Every Adventure Needs A Castle. . .

The Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi

I am on vacation in Abu Dhabi, UAE. I have been spending most of the time laying on the beach and by the pool. But today I went to the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. It was built by the first President/ King of Abu Dhabi. It is simple and intricate all at the same time. It is probably the most beautiful building I've ever visited aside from the LDS temples I have seen. All of the pillars and walls are white marble with hand done stone inlay. It has the largest hand tied Persian carpet in the world. It is a working Mosque so out of respect the gave me an Albia to cover my arms and hair. It wasn't a regular one, it looked a lot like a robe from Hogwarts. Never the less the Mosque was absolutely breathtaking.

The Adventure Begins. . .

 

So I started by flying from Salt Lake to Chicago to Doha, Qatar. I got to the airport with plenty of time but when I got close to the gate the flight attendants told me that I would have to check my carry on. I quickly rearranged some things and got them to let me take it on as a carry on. But I was the last on the plane. I made it to Chicago and had dinner. Then in the line for my flight to Doha they decided to WIEGH my carry on and made me check it. So in the end I didn't get my carry on. The flight was very long but ok. It was 15 and 1/2 hour hours with a 5 hour lay over.

When I got Doha, people from my school we there to pick me and many other arriving teachers up. I bought a new local SIM card for my phone. Then when everyone was ready we went outside. . . I had been warned but I wasn't prepared. It was so hot and so humid when I walked outside that not only did it take my breath away it flogged up my glasses. It was like walking into a dishwasher.

They put us in residential hotel for temporary housing while we wait for some government permits on our real housing. It is nice, it has had a face lift and there are a few sketchy things like I have to move the fridge, to open the dishwasher and then move the dishwasher to open the cupboard. I was designed my a man who put the pieces together and it looks nice but doesn't work super well. A lot of things are like that here.

We spent the first couple of days going to malls so we could get things and so we could stay awake.
We also went to lots of malls because that is really all there is to do here. It is so hot NO ONE is outside. Plus everyone just loves to shop here. The malls are huge and they usually have something special in them like the Villagio that has an indoor river and gondolas or an ice rink. (Which tells you how air conditioned everything is.)

Doha is very beautiful but it is trying to be. The buildings are amazing but they are there to be beautiful. Most are empty and some are even un-inhabitable, they were just built to be cool. There is construction everywhere. I have never seen so many cranes.

 

Tonight I went to the Souq Waqif, an time marketplace. There were lots of little stores and shops and restaurants. Some were tourist stuff and some were beautiful handmade things. There are fabric, gold, spices, animals, falcons and lots more.

The chandelier at my restaurant.

The golden tower is the Finar, a Mosque and cultural center.

 

 

Until the next adventure. . .

Before You Can Go Foward, You Must Look Back

"The farther back you can look, the farther forward you can see" -Winston Churchill

Last Friday I had a party in my classroom for all of my past students to come back and say goodbye. I have been teaching at Southland Elementary for 6 years! I have taught about 168 kids not counting all the kids I had in guided reading, art and music. My first class will be in 10th grade in High school next year! Some of them are even taller than me. Some of my past students on to great things like place in the State Science Fair, get the highest scores in the State Math Olympiad, even take AP classes already and so much more. I am so proud of ALL my students.  They have all taught me something and made my life better. I felt very loved and appreciated that they would come back and visit me. Thanks for all the love and memories.

How It All Started

As many people know I am kind of a home body. My dad is always pushing me do more and not to settle. He has been trying to get me interested in teaching/ living out of Utah for years but I never have been. In June of 2013, my Dad interviewed a teacher who was returning from Qatar. This guy and his wife had lived and taught there for a couple a years and loved it. My dad came home and told me that I should do that. I told him that would NEVER happen!

The 2013-2014 was pretty rough, I taught in a Chinese Immersion program and it was one of the hardest things I have ever done. I took the job in the Chinese program because I had started to get bored teaching and wanted a new challenge. It was a challenge alright but I still wasn't happy. I started looking at other jobs in the Valley but didn't see one that I liked more that the one I had. Then one right I was flipping through the channels and started watching a show about moving to Hawaii. It hit me that I should move somewhere crazy far. So I looked in to Hawaii and Alaska but I decided that if I was going to do this I should go all the way and teach internationally.

I did lots of research on the Internet, found and joined an international teaching recruitment agency called Search Associates. I had to fill out all kinds of questions and references and background checks. I was accepted by Search Associates in November of 2013. I started contacting schools on the website to find a job. At first I wanted to go to Europe or someplace tropical but then decided I wanted to go Asia mostly China, Hong Kong, or Singapore. I even had a Skype interview for a school in China but I never heard back from them.

Then in February of 2014 I flew to San Fransisco for a job fair hosted by Search Associates. It was held in a huge hotel. There were 300 people there trying for jobs and 150 schools there hiring. They put us all in a huge conference room with the principals/recruiters at tables on the outsides and the teachers all running around in the middle. Then we all had papers and we went to the tables of the schools we wanted to interview at. We had 30 seconds to a minute to get an interview scheduled for the next day. It was kind of like Speed Dating but more stressful. I scheduled 9 interviews. However, while I was running around getting interviews one principal stopped me and gave me job offer right there. (We had interview earlier that day.) It was only a verbal offer and he didn't give me many details but I really liked him. It was an offer for Kuwait.

So the next day I ran around interviewing for school all over, China, Thailand, Kuwait, Abu Dabi, Qatar, Pakistan, Egypt and Korea. So some of the schools I was interested in and some of the schools had pursued me and I just went out of curiosity.  I went thinking I wanted to be in Singapore or Hong Kong and maybe China. I kept an open mind about the Middle East because you can make a lot of money. By 5 o'clock I had 4 written job offers. One from Abu Dabi from a school out in the middle of the desert. Two from Kuwait, one was the verbal one I had gotten earlier and the other was my favorite that was the top offer. The fourth was from a newer school in Al Wakra, Qatar.  Now I was hopping to leave with a job honestly I was completely floored, shocked and awed that I had 4 job offers in a matter of hours. I didn't really have time to be in shock though because my favorite offer the one from Kuwait needed a decision by 6:00 that night so I only had ONE HOUR to make to major decision. (That was how the job fair worked, offers went out fast and you had to be prepared to answer fast!)

So I prayed a lot and talked to parents a lot and we all went on the Internet and looked and looked. I narrowed it down to a 5th grade position at an American School in Kuwait, that was a lot like mine in Utah. They used the same reading and math programs, they were an AP school so the end goal was the same as how I grew up it would be an easy transition. Half the kids in the school were American and everyone spoke English no problem. Then there was the School on Qatar, I would teach 3rd grade but only have to teach math and Science (my favorites). They were also using the same math program. All the kids are Qatari but they all know English as a second language. It also paid better and the country was safer.  I remember my mom asked me if I wanted to go abroad and go to McDonald's (the American School with American kids and books) or did I want to try something a little more authentic! So I went for it. Go big right? And the of course it felt right, it is what I am supposed to do. So I am.

Sorry this is so long but if you know me you know I never can tell a short story. Next time I will tell you about my school.