Coming out of your comfort zone is tough in the beginning, chaotic in the middle, and awesome in the end. Because in the end, it shows you a whole new world, make an attempt!

So we have just begun week 2 of orientation. All the returning teachers have come back. We almost have everyone... I think we have a few more teachers flying out and by the end of the week we will have everyone! We are continuing to learn more about the curriculum and what to expect for the first week- it is all very exciting!

This is outside our apartments where the buses pick us up every morning and leave at 8am. It's hard to tell in the picture but that guy in the blue clothes that's pushing a cart? There is actually a person on that cart that he was pushing around... pretty funny because he got caught on a bump at one point and the guy stumbled a bit off the cart.

A lot has happened since the last time I wrote. We had a visit from the founder of the GEMS schools, his name is Sunny Varkey. Terry and Linda gave him a tour of the school and he also came in and spoke with us briefly, welcoming us to the GEMS family.

Sunny Varkey. Just to give you an idea of how big of a deal he is, according to Forbes he is worth 2.1 billion.

My school week is from Sunday-Thursday. My weekends are Friday and Saturday. So I got to experience my first weekend here in Qatar. Honestly compared to this past week it was pretty tame! The most I did was go to an Irish pub called The Irish Harp in the Sheraton Hotel in Doha. It was very fun and Friday was ladies night so we got free unlimited drinks! The one thing that will be tough getting used to is that people are allowed to smoke indoors. When I got back home that night my hair and clothes absolutely reeked of cigarette smoke and I felt disgusting. It was so much fun though because there was so much dancing and everyone is very friendly there. Lots of expats are there and the dress code is a little more lenient- made me wish I brought some more dresses! The bus ride home was very entertaining with all the Irish singing different songs like Galway Girl and And the Green Grass Grew All Around with lyrics like "Well the twig was on the branch and the branch was on the tree and the tree was on the root..." and so on. We were all pretty much laughing and had huge grins on our faces the entire ride home.

The band was fantastic and played lots of cover songs to keep us all dancing

While I was waiting for my drink I watched this go down... at the very bottom were these bluish green drinks

After making this pyramid of glasses he poured shots over them and proceeded to light them on fire! It looked really cool.

Unfortunately I did not make it to the brunch that many of the other teachers went to. Due to limited funds I had to pick either brunch or the pub that night. I promise I will have more of a social life and show you more of the social aspect of Doha after I get my paycheck within the next few days! From what I heard brunch ran from 12-4 and you pay around 360 riyals (about $90) and get unlimited food and drinks. The majority of my weekend was spent watching movies and curling up with my Kindle. Honestly I needed a few afternoons/nights with just some me time after constantly being on the go. It was nice to watch Fear the Walking Dead! I think tonight we will be able to get it online from iTunes and watch it.

This is part of the gondala ride that goes through the mall the Villagio. Because when you're the richest country in the world why not throw that in along with an ice skating rink, bowling alley, and some amusement park rides!? 

My exciting grown up life. I know you are extremely jealous.

Every week night we had the bus shuttle take us somewhere different. One night it was the Souq Waqif which is a marketplace (picture flea market/farmer's market), IKEA, And Carrefour (think Target/Walmart). I haven't even been here 2 weeks yet but it feels so much longer! The marketplace was very fun but also very hot. Fortunately some parts of it were air conditioned and made it more tolerable. The group that I was with managed to find some camels and get pictures of them and with them! Gross part- one of them was peeing for at least 2 minutes long. Then after this Guinness World Record pee, the camel proceeded to drink its own pee, gurgle it, spit it out, and repeat this process. The souq was so much fun to walk through. It is so colorful with all the scarves (pashminas), rugs, and fabrics hanging up.



Sassy camel

 

Me posing with the camels. I steered clear of the pee gurgler!

Walking through the souq. So colorful!

View of the souq from the outside

This cute little nugget was outside right when we got off the bus! Of course the crazy cat lady in me wanted to take him back to my apartment. The fur texture was a little different though... I guess they have to adapt to the heat.

The apartment is starting to come along! It has finally transitioned from oh my goodness this place is so barren I need to buy so much to ok now this place is safe to be inhabited by humans they could probably last here for a bit until I buy more food from Ansar. The process of going to Ansar is exhausting. Mentally preparing myself for the sweaty journey across the street and lugging my groceries back is rough. While I stand at the light holding my groceries and can feel beads of sweat dripping down my back and down my face, all I can think about is how quickly I can put all my groceries away and run warped speed into a nice cool shower. Although having a roommate to help lug the groceries back is definitely helpful.

Me and my roommate Nicole

Ansar Gallery is the mall right across the street from our apartments. It has just about everything you need from groceries to linens for your bathroom and kitchen, pots and pans, electronics, etc. Very handy to have right next to the apartments.

 Today I am getting my medical examination and blood tests done at the hospital today. I have continued to get things organized in my classroom. I brought an ABC chart and some things such as calendar to hang up on different bulletin boards.



This is the Al Wakra hospital. I am guessing this is where we will be getting our medical and blood tests done because it is very close to the school.

My ABC chart was originally on the cabinets... however when I came back the next day they all fell to the floor. You have to get a bit creative since we are not allowed to put anything on the walls besides the bulletin boards provided.

New and improved spot for my ABC chart! Kind of more ideal since it is at teacup human level =) I like this setup better anyway because on the cabinets the alphabet was disconnected and in rows.

 I am continuing to get settled in and get to know my new home. I am working on basic things like getting a membership to a gym in order to have some kind of outlet. They are a bit more pricy than I expected (especially compared to the basic $10 per month with Planet Fitness) but having a gym membership is considered a luxury here. With our gym membership it includes 300 minutes at the spa! It is something I am willing to splurge on because I know I will use it and I need that outlet. I probably will be spending the majority of this paycheck and will not be able to save much. I am learning how to budget and will work it out over time.

I am also getting used to prepping all of my meals every day. Although you can get Papa John's delivered! Ah the little things I took for granted like my mom making meals or just there magically being food in the fridge. So far it's been lots of pasta and chicken sandwiches for lunches and dinner. Tonight I am thinking about going all out and cooking some chicken thighs, broccoli, corn, and some of the other veggies we have, and then just using those leftover for the next couple of days. Either today or tomorrow we are planning to get Internet in our apartment, which will make updating this blog so much more easier! Then I can start planning Skype dates with the family instead of just giving them messages on Viber at 3 in the morning their time.

Much more of my Qatar adventures to come! I will try to do an entry later on this week but it is likely I will not have an entry posted until after the school year has started. Can you believe that next Sunday is when my school year starts and I meet my teacup humans!? So exciting. Sometime this afternoon we are supposed to get our class rosters! It is all coming together day by day.

I am still in awe as I get to know everyone. I think by tonight everyone will be here, the rest of the newbies arrive this evening. There are people literally from all over and it never ceases to amaze me. We have teachers from South Africa, Belize, Venezuela, Romania, Spain, Ireland, England, and of course mainly Canada and the US. This is such an amazing experience for me and I am so happy that this opportunity came to me!




Sometimes our lives have to be completely shaken up, changed, and rearranged to relocate us to the place we're meant to be.

Greetings from Qatar! I am officially in the midst of my first week here and am starting to adjust to the jet lag! I got my first good night of sleep (minus the brief interruption of the building alarm going off at 1 in the morning). It is still surreal being here across the world, a 13 hour plane ride from home. There is just so much to see and adjust to but I absolutely love it and would not change a thing.

Doha, my new home! Much thanks to Mike who has awesome photo taking skills who I got this shot from.

The plane ride wasn't too bad. I didn't sleep at all but that was mostly due to nerves and excitement. You have so many choices for entertainment and that helps the time go by fast. I watched 2 movies- Tomorrowland (eh) and Home (really cute). Hands down my favorite part was looking at the map to see what we were flying over. How often do you get to say things like "Hey we're flying over Paris right now!" "Oh now we're over the Alps!" My fellow Jersey girl Shannon and I sat next to each other and bonded for 13 hours.

Qatar airways

Coolest part of the flight!

 

I am on day 3 of my school orientation. We have gotten to see our classrooms and have started browsing through resource rooms to pick supplies to utilize in our classrooms. There is such a great sense of community here. Everyone is so open to helping out and being there for one another. Our principal Terry Gamble is fantastic I cannot imagine a better first principal for me to start working with at the beginning of my teaching career. He has such a positive attitude and encourages us to collaborate with one another and to never isolate ourselves or try to do everything on our own. We are all newbies here from all over. It makes me think of that song from High School Musical... we're all in this together!



Welcome to GEMS American Academy Qatar!

 

There's something exciting about seeing your name posted outside your first future classroom. Teach like a pirate arrrr matey! 

First glimpse of my classroom!

Front of the classroom complete with alphabet rug for morning meeting/circle time and an Activboard.

This was one of the resource rooms we could get supplies from. Lots to choose from for different grade levels.

The apartment is really nice and spacious. Definitely not too shabby for my first place living on my own. I am excited for my roommate to arrive because it is so quiet with only me there. I constantly have movies playing on my laptop for background noise. I am used to my house in Jersey where there is constant chatter, laughing, and cats wandering around. We are located right across the street from this little strip mall called Ansar Gallery. It has just about everything you could possibly need from food, electronics, shower rods/curtains, pots/pans, etc. There's also a gas station in the other direction that isn't too far... however the walk can be a little adventurous since they are doing construction in that area. The gas station has a kiosk where you can upload more data or minutes to your cell phone.

Tons of counter space and cabinets in the kitchen. It's a bit bare right now. There is a washing machine and I still need to get a drying rack.



The kitchen... feel free to admire the fantastic Harry Potter and crazy cat lady magnets

Bathroom with snazzy bath mat 

Bedroom... where kindle reading and movie watching takes place

Before the orientation even started we had the first few days to get ourselves acquainted with the area and do some sight seeing. We took a Doha hop on and hop off bus tour... minus the hopping. Fun fact, just because Qatar is a desert does not mean there is a dry heat! It is very humid here and you just have to embrace the fact that you will constantly be sweating when you are outdoors. The bus was a double decker and the second floor was not air conditioned. Guess where yours truly was sitting? It was fine as long as the bus was moving because there was a nice breeze. However anytime we were stopped at a light it was excruciatingly hot. The wait time at stop lights is much longer compared to at home. The way it's organized is that each side goes at one time. I think it is safe to say I will not be buying or renting a car while I am here. The drivers are pretty intense out here and we saw a near accident complete with loud squealing brakes right next to us when we were on the bus. They have circles/roundabouts here. We have plenty of those in Jersey but what's different and slightly more terrifying is that there can be 2-3 lanes in these circles/roundabouts. After the bus tour and some down time at our apartments we had a delicious catered meal with Terry and his wife where they are staying. The food was great and I have become addicted to this strawberry drink they have. It was nice to have something besides water, which I am constantly drinking to make sure I stay hydrated. It is very rare to find water that does not have sodium in it. It tastes slightly different but usually you are so thirsty you just chug it and don't even notice.

 

The gang's all here!


 

So this entry is just a snapshot of what my life is here so far in Doha, Qatar. Looking forward to continuing to getting to know everyone, getting ready for the kids in September, and embracing the fact that I am very out of my comfort zone and loving it! 

 

 

 

Life begins at the end of your comfort zone

It is hard to believe that in a week from now I will be on a plane, starting my 13 hour flight on a journey that will certainly change my life in many ways. I never in a million years thought my first full time teaching job would be at an international school in Qatar. It was the end of April that this opportunity presented itself- which was only 4 months ago.

My beautiful new home in a week Doha, Qatar

Running around getting everything I needed for my work visa was definitely one of the most stressful things I have ever had to do in my life- just ask any of my coworkers from the library! I remember while I was substitute teaching for a teacher for 5 days in a row (and I actually knew her so I was able to actually teach a unit) and during my lunch breaks and prep periods I was making trips to the post office to get money orders made or making calls to make sure my visa would be available in time. A big shout out to the awesome team of Debra and Adam at ASAP Document Services. They took a ton of stress out of the ordeal. I pictured them like my team racing around DC and NYC getting the signatures and everything that I needed. It was well worth the extra fees and I was so relieved to have it all completed and sent to the school secretary in Qatar by the beginning of July.

The official stamp of approval from the Department of State and
signature from current Secretary of State John Kerry. 

It still feels unreal sometimes, but it definitely felt real when I got my flight information the other day. It really is happening! Each day I get a little more contact from the school, e-mails telling us who will be picking us up from the airport, what our schedule will be like, what we are doing for our orientation- it is all starting to come together.

A 2 year teaching contract with GEMS American Academy Qatar. GEMS stands for Global Education Management Systems, and they are an international education company. It is the largest operator of kindergarten to grade 12 schools in the world, with over 70 schools in a dozen countries (including Qatar!). I plan to do as much traveling as I can during these 2 years. Not many people are provided an opportunity like this. I plan to take full advantage by filling my passport with stamps and seeing as much of the world as I can.

All packed up and ready to go!

As you can see I've got my Barbie pink suitcases all loaded up (with some children's books as well as my clothes). I couldn't help but pack up some school supplies. I feel like it will make it feel more like my classroom if I bring along some of my own supplies. After my student teaching I got so much free posters, calendars, etc. to hang in my classroom, and now I finally have a chance to use them! I just have to make sure my bags don't weigh over 50 lbs, otherwise I pay a fun hefty fee.

I absolutely feel ready to take on this adventure. This opportunity has presented itself at an ideal time in my life. It is a chance for me to meet new people, get some experience under my belt, see the world, and get to know myself even more. I've lived in New Jersey all of my life. I am ready to step outside my comfort zone, challenge myself, and see the world. Experience is the best teacher and I am eager to learn!