one of the best things about working in a foreign country in a foreign school where you don't speak the language is always being in a for a surprise when you show up to work.
like today. no wonder everyone looked so freakin nice today. i missed the memo on the teacher's bulletin board that said it was picture day. since all of the memos to the teachers are always written in arabic.
the school days here go from Monday to Wednesday then you get Friday off (the Muslims are happy) and then you go to school on Saturday and then you have Sunday off (the Christians are happy). Because of this abrupt break, in the beginning I remember feeling so happy that the week was shortened and I'd get Friday off. ...but then came the dreadful Saturday morning when I'd have to peel myself off of bed to show up to work. I never know if getting Friday and Sunday off, but having to work Saturday is really like a "3 day weekend" (sort of) or if it's really no weekend at all. Either way, Saturdays are rough for me because I'm still adjusting to consider it a regular 8-3 work day.
so on this rough saturday morning like every morning i was running late to work and i showed up to see everyone looking extra spiffy and nice. i kind of dismissed it as maybe everyone's having a fabulous saturday morning? lol and then i was notified during my break that i should go see the photographer. things made more sense then.
afterwards, as i was preparing the homework for the week, a student came upstairs looking for me and called me out of the room to tell me stuff that i was not understanding. she kept on pointing outside and i realized maybe she's trying to tell me that I have break duty today? I'm supposed to stand outside during the kid's break and make sure that things are relatively in order. I always forget when my duty days are. So i followed her out. but then she ended up taking me to the auditorium (before today i had no idea that we even had one) and i saw rows of long tables, with students literally feasting on a really lovely luncheon. rolls of bread and trays of freshly cut tomatoes and cucumbers, with hummus plates on the side as well as falafel plates on the side. "what's this??" i asked, but she didnt say anything, she just told me to eat.
wont' ever complain about free food. it was delicious. M and i were there, and she cleverly figured out that maybe this is a special lunch organized by the religion class. Ustadh Ziyad, the Muslim religion teacher and Sister ( I can't remember her name) organized this apparently. Usually when the kids have their religion class, they separate into their respective religions and go to their classes, the Muslims in one class and the Christians in another. I guess this lovely arrangement was made to have the kids eat together, and I heard later on that both teachers had prayed together before starting the meal.
always nice to have a little spurts of surprises sprinkle your day to make it more interesting :)
predictability is so overrated.
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