Settling In

Greetings from the Middle East!

Now that I've been here about a month, my life here in Kuwait has fallen somewhat into a routine.  The teachers have to clock in by 7:00 am.  School begins at 7:45.  This is a very hot climate, so I'm sure that is the reason for such an early start for the school day.  So I am up at 5:15, well actually 5:30 because I always press the snooze button.  I start the coffee pot and get ready for my day. I try to be out the door by 6:45 and take my leisurely stroll across the dusty parking lot and go through the gates to "thumb in."  We have an electronic time clock here at UAS that reads our thumb prints after we put in our code.  There's about 180 teachers and administrators on the staff, plus all the office people and support staff.  I imagine that's a lot of people to keep track of.  If we don't get thumbed in by 7:00 am, we have our pay docked about 5 KD I'm told.  One day I thumbed in, but I kept getting denied. So I went to the central office and we checked the code to make sure I had the numbers correct.  Well, that day I had my right arm full of stuff I was carrying, so I used my left thumb.  The machine didn't recognize my left thumb!  Of course, if you thumb in, you also have to thumb out and that is where I have trouble remembering correct procedures, especially when I stay late and the school is somewhat deserted.  

   This is Abdullah, the copymaster supreme!  Just one of the three copy machines he uses

    prints about 80,000 copies a week and goes through nearly three canisters of toner.

I have morning duty on day 1, 2, and 3.  My job is to attempt to keep order among the roughly 400 students in my zone.  They usually stream in between 7:00 and 7:15 am.  Many are brought to school by their drivers or nannies. Heaven help me if these children decide to rise up in rebellion.  I don't even own a whistle!  My favorite mental snapshot is of a very handsome, well groomed Kuwaiti father in his flowing robe and white starched headress accompanying his little preschool daughter to school.  In one hand is his little girl skipping along beside him.  In his other hand is a pink My Kitty lunch bag.  So cute!  

I have two classes of preschoolers each day.  Wow!  I had two bawling three year old boys yesterday.  I think they were competing to see who could give Mrs. Kluever the biggest headache!  One eventually worked himself into a big enough fit to throw up all over my carpet.  I was not happy!  Occasionally we have an escapee. Thankfully, we have maids on the floor.  Yes, maids, not custodians.  One of the duties of the maids is to take the little ones to the bathroom and sometimes that also includes rounding up the random child who heads out the door.  I promise you, I'm not torturing these three year olds!  Some of these little ones have not been very acclimated to the outside world and have problems adjusting to a new environment.  Some of these children actually do enjoy coming to music!

The students generally speak English.  It isn't their native language.  Arabic is usually spoken in the home and they have an hour of Arabic class each day.  That may vary with the younger students.  There is an entire staff of Arabic and religion teachers.  English is the second language for most of these students, so when you give directions, they don't always process everything you tell them.  It's really an adjustment for some of the more experienced classroom teachers.  The students are bright and teachable, however, there's an extra barrier to cross to help these children achieve what would be expected of children in the states.  

I teach seven classes of music each day.  Nursery, preschool, and kindergarten meet for thirty minutes and the rest of the classes meet for 40 minutes in a six-day schedule.  The day goes by very quickly, but I don't have much time for lunch.  I don't eat sandwiches because I try not to eat much bread, and have haven't seen much good lunch meat anyway.  The first day I used the microwave, but I was late for class.  I'm in the basement and the teacher's kitchenette kitchen is four floors up.  The elementary office is also on that same floor.  Who needs a stairmaster when the elevators are slow and one of them has a mind of its own?  Yesterday I counted seven times going up and down those stairs.  Boy, by the end of the day I could really feel the burn!  

I still can't get used to my workweek beginning on Sunday.  All last Wednesday I couldn't figure out why I was so tired.  Eventually it dawned on me that tomorrow was actually like Friday in the states.

My brain is still back in Iowa.  It will get to Kuwait when it's good and ready!  

Tomorrow is Saturday and many of the elementary teachers, including myself, spend a good part of the day in our classrooms.  I'm still getting my room to look like a classroom, as opposed to a large junky space with very white walls.  It's gradually getting there.  Those of you who know me from my nine years at Baxter, Iowa, know that the band director, Christine, and I shared a classroom.  We made the best of the situation, but it is pure pleasure having my own classroom.  I didn't have enough space in my luggage to bring much bulletin board stuff, so I'm pretty much having to create everything new that I put on my walls.  My old stuff was getting a bit shop-worn, so it was time for some updates anyway.  I will post before and after pictures on my blog when I'm done.

   A skywalk over a busy highway we came across on a Saturday excursion.o

Yesterday was the fourth Thursday of the month, which means the students can wear street clothes instead of uniforms.  My goodness, the colors and variety were dazzling!  All these little girls were coming up to me during my morning duty to show off their beautiful dresses. I told one little girl that she looked like she was in a flower garden.  She told me her mother was a fashion designer.  She designed the fabric and made the dress for her daughter.  It looked like a Monet painting.  I felt slightly underdressed that day!

Today is Friday.  My friend and I went to The Avenues, which is a mega mall.  I thought Mall of America

was huge.  It will take all year to explore all the different shops.  Most chain stores you see in the bigger malls back home you will find here, plus chain stores from all over the world. We are trying to make our apartments look a little less like dorm rooms and a little more like a home away from home. Sometimes there are too many choices!  If you see something you like, you better buy it or you may never find that shop again!  We've been there twice and still have barely scratched the surface.  

Tomorrow I will go to school, work on lesson plans and put more stuff on my walls.  Next week will be week number five.  Can't say the time has gone fast.  Everyday presents itself with new challenges and it's own rewards.  I still miss my family, green grass, and the great Midwest.  But my place is now here in Kuwait.  This is a part of God's plan for my life and I will go where it takes me.

Blessings,

Charlotte

Two Weeks In Kuwait

    This is the American Universal School in Kuwait.  A rather imposing large blue building

Greetings From the Middle East!

As of Thursday, September 12, I have taught fourteen days at the Universal School of Kuwait.  We have a six-day schedule.  There are six sections of most classes including Kg-1 and Kg-2.  There are three sections of nursery, which are the three-year-olds.  These little people (which can have very big voices when they are crying) I see twice in a three day cycle.  The other classes I see just once every six days.  Nursery and Kg-1 and Kg-2 I see twice a week for thirty minutes.  The other classes I see for forty minutes once a week.  I teach seven classes each day except on day three where I have planning in the afternoon.  The day goes by very quickly; not much time to catch my breath.

The culture is very verbal, which is a polite way of saying that these children love to talk!  So discipline is very important.  The children are pretty sweet and eager to please, but like my students back home, they need to know what the expectations are.  They also need plenty of gentle reminders and that constant positive reinforcement.  All the classes except for nursery have at least twenty-five students per class.  That is a lot of positive reinforcement in one day!

                    This is Mohammed, our one of our four full time guards.  I feel very safe here.

Adjusting to a large school system is almost as much of a challenge than the whole culture shift.  And the names!  Did you have any idea that there are at least five or six variations of the name "Abdullah?"

There are usually three or four Mohammeds in each class.  Some spelled with "ad" at the end and some with "ed."  There are some Arabic names with sounds that I haven't vocalized since high school German!  But I keep trying.  My students are very patient with their teacher from America.  My rule is that only the owner of the name I mangle is allowed to correct me.  Some of these children are so soft-spoken that I will occasionally make an exception to that rule.  

I have made name cards for all students 1-4.  They are about the size of a large notecards.  They have a large note on each card with their names written across the top; all laminated.  These become their assigned spot and double as a seating chart.  We have practiced the fine art of passing all the cards in correctly so I can put them back down in the same order next time we have class.  We'll see if they remember next week!  When they raise their hand to answer a question, they hold up their cards so I can call them by name, assuming that I remember how to pronounce it!  One of my class rules is "Always try your best."  Learning their names will be my challenge this year!  Someone told me it is impossible and to not even try.  I'll let you know how I'm doing in about nine months!

I know many of you probably chuckled when I mentioned that I would be bringing my beanie baby collection to Kuwait.  After I wrote that, I got to thinking that some of you probably thought I was a serious collector and couldn't bear to leave my little friends behind.  I have picked them all up at garage sales and Goodwill.  I use them in place of beanbags to teach my students beat.  Little did I know that unless these students have traveled to the states, they have never seen beanie babies.  These kids haven't had a certified music instructor for two years, so everybody is working on beat, which can get a little boring for older kids.  You should have seen the eyes of these children of wealth when I opened up my tub of beanie babies. I had fourth grade boys giving their animals kisses before we had to put them back in the tub when it was time to line up!  Who would have thought?

Its been a good two weeks.  I'm gradually getting my feet wet. My colleagues are from all over the planet and have taught all over the world.  Everyday brings new ideas and challenges.  Even the simple act of buying cheese over the counter in the local grocery store becomes interesting when you find out that the man from behind the counter is from Egypt and is delighted to let you try this and that.  It is an amazing experience, but I miss you all. 

Many thanks to so many of you who keep in touch.

Blessings,

Charlotte

                      A view from the rooftop of the teacher's apartment building.

    The building on the left is my apartment building.  I live on the third floor.

                       Goodbye until next time!