Expat in Qatar – Teaching Abroad- American Teacher Overseas

Year 2 Rewind

**Written on May 25, 2018**

It’s hard to believe I just completed my second year of teaching abroad. My original contract term is satisfied and outside of student loans I am completely without debt in the U.S. I still owe Qatar some money so I’ll be there at least another year but I have accomplished a big goal of mine and it feels AMAZING! As I am typing away I am trying to distract myself from the turbulence of this plane ride. The plane that will prayerfully take me to the first stop of my summer vacation. (More on that later)

So how was year two? Let’s take a look in the rear view:

This year was sort of low-key. It was the first time hubby and I were empty nesters so we spent a lot of time indoors. We worked out and even took an Arabic course together. His support is without words. I can’t recall one meal that I cooked, one load that I washed, one room that I cleaned. He never complained about my bitching and whining when I came home from work. Me coming home with my stories was his favorite part of his day, at least he pretended it was anyway. He has not been able to find work but that has not stopped him from searching and applying constantly. I am hopeful that something will come through soon or we may have to re-evaluate our situation.

I only took one trip this school year but it was a big one. Cape town was absolutely beautiful and fun. You can click here to read all about my travels there. I may not have taken many trips, but I did take multiple vacations.

Work relationships were difficult this year. I started to write a whole paragraph on this but no. The school year is over for me and I will not dwell on the past. I need to start next year with a new plan. If any of you guys reading have tips for coping with team members that you don’t particularly mesh with, I’m all ears… As far as my students go, they turned out to be an okay group of kids. There were some doozies but I really enjoyed teaching them. I found ways to teach what I believe in my heart they needed to learn along with the required curriculum and it worked out. If I can’t teach my students so that we can see progress, what’s the point? I’m enjoying teaching the PYP framework too. It’s new for me but PYP along with some time to teach foundational skills is pretty damn good. PYP exposes students to subjects and skills that will help them to develop background knowledge that they may otherwise be lacking. I’m looking forward to our school becoming PYP Accredited so that I can add it to my CV. Next year, we are also supposed to be moving to a brand new school building with top of the line amenities. That gives me something to look forward to.

This year was filled with confidence boosters on a personal level. I did photo shoots, interviews, was a subject of college assignments, and even modeled, all while bald. Most of these events were to bring awareness to Alopecia. I felt like I was doing my part to help other women with alopecia feel comfortable or to at least let them know that they are not alone. My alopecia group grew to over 100 members. In a small way, I am doing something to help the world.

Something else that I am proud of this year, is that I was able to eliminate my high cholesterol without medicine. With the right diet and exercise, you really can be healthy. (If you need tips on this let me know) But unfortunately, I am vitamin D deficient now. This came as a surprise to me being as though I live in the dessert. But it makes sense because it is often so hot, that we stay indoors out of the sun and when we are outdoors, we are required to dress modestly and cover our shoulders and knees. And the only way to truly fix this, is sun exposure and or Vitamin D supplements. So now I have to take a pill a week for 8 weeks but the good thing is, it’s summer and I’m out of the desert. Time to get some sun! (This is something to consider if you are thinking of moving to the Middle East)

So what about the next school year? I will be in Qatar. I am taking it year by year. I am moving, again, to a new apartment, to be closer to the new school and to have more expendable money. I have moved every year that I’ve been in Qatar. That’s funny to me. It’s kind of like my life, if something doesn’t fit my needs, I move on. I have decided that starting now, I will try to be in the ‘NOW’! I want to enjoy the moment, not always looking for tomorrow. If I can find some joy in every moment, I believe I will be a better person.

Don’t forget to leave your suggestions in the comment section, on ways to cope with a team that you don’t mesh with.

Qatar’s National Day: A Celebration of Fortitude

National day in Qatar is celebrated on December 18th when Jassim Bin Mohammed Al-Thani succeeded his father as ruler of Qatar. He helped to unify the various tribes and force away outside influences and although Qatar did not gain it’s independence until 1971, he was seen as strongly influential in the unified Qatar. (read more about the history here)

Even though National day is held every year, this year’s National Day festivities were highly anticipated for two main reasons; last year’s celebrations were cancelled due to the conflict in Aleppo and more importantly the current blockade against Qatar by several Middle Eastern countries. Other than these reasons, I was excited because it would be my first year seeing an actual celebration in this country on such a wide scale. It was almost like, this country needed a celebration, some joy amongst the sadness that has engulfed this nation after 6 months of political unrest, which still seem to have no end in sight. (the latest on the blockade)

Many social media outlets advertised this year’s festivities which included a week long drone show at Katara, a 10 day celebration at Darb Al Saai (we took our students there last year on a school trip), shows at the Mall of Qatar, a parade and fireworks on the Corniche and much, much more.

My school held a National Day celebration on the last day before our three week winter break. Students put on performances and booths were set up all over the school grounds with games and food. Teachers were dressed in National clothing and parents came out to spend the day with their children.

Jennifer, JD, Darryl and I checked out the festivities at the very crowded Darb Al Saai one night.

Darb Al Saii

But the real celebration was at the Corniche. The parade was set to start at 3pm and we had a strong feeling that it was going to be super crowded so we decided to get down there around 12. As we walked along the Corniche to get closer to where everything would be, the crowds began to form and we were able to experience something a little out of the ordinary. There were hoards of men and they could only walk up to a certain point before being stopped by guards and police, because our husbands were with us, they were allowed to proceed. Qatar is definitely made up of a dominant men population, mainly due to the amount of laborers and because it is a family-oriented country, priority does go to men and women couples, women pairs and women with children. So as we were allowed to proceed, not without going through the metal detectors and being patted down; it felt strange watching the sea of men disappear behind us. I felt sorry for them but I understood the logic. Groups of single men in an open area with few women, in a country where you can get into trouble for staring too long at a women could be asking for trouble. It is also a way of crowd control.

There weren’t many seats set up across the street from the Corniche and we were not optimistic that we’d get one so we opted to stay on the water side. Unfortunately, to really see the parade you’d have to be on the side of the street where the seats were, so we were not in the best place to really enjoy the parade but what we did enjoy was so much more. As I looked around, I saw a myriad of diversity, Indians with Asians, blacks with whites, Arabs with Christians, young and old people, smiling, laughing, enjoying the day. No fights, no arguments, just happiness. As Darryl and I sat on a curb and lost our view of the street, due to many people with children taking their seats on the grass in front of the gates, an Arab family took food out of their bags and began to eat. Then they offered us some and although I said “La, Shukran” (no thank you) 3 times, they refused to take no for an answer. I’d heard that it was rude to reject an offering of food so I reached out my hand and accepted the plate. I did the polite thing of taking a bite of some Arabian treat for which I had no idea what it was and then the older woman of the family said she was going to give me more, and a younger women took back our plate and loaded it with more food. The food wasn’t half bad either. We had water which was being given out for free from an Al Meera truck and food from a kind stranger.

Then this happened, men, complete strangers, gathered shoulder to shoulder and began praying together. Since I moved to this country, it is one of the things I admire the most about Islam, the way they pray. For those few moments, they are not strangers, expats, nationals, rich or poor, but brothers and equal.

The parade was a show of arms. The few glimpses I was able to see on tip toes between shoulders and over heads were of military trucks and men in uniforms marching. But we had a great view of the air show and it was awesome.

We didn’t stay for the people’s parade but Jennifer booked a hotel on the corniche where we went back to watch the fireworks at night.

Darryl and I left the hotel and headed home after the fireworks but a usual 10 minute ride took 1.5 hours to get home and we found ourselves smack dab in the middle of the real celebration. Cars, trucks and people everywhere celebrating in the streets. The real parade, in a sense, had just begun. A display of real pride prevailed

Even though we didn’t get to see the drone show in Katara or shake the hand of the Sheik, or truly get to see the parade, I immensely enjoyed being amongst the people for National Day. In American, I would be so afraid to venture out in large crowds for fear of violence or bombings. Here, even though I was nervous, only because of the blockade, I still felt safe. It was nice to see a country of people united standing side by side in solidarity and believe me it felt like the entire country was present. I feel like Qatar needed this day. Despite what’s happening politically, Qatar is showing courage. Be strong dear country, be strong!

Here are some tips on how to be prepared for the parade:

Arrive early, like 5 hours early
Get a seat in the stands so that you are facing the parade (if you are on the water side, only the vehicles come down that side, but it is a good side for the air show) or sit close to the gates
Go as a family
Take some snacks and liquids
Locate the bathroom
Dress for the weather (hoodie-if it’s chilly, that you can take off if you get hot) (sunscreen)
You can drive and park at the MIA and take a bus over to the festivities or drive to a nearby hotel and walk the rest of the way
Book a hotel near the Corniche for the day, so you can enjoy the fireworks and avoid the crowds
Go, be pushed and shoved, smile and meet people
Get into the spirit and dress like a Qatari or wear something that shows off local pride (hat, t-shirt, scarf)

Arabic 101: Lesson 2

Ahlan Wa Sahlan- Welcome, Hello

If you ever want to know what it’s like to be an esl student, become one. ≈Me

I’ve never been a very empathetic person but this class is causing a change in me when it comes to my class of first graders. Even though they understand a lot of English, they are still learning English as a second language and many of them are spoken to in Arabic at home. I have to repeat directions several times in class and I’ve become more mindful of how fast I speak. I’ve been told by multiple people that I speak rather fast.

Darryl and I have had 4 Arabic classes now and my confidence level has gone wayyy down. This class is intense. I am having a lot of difficulty with reading the letters and remembering what they mean. However, I am catching on to bits of conversation pieces when the Arabic teachers at my school talk. I assume it is a lot like this with some of my students.

Anyway this week we learned the Arabic numbers 0-10. Ten is just a combo of 1 and 0.

Here is my favorite phrase that I’ve learned: La Atif– it means I don’t know. I use it quite often.

Other Phrases:

Ayna taskunu- Where you live?

Ana Askonu fi Bin Omran- I live in Bin Omran

Ahamaloo fi- I work in___

Come (not the right spelling but same sound)- how many, Becum- how much

A few Adjectives: Kabir- big; Jadil- new; Jamil- beautiful;

A few nouns: Baab- door; kitaab- book; cowlim- pen, wajib- homework, Bayt- house/home

Possessive- Kitaab- book, kitaaboka- your book for a boy, kitaaboki- your book for a girl, kitaabohu- his book, kitaaboha- her book, kitaabi- my book

Until next time- Iilaa aliiqaa [Ela licka]- See you

A Pledge to My Readers

I promise to not sugar coat what life is REALLY like for an Expat living in Qatar!

My son is sick with the flu and the medical state of this country pissed me off. My husband carries our medical insurance and pays the premiums. Every two weeks they directly leave his gross wages before he gets paid, like most working Americans. The coverage is Federal Blue Cross and you would think it would be the best because of that “F” word, Federal. Well I don’t understand how an office visit to have my son’s nose and mouth swabbed could cost me a $30 copay, just to be told what I already knew. Then a prescription for 10 pills cost me a $50 copay. And if you are like me, you’ve probably asked this insane question, “Then what the F%^& do we pay for every two weeks?” Don’t get me wrong, I know many Americans and people living in other countries, pay way more for way less, or can’t afford to pay for medical at all, or are in a part of the world where they don’t have access to good medical treatment, but this is AMERICA for God’s sake. My point in including this in my blog is, I hope that the medical coverage in Qatar is better than it is here in America. As soon as I find out, I will let you know. With that being said I have decided to make a pledge to my readers….

A Pledge to My Readers

I promise to always be honest

I promise to not sugar coat what life is REALLY like for an Expat living in Qatar

I promise that despite how anxious I am about moving abroad I will always keep it real

I promise to blog at least once a month

I promise to include the pictures I am allowed

I promise that if I don’t like it there I will admit it

I promise that if I love it there I will admit it

I promise to share the good and the bad

I promise that one of these promises I will probably have to break

I promise not to get over there and forget why I am there

I promise not to get over there and forget who I am

I promise to keep an open mind and remember that Qatar is not America

I promise not to forget that I am a visitor to their country

I promise to try it for at least a year (as long as we are safe)

I promise not to forget that I am an African American Woman

I promise to return home at some point to visit

I promise that I probably forgot something and will add it later

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