Happy Thanksgiving!!

So, I had to work on Thanksgiving but was not left wanting a Thanksgiving meal. While I miss my family terribly and can't wait for them to visit, I was able to have Thanksgiving Dinner on the rooftop of my apartment building with many of the teachers that live here. We all brought a side dish and enjoyed Thanksgiving together. Some of the things at dinner included smoked turkey, ham, lamb chops, chicken, 3-mac-n-cheese, brocolli casserole, green beans, pasta salad, chili, salad, 2-mashed potatoes, several different rice dishes, several cakes, cabbage, rolls, cornbread and much more. It was definitely dishes to represent all of the different cultures of teachers that are here. The weather has been perfect this week. It's cooling off and it is incredible. There was a slight breeze on the rooftop and we had a blast telling stories about our schools.

 

 

I will be heading to another Thanksgiving dinner tonight to share in more family and friends and good times!

 

Activities leading up to National Day

National Day is December 2. This is the day the entire country celebrates the Birthday of the United Arab Emirates. I'm told this is like the 4th of July in the US multiplied by 100.

So at school, we have already begun celebrating at school. Each day this week at school there have been longer assemblies with various guests or extra singing and performances by our students. It began this week with a note being sent home for students to bring a flag to school. During our morning assembly, the girls all had a flag. While the National Anthem played and the girls recited what I refer to as their pledge, they we all waving thier flag. It was quite moving to watch.

 

 

Later this day, we had a visit from the Police Academy Band. The girls gathered once again in the courtyard for this performance. This lasted about 30 minutes and the band marched around the courtyard and the girls waved the flags. Once the band was in the front of the courtyard and playing songs, some of the girls were directed by the PE teacher to come out in front and "dance". This dancing involved swinging their hair back and forth. I'm told this is the traditional dance for girls. Honestly, it made me dizzy to watch them.

Later in the week, we had some girls come from another school to do a short performance. And again, the girls were dancing in front of them. Here is the picture of the guests performing before our girls got in front of them.

Finally, there was an announcement on Tuesday afternoon that Wednesday would be a day to decorate for National Day. I didn't know what to expect, so Christine and I headed to Gift City to buy a few things to decorate with. Also, on Wednesday the girls came in with armfuls of stuff for decorating. So, during 4th period, we spent the time decorating. The girls were supposed to come to class and things were to be "on schedule" for 5th period. Well, we got the room and board outside decorated during 4th period but the girls didn't come to class during 5th period. So the class was empty. Here are some pictures of the final decor.

While decorating, some of my girls were naming the Sheikhs that were pictured. I am amazed that these students can tell me all of the Sheikhs pictured and can correct me when I put up the colors in the wrong order, yet still have trouble identifying the letters in the English alphabet. It definitely goes to what is important to the girls and the exposure that they get.

I'm told there will be many more activities this coming week at school and that on Thursday (before a 4-day weekend) will be one BIG party to celebrate National Day. I will post more pictures as the week progresses.