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!
No comments:
Post a Comment