Settling in

I've been so busy and so exhausted when I get home that I haven't even thought about blogging!  My classroom had more manipulatives in it than my entire elementary building last year.  I spent the first 4 days in my room sorting and sending manipulatives and resources to storage. It was a little overwhelming.

The old teachers joined us newbies this week, and I was able to meet my teaching team.  I think we're going to get along really well.  There are 8 second grade teachers- 2 from South Africa, 2 from England, 1 Scottish, 1 Irish, 1 Canadian, and me.  It takes me a few minutes every morning to muddle through the accents and understand what is being said. They like to socialize once a month and are very helpful in answering my questions.  I am more fortunate than some of the other newbies whose teaching teams are not as open and welcoming.

The second grade team has a few nannies that help us out with little things-  Laminating, copying, organizing, etc. It's basically a teacher assistant, but we all share them, and they don't spend time in the classroom.  It's awesome!

The school schedule is RIDICULOUS.  I am used to spending all day from 8-3 with my students with a 30 minute break once a day and an hour long break twice a week. Here, Arabic teachers come into the class and teach Arabic, Islamic studies and UAE history for 2-3 periods a day (out of 10 periods). I have that time out of my classroom to do whatever.  Also, PE is once a week for 90 minutes- 45 minutes of swimming, 35ish minutes of running around PE. The kids also get a snack/run around time as well as a lunch time later. I don't have to stand out in the heat and load kids in the cars- AWESOME- their parents or nannies come into the classroom and pick them up at the end of the day!

It takes me 8 minutes on the teacher bus to get to and from school.  It's amazing.  I love it. At the end of the day, I am home by 3:45.

I am fortunate enough to live in a teacher compound with about 10 other teachers from the school.  We all help each other out with things- rides, laundry, internet, etc.  Last night, we went to dinner across the parking lot at a friend's apartment.  I think we are actually going to be able to socialize more here than we did back home!

There are so many things to do before school starts next Tuesday!

Masaa Alkhair wa Ma:a Salaamah

Rachel

Tour of School

Today, I had my first look around the campus.  When I say campus, I mean bigger than some college campuses campus. It is 4 different schools in one. Primary School, consisting of grades 1-4, Girls' 5-12, Boys' 5-12, and Kindergarten (preK1, PreK2, and Kinder).  It took three hours and two bus rides to tour the campus.  It is ginormous!  Each school has two indoor play areas, a gym, and a swimming pool!
I am so excited!

half of one of the indoor play areas

View from ENS parking lot

Approaching school 

School entrance

First Day!

Today was my first day of work! We have inservice for about three weeks before school starts on September 3.  Today, the teacher bus picked us up and brought us into Abu Dhabi for orientation.  Cultural awareness, dress code, etc. Most of it common sense, but I did learn a few interesting tidbits:
1. It is acceptable for men to hold hand in public, but not men and women.
2. It is acceptable for men to give each other eskimo kisses, but not men and women.
3. Zip means something inappropriate (I don't know what),  so you should not tell the kids to zip it.
4. I apparently teach at a wealthy private school, not a public school with normal kids as I thought.

I was so excited to meet my colleagues today! I woke up an hour early and couldn't go back to sleep.  I met many teachers from the States- Georgia, North Carolina, Arkansas, Florida, Jersey, etc., but I also met teachers from England, Cyprus, New Zealand, Canada,  and Syria. They are all interesting people with great stories. One was in the Peace Corps, then taught in Antigua, and is now in the UAE. Another taught in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia for 2 years, and another in China!
I'm excited for what tomorrow will bring!

Ma:a Salaamah!

Downright neighborly

We met several of our neighbors today! Two were teachers, one a vice principal, all from the States. One of them is even from San Antonio! They were very friendly and gave us some tips. They all have been here for at least 4 years, so it's nice to know that they love it enough to stay. One even has a pug that the girls fell in love with. Awesome start! We were told that 5 more families are moving in in the next few days. We're all excited to see who they are and if there are any kids.

Our neighbors directed us to a market within walking distance, so we took an evening walk and came back with candy and a ball for the girls to play with. Its actually nice out tonight, so we played lazy soccer in the courtyard for a while when we got back.

It was a nice outing- exploring a small area and meeting neighbors.

Ma:a Salaamah!

Lady Ninjas

We have arrived!

The girls did really well on the flights. I am very thankful that the flights were nice and the girls took everything in stride.  Etihad is a great airline.

Upon arrival in Abu Dhabi, we obtained our bags and met our driver.  About halfway to Al Ain, I started to get car sick. At this point in the retelling of my story, I want you to picture a .gif that just repeats me leaning my head out of the side of a van and vomiting as we go around a roundabout.  I probably committed a very serious cultural faux pax, but all I can do now is giggle that I puked out the side of a van as we went in a circle around a roundabout.  Seriously, I’m still laughing.

At the time, I was focused on laying down and not puking, so I didn’t really see where we lived, and didn’t notice anything about the apartment until I woke up the next morning.  We are very happy with the apartment. 2 bedrooms, 2 baths. We have bidets, and the girls giggled A LOT when I told them their purpose. The girls share a king sized bed that they love. There is one wardrobe in the whole apartment that won’t even fit all of my clothes, so we’ll still be living out of our luggage until I get paid and we can make a trip to IKEA.

Al Jimi Mall is a $3 taxi ride away, and that is where the nearest grocery store is located. It’s called Carrefour, but we call it Walmarts. It has everything.  We’ve been there for 3 days straight getting different household items and food.  We checked out Al Ain mall which is nicer but a little further away.  It is HUGE. And beautiful. And overwhelming.   The calls to prayer are piped in everywhere in public, and the girls get it. We explained what it is, why it is, and we all think it’s kinda cool. 

(This is the souq in Al Ain Mall)

Spice section at local market

We took the phone number of a taxi driver who knew exactly how to get to our complex so that we could call him when we needed a taxi.  He’s become our driver that we call anytime we have to go somewhere.  It’s nice not having to explain the Arabic location where we live in a Texan accent to someone who speaks English with a Pakistani accent.

A school driver brought another teacher and me to the Health Department to have a blood test and chest xray done for our residence visas.  I had no idea what was going on.  Thank God the other teacher spoke Arabic!  I just followed her.  Imagine the health department where every single person needing a visa in that city must go to get blood work and a chest xray. How packed and crowded it must be.  (It was nice and clean, though.) Take a number, sit in this room with 100 other women, 4 hour wait. The other teacher, Dana, and I decided to pay the $35 to be fast-tracked, and just walked to the front and were done in 20 minutes. 

Dana lost her receipt that we needed to give the school, so we had to go to the accounting/finance person to get a copy. Her office was behind the counter in the men’s visa area.  We were directed into the front of the room where 400+ men were waiting to get their visas processed, and they all turned to stare at us. UNCOMFORTABLE.  It all turned out well, and I told Dana about ten times how thankful I was that she was with me.

Jason:

One of the things I would like to add is how happy I am to know that almost every single person we have encountered has been very nice to us. From the people at the airport, to the drivers, to the mall employees. Admittedly I think many of us have a preconceived notion on how Americans are perceived and treated by the Arab people. I will admit that I was one of those, and am happy that I was wrong. Also, pretty much every single person we have met speaks English. Thank God! This has made things MUCH easier!!

So many observations so far in the 5 days we’ve been here, and we’ll be sharing more soon. OH, and yes, looking back it was pretty damn funny watching Rachel lean out the window in the van and puking in a roundabout. At the time, however, I felt terrible that I couldn’t do anything to help her.

And I know many of you mentioned the heat, and living in the dessert and how uncomfortable it must be. While it IS hot, it honestly doesn’t feel any hotter than Texas. In fact, in some ways it is more bearable because the lack of humidity. If anything it’s the sand that’ll take time getting used to. It’s everywhere. Today was the first day I actually felt it blowing around and I could kinda feel the grit on my face and mouth. Not a big deal, just something different. I’ll share more of my observations later.

Back to Rachel:

There’s so much I can say about our few days here so far, but I want to leave you with one of the funny things that has come out of Landry’s mouth. 

“Mommy, why are there so many lady ninjas here?”  Yep.

Peace Out!

Ma:a Salaamah

T-MINUS ONE WEEK!

We are moving to the other side of the world in one week.  A different hemisphere.  A different continent. No family, no friends, no pre-existing knowledge of the city (other than what we have gleaned from the internets). A different type of curriculum, a different type of culture, a different language.

We are very excited, but I'd be lying if I said we weren't anxious.

Baggage fees are ridiculous and anger me. We're moving a family of four across the world, and we are allowed one free checked bag? $100 for the second and $200 for each bag thereafter? HOLY CRAP. I guess we won't be eating for a while when we get there! I requested a quote from UPS to ship one 15lb box, and it was $600!!

So, Jason and I are going to keep chanting "Stay Positive."  We are all going to learn and experience and grow and enjoy.

I am very happy and excited that so many people are coming to our going away party!  Wonderful people threw us a small going away party last weekend, and Jason and I are already feeling the love.

Jason's dad is still in ICU, but he's looking better and is communicating more every day.  Jason had a wonderful visit with him today, and we are all going to visit tomorrow as well before we roll up our sleeves and get to work preparing for the 'Murica going away party.

Masaa alkhair wa ma:a Salaamah