New Experiences

The Heat, Observations and New Experiences
It's really too hot to do much exploration, but I'm experiencing new things daily. As I'm typing it's 97 degrees Fahrenheit(9 pm). I checked at 4, one morning, and it was 99.  The high today, at 11 am, was 115 degrees. Some days are unbearably humid and some are dry. I guess the hot weather of my recent Haitian summer was foreshadowing in my story.  I don't sweat here though because I just run from one air-conditioned place to another.

What I have seen:
- Sand colored high rise apartments covering the desert landscape.
- Most things seems to be in a state of construction with lots of scaffolding, surrounded by piles of sand. 
- It's hazy, but I'm not sure if it's sand or pollution.
- Bits of green here and there, increasing as you go towards the city center. 
- Some areas are quite well done and maintained, but overall there is very little landscaping. Sidewalks, in general, are scarce.

Shopping

I checked off a few things from my To Do list. I took my first taxi ride with friends. We called a suggested driver who is trusted by our fellow teachers. He took us to a fancy mall right on the gulf, in Al Kout. It has a music and light fountain show that is especially pretty at night. It is only about a 15 minutes drive from our apartments. 

It was a good thing I had that taxi experience and the driver's number saved in my phone because I needed it again very soon. On our third day of meetings, I missed the bus the school provides to school. For the record I was, at the most, 1 minute late. I wasn't stranded though, because I called my taxi driver friend and he knew where to take me. 

I also went  to The Avenues, an even more extravagant shopping center, twice this week,

got a few household items at Ikea,
 

ate a doughnut at Tim Horton's

and checked out my favorite clothing store from Hungary, H&M (I know it's actually Swedish)(as is Ikea). Not surprisingly, they have lots of high end stores at the affluent mall, but also Payless shoes, Claire's and Texas Road House.

Marked off things on my To Buy list, too. I now have a local cell and internet in my apartment because of the generous help of a veteran teacher. 

Food

My new favorite food may be Lebanese. We tried out one such restaurant at an all-new-staff dinner out: falafel, hummus and baba ganoush(a spread made of mainly eggplant) are among my favorites. There was a really good arugula salad, too.

I tried the Indian restaurant across the street, too. It's cheap and also good.

I still haven't ordered my food from the food ordering app yet, but I want to try it soon.

I did however call Caribou from work and they delivered. My small hot chocolate with skim milk and no whip tasted exactly like it does in Nebraska. A school security guard calls me when it arrives.  Pretty sweet.

Most things are expensive here. For example, the small hot chocolate cost 1.5 KD, which sounds cheap, right? But 1 Kuwaiti Dinar is equal to 3.50 dollars. So the small drink cost me 5.25 USD. My taxi ride to school on that lesson learning day, cost 3 KD, or 10.50 USD.

School Stuff
The school did a really great job of creating opportunities for us to get to know the other new teachers. And now that the returning teachers have arrived we are getting to know our teaching teams.  My third grade team consists of 6 Americans.

Meetings are going well.  I'm working on my classroom. 

Students come next Tuesday.  I wish there was a little more technology (though I do have an interactive whiteboard in my class), but they make up for it in other ways. I'm overall impressed. The administration seems very professional, organized and approachable. 

For my teacher friends: 

   -The school is on a 7 day rotation, which is new to me. In that rotation, the students go to the following specials: Art, PE, Music, Reader's Theater(it's a special!), Arabic(45 minutes everyday), Spanish or religion and technology. 

   -We use the Reader's(including Daily 5) and Writer's workshops. 

   -We have NO standardized testing. We do, do MAPS to monitor progress.

   -We use Common Core standards for Math and Language Arts, Arrow standards for Social Studies and Next Generation for Science.  

We were told, "They have never had a new group of teachers laugh as much as us."

Random Things
I love how most things are written in English on one side and Arabic on the other.

The mosque next door is under construction, so that is why I don't hear the call to prayer.

My apartment is the short one to the right.

The water that comes out of the tap is hot. (BTW it is not brownish anymore and I have a filtered tap in the kitchen) I don't have my hot water heater on. The water is stored on the roof so it is just hot from the sun. Even the water in the toilets is steaming hot. You can not get cold water, in fact. So, you can't wash your clothes on cold and the filtered drinking water is hot.  It will cool down here in a few months and then I'll turn on the hot water heater.  I hear I will use my central heating, too.

Transitions

Travel
Travel went as expected. The 12 hour flight seemed unending. I love the way they have it set up to watch movies now.  I started one on the flight from Chicago to Dulles and watched the ending of it on the long flight.

All of my bags arrived and I was allowed to take my guitar though I had to ask flight attendants to help me figure out where to put it on each flight. Once in my life, I want to fly first class, but now I can say my guitar has, twice. I better keep practicing with all the effort I put into bringing that thing!

When we arrived it Kuwait, it was not unexpectedly hot, but s-super humid. Supposedly this is not normal, but eye glasses and iPads were fogging over.

I have already met some open and friendly people. What an experience! At least 30 of us were getting to know each other as we waited in line to have our passports stamped. Porters were scrambling to gather and load all of our luggage. Busses took us and our stuff to our apartments.

My apartment
There are 3 large apartments for teachers and I knew ahead of time I was in the oldest of the three. Still, I admit my first impression was that it isn't as nice as I'd hoped. But after some changes, it is already feeling more homey. My changes have, essentially, just been to take out furniture. It feels larger and more balanced already. It reminds me of an older European flat. All tile with a tiny kitchen including a gas stove you have to light with matches.  I do have 2 bedrooms but one is pretty full(for the time being) of all the unnecessary furniture they put in this place. The furniture the apartment is furnished with, are new and attractive though not top quality.

Still just getting settled but, a couple pics:

The other 2, newer, apartments are right next door. I can move into one next year if I want to. They have a pool, game room and workout room, which I can use now, too.

Seemingly weird apartment facts:

- Way too much furniture, as mentioned above.
- No electrical outlet in the bathroom, at all.
- Only one electrical outlet per room (er, minus the bathroom).
- The water in the bathroom sometimes runs brown. (I have filtered water in the kitchen)
- There are these raised ledges going into the bathroom and kitchen. I've tripped once.

Sweet things:

- They furnished us with a couple cheap pots and pans, cutlery and dishes and a little water kettle, cereal, COFFEE (Hallelujah), tea, eggs, fruit, bread, PB&J, water, etc. As well as simple, new linens.
- I control my own air conditioning. This is nice since it is so hot. Today the high was 113.

Today we will meet for breakfast together and go shopping for food and household things. Tomorrow we leave at 7:30 to head to the school and begin new teachers meetings. And, I hope, to see our classrooms.

Whats on my short list of To Do's:

- Post this. (Check)
- Workout.
- Explore the area on foot.
- Call and take a taxi somewhere, anywhere.
- Wouldn't mind twisting someone's arm to go with me on foot to find the nearest Caribou. I knows it's close. Caribou, ironically, was the first thing I saw when I got off the plane.
- Ordering my dinner to be delivered. It is common and cheap to order in your food and I just want to try it.
- Find and go to a church.
- Visit the big mosque.
- Go to the rotating cafe located at the top of one of the Kuwaiti towers.

My to short To Buy list:

- Phone and internet (probably will be a couple days though).
- Extension cords and plugs.
- Food.

I haven't heard a call to prayer yet, but I'm not sure why because I think I see a mosque right across the street.

Temporary free internet is set up for us in the game room of one of the the nicer apartment buildings. Picture from where I am posting this from: 

Commencing the Journey

Blogging my Experience

I'm the first to admit I'm not sure what the balance should be. What is interesting, entertaining or simply BORING? I needed to land somewhere on this issue because I am commencing the journey this morning. I have decided that this blog is mainly for me (and my dad). But I'm happy for you to follow along, too. 

I will try to not be too wordy and include lots of pictures, but no doubt I'll include unnecessary details that I, only I, find interesting. Planning to write about culture shock to Kuwait, teaching in an International school and my travels from Kuwait (on breaks from school). I'll try to post once a week. 

I won't be putting a link on FB every time I post. If you got to this blog through Facebook but you'd like to follow my journey you can "Follow by Email", which is located on the right column of the home page.

Traveling
The trip is off to a rocking start. They serve hotel Belgium waffles AND biscuits and gravy, on the same day, here at my airport shuttling hotel.

I will arrive at the airport at 8:30 am Central time, this morning, with my 5 'bags' & guitar and I'm scheduled to land in Kuwait at 12:00 pm Central time tomorrow, with the same luggage. Hoping they let me carry on my guitar, because it's not worth 200 dollars to check it. But what will I do with it if they don't let it be my carry-on?

Arrival
Kuwait is 9 hours ahead of Central time (scheduled to land at 9:00 pm local Kuwait time). So, flying out Monday morning and arriving Tuesday night. 

This and That for the Interested

I know I have written a lot about Kuwait, and I'm not even there yet. I'm just excited and it's all in my head to share. I'll won't be arriving in Kuwait until the end of August.

This and That

Bags

I've been asked what I will do with all my stuff. Will you store it? Well, remember I've only been back in the good ol' USA for 4 1/2 years and I've had the intention of moving back overseas. And I love simplicity. So, I don't have a lot of things. I have accumulated some stuff, but not much of any value. I will be giving away most household items. I'm stoked for the chance to de-clutter my life.

The majority of the stuff I do have is books. I have assembled a large classroom/I'll-read-it-later library, mainly from my one-stop book shop, Goodwill. I will definitely be taking some of those, but I haven't figured out how many.

The school does pays for me to take 4 large, 50 lb. suitcases and my guitar. I moved to and from Spain and Hungary with only 2 suitcases so 4 is a luxury. I am foreseeing the others to be filled with classroom materials.

Housing
A furnished apartment is provided and my utilities are paid for. I will live near other teachers, but have my own, secure apartment.  I'll live 25-30 minutes away from the city center and the school, but transportation is provided.

Transportation
I'm not sure if I'll buy a car. I hear that driving in Kuwait is craa-zy and there is good public transportation, but I have to admit I am considering getting a car. I want to take advantage of that .80 a gallon fuel. They do drive on the right side of the road and all road signs are in Arabic and English.

Arabic
I'm totally going to study Arabic. I have never studied a language that didn't use Latin script. Arabic script is also written from right to left. I can't even get my head around starting to learn it, but I'm gonna study it.

Flights
This may be the longest flight I've ever taken. I did fly from Istanbul to Nebraska to go to my sisters wedding, but this is a tad farther.

My flight to and from Kuwait is paid for, as well as the round trip flights back to the states for summer break.

Break
The school follows a typical American school calendar. I'll have 11 weeks off in the summer, 2 weeks off for Christmas (called Winter Break) and a week for Spring and Fall break.

I am already day dreaming about the places I'll visit ...Italy, Greece, India, Africa, United Arabs Emirates, Egypt...

For summer breaks I assume I'll come back to Nebraska and California. Hungary will also be somewhere on the travel itinerary. 

Blog Dormancy
This may be the last post for a while. Could be a bit of dormancy until I pack my bags.

Fast, Fascinating, Farewell Facts
Desert camping and riding camels are typical Kuwaiti excursions. Dust storms are common. Most people employ maids to clean and/or cook for them.

Modesty and Islam in Kuwait

Kuwait is a Muslim country; Islam is the official religion of Kuwait. You must dress modestly. Let me rephrase that, you must dress in a way that corresponds with the Kuwaiti opinion of modesty. Some women will be in the black abayas, wear head coverings or be completely veiled, but it is not required. For me, I think, that will mean capris and short sleeve shirts. Your knees and your shoulders must be covered. 

Women vote and drive in Kuwait. One site said, there are more women in the labor force in Kuwait than anywhere else in the Persian Gulf. 

Alcohol is not allowed in the country. There will be a call to prayer 5 times a day. There are Catholic and Christian churches in Kuwait and there is freedom for foreigners to worship, but the churches must be registered with the government. Unrecognized groups are reportedly free to worship in private.

Ramadan is a holy month for Muslims. During Ramadan no eating, drinking, or chewing gum is allowed in public during daylight hours. Yes, for the whole month. If you are guilty of any of these things you can be thrown in jail. I will most likely not experience Ramadan in 2014 because it will occur during summer break from school.

Kuwait seems to have beautiful beaches.

So, what do beaches +Kuwaiti dress code =?

Swimming is allowed but you must go in fully clothed.
From what I've gathered there are public beaches and private beaches. They both offer separate women's only days. There are also private beaches where you can wear a 'normal' swimming suit.

So, I either go in the water in my capris and t-shirt or opt for a private beach. To be honest, I rarely swim at the beach, but walk along the shore, get my feet wet and read a book under an umbrella. Nonetheless, I plan to experience it all; visit the public beaches, go to a private beach and check out a women's beach day. Maybe I'll even swim fully clothed. 
For the record, I do not plan to buy the above swimming suit.

An American School in Kuwait?

Practice Compassion. Make a Difference. Learn for Life.  I can get behind that mission statement.

That mission statement, educational excellence and a community focus are a few of the reasons I made a 2 year commitment to teach 3rd grade at this school.

From what I hear, the school is run, in many ways, like a typical school here in America. I will be a general classroom teacher (as in general 3rd grade NOT an English teacher). It's a large school that is taught in English. There are 6 of most grades. So, I will be 1 of 6, 3rd grade teachers. They follow Common Core standards.  I'll even have an interactive whiteboard in my classroom. I'm told the student body is made up of approximately 25% American students, 40% Kuwaiti, and 35% of students come from various Arab, Asian and European countries. This is one of the schools where employees of the American Embassy and American Army base, in Kuwait, send their children. The teachers are native English speakers. 55% of the teachers are American.

There are a few things that will be different though. The work week in Kuwait runs from Sunday to Thursday and the school day goes from 7:00 am-2 pm. Also, students pay to go to this school and they wear uniforms. 

Excited to embark on this new adventure, scheduled to begin August 17th.

Interesting Facts about Kuwait

I wasn't sure if I was going to write about the school or the country next. Then I found out they have Cheesecake Factory and P.F. Chang's.

I am finding out a lot about Kuwait now a days. I'll share a few interesting things I have discovered.

Kuwait is one of the wealthiest countries, per capita, in the world. Figures vary, but I've seen it placed a little below the U.S. and a little above. Some sources place it as high as 5th and as low as 15th, richest nation in the world. Kuwait is just a hop, skip and a jump away from United Arabs Emirates and Qatar which are always placed at the top of that list. Most of Kuwait's monetary wealth comes from oil. Which must be why fuel is only 80 cents a gallon.

Kuwait is also a country of foreigners. Less than half of Kuwait's population is Kuwaiti.

So, when you combine the number of foreigners with the wealth, evidently, you get lots of shopping and eating options. Besides the two tasty eateries above, there is Gap, Banana Republic, Ikea and H&M. There is even Sears, Ace Hardware and J.C. Penny's.

The whole country is slightly smaller than New Jersey and almost 4 million people live there. I'll live in a suburb of Kuwait City, right on the coast. It is in the desert and it is hot there. Currently, being winter, the high is 65 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit. But, for several months of the year the average temperature is above 100.