I'm not quite back into the swing of things with school. But as I look forward to the upcoming week, let me reflect on the awesome things of last week (the first of this school year).

-Two great groups of gr. 2 girls! Thanks to my awesome gr. 1 colleague who trained them so well last year:)

-A mold-free classroom that is actually often too cool for the AC. (Last year's room got way too much sun. My planned classroom (with mold) was reassigned at the last minute.)

OK, that's it. I must get to sleep since I am unable to be productive with work anymore tonight.

Back to Normal

I have been back in the UAE for about 1 week. The jet lag is gone, but the routine is still a bit off. But today, I collected my lovely cat, Fionka.

She seems dramatically smaller than when I left her in July. But tomorrow, we'll go to the vet to see for sure. She rode the car ride from AD nicely, among new plants from IKEA that she made a mess of. Oh well, some things never change.

School starts this Sunday for us teachers. The students will begin the following Sunday. Sad to realize that there are only these two days left of summer break, but I'm excited about the prospects of teaching this year more than I was last August. Getting a heads up about my assignment has been a huge relief. I just hope things follow through as expected. Fingers crossed constantly:)

Vacation/Holiday, week 4

It surprises me that while in the US, where I don't need a VPN to see this site in English, I haven't written anything. I guess that means I have been having a fulfilling time visiting family and friends at HOME:)

Week 1: a class by Responsive Classroom, awesome
Week 2-3.5: Montana and Nebraska for father visiting and grandma's memorial service:( Met a lot of similar named relatives:)
Week 3.5-4.6: Mom time, in Bellingham. Food, food, and more food:) Luckily my eyes are still bigger than my stomach. And there isn't a Baskin Robbins at every turn one makes;)

(Coming up)
Week 4.7-5.2: Salt Lake City:) Overdue visiting time with my UVA twin :)

8/22 (my return to the mid-east) is coming up too soon, there's only 2 weeks left, oh no! Must get to Seattle asap for some delicious veggie Pho!

I can't recall when I've ever included so many smiley faces in a post. There must really be something about home after 11-1/2 months away...

Winding down...the never-ending wait

One week to go! Well, one more week of coming to school, which is more than 3 weeks after the last sighting a student in uniform. While I'll admit that our holiday breaks between terms are mighty generous, I seriously question the need to hold teachers and administrators hostage so long after the students have left for the summer. Plus, we only report back to school one week before students start in the fall. HUH? I know, my Western mind sees this as nonsensical. But a UAE mind is very mindful of Ramadan. That explains it all! Ramadan and the first Eid holiday only finish toward the end of August. This will be the shortest summer break I have ever enjoyed as a teacher, but I'll take it!

Summer and the mass exodus

Today, I was in Carrefour, the UAE's answer to Wal-Mart, when I noticed that their seasonal aisle was a sea of suitcases. I don't know if it is just us teachers getting ready to leave for the summer, but the sheer number of suitcases leads me to suspect that it isn't just us chomping at the bit for home or at least somewhere else:)

In two weeks, I will be one and a half hours from landing in Seattle! I have a busy schedule for the front end of my visit, but I'm sure I'll enjoy being around family and friends:)

two more months

I am two months and four days from my first trip home. But before I get way ahead of myself, a bit about the last few months.

The heat of the Arabian desert has been gearing up. Gone are the cool winter/spring days. It never got cold enough for me to think it winter, plus all of the plants started flowering in December-February. My classroom's air conditioners are hobbled making me and my students alike irritable and it hard for them to learn. But this week, I enjoyed working with my grade 1s filling and comparing bottles with water for capacity. (Um, in what universe is capacity a reasonable grade 1 standard? Oh, yea, this insane one!) But being outside almost lead to heat stroke for at least me.

It will be great to see the Pacific again in two months. But until then, I shall keep hydrated in 115 degree weather and continue to help my wonderful and frustrating students grow.

A bit of respite

I am on spring break:) After visiting Doha, Qatar, for a few days, I'm back home with 10 more days of break. Doha was similar to the UAE. But there I saw a true thunderstorm, and get this...with rain! It was a downpour:) Abu Dhabi didn't get much precipitation at all. This has been the land of sandstorms for the last few months. Gone are four seasons each year. Cool to sweltering, that's what we see in the Arabian desert.

I have much to do this break. And now that I've successfully wasted a day since I've returned from Doha, it is time for me to get onto it. Hopefully I will not only catch up but get ahead for the third and final term of this school year:)