Back to School

I spent most of last night tossing and turning. It could be due to the 14 hours of sleep Friday night or perhaps some nerves about going back at school. Regardless of the reason, I kept waking up to check my cell phone, not wanting to relive another frantic morning due to my not-so-reliable alarm clock. Although I had five alarms set, three on my phone and two on the computer program I downloaded (paranoid – I know), I barely needed the first one and quickly rolled over to shut it (and the other four) off.

I planned enough time for a nice breakfast, had ironed my clothes the night before, as well as packed my lunch and bag. I was out the door five minutes early and was really happy to see and hear about the other teachers and their adventures over winter break.

You may not believe me but Kuwait gets cold. Today the high was 13 degree Celsius (54 F). My students spent the better part of the day wearing their hats and mittens and Ms. Rana and I crowded around our portable heater during our break.

Speaking of my students, I was greeted with a “Ms. Rubeeeka!!” and a nice big hug. Almost all of my students seemed excited and happy to be back. They enjoyed sharing stories from their break, creating a New Years Goal and seeing pictures from my break in Connecticut.

I have to admit I was surprised, in a good way, by their behavior. My most challenging student earned most of his smiley faces and remembered to use the words “please” and “thank you” with minimal prompting. The boys were able to recall most of our calendar routine and liked my power point math review game.

About 30 minutes before my day was over, the second grade teacher came into my classroom and asked if I was willing to start tutoring today. Needless to say, my plans of a nice nap and workout went out the window. I stuck around school until 3:45 and then got a taxi to the Kuwaiti family’s very large and very beautiful house. The boys, second and fourth graders, were both very sweet and had really great attitudes towards doing their homework. The hour and a half flew by. We set up a weekly schedule of tutoring two hours on Sundays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays which leaves Mondays and Saturdays open for my other family that I work with. While I am ecstatic about this opportunity to earn a little extra money (one of my goals for my next five months in Kuwait) I can see how it may pose a challenge for my other goal, of getting into a routine of working out regularly. I didn’t get in my work out tonight and I’m positive that the grilled cheese sandwich (on white bread *gasp*) and fresh mango juice that was presented to me on a beautiful gold tray are having the opposite effect of what I’m going for. We’ll see how I make out tomorrow.

Oh, I almost forgot! I sat down with the director of my school today to discuss my plans for next year. When she asked how my break went I shared that it was really wonderful to be home with my friends and family. I also told her that it helped me realize that I am not ready for another year of living alone and six thousand miles away from the people I love the most. She seemed disappointed to lose me but was happy that I was able to come to a decision that made me happy.