Whoa, it's been a while!

So much has happened in the last week. First and foremost: THE ELEVATOR IS WORKING!!! Do you hear the angels singing??? I sure do! I'll try to include a picture soon.

The day before school started, I was asked to teach a math class. The numbers in my two robotics classes were low so one was canceled and kids moved to another teacher's class and I am now teaching a section of Algebra II in its place. It's good because I don't do any of the planning for it - the two other teachers teaching the other 4 sections will do all of it and I'll just teach and grade.

My computer classes are going well. I've got a whole 5 students in my Robotics class. It's really nice and the students are almost done with the driving base which is the basis of most of the robots. The students in the Intro to Programming class are loving Scratch, a simple programming tool that can be used as low as 4th grade. If interested in Scratch, see http://scratch.mit.edu. As for the AP Computer Science course, there are 12 students, 3 of whom are girls, and they are all geared up and have already written some basic code.

My residency permit is done! Apparently this is a major miracle. The school had to submit requests for 70 of us new teachers, more than any other year. The amazing thing is that this is the first time any of the permits have been issued in less than a month. What does having this permit mean? Most importantly, it means that I can set up a high-speed internet connection and be done with the arcane dial-up!

Ramadan begins tomorrow and lasts for a month. During this time, Muslims fast from sunup to sundown: no food and no drinks, not even water. They have huge breakfasts before sunrise and have incredible feasts for dinner after sundown. At school we have a mixed community so we have to allow for food but still be respectful to our Muslim students, faculty and staff. For non-Muslims, all food in the school can only be consumed in the cafeteria and the doors and windows are blacked out. It will be so interesting to experience Ramadan. It's been strongly recommended that we go to one of the big hotels and have dinner during the month. They have elaborate dances and shows that go along with the meal and I've been told it's amazing.

Gotta go for now, more shopping and lesson planning to do.

Quandry and I want your opinions...

So, driving here is, uhh, different. The likelihood of an accident is high because the rules of the road are ignored frequently, mostly be expatriates who I'm afraid don't really know how to drive properly. I feel safe with my driving abilities after my Moscow driving experience but the more I watch the drivers around me, the more nervous I get. I bought a 1997 Honda Accord from a teacher who left the school. It's okay for an old car and was quite willing to deal with reasonable repair bills as the car wasn't too expensive.

The cost of auto repairs here is expensive and the work is far below acceptable. I recently heard of a guy whose motor mount had gone and had it replaced, only to discover that the "mechanic" had filled the space with pieces of cardboard. I realize this is probably a worst-case scenario but at the same time, I don't know if I'm willing to deal with this type of problem.

Instead of owning a car, it seems that many people rent a car year-round. For about $500-$600 per month, the rental car is insured against any damage, is repaired at the company's expense, and is reasonably new. They are not always the newest cars but they really are someone else's headache.

I'm interested in exploring this option to rent. I'd really only end up renting for 10 months a year because I'd be home in the summer so it really would cost about $5000 - $6000 a year. Considering the cost of gas is sooooooo low, I'm guessing that's about what you guys in the US are paying per year to run your cars?

So what do you think? Own or Rent? What else should I consider? Please leave a comment below and give me your thoughts! Thanks!

A Busy Few Days

Whew! The last few days have just flown by. Here are some of the activities and highlights:

I filled the gas tank in my Honda Accord. I had just under a quarter tank of gas and it cost me 26 Qatari Riyals which is about $7.12. Whoopee!

My shipment was here in Doha but the receiving agent wouldn't release it because they hadn't been paid by the US shipping company. After a rather pointed email to the US company, I received my shipment the very next day. Now I'm wonderfully swamped with boxes to unpack.

This big apartment needs a few more pieces of furniture to showcase the treasures I've collected over the years. Time to go shopping!

The elevator in the building is still not working. No real surprise it's just that I've lost count of how many times I've walked up five flights of stairs.

I bought a television and had cable hooked up. I actually got to watch TCM last night when it was showing A Bachelor in Paradise, an old Bob Hope movie that I love.

The first day with all the returning teachers was yesterday and the day started out with a huge breakfast catered by the Ritz-Carlton. It was the best opening to any school year!

I went to Arby's today and was seriously disappointed in the Beef 'n Cheddar sandwich. That's not really a bad thing, is it?!!

I got my Qatari driving license today. That consisted of sitting around the driving license bureau chatting with my colleagues while someone walked our paperwork through the process.

Slowing down is worth it

Today, I was told about the traffic laws in Doha. There is a zero tolerance for any drinking and driving. Wahoo! I won't have a problem with that. Speeding even 5km (which is less than 5mph) over the limit will net you a ticket. Running a red light will also net you a ticket. Not enough police to catch you? Technology to the rescue! Major intersections are equipped with cameras to catch you. A stale green light is up ahead so you speed up to make the light, right? Well, that same camera just caught you going over the limit to get through the light so you get a ticket too. Okay, so you got a ticket. No big deal. You'll just pay your ticket and it will be done and over with. So how much will your ticket cost? Two thousand dollars, U.S. dollars. Don't choke on your wallet. That was written correctly, $2,000 USD. Slow and steady wins the race (and keeps money in my pocket) in my book.

With those cameras, how do you know if you got caught or not? You go online and check. That's really convenient! Seriously, how cool is that?? And if you didn't bother to check before you left the country for vacation, the immigration people at the airport will not let you leave the country until you see the police in the next office and pay your ticket. Pretty good way to collect your revenue if you ask me.

In all my preparations to come here, I'd heard that Qatar is 'one of the richest countries' in the world. Well, I thought that was due to oil. It turns out that their wealth is found in natural gas instead. It is turned into liquid natural gas and that seems to be what will make Qatar THE richest country in the world in the next few years. Apparently, there is so much natural gas underneath Qatar (a country the physical size of Connecticut and the population of Providence, RI) that if all of the natural gas were available at once, it could power the entire US for 100 years. Absolutely amazing.

As for me, I'm dead tired and falling asleep as I type. So it's off to be for me. See ya later.

First Weekend

The first weekend was great! Thursday night after school, there was a big cook-out dinner with all the new faculty and the administration. I spent the evening sitting outside by the pool and talking with a great bunch of people. It was warm but it was really nice out.

Friday is the holy day here so I went to church with some teachers in the school and loved it! It's just like the church I attended in Moscow so I'm very comfortable already. When I got home I took the traditional 'Sunday afternoon nap' except I took it on Friday. :-) In the evening, the director, Ed Ladd, and his wife, Carol, hosted a big shin-dig at their house. Get a load of the table. It was incredibly beautiful and the food was very tasty.


Today (it's Saturday night here) I gave a lesson in creating a blog to some of the new teachers in my building and then spent the afternoon at the mall. Three of us went and discovered Macaroni Grill!!! YUM! The grilled salmon was wonderful. This mall also has TGIFridays, Pizza Hut, McDonalds, Haagen Dazs, and Coldstone Creamery. I really hoped moving here would remove so many food temptations, but it's not to be. Oh well. I'm working off everything I eat by climbing five flights of stairs several times a day to get to my apartment! Anyway, the rest of the afternoon was spent having coffee at Starbucks in the mall with a couple from the school and then doing some shopping. I bought a microwave and an ironing board that I had to tote up 5 flights, along with various small items. I need to buy a tv but I'll wait until the elevator is actually working to purchase it. I'm afraid I'd drop it and watch it roll down the stairs! :-S

As for the elevator, the company 'working' on it really was doing nothing toward getting it finished so the school and the building's owner both agreed to get another company (the only other company in Doha) to get the elevator working. This company says they can have it done this week, by the 20th to be exact. I'll believe it when I see it. And then I'll finish the big shopping I need to get done. Keep an eye on the blog and I'll post more about it this week.

Arabic Applebees, Elevator Notes, & Other Stuff

Last night, my neighbor and I went to Applebees. The food was really good and a Bruschetta Steak (steak hamburger so to speak) was 38 Qatari Riyals, which is about $10.40 US ($1 = 3.65 QR). Not too bad. Most of the good dishes were around twenty dollars though so I won't visit too often. I loved the sign out front and had to get our picture in front of it. It is right around the corner from where I live and it begins a stretch of road that is nicknamed "Cholesterol Corner" for all of the western food chains along it (McDonalds, Hardees, Applebees, Chilis, Arbys, and the world's largest Dairy Queen)!



I got in the elevator in our school building today and had to laugh out loud (lol) at the third bullet point in this sign. In case you can't read it, it says: Do not attempt to leave before the lift has stopped. Uhhh, duh!! The other unusual thing about the elevator is its buttons for the floors. It goes to three different floors but they aren't named 1, 2, and 3. They are named G, 1, PH. So our third floor classrooms are really in the Penthouse! I told you this was an amazing school! ;-P

Monday, I was at a kiosk in a big store and was looking to buy a cell phone. I picked out the model I wanted and the clerk took it out for me. As I went to pay the cashier for the phone, I noticed a sticker (which acted as a seal) across the tab which closes the box. The sticker said not to accept the phone if the seal on the box was broken. I asked the cashier for a new box with an unbroken seal. The cashier handed the box back to the clerk and asked for a new one. The clerk turned to me and said all the boxes were already open. "They come from the company like that," he replied. With a smirk, I bought my phone and checked on their return policy (24 hours to return cell phones). Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore.

I had to go do some medical tests for my residency permit. The typical HIV and TB tests. At the facility, the sign on the wall showed four stations you had to visit and listed them in number order. Station 1 was reception; 2 was clinical examination; 3 was blood draw; 4 was x-ray. After station 1, I went to find station 2. I wasn't sure if I was going in the right direction so I asked the woman at the desk outside the doors marked #2-Clinical Examination. Without saying anything, she took my papers, stamped them and gave me a blood vial. I turned and started to go through the doors for #2 but she pointed to the doors for station 3. I said, "But aren't I supposed to go to number 2 first and then got to 3?" She shook her head and pointed to #3. I asked if I was to go to #3 first and then go to #2. She shook her head 'no' and pointed at #3. Finally, some wonderfully nice woman in the line spoke up and told me that station 2 is now skipped. I smiled, said my thank you's, and walked into station 3 shaking my head. Aaaahhhhh, learning a new country's systems is always so humbling! :-)

First Days

It's been a fast and furious two days since I posted last. Tuesday was the first day of school and 70 of us new teachers arrived with bright, shiny faces. As the group introduced themselves, I was amazed at the diversity of our group. We have people from South Africa, Scotland, New Zealand, Australia, Turkey, Canada, US, UK, Trinidad and Tobago, Lebanon, and more but that's all I can remember for now. As for where people have been working around the world, 'all over' about sums it up. One couple was teaching in China last year and were about 50 miles away from the epicenter of the earthquake. I can't wait to hear their stories! We seem to have a plethora of Kims: Kimann, Kim, and me. I can go by Kim or Kimberly or 'hey you' works too. So I may need to change names here. :-P

The rest of the school day consisted of a tour of the school and being issued laptops. The tour took so long because the campus is huge. Huge. It's as big as most of the suburban high schools in the US that have 3000 to 4000 students. We have about 1700 students from Pre-K through 12th grade. My computer lab has 25 iMacs lining the walls and an LCD projector (every classroom has one). It's a great setup and I'm so happy. I see there are new Lego Robotics kits that arrived over the summer and there is a rather large 'sand table' (minus the sand) in the center of the room that seems to be for the Legos. In the afternoon, all 70 of us were each given a new MacBook to use while here. We can take it home and bring it back to school each night, whatever we need. It's awesome!

Here are some pictures of my apartment, or flat as it is called here. It is sparsely decorated for now. My shipment will hopefully be delivered to my apartment sometime soon.





Living Room















Dining Room

















Hallway















Kitchen














Kitchen

















Guest Room










Study













Bedroom
(3 photos)
































Gotta run for now. I'm going to dinner with my neighbor from Trinidad. More later.

Arrival in Doha

After 4 good take-offs and 4 good landings, I'm finally here in Doha. I arrived Sunday night at about 9:30pm with 27 other teachers for the school. Immigration went smoothly and all my luggage (three 70lb. bags!) thankfully made it through without being searched. So, all my DVDs made it through. Whew!

My apartment is absolutely amazing!!! It has 3 bedrooms and 2.5 baths, and air conditioners in every room. The rooms are large and have big windows for lots of light. The setup is great. You walk in and see the dining room, living room, and a half bath. There's a hallway that leads to the kitchen, bedrooms and a full bath. The master bedroom has its own full bath. The apartment is tiled and will be a breeze to keep up. The kitchen has lots of counter space and I might be able to put a small bistro set in there.

The building's not quite finished yet so there are some issues, like the elevator doesn't work yet and I'm on the 5th floor! The school provided a few 'pack mules' to carry all our luggage up the stairs. I have hot water and took a nice shower this morning, but I had to brush my teeth with hot water because I have no cold water. Go figure. The management company has a crew on site for the next two weeks to sort out problems, thankfully. I'll be talking to them quite a bit for tons of small stuff in the apartment.

We went shopping this morning and I got all the plugs for my electronics. The apartment has British plugs so I needed lots of adapters. :-) I bought the typical things you need right away in a new place: trash cans, broom, hair dryer, hangers, tissues, laundry detergent, etc. I also bought an iPod speaker and a new cell phone. So now I've got music, phone and internet. I can function now!

At home, I've got a dial-up internet connection and I'll have that for about a month and hopefully only a month. By then my residency permit will be processed and I can apply for ASDL. In the meantime, I'll only be able to upload photos and videos while I'm at school because it has a high-speed connection. I hope to be able to upload a video tomorrow or the day after so you can see my apartment. :-)

More later...