This week I had an entire day of our Math Bowl, similar to a spelling bee. It was supposed to be held with a judge, myself, and a translator. Or maybe it was just conducted by me! The best plans get trumped by fire alarms being pulled, boys running the halls all day when they are supposed to be in class, and fights breaking out in the middle of class. Are we in Compton?
I was telling our rugby captain last night, who is also a Head of Faculty in a school with boys, that one day a boy was running away from me in canteen and I chased him. He dodged around the pillar and apparently sat down. I couldn't find him so in order to save face I just walked away as if nothing had happened. In hind sight it was hilarious, but at the time it was infuriating. It seems these things are happening all the time.
In the Math Bowl one of our brightest grade 5 boys kept goofing around, even when he was on stage. I moved him down to the end of the row of chairs on stage and let him know that was his last warning. A boy was struggling with a question and the goof off started laughing and pointing at him. I grabbed his hand and escorted him off of the stage. You are out! Some of our smartest, as you would guess, are also some of our naughtiest.
For the most part the Math Bowl was a success. We will now take the teams of four for each grade level to a competition in town on Sunday. The girls will go on Wednesday. I get to go both days, and then I have a training on Tuesday. So three days out doing something else is fine with me. The training days are always great because they feed you like royalty.
Another big feat I had this week was leading the professional development in my school on Wednesday. Now this can be very tricky because there always has to be a translator for the Arabic staff. There is a company that provides professional development for all of the schools in Abu Dhabi. They typically provide the translators, but I had spoken to two of our Arabic staff members and thought I had arranged the interpreters. The company that works with us has modules that each school has to complete each year. We have a trainer named Mike who comes and spends two days at our school each week trying to sort out exactly what we need to improve the instruction, achievement and overall needs of the school. One thing we noticed from walking through classrooms was that about 72% of the teachers did not have objectives posted where students could see them. Also, the students were not able to tell you what they were learning in class. Therefore we assessed that the students were not hearing the learning objectives as much as they needed to. So we developed a professional development session around this. Part of my own professional development plan is to incorporate cooperative learning to increase student engagement. So I decided since in my plan I wrote that I would deliver a professional development training, this was as good of time as any.
I had everything prepared; PowerPoint presentation, handouts, cooperative learning structures set, post-it notes on each table, the Promethean board scheduled to come to the canteen, (which is the only place the entire staff can meet), and fruit to share amongst the group. What could go wrong? Famous last words of a fool!
When we arrived in the canteen at about twenty past one (professional development starts at 1:30), there was no Promethean board. So I ran to the library and when I walked in I was greeted by, 'Oh, do you need board now?' Um, yep. Sometimes it is quite difficult for me to be polite, but I pulled it off yet again.
They rolled it down to the canteen, but the door broke and they couldn't get it through. By this time I was in a bit of a panic. We often don't start meetings on time and I was bent on doing so on this day. But, alas, it did not happen. We ended up having to roll it all the way around the building hallways and in through the girl's side of the canteen. We started about 15 minutes late, which might be considered as 'on time' in some minds.
The presentation started out okay, except that the ladies I had asked to translate for me decided they didn't want to do it. In the end our Arabic Vice Principal, Wafa (whom I love), translated. For about the first 15 minutes I was dying a thousand deaths because nothing seemed to be going right. Mike, our trainer, even whispered to me that 'we may never get through this'. Thanks for the encouragement, Mike. Things improved once Wafa stepped in.
Everyone was quiet and listened and then the other shoe dropped. I will say that as you wait to have things translated, others are giving answers in another language, and your patience is being tested, you can start to lose momentum and your confidence in what you know how to do. Bingo! That is exactly what happened to me.
Some of the staff, Western and Arabic, see no purpose in what we are doing even though we told them why we were presenting this material. People are the same everywhere. Some are obstinate for the sake of being obstinate. It's irritating. They voice their opinions and then we lose focus on what we are supposed to be doing. That's what happened.
Finally I asked Mike to take over and finish. I must have maintained my dignity and it seemed as if it was supposed to happen that way because even my other Head of Faculty didn't know I wasn't supposed to hand it over to Mike. She thought that was the plan.
I was super discourage by it all but the following day she (Ronel) told me she thought I did a good job. I suppose we are all more critical of ourselves than others are. All I know is it is over and I don't have to do another one of those again this year.
At home all is well. The kids are still loving school, although Millie has decided she doesn't like the director at her school. I asked her why and she said, 'Because she tries to talk to me'. I don't get it, but she should be allowed to have her own opinion. I just told her she still had to be polite and respectful. The lady is really nice so I am not sure what it is about her that Millie doesn't like.
Both kids continue to fight some kind of bug. I got a call from Jack's school on Wednesday about him complaining of a headache. She gave him some Tylenol and he seemed better. Millie's chest cold
Is back. However, we were not very diligent about her breathing treatments. Parents of the Year! We will have to get back on those if it doesn't improve in the next couple of days.
Monday after school I got home and picked up the kids. I know we are several months late, but we finally got around to having their 3 year old and 6 year old pictures. Millie wasn't quite as cooperative as Jack, but I think there will be some pictures that will satisfy the purpose. We shall see. I took some pictures as well, but these won't compare to the professional ones. In fact, mine are terrible.
After photos on Monday, rugby training brought about a LOT of conditioning drills. Let's just say I am not in 'condition'. At the end of one of the drills I went to the side and gagged twice. Had I eaten something before I went to training I would have certainly seen it again at that moment. I can't remember the last time I did something physical that made me throw up. I hated it while we were doing it, but afterwards I felt great! Also at training on Monday, I confirmed that I am the oldest person on the team. Victoria, whom they refer to as 'senior', jokingly asked me if I could leave the team because she didn't like that I had taken the title of the oldest. I told her I would keep it under my hat and she could still have the title.
On Wednesday at training I think I may have gotten a bit of whiplash. We went in for a drill that had me run into a defender (tackle bag held by our coach), go down, and pop the ball to a teammate. When I hit the ground, I didn't roll correctly. I felt the tackle bag under my head and then the coach lifted it, causing my neck to snap backwards. My bell was certainly ringing. On the up side, my team scored and we were all complimented on the effort. However, I walked around in a bit of a daze for a few minutes. But the following morning my neck didn't feel any worse than a bad night's sleep on a hotel pillow. So I'm pretty sure I will live.
Thursday morning I took the kids to Kayleigh's and said 'goodbye' for the weekend. I went on a girl's weekend with Gina and Cathy.
When I got to school I heard the fire alarm go off. I knew it was going to be one of those days. We have cameras being installed that face the fire alarms, but they are not there yet. The fire alarm must have gone off 7 times on Thursday alone. The fear is, if we ever actually have a fire everyone will burn up because no one will know it's real. We will get it sorted out, I hope.
After getting some work done at school, I scooted out just before noon to pick Cathy up from school and we headed to Abu Dhabi to Gina's place. We arrived there just after 2:30 pm, jumped in a taxi, arrived at the airport, went to use the facilities, and got on the plane.
Gina had planned a wonderful weekend in Doha, Qatar (pronounced 'cutter', not 'cu-tar', as I always assumed). The flight was only 38 minutes, the same distance from Phoenix to LA.
Once we arrived we got a taxi to our hotel in the center of the city. Gina had heard that the taxi drivers were rip off artists so when we got in the cab she started interrogating him, like only Gina can do. She continued this type of questioning with each taxi driver we encountered, and good that she did because on more than one occasion a driver attempted to get a higher fare than what was typical and fair.
We checked in and went to our room for a bit. The cab driver from the airport told us that waiting to go to the Souq (the market) was probably wise since traffic was so bad going towards the Souq at that time of day (around 6 pm). So we ate at a little Italian restaurant attached to the hotel, called Cucina. It was delightful.
Those are lemoncello margaritas we are toasting. Yum!
After dinner we headed to the Souq to look around a bit. It was so fantastic. There were a few things that I was not going to be able to resist. The silver jewelry is hand crafted and very much my style. Also, I had told Jack and Millie I would bring them something. In preparation of not being able to find anything suitable for them, at the gas station before I left Al Ain the day before, I had bought Jack a Trash Pack (the stupid toy I wish I would have invented). You always have to be prepared. However, look what I found in the market. I was so thrilled to find Fatima and Sultan!
Oh yes, these are camels in traditional dress. Sadly, Cathy, Gina and I actually took several pictures of our two new 'friends' once we were back at the hotel.
We scoped out what we wanted to buy and where we wanted to eat the next day. As we walked through the Souq we saw some new interesting things. These wheelbarrows were leaned against many walls. They were used to transport goods through the alleyways.
Historically the men workers would push these, coming through the Souq saying 'Hmala', which means 'I'm ready for service'.
In one of the stores there were men playing a game that appeared to be similar to checkers. We tried to see what it was, but standing there too long, especially being women, seemed awkward.
The Qatar flag flew high above the Souq on the building In the center of the Souq.
We got back to the hotel just after 11 pm and headed to bed, after some girly giggles, as if we were at a junior high sleepover. People don't really change.
I got up early on Friday morning to go and workout at the hotel gym. I have started a 'Biggest Loser' challenge with three other people. We weigh in every Sunday. If we gain we have to put 50 dirhams in the pot (about $13), if we stay the same we have to put in 20 dirhams (a little more than $5). So I had to counter balance any damage I might do in the eating department. We are doing this challenge until Februray and I have been the cockiest one in the group, proclaiming I would NEVER put money in the pot and would take it all when it was all said and done. Have to put my 'money' (so to speak) where my mouth is. So the gym was my destiny for each of the mornings we were in Doha.
After I returned and we all got ready for the day, we headed out for breakfast. We went to Jones the Grocer, a favorite in Abu Dhabi as well. The service was a bit crap, but the food was awesome. After breakfast we walked in the mall a bit. It being a Friday, and holy day in the Muslim religion, shops weren't open even by half past ten.
We jumped in a cab and went down to the Cornish (the waterfront). On the side we went down there wasn't a beach to speak of. We were heading toward the Museum of Islamic Art, but it didn't open until 2 pm, so we had some time to kill. We walked along the boardwalk and took pictures for a couple of hours. Then the urge to pee hit all three of us. We headed toward this animal ???????, and knew there would be a bathroom there.
From this picture we can only assume the Olympic torch has come through Doha at some stage.
Once we arrived at this spot we saw there were public bathrooms down some stairs. 'Public', need I say more? Of course the other two declined, but I am no respecter of bathrooms and can go pretty much anywhere as long as I can squat.
We then decided we needed to sit down for a beverage, primarily because Cathy and Gina needed a reasonable bathroom, so we went to the restaurant just behind the large animal statute. I had hot tea and Gina and Cathy had a lemon mint drink which looked refreshing, except for the mint part.
After our pit stop we went to the shore to look for a Dhow boat to take us to the other side of the water where the museum was. We tried to barter, but in the end gave up pretty quickly just simply because we had walked almost from the museum to where we were at that moment, so we knew how far we would need to walk back.
The Dhow boat was an experience. There was techno music playing and we were the only three on the boat. It was actually quite funny. But the funniest part was when we got to the other side we just docked up against the retaining wall there was no ramp, no steps, we were just expected to jump down, about ten feet might I add. I stood up, went to the front and said 'No way!' So the 'captain' (and I use that term VERY loosely) backed the boat up and drove it harder into the bank, at least making it closer for us to somewhat hop to the top of the retaining wall. Cathy was the only one with pants on. Gina and I were in skirts. So how do you get down from the retaining wall? It was hilarious and we are all fortunate we got down with no injuries.
We walked to the museum and had to wait about ten minutes for it to open. When we went in we went through a security check, went to the front desk, and were told admission was free, which was a bonus to our day.
The museum was very fascinating. However, after a few views of artifacts I usually lose a bit of interest. So, as you do, I started to get a bit giddy and crack jokes here and there. Sometimes the humor doesn't translate, so I try to keep quiet.
After the museum we walked back to the Souq in hopes of having dinner at a recommended Iranian restaurant. We landed there and had a fantastic arabic meal of hummus, lamb, chicken, and kofta (minced lamb full of spices). We were beyond full when we left.
Prior to that purchase we went to the pottery shop and all bought snowmen. They are so cute, very unique, and we watched the artists making some while we were there. I really enjoy buying art work from around the world that is unique and adorable, as is this snowman.
After our purchases we continued on to see the falcon shops. Falcons are revered in the Middle East. They are used as hunters, but mostly as status symbols. There was a man in one of the shops that really answered a lot of our questions for us about the falcon. He told us that Falcons range in price from 30k Riyals (about $8,000) to hundreds of thousands of Riyals.
They put the hood on the heads of the falcon to keep them from freaking out. The Falcons in Qatar are all wild.
There were also Arabian horses in stables behind the falcon shops, also quite expensive. It seems the man in the picture posed for me. Thank you, kind sir!
We came back to the hotel and decided to find a place in the mall for a bite of dessert. We landed at Starbucks for a slice of cake for Cathy and Gina, and a hazelnut latte for me. What a treat!
Our goal was to stay awake until 10 pm. It wasn't much of a struggle on Thursday night, but seemed more challenging on Friday evening. I am pleased to report that 'lights out' in the hotel room wasn't until half past ten.
I went to the gym again on Saturday, then I was able to Skype my brother and his family, as well as Stuart and the kids.
I got back to the room and we got ready for another exciting day. We headed to a place called Katara, which was a cultural center not far from The Pearl, an exclusive community for the local people. There were a number of interesting art galleries, but nothing more than that.
Here was our breakfast cafe. We had breakfast and then walked around for a bit.
Because we had a great deal of time we opted to go to Lagoona, a shopping mall not too far from Katara. It was within walking distance, or so we thought.
As we started to walk, we noticed there was a great deal of construction ahead of us and on several occasions we had to kind of crawl over drainage pipes that had not been laid. We ran into a bit of a problem about halfway there. There was no way to cross the body of water that needed to be crossed unless we went under the bridge and climbed up the sand. So that is exactly what we did.
We all had on skirts/palazzo pants that did not lend to climbing. What a sight we must have been. As we were climbing up the sand, my shoe fell off. Oh yes, I was wearing flip flops. Super safe.
As we were walking along the road, I was staying as close to the construction barriers as I could as not to be IN the road. I ended up breaking my right pinkie toe because I caught it on the corner of one of the concrete barriers. Felt great!
Once we were safely in the shopping mall we went to the bathroom and washed out feet in the ablution tub (the ones the Muslims use when they are cleaning their feet to pray). It's like a sink for your feet. It might have not been the appropriate thing to do, but our feet were clean afterwards so it served its purpose.
We shopped around a bit and then decided to get a bit to eat before we had to go back to the hotel and head to the airport.
The trip back to the airport was as easy as the one from the airport. Everything about our trip was relatively smooth. We had a lovely time and we all were ready to leave when we did.
Cathy and I got home just before midnight, so it was a full weekend and not a moment to spare.
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