Work Day #1

After getting an unexpected wakeup call at 6:30 this morning (my alarm was set for 7:15), I decided since I was already up that I should go try to find a local bakery to eat at. I found a place around the corner that was serving chocolate croissants for 3 dirhams (roughly 75 cents) each, so I ordered a couple of those. They were quite delicious, making the early wake-up worth it.

At 8:00, we caught the bus to the school where our meetings were at. When we got their, the Minister of Education (comparable to the U.S. Secretary of Education) was there to greet us. They gave us a big packet of resources and a travel guide to the city of Abu Dhabi, as well as an agenda for the day.

First, the Minister of Education and some of his staff spoke to us about the educational history in Abu Dhabi and the UAE in general, and also about which direction they are hoping education to go in the next 10 years or so.

Next, some principals from various schools in Abu Dhabi spoke to us about the school system infrastructure, and how there are various private-public charter schools in the area as well as government-run public schools. From what I have heard, I will be teaching in a government school, and rumor has it that some of the class sizes in these particular schools can reach 35 students or more. Seems a little daunting, but we'll see what happens.

After a short tea/coffee break, we returned to listen to a man who owns a business called Embrace Arabia. Basically his job is to travel all over the world and give seminars regarding the Arabian culture to people who, like us, will be doing some sort of work in an Arab nation. He was a great speaker and pretty funny, but his presentation was just too long (nearly 2 hours) for me to sit still. Apparently I was not the only one who was getting restless.

They served us a quick lunch, then it was back to more meetings. We split up into groups of 6 or 7 for some Q & A time with some school administrators. They further explained the school system from a more Western point of view (the 2 facilitators from my group were both Canadians). They also gave us some insight into the curriculum we will be using and also warned us about the lack of materials the schools give their teachers. Since I handmade most of the classroom decorations, resources, and school work I had for my students last year anyway, this was not that big of a deal to me, but it was pretty bad news for some who were under the impression that we would be provided all of those things.

For our final meeting of the day, we had some teachers who have been in our shoes for the last 2 years give us their perspective on coming from abroad to teach in Abu Dhabi. It seems as though they were much less prepared for their teaching jobs over here than we have been, so it made me feel a bit grateful that so much information has been given to us about what to expect before we got over here.

After this last meeting was over with, just a little past 3, we took the bus back to our hotel. When we got back, we decided it would be a good idea to grab some ice cream since it was so hot, so about 8 of us walked over to the mall and went to Coldstone. I got some coffee ice ceam with chocolate chips, and when I tipped them, they started singing a very goofy song that I think was supposed to be a spin-off of Mary Had a Little Lamb. By the end of it, I almost regretted giving them the tip, but they were all grins so I guess it was worth it.

After ice cream, we walked down to the supermarket, where I grabbed some steaks and chicken for my grill, as well as some fresh veggies and some spices. My friends Kate, Erin, and I went back up to my apartment to make dinner. I grilled the chicken, Erin was in charge of the baked potatos, and Kate really didn't do much of anything except for go down and get some butter and salt when we realized we didn't want to eat our potatos plain. I thought it was pretty fun starting up my charcoal grill right in the middle of the city, 15 stories up. Once we got things started, we played some tennis and bowling on the Wii. They were pretty awful (not that I'm great). I was trying to let them win and I still won. But it was fun anyway.

Dinner took a while, mostly because the chicken took forever over the charcoal grill. But we eventually got to eat and I'd say it was pretty delicious. Since they more well-travelled than me, I asked them about some good places to go for trips. I think as of right now, my top 3 places I want to go on my long weekends are (in no particular order):

1) Egypt (I've always been fascinated by the history and pyramids and such, and it's only about three hours away so I pretty much have to go)

2) Turkey (I've heard nothing but great things about Istanbul especially, and I know the girls aren't bad looking there either) :)

3) Greece (who doesn't want to go there?)

Well, it is time for me to start thinking about going to bed and getting well-rested for another long day tomorrow.

Good night from Abu-Dhabi,

Matt