Three weeks in to the new school, and the end of term 1

Well I’m now in the middle of my third week here at IAT. It’s been a challenge to say the very least.

Firstly, the school itself and most of the staff are excellent to work with. The facility is very nice, clean and well maintained. The outdoor court yard is very clean and well landscaped. Which is impressive here in the desert to see so much green. There are many trees, shrubs, grass and flowers all over the campus. Inside the rooms are spacious and the furniture is in fairly good repair. Technology is pretty much current and people around here know how to use it well.

Also over the first and second week here on campus the PRO has made sure that my visa, and all required documentation have been handled. I have my visa, my health insure card, my local ID should arrive very soon and they helped facilitate me getting a local bank account. In fact, I just got paid for November already (a few days early). Then just today my debit card was delivered to the school so I can access my money in my account. I’m just about completely legal in this country, just need my Emirates ID and a driver’s license and I’ll have everything.

My living situation has been fair. I’m in an apartment that I had to find since I had to leave the old one due to my first school being difficult. This apartment is furnished, but it’s not that well taken care of so it looks pretty bad on the outside. In fact, this morning I was thinking to myself that I need to get out of here ASAP because I don’t want to live in the ghetto. I have planned to leave this apartment once this most recent month of rent runs out. That will be about 18-Dec. I’ve already started looking for a new apartment near my new school and yet close to the expressway. There are several available, so I have to make a choice. I’d like to have that sorted before I go on vacation for Christmas.

I’m planning on leaving for Christmas on or around 16-Dec. My most recent idea was to fly to Indonesia, Jakarta to be exact. I’ve been in contact with a local hostel owner about making arrangements to arrive there and spend about two weeks exploring the Asian country. I will of course bring my GPS and grab at least one geocache there. I want to immerse myself in the culture, by checking out museums and as much food as possible. Looking around online, everything is very cheap in Jakarta. Due to the value of their currency, the exchange rate is ridiculous. For example my hostel (accommodation) will cost about 1.5million of their money which is about $150, which is for two weeks!

Lastly, I need to explain the first sentence. The school, really my lead teacher, gave me one class to start me off here at IAT. With the premise that I would take on three more after the Christmas break. The idea being that I will have plenty of time to acclimate to the climate of the school so to speak. I’ve come to find out through other teachers here at the school that this class has a history of misbehavior and trouble with motivation. The last two weeks with these students has been pretty rough. Those students who are interested in learning are doing great and writing everything down. Of course those that are not are not. I’m getting a lot of flak from the staff due to the chaos ensuing in my class. The students are loud and disruptive. I’ve tried many different techniques to bring them in to my class, and help them focus but I’m having a hard time finding something that will work. My lead teacher is trying to guide me, but everything he has told me isn’t working as well as he’d hoped. My frustration level is growing. I’m not ready to give up yet, but something needs to change. I’m going to give term 2 a chance. As I’ve already been reminded by the principal, I’m still in my probationary period. So I’m free to part ways if I feel it isn’t going to work out at this school. I don’t want to think about that much though, because I want it to work out. I want it work out well! In term 2 I will have three more classes. Another 10^th grade, and two 11^th grade classes. I really sincerely hope that things change for the better in term 2. If, it’s not any better by my birthday (at the latest), I’ll have to say to the school and myself that I gave it my best effort but it didn’t work out. Again I really hope it doesn’t reach this point. I want to stay at this school and in Dubai for a long long time.