Moving to Al Mirfa

Mirfa Hotel

Mirfa



Don't they look sweet!?



Another couple of entries and I should be caught up to date! On September 15th I was sent a note under my door saying it was time to move! It turned out that 13 teachers were moved to Hotel Mirfa in the Western Region of the UAE.  The Hotel is quite beautiful and sits on the Arabian Sea, so the view is great! I will post a few pics of the area! We actually started work on the 16th of September.  Better late than never! I am teaching 2 different classes of Grade 2 girls in a Co-Ed School.  The school is brand new and 900 students enrolled in Grades 1-5!  There are approx. 100 teachers in all!  The girls and boys are on opposite sides of the school as it is NOT acceptable for them to mix at this age!  For the first couple of weeks I was in a state of shock at the end of each day  The kids are soooo undisciplined....and used to getting their own way.  Have I got my work cut out for me!  My students speak only a few words of English.  Most of my colleagues speak VERY little English!  So the conversation in between classes is very interesting!  I`m learning to speak a few phrases of Arabic but depend mostly on my hands! The other teachers are very welcoming each day and go OUT  of their way to make sure the English speaking teachers have everything we need!  There are only 3 international teachers in our school as it is hard to recruit people to live so far out in the desert! Most days I shake my head and wonder why am I here. ADEC (my employer still hasn`t sent out the new curriculum so for now, I`m using my experience to get me through each day! It would be nice if I could find some paper or perhaps even an English Library book in our school.  My principal keeps saying, no problem,,,,,,next week....next week! Looks like I`ll be living at the Hotel for awhile while ADEC finds accomodations for us!  So I`m going to try and enjoy it while it lasts! So for now....Ma Salama!