The First Days of School

What could be better than getting going early with a great “Breakfast Box” each day while staying at the Hilton?  They pack plenty of food to cover breakfast, lunch and a couple of snacks for the drive to Al Wagan-about one hour away.  Thankfully the drive is fairly nice.  The sand dunes are a beautiful red color, the camels are roaming, Oman is in sight, and the Mountain Jabel Hafeet, lets you know Al Ain is getting close.  The only things to watch out for are the speed “humps” along the highway as you near towns along the way and the surprisingly thick fog that slows you down.

This weeks was the first week of school for the students at Al Saad.  This year, I am lucky enough to work with nine LTs and their Arab counterparts.  It really looks like we have a great group of teachers and I can’t wait to get to know all of them better. 

I find it amazingly refreshing to see how eager my LTs are to learn from their partner teachers and share their ideas as well.  The same can also be said for the Arab teachers who come from Jordan, Syria, Sudan, and the UAE.  Everyone is so friendly and welcoming.  In fact, in the mornings, there is much hugging and kissing as they greet each other and us, too!  I am being made to feel very welcome at my school.  As I have said before, Saad means happiness, and it appears that is very much the case. 

On another note, we were told that we should be getting keys to our apartments this weekend.  So, as soon as those are in hand I will be taking a little trip and taking plenty of pictures of my new digs.  I imagine the next week being very busy getting household items and furniture together so I can move in as soon as possible.

Stay tuned...