we would see and that are in the Middle East and the goals/purpose of the hospital. We then went into the area where they actually treated falcons for broken bones and feathers or when they get sick. We got to watch a minor surgery where they attached part of a wing to a falcon that broke some feathers and then also let us hold two real falcons that were on the big and small ends of the falcon size. It was really cool! They also showed us a few owls that they house at the hospital and the place where falcons are held when they molt. Overall, it was really cool!

Anyways, I’d say that’s about it for me. I have lots of work to do yet in the next few days after being off for a week so I better get to it!

Planning History

This week I have just been working again. I haven’t done too much of anything else. Except for sleeping and eating because, of course, I love those too much to give them up. On Thursday, almost every American teacher that teaches at MKS at any grade level went to a Mexican restaurant (that opened up just for us) called Senor Pacos. It was so good to eat food that takes more than one sitting to eat—I swear I’m not that big of a pig—and it was really good. They gave you freshly-made chips and salsa while you were sitting there and the food came right away sizzling on a plate still. AWESOME!

Over the weekend, we went to a pub called Polo Gastropub on the other side of the city it seemed like, but it was really only a couple miles away it just seemed like farther because of traffic. We were told that a burger there has won the award for “Best Burger on the Island” a few years in a row. I read the description for it and it is just basically a half pound burger with lettuce, British sharp cheddar cheese and red onion marmalade on a toasted brioche bun. It seemed interesting but I figured I could try that off of someone else’s plate since a lot of people sounded like they would order it. Instead I got their version of a French Dip but it was called something else that I can’t remember. It was soooooo good and even the coleslaw and potato wedges were fresh and delicious. The meat melted in your mouth and I didn’t need any juice to make it taste good. I’m craving it again now just talking about it. On a side note, I never tried the burger that anyone else had because I was too busy stuffing my face with my own sandwich and sides.

So after mentioning all the good food I had last weekend, I should mention that I did get out and do some exercise. Not much. But still haha. Anyways last week we had gone back to the school after sundown to play soccer (football here) on their tiny turf field. Their field is about half the size of a high school field in America. With only 8 of us playing, it was perfect but had we had anyone else playing we would have needed more space. A few of us had played soccer previously but it was still really fun just to get out and play non-competitively for the first time in years. The heat was terrible still along with the humidity but I sweat off a lot so it was probably a great thing. And I know I didn’t get dehydrated because I didn’t get a headache or anything. There was another day a group of five of us had plans to go play basketball but there were people on the courts at the community gym and the school guard wouldn’t let us play without written permission from someone in the school. 

Umm…there really hasn’t been too much else. Like I said before, lots of paperwork and working outside of class and sleeping and eating. And playing with the kitty of course. My social life just basically includes hanging out with friends in their rooms, making/ordering and eating food, and maybe watching a show here or there. OH! I almost forgot! I am in charge of a school club with my friend Kate-Drama Club. Bet you wouldn’t have guessed that haha. There were sign-ups yesterday at school and I’ve got about 30 email addresses and a few more names/numbers that are interested. We are currently finding the time that works best for most people and then we will probably get started on meetings every week or every other week after Eid (holiday).

Speaking of which, we are in the process of preparing for the first week off of school. We’ve been told not to expect many kids to come to school the two days of school next week and the first week following Eid because everyone travels. So I made all my kids’ due dates this week! HA I’M EVIL! No but really, they hate me because I made them do something so fast. But I don’t care, I know they can do it rather than be lazy. Also, I don’t want to have to think about how I’m going to make performances and speeches happen when majority won’t be back for a week. I’ll be on break too—to Dubai and Abu Dhabi!!!! Pretty excited for it because it’ll be relaxing on the beach but also tons of fun to see out of the tallest building in the world and ride the world’s fastest roller coaster. Making history over break!

So, yup. That’s my blog because I have nothing to tell. I did finally take pictures of my classroom so that’s what photos are being shown but I’m also still in the process of decorating. QQA-the accreditation guys for the school-will be coming sometime right after Eid so we’re supposed to make things look good. Hopefully my kids are creative!

Kitty Tales

So since the last time you guys heard from me, there hasn’t been much that happened. My roommate, Jessica, and I got a cat last Monday night and she stays in the apartment (obviously). We have yet to name her but she is all white with a few gray dots on her head. We’re thinking of Sly, Stealth or Ash and we’ve had two other suggestions of Ghost and Ferah Rose (Icelandic name). The first day/night she was very, very scared and hid in the curtains constantly. She explored that first night when we were sleeping and I only know that because she collapsed my metal drying rack at 4:30am in my room so it scared me half to death. After we spent Tuesday afternoon coaxing her out of the curtains, she’s been really good and getting better. Within two days she would approach anyone while still getting scared at certain noises and now she’s even better because she doesn’t run when the doors open or close or when the AC kicks in. I also found out she plays fetch with certain toys. Sooooo basically my cat is more of a dog. But that’s okay. Everyone comes in to visit randomly and takes photos (which are posted all over social media) since we are the first and only ones with a pet right now.

Besides the cat, school is going a ton better than that first day—but I think I’m just so happy I haven’t had any repeats like that so every day is better. I have 2 Speech and Debate classes, 2 Theatre I, and 2 Theatre II so my time is evenly split between planning for each class. My students in my classes are still not finalized as some kids are moving around their schedules or were put in the wrong classes; in my case, I just handed in a list of about 20 students who would like to be placed in my class if possible. It makes me feel good but it’s also really annoying because I want to just have my final students and know who’s in which one permanently. Other teachers have bad days

where their kids act up and get on their nerves but I feel really lucky because my students have all been really good. Maybe a little talkative but that’s something I can easily deal with. I do even have one class that’s a great class but they’re all friends and excited to act on the stage but we haven’t been able to until today because we have to cover the basics first, like enunciation and projection. I also just found out today that I get my own projector in my room which is awesome but I have nowhere to store it. There is a teacher friend across the way that doesn’t have one so I said I’d share it with her if she stored it and it sounds like a deal. So it’s awesome that I get a projector, now for that office with a teacher’s desk…

Outside of school on weekdays, I literally have done nothing besides plan, work, watch shows, hang out with friends, eat and sleep. I’m so busy trying to stay caught up that I get so overwhelmed but can’t focus on anything. Today after school, I came to a coffee shop with a few friends and just worked to get ahead a little bit, which I did thankfully. We’ve only been sitting here for 4 hours…

On the weekends it’s a lot of the same activities. Except I get to sleep in, which I need but is terrible for me since it messes up my sleep schedule and I also become too lazy for the rest of the day and get nothing done. So this week I’ve started going to bed early (or earlier than I have been) and it helps a little because I can focus longer but I don’t feel as energetic during the day. Welcome to my dilemma. Usually once a weekend I go out to the bar with a couple friends and drink a beer or two, dance a little, and come back by 12:30 or 1—we’re party animals haha.

One thing I did do this weekend which was pretty cool was to go visit an old fort they have along the beach about 10 minutes from us. I went with a group of about 10 and we spent a few hours exploring the four parts of this fort, which as I recall, was once under ownership of the Portuguese military. This fort was made of all sand and dirt and metal frames for the windows (that I could tell). It was a nice day because the sun was covered and the breeze was actually cool. It was like 85 out! (Compared to 110+ weather as a norm, this was awesome and great hiking weather). We stayed long enough to explore every crevice that we cared to look in, walk onto the beach and in the water for a little bit—the water was even slightly chilled!—and then watch all the night lights on the fort turn on. It was definitely one of the coolest sights I’ve seen in a while.

Other than that, I have nothing really to report. I’m sure I’ll really love my job once my classes are set and finalized and I get an office or some other space (fingers crossed), but right now I enjoy it enough that I would not leave regardless. Paperwork sucks and there’s a lot of that here, but it’s obviously the kids that make me stay and enjoy myself in class. So until next time, ma salama! (Goodbye!)

And So It Begins...

We didn't do too much this past week. After Tuesday it was all a downhill boring week full of meetings at school and a little time to make my classroom look like a classroom. For the longest time, the owner of the school refused to let me use the classroom as my room because it had never been one before and "there are meetings that take place in there all the time during the year". Well, I can kind of understand because it has a stage in it so no other teacher has been able to use it for every class until me but I still can't believe that they would think there would be a class open after two or three teachers (that I know of) don't have a classroom yet and school has started.
Anyways, I walked into a classroom with a stage and the only thing that was already there was a projector screen. I haven't taken any photos of my class after I got it, but I created a makeshift desk in the storage closet that I can hide all of my stuff in, at least until I get an office. Hopefully. I've put up a couple of posters that I brought from home and created a part of the wall that looks like a bulletin board (oh yeah, no bulletin board or whiteboard either but I bought a tiny whiteboard to use).
This week school started. Sunday was another meeting and work-on-your-room day but Monday was when all the kids were here. It was hell. I'm not going to lie, I came home from work thinking that I wanted to quit teaching forever and cried out of so much frustration built up all day. I was supposed to have 2 of 4 classes with about 19 kids total. I ended up with 4 classes of anywhere between 30-60 kids in my room all by myself. These kids would not listen, were not respectful, and did not care. It came to the point where I just sat there and babysat them for each block because I couldn't do anything with them. Luckily, today was a lot better because kids mostly had their schedules (which was where most of the kids came from yesterday) and I just kept kicking out kids that were not in my class. I kept refusing to let anyone in that wasn't supposed to be there. It helped a lot but there were still some classes where it became a bit of a problem.
On the plus side this week, one of my co-workers that came from Michigan had a birthday and so we went to go play laser tag at the mall for a couple rounds. It was a ton of fun and almost everyone went before we went out to the bar that night. It was really nice to just get out of the apartments and just see the city for a couple hours. It's really annoying that we don't have a car but we are thinking of getting one soon. Anyways, I have to go get a few things done before bed. See ya!