This is the sort of mess I get into every day I come home from work. I bury my head under all these books and try and make sense of it all. Well ..... try and make a decent lesson that the students will understand and enjoy.
I just want to be a nurse do my work and come home and do housework ... umm maybe not housework but you get the drift.
Mind you I do have some refreshments in the background you may notice....its called ALCOHOL. I'm needing more and more every day.
Last night we went to an Iftar dinner (this is the meal when they break their fast) in a Ramadan Tent at the Sharq Village & Spa. We wanted to taste and experience some of the local food/entertainment.
The outside of the Sharq Village & Spa
The main lobby
Inside the Ramadan Tent - it is called a tent but its just inside a room, this is one of the ballrooms in the hotel
Nick and I right up the front by the "BAND" well entertainment
(see video)
A Shisha Pipe (hookah - egyptian water pipe) shisha is flavoured tobacco.
We did not indulge. You can get many flavours - there were lots of groups of men - they just come to smoke shisha and socialize.
The Shisha Menu
A private dining booth
The ceiling - the place was so extravagantly decorated
Nibbles provided on every table -they just love their dried fruit and nuts
Some of the food on offer
Hot food - the lids on these were sooo heavy.
It was set up very old arabian style - it was very well done
More food....dessert - unfortunately most of it contained dates and neither of us like dates
The worst food station was the one with the 'animal' on a plate surrounded by mounds of rice. I just went for look and was talked into trying some. I asked what the animal was - it was the 'whole' animal on the plate. Its lamb he said - cooked for 5hrs so tender and delicious he said. So he asked the man to get me some of the tender meat (pointing to its neck and back) that put me off straight away. With gloves on he pulled away the skin and ripped off some meat for me. 'You want some fat' he asked. But I have to admit it was quite tasty. But the sight alone was nearly enough to turn me into a vegetarian. (Hence no photo)
More Ramadan drinks - it tasted like liquified turkish delight and it was topped with nuts, it was so delicious
There is no alcohol served anywhere during the month of Ramadan
More desserts. We arrived at 8.30pm and we didn't eat until 9.30pm. There was no-one serving food until this time. People did not start arriving until 9pm - Ramadan everything happens really late.
This is the school building from down the street - I know its not a good picture but its the best place I can take one from. Loads of construction going on around as you can see. It really is a huge building - it will be great when it is all finished.
Taken from inside the car obviously!!! Seems to be my favourite place to take photos I think.
Well I have finished my first week of work and it has been a good week really. Working 0800-1230 due to Ramadan. We have had the kids at school (33) and have been teaching classes. The only bad thing is the air-conditioning it is so cold its unbelievable - I have dug out all my winter clothes and am wearing those now. Everyone in the school has jumpers and jackets on and its 46 degrees outside... we go outside to thaw out!!
This week they have only been 30minute classes due to the number of students/teachers. I have had four classes a day. And I have actually enjoyed it. My first topic was to teach 'Body Mechanics' and the students showed real interest so it was great. They have never had any sort of health education at school so its all very new to them. The kids are now off until October 6th because of the Eid holiday, we will be off from the 30th Sep - 6th Oct. After that its all back to normal working hours 0700-1430. Then full steam ahead until December when we get the whole month off....yay!!!
Today we turned up at the school not expecting students - but surprise we did have students!!! I am teaching grade 9 & 10 only. So today they got rotated around the different teachers for 30mins at a time so we could go over our syllabus and our classroom rules. Tomorrow we will start actual teaching. The sessions will only be 30mins long as the school day is only 4hrs due to Ramadan 0800-1200. And yes we have a grand total of 26 students (4 girls) for 10 teachers!!!
So we will have classes of 2-3 students. We will teach for this week only then they will come back to school on October 6th - as Ramadan finishes on September 30th and then there is the Eid holiday which is for five days so school will start again on October 6th. Normal school hours will be 0700-1400.
The main entrance to the school - the building is still not 100% completed yet.
Another outside view
A typical classroom - mine at the moment. Out of about 20 students only three have ever done any sort of health education before so I think that I have my work cut out for me - from my experiences teaching english here their understanding is not great especially about health and the human body. Some do not even know what the stomach is called!! But also due to the religion there will be quite a few topics and bits of the body that I will have to leave out due to cultural reasons.
As you walk in the main door
The main area of the school - I gather this is the assembly hall. The classrooms are in each corner of the building - upstairs and downstairs. We are only using downstairs at the moment as the upper floor is not finished.
There will also be a cafeteria.
All students/teachers will get laptops as all the textbooks will be e-books and preloaded onto their computers.
Well the phone call I was waiting for on Thursday I received today (Sat) telling me to be at school at 0800 Sunday 14th. Then at 1600 he called again to advise me that the principal does not want to meet with staff until 1900 so we don't have to go in the morning - it is so up in the air it is not funny. I rung the other lady and she knew nothing so she would have been there tomorrow morning at 0800.
She also was telling me that when she was at the school last week it was an empty shell - no desks/chairs nothing and they are having an open day tomorrow night - nice!!!
So we will have two hours to prepare before the students and parents arrive - we all will have so many questions that we need answered prior to the opening. The students will begin school on September 21st.
You really do have to laugh otherwise I think I'd cry!!!!
Well I am finally starting work on Sunday 14th September - yay!!! At last - not a moment too soon. Lucky enough the day that we had our very first staff meeting I exchanged phone numbers with the other Australian staff member and she rung me on Thursday to tell me that she had been told that our start date was the 14th. So I rung the school and asked when the start date was "oh Sunday at 0800" she said but Keith is going to ring you tonight (Thursday) it is now Friday evening and I am still waiting for official call to tell me that we are starting on Sunday!!! So if we had not exchanged numbers I would still be sitting here on Sunday none the wiser. So I will keep you updated on what happens on Sunday. Wish me luck!!!!
The working week here is Sunday to Thursday.
And there is also an "open day" on Sunday which we have to attend from 2100-2300
Last night we decided to venture out - not really a good idea to be out at night in the Ramadan Traffic, but we went anyway.
Here we are sitting in Villagio - local shopping mall with our Starbucks fix - well my fix - Nick does not seem to crave it like me.
There was also a game of ice hockey going on - it was quite amazing to watch.
The home team was losing.
The rink is also inside the shopping mall
Once we were done we then had to make our way home in the traffic - OMG it was totally mad. So much traffic and they will do anything just to get ahead - the roads at night are not a safe place to be during Ramadan, everyone must be out. As the shops open at 1930 and close at 2400 during the month of Ramadan.
Published: Monday, 1 September, 2008, 01:41 AM Doha Time
PICTURE: Jayan Orma
Today begins the holy month of Ramadan. Gulf Times congratulates its esteemed readers on this occasion. Ramadan is a Muslim religious observance occasion and it is the month in which the Qur’an began to be revealed. It is the Islamic month of fasting, in which Muslims do not eat or drink anything from dawn until sunset. Fasting is meant to teach a person patience and humility. Ramadan is a time to fast for the sake of God, to offer even more prayer than normal and ask forgiveness for the sins of your past. It is also an occasion to ask for guidance in the future, to refrain from everyday evils and try to purify oneself through self-restraint and good deeds. During Ramadan, Muslims are expected to put more effort into following the teachings of Islam and to avoid obscene and irreligious sights and sounds. Purity of both thought and action is important. The fast is intended to be an act of deep personal worship in which Muslims seek a raised level of closeness to God. The act of fasting is said to redirect the heart away from worldly activities, its purpose being to cleanse the inner soul and free it from harm. The holy month also allows Muslims to practise self-discipline, sacrifice, and sympathy for those who are less fortunate. Ramadan is also a time when Muslims slow down from worldly affairs and focus on self reformation, spiritual cleansing and enlightenment, establishing a link between God and themselves by prayer, charity, good deeds, kindness and helping others. And because we live in a Muslim country, welcomed guests among non-Muslims should respect the country’s rules and principles during the holy month. Gulf Times hopes that the holy month becomes a chance to spread tolerance among all faiths, as our great religion calls for peace and co-existence.
