For the last two weeks I've been hanging around my school, student-less, and really getting to know my co-workers a little better. As challenging as that has been, I've enjoyed it. The students at my school, and many other schools across our emirate, stopped coming about 2 weeks ago. There's a mixed bag of ideas about why the students stop coming so soon before their actual last date of school. Might be getting too hot outside. Parents and officials here might have a generally more relaxed attitude about school attendance. Grades are already turned in for the last semester. Teachers in every classroom have already had a "class celebration" complete with End of Year Award ceremony.
Every day starts the same.
7:30am Meet the English staff in the English staff room first thing. Share some gossip with the American and Irish girls and while waiting for the guys to show up, finish applying makeup. Laze around with glazed over eyes in the English staff room for about an hour until fully wakened. 8:00am. Check for meetings. If we have one, go to it, listen up for a few and then head out. 8:30am. Mall. Have breakfast and coffee at Tim Hortons, have some more juicy and crass conversation and possibly shop around in a few stores. 10:00am. Back to school. 10:15am. Go to Arabic teacher staff room. Laze around in there and get offered a spicy or minty hot tea by the Arabic ladies. They offer Turkish coffee as well, but it puts hair on the chest. I steer clear. Discuss my homeland, their children and husbands, everyones abayas, makeup, sunglasses, and designer bags. Practice Arabic with them, and for the 50th time this semester, allow them to try to convince you to wear the shayla. (Head covering.) Allow them to try their shayla on you to see, "How beautiful it will look with your face. Nice eyes you have, perfect for shayla. Yalah, come, let me put my shayla for you." Drink more tea until you're just sure you're teeth have gone brown. Say "Khallas." (Khallas means, "Okay, or finished,") return the shayla, fluff your curls and leave Arabic teacher staff room. 11:00am. Watch movie or television series in Canadian teachers classroom. Put posters on the windows and pull down the shades so no one can see what you all are watching. Try not to laugh so loud. When sex scenes happen peer out of the window from behind posters to check the hallways for any administration. 12:30p.m. Go home.
This or a variation of this day has happened all this week. It's been quite easy getting paid to laze about the school, but I'm wondering how I'll be faring when I'm still doing this is 3 weeks. In Abu Dhabi, we've got to come to school a full month after the students have broken up and gone home for summer. Maybe I will start planning things for next year. Maybe I won't. At any rate, the summer is here. I have decided that I'm not going to America in the summer. I'll be hanging around the Emirates. Maybe I will go up to the top of the tent, (Ras al Khaimah) which is the northernmost Emirate, and work my way down staying in the finest of hotels and combing the finest of beaches the Emirates have to offer. Really excited about Fujairah because there is the amazing Hajaar mountain range that you stare out at from the equally stunning beaches.... Actually Fujairah is almost totally mountainous, so I'm extremely excited to bask in this probable beauty.
First I have to get through these three murderous weeks of school daze.
Every day starts the same.
7:30am Meet the English staff in the English staff room first thing. Share some gossip with the American and Irish girls and while waiting for the guys to show up, finish applying makeup. Laze around with glazed over eyes in the English staff room for about an hour until fully wakened. 8:00am. Check for meetings. If we have one, go to it, listen up for a few and then head out. 8:30am. Mall. Have breakfast and coffee at Tim Hortons, have some more juicy and crass conversation and possibly shop around in a few stores. 10:00am. Back to school. 10:15am. Go to Arabic teacher staff room. Laze around in there and get offered a spicy or minty hot tea by the Arabic ladies. They offer Turkish coffee as well, but it puts hair on the chest. I steer clear. Discuss my homeland, their children and husbands, everyones abayas, makeup, sunglasses, and designer bags. Practice Arabic with them, and for the 50th time this semester, allow them to try to convince you to wear the shayla. (Head covering.) Allow them to try their shayla on you to see, "How beautiful it will look with your face. Nice eyes you have, perfect for shayla. Yalah, come, let me put my shayla for you." Drink more tea until you're just sure you're teeth have gone brown. Say "Khallas." (Khallas means, "Okay, or finished,") return the shayla, fluff your curls and leave Arabic teacher staff room. 11:00am. Watch movie or television series in Canadian teachers classroom. Put posters on the windows and pull down the shades so no one can see what you all are watching. Try not to laugh so loud. When sex scenes happen peer out of the window from behind posters to check the hallways for any administration. 12:30p.m. Go home.
This or a variation of this day has happened all this week. It's been quite easy getting paid to laze about the school, but I'm wondering how I'll be faring when I'm still doing this is 3 weeks. In Abu Dhabi, we've got to come to school a full month after the students have broken up and gone home for summer. Maybe I will start planning things for next year. Maybe I won't. At any rate, the summer is here. I have decided that I'm not going to America in the summer. I'll be hanging around the Emirates. Maybe I will go up to the top of the tent, (Ras al Khaimah) which is the northernmost Emirate, and work my way down staying in the finest of hotels and combing the finest of beaches the Emirates have to offer. Really excited about Fujairah because there is the amazing Hajaar mountain range that you stare out at from the equally stunning beaches.... Actually Fujairah is almost totally mountainous, so I'm extremely excited to bask in this probable beauty.
First I have to get through these three murderous weeks of school daze.
If only I had the same luck! Green eyed monster in the room!!!
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