I have been at the school for three days now, and I am starting to pick up on the structure that this school has. This is an American school and all schools here in Abu Dhabi are very different. Our school is private and is modeled a lot like a secondary education program in the United States. I teach 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd grade science. The kids here start at what they call, KG1 (4 years old), then move on to KG2 (5 years old), then move on to 1^st, 2^nd, etc, just like the US. The difference is that at Al Sorouh, one class of students has a classroom that they always stay in, but they have many different teachers.  They teach; Arabic, Islamic Studies, English, Reading and Writing, Science, Computer Lab, and Math. The teachers move from class to class every period. There are 7 periods total with two recesses with the periods lasting 45 minutes and the recesses lasting about 25 minutes. They also do not eat lunch until after school at 2:30. The schedule is a little bit different for the KG because they are so young; they have the same teacher all day. For this experience I have 6 different classes of students! It’s strange for me because in the US, Elementary teachers usually have one classroom and teach all subjects. My schedule also changes every day so some days I have all 6 classes of students, and other days I only have 4.

The concept of having teachers who speak Arabic and come from all parts of the Middle East, teaching in English to Arabic children, is very complex. It makes me think about what if they decided to build a school where the teachers spoke English from all parts of our country, teaching Arabic to American students. No matter how well the teachers spoke Arabic, it would be different because our culture and where we are from is attached to our identity and how we see the world. It’s just an interesting concept to think about.

The snack that the kids and I get in the morning. A juice nectar pouch and cheese croissant!

 

Working in the Principal's office during a free period.

 

We also went to the Delma Mall last night for our first adventure out shopping. It was huge, and surprisingly had many stores that we have back in the US. It had American Eagle, Gap, Starbucks, Caribou, etc. There was only one store in the mall that sold anything traditional called, Khaadi. We each bought a kurta which is very comfortable. The other store that is here in Abu Dhabi is called, Carrefour. It’s the supermarket of the Middle East and has anything and everything that you could want.

              This is a close up picture of some of thee treats that we have gotten. We

aren't really sure what all of them are but as far as we can guess there are.... dates, coconut, sesame seeds, nuts, chocolate, and pistachio.

 

Today after school while Liz and I were waiting for the driver to pick us up, we felt a rumble. At first, I didn’t think much of it, but the walls and furniture were shaking for about 30 seconds. I have never felt an earthquake before, but that was definitely it. After listening to the news we found out that it was a 7.8 on the Richter scale from Iran which is just across the Gulf. It was nothing serious and there wasn’t any damage in Abu Dhabi, but it was a surprise for sure!