I'm Now an Official Kuwait Resident

Self Control

Sometimes I just can't stop from laughing at some of the antics of my students. For example, when one decides to dive into a rolling somersault to get a ruler or when one throws up an arm and let's out some strange noise. In the middle of a lesson. They have so little self control. But, sometimes I display lack of self control, too. Like when I laugh out loud in response or let them see the steam rolling out of my ears. 

My blurt chart is a success. Yes they still blurt, (either shenanigan from the previous paragraph would be considered a blurt because it distracts the class), but they are more clear than ever what blurting is and I can deal with the issue in a speechless way. Every day they start with 3 warnings. After the third, if they blurt again they owe me some recess. Each student who is struggling with blurting also has a personalized goal sheet for the week and if they meet their goal they get a small reward.

Not my actual chart, but basically, the same.

The desk and cubbie fairy has been making appearances lately.

I love this.  We are studying urban, rural and suburban communities.
It's labeled "Urben New York", but it is so reminiscent of Kuwait's sky line.

Plugs and Extension Cords

I have installed 4 power strips in my teeny-tiny home to make it functional. One in my bedroom and kitchen and two in the living room. One for the living room and another is wrapped around the corner going into the bathroom so I can actually use a hairdryer in there. The bathroom was built without an electrical outlet. It's not super attractive, but serviceable and practical.

Unfortunately, this week, something happened to the only outlet in the laundry room. So I had to unplug everything in 2 of the power strips and string them together to plug in my machine and wash my clothes. I'm trying to decide if I'm actually going to buy another power strip. 

Dust Storm 

We had a sand storm. I thought it would be this dangerous thing that if I got caught in it, flying sand would de-skin me. But instead a cloud of dust just descended on the city.  People wore masks to try to keep it out of their lungs. It wasn't pleasant, but it wasn't that big of a deal. Recess was canceled, but then we had to stand out in it for 20 minutes to release the kids at the end of the day. I don't have anything to compare it to, so maybe that was a mild one.

A picture from the local newspaper.

Twisters, Earthquakes and All Things Me.

At the beginning of the year, we read Twisters on Tuesday from the Magic Tree House series because of the Nebraska connection, tornados, and I knew that would be a good series for many students to read on their own. It's pretty rewarding that anything I read automatically becomes a class favorite. 

One of the good behavior rewards students can pick is Read Aloud. If they present me with this card, I will read the read aloud of their choice to the class for the day. One girl picked Earthquakes in the Early Morning, also by Mary Pope Osborne. It takes place in California so I also have a connection - birth place- there. Natural disasters are pretty interesting anyways, but they listen utterly captivated when I talk about any parts of my life in America. 

I made (err... edited a template I bought on Teachers Pay Teachers) a book called All About Your Teacher and it's fun to see them read it during Read to Self or Read to Someone.

Beautiful and Painful

The day of the dust storm was extremely hot because the dust trapped all the heat in, but after that is has cooled down quite a bit. Tuesday, I think the the high was only 87. It is literally painful for me to stay inside when the weather is so beautiful. "Come outside," it beckons. My neighborhood is not walker friendly for various reasons. So, I queried the local Fb group for decent places to walk. And now I'm exploring the list I gleaned. I'm delighted that I have friends willing to investigate with me. The first place I went was Fintas park.  It's right on the gulf and pretty, but quite short (I'd guess, about a 1/4 mile one way).  It only cost 1KD to get there, which is a plus. If I'm desperate to get outside, even alone, it's a good option. But I'm hopeful I'll find something better.

It was around 115 degrees everyday when I first arrived, 2 months ago.

It rains here?! I didn't know.

Internet

I have a hot spot/ mini router/ biscuit now.

This means I have Internet all the time.  Before, I had a normal sized router with a sim card in it.  I was taking it to and from school everyday so I could have wireless in my classroom. The hotspot is much easier to transport (and it doesn't get as many laughs) and I don't ever accidentally leave it at school (which is a big disappointment) since I never have to take it out of my bag. 

Resident

I am a resident of kuwait, officially, now. I have my civil ID. So now I can get internet, check, and a drivers license.  I am not planning on getting one at this point.  They are a lot of crazy drivers here and I wouldn't be saving any more money getting one versus taking taxis. 

Stomp.

Stomp is a joyful, witty and wordless show that has been seen all over the world. An eight-member cast with energy to burn creates beautiful music and sly humor with found objects: Zippo lighters, push brooms, wooden poles, hammer handles, garbage cans, inner tubes, matchboxes—and yes, even the kitchen sink.

I went to this last night. It was in the ice skating rink downtown.  It wasn't a fancy or large venue but it had a nice concession stand located in a locker room. Evidently, most things that come this way go to Dubai so I'm glad I jumped at my chance to go. Me and a friend thought we coordinated the buying of our online tickets.  But it turns out that was not the case. So she sat a few rows ahead of me, by herself (and I sat alone, too). It wasn't a big deal though. The 5 o'clock show had a family atmosphere. I enjoyed myself. 

How old are you?
My students have been asking my age since school started. I said I'd tell them on my birthday. Every few days they ask me or tell me my birthday is getting closer, so there was this anticipation to find out my age. So on Thursday, I had each of them make a guess and submit it. Half way through the day I made a graph with all their guesses and then revealed my age, which none of them guessed correctly. They guessed I was between 22 and 38.