A sneak peak at the day in the life of an International Teacher

So, it was a typical day at school.  Well, minus the fact that today is the day before the Arab Mother's Day, and so I started my day with a student giving me nice perfume and a couple of flowers.  I was hesitant to smell the perfume, as I haven't been much of a fan of some of the ones I've smelled the women here wear, but this one smells really nice and I was pleasantly surprised.  Otherwise, today was normal and is my light work day for the week, which means I taught 3 out of 7 lessons.  Yes, this is definitely a plus to working at an international school where they have Arabic, Islamic Studies, and Qatar History throughout the week (not all of them everyday).  In the States, teachers have one lesson free, but here that is considered my "long day".  One thing different for me today than other days, was that I taught Global Studies.  I won't go into details, but essentially I have a mix class of "speakers and non speakers" (aka Arabic speakers and non Arabic speakers).  We don't have a teacher for the "non speakers", so that is where I come in.  Luckily, I share the position with another teacher, so we alternate weeks.  It's very easy and my only complaint is that I lose 3 "free" lessons on the weeks that I teach, which is hardly a complaint.

Anyways, the day was going well, as I was cranking things out on my to-do list and in walks Bernadette.  She's a friend on my team of teachers (year 5/4th grade), from South Africa, who brought me her old phone for Mark and I to use.  I asked her about it the other day, as Mark and I decided to finally "splurge" to go from one phone to two phones.  It's crazy how low our expenses are here.  For example, for our one phone, (one of our only bills a month...) we pay about $15-20 USD/month. Keep in mind it was one of the cheapest phones we could buy, no Iphone for the Wilcoxen's...not worth the extra cash each month, especially when we are saving for travel, house, loans, etc.

So, I was excited when Bernadette gave me the phone and I looked at one of my student's who just walked into the classroom and had the following conversation.

Convo #1:
Me (to another student): "Hey look what Ms. Bernadette gave me (showing student a cell phone).  So now Mark and I finally have two phones, one for each of us."
Student: "My mom has two phones."
Me: hysterically laughing and wondering what these kids think of our "simple living" here.

Mark has had situations where he has confiscated 4 phones from one student.  Apparently, it's normal to have more than one phone per person, but still have yet to truly understand why.

Anyways, the remainder of my day goes well and then it's time for tutoring.  Mark and I both tutor for the same family on Wednesdays together for two hours.  I tutor a boy who is about 6 and a boy who is in 2nd grade.  The 6 year old hardly speaks English and they are trying to test him into our school for next year.  The test is next week, so I had to have a conversation with the mom today about how I don't think he is going to pass, considering he still doesn't know his letters.  She understands, but has increased my hours until his test, to do all we can to help him pass.

After the 6 year old, I tutor the 2nd grader and we experienced the following:

Convo #2- While tutoring after school we were researching Alexander Graham Bell and writing about him.
Me: You need to write his full name when writing about him and make sure to capitalize all three names.
Student: I don't understand, that's only 3 names and not 6.
Me: Yes, in other parts of the world people only have three names in their full name. My name is Kristin Elizabeth Wilcoxen.
Student: (looking confused) But I have 6 in my name.

**good thing they don't take standardized tests where they have to bubble in their full name on the scantron...

Honestly, these are fairly normal conversations to have, but still find them humorous and wanted to share them with you.    Now, to end our day...Mark and I are about to walk to our small group that we go to on Wednesdays.  This has been a huge help in acclimating to this country, making it feel more like home, and grow in our relationship with our Father.

Love,

Kristin

I Will Go With You...

    It's hard to believe we've been here for over 6 months, as time has definitely flown at times and been a bit slow at other times.  It's been about a year since we signed our contracts to work here in Doha, Qatar.  It brings back memories of the interview and decision making process.  There was a song that spoke to me quite a bit during the decision making process, that was frequently played at E91 while we were making this decision.  I have searched for this song on Itunes numerous times, but unfortunately the Aaron Pelsue Band does not sell their songs on there.  Luckily, I recently discovered that their songs are posted on Youtube (I can't believe I didn't look there before).  So, I often will listen to their playlist on there for a taste of E91 and continue to play my favorite song that lead me to trust in His plan for us here.

I Will Go With You - Aaron Pelsue Band

   I truly believe we were brought here for a reason.  We have endured several challenges along the way, as it hasn't been easy to adjust to all of the changes and separation from loved ones.  Although we've experienced our trials here, I can honestly say our experience overall has been amazing and unforgettable.  We can laugh at some of the challenges from when we first got here, especially getting used to grocery shopping/cooking, lack of advancement in certain things/technology (still a struggle at time), orienting ourselves with our neighborhood, and consistently seeing our lives flash before our eyes while in the car (becoming more used to that experience).  I wouldn't change any of our challenges though, as we have grown through them together.  I've grown to accept that some things we will always miss, especially loved ones.  Continued Skype/Facetime chats, e-mails, and text messaging has helped.

   Although we've experienced hardships, we've experienced such joy here as well.  Our classroom experiences have been quite different, but my class truly brightens my day and reminds me as to why I became a teacher.  Other than our work experiences, we have met some amazing people.  I have enjoyed getting to know people from all over the world and learning about their childhood and culture.
    Through the getting to know process, I have come to find a deep appreciation/respect for those who are here for work and are separate from their wives and kids.  I honestly do not know how they do it, as I can't imagine living separately from Mark.  One person in particular is our friend, BK, who is from Nepal.  He has been here for 10 years and works so hard to send home just about everything he makes to help support his family, who he only sees once every two years.  He has made quite an impression/impact on Mark and I and we are blessed to have him in our lives.  BK is one of thousands who are here separate from their families, and I have found such a soft spot for many of those people.

  There have been people we've met and various moments where I can see why we are here.  Although I see those things, I also feel like there are still further plans HE has for us here and ask for you to pray for those to become clear to us.  This is a wonderful opportunity we have here and want to follow HIS purpose for us.

  We are truly blessed to be here.  We are grateful for the friendships we are building and the opportunities to experience things we never would have if we would've stayed in the States.  I still sometimes take a step back and just smile and laugh to myself thinking about where we are in the world and remember saying at the beginning, "We will go just about anywhere, but the Middle East".  He clearly had another plan for us and am thankful that we are here.

  Love,

  Kristin