Hicks, Hipsters, Hijabs, and Hibachis

A few weeks ago something very exciting happened in 2F (my classroom).  A little lizard was discovered on one of the chairs.  It took everything in me to remain calm but I safely trapped it under a mug while 20 sets of wide eyes stared at me.  Then we proceeded to walk outside and let it go in the sand.  It's never too early to model compassion! directly outside my classroom windows

Two weeks, 10 hours, and 480 QR later, I have finally gotten my Qatari Driver’s License.  The process began with a theory test in which you can only miss 2 questions.  Luckily that is all I missed, although the wording on the test and the pictures were quite confusing.  Honestly I think I might volunteer to help them with the English translation.  Then the following week a bunch of us went back to the driving school/testing center to take the road test.  Unfortunately we were turned away since only 3 people from our group could take the test that day.  Why you might ask?  Who really knows, but that is just the way things are here.  Different from one day to the next.  Don’t let me forget to mention that I had to get up at 4:45 am both of these days and prepare sub plans just in case I wouldn’t make it back to school on time. the "Bin" Girls who tested today Needless to say, when we went to try the road test today (waking up at 4:3...

...you have red flag recess every day since it is above 37 degrees (celsius) ...class is interrupted by a lizard crawling on a chair ...you put on sunglasses to walk to the Upper Elementary School, even though it is through a covered breezeway and 100 meters away ...you find sand in your classroom library, I am talking in the books people ...you talked about a snowstorm today and a handful of kids gave you blank stares All of these things and more are just part of the fun of living and teaching somewhere new.  While it is overwhelming to learn how to do new things at home, school, and more it is still a great time.  Everyone at school has been so helpful with carpooling and making sure we are taken care of but we just have to go to so many places to find things. Someone said it best yesterday:  "This is a city where everything takes place indoors." So I am going to have to explore inside more for sure, and in the meantime I am going to take advantag...