How I Spent My Weekend - Friday

Friday morning saw many of the staff showing up to the school to take a trip to the Friday Market  and the Plant Souk.  According to the Lonely Planet website - the Friday Market is ranked #17 of 68 things to do in Kuwait City.  I don't know what the other ones are, but I will certainly be checking that out.  I have included a picture of the market that I found on the web.  For the most part, the actual wares that people are selling are under these roofs that you can see.  What  it doesn't show is how unbelievably hot it is.  If you stay in the shade it's probably only 40 degrees, but out in the sun it's closer to 47.  Many of the returning staff prefer to go to the Friday market when it gets cooler and now I know why they wait.
 

And what can you find there you ask?  Well...you name it, and it's probably there.  New and used clothes, furniture of all descriptions, carpet and linoleum, area rugs, curtains in all the colours of the rainbow, and so much more.  I just saw a small glimpse of it yesterday.  I do want to go back again, once it is cooler, and look at a couple of the end tables that were there.  We were also early enough that we were not too overwhelmed by the crowds.  I can't imagine being out in that heat and having to deal with LARGE numbers of people!!!!!!!

After strolling through the Friday Market, a couple of us went across to the Plant Souk and wandered through the store fronts.  Conservatively speaking, I think the Plant Souk is probably 3 blocks long - shop after shop of plants in almost every size and shape you can think of.  I saw tea roses, rubber trees, diffenbachia, and even a a Bird of Paradise.  I ended up buying Sago Palm.  With all the sun that I get in my apartment, it should do well.  
In the same shop that I bought my plant, they had these plants that made me think of "Harry Potter and his  shrieking mandrake root" .  One of the ladies with me, bought one of these plants, and the root(?)/trunk(?) of the plant looks like an elephant with a baby elephant laying underneath it.  I definitely want to go back and get one of those plants for my apartment.  If nothing else, it's a conversation starter.
All of the group was glad when the busses came back for us and we returned home to our air-conditioned apartments.  I, for one, loaded up on water when I got back to the apartment.  I think that I had sweat 4 litres of water ( and yes it was sweat and not perspiration!!!).  Everyone was commenting how their clothes were dripping wet from sweating so much.  If nothing else, I think we can honestly say that we are renewing/replacing our liquid levels at least every other day, if not everyday.  If I thought drinking enough water was important in Lethbridge, in Kuwait it's imperative.  By myself, I have drank one bottle (18.9 L) since last Sunday night plus the water I drink at school.  If only the cellulite would sweat out as easily .  :)

First Week of School

Well I have successfully survived my first class, my first day and my first week of school here at AIS.  I must admit that I was filled with a certain amount of apprehension as the moment approached for me to meet my Grade 9 Core Math class.  It did not take me long though, to realize that I knew what I was doing.  Sure the curriculum and school are new but kids are kids.  You have ones that are quiet, curious, skeptical and full of life just like you do any where.  It was funny though, that as soon as I returned from my class, the other new Head of Dept teachers, who had not yet met their first class, wanted to know what it had like.  It seems that almost every teacher, new to the school, was experiencing the same emotions.  We've all had a good chuckle over that. 

The one thing that I am almost afraid to admit is my class sizes.  My  Grade 9 Core has 12, my Grade 9 Extended has 19 and my Grade 11 Math has 13.  I also have a Grade 9 advisory group of 10.  This year they are calling the advisory groups TAP, Teacher Advisory Program. I will follow this group through until they graduate.  This week the TAP groups met every day and we did many of the group building exercises that I have done with other advisory groups. One of the questions that I asked my TAP group was where their favourite place was to visit.  The answers ranged from Paris to Munich, to places in the USA and much to my surprise, Calgary.  One of the girls in my TAP has lived in Calgary.  It was nice to have a student know where I actually came from.

Speaking of where people come from - one of the newbies is from High River.  Another couple, who have been here for 7 years, are from Calgary.  I must admit that Canada is well represented on the teaching staff.

We had our Back to School Night on Wednesday.  I was fortunate enough to meet a couple of my parents.  I am told though that at our first "ES/MS/HS Three-way Conferences" on October 5th and 6th, more parents will attend.  

The over all feeling at the end of the week was that the school had gotten off to a good start - lots of work to do but we now know that we can make it.