Looking Out While Looking In: November 2012

Thursday, November 15, 2012

TEACHING IN HA'IL, SAUDI ARABIA

I would be lying to all of you and myself if I didnt say that I hated my job for the first week I was here. It was the final week of a 7week cycle and it was revision week before the students (and staff )went on a 2week holiday. I wasn't sure of anything and I think the students were tired and in that universal pre-holiday mood.

After a paid 2 week holiday, I returned to work on Saturday the 3rd of November. Remember we work Saturday to Wednesday. There were 2 days of revion and then the students wrote exams. Frantic marking and moderating ensued and last Saturday we began with our new schedules, with most of our students progressing to level 2.

Let me contextualise this all for you. I work at the University of Ha'il's Prep Year College. We have about 4000 girls on campus. They are divided in to the College of Medicine, College of Arts and College of Science. Education is free in Saudi Arabia and the students are paid to be on campus. They receive a monthly allowance from the government and are all issued with atm cards. The only requirement is that they attend classes, so an important part of an ESL teacher's job is to take attendance. If they miss too many classes they are kicked out, however they can fail courses and repeat their subjects.

A moment on the history of education for women in Saudi Arabia. This country is only a little over 70 years old. Education for girls only began in 1960 and until 2002, womens education fell under the Department of Religious Guidance and not the Ministry of Education. This was done to ensure that
their was no deviation from the purpose of female education, which was to make them good wives and mothers. Now I can hear all my feminist friends sighing in despair, but please go to this link and read the article, which gives a very clear explanation and description of the challenges and avances in female education in this incredibly interesting country.
http://ehlt.flinders.edu.au/education/iej/articles/v6n1/hamdan/paper.pdf
Stats from 2010 state that only 50.3% of women over the age of 25 have a secondary education. the UNDP report of 2003, claims that the Saudi literacy rate is 62% overall, with males having a 72% literacy rate and females, 50%.

Anyway, if you really want to be informed, read the article. Its far too easy to sit in the West and just judge and speak of what should or shouldnt be. I look at the world as it is and can say with clarity that the West certainly doesnt seem to be getting it right. I am grateful for my training as a clinical social worker in the people-centred approach, which demands that we step into the shoes of our clients and never assume their desires or where their pain stems from, but to rather to hear them with with empathy, unconditional postive regard (not the same as approval) and personal power.

My students arrive on campus fully covered with an abaya (black full cloak), hijab (head scarf) and niqab (face cover). They take these off and have to wear a long black skirt and then they wear whatever tops they want and wear alot of make-up. I remember someone saying to me before I came here, "under every abaya and thobe, is just another human being". Such true words, my students are lovely. They have different mannerisms etc to what I am used to, but like anyone respond well to being respected, listened to and taught with passion. They are very protected from external influences and so are a lot "younger" than my students back home, and there is a beauty in their naivety.

One of the things that I have had to get used to very quickly is how isolated from the rest of the world, the girls (and boys, I am told) are. I was teaching nationalities and was asking students different questions about the countries to improve their conversation skills. So, I said USA, about half the class knew that was America. I asked the girls to give me the names of any big cities from there, less than 5 knew of New York and 2 of them had heard of Washington. In the same class (26 students), 3 knew that Obama was president and the rest had never heard of him. This is not an indictment on their cleverness, but rather highlights just how isolated they are.

This means a complete re-think about teaching styles, I cannot use the usual examples and contexts I could before and as music is haram (forbidden), I some times feel stifled in getting creative in the classroom. Relationships between boys and girls is also haram, so that (never mind sex), politics and religion is completely forbidden in the classroom. Yesterday I was shocked to find out that the girls are not allowed to play any form of sport at all and never have been. They didn't even have PE (physical education) at school.

BUT they are a delight to teach, they make me laugh alot and they laugh at me alot. I am trying to learn each girl's name in each of my classes. (26+26+46). They have very different names to ours, so it is difficult and they crack up at my pronunciation. They also love my short white hair. They stare and point as I walk around campus, and run up to me and say, "I love your hair teacher" and then run away giggling again. They are childlike in so many ways but I love it because I get to "play" with them every day while teaching them English. From Saturday I will be teaching 6 x 50minute sessions a day, what a gift.

I am loving them and am so blessed to have found my way here, to this place in this time!

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

COMPOUND LIVING

I an now settled completely at Mishar 1 compound and it is surreal in so many ways. This could be the loneliest existence in the world. Certainly my first Friday here was. It was also Keanan's (my son, for those of you who don't know), Valedictory and I was heartbroken not to be there. By 17h15 I had not seen a soul and was feeling desolate. However I realised it was all up to me and I needed to make sure that I was not so alone in the future. So, I put on my big girl panties and started meeting people. That particular evening a new friend Bryan came over and we played cards. He is a sweet older man who enjoys playing cards and has been in Ha'il for 5 years. He knows where everything is and where to go.

A highlight of our existence is definitely the shopping bus. For Al Khaleej employees it comes on a Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday evening as well as a Thursday Morning. Remember our weekend is on Thursday and Friday. We all clamour on, have light conversation, a lot of laughs and then get dropped at a different shopping centre every time. (More about this in the post on Exploring Ha'il).

Our Shopping Bus

So my philosophy has been to make sure I grab every opportunity to experience as much as possible while I am here. I have one of two options, I can literally curl up in a ball and yearn for my husband and children, which would be my default reaction or I can just get out there and laugh a lot and absorb every experience.

I now play texas-hold-em poker on a Wednesday night with a group of the men. We laugh a hell of lot, down non-alcoholic beers and talk as much sh*t as possible while trying to play a decent game of poker and winning the pot, although the stakes are low. Last week I even won 104 Saudi Riyals! This has become one of the highlights of my week.

My Poker Buddies

During the first week of the vacation, (Remember I was here for 5 days and then went on a 2 week holiday!), I was invited to a braai with an American couple who have a delightful little girl. Mom is an English teacher with me and Dad is a stay at home dad who home schools their little girl. They have made the back of their house suitable for outdoor living. Their neighbours from New Zealand joined us and it was a fantastic evening, with very good conversation.

Lovely big mat with cushions outside to enjoy amazing desert evenings

Then there are my 2 closest mates on compound. Aaliya is only 23 a teacher from Johannesburg, She and I have just connected in the most wonderful way, even though I am old enough to be her mother. I think we bring out the best in each other. Then there is Liam, a 38 year old Canadian, who has been an ESL teacher for 15 years and has been in Ha'il for 3. The 3 of us try and walk every night. A lap around the compound is about 10mins and we try and do 5, although the other night, we walked for almost an hour and a half. We have brilliant conversations about EVERYTHING and laugh a lot, which is perfect for those stomach muscles! What I love about this friendship is that we completely respect each others individuality and if any of us need time alone, it just happens with no one taking it personally.

I think a key aspect of this life is that everything is intensified. Zeem (my husband) used to always say a month in Afghanistan is like a year in normal life (He worked there as a chef for a year) and he was quite right. Normally friendships would take longer to develop but here with those you connect with its intensified and that is a wonderful thing.

I have had a group of people in my apartment and we all ended up trying to order a take away delivery with no luck so Aaliya and I ordered a taxi and went and fetched it. Then last Friday I hosted a home cooked meal which was a great success, please remember I can't cook. I was tempted to get them to sign indemnities before starting their meal.

Aaliya, Shamima, Me and Bryan at my place on the take-out night.

Just before my dinner....

Take out Night

On our walk last Thursday, we walked past the married couples row, and they were on a break from poker. Liam goes but only for a short while, so I will go with him this week and either play from the start or buy in when he leaves, so another poker group to enjoy hopefully.

Another highlight since being here was the halloween trick or treating we had for the little kids on compound, which we only had on the 7th because so many people were away on the 31st. It was adorable.

Later that evening I went to a Halloween party. I laughed so hard I had sore stomach muscles. Some people dressed up and we even had a smoking ghost who after midnight went quad-biking. It was a hysterical sight. Everyone was a little out of it on moonshine (home-made wine) and I felt like I was at a UN gathering. Romania, Puerto Rico, USA (and many very different states), South Africa, Canada, New Zealand, Britain, Ireland. One of the guys is very musical and played his guitar and had a liking for the 80s. The guys made shakers and drums and sang along. Awesome music, great laughs! I finally left at about 2am.

Midnight Quad -Biking ghost

The Smoking Ghost!

The Ghost uncovered...

Andy playing guitar (really made me miss Zeem)!

Our very own Charlie Sheen. I want that shirt, Nigel!

Corey taking advantage of Nigel

All the naughty "boys"

Last night I started yoga and it was fantastic. When it finished, I texted Liam and we walked (Aaliya was having some time out). My night ended with a bubble bath and going over to Nazra, a newer friend for a chat.

For now, I am truly grateful for my life here and the difference it can make to our life back home.
I miss my family so much but I would be lying if I didn't also admit that I am relishing the chance to be by myself and grab all the new experiences and before I know it my family will visit and I will be able to share it with them.

Friday, November 2, 2012

FIRST DAY IN HA'IL

So, thank heavens, there was actually a town, quite a big one. The bus stopped at a hotel and the supervisor for Al Khaleej came out. His name is Madian, a Syrian man, who is so polite and more than helpful. We climbed in to his old Mercedes and went off to my new home a compound called Mishar.
Let me just inform you that if anything sinister is going to happen to me in Saudi, it will be on the roads. Our taxi drivers back home could give driving lessons here and improve driving by at least 200%. For me its doubly scary, because they are driving on the "wrong side of the road".

We got to the compound and my apartment is charming. The pictures tell you everything. However, I didnt get the chance to settle. We dropped my suitcase and Madian took me straight to campus. Now use your imagination, to picture the craziness.
He may not step on to the womens campus so he drops me at the front security and tells me to find Mona. I go through, and let me tell you there are girls EVERYWHERE, so I stop to ask and NO ONE speaks English. My sense of humour was fading fast, sleep deprivation was kicking in and the volume of the cacophony of young women talking at the top of their voices seemed to be reaching a point where eardrums could burst.
Anyway I eventually found Mona who is our contact admin person on campus. She immediately took me to the English department, where I was greeted with glee because they are so short staffed. I was immediately told that I would be teaching a 2 hour class at 12noon. I burst out laughing, assuming that they were joking. No such luck, I was given the 6 units of material that had already been covered and was told that it was super easy because it was just revision week.
I went into one of the teachers areas that I was assigned to. 2 teachers per desk, but everyone was really warm and friendly. I reminded myself to breathe and remember it was Wednesday, so like Friday, and I had the "weekend" ahead.
The class actually went well. I was share the teaching reality with you in my next post. I was truly blessed because this group were really fabulous to teach. They actually engaged a little with me!!!
After class, my working day was over, the bus was ready to take us back to the compound. One of the older teachers, Edna from Canada, asked me if Madian was coming to take me to the shops, because I obviously had nothing in my apartment to eat or drink.
We phoned him and he let me know that there was a bus that night at 8pm. Thank heavens I had bought plenty of water on campus.
I had an incredible afternoon unpacking all my brand new things, had a nap and then went in search of the bus...(which is the highlight of life as an ex-pat in Ha'il.