Having visited all of the junior and senior English classes (with roughly 280 students) to introduce myself, and having met individually with dozens of students in this first week and half, I have already come to some conclusions:
The previous ratio of students (40% American, 40% Kuwaiti, 20% other) is totally inaccurate from what we were previously told. My co-worker Nancy says it is more like 50% Kuwaiti and 50% other including Americans. This senior class is about 90% Kuwaiti however.
Many of them are children of incredible privilege. All Kuwaitis are promised jobs, so there is not a huge emphasis on college. One student told me that he wanted to go to law school but also wanted to drop an academic course for PE. With a 1.5 gpa, I told him it would be impossible to enter a four-year university. He replied that if it didn't work out, it was ok, because he really wanted to take gym. This is not uncommon. Obviously, there are some bright motivated students who will be applying early decision to selective colleges, but its rather the exception with this particular class.
95% of them (even the boy stuck in detention for two days) turned in their senior bio's to me on time though. Many of them have lovely personalities and seem eager to please.
I love working with the young women who yearn to go the US to study and live outside the confines of their culture. They are utterly delightful.
Coming back for a semester after graduation to finish up credits is not uncommon.
Many students plan on going to community college in the States which is definitely more realistic for many of them.
Arguing is part of the culture here I'm told, although they never see it as something negative. So far, I have kept my cool.
In the end, many of them are like teenagers the world over. Same goes for helicopter parents.
Tutoring is lucrative here. It is not uncommon to make USD 80 an hour for simple high school homework help. And the family's driver will pick you up and drop you off, often with dinner. We have been told some teachers double their salary this way, but it is incomprehensible to us to take on that much.
Faculty meetings are as boring and unproductive as I remember in the States. But the food served during these meetings is terrific so that counts for something.
Other things I've noticed:
My hair loves this super-dry weather. It can lay totally straight without much fussing, which is a very good thing.
Waking up before the sunrise is quite amazing. Today we watched the near full moon set while eating breakfast.
40 degrees Celsius today felt pleasant; it was a "cool day". I think this climate is going to forever spoil me for summers back in the Berkshires.
I really don't like averting my eyes in deference to Arab men, so we will see how long that lasts.
It helpful to read a book on the long ride to and from work. I just started "The Help", and I think some of us may begin a book club over it.
Takeout can sometimes be the very best thing in the world.
Man - Quite a picture you paint. A cousin of mine lived in Saudi Arabia and taught English, and came away hating the Saudis. He also said that if the immigrants disappeared, the entire country would grind to a halt. The Saudis do nothing. He went to a bank one day when all the immigrants were off, and no one could even log onto a computer. (By the way the picture of the bidet freaks me out. It's like it's looking at me, ready to spritz me in places I hope never to be spritzed...)
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