kingdom

Life continues in much the same manner in the Kingdom of Saudi arabia. I go to work, dont really do very much there, get finished come home, lesson plan and read for awhile, then play on the computer and go to dinner, wait until it is dark out and I go for a run, I return home shower and read some more then it is off to bed. Repeated daily for the duration of the week. On the weekends I go for a walk around the neighborhood, or off to a mall and look at people and generally try to pass the time. Kind of a boring life actually. Its not bad just different, I am wired in a way that requires more stimulation. Ill finish out the term of the contract and then I will see what adventure awaits.

lessons

I have realized that no matter where I work there will always be room for improvement. In this case I am speaking of the midterm exams for the school that I work at. The system is such here that after the midterms the students will go on to the next level of book and study, thus if they were a level one they move to level two and so on. Now the school has provided the teachers with a crazy amount of information with regards to to how to administer the exam and what is considered passing and how to assess the written portion of the exam and so on. My hesitancy about all of this is that though the school also employs 3 assessment supervisors whose job it is to assure that assessment is uniform and happens in a timely manner and to look at the results and to give recommendations about improving teaching, they are not doing anything with the actual results. I know for a fact that there is a wide discrepancy of levels in my classroom, I am talking about students that could right now pass a level 5 exam and some that would struggle on a level 2. Will the classes be rearranged to group these students so that the higher level are grouped and the lower levels take class together? of Course not. Would it have immediate and long term benefits for the students, of course it would, would I as a teacher be better able to ensure proficiency in all aspects of English if I knew that my class as a whole struggled in writing but their listening and grammar was up to snuff, I most certainly would, will any of this take place, no. Why test the students if there will be no benefits, they pass and move on, there is no focused attention to the data provided from the assessments. What do these supervisors do with the info? Why cant the students be grouped to facilitate learning? The higher level students in my class will get bored as I must teach slower to the middle level and the bottom are being left behind and I cant go slow enough to get them up to speed without sacrificing the entire lesson or class. Seems like even though I try to adjust the lesson to take into account the disparity of learners it isnt as effective as just grouping them in the first place. Some students are just more determined/interested in the language and they are being punished by being help up in their studies. I wish that something more than just a day of testing came from this. Alas in a perfect world it would but to paraphrase a war criminal, You go with what you have not what you want. Ill make the best of it and try to remember that there is no perfect system and I will just be glad for the support and materials that the school does provide.

leaks

I wonder how the whole wiki thing is going to play out. I am in the middle about the whole business I see the reason for leaks and I also see the need for secrets, however I also see that if your not comfortable doing something with other countries then perhaps it shouldnt be done. I am referring to the whole bribes and such wrt gitmo. Also it isnt as if the world thinks that the US is in foreign affairs for the betterment of the world. Every country knows that each country is primarily concerned with the benefits to itself, so these leaks are not that big of a surprise. What caught my eye so far was that the US knew China order the google hack and never bothered to mention it. Whos side is the US on? I wonder what long term cost benefit analysis that discussion took. I guess the leaks will be big news for a few days then another shiny toy will catch the eye of the media and we will stare at that until another shinier toy ....

conspire

even the buildings conspire against me to remind me that there is no alcohol.

guess

I walked past this the other day and it made me smile. So many great memories. I didnt check the prices as I worried that I wouldnt be able to control myself.

figs

I have a new problem. It comes in multiple sizes and is not expensive at all. I cant get enough of it. Fig jelly. so good, its not sweet like other jellies but tastes like the fruit, did i mention it is delicious? So the seeds are all there and the fruit is still chunky I think in USA it would be closer to a preserve. I used to eat peanut butter sandwiches as I never saw the point of jelly as it was never very good, I have tried schmuckers and all the rest but to no avail. Yet here I find myself having a jelly sandwich without the PB. Remarkable really. I wish everyone could try it, it is that good. Tomorrow I return to work with a smile. Looking forward to it. I will get paid shortly after that. I havent done anything really but I am also not going to complain about being paid to relax.

routine

After a long and uneventful period here in KSA I am ready for the return of routine. I am actually looking forward the days of waking early, going to school, teaching and returning to my home. It is the little things that make me happy and while I have been happy just lounging and walking around Riyadh it has been a long vacation. I feel like it is time to get started again. I am sure that soon enough I will want some time off but for now work will suit me fine. There are lots of plans for the future and I will reveal them as they are more finalized. Happy turkey day to everyone. Enjoy the meal and the company.

king and queens

This could be interesting. The House of Saud is in trouble. The current king in KSA is now 86 years old. He holds a slew of titles including the newest on keeper of the two holy mosques. He can not be called a caliph for various reasons but the new title is as close as it gets, really. Another of the kings positions is to be head of the alternative armed forces. He just gave that position up to one of his many sons. This son is now in a unique position. You see the other brothers of the current king are in line to rule, they are all in their 70s but without the leadership of the military the crown could pass them over and go to the son of the current king. This is the stiff civil wars are made from. I know if I were one of the brothers of the current king I would want my shot at being king, in fact I would eliminate all rivals (including brothers and sons of my brothers) thus making my bloodline rulers forever. This current king is trying to sidestep the blood letting and make his line rulers for the foreseeable future. I wonder how it will all play out. To make matters more interesting the King is ill and just left KSA to go to USA for treatment the day he left the newspapers reported that his son had landed in the Kingdom and would be assuming responsibilities. After he passes away it could get even more interesting. In case you ever wonder why I live abroad it is just for these reasons, the intrigue of national interests fascinate me. I hope it goes smoothly but really when does that ever happen.

travel

almost a disaster. I got to the train station to go the one place that the train runs here in KSA(Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) and after presenting my ticket and heading towards the metal detector I was asked for my passport. I dont have my passport, it is with the Saudi Government. I have a xerox copy of the picture page and the visa page as well as a letter from my employer that explains that I am in process. All of these papers are stamped and signed by the company I work for. I showed these pages to the police officer and he explained that the papers were no good as they had not been stamped by the police. So I was detained for about 5 minutes while the two officers discussed what to do with me, it is apparently not ok for me to be walking around without a passport (or at least I guessed that is what the repeated mentions of ,"you must have passport" meant.) after 5 minutes of this finally they (the police) decided that I wasnt worth the trouble and let me go. they didnt send me back out to the street they let me go to the train, just strange. The coast was dirty and had few people. I am glad I went now I know a bit more about the gulf and what happens in KSA. I dont think i will be going back to that side again, too much else out there to spend any more time in a place that wasnt striking.

beaches

going out to the beach today. its about 4 hours away by train. I get to ride from one end of the vast Saudi rail network all the way to the other. the whole country has a total of four stops. Talk about a fledgling program. I know if I had a boatload of cash i would invest it in rails here. Then again the government does have boatloads of cash and they seem not interested in rails. Anyways I am excited to see the ocean again I am more excited to see what the hell there is to do at the beach. I know what there isn't and I cant think of what there is.

This is from a supermarket near my home, makes me want to cook.