My life as an expat has challenged me in so many ways and has helped shape me into a better person. When they tell you that you have really high highs and really low lows as an expat... well that's exactly true. These experiences also help to reiterate the importance of family and friends.
I have survived grading and then conferences with parents after. This is another situation where things you have learned in college come in handy and other things were just sheerly and utterly a waste of time. Two key words come to mind when I think about this: documentation and evidence. It is always a good idea to have examples ready to show as to why they received the grade that they did. The grading system in Kuwait at our school is very different to what I have known my whole life. Growing up, an A was the top grade and an F was the bottom grade. In Kuwait, they go B, D, C, and then E. The B stands for beginning, the D stands for development, the C stands for competent, and the E stands for exceeding expectations. Anyways, grading was a lot harder than I had expected it to be. It is really subjective, and I wanted to do my best to show an accurate assessment based on performance. After I went through this, I finally understand the significance of rubrics. I thought my assessment professor in college was just on drugs. She might have actually been on drugs... but yeah, she rarely made sense. I believe that parents ultimately want to know that you care about their child, which I truly do.
I know that most teachers out there really do care for their students. There are exceptions of course, but in general, most teachers really do care. When I heard about the devastation in Sandy Brook, CT, I was just sick. I saw a lot of statuses on FaceBook about it, but I don't have cable so I wasn't sure what the heck was going on. I had called my mom, and we were both just sick about it. The next day, I looked at my students and I just felt so happy to be their teacher. They are so young, and creative, and just innocent and genuine humans. We actually drove by the exit to the town a couple days ago. It was just sad. I wish there was a deeper word than sad, but an experience like this hits every one pretty hard.
The grading results, and a three week long sickness in a still not-yet (and noisy) apartment situation added up to probably one of my lowest lows while in Kuwait. I joined some co workers at our superintendents home for a nice dinner on a Wednesday. Their house was HUGE, seriously.. so huge. They had a fantastic meal for us. It included rice, lamb, bread and hummus, and so much more! After the dinner was over, I got showered up and was about to fall asleep when I heard a ton of really loud Arab men walking in a out of the room next to mine. They then proceded to play extremely loud music until 1 am or so. Now, here is a perfect example of how well the communication is in Kuwait- if any happens at all. I did not have any clue that the co- worker in the room next to mine had moved out. It was surprising even though I said nothing would really surprise me in Kuwait anymore. Not to mention the construction that goes off every morning right outside my window at about 5 am. Speaking of the construction, it has been just fascinating to watch. I don't think they have any set plans prior to building a building here. My best guess is that after it is completed, people bid on them or something. Which is probably the delay in our apartments. Anyways, expats from like Iran, Egypt, and other places of the sort do the construction. It has a pretty high fatality rate. Once you observe the "standards" you will understand why. They build scaffolding with wooden 2 by 4's and work on those. To sum up my "ultimate low" in Kuwait I would have to say that looking back on it, it's not so bad. I had tremendous support from friends, colleagues, and family. I am proud to work with the people that I do, and to work for the people I do. I feel like I got really lucky at AIS and I understand what they meant at orientation when they said you will miss your AIS family.
I wanted to mention a little bit about some cultural experiences that I have had in the time before winter break came. Some friends and I went to the old souk (souk mabarakia) to do some last minute Christmas shopping. While we were there we saw a boy, probably older than my grade one students, pee right outside in the middle of people in a space where the bottom of the palm trees are. We all did a double take and then realized that it was really happening. We also decided to eat dinner at the souk. It was in the center, sort of. There were lots of tables and when they seat you they put down a plastic sheet for the table cloth. Then, when they go to bus the tables all they have to do is take off the plastic. We got bread and hummus, and lemon mints. It's a very popular drink over there. You wouldn't think the combination of lemon and mint would be good, but it's fantastic. They use fresh mints and fresh everything. So yummy. At souks like this, you get to barter. It is really fun.
I made the journey all the way from Kuwait to East Hampton, Connecticut for winter break. It was a long trip. One thing that I just love about traveling, especially on airplanes is that you never know who you will sit next to. You also don't know the adventure ahead of you (delays, cancellations, etc.). We took a 747 from Kuwait to London, Heathrow. It was a really really big plane. We flew British Airways. This airline is fantastic, they served free alcohol! You never see that on planes anymore. Their food was.. well it was airplane food but it was a lot better than other airlines in my opinion. Anyways, I sat next to a teaching couple from another school in Kuwait. They were eccentric, but not unbearable. When I got to London, I was just kind of following the crowd to my next terminal and going with my "gut." On a whim I decided to just double check with the receptionist if I was in the right place or not. They told me that my flight had been cancelled about ten minutes ago. Wow.. luck! So, they got me switched quickly to another flight and back to the old terminal I went. I got to go to security twice. This was WAY more than I went through in Kuwait. Ironic? Anyways, London is a three hour difference than Kuwait, so I was tired. It was also a 6 hour flight. This is probable why I failed to take out my liquids and computer the first round through security. The second time, I got it right. :) On the flight from London to Chicago, I sat next to a really pleasant gay man. I don't even know his name. We chatted and it was just nice. Also, I had the best seat in the house. I was in the very back of the plane where they only have two seats on the side row instead of three. I had extra leg room and a direct route to the bathroom. When I got to Chicago, I saw someone I knew from Kuwait.. small world eh? I also got an early Christmas present. I somehow managed to get a free hotel room and meal vouchers for my layover. Sweet! Anyhow, from Chicago over to CT, I sat next to this interesting fellow. I am pretty sure, even considering it was early in the morning, that he was pretty drunk. At least he was able to engage somewhat in a conversation and then he slept so it was nice.
When I first arrived in Chicago, I was experiencing a little reverse culture shock. It helps point out the things that I might not normally notice. For example: cold weather, snow, safe roads and road lights, people driving in their own lanes, signs that are in English, not being the only white person around, using US currency, eating bacon and drinking real drinks, going to an uncensored movie, driving, hearing music in most places, Christmas presents and family, ease of texting and calling friends, cooking and baking, Christmas trees, tv and commercials in English, oh gosh and so much more. If you combine all of these things with jet lag, then you will understand why at times I was either just baffled or unbelievable tired. My body has finally adjusted to the time difference. I am absolutely loving my time with my family. Today, is my dads birthday. It's nice to be around family at times like this. I got an alto saxophone from my sister and her husband! I can't wait to go back and play with the Desert Catz! I also got some neat scuba gear and some other little things. It was really fun giving my gifts from Kuwait. People really loved them.
Well, this is all for now. I wanted to get a post in before December was over! I hope that everyone had a very Merry Christmas (or happy holidays) and let's bring in the new year with happiness! :)
I have survived grading and then conferences with parents after. This is another situation where things you have learned in college come in handy and other things were just sheerly and utterly a waste of time. Two key words come to mind when I think about this: documentation and evidence. It is always a good idea to have examples ready to show as to why they received the grade that they did. The grading system in Kuwait at our school is very different to what I have known my whole life. Growing up, an A was the top grade and an F was the bottom grade. In Kuwait, they go B, D, C, and then E. The B stands for beginning, the D stands for development, the C stands for competent, and the E stands for exceeding expectations. Anyways, grading was a lot harder than I had expected it to be. It is really subjective, and I wanted to do my best to show an accurate assessment based on performance. After I went through this, I finally understand the significance of rubrics. I thought my assessment professor in college was just on drugs. She might have actually been on drugs... but yeah, she rarely made sense. I believe that parents ultimately want to know that you care about their child, which I truly do.
I know that most teachers out there really do care for their students. There are exceptions of course, but in general, most teachers really do care. When I heard about the devastation in Sandy Brook, CT, I was just sick. I saw a lot of statuses on FaceBook about it, but I don't have cable so I wasn't sure what the heck was going on. I had called my mom, and we were both just sick about it. The next day, I looked at my students and I just felt so happy to be their teacher. They are so young, and creative, and just innocent and genuine humans. We actually drove by the exit to the town a couple days ago. It was just sad. I wish there was a deeper word than sad, but an experience like this hits every one pretty hard.
The grading results, and a three week long sickness in a still not-yet (and noisy) apartment situation added up to probably one of my lowest lows while in Kuwait. I joined some co workers at our superintendents home for a nice dinner on a Wednesday. Their house was HUGE, seriously.. so huge. They had a fantastic meal for us. It included rice, lamb, bread and hummus, and so much more! After the dinner was over, I got showered up and was about to fall asleep when I heard a ton of really loud Arab men walking in a out of the room next to mine. They then proceded to play extremely loud music until 1 am or so. Now, here is a perfect example of how well the communication is in Kuwait- if any happens at all. I did not have any clue that the co- worker in the room next to mine had moved out. It was surprising even though I said nothing would really surprise me in Kuwait anymore. Not to mention the construction that goes off every morning right outside my window at about 5 am. Speaking of the construction, it has been just fascinating to watch. I don't think they have any set plans prior to building a building here. My best guess is that after it is completed, people bid on them or something. Which is probably the delay in our apartments. Anyways, expats from like Iran, Egypt, and other places of the sort do the construction. It has a pretty high fatality rate. Once you observe the "standards" you will understand why. They build scaffolding with wooden 2 by 4's and work on those. To sum up my "ultimate low" in Kuwait I would have to say that looking back on it, it's not so bad. I had tremendous support from friends, colleagues, and family. I am proud to work with the people that I do, and to work for the people I do. I feel like I got really lucky at AIS and I understand what they meant at orientation when they said you will miss your AIS family.
I wanted to mention a little bit about some cultural experiences that I have had in the time before winter break came. Some friends and I went to the old souk (souk mabarakia) to do some last minute Christmas shopping. While we were there we saw a boy, probably older than my grade one students, pee right outside in the middle of people in a space where the bottom of the palm trees are. We all did a double take and then realized that it was really happening. We also decided to eat dinner at the souk. It was in the center, sort of. There were lots of tables and when they seat you they put down a plastic sheet for the table cloth. Then, when they go to bus the tables all they have to do is take off the plastic. We got bread and hummus, and lemon mints. It's a very popular drink over there. You wouldn't think the combination of lemon and mint would be good, but it's fantastic. They use fresh mints and fresh everything. So yummy. At souks like this, you get to barter. It is really fun.
I made the journey all the way from Kuwait to East Hampton, Connecticut for winter break. It was a long trip. One thing that I just love about traveling, especially on airplanes is that you never know who you will sit next to. You also don't know the adventure ahead of you (delays, cancellations, etc.). We took a 747 from Kuwait to London, Heathrow. It was a really really big plane. We flew British Airways. This airline is fantastic, they served free alcohol! You never see that on planes anymore. Their food was.. well it was airplane food but it was a lot better than other airlines in my opinion. Anyways, I sat next to a teaching couple from another school in Kuwait. They were eccentric, but not unbearable. When I got to London, I was just kind of following the crowd to my next terminal and going with my "gut." On a whim I decided to just double check with the receptionist if I was in the right place or not. They told me that my flight had been cancelled about ten minutes ago. Wow.. luck! So, they got me switched quickly to another flight and back to the old terminal I went. I got to go to security twice. This was WAY more than I went through in Kuwait. Ironic? Anyways, London is a three hour difference than Kuwait, so I was tired. It was also a 6 hour flight. This is probable why I failed to take out my liquids and computer the first round through security. The second time, I got it right. :) On the flight from London to Chicago, I sat next to a really pleasant gay man. I don't even know his name. We chatted and it was just nice. Also, I had the best seat in the house. I was in the very back of the plane where they only have two seats on the side row instead of three. I had extra leg room and a direct route to the bathroom. When I got to Chicago, I saw someone I knew from Kuwait.. small world eh? I also got an early Christmas present. I somehow managed to get a free hotel room and meal vouchers for my layover. Sweet! Anyhow, from Chicago over to CT, I sat next to this interesting fellow. I am pretty sure, even considering it was early in the morning, that he was pretty drunk. At least he was able to engage somewhat in a conversation and then he slept so it was nice.
When I first arrived in Chicago, I was experiencing a little reverse culture shock. It helps point out the things that I might not normally notice. For example: cold weather, snow, safe roads and road lights, people driving in their own lanes, signs that are in English, not being the only white person around, using US currency, eating bacon and drinking real drinks, going to an uncensored movie, driving, hearing music in most places, Christmas presents and family, ease of texting and calling friends, cooking and baking, Christmas trees, tv and commercials in English, oh gosh and so much more. If you combine all of these things with jet lag, then you will understand why at times I was either just baffled or unbelievable tired. My body has finally adjusted to the time difference. I am absolutely loving my time with my family. Today, is my dads birthday. It's nice to be around family at times like this. I got an alto saxophone from my sister and her husband! I can't wait to go back and play with the Desert Catz! I also got some neat scuba gear and some other little things. It was really fun giving my gifts from Kuwait. People really loved them.
Well, this is all for now. I wanted to get a post in before December was over! I hope that everyone had a very Merry Christmas (or happy holidays) and let's bring in the new year with happiness! :)
