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}