Former Expat Teacher Acclimating to the American Way!

So I was too tired to write about the adventure I had in trying to find our apartment. As there are no street addresses here people give ONLY landmarks and tell you which lights to go through,to,past and which to turn at. Even though Im not one to remember streed signs it can be quite confusing and I now know that having the street signs helps a bit. Whenever I do decide to get a car, I will definitely get a GPS. Im surprised that the keys didnt burn a hole in my pocket last night and I slept rather well. It helped that the night before I only got a few hours of sleep. Ok, so After school today, which was the first day,I couldnt wait to get hold of Rachel after Id gotten directions again. We were most pleasantly surrpised to find it. We knew we'd passed and/or seen it as we searched yesterday and it was (as he said) green,lol. If I could come up with a gripe, it would be that the rooms are a little small and have no wardrobes BUT that isnt an issue at all for me. I am most pl...

Things seem to continue to be moving forward rather well. Im going a little backward because there are some things that I have done but havent gotten out of my camera yet. I left my camera back today and the other day, though, so I had to use my phone and it is a bit easier to get them off of it. The other day we went to the Dhow and I was a little concerned about what kind of boat it would be but I liked-no-loved it. It was very peaceful and I will definitely do it again. Its definitely a fun thing to do with friends or even something you could do as a date. It takes you up the cornich from the fish market. You can see Marina mall when you get to the other end. 150 dhm for about an hour and 15 mins. Definitely a "do over"!

Ive been doing quite a bit. A far cry from staying in my apartment on the couch, on the computer, doing nothing much. When someone calls-Im up for it. I figure it would be a waste not to especially after Ive moved around the world. Bust the box wide open right? Went out last night and several nights prior. Its fun and Ive been enjoying myself. Who needs sleep anyway? Just kidding. I definitely do and this wont continue after I begin work. I was beginning to feel like we were being jerked around. No placements for about three days but my mantra is "expect nothing" so with that I roll with the punches. I "knew" my school anyway so it was really just a wait and see. Ive heard good things about the school so all was well. Tonite, after I got in I went straight to my email. Aside from looking to see where everyone else was, I checked my own and I am where I was told I would be. Happy times!!!!!!! Tomorrow we are waking up early to go on a Dhow cruise. Man, Im goin...

I can no longer "eyeball" something and decide that if I dont like it or cant fit it that Ill just bring it back at a later date. All of the stores I have gone to here are "credit only". This includes stores at the mall. *insert sad/mad/angry/irritated face* lol. At least the store is one that I like and that I can simply get something else. In addition, a rack of shirts may be the same and only differ by color and the prices will be different based on that. strange indeed. AND WHILE IM ON THE SUBJECT OF CLOTHES. . . I love everyone who cooked and fed me yummy food. I really do. . .but yesterday as I scrolled through pics of me on my camera I was perplexed because my face looks like a marshmallow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is me. And I know you didnt force feed me and This will all be gone (hopefully) in a matter of months but it is disturbing all the same. Honestly, I have noone to blame but myself. I have to do better. On a more positive not...

My room doesnt have a living room like some but in regards to the kitchen-I appreciate being here much more so than in a hotel without the kitchen and washing machine/dryer!

I saw this at the mall and didnt know what it meant till later on. Then I thought about an article I read and wondered,"why do we have red exit signs when red means stop"? lol

Hmm, where do I begin? We havent met with ADEC yet and have had free time daily except for when we had physicals. Internet isnt so expensive in this hotel but Ill only have it intermittently as I am spending as wisely as possible. This has been pretty much a mall and cab week. Weve been learning about the cabbies-who sometimes take the long route in order to get more $ out of us.Cab rides run us between 5 and 8 dirhams which is about 2 dollars going to the mall closest to us. We took the bus for the first time yesterday. It is only 1 dirham and on Fridays weve found that it is PACKED like a sardine can. Also, Friday is the most crowded day as the laborers are off of work.There seem to be so many men here. Weve gone to a couple malls-Al Wahda and Marina mall. Today I finally went to a Souk. I enjoyed it more than the mall because it felt more authentic. There are abayas abound and now when I see ladies out, I will know more about their financial status based on the intricaci...

Im a little tired so this will be a bulletted entry hotel service men brought up my luggage room has kitchen stocked with kitchen items so I dont have to buy those things while I wait for housing assignment unpacked everything-wanna keep my room clean (wish me luck) looked for English speaking channel-FOUND ONE bed is so comfortable took a bubble bath slept wonderfully woke up and had "breakfast" with other LTs before heading out for the day spent HOURS at the mall-but didnt see all of it and (sadly?) I need to go back got SIM card for cell phone TRIED to get converter for computer (wrong one) foot is TIRED and I hurt it after I didnt see a step Its almost 5 and I want to sleep-will prob drink coffee to stay up waiting on ADEC to give us word on when we will be meeting and/or what we will be doing.

Well I flew out Sunday instead of Monday. That meant that my early Thanksgiving dinner was promptly cancelled. Probably for the best since Ive been eating so much food lately. We got to the airport and waited for my wheelchair service. We went from line to line and I was told that I would have to pay $350 for my luggage. More than 200 over what I was expecting to pay. I took a DEEP breath and paid. Eventually, my service came and I kissed Thomas goodbye and went on my way. It was definitely nice to be wheeled around the airport-no lines and no walking but because of my boot I had to be swiped, x-rayed, and checked for bomb residue. ATL to JFK was uneventful aside from the painful ear pressure I got while in descent. JFK was cool. Seemed like my serviceman didnt want to be servicing me, I noted a couple sighs here and there. My layover was 4+ hours and I had to wait until Etihad gate opened so I could check in. the 2nd guy to pick me up was much nicer and too...

One more day in the States before my departure-not counting tomorrow which will be spent travelling to and around airports for an ENTIRE day. Heart's beating. . . finally put addressed on suitcases. . . check over room-did I forget anything?? Put itineraries in luggage. . . Heart's beating. . . Hair is a MESS. . . I have people to see. . . Nothing will get accomplished by me typing here!

I LEAVE ON MOOOOONDAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!

Thats how many weeks are left in this month. 3-thats how many weeks are left until my bills are due. Man, today seems like it was too long. Could it be that noone has posted/updated their blogs? Or could it be that the "idiots" are silent,though probably still lurking. Some times I feel like Im twiddling my thumbs. Most days Im ok. Not only do I wish to be there for financial reasons, I wish to be there to work, to see,to do. . . Someone posed the question asking how long we could hold out. I dont have the answer to that. This is my option and I didnt come to this conclusion lightly. Had I not been recovering, I wouldve gotten a summer job no doubt. If we werent sharing a car it may have been feasible to work someplace while I wait but, without knowing when Id be leaving, I wouldnt be comfortable placing myself in children's lives only to be leaving at a moments notice. Ive never been one to just quit or just up and leave. I do think one thing to be true-If one...

Wow Its getting crazy. People are getting crazy! There are expletives, anonymous posts about the evils of ADEC, people who are starting to think we are not going. I cant even begin to imagine the emotions going on within those who are posting nor do I want to know exactly although I do empathize. Im not checking emails like I was last week. Even then,it was moreso to "prove myself right" because I didnt think we would be leaving esp after the days passed. Im doing well and enjoying a stress free life as Im still stateside. IF you are going to say something-back it up. Thats my advice/request for the day.

But not for what most would think! I am waiting for the FAIR! It will be here next Fri and admission will be 25 cents. I am so excited about it-not because of rides or even food for that matter. I want to take PICTURES! lots and lots and lots of pictures. Im reading, and doing the assignments. Im trying to learn as much as possible and it all helps. A class will make it all come together. And other like minds would help. The most ironic thing that could happen is that I would be leaving on Fri but I doubt that very seriously.

Who am I kidding? Its gonna be a LOOOOONG nite!

And so many of us are waiting for Wednesday. Not me. I dont want to. This week has brought ups and downs. Rather moments of excitement and then dull days, much like today. Yesterday and the day before I had notes that made my heart sing-one person who told me theyd told teachers already there that we would be coming over this week and they wouldnt be doing much because of it. Another teacher messaged me to let me know shes recently moved schools and it was stated that I will be at that school. She loves the school-better than her last-and she talked about how nice the teachers were and the environment. I got so excited. I was all smiles. Anticipation started on Sunday because I know that they start work then. And even though I know things dont work on US time, I hope and hope time goes slowly enough that they can get things done and acconmplished before Fri comes. Ive passed so many Fridays without reserve but this week is different. This week things seem a bit more definite as...

This could quite possibly be the week. I am listening to my Arabic on the MP3 player and gathering more language resources. I have found many free printables and am reviewing ESL sites for classroom tips and resources. I am also thinking about book bags and flannel stories. These are two things that I struggled with previously only because we had SOOOO MANY requirements that these took up a lot of time. I think these two items are VERY important if the kids dont understand because it brings a different element to the story being told/read. They can see what is happening with real items. They can also retell the story with the items at a later date/time (centers). It can be made interactive using items to review story, to bring out shy children or those who need redirecting. It IS time consuming initially and possibly difficult if you have zero artistic abilities but there are pictures online to be printed and./or the items can be bought. Now, I could start this now and not ...