Arabic Dress Day and Happy Camels...Eid Mubarak!

Howdy friends,

 

So here I sit from my office away from home at the Juffair Grand Hotel in Bahrain. So far it has been a fun and relaxing week off for Eid al-Adha break and I head back to Kuwait tomorrow. The funny thing is...as much as I like Bahrain, I am ready to go home. I kind of miss Kuwait (!) wait did I just say home in reference to Kuwait? Things must be changing for me (it is true that the one constant is change).

The past few weeks have been full of more learning experiences both in the classroom and out. For any of you new teachers out there who may be considering whether or not to teach abroad I highly recommend it. There are so many challenges to working with a different culture but there are also many pluses. My big pluses come in the form of a supportive school staff, actual prep periods during the day (I sit at my desk sometimes...for most teachers in the States this is unheard of), and I have the world's most amazing Teaching Assistant who has many years of experience in the classroom! Oh and then there is the paycheck (tax-free) and the paid rent and utilities so saving money is possible and paying off loans is not a pipe dream.

Here are some quick lessons learned:

1) When doing an activity with children that involves movement, make sure their shoes are tied.

In my classroom we do a "Brain Break" activity sometimes which is kind of like Simon Says but without the speaking. The students have to do what the teacher does. I stand in front of the class and do stretching exercises or make funny faces and the kids all mirror my actions which they really have fun doing. Two weeks or so ago, in a moment of inspiration, I had some of the students come up one by one to be the leader of the activity. My assistant and another 1st grade teacher were in the class to help out during the Spelling and Reading Comprehension tests. This was just a basic get the wiggles out sort of thing so they could be more focused during the test. All was fun and going well but inevitably the Karate Kicks started as that is what 6 year old boys love to do. I tried to settle the class down by switching gears and calling up one last boy to lead the class in some wiggling about. This child who I adore never ties his shoes. In fact they are rarely on his feet. As he came up he automatically kicked his little leg and his shoe went flying. Before I could laugh at this fact and while I was watching the shoe soar through the air towards the Word Wall, I suddenly caught a streak of neon orange in my peripheral vision. The little boy standing in front of me had also not tied his shoe and when he mirrored the leader's actions his shoe likewise went flying...into my face. Yes friends this is one of those teachable moments. In hindsight I should have stopped the game once the karate kicks started. Well I was too stunned and hurt to laugh but all the air went out of the room as the students and teachers watched to see how I would react. I just went right into test mode and then laughed pretty hard as soon as the pain in my face stopped throbbing.

2) Teaching at an American school with Islamic values has been a really amazing experience in learning about Islam. Eid al-Adha began the evening of October 25th and ended the evening of October 26th. As the Islamic calendar is lunar the dates are subject to change. At our school the 2nd grade did a rather large and impressive reenactment of Haj celebrations in Mecca and it was very informative.

· From Wikipedia: Eid al-Adha (Arabic: عيد الأضحى‎ ‘Īd al-’Aḍḥá, IPA: [ʕiːd al ʔadˁˈħaː], "festival of sacrifice"), also called Feast of the Sacrifice, the Major Festival,^[1] the Greater Eid and Bakrid,^[2] is an important religious holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide to honour the willingness of the prophet ʾIbrāhīm (Abraham) to sacrifice his young first-born son Ismā'īl (Ishmael)^a as an act of submission to God's command and his son's acceptance to being sacrificed, before God intervened to provide Abraham with a ram to sacrifice instead.^[3] In the lunar Islamic calendar, Eid al-Adha falls on the 10th day of Dhu al-Hijjah and the celebration lasts for four days.^[4

^{If you do not know much about this holiday you should look it up. It is really fascinating.}

^{3) Arabic Dress Day at school is awesome.}

One of my students and his little brother.

Two of my boys hard at work

 

 

^{4) Arabic Dress Day on the last day of school before a major holiday is still awesome!}

Me and my class

^{5) Bahrain is very socially liberal and fun for vacation. It is a small Island and one that is worth visiting as the people are friendly, the restaurants and bars are great, the shopping is amazing, and the history of the island itself is fascinating.}

^{Here is a little bit about my trip to Bahrain and then I need to get back to doing nothing :)}

· ^{It has a wide open feel which is a nice contrast to Kuwait City.}

· ^{It is a shopper's paradise so if you are not a shopper (I only like browsing and then getting what I want and getting out) don't go to the malls with your friends who are major shoppers. The City Centre is humongous and the prices are much more affordable than Kuwait.}

Senor Pacos New West Mexican Restaurant is awesome!

· ^{Alcohol is legal here and there are night clubs in all of the major hotels.}

· ^{The Gold Souq is a must see and the souq merchants at Manama Souq are very persuasive and funny. It is really fun to haggle here as you can get good deals but even if you are not shopping, the merchants are great story tellers and it is a lot of fun.}

· ^{Downtown Manama is mostly filled with men. This normally would be something to get excited about but after dark it was a tad nerve-wracking. They don't harass you or anything but staring is even more intense than elsewhere as females venturing out alone are pretty rare.}

· ^{Rent a car. It is an adventure trying to figure your way around the island and it is possible you might find yourself on the toll bridge to Saudi Arabia. Don't worry though. Westerners won't get far without the proper paperwork and you can turn around.}

Not a real camel. Just wanted you to know that I know.

· ^{Camels are big and make weird noises. While they are not very graceful animals, they have faces that grow on you and before you know it, you find them charming...but be careful. They spit and bite so just keep a safe distance.}

· ^{The National Museum here is nice and has a small art exhibition, cool sculpture garden, and a very informative Bahraini cultural exhibit complete with a mock Bahraini Village to walk through where you can peek into merchant shops. It reminded me a little bit of Pirates of the Caribbean with out the Yo-Ho-Yo-Ho and the whole amusement park ride thing. Sort of the same scale.}



Al- Fateh Grand Mosque

· ^{The Al-Fateh Grand Mosque is a definite must see as it is not only beautiful in its architecture but it is very welcoming and multi-cultural. Our guide was wonderful and open to all questions. If you want to know more about Islam this is the place to come as they are friendly and patient. When we went there, they were having a big open house for visitors and there were activities for everyone including learning Arabic, having your name written in Arabic Calligraphy, traditional Bahraini dress to put on, Islam information tables, free literature, coffee, tea, and Henna painting. All of this was free and there was even a free gift at the end if you could answer three questions (or even if like me, you didn't get them all right but were willing to try). Of the Mosques I have visited so far, this one was my favorite.}

Karen being draped in Abaya and Hijab which ladies must wear inside the mosque.

1st stage of Henna

2nd Stage of Henna

3rd Stage of Henna

Me, Alexis and Karen enjoying a little royal treatment in a traditional Bahraini tent in traditional robes.

 

· ^{Tea at hotels is awesome.}

· ^{I love Turkish coffee!}

· ^{It turns out that my love for beautiful fabric from India would be rewarded handsomely as this was once a major trade route from India and there is a large Indian population here. I bought several items hand sewn in Kashmir and didn't spend that much.}

^{Now I need to get back to vacationing (I am supposed to be doing some schoolwork but I am procrastinating). The most important thing I can let you all know after being in the Middle East for two months is that I am finally adjusting. Actually I am growing to quite like it. I still miss my family and friends terribly and am looking forward to summer vacation but there are so many wonderful things about living abroad. I am happy to have made this journey. There will continue to be challenges and there is a lot that I don't like but the same can be said of my life in the U.S.A. Home is still where my heart is...and that will always be with my loved ones. Do yourself a favor...get out and see the world.}

^{The Road goes ever on and on}

^{Down from the door where it began.}

^{Now far ahead the Road has gone,}

^{And I must follow, if I can,}

^{Pursuing it with eager feet,}

^{Until it joins some larger way}

^{Where many paths and errands meet.}

^{And whither then? I cannot say.}

^{J.R.R. Tolkien}

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Attacked by stuffed birds, the Sandman really does come to Kuwait, and other Stories.

     Every day, for many days now, I come home bent on blogging. It is my number one goal when I walk through the door after a long day at work. There is so much I have to say. So I make myself a cup of tea, laydown in bed with my trusty laptop...I think you see where this is going (it was the lay down in bed part that gottcha wasn't it), and fall asleep for at least two hours. Then after waking up and wiping the spit from my cheek and readjusting my hair I feel too much self-loathing to write anything and proceed to watch back to back episodes of some show I'm addicted to (last week it was The Walking Dead, before that Supernatural, and now it is whatever is new on Hulu as I have run out of episodes of my favorite shows). So let's raise a cup of tea to getting things done!

Today I came home, made some tea, and instead of getting in bed, plugged my laptop into the wall and I am sitting at a table...in the living room...and multi-tasking! I am so very proud of me. It has been so long since my last post I don't even know what I wrote about so I am just going to bullet point a few things.

• They say there are 4 stages of acculturation. When I say "they" I mean people who have actually researched this and written entire disertations on the subject (yawn). The first stage is the Euphoria stage. Everything is new and shiny and fun and adventurous and blah blah blah. Clearly I am out of that stage so let's move on. Stage 2 is Culture Shock and Alienation. In my case culture shock happened in stage 1 and has eased off quite a bit. I would call my stage 2 Alienation and Frustration- I am not simply shocked by the culture anymore...I sometimes find I am quite slack-jawed by it. Example:

Ms. Michele- Jassehammad (not a real name as far as I know but I feel like I say something like it several times a day as I have 3 students named Jassem and 3 students named Mohammed) is such a wonderful student. He is so smart and will do well.

Ms. Sharinahasma (again...I made it up...I think) Oh Shukran habiti Insha'Allah!

Ms. Michele- The whole school is collecting blankets for Syrian refugees in Turkey.

Ms. Sharinahasma- Is this for a mark? How many blankets for an A? I want for him to go to a good college Insha'Allah.

Ms.Michele- It is not going to affect his grade but if you can help out that would be wonderful.

Ms. Sharinahasma- Insha'Allah

Ms. Michele- Okay well...ma' salaam. Have a good day. I'll see you tomorrow Jassehammad.

Ms. Sharinahasma- Insha'Allah.

If I said "By the will of God" after every sentence in Los Angeles my only friends would be the Zeitgeist Organic farmers Jebidiah, Eziekiel, and Esther Blue Rain whose free love cult I belonged to.

Frankly, the term Insha'Allah is not used so much in a literal way. Most of the time the actual translation is "Maybe" or "LOL".

So um yeah...I am in the frustration stage. I don't feel at home here. What with the drivers who just keep driving often times just barely missing turning you into flat bread, the overpowering smell of Arab purfume, the snarky looks and smirks that accompany many transactions... I could go on but I'm too frustrated.

I also feel alienated and extremely homesick. I check Facebook obsesively for the smallest news, text friends who are in different time zones and never available to chat when I am, and constantly think about all of the things I miss back home like clean sidewalks, proper plumbing, great customer service, people out walking with their dogs, green trees, grass, my Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer Buttercup, my family, my friends, and blissfully blending in. In Los Angeles it is very difficult to be different because everyone is different. Here I am an "other" no matter what I do.

The other stages are Anomie or Culture Stress (which aparently is much better than culture shock) and finally acculturation. So seeing as how I have been here 2 months now, I should be acculturated about the time I pack up to go home. Which will bring on another stage...reverse culture shock. Yay.

I really didn't mean to go on this long...what happened to bullet points? I should write everyday. That would help.

Now on a much lighter note here is my second bullet point:

• All of the frustration and alienation has had a very strange effect on me. I am oddly much more confident with who I am as a person. Sure I am often cranky, lonely, and sad but let's face it...who isn't? We all have our good and bad days (unfortunately for my waistline there is an endless supply of chocolate here). Before I left L.A., people said this experience would change me, and (Nerd Alert) what they said is true, from a certain point of view (if you don't get the reference just go ahead and think I am brilliant). What seems to be even truer is that leaving home has made me more myself. I tried fitting in a little bit when I first arrived but as I stated before, no matter what I do, I am an exotic bird here. Something about being stared at constantly and talked about in Arabic which I am oddly beginning to comprehend, has brought out a steely internal confidence. The truth is, I am totally cool with who I am. Now that I have acknowledged this I am proudly letting my freak flag fly and guess what? People I meet think I am an interesting person. I have above all else in life always wanted to be fascinating. Boring has never been my thing. So for that I say Thank you Kuwait. But more than that, big ups to me for being so awesome.

And last but not least:

• I love teaching! It is the most exhausting, frustrating, heartbreaking, fullfilling thing I have ever done and I feel like I can be really good at it someday! Out of the 25 boys that I have, 20 of them are angels and the other 5 might put a gray streak in my hair. And even though every day (regardless of hours of planning) is a new adventure, I feel I am settling in and getting things done. It is really amazing to do something that I never wanted to do but felt called to do and discover that I really love it. I make tons of mistakes, I have moments of utter brilliance, improvisation and comedy have served me well as has my large voice and I finally get to use it in a drill sargeant roll. I have laughed and cried. I have been infuriated and had my heart swell with pride. Truly the hardest thing I have ever done, and I am so glad to be doing it.

So far on this adventure, I have sailed on yachts with both royalty and military, I have shopped, seen the most ostentatios wealth and the saddest poverty. I have danced at a ball and have a ticket to another one next month. And while I haven't seen a camel yet, I am leaving for Bahrain next Wednesday for Eid break so I will do whatever it takes to see one! I have met some amazing people and formed what I hope are lasting friendships and I have recieved hugs and love letters from my students which never gets old. Living here is hard but I am so glad I didn't let fear keep me from coming. In someways I wish I could get on the next plane home but as I am not a quitter, that will not happen. In closing here is a little true story:

My Mom and I have been talking on FaceTime and I knew she sent a care package a few weeks ago. I thought she sent it FedEx but instead she sent it with the US Postal Service. We had talked about what I wanted- Quinoa and Peet's Coffee. As per school instructions she mailed it to the school's address and I was anticipating its arrival. On Sunday I get a call from the office during one of my prep periods to come down to the office as I have recieved a package. Well I was pretty excited. I went down and discovered that a driver had to take me many miles away to the Kuwaiti Post Office at the Ministry of Information (not nearly as exciting as the Ministry of Magic but just as confusing). Kuwait is notorious for not getting packages to people and I have heard some horror stories including one about two big bags of mail discovered abandoned in the desert. Well chalk it up devine intervention (he must have known that I needed stuff from home) because the package was there and not damaged! The Kuwatis running the show wouldn't let me look in the box and the driver (who was nice but pushy) wouldn't let me carry it. Chivalry is nice when it is chivalrous but not when it is assumed that I am too much of a delicate flower to carry a box. I unloaded merchandise trucks at 5 am fueled only by an energy drink and a hangover when I worked in retail for goodness sake! So I sat anxiously in traffic as we headed back to school. As I looked out the window  at sandy streets and beige buildings a giant lump formed in my throat because something from home was here. As soon as we parked, I grabbed the box from the trunk and lugged it back to my classroom. Fortunately the boys were at recess so I had a moment alone. I looked inside the box and it was filled with bags of quinoa, a whole pound of Garuda Blend from Peet's, and an assortment of protein bars and Trader Joe's goodies along with some Halloween dish towels and back issues of the Hollywood Reporter. Well I just completely broke down right then and there. Heck, I'm crying right now just telling you about it. I held those towels to my face and they were soft and smelled like coffee and I just miss home and the people I love so much it is beyond profound. A care package is exactly that. It doesn't matter what is inside really. It's the fact that someone close to your heart sent it. It is quite honestly the sweetest gift I have ever recieved and that is saying something (the aforementioned Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer comes to mind). So there I am crying at my desk and one of my students (the one who has hair just like my nephew Micah) comes in (which he never does) and just starts talking to me about how he didn't want to play on the playground anymore. So I dried up quickly (best not to cry in front of a student) and we spent about 10 minutes straightening desks and chairs and just talking. Those famous "They" say that God works in mysterious ways. Well I say Amen to that because that care package came just in time...and so did my student.

I love you all,

Michele

PS... Next post from Bahrain!

 

Now who wants some pictures?

 

Anna Dello Russo H&M Launch at The Avenues Mall. Yes, that is a stuffed bird on my head.

 

Reading Week Parade: Here come the Sneetches!

My Horton's had a little trouble holding onto their Whos. I really can't find another way to say it. 

Thing 1 & 2 and one of the 2's was absent...how very like a Thing 2!

The Lorax speaks for the Trees!!

 

 

 

So yes, I was The Cat in the Hat

 

My first classroom birthday party experience. It was a major event.

 

 

I'd include pictures from the Embassy Ball (but we weren't allowed to take cameras in) and the Black and Gold Yacht party but...what happens on the Yacht, stays on the yacht.

 

 

Peace from the Middle East.