...But What About the Schools....?

I've sort of avoided this post for a while because it is really, REALLY loaded...and I just want to condense it.  Exactly what is my job like here?  The answer is constantly changing, and completely different for every new licensed teacher that was hired here in Abu Dhabi in the last few years.  Some people absolutely love their jobs - from the facility where they teach to the students they see every day.  Others loathe their new lives here - some so much so, that we have a term for them - midnight runners.  They give up and leave (literally in the middle of the night), unable to handle the extreme stress any longer.  Most of us fall somewhere in between those two extremes, generally finding conditions bearable, if not favorable, and only coming home in tears a few times in any given month at school.

I am placed in a school called Al Shira'a Girls School in the small town of Al Yahar.  The facility.....?  Well, let's just say that it was a condemned building about ten years ago, but when the girls in Al Yahar needed a place to go to school, it was cleaned up, slapped with a fresh mural on the outside of the building.....and....well, that's probably the extent of what was done to improve the formerly condemned construction before filling it with hundreds of elementary-aged girls.  The place is far from beautiful......  In fact, it's downright dangerous.  The outlets are unable to power a computer in many cases, and live wires hang from buildings, transforming a cute little rain puddle into a potential death trap!

Yes....I certainly did not win the lottery when I look at the location where I teach every day (especially when I see schools that were constructed maybe ten years ago sitting empty, as all of its students have been moved to a newer building!!).  However, I would not trade my position at Al Shira'a Girls School with anyone I know here in Al Ain for several very important reasons.  First of all, the staff I work with are amazing.  There are ten "western" teachers all together - all women (male teachers would NEVER be allowed in a girls' school) and all from either Canada, the U.S., or Britain.  The camaraderie is extremely refreshing.  For example, when one of us is absent, substitutes are rarely sent to cover - resulting in sheer chaos with a room full of 30 undisciplined, sugared-up girls.  Yet, we all band together and do what we can for any teacher who is absent, watching her girls for her, copying thousands of color pages to try and entertain the unruly mob waiting back in the classroom.  I have no concerns about my class coverage, should I ever need to stay home ill.

Secondly, we have a pretty with-it local staff of teachers as well.  Each week, we are required to meet as a grade level - English teachers AND the Arabic/Islamic/Social Studies teachers (most of whom are Emirati women).  These women are (for the most part) incredibly open to our suggestions and so willing to help us adapt to their culture.  Granted, they may laugh at me when I butcher an Arabic word, or warn me that eating too many carrots will make me fat (as they rest their hands on their bulging guts.....).  But I honestly feel welcome at my dingy, dirty, downright scary school - thanks to the kindness of the Arabic coworkers.

The principal is one of the most laid-back, relaxed Emirati women I have ever met before.  She allows the Western teachers to wear pants, calf-length skirts, and elbow-length sleeves.  This may sound like a horrible requirement for many, but when some teachers here MUST wear an abaya to work - Muslim or not - this is the best wardrobe requirement a girl could ask for!  She also holds her teachers in very high esteem.  Our principal wants us happy....ALL of us.  And she does not take kindly to those who try and impede upon the happiness of her teachers, Emirati OR Western.  Again....a very refreshing outlook considering the alternatives that other teachers deal with daily.

Finally, and most importantly, Al Yahar is one of the poorer areas in Al Ain.  Most teachers give a little muffled gasp when I tell them where my school is, and slap on the "oh you poor dear" face, preparing to sympathize with me about the woes of teaching the children in the destitute town.  I, however, see this in a completely different way.  I ADORE my students.  Their eagerness to perform for their English teachers is evident every day on their bright, shining little faces.  And, when they smile at me (albeit with painfully rotten teeth) after using an English term correctly, I can feel their desire to succeed.  They love teaching me, too.  When I attempt to write in Arabic on the whiteboard (aka. saboora) - you would think I had just expertly performed an entire scene from Spongebob (their absolute favorite show) from all of the applause I get.  Sure, I come home crying from time to time, wondering what the hell I was thinking.  But I wouldn't change my school if anyone offered me the chance to move "up" to one of the brand, spanking new glorious, luxury schools.  I'll keep my little formerly condemned building school - rotten teeth, electrified rain puddles, and all!

Let's call that good for now....an introduction to teaching in Abu Dhabi.  There is so, SO much more to come...

I don't have many photos of our school yet, but this is one that really stands out.  This was taken the first week of school.  It's a shot of the school cafeteria.  And the little hill you see in front?....it is a mound of pigeon feces.  Fortunately, this was eventually cleaned and now food is served from this very location!