School buildings and sights

The last couple of days have been spent going through curriculum and learning how to use the SmartBoards.  The school has amazing technology and resources, and anything we want for our classroom we can get.  The pre-K and Kindergarten students will be in the "old" school building (which is only a year old), and the 1st and 2nd grade students will be in the "new" building which they are still finishing up.  I can't start setting up my classroom yet, but I took some photos of both buildings because you will not believe how grand they are!  Tomorrow, we get to make a list of all the furniture and supplies we want in our classroom and they will order it for us.  We will also be making a list of gym equipment so the teachers can have their own gym to use at the school after we are done teaching each day (and then we can cool off in the pool at the school).  I went through the Math curriculum today and am so excited about it!  It is very simple to use, utilizes manipulatives and big books.  The workbooks are great because they have students journal about what they learned after each unit, and I can pick and choose which worksheets to use based on how quickly they are mastering the concept.

This sign is on all of the escalators at the malls.  I had to secretly take this picture since you aren't supposed to take pictures of things in public.  I thought it was hilarious - "Be careful with long abaya".  How tragic would that be to get your abaya stuck in the escalator!

A blurry view of the Red Sea on our way to the school...my daily ride to work :)

A mosque near the Red Sea.

Apparently they use yellow school buses in Saudi Arabia, too.

A distant view of the back of our school (the blue, yellow, and white building).

Cool house.  Dad, I thought you might appreciate the architecture.

The entrance to the "old" school building (with two of the Canadian teachers).

The playground in the "old" school building...real grass, colorful play equipment, and covered by a tent-like roof.

The actual door to the "old" school building - the other one was more like a gate to the property.

Large courtyard that is used for assemblies, prayer, and indoor P.E.  Tom and Jerry are on the ceiling, but it is hard to see from this picture.

A Kindergarten classroom with colorful walls and furniture, and a SmartBoard!

The other end of the playground.

The Arabic alphabet is engraved on the stairs of the "old" school building.

One of many sculptures around the city...this one is of horses and a banner or something.

Me in my beautiful abaya!  It has gold trim and sequins, and a matching scarf.  I paid 70 riyals (SAR) which is about $19 (USD).

Me and Tracy (another 1st grade teacher from Canada) standing on the "new" school's astroturf all decked out in our abayas.

The gate to the property of the "new" school building.  It is so ornate, but my camera lens fogged up due to the drastic temperature change from the air-conditioned bus to outside air, so it is a bit blurry.

The outside of the pool building within the school property.

Wading pool with dolphin tiled on the bottom.

The school food store that students will be able to run in order to develop math and business skills.  The shelves are not stocked yet.

Our wonderful principal, Leslie Ramsay.  This picture captures her usual cheerfulness.  She is showing off her new office to us...although it only has a desk and chairs so far.

A view of the courtyard in the "new" school building...like the other one, this is used for assemblies, indoor P.E., and prayer.  There are desks lining the walls because all of the classrooms are not finished yet.

Another view of the courtyard so you can see the grandeur of it.

The teaching kitchen, which is equipped with 12 sinks, stovetops, and counter space...just in case we want to take our class in here to teach them how to make a recipe (but first I have to figure out how to use a gas stove!)

State of the art, full-equipped science lab (which also has a SmartBoard, but it is behind me so it is not in the picture).  Students can come in here to do experiments.

Tomorrow night we are supposed to be going to a local Saudi restaurant so I can finally try Saudi food!  Last night, all the teachers made a dish and had a potluck in one of our apartments.  The assistant principal from South Africa also arrived last night, and she is the sweetest lady.  We have been asking her all sorts of school related questions since she was here last year.  We are still waiting on three more teachers to arrive this weekend, and they just hired a nurse and swim instructor today (they were Asian girls living locally in Jeddah).  The school still needs to hire one more teacher for preschool.
Everyone here is so nice, and the city reminds me so much of Florida, that I am not feeling homesick.  I can get almost any food item I would get back home, including many restaurants: Chili's, Fuddruckers, T.G.I.Friday's, Applebee's, McDonald's, Starbucks, Burger King, KFC, Pizza Hut, On the Border (which just came in on Southern Blvd and I never tried it...so I may end up trying it here first!), Baskin Robbins, Krispy Kreme, Dunkin Donuts, etc.  The only thing I'll miss, besides my family and friends, is the access to movies - there are no movie theaters or Blockbusters.  But, I have found some websites where I can watch movies and tv shows, so even that is not a big deal.  I am really enjoying having a driver take me everywhere, too.  And wearing an abaya is great when you are in the cold A/C...there was one classroom I was in today that was freezing, so I kept my abaya on the whole time.  I'm curled up in a quilt right now because I have to keep my apartment cool enough due to the humidity.  I had turned the A/C on very low in one room that I wasn't really using, and I came home today to find water all over the floor from condensation or humidity or something.
I miss everyone, but life is good.  I am truly blessed to have this job!
P.S. I heard Mr. Glenn's voice on the podcast of this week's message and it made my day :)