Going to the Beach

You think we'd go to the beach more often since we live on an island.  But we don't.  Today was Eva's first day in the ocean and she seemed to enjoy it.  It was the perfect day - a strong breeze, just warm enough in the sun, just cool enough in the shade.  The thing that stuck out the most to me was the silence.  It's a ways down on the island, and there's really nothing south of the beach for cars to go to.  It was very peaceful.  We couldn't believe we hadn't done it before! Anyways, here are some pictures (if you are viewing this on Facebook, you may need to go directly to my blog to view the pictures).

Following People I've Never Talked To: Observations of Non-Verbal Communication

Directions in Bahrain are difficult, and I've written about it before.  I was taking our car to a garage on the recommendation of a friend, and when I called the mechanic, he told me to meet him near the Gulf Air club.  I knew where that was, and was happy to meet him there.  As I pulled up and started to park in front of the club, I saw a car parked across the street with two men inside.  Before I had even stopped the car, they flashed their lights at me, I gave them a wave, and they pulled out.  I just followed them.

The oddity of it occurred to me as we followed the men the last mile to the garage.  We both just assumed we'd met the right people and went on with our business.  When we pulled up to the garage, then we got out, introduced ourselves and shook hands.  But it was just a knowing glance that confirmed I was the follower and he was the followee. 

So much is communicated non verbally, and I've noticed it other times.  I've seen men talk across a street, yelling just one or two words, giving hand gestures, but seeming to speak volumes to each other.  After a few back-and-forths, they all seem satisfied and will go on their way.  If I do catch the words they use, the words themselves are so ambiguous that an outsider - like myself - has absolutely no clue what's being discussed.  I've been trying to think of any sort of similar thing I've seen in the states, but nothing comes to mind.  

The New Fish

Eva absolutely loves animals.  Whenever we go out to the car, she wants to chase the stray cats.  She likes looking out the window at the birds, and loves looking at animals in books or on the internet.  So a week ago, we went to one of the fish shops to purchase a small tank and a couple of fish.  The tank came with four fish of our choice, and we decided to purchase a couple others.  Here were our purchase:

• Black Moor gold fish (bug eyed black fish) 
• A creepy white fish (I still don't know what it is) 
• two tiger fish
• two "angel" fish
• A gold fish 
• a fighter fish. 

The lady didn't say anything about them not going together, or about them not getting along, so I didn't think anything of our fish choice until a) my sister-in-law informed me that we would have problems and b) a friend told me that the tank was WAY too small for 8 fish.  (though I seem to remember A LOT of fish in the tank in Finding Nemo). 

Sure enough, we had problems.  

First, one of the angel fish was dumb enough to get himself stuck twice in the foliage.  He eventually died.  Then the tiger fish, angel fish and creepy white fish started picking at the Black Moor.  He lost an eye before he kicked the bucket.  They then started picking on the fighter fish.  That guy didn't deserve the title "fighter".  He was kind of a pansy.  Now they seem to have reached a happy equilibrium.  I've also since learned some tank-care things that will hopefully keep the rest of them alive.  As long as the gold fish stays alive, that would be great.  

Eva loves them, though.  The tank is right at her height, so she'll watch them in the morning (more accurately, yell at them), and she "helps" me feed them in the afternoons.  Her help consists of trying to get her fingers into the fish food and eating it herself.  I need to teach her how to feed the fish soon.  But all in all, she seems to enjoy them, which was the purpose in the first place.  Thank you for your sacrifices, Black Moore, Angel Fish and Fighter Fish. 

Sand Storm

I don't think we've experienced a true sand storm in Bahrain.  The closest I've come is a sand/dust storm my first year here.  During that one, I had to close my eyes while outside or particles of would get in them.  Its kind of like being at the beach on a windy day, except visibility is down to less than a couple meters and if you leave your windows open absolutely everything gets covered in a fine layer of dust.

However, this last weekend, we did get the tail end of a sand-storm coming off the Arabian peninsula.  I was sent this video taken on Friday (I think) by some guys in Kuwait.  It's quite an amazing and dramatic video.

This picture was also posted on the NASA website earlier this week.  You can see the sand blowing off the UAE into the Persian (Arabian?) Gulf.

Rock Star Teacher

Alison is working on her Masters in Curriculum and Instruction through Michigan State, and some of her assignments require her to complete projects in class.  Since she's not actually teaching at the moment, she used my class as her "lab" for her research project.  And because our classes our short, I told the students before hand that she was coming, that I expected their best behavior, etc. to cut down on the confusion and chaos and have more time for instruction.

I was surprised at how excited they were! Part of it is probably because I always use Alison and Eva as examples in class, so they hear about them a lot.  Alison was actually supposed to come a couple weeks ago, but because of the unrest, we had to reschedule a couple of times.  They were always disappointed.  

I had this conversation a couple of times with students:

Student:  Is Eva coming?
Me:  No.  Everyone would be too distracted.
Student:  Are you staying at home with her?
Me:  No, I'll be here at school.
Student: So where will Eva be?
Me.  Well... at home.
Student:  Alone!?!?!
Me.  Yeah.  If Mrs. Alison and I are both here, who else would be with her?
Student:  

Sometimes I came clean and sometimes I didn't. 

So today was the big day.  Alison didn't come to school right away, so when one girl came to my class before school even started, she panicked and asked, "Where is Ms. Alison!?!" I had to reassure her that she was coming a little later, but would be here for her math period.  She signed a sigh of relief.

Alison came, taught, and left.  The kids enjoyed it, or at least they pretended to for our sakes.  Alison also got to connect with the people she knows from working at Al Raja previously. Even some former students came to say hi.  Tomorrow the kids will have a test, and then it's back to the grind with their normal, boring teacher.  Well, as I tell my students, "whatever doesn't kill you only makes you stronger".