End of Ramadan

Carol has been doing a wonderful job of keeping the blog alive. Thought I should weigh in and add my two cents worth today.

I am collecting what I call Toto experiences. As in Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz. Life in Kuwait can seem so “normal” for us at times. We live in a large, nicely furnished apartment with most of the conveniences found at home. We commute to work on a nice modern highway system and work in a new building with a group of teachers and students who behave so much like teachers and students at home it is uncanny at times. Often we get so focused on our work and living situations that everything seems “normal” just like life in good old Napa, CA. And then something happens that snaps my attention back to the reality of living in foreign country, and I say to myself, “Toto, we’re not in Kansas anymore.” This is usually followed by a smile and the thought, this is cool.

Every day in the past month started with a Toto moment. And yesterdays was a big Toto moment. During the month of Ramadan, the muezzin calls Muslims to prayer before dawn so that they may eat a meal before the fast starts at dawn. He then calls again at dawn to signify the beginning of the fast. Every neighborhood has a mosque so the calls to prayer are heard everywhere, even in bed in your own house. Our apartment is well insulated so the calls from the mosque down the street are very muted. The calls (http://www.balaams-ass.com/alhaj/calltoprayer.htm), a sonorous droning, have gradually become background noise and we have become accustomed to them, very similar to the grandfather clock down the hall at Carols parents house. Now we usually sleep right through the early morning calls. Then yesterday the muezzin started his call earlier than usual (was it really 5:00 am?), lasted longer that usual, (still going strong after 30 minutes) and it had a happy, joyous flavor. Now I am awake, questioning what is happening. Oh yeah! Ramadan is over. Fasting is over. It is now Eid al-Fitr, a three day celebration of fast-breaking. That explains the joyous chanting. Not a bad way to start the day, eh Toto?

Also, yesterday we went grocery shopping. I wanted a little honey to put on my peanut butter sandwiches. I went to the jams-jelly-honey section in the store and noted a larger than expected variety of honeys. I decided not to buy the American Sue-Bee brand of honey. Let’s get something local. Imagine my surprise when I saw this jar of honey sitting on the shelf.

That price is not American dollars. It is Kuwait Dinars. One KD equals $3.50. Do the math. No, Toto, we are not using that honey on our PBJs.

And finally, we walked though a little carnival last night. Typical carnival atmosphere; tilt-o-whirl, wild mouse, cotton candy, bumper cars and lots of families out having fun. And it wouldn’t be a carnival without live goldfish and baby chicks, right? Yep, those are yellow, orange, purple and green chicks in the foreground. Hundreds of them. And in the background? Yes, Toto, those are baby rabbits in tu-tu’s.

Teaching is going well overall. Actually, it is life as usual in world of education. Some things are great, others a bit challenging. I am teaching 4 sections of grade 6 math and 2 sections of Algebra to 8th graders. The students themselves are great. The sixth graders are the normal, bubbly, enthusiastic young adolescents, testing limits, overwhelmed by the new middle school experience (they moved up from elementary, first floor, to the middle school, second floor) and generally just fun to be around. The eighth graders have seen it all and are much more subdued. Part of that may be that I have them first period so they are still half asleep when I see them. Their favorite challenge right now seems to be to trying get Mr. Little off topic, hoping he will forget about assigning homework. Not too much success, but they are still trying. Not sure who laughs more when I call them on it.
Most of our students are Kuwaiti with the balance from other Arab nations. Almost all are from well-to-do families. They all wear uniforms so the outward appearance of wealth is not there. Listen to their stories though and oh my goodness! Maids, cooks, nannies and drivers are the norm, as are trips to Europe, Asia and even California. And then seeing the cars in the parking lot for after school pick up is a sight to behold.

One item that I absolutely cannot complain about is class size. UAS has made it a priority to raise their math scores. To remedy that, two changes have been instituted; block scheduling and reduced class size. Sixth and seventh grade classes are only moderately reduced. Eighth is very reduced. My largest sixth grade class is 16 students and Algebra tops out at 8 students. Wow! Grading tests and quizzes takes no time at all.

Some of the challenges? UAS has adopted California’s standards and benchmarks. And we are using the Stanford 10 as our program assessment tool. Suddenly, Carol and I are the resident experts on standards and high stakes testing. How is that for irony?

Got to go now. We are in the middle of our week off for Eid and are learning how to get around town using the bus system. On today’s agenda…the antique souk in downtown Kuwait City.