Keep Calm and Pretend This is on the Lesson Plan

Perhaps I did not mention that one of the most stressful aspects of this whole adventure is the actual teaching job... well, let me tell you, it can be a whole lot of stress at times.  Last week my professional portfolio was due and this week it's the formal evaluation.  I would not be so concerned except that I am so exhausted much of the time that I can barely function... regardless, the bus comes at 5:45 a.m. to pick us up from these villas in the desert and to transport us to Mirfa, beautiful town near the sea and home of the elementary school where I teach.  Lovely, but remote and wild like the rest of Al Gharbia, also known as the Western region... 



UAE Flag on the hill to Mirfa

I love Mirfa and the girls that I teach but somedays I gotta say it, this teaching job is rough!  The good news is that we're nearing the end and the bad news is I need to get through my evaluation first... so off to finish lesson planning and to make a quick trip into Madinat Zayed for another color cartridge for my printer... I need to get there before they close and before I need to get to bed, the sooner the better. 

I just pray that my fractured elbow heals soon and my energy returns... the doctors don't seem to be able to diagnose the fatigue and it's not normal, at least it doesn't feel normal, it feels totally overwhelming at times... at any rate, I am taking my multivitamins and trying to eat right, also trying to sleep as much as I can when I can! 
Well, it might just have something to do with this climate, the daily high is 100 degrees this week and the temperatures are starting to climb.  Welcome to the start of summer in the Middle East!  

10 Day Weather report for Abu Dhabi
  
For anyone who has read on through to the end of this post, love ya!

Henna Hands!

Wow, it really has been awhile since I've written anything for this blog... life has been coming at me fast and furiously and I think that's a good thing, but it doesn't leave much time for reflection or for writing either.  And then again, sometimes I just get lazy or tired.  I'm in the process of putting together a portfolio of the work I've done in my classroom this year and this is the image I've been saving since the fall when I captured it with Aisha, one of my second grade girls.   Henna is a very traditional art here and the girls often come in with their hands all decorated with beautiful designs.

Now I'm with two new classes and the school year is 2/3 of the way over and what have we accomplished so far?  Well, we speak and read a little bit of English here and there, we sing songs in English, we practice our handwriting in English, we've planted bean seeds and watched them grow, we play with puzzles, etc. We constantly work on behavior and we're getting better all the time.  In general, we are a productive, busy bunch!  Although I must admit, sometimes it seems to me like we're not doing "enough."  My centers aren't complete, the room is still quite bare and I have not gotten my computer to work since I came back from the Holidays at Christmas... a source of great frustration for me as there are so many great activities online and that I have on my DVD's that would be engaging and fun for my class.  

Today I am at the tail end of some time off, two glorious weeks for spring break which was extended when I went to see the doctor this week and found out my left elbow really was fractured and not just sprained when I slipped and fell on wet tiles in the bathroom at school two days before the break... he recommended I stay home for the past three days and frankly, I've needed the time off.  Sunday it's back to work again and hopefully we'll finish the third trimester with a bang!  I do feel overwhelmed by the amount of work that  needs to get done between now and June when the kids stop coming.  Praying that I can stay positive and that we'll make a lot of progress during that time.    

In the meantime, I have wonderful memories from my recent trip to Kopan Monastery in Nepal and my apartment has finally come together for the most part (the photo above shows the custom made curtains from one of the local furniture stores in Madinat Zayed - I was thrilled with the results!).  Home is a comfortable refuge nights and weekends (maybe too comfortable as I sometimes don't want to go out at all) and Trixie, my dog is adjusting well to desert life.   Plans for the summer are starting to shape up and I'll be happy to be in the U.S. when the real summer heat starts here and Ramadan is in full swing.... until then... wish me luck with my girls! 

 



Thanksgiving is Almost Here!

Yes, it's about time I give thanks for all the great things happening in my life in this far away place.  So many things to be grateful for in no particular order:

1. I've been here three months already and the adventure continues to unfold!
2. The girls at school seem to be getting used to me and we have established somewhat of a truce regarding behavior, etc. (they are so cute I try not to stay mad at them for long!)  I try to remember how hard it must be to have someone talking to them in a foreign language all day long... remember the teacher in Charlie Brown?  Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah!
3. My friend Karen is sponsoring a potluck thanksgiving dinner this Friday (we have to work Thursday) so I'll get to meet some of the other teachers I haven't met yet and have some traditional American food!
4. Only 17 more work days until the winter holiday and I am leaving for the states on December 19th!
5. National Day for the UAE is December 2nd.  This country will be 40 years young and the celebrations are already way over the top!  Each day the girls dress up in gorgeous red, green, white and black gowns for our school assembly and recite skits and sing patriotic songs that I can't understand but find incredibly moving and beautiful.  School is disrupted in every possible way but it eases my workload which helps with the exhaustion factor... a HUGE factor and my only excuse for not being in better communication with everyone!
6. Sobriety in the Sands - Dubai, November 17-19th...one word to describe it: awesome!
7. Skyped with my sister and my dog this week and everybody seemed really happy!
8. Weather here is gorgeous now...
9. Bought a new car... the one I REALLY wanted, so I feel very lucky, even though I'm broke after making the down payment... it's a Fiat 500C and it's red! 
10. Singing children's songs in the kitchen in my apartment that is by no means perfect but which is all being paid for by the Abu Dhabi government.

In other words, life is good here.  Not easy, but I have to remember, I didn't sign up for easy...

Wishing everyone a really Happy Thanksgiving!  Can't wait to be back in the U.S. in December!

UAE Flag is Everywhere!

 

Dealer's pics of Fiat 500c:





Still Missing my Dog... Love you, Trixie!

Moving into the Desert

Long overdue blog... let's see if I can keep it going! 

The big news is I'll be moving into an apartment in Madinat Zayed later this week, so finally I will have my own place.  I have so many mixed emotions right now about the whole experience as there have been a lot of false starts and bumps along the way, but last night I viewed the sunset from the street in front of my new building and it was amazing.  I may find a new appreciation for the beauty of the desert.  Another amazing thing is I actually felt some coolness in the evening air for the first time this week!   So it may be a great change although I had hoped to stay near the coast and closer to my school.

The upside is the apartments themselves are very nice and brand new... I have been waiting to decorate for a long time!  There were some problems about moving in which were totally out of my control and I am learning that A LOT of things around here are out of my control!  It has made me pretty crazy quite a bit of the time and learning to let go has stretched me to places I thought were beyond my breaking point on occasion...

Well, let's focus on the positive as there are other positives as well... one big plus is that there are lots of other teachers who are all living in the villas and it will be good to have a nice community around me.   There were some major problems related to housing and whether I could bring Trixie, but this past week I have received the blessings of Mahmood, the man who manages housing for the "Western Region." After I showed him a picture of the two of us, he said he understood how important she is to me and that he wants us "to be happy."  He feels like Madinat Zayed (which I still can't pronounce) will be a good home for us and although it's a small town, there are more shops and green spaces and actual neighborhoods than the town where my school is, so it should be a good place to settle down for awhile.

One downside that I've been worrying about is I'm an hour from my job and about an hour and a half from Abu Dhabi... I'm just not used to a long commute and I know how exhausted I can get from teaching so that concerns me a bit!   I'm also sad to be leaving the beautiful coastal view from my hotel room and the sweet staff here.  Trips into Abu Dhabi will have to be reserved mostly for weekends...

Abu Dhabi at Night

 

How is school? Well, it's challenging beyond belief at times but the girls really are as sweet as can be. As one of the other teachers put it, how can I like them so much but hate teaching them? I am seeing ALL my limitations as a teacher, but I am also stretching in my ability to understand the girls and communicate with them, in spite of the language barrier and the behavioral issues.  Also, I am learning not to take myself and the situation so damn seriously... most of the time!

More to follow, insha'allah (God Willing!)

Loving This Hotel Room

It's a good thing I'm really loving this hotel room in Abu Dhabi~

Loving this Hotel Room

Well, no exciting pictures yet but now that I have my new digital camera they should be appearing soon.  

I've really wanted to get this blog started so we'll start somewhere very familiar.... tonight I'm loving this hotel room in Abu Dhabi, it's quiet and even though I'm dreadfully homesick at times... it's feeling a bit like home tonight.  I never thought I'd say it but I'm a little tired of shopping, at least for the moment.  Part of it is going out into the midday heat... it's really gotten to me a few times, it literally takes my breath away!  Even at night, waiting for a taxi to and from the shopping malls, the heat just hits you...

Today was Eid, the holiday that ends the month of fasting known as Ramadan, but for me it was uneventful... I went to the closest mall this morning and finally acquired a cell phone, necessary for all local business... and found some ice cream in the food court.  I was able to enjoy it in public during the day, and it seemed as though everyone was a bit shy as well as glad to be out eating, but I'm sure soon it will feel normal again. 

All of us new teachers have been given our furniture allowance and everyone has been out buying appliances, furniture and everything else needed to set up our apartments, but some of us don't know exactly where we're moving yet, so it's a waiting game to see and then hopefully have time to get set up before school starts for students on September 11th.  The malls are actually fabulous and I've seen some amazing things here, so I think I am going to have the most beautiful apartment on the coast about one and one half to two hours west of Abu Dhabi.  At least I hope that's where I'll be... close to my new school and close to the beach... It will be in a little town known as Al Mirfa and even though it will be somewhat remote, I hope to make new friends to have over and visitors who will come to stay on occasion.  Also, hopefully I'll be bringing Trixie over here fairly soon as I miss her terriblly!

Making the trip over here is not easy so if you come to visit you'll need to stay awhile to get over the jet lag... I really don't know how people who travel all the time do it!  I haven't done any of the touristy things yet but may go on an evening desert safari later this week.  I missed the Ramadan special and will need to pay full price but I hear it is quite the experience riding the dunes, etc.  I've seen some camels but only on the back of a pick up truck when I went to visit to see where my new school will be... I think once I get settled out there I'll have many chances to get up close and personal to the camels... they're really quite adorable! 

So at any rate, I hope that I'll be much more familiar with where things are by the time some of you come and we'll have fun.  I can tell you where there is a fabulous place to have your nails done in the Marina Mall near my hotel.  I watched back to back episodes of "Friends" while getting the best french manicure ever at the Nail Lounge! 

If I sound a bit whiny tonight I guess I'm slightly tired, but believe me, this adventure is just beginning and so far it has been an incredible experience.  Just meeting all the other teachers has been great and we all have stories to tell about why we are here!