From Ms. Tiffany

It feels like I have been here for so long, but it's only been a couple of days. Lots to update on in such a short amount of time.

The front of the school

Night view from hotel

Yesterday we walked to and from the school for the first time by ourselves. The hotel is a bit farther than the apartment buildings. Still no word as to when we will move into our apartments. There are some definite perks to staying at the hotel. First, we have free wifi. This is super important to most people's lives these days.. And not to mention being able to communicate home is great, too. We also get free breakfast and will be reimbursed for our meals. I thought this was super nice because we really have no means of cooking. The school truly does go above and beyond for all of us.

me in front of the hyatt

pics from walk

pics from walk

sun set view from hotel

pics from walk

We also went in to the Avenues.. One of the biggest shopping malls at least in Kuwait.. Maybe the world too.. I'm sorry jet lag has taken a fair amount of my memory. The school gave each of us SIM cards, again with the school being so accommodating and organized. I stupidly thought that maybe my card would work for my iPhone.. And in order for them to work in iPhones they have to be cut smaller. Well, my iPhone is an older version so it won't work in there :/. So, I did what most other new teachers did.. I bought a really cheap phone. Unfortunately, since my SIM card was cut.. I had to buy a new one. After a couple hours of waiting, I finally have a working phone for Kuwait. It is a life line for me! It has been fun getting numbers from my friends.

Oh, boy.. Some things we saw at the mall! Literally, you see anything and everything. Very, very traditional clothing. There are so many different kinds of people from so many different places. At our orientation, we learned that 55% of Kuwait is expats. So, there are more expats than true Kuwaitis. Very cool. We also saw quite a few people smoking in the mall. It really surprises you the first time you see it.

My friend Chantel and I found a Lebanese restaurant to eat at. WOW! It was absolutely fantastic! Even the juice was so good. I've learned that you can pretty much find anything that you want or need in Kuwait.

Lamb and rice in pita bowl :D

And, by the way.. In case you didn't know, Kuwait is a DRY country. Yes, alcohol is illegal here. Well, it only took two days for us to have our first drink here. :)

I got home around 9 and was hard asleep by 9:30. And, today, we got to sleep in which was wonderful. We got to school and did some Q and A and then went into our divisional meetings. These are divided by PYP, MYP, and DYP. These stand for primary years programme, middle years programme, and diploma years programme. I am in the PYP, which goes from KG1- fifth grade. My principal is awesome! Very nice, and has a sense of humor.. Which I love it when people have a sense of humor! What better of a person to work for?

In our meeting today, our PYP Curriculum Coordinators gave us a quick summary of what and how we will be teaching. Since AIS is an IB school, it has these programmes based completely on inquiry based learning. It's primary goal is to prepare its students to become internationally able citizens. It does this by exposing students to ideas and teaching them to think for themselves. AWESOME! I can not wait to start teaching this way. We have our teams as well.. Which for me will be all the other first grade teachers.. And throughout the year we will have meetings where we brainstorm and constantly develop ideas and reflections.

my door!

We got to see our classrooms for the first time today!!! I'm at the end of the hall in room 188 :D I am right next to the washrooms, too. I was pleasantly pleased to see all the books, materials, and resources that are in my room. We all are so excited to get in and decorate and more importantly.. To meet our students!

my classroom

auditorium 

front of school with Chantel

side view of school

sign in elementary wing

Like I've said before, life over here needs to be flexible. Our schedule changed drastically today as they didn't know we had to be fingerprinted before we can do our medicals. We arrived at the Kuwait government building on time and waited for a good four hours to get our stuff done.

I have reached a point of exhaustion that I never knew I could. I decided to not go on the shopping trip tonight, and went to bed around 6:30 pm. It is now 2 in the morning and I'm still tired but it's hard to sleep. The heat combined with jet lag is not a good combo. Anyways, I am looking forward to Wednesday, where we will get to meet the rest of the staff! There is 150 or so in just the elementary!