Semester One

I have made it through my first semester and it has been rewarding. Mostly.

I taught two groups of business students how to write essays, letters and technical summaries, listen to lectures, speak about books, films, food and business, and to read technical, scholarly and business-related literature. We practiced debates and test-preparation, discussed Islamic culture, shared pictures of family, and even watched a movie (School of Rock) as a reward for hard work.

One group of students even prepared a cake party in my honour, and this very special picture and attached video are here with the permission of the students.

Mariam is on the left. She is the head of the school volley ball team, runs her own gift-wrapping service and hopes to work in TV production. Noorah, in the middle, will make any excuse to plan field trips, and she would like to be a flight attendant after finishing college. She has visited the US (Minnesota) with her sister for some kind of leg surgery, and thoroughly enjoyed the Mall of America. Khawla on the right loves to go camping with her brothers and hang out with nieces and nephews. She's often wearing western-style shirts and cowgirl attire. Not sure of her future plans though.

And while the teaching experience has been rewarding, it has not been without frustrations. There is the occasional rudely demanding, impolite and even hostile student and those who show no mercy towards new faculty who do not have all the answers.

But all in all I am settling in and quietly celebrating the end of my first phase in the UAE. Fall semester 2008.