school has begun

I am sitting in my classroom, listening to some old Arabic music on the radio. The maid is washing the windows. People who do cleaning here are not called "custodians" or "janitors," they are called "maids." Maids are very inexpensive here. I am going to have one come to my apartment and wash the floors once a week. Dust comes through the airconditioning system and coats the floors with regularity.

Today will be my third day with the students. I have three classes of eight. Boy to girl ratio is about 4 to 1. The students are very polite and respectful. It is definitely a special needs population, but their ability levels cover a broad range. I have one boy who needed help attaching two pieces of paper with a paper clip; another boy has read all the Harry Potter books and wants me to teach him Japanese. They are innocent and sweet in a way that special ed teachers know these kinds of kids can be. I am going to enjoy my job. It will be the best thing about being in Kuwait, and that is how it should be. Yesterday afternoon I was telling one of the other teachers that if I had it do over again, I'm not sure I would have said yes to this offer. It is really not a very attractive place to live. Take a walk through the filthy hot streets and you can't help but ask why anyone would choose to come here if it weren't a financial imperative. But I know I will learn so much here. I spoke to the head of the Arabic department head about recommending a tutor for me. I don't know if I'll make a lot of progress with all the responsibilities of teaching and the amount of time it takes to do anything when you are operating in a foreign environment (buying a few groceries becomes a major excursion). But it won't hurt to give it a try.

We will be having open house on Sunday night, and I'll be meeting a lot of parents - the idea of talking to the mothers in their black abayas kind of gives me a strange feeling, but I'll get over that hurdle. Someone told me that when Saddam Hussein attacked Kuwait, the majority of families took refuse in Saudi, and there they were preached at for having given in to modern evils and told that the invasion was Allah's punishment. Since then there has been a conservative trend, and now there are more women in black cover than ever before.

Gotta get ready for class now...