Friday 1 February
Now back in Riyadh after a delightful 6 weeks at home. It was wonderful to see family and friends over Christmas and New Year, and then again for some in the weeks before my return.
By being here I've already missed some important events. Granddaughters Elizabeth and Ruby starting secondary school and Audrey starting pre-school. I'm promised a photo of Audrey and I chatted to Ruby on Skype this morning when she and her sisters and Tim dropped in at home whilst Peter and I were talking. I presume it will take Elizabeth a few weeks to get the lay of the land at her new school, and then all will be in her control! Audrey, I'm told, was last to leave at the end of her first day and had to be coaxed out having had a wonderful day.
I did, however work some of those precious weeks; one week with the Department before Christmas - had an enjoyable time in the Warrnambool Office, even though much of the time was saying goodbye to people who are leaving the department due to the massive cuts; and, a three days in Melbourne for a Job Fair representing the school. I may have been one of the least sort after school locations for candidates who had some exotic locations available - Hong Kong, Jakarta, Beijing, Kuala Lumpur & Lucerne to name a few. So many people are frightened of the Middle East and those willing to consider the ME are warned off Saudi Arabia (often by schools in other Middle Eastern locations). But I had a result with an excellent young man (and his family) coming to Riyadh at the beginning of the next academic year. He has taught in London and in Queensland is currently working in an Islamic school in Brisbane - hopefully he is above the high water mark as I write this.
The trip back was good - meeting up with a colleague at the airport and catching up with our respective summer break and discussing all manner of events with the Department, anticipating our work on return and generally ranging far and wide as friends do on meeting after a break. Before boarding we found the other 4 members of the Team travelling on our flight. Though these colleagues were all members of the 'New Kids on the Block' and hence travelled Business Class as a privilege of their first trip, whereas us second timers travelled Economy!
We arrived in Bahrain to be greeted by the Manager of PR from the school. Mr Abdullah's big smile was welcoming and he was pleased to see us, but conversation was limited as he speaks as much English as we do Arabic - not much! Another returning team member met us in Bahrain after travelling from Brisbane. As our flights weren't booked onto Riyadh - in case we were delayed - we had an extra day in Bahrain and a flight would be a day later than planned. This meant that we were able to organise a driver and take in some of the sights of Bahrain. The highlight was visiting the Mosque and having a guided tour that included some insights of Islam and learning more about this religion that is so different from what we would know if we were just to read the tabloid newspapers anywhere in the West.
Once back in Riyadh and the Compound - and once the supermarket had been visited and the fridge had something to offer - life has taken on familiar patterns. Early mornings, early to bed, abaya for every trip outside the Compound - and visiting Shopping Malls as entertainment!
Our return to school was so warmly welcomed by those we had worked with last year that we became as enthusiastic as those with whom we are working. Our Teaching and Learning Team has grown from 3 (Girls School) to 5 with the addition of another 4 working on various projects including ICT, English curriculum development, internationalisation of the whole school curriculum and data collecting and analysis. The last project is critical to assess the impact of this work - and see if the money spent is having an impact.
Tomorrow the week begins and I will be working with another (new) team member with all the secondary English teachers (18- 20 women). I'm really looking forward to this phase as we'll be able to have some sort of working relationship with all the teachers, which was an impossible task for me when I was working as the only coach in these three schools (Intermediate or Middle school, American High School Diploma and National High School). Carolyn is a former English teacher who has been working as a Coach and School Improvement Officer over the past few years - so her knowledge and experience will be invaluable.
Oh - the biggest change to life in the Compound is the beginning of construction of a new Compound in the vacant land to the south of us. This work commences at 6:00am every day and the workers knock off at 4:00pm. Currently this work is cutting into the stone - and this is done by at least 6 massive jack hammers - and moved to numerous piles by bulldozers and then carted away by tip trucks. This is of little interest to anyone reading this - but for me this is all happening outside my window. Work days are fine as we leave the villa by 6:15, but here in Riyadh construction workers work for 6 days of the week and that means my longed for sleep in on Thursday was destroyed at 6:10am with the thundering noise only 30m from my bed. I should be glad I'm not in China where construction is often 7 days of the week and not limited to daylight hours. I've been told by the owner of the Compound, who is building the new Compound for another 35 villas, that this part of the construction will only last another 10 days. We shall wait and see with some interest. That said, we have been waiting the opening of the Cafe and Restaurant and were given the same time frame of 10 days - Before Christmas!
Now back in Riyadh after a delightful 6 weeks at home. It was wonderful to see family and friends over Christmas and New Year, and then again for some in the weeks before my return.
By being here I've already missed some important events. Granddaughters Elizabeth and Ruby starting secondary school and Audrey starting pre-school. I'm promised a photo of Audrey and I chatted to Ruby on Skype this morning when she and her sisters and Tim dropped in at home whilst Peter and I were talking. I presume it will take Elizabeth a few weeks to get the lay of the land at her new school, and then all will be in her control! Audrey, I'm told, was last to leave at the end of her first day and had to be coaxed out having had a wonderful day.
I did, however work some of those precious weeks; one week with the Department before Christmas - had an enjoyable time in the Warrnambool Office, even though much of the time was saying goodbye to people who are leaving the department due to the massive cuts; and, a three days in Melbourne for a Job Fair representing the school. I may have been one of the least sort after school locations for candidates who had some exotic locations available - Hong Kong, Jakarta, Beijing, Kuala Lumpur & Lucerne to name a few. So many people are frightened of the Middle East and those willing to consider the ME are warned off Saudi Arabia (often by schools in other Middle Eastern locations). But I had a result with an excellent young man (and his family) coming to Riyadh at the beginning of the next academic year. He has taught in London and in Queensland is currently working in an Islamic school in Brisbane - hopefully he is above the high water mark as I write this.
The trip back was good - meeting up with a colleague at the airport and catching up with our respective summer break and discussing all manner of events with the Department, anticipating our work on return and generally ranging far and wide as friends do on meeting after a break. Before boarding we found the other 4 members of the Team travelling on our flight. Though these colleagues were all members of the 'New Kids on the Block' and hence travelled Business Class as a privilege of their first trip, whereas us second timers travelled Economy!
We arrived in Bahrain to be greeted by the Manager of PR from the school. Mr Abdullah's big smile was welcoming and he was pleased to see us, but conversation was limited as he speaks as much English as we do Arabic - not much! Another returning team member met us in Bahrain after travelling from Brisbane. As our flights weren't booked onto Riyadh - in case we were delayed - we had an extra day in Bahrain and a flight would be a day later than planned. This meant that we were able to organise a driver and take in some of the sights of Bahrain. The highlight was visiting the Mosque and having a guided tour that included some insights of Islam and learning more about this religion that is so different from what we would know if we were just to read the tabloid newspapers anywhere in the West.
Once back in Riyadh and the Compound - and once the supermarket had been visited and the fridge had something to offer - life has taken on familiar patterns. Early mornings, early to bed, abaya for every trip outside the Compound - and visiting Shopping Malls as entertainment!
Our return to school was so warmly welcomed by those we had worked with last year that we became as enthusiastic as those with whom we are working. Our Teaching and Learning Team has grown from 3 (Girls School) to 5 with the addition of another 4 working on various projects including ICT, English curriculum development, internationalisation of the whole school curriculum and data collecting and analysis. The last project is critical to assess the impact of this work - and see if the money spent is having an impact.
Tomorrow the week begins and I will be working with another (new) team member with all the secondary English teachers (18- 20 women). I'm really looking forward to this phase as we'll be able to have some sort of working relationship with all the teachers, which was an impossible task for me when I was working as the only coach in these three schools (Intermediate or Middle school, American High School Diploma and National High School). Carolyn is a former English teacher who has been working as a Coach and School Improvement Officer over the past few years - so her knowledge and experience will be invaluable.
Oh - the biggest change to life in the Compound is the beginning of construction of a new Compound in the vacant land to the south of us. This work commences at 6:00am every day and the workers knock off at 4:00pm. Currently this work is cutting into the stone - and this is done by at least 6 massive jack hammers - and moved to numerous piles by bulldozers and then carted away by tip trucks. This is of little interest to anyone reading this - but for me this is all happening outside my window. Work days are fine as we leave the villa by 6:15, but here in Riyadh construction workers work for 6 days of the week and that means my longed for sleep in on Thursday was destroyed at 6:10am with the thundering noise only 30m from my bed. I should be glad I'm not in China where construction is often 7 days of the week and not limited to daylight hours. I've been told by the owner of the Compound, who is building the new Compound for another 35 villas, that this part of the construction will only last another 10 days. We shall wait and see with some interest. That said, we have been waiting the opening of the Cafe and Restaurant and were given the same time frame of 10 days - Before Christmas!
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| Who needs an alarm? Taken from my bedroom window |
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| Grand Mosque central courtyard in Bahrain |
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| The Bahrain royal camels! |
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