If it weren't for living in an entire complex filled with a bunch of people with the same daily agenda, I guarantee I would have missed my first day of orientation. One of the downfalls of this time change is that I have no idea what day it is. Especially since I've been keeping in touch with people at home who are 9 hours ahead of me.
Yesterday we started the day off by meeting downstairs in the lobby while we all got cleared for dress code. After we were all ready, we loaded up on our buses, we headed to the girls campus, the one I will be teaching at. I was actually pretty impressed with the school. When I looked it up a few months ago, it looked a bit shady, but it's not so bad! It's not a rich American school you'd find in the states, but it isn't bad. Sand and the heat really wears on the buildings here, so you have to take that into account.
When we arrived at the school we all went into the auditorium to meet the principals of each school and a few other administrators. I was actually a bit nervous because just the night before Gillian was telling us how there are cultural differences between us and Muslims when it comes to shaking hands. I didn't want to offend anyone by offering my hand, but its just habit. They are use to us doing that so it didn't offend them, but they later explained how to approach parents and such. They told us to always keep something in our hands to keep us preoccupied so we aren't so tempted to stick our hand out there to greet them with an American gesture.
After meeting everyone, we all sat down and were introduced to Ludna. This lady is so awesome. She is Muslim and grew up in Kuwait. She's the director of staff orientation or whatever, so she is the one behind all that's going on this week, and getting us here to Kuwait and setting us up in our apartments. She has the best sense of humor and really lightened the mood. I've been told that she has a lot of pull in Kuwait and can pretty much get anything done. On the plane ride over, the man sitting next to me told me the first word I'll learn is "wasta". This is a person you go to if you need anything...big or small. Ludna is said to be the wasta of the school. She really takes care of us. The principals said a few words to greet us. It was really refreshing actually. I absolutely loved working in Wylie, but I didn't realize until now how negative orientation felt there. Obviously everyone was happy to see everyone after the summer, but everyone dreaded the meetings and introductions, including myself. Here at ACA, the atmosphere is so welcoming and upbeat. I love it!
Next we had to all wait around to talk to a few people to get our move-in allowances and reimbursements for excess baggage on the flight and any visa costs we had. We were also given our contracts to look over and return in a few days. Most of it is translated, but it kind of makes me nervous signing something that I can't read. I might need to get someone to translate. This was kind of a lengthy process. There are about 30 new teachers this year, so it took a while. It wasn't too bad though because we all got to sit around and meet everyone. It's really awesome hearing everyones stories. All of the teachers are from America and Canada. It's fun to hear the differences between the two. I definitely look forward to getting to know everyone better!
It was about 1:30 when we finally wrapped everything up and headed to a lebanese restaurant on the gulf. I can't remember the name of it, but it was delicious! My friend Alaa from college is Lebanese, so I'm pretty familiar with the food. I ate way too much and just wanted to go back and sleep afterwards. We were introduced to the travel agent and the assistant superintendent at lunch. It's really been interesting putting faces with names. I've been emailing back and forth with a lot of them for a few months, so its nice to finally meet them. After fresh-squeezed mango, strawberry and kiwi juices, hummus, baba ganoush, shawarma and the best coffee ever, we all got up, took and picture and loaded back up on the buses.
Yesterday we started the day off by meeting downstairs in the lobby while we all got cleared for dress code. After we were all ready, we loaded up on our buses, we headed to the girls campus, the one I will be teaching at. I was actually pretty impressed with the school. When I looked it up a few months ago, it looked a bit shady, but it's not so bad! It's not a rich American school you'd find in the states, but it isn't bad. Sand and the heat really wears on the buildings here, so you have to take that into account.
When we arrived at the school we all went into the auditorium to meet the principals of each school and a few other administrators. I was actually a bit nervous because just the night before Gillian was telling us how there are cultural differences between us and Muslims when it comes to shaking hands. I didn't want to offend anyone by offering my hand, but its just habit. They are use to us doing that so it didn't offend them, but they later explained how to approach parents and such. They told us to always keep something in our hands to keep us preoccupied so we aren't so tempted to stick our hand out there to greet them with an American gesture.
After meeting everyone, we all sat down and were introduced to Ludna. This lady is so awesome. She is Muslim and grew up in Kuwait. She's the director of staff orientation or whatever, so she is the one behind all that's going on this week, and getting us here to Kuwait and setting us up in our apartments. She has the best sense of humor and really lightened the mood. I've been told that she has a lot of pull in Kuwait and can pretty much get anything done. On the plane ride over, the man sitting next to me told me the first word I'll learn is "wasta". This is a person you go to if you need anything...big or small. Ludna is said to be the wasta of the school. She really takes care of us. The principals said a few words to greet us. It was really refreshing actually. I absolutely loved working in Wylie, but I didn't realize until now how negative orientation felt there. Obviously everyone was happy to see everyone after the summer, but everyone dreaded the meetings and introductions, including myself. Here at ACA, the atmosphere is so welcoming and upbeat. I love it!
Next we had to all wait around to talk to a few people to get our move-in allowances and reimbursements for excess baggage on the flight and any visa costs we had. We were also given our contracts to look over and return in a few days. Most of it is translated, but it kind of makes me nervous signing something that I can't read. I might need to get someone to translate. This was kind of a lengthy process. There are about 30 new teachers this year, so it took a while. It wasn't too bad though because we all got to sit around and meet everyone. It's really awesome hearing everyones stories. All of the teachers are from America and Canada. It's fun to hear the differences between the two. I definitely look forward to getting to know everyone better!
It was about 1:30 when we finally wrapped everything up and headed to a lebanese restaurant on the gulf. I can't remember the name of it, but it was delicious! My friend Alaa from college is Lebanese, so I'm pretty familiar with the food. I ate way too much and just wanted to go back and sleep afterwards. We were introduced to the travel agent and the assistant superintendent at lunch. It's really been interesting putting faces with names. I've been emailing back and forth with a lot of them for a few months, so its nice to finally meet them. After fresh-squeezed mango, strawberry and kiwi juices, hummus, baba ganoush, shawarma and the best coffee ever, we all got up, took and picture and loaded back up on the buses.
The next stop was the Sultan Center which is a chain of grocery stores here in Kuwait. I wasn't really looking forward to this since I had already been out shopping this week with my Uncle David. There were a few things I could've gotten, but I could've done it in 15 minutes and would've had to wait for everyone else to finish in about 2 hours. Luckily, Ludna announced that a bus would be taking people back to the apartment for those of us who don't need to shop.
I came home with every intention to go down and work out, work on some planning for the first quarter, cooking some food and going to sleep. That didn't happen. I ended up sitting around for a bit, taking a cat nap that turned into almost three hours and then went down and ran and shot some hoops. I made dinner and was able to get back to sleep around 11:30. I woke up close to 6am which was awesome! I actually slept the greater part of a full nights sleep! I think I might finally be on the downhill slide of this jet lag! This is seriously a huge landmark, and it deserves a grand celebration...seriously.
Today we are going to the Avenues Mall to do some shopping, touring the Grand Mosque and eating at Souq Shark. I have no idea what to expect, but I'm definitely excited!
Sidenote: I've never been much of a blogger. I've tried several times, but being here in this new experience and having so much to take in, I love blogging! I am constantly experiencing things and thinking in the back of my mind how I can't wait to blog about it. I definitely understand how moms always blog now. These are little moments of life that will be easily forgotten. I might have vague memories in a few years, but I am going to love coming back and reading the little details of it all.
Here are a few pictures from yesterday.
This is Gillian sitting on top of the engine in the bus. :) She is one of the welcome committee and picked me up from the airport. It's her 6th year here and she's been super helpful!
This is a random building on our way to the restaurant. I just want to make sure all my American friends know I'm not living completely third world. :)
I love seeing Arabic everywhere! It's a pretty language.
I loved that they had valet at the restaurant. I thought this was an American luxury.
Alexis and I at the Lebanese restaurant before they brought out ridiculous amounts of food!
Obviously I was so excited about these fresh squeezed juices that I put the focus on them instead of Kim. :) She likes to be an Asian tourist on occasion.
The walls were made out of hay and some sort of clay or something. It was a super nice restaurant, but I thought the walls were pretty interesting.
For starters we had hummus, baba ganoush, really yummy salad and some empanada looking things.
This was the best little cup of coffee ever. I dont know what kind it was, but I'm pretty sure it was french pressed. Delicious!
We had to take a picture with our spot of tea and tiny cup of coffee. Perfect end to an amazing meal!
I dont know why I like this building, but I do.
This is one of the buses we take everywhere. I've never seen one before but they totally beat a school bus.
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