We have been long overdue for a blog update since our return from the States last month. Sorry!!
Some of you know that while I was back in the states I was contacted by a private British school in Abu Dhabi about possibly doing some supply (British version of substitute) work in June. I had interviewed with the school's head of Foundation Stages (ages 3-5) before I left for the States and was hoping that it might lead to a job this coming fall. Initially I was asked to work 2 days in mid-June to fill in for teachers who would be out for professional development. Fortunately for me, while I was gone a teacher in one of the FS2 (4 & 5 yr olds) classrooms decided to up and quit (I've heard numerous stories of how this all went down from different staff at the school and am not sure what "really" happened and thus won't bore you with the details.) Bad situation for the teacher, but good news for me because I was asked to fill in from June 6 (when we returned from US) until the end of the term on June 30. After spending so much quality time with all of our friends and family I was not exactly excited to return to Abu Dhabi, but getting this teaching gig, even if only for a month, was just what I needed to motivate me to come back and get back to our life overseas.
I had no idea what to expect on my first day and was both nervous and excited to finally have the chance to run my own classroom. I should mention too that before I came back to Abu Dhabi I had received a class list, from which I learned I would have 19 students, none of which were American and (according to the sheet) 1/3 of which did not speak any English...yikes! Luckily for me, every child did speak English fairly fluently. It was so cool to hear the boys and girls talk with British, Aussie, and numerous other accents. I couldn't get enough of it!! However, I learned very quickly that it is INCREDIBLY difficult to come into a classroom at the very end of the year and try and establish routines with a group of children who had gone through 3 different teachers throughout the school year. Yes, you read that correctly - 3 teachers!!! All throughout my first day I had staff and parents telling me, "Your class is such a lovely group of children!" (My initial thought was - yeah right - how bad are these kids that they've driven away 3 teachers in one year?!?!). Turns out, those staff and parents were right. All in all they were a great group of kids - they just had a very tough year filled with lots of changes. I won't go through the gory details of my 20 days of teaching, but I can say that it was definitely a great experience. I had some good times, some bad times, some really frustrating times (which Brian can attest to) but it felt great to finally put my Master's degree to use.
Some of the highlights were: getting to take part in the FS2 graduation ceremony (similar to when American's "graduate" from kindergarten to 1st grade) which took place at Abu Dhabi University, meeting some great co-workers who I got to spend some time with outside of the classroom, and having the children being so nervous and apprehensive of trying to learn how to say "Mrs. Bartholomew" and by the end of the 20 days each one would come in and greet me in the morning with a "Good morning Mrs. Barfolomew (they had trouble with the "th" sound :).
The Lowlights: learning a little about the politics of private school, seeing the reality of how absent some parents are from their child's schooling, and having to say goodbye to the kids after just getting to really know them and vice-a-versa.
Unfortunately, I'm still not sure I have a job in the fall. This particular school is a brand new school and this was its first year. I heard plenty about the difficulties of the first year and it seems that the school is still working out some kinks. In order to be hired as a full-time teacher my VISA has to be approved by the Abu Dhabi Education Council, which can take a very long time. The council has been processing my paperwork since I began in June, and there is still no word on it. I've been told that new requirements may have been put in place that require any person seeking to get a teaching VISA to have at least 2 years experience (in addition to a degree in Education and a certification). If this is the case then I am SOL, but am hopeful that it's just a rumor or there is something I can do to get around the required experience. In the meantime I am continuing to apply to schools around Abu Dhabi and hope to have some kind of job working with children when school starts back up in September. Keep your fingers crossed!
Since school has ended I've been back to my normal domesticated duties and spending quality time with Tank. I bother our friends/neighbors Jess and Rhonda a lot as we enjoy making group trips to the grocery stores. It is ridiculously hot here so we don't get outside too much unless it's to drive to somewhere that is air-conditioned.
Brian recently joined a 4x4 club so that he can take his toy (the Jeep) out and learn how to SAFELY drive in the sand dunes. His first venture is this weekend - wish him luck!! (hopefully I don't worry too much while he is gone).
Our most exciting news is that we are gearing up for our long-awaited trip to Italy! We leave on Friday July 23 and will be traveling throughout the country for 18 days. Here is our schedule:
July 23 - fly into Milan
July 23, 24 - Venice
July 25, 26, 27 - Florence
July 28 - Pompeii
July 29, 30, 31 Aug 1, 2 - Rome
August 3, 4 - Tuscany
August 5, 6, 7 - Cinque Terre
August 8, 9 - Milan
we fly back to Abu Dhabi on August 9th.
I'm sure we'll have lots of pictures and experiences to share when we get back. We recently purchased a new camera so we can catch some great shots of all the places we visit. Thanks to Jess and Andre who have graciously agreed to house Tank while we are gone. He and their dog, Pikey, have become great doggie friends :)
Finally, we want to congratulate some family and friends who have big things happening while we are in Italy. Brian's cousin Brooke and her fiance Chance will be tying the knot on July 24th and my good friend Abby and her fiance Rob will get hitched on August 7th! We are so sad to be missing these big events, but wish both couples all the happiness in the world and can't wait to see pictures of what we know will be two beautiful weddings!
lots of love,
Jill, Brian and Tank.
