Former Expat Teacher Acclimating to the American Way!

It has been so long since I've written here that I couldn't remember the name of my blog since I changed it. It isn't that I haven't wanted to write. Unfortunately, I had so much to do for most of this school year that blogging was the furthest thing from my mind. I didn't start feeling more like a human until school was coming to an end. Over the past couple weeks I have REALLY been feeling like a human-I finally unpacked my office and put everything away, the reading room is set up, and I am able to read and I am stress free! BUT...and there has to be a but with the title, no? The but is that this may be short lived. As much as I try to prepare for the upcoming year, I know that I work in a high stress environment (although it doesn't have to be that way). I want and need better this time around and plan on being proactive in that regard starting with putting down the phone and doing productive things! But on to this list. Because last week marked my ON...

You have options. All of which probably suck for different reasons. While driving my car, I prayed she would be ok until the end. With great purpose, I bought a very affordable (AKA cheap) car and enjoyed many years of having no car payment. That is another post for another day (probably not). So  yeah, this cheap car had 164,000 miles on her when the time came. Add to that, it was a small hatchback with some cosmetic issues. Knowing these things I priced her low. Not low enough to not be low balled even further. I found this random site and posted the car with pictures. Calls started pouring in around 8 pm and didn't stop til after midnight. I. Kid. You. Not. Offers were thousands lower than I asked, people called who couldn't speak English, and I was growing weary of answering my phone after the second day of this. As with moving out of your apartment, you have options. Sites like  Dubizzle , Facebook, or sellanycar.com  can work for you. I didn't want to pay for D...

Brace yourself. It's coming. Piles of things with nowhere to go and an impending deadline. You have a million things to do so you begin the arduous task of figuring out what to keep and what to let go of. In the beginning, it seems easy enough. Maybe you don't have lots of things. In which case, the above picture will never be you. In most cases, however, just get your tissue ready. Or your bottle of libation. Whichever suits your fancy. Let me start with the process of letting things go. Because I am so smart, I began paring down months ago. It felt good and I was so proud of myself for being on top of things. After that, I began to walk around my house and think about what I would post things for when the time came. I decided I didn't want the hassle of bargaining so I would post things for a ridiculous price. Satisfied that I had time, I continued on with daily life. Fast forward some months and we get the paper work. It is so confusing that I set it aside a...

Last week I turned the key and entered my home from a vacation for the last time. I realized that I will miss my apartment. Who wouldn't? We have an amazing place when you think about it. Even if I dont use all the amenities, it is nice to have and I enjoy looking out the window each and every day! Going home was a success. Taking things home will,no doubt, reduce the stress of packing in the coming months. A RT ticket for 365 was a steal to say the least. Worth such a quick turnaround! Now comes the last term. It will be over before we blink an eye as Ramadan comes earlier each year. We are trying our best to condense the learning outcomes and lessons so we impart upon their little brains the basics and pray they retain it over the summer! Ive been here so long Im not even concerned about selling all our things. Im sure some of them will sell but everything else will be donated. I dont have the propensity to concern myself with it. I only wish it was easier to find someone...

As I try to prepare for my impending return home, I find that I am more nervous than when I left. Not because of any political issues that are going on at home-not that those things help the situation. I feel it is because so much has changed in the world of education. Even when I was at home, I was in a Pre-K program and under a different set of rules. Stringent nonetheless I might add.  Being that I left before moving up, I am afraid I am at a disadvantage. I talk to other teachers who point out some of my strengths. It makes me feel better and I am reminded that I shouldn't sell myself short. It is a very bad habit I have yet to leave behind. It takes a lot of a person to stay here for 7 years and to actually work and make a difference. I can honestly say that I haven't had a year where I didn't do either of those things and for that I am proud. It takes skill to get children with little to no English to be able to work in a classroom setting and be successful and exc...

I find myself daydreaming of America. In spite of her current situation,  there are people there who I miss and will enjoy spending time with more than I would like staying away from the craziness. Im from a town of 30,000 people. I want to go and pick fruit/vegetables with my aunt and grandmother. I want to sit on back porches enjoying wine/tea/cocktails/grilled food and music. I want to drive on streets that lack crazy drivers and beeping horns. I want to let my windows down in a car that isn't so compact that I feel like Im driving a go-cart. I want to go to any store with the confidence that what I am looking for will be there and it wont cost me triple what it is really worth. I want to feel like I would get help in public if there were some emergency that warranted stranger intervention (God forbid). I want a buffet that doesn't cost 100 dollars. I want to hear rain and participate in layering my clothes without burning up. I want to wear shorts without feeling naked. ...

I refreshed a couple times thinking "surely Dec 2015 isn't the last time Ive posted!". Seems that every year I seem to suck a little more at keeping track. Honestly, though, the longer you stay in a place, the less there is to write about. Unless you're willing to part ways with your dirhams I guess,lol. This year? This year was great in terms of work. Parents participated. Kids worked well and I even had a small group of readers in KG1!!!  The Arabic teachers were on board with things we have been trying to initiate for years and we got an amazing score at our school from the powers that be. It made me think about how a single person or a small group works to make change...how much does that change affect the bigger picture? I won't go into my conclusion because that will change the tone of my entire post. Let's just stick with the fact that being able to see change in our school is always a pleasure. I've already convinced myself that when I  blink ...

I've not taught long enough to be burned out. Honestly, I hope it never comes to that point. I love what I do, I am adamant on the fact that the children need to see someone who they can relate to-someone who looks like them. While we all want to sing Kumbaya and people want us to "all be the same", that really does a disservice to the children who are all unique and different. I'd be blind not to see that leaving a system so many teachers are growing to despise may have a lot to do with me not tuckering out yet. I taught for two years at home before coming here so Im 7 years in and working on year 8 now. I have days where I feel guilty for not being at home. But the truth is that I need to take care of myself so that I can take care of those little ones that I hold dear to my heart. Don't get me wrong. I hold these little ones dear to my heart as well. I keep their pictures. We laugh and play together. It's something so sweet when there are students I ca...