Healthy food!

Because the apartment we're in doesn't have a well-equipped kitchen ie. no pans, cooking utensils, we've tended to buy most of our food from takeaways which is obviously not good and I'm getting sick of the limited selection there is around the hotel. Yesterday we treated ourselves to lunch in a French restaurant that serves organic food. It was so good! I had lentil, lemon and a green leafy veg soup, served in a bread bowl and Laurence had a huge Greek salad. It was a relief to be eating something so fresh and good for us. Tonight we had a cucumber and tomato salad with feta, olives and flatbread. That was also great. We only eat fruit for breakfast so that's something.

To explain how ill-equipped the kitchen was here. We arrived to two plates and one knife (?!) in the whole kitchen! There is a kettle but there were no mugs, two ring job and no pans etc. we asked for crockery and cutlery but didn't think we'd be here long enough to need pans. It looks like I may need to ask for them after all.

We are currently looking for an apartment nearer the school and a few of the English teachers have given me numbers for buildings they know. Apparently it's better to find something through word of mouth as there are some areas we wouldn't want to be in!

Holiday

I'm off school today for the prophet's birthday! Next week at school is Book Week so my class are doing the book 'We're Going on a Bear Hunt'. We have to put on a show next Thursday of two songs with dances related to the story so that's quite nerve racking at this early stage! I'm sure it'll be fine though as we have four practices in the hall before the show and the class are slowly getting the hang of the songs. Thankfully my classroom assistant is very arty so she's already got our displays up!

Thanks!

Thanks to all of you who read this blog. There's been 8029 views since September! I've enjoyed recording what we're up to and it's even better to look back, especially as we've now left the Philippines. I can reminisce when I look back in the blog.  It's good to know what I've written is being read (and isn't boring everyone to death). I also love to read your comments so please do leave one now and again :-)

Home alone

The mother bird left the nest today so the two chicks were on the window cill themsleves. So cute! although not the most attractive haha

Zoo

All of the Reception classes (4) went on a trip to Kuwait Zoo today, following their topic last month on Wild Animals. I had been wrongly(!) told it wasn't a nice zoo so I was expecting the worst but I thought it was great. It was a lovely, sunny warm day which helped and a little train took us round most of the zoo.  They had a lot of animals and it was quite a nice setting. The animals were behind lots of fences and partitions though so it made taking photos a bit pointless. They must be worried about escapees :-D I was so excited to see giraffes there!  I don't know why but I expected it to be more of a farm park than having proper wild animals.  Unfortunately the bus was an hour or so late in picking us up (Kuwait time lol) so we practically ran around the zoo after the train ride and the kids didn't even have time for their picnic, which was a shame. My group ended up eating on the bus on the way back from the zoo as they were so hungry.  I felt so blessed today with the class I got, they are so good! I was watching the other classes not staying in line and the teachers constantly shouting at kids to sit down on the train and my class were unbelievably well behaved. They have been VERY well trained. I want to learn that skill! It makes life in a classroom sooo much easier down the line. I was worried that it would be chaos if they started eating on the bus but they all quietly got their food out and put their rubbish back in their bags! They are very sweet and at the risk of speaking too soon I think they are the easiest class I've ever had (apart from a couple in the Philippines but I only had them for half an hour at a time). It's changed my mind about younger ones being harder.

Here are some pics of the zoo...

Waiting to go in - Miss Mariam on the left is my classroom assistant. 

Where we would have had the picnic!

biggest swans I have ever seen!

wish I'd got a better pic of the baby giraffe

train ride

the kids were most excited about the zebras!

Sandstorm

I experienced a proper sandstorm today, which seemed to last all day! It was like really thick fog this morning which meant we could hardly see anything ahead of us on the way to work. It lingered all day then it wasn't until the way home and the fog was still there, with a really strong wind, that I realised what it was! Lol I had expected in a sandstorm to be able to feel the sand being blown about but it's just a very fine dust that creates thick fog and probably doesn't do your lungs much good! I don't like them as they block out the sun :-D

Off to the zoo for a school trip tomorrow so I'll take pics. I've been warned its not a very nice zoo however! :-/

Arabic food

I think I will like Arabic food a lot! We had a 'picnic' on Thursday night with falafel, hummus, olives, flatbread and schwarma! It was great :) It was a bit like being in The Bay Tree on Great Western Road!

I'm looking forward to trying more. From what I can see, they eat a lot of different types of breads!

Kuwait Taxis - part 2

Unfortunately we're having to rely on taxis to get about at the moment and got another shock today .  We took a taxi to The Avenues Mall to take a couple of things back I'd bought last week. The meter in the taxi said the equivalent of £2.69 which is good for the distance. However, the taxi driver said the fair was the equivalent of £22.60!! He soon changed his mind when I took a photo of his ID that was on the back of the driver's seat heehee.

outside The Avenues - IKEA to the left :)

Grand Avenue at The Avenues Mall

Kuwait Towers

The temperature here is just edging into the 20s now so I thought it would be nice to get out and have a walk and see some sights. A lady at work had suggested going to the Kuwait Towers as it's on the sea front and a nice walk. Unfortunately I read on Trip Advisor last night that the towers are closed for refurbishment so we couldn't go up the observation tower. That would have been good to get our bearings in the city. It's not a big place though. There's the city, the surrounding villages and then desert! I can picture Google Maps most of the time to know roughly where I am lol.

The towers are quite impressive and it was a nice walk along the beach. There were lots of local families out on the beach and cafes and restaurants along the front. The public beaches here obviously aren't for sunbathing but they seem quite popular for picnics etc.

Beach near the city centre, at the towers

Kuwait City, with Kuwait's tallest building

Kuwait Towers

Looking across the water to where we are staying just now

Kuwaiti Time

It seems 'Filipino time' has nothing on 'Kuwaiti time'! We used to joke with our Filipino friends about Filipino time because often things happened later than they should, or sometimes nowhere near the time planned. However, we have just cancelled a taxi after waiting an hour and a half for it to arrive! Laurence phoned the driver, who've we've used before, twice and both times he said 'I'm on my way'! Half an hour later still no taxi! The ironic thing is that I think he was pulling up outside the hotel when we phoned for the third time to cancel. I certainly never experienced Filipino time like that!

Chicks!

I've just gone into the bathroom and there were two big chicks with the mother bird! So excited to see them- they're so cute. The pictures aren't very good and you can only see one chick and the mother in them but there's definitely two :)

Result!-old post that's just published!

It turns out the central heating in the hotel is broken...in the coldest month of the year!! Housekeeping brought us a heater thank goodness as its only 13 degrees now, although it feels less. Wish we'd thought of that sooner as we've spent a very cold two nights!

Great first week :)

That's my first week over-yes on Thursday! It's going to take some getting used to a Sunday to Thursday week. It's been a fast week and I've really enjoyed it. I got a good feeling from the school and I have a lovely class. They are very sweet and for the most part well behaved. I think the deputy head who had them before me trained them well! I'm getting the hang of the routines that were already established in the class and I now know all the names woo!

I've spoken to the other British teachers who are all very nice. There's 9 Brits, including the deputy head and head teacher. All of the teachers I've spoken to have glowing reports of their time at the school. Some coming from 'horrendous' (their words) schools. So I feel very blessed to have landed in a nice school straightaway. It's a huge building with closed classrooms so it has a peaceful, calm feel to it as you rarely hear children in the corridors and when they are there they're pretty quiet!-bliss.

A teacher from the same area as my Mum mentioned her church so that was great to hear. I was worried it would be hard to find any Christians here! She was quite open about it too in the staff room. I suppose I thought that you couldn't openly mention Christianity in Middle Eastern countries :-D

The hotel's driver couldn't pick me up today so the hotel contacted head office who didn't relay the message to the school. I was stood outside a deserted school half an hour after everyone left, 40 minutes away from the hotel! The 'Harris' (janitor) flagged a taxi down for me but then I had to remember the way home to direct him. I'm glad I've paid attention the past week! Lol

So, I'm off to start the weekend now and looking forward not having to get up at 5am tomorrow!

First day at school

Yesterday, Sunday, was my first day of teaching at the International Business School in an area about half an hour from Kuwait City called Fahaheel.  It's also about 30 mins from the hotel we're in at the moment so I have a driver! He's a bit of a character :-/ Looking forward to being able to make my own way to school when we're relocated nearer Fahaheel.  I wouldn't mind living in the school area as it looks really nice, there's a beach and a harbour with a huge fish market.

Anyway, the school seems lovely. It's only a couple of years old and currently only Primary but Secondary is starting next year. I am the Reception teacher which is Early Years/4 & 5 years old. I have a nice class, there's 20 pupils and I am struggling to learn names! It's only my second day but the names are ones I've never even heard of and then there's the pronunciation! I was looking at the register thinking I didn't even know if most of the names were male or female!

This week I've had two classroom assistants and a maid in the classroom with me! :) One of the assistants is moving classes next week so I'll have to just struggle with two extra pairs of hands! lol My Deputy Head does the majority of my planning and I have lots of free periods while my class are in specialist subjects. I only teach English, Maths, Art & Topic.  It seems to good to be true really! All the staff I've met are friendly and the senior management are British and also very nice.

Squatter

I had to take a picture of this for my mum!! On the first night in the hotel/apartment,I noticed something on the bathroom window cill (outside) but it was dark so I couldn't make out what it was. The next day however I realised a huge bird was sitting on a nest on the window cill right in the corner of the shower.  I think she was a bit put out her privacy was disturbed as she turned her back to me after I'd taken the picture. She's still sat there. It was a bit disconcerting having her staring into the shower every morning but I'm used to her being there now!

The windows are really dirty here, as are a lot of cars as there are often sandstorms! We arrived to one but there hasn't been one since I don't think. I could actually feel myself breathing in the dust! Apparently they are really bad in July/August, as well as up to 60 celcius heat so I've been advised to leave the country for the two months :-D

bird on her nest on window cill

Dubai Airport

Hi!

Sorry for the silence and the backdated posts. Just trying to get my head round being in another different country and settling into school etc so I'm just getting round to downloading pics from my camera.

We only had a two hour wait in Dubai airport on the way here and obviously only saw a portion of it but it was very impressive. There were gardens and ponds in the middle of the gates and every shop and restaurant you could think of. After being in the Philippines and seeing VERY few Westerners it was a bit surreal seeing so many Europeans/Americans.

garden in the gate!

Koi Carp

fish pond in airport

One of the things I've realised I love about the Middle East is the mix of old and new. You see the very modern, shops and clothes etc with the old Arabic traditions and dress.  I love the architecture here too and the palm trees and the sea...I could go on. I like Arabic looking things! There's loads of lovely smells too as shops etc will burn incense and people seem to like strong smelling perfumes here so I'm always smelling different perfumes as people go past.

Brrrrrrrrr

I am writing this with a sarong tied around my neck as I'm a bit chilly lol! I had heard it could get cold here in December & January but I thought they meant 'Middle East cold' but they meant 'Scotland cold'! :-D Well, maybe not 'Scotland cold'...perhaps Scotland Autumn temperatures.  According to my Yahoo weather app, it was only 7 celcius this morning and reaching only about 15 later today.  I think the temperature is gradually going up as the week progresses and hopefully this week is a one off. Last week was in the mid twenties - perfect. I think we just came on the wrong day.

Anyway, I realised when I arrived that I have COMPLETELY the wrong clothes here. I was worried that my tops' sleeves were too short for a start (in a Muslim country) and I knew I'd freeze in everything I had. I only have one cardigan with me with 3/4 length sleeves! We asked the receptionist to call us a taxi to the biggest mall around and big it was! It's called The Avenues and it has all the huge dept. stores John Lewis, Debenhams, even IKEA! It was a lovely mall, I could easily spend all day in it. Thankfully the sales are on just now so I was able to buy some cheap long sleeved tops and a pair or trousers to keep me going. My aim today is to get a pair of tights! I wish I had my Ugg boots here. The other good thing about going to the mall - after lots of people watching - is that I'm reassured that although there are a lot of people with the Muslim attire on, all the Westerners I saw, and some Kuwaitis were just wearing what I'd wear anyway-phew I don't think it's as strict here. So not all my clothes will be useless, I'll just have to be more creative until the weather warms up.

The funny thing is that the sun is out and I would consider it beautiful weather at home. I think having got used to 30+ temperatures it's just a bit of a shock to the system. That and the fact I'm not wearing all my layers like I would at home. Unfortunately the heating doesn't seem to be working in the temporary 'apartment' we have either so that doesn't help.  Roll on February :-D

Arrived!-pics added

We had a great journey yesterday and today and a nice stay last night in Manila. When we were checking in at Manila today though the guy said he couldn't check us in without an onward flight out of Kuwait!! I'd specifically asked the school and the agency and was told it wasn't necessary. That was a bit of a worry as I didn't know how much the flight I had to buy would cost and the check in was shutting in 15 mins! I had to go out of the airport then in another door then back in through a security check! Thankfully we got a very efficient girl so we just made it! Its a pity it cost more money but I was just glad to get on the flight!

Anyway the rest of the day went smoothly and we got a visa and then we were picked up at the airport here with no problems. The Kuwaitis we've encountered so far have been very pleasant and it's taken me straight back to Saudi, being here :) My family lived in Jubail, in Saudi Arabia for a couple of years, 25 years ago!! I loved living there so being back in an Arab country feels really weird, all the familiar sights, sounds and smells I'm recognising, but positive. I'm glad I enjoyed my time in Saudi as it could have been different here if I didn't.

The first thing I did when we went for a wander tonight was get an authentic shawarma-yum! They hadn't used the right bread though, it wasn't flatbread aarrgghh but it was good :) Please note, the picture isn't of the one I had-I ate mine too quick and it was half gone when I thought to take a pic :-D

The hotel is ok. It's more like a little apartment so we have a living room and a kitchen which will make it more liveable until we're in a proper flat. The two ladies on reception were from the Philippines so it was lovely to see 'familiar' faces. Guess what, there's an Inasal in Kuwait City, mum hahaha.

Well, off to unpack. I will sort out photos tomorrow to post.

Approaching Kuwait City

Approaching Kuwait City

Dubai Airport

Approaching Kuwait City

Heritage Hotel, Manila-pics added

We've arrived at the hotel in Manila. First leg of the journey over! The hotel is beautiful. That's the benefit of hotels in Asia for westerners, we can stay in a five star hotel for the price of a Travelodge back home!

When we were in the gate at Gensan airport I was thinking that I wished we were only arriving there instead of leaving :( I'm excited too about a new adventure though.

We can't get into our room until 2pm so were in the lounge for a cuppa. I don't often have hot drinks here during the day but its cloudy so a bit cooler. Also I think where we were on Mindanao was particularly hot for the Philippines although its been torrential rain there for the past couple of days. Unfortunately we didn't get to see the sun before we left but there plenty more of that to come! :) I honestly think I would perish in the cold in Scotland now, the air conditioning makes me cold now after only four months! The temperature in Kuwait just now is like a hot summer's day in Scotland. In the early twenties, so that'll be lovely.mmm

Lobby Lounge

Waiting for cases in Manila airport

Hot Chocolate - mmmmmm

our lovely room

pool area