Two weeks in two minutes

September 30th was Eid al-Fitr, the Muslim holiday which marks the end of the month of Ramadan. On the first day of Shawwal (the 10th month of the lunar Islamic calendar), Muslims gather either in mosques or a large open area for a congregational prayer at daybreak. The rest of that day (and following two days) are typically spent visiting family and friends. I spent my first Eid with my assistant Rana and her family. They picked me up and took me to lunch at Chili’s. It was very fun; there were 15 of us at four tables that were pushed together. Everyone was dressed up in new clothes and so excited and happy to celebrating. The restaurant was packed and I even ran into someone I knew (another family who had invited me over for iftar during Ramadan)!

Living in Kuwait after Ramadan is very different. Businesses and restaurants are now open during the day and we are now in the regular schedule. Gone are the days of my 9-1 school day. I now have them from 7:30 until 2. My students are incredibly busy throughout our eight-period school day. In addition to having five or six academic class periods with me, my boys go to Arabic class and then one or two specials classes. They get a 15 minute break outside on the rooftop playground where they all eat their snacks and a 25 minute lunch break which is usually spent running around or playing soccer.

I am doing my best to adjust to the early day. The bus which takes teachers to school leaves at 6:30. I have been trying to get up by 6, however, the snooze button has become my best friend. I’ve learned to shower, pack my bag and pick out my outfit the night before in order to squeeze in those extra 5-10 minutes of sleep in the morning. I am usually back to my apartment around 3:15. I’ve gotten into the routine of praying Asr (the mid afternoon prayer), taking a little nap, eating a small dinner and then using the exercise equipment in the apartment building next door.

It is so hard to be active here. Gym memberships at the “nice” gyms in the hotels cost around $1,000 USD a year. Seeing that I am trying my best to save while here in Kuwait and do not have my own transportation, I am perfectly happy with the two treadmill, one stationary bike and small free weight set in the apartment building next door. I’ve gone all week long and have not run into another person – it’s like having my own little personal workout room. There is a bakery next door that sells delicious baklava, konafa (a shredded pastry with sweet cheese in the middle which is covered in a sugar syrup) and fatire (similar to a calzone with a variety of cheese, vegetable or meat fillings). Their prices are really reasonable and the food is delicious. Dangerous combination…

Tutoring in Kuwait is a great way to make additional money. The average rate for tutoring ranges from 10-20 KD which in US dollars comes out to about 40-80 dollars an hour. Most Kuwaiti families hire tutors to assist in explaining academic material and helping children with their homework. This week I started working with three children, two students in 9th grade and one in 5th. Their mother is the school nurse at Fawzia Sultan and they live only a 4 minute walk away from my apartment. All of the children can speak English, however, they are much more confident in Arabic. When working with the two 9th graders on Biology (I cannot believe I was helping them in this subject - I realized that it has been 9 years since I have really worked with or read about monomers, macromolecules and the elements which make up carbohydrates) I realized just how confusing the terminology can be without a solid background in English. I tried high-lighting and teaching common prefixes like mono, di , macro, mini and so on. I borrowed one of their books to take home with me so that I can read up and familiarize myself with the information, before trying to explain it to them. InshAllah, I will be working with these three children four hours every week. I will also be starting to work with a 4th grade student who lives in Kuwait City next week. His mother sounds very nice and is very excited for me to being. After hearing that I don’t have a car she told me not to worry and that she will just send her driver to pick me up and drop me off on the three days a week that I will be working with her son.

I am doing my best to stay busy. One of the Arabic teachers is offering a beginners Arabic class on Thursdays from 2-3, free of charge for any interested staff members. I am looking forward to this class and the opportunity to learn. There are many parents and staff members who I would love to communicate with. For now we communicate through smiles and with the assistance of Rana. InshAllah, with time I will pick up and be able to use and speak some Arabic.

I apologize for taking so long to update this blog. If anyone gets impatient feel free to email me at Rebecca.Minor@gmail.com and give me a nudge to write another post. As always, I hope you are doing well and I look forward to hearing from you.