Adjusting...The First 3 Days

I’m living in a state of shock. I’m not sure that I actually believe I’m going to live here for the next 10 months. Can you believe it?!?!?!?!

The past 4 days have been absolutely crazy. I left from home on Thursday afternoon (thank you Annie) and arrived here around 9pm local time (that would be 1pm EST). Then began the process of entering the country. We had to get off the plane, use the bathroom, get our baggage, go through passport control, go through customs (twice) and meet our driver. Surprisingly, this only took a little over an hour and a half. After we loaded up all the bags (there were 6 of us being picked up together) on the bus we started the drive to the city in which we would be staying. We had heard it would only take 90 min but we didn’t get to our apartment until nearly 2am. 

We were completely shocked when we entered the apartment. IT’S HUGE!!!!! There are four bedrooms, four bathroom, a kitchen, a entry way which serves as our dining room (sort of) and a huge living room. After we picked rooms and put our suitcases away we discovered there was no running water. After nearly 24 hours in transit this wasn’t exactly pleasant news. In addition, we were stranded in a new city with no phone or internet. We had no way of contacting anyone to let them know. So we laughed about the whole situation and resolved to figure it out the next day. 

So Saturday, we were picked up by the school bus with the principal and taken to the mall (a 4 min walk from our apartment but it seems like over twice that in the heat). We got cell phones and were able to pick up some basic needs. I have to say after a summer in a small town in Oman the Carrefour (kind of like a Walmart) here was a bit of culture shock. There were actually American products in the store and I was able to buy things like peanut butter and a reed diffuser. It still has all of my favorite Arabian products like dates and mangoes :) The afternoon was spent relaxing, waiting for the water repairman. He came that evening and an hour later we had running water!!!!!! I never thought I would be so thankful to the Father for water :) Then we trekked back up to Carrefour with our list to get more stuff only to realize there was no way we could make it back to the apartment with everything. We took the 15 second drive in a taxi back home.

Sunday was our first day of orientation and it was great to finally have all the brand new people in one room together! We got to talk about the history of the school and then share our stories of how the Father brought us all here. It was absolutely amazing. The Father is working in such amazing ways to transform this region. After a delicious lunch we got our very first tour of the school! The family that owns the school took us all over the campus. We got to see the classrooms, the library, the gym, the swimming pool, the playground and all the offices/work rooms. I didn’t get pictures because I forgot my camera :( But I promise I’ll take some the next time I go! After this we went back to the apartment and got ready for another trip to Carrefour (I’ve been there every single day since I’ve arrived). Any spare time has been spent unpacking and hanging out with my housemates. I’m with three amazing young women and I can’t wait to get to know them even better! 

Today was another day of orientation. We learned more about what the school will be like and what will be expected of us. Then we got to hear more stories (our team is quite large) and spend time together. I finally finished unpacking this afternoon and hung out more with my housemates. The heat really drains energy from you and the afternoons are needed for rest and recuperation. 

I found out today some exciting news about the upcoming year...

-I will have my very own classroom!!!!! Originally, I thought because I was in a support/resource room type role that I would be sharing a classroom or rotate into other classrooms. However, yesterday after our tour the principal informed me I would have my own classroom to do whatever I wanted

-I don’t have a classroom decorating budget. We were told today that we would make a list of everything we want and the school will get it for us, within reason of course ;)

-I’ll be working with 3rd-5th graders! This is brand new for me but this age seems like an amazing group to be teaching. Apparently, their last teacher wasn’t very effective and the kids are eager for a teacher that genuinely cares about them.

-I find out which classroom in the school is mine tomorrow. I’ll definitely be posting pics of the decorating process when I get started.

I don’t have too many pics on my computer because I haven’t been able to sync them from my camera yet but as soon as I do I’ll post a tour of the apartment and the school!

Here are some pictures I never got the chance to post...

Goodbye breakfast with Annie!

My last American baseball game

My packed suitcases

My countdown to leave has been replaced with a countdown until the first day of school...September 9th!