Hello from Dubai. I am sitting here looking at the tallest tower in the world. I have now been in Dubai for 24 hours. Wow! Is that all? It was a heart-wrenching goodbye at the airport. It was so hard to say goodbye to the 2 favourite boys in my life. After lots of tears and hugs, I was on my own. The flight was really good. It was very smooth and the food was pretty good. I did not sleep at all but was able to watch 2 movies (The Hunger Games and We Bought a Zoo). The plane was HUGE! When I got to the Dubai airport I had to pass through immigration. Thankfully it was very easy. They did an eye scan which was different. I found my bags and made my way out of the airport. There was a man there with my name on a sign who brought me to the hotel. I am staying at a hotel that is right across from the Dubai city center mall. It is massive! It is great because I can do groceries and find anything I need. I go across the road to the mall for dinner. After I made it to the hotel, I was greeted by my friend. It was so nice to see her right away. She was able to give me some great information, a cell phone with minutes on it and a much-needed hug. I am so thankful she is here with her family! After she left I crashed and fell asleep.
I went to bed and woke up at 3:00am. I was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed...well, maybe not. But I was awake and couldn't get back to sleep. I sat in bed and watched an episode of Glee and some late night talk shows. I got ready at 5:30. I had to wait until 6:30 for the breakfast bar to open. I was able to talk with Paul and see Evan for a bit. It was a great start to the day. After breakfast I went outside to find a taxi to take me to work. Thankfully, the school had arranged pick-up for me. There are 4 other teachers from my school staying at this hotel, waiting for housing like me. One girl is from Toronto, one lady from South Africa, a man from the UK and a man from Jordan. They are all super nice. I will be in the hotel for at least 12 days.
We got to the school and I found my classroom. It is small and the AC is not working yet. So, it was a VERY warm day (it was 41' outside). The KG1 students were the only ones there today. There are 17 of them in my class. Tomorrow I will have both the KG1 and KG2 with 37 students in total. The KG1's will be with me half the day for English. Then, I see the KG2's for the second half of the day. When the students are not with me they are with the Arabic teacher. This will take a lot of getting used to. It was different than I imagined it to be. There were LOTS of tears today from my students. I was kicked and scratched. I even had parents staying in my class to watch and they stayed after being asked to leave. There were also two nannies who didn't want to leave. So, in total this morning, there were 2 teachers (me and Arabic teacher), 2 TA's, 8 parents and 2 nannies in a small room with no AC. Needless to say, it was a HOT morning.
I have a teacher's assistant in my class who does everything for me (photocopying, preparing the crafts, helping with the students, gets coffee, laminates etc). I am supposed to tell her what I need done. Again, this will be challenging for me. Every week the KG team (14 in total) get together and plan the next week. These weekly plans get submitted every week and approved by the head of KG.
I got home from work and had a great nap. I think the jet lag is finally catching up. I made it through today on pure adrenaline and from your prayers and support. Tomorrow should be interesting. Thank you all for your kind words and support. I feel so loved and encouraged knowing that I have you all behind me. I will update again with some pictures once I upload them. Until next time...
I went to bed and woke up at 3:00am. I was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed...well, maybe not. But I was awake and couldn't get back to sleep. I sat in bed and watched an episode of Glee and some late night talk shows. I got ready at 5:30. I had to wait until 6:30 for the breakfast bar to open. I was able to talk with Paul and see Evan for a bit. It was a great start to the day. After breakfast I went outside to find a taxi to take me to work. Thankfully, the school had arranged pick-up for me. There are 4 other teachers from my school staying at this hotel, waiting for housing like me. One girl is from Toronto, one lady from South Africa, a man from the UK and a man from Jordan. They are all super nice. I will be in the hotel for at least 12 days.
We got to the school and I found my classroom. It is small and the AC is not working yet. So, it was a VERY warm day (it was 41' outside). The KG1 students were the only ones there today. There are 17 of them in my class. Tomorrow I will have both the KG1 and KG2 with 37 students in total. The KG1's will be with me half the day for English. Then, I see the KG2's for the second half of the day. When the students are not with me they are with the Arabic teacher. This will take a lot of getting used to. It was different than I imagined it to be. There were LOTS of tears today from my students. I was kicked and scratched. I even had parents staying in my class to watch and they stayed after being asked to leave. There were also two nannies who didn't want to leave. So, in total this morning, there were 2 teachers (me and Arabic teacher), 2 TA's, 8 parents and 2 nannies in a small room with no AC. Needless to say, it was a HOT morning.
I have a teacher's assistant in my class who does everything for me (photocopying, preparing the crafts, helping with the students, gets coffee, laminates etc). I am supposed to tell her what I need done. Again, this will be challenging for me. Every week the KG team (14 in total) get together and plan the next week. These weekly plans get submitted every week and approved by the head of KG.
I got home from work and had a great nap. I think the jet lag is finally catching up. I made it through today on pure adrenaline and from your prayers and support. Tomorrow should be interesting. Thank you all for your kind words and support. I feel so loved and encouraged knowing that I have you all behind me. I will update again with some pictures once I upload them. Until next time...
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