Their are two "Eid" celebrations for Muslims. The first one is called Eid ul-Fitr (or the "small" Eid) and is the holiday that marks the end of Ramadan (the month of fasting). The second one is called Eid al-Adha (or the "Big" Eid) and occurs a couple months after Ramadan and after Hajj (the pilgrimage to Mecca). Eid al-Adha means the "festival of sacrifice" and each family (who has the means to) sacrifices a sheep in honor of the Prophet Ibrahim who was told by God to sacrific his son and as he was about to obey the orders, God replaced his son with a sheep. Following the slaughter, the sheep is divided into 3 parts. One part for the family to keep, one to give away to family/friends, and the last third is given to the poor.
This was my first time being in Libya for the Eid of the sacrifice. I have never seen a sheep (or anything for that matter) slaughtered because in the states you can't just go buy a sheep, take it to your house and kill it. The days prior to the slaughter there were sheep being sold EVERYWHERE. I heard people yelling the price, which I think was 3,500 dinars (I don't really know the conversion, but I think it's around $2,800 dollars), considering that a monthly salary of 350 dinars is good, not everyone can afford to buy a sheep. On the morning of Eid I heard people talking around 8am, so I got out of bed, walked out of my room and ran into my cousin who said "come outside, come outside". I wandered outside half asleep still and saw the sheep tied up on the ground (alive still).(IF YOU DONT WANT TO READ THE BLOODY DETAILS, PLEASE GO DOWN TO THE NEXT PARAGRAPH). Then my cousin or his friend (I can't even remember now who had the knife because I couldn't look away from the sheep) took the knife to the sheep's neck and started cutting. Oh gosh it was horrible. Blood starting spurting everywhere, I put my hand over my mouth and turned around. When I turned back the sheep was making noises (i think it was crying) and flailing around a bit. I felt so bad for the sheep that I started to cry. My Aunt and my cousin's wife were asking me "why are you crying?" and then started telling me the religious reasons for why they sacrifice the sheep. I felt bad because I felt like I was offending them by crying, but I was so shocked by what I saw. My cousin then told me to go inside, so I did and stayed there most of the day because the smell from the dead sheep and meat everywhere was so strong and so bad. I think if I had seen the sheep after it was dead I would have been fine, but watching the slaughter was horrible. Since I was sent inside after the slaughter I didnt see what they did to the sheep, but basically they skin it, cut it open and take out the insides (clean out the bowel, drain the intestines, etc). It was definitely quite the experience, but not one I care too much to relive.
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I had a week off of work for Eid, so that was nice. Today was my last day working at the Libyan school. I came here with the intention of working at the European school and will continue working there, but since I want to learn Arabic I decided I didn't want to spend 5 days a week working in English and the Principal at the Libyan school was very understanding and told me I could still come by any time I wanted. The European school is going well. This Thursday there is a Christmas Bazaar that I am helping at, so I am looking forward to seeing a little bit of Christmas :) I have been spending lots of time at my other Aunt's house (not the Aunt I live with) and have been enjoying that a lot. I always learn new words in arabic while there because her house is always full of people.
One thing I have been missing lately is having good conversations about things that matter. I miss talking about the news with people (especially after my summer internship at the Carter Center where I discussed current events daily with my co-workers). It's not just the language barrier that makes these kinds of conversations difficult, it's also not what most women talk about here. The conversations with women usually focus around the health of family/friends, weddings, food, and other gossip. Sometimes even if I understand most of the conversation I start tuning it out because it doesn't interest me to hear about what food they served at last night's wedding and how pretty, ugly, fat, thin the bride was. Men tend to have more intelligent conversations, but since men and women are generally separated I don't get to talk with them. Anyway, maybe this means I should call my friends from home more often to get my fix of good conversations :)
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Weddings and Funerals
Weddings and funerals are probably the two biggest "events" in Libya. Streets are literally blocked off by huge tents and filled with chairs for people to sit in. So far I have been to 2 weddings (but have been invited to attend at least one every week) and a funeral. The amount of people that attend both is enormous (upwards of 1,000) and they both last for about a week (although people come over to your house to wish you congratulations or condolences for at least a month if not more). Attending weddings and funerals is often considered a "social obligation", especially if you have a connection to the family. People will remember who came and didn't and it could affect your social standing and reputation.
For weddings, in addition to the large tents outside the house, there usually are big, colorful street lights (looks like christmas lights). On the 3 or 4 main wedding days all the family going to the wedding leave together and the cars all honk, put their emergency blinkers on and travel to the wedding hall together (it's quite unique to see and I feel like it's the only time other cars on the road will give someone the right of way to keep the cars all together). There are special "wedding halls" for weddings, they basically are just huge rooms with a stage at the front. I don't particularly enjoy attending weddings, but once in a while I enjoy going to observe the women (only women attend the weddings, men have separate gatherings). Lots of women wear an obscene amount of make-up and I find it so ugly (they really look like clowns with face paint on...I am not meaning to be rude, but it is the best way to describe it), but they obviously find it attractive :) Some women attend weddings because they are looking to get married and want the mom's, aunt's, etc of the potential grooms to see them.
I have never been asked about marriage so often as here. After asking my religion it is usually the second topic of conversation that comes up. The questions are always some variation of "Are you married?", "When are you getting married?" "Will you have your wedding in Libya or America?" and are asked by all ages (including all of my students from elementary school to high school). One of my dad's friends saw me and exclaimed "You look like a bride!"...I got confused because I thought maybe he thought I was getting married, but I later realized it was just his way of saying I was all grown up.
As I mentioned, funerals are just as big as weddings although unfortunately not as joyous of an occasion. I had never been to a funeral in Libya before, so it was quite the experience for me. The Aunt of the principal at the Libyan school past away and since I have spent a lot of time with her in the past few weeks I went on the second day of the funeral (called Azah here). When someone passes away, the bodies are buried the day they die and only men attend the burial ceremony. After the burial there are 3 days of Azah, where everyone who knew the person comes to the house along with everyone who knows someone who knew the person who passed away (hence the need for the big tents to hold everyone). One of dad's cousins passed away while he was here and my dad told me that there were over a thousand people at the house. I don't think I really realized how many people that was until I went to the azah...I was in shock by the number of people that were there, definitely over one thousand (and I only saw the women). The "immediate" family (which is usually a few hundred at least) will continue going to the house for at least a week, and some even longer (months).
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There is a traveling ship that goes around the mediterranean (I think) that carries books on it. It just arrived yesterday in Benghazi and today I am going to see it, I am really excited because there are hardly any bookstores and nothing in English. This ship is supposed to be really big and most of the books are in English and I heard there are some in Spanish too!
One story that I was going to include in my last post, but forgot has to do with a mini-victory with make-up girl (from the European school). One day I let her sit in the hallway during her study period because I was tutoring the ESL students. When I went to check on her she was gone, I walked down the hall and found her in the Year 11 classroom (she is year 12) doing her make-up! I said "What are you doing in here??", she said "Miss, I am sorry I didn't mean for you catch me doing my make-up", Me "You are always doing your make-up! Get out of the year 11 room and go back to the table!". It had been a long and bad day with the students, so I was really frusterated with her. The next time I was at the school she came up to me after study period ended and said "Miss, did you notice I am not wearing any make-up today?", I said "No. You don't need make-up, you look very pretty without it". She said "Yeah, well I wanted to go with my natural look today because last week you said all I ever do is my make-up". I was shocked because she had actually listened to me and thought about what I had said. Of course, she is now back to doing her make-up all the time, but it was a mini-victory with her while it lasted. :)
For weddings, in addition to the large tents outside the house, there usually are big, colorful street lights (looks like christmas lights). On the 3 or 4 main wedding days all the family going to the wedding leave together and the cars all honk, put their emergency blinkers on and travel to the wedding hall together (it's quite unique to see and I feel like it's the only time other cars on the road will give someone the right of way to keep the cars all together). There are special "wedding halls" for weddings, they basically are just huge rooms with a stage at the front. I don't particularly enjoy attending weddings, but once in a while I enjoy going to observe the women (only women attend the weddings, men have separate gatherings). Lots of women wear an obscene amount of make-up and I find it so ugly (they really look like clowns with face paint on...I am not meaning to be rude, but it is the best way to describe it), but they obviously find it attractive :) Some women attend weddings because they are looking to get married and want the mom's, aunt's, etc of the potential grooms to see them.
I have never been asked about marriage so often as here. After asking my religion it is usually the second topic of conversation that comes up. The questions are always some variation of "Are you married?", "When are you getting married?" "Will you have your wedding in Libya or America?" and are asked by all ages (including all of my students from elementary school to high school). One of my dad's friends saw me and exclaimed "You look like a bride!"...I got confused because I thought maybe he thought I was getting married, but I later realized it was just his way of saying I was all grown up.
As I mentioned, funerals are just as big as weddings although unfortunately not as joyous of an occasion. I had never been to a funeral in Libya before, so it was quite the experience for me. The Aunt of the principal at the Libyan school past away and since I have spent a lot of time with her in the past few weeks I went on the second day of the funeral (called Azah here). When someone passes away, the bodies are buried the day they die and only men attend the burial ceremony. After the burial there are 3 days of Azah, where everyone who knew the person comes to the house along with everyone who knows someone who knew the person who passed away (hence the need for the big tents to hold everyone). One of dad's cousins passed away while he was here and my dad told me that there were over a thousand people at the house. I don't think I really realized how many people that was until I went to the azah...I was in shock by the number of people that were there, definitely over one thousand (and I only saw the women). The "immediate" family (which is usually a few hundred at least) will continue going to the house for at least a week, and some even longer (months).
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There is a traveling ship that goes around the mediterranean (I think) that carries books on it. It just arrived yesterday in Benghazi and today I am going to see it, I am really excited because there are hardly any bookstores and nothing in English. This ship is supposed to be really big and most of the books are in English and I heard there are some in Spanish too!
One story that I was going to include in my last post, but forgot has to do with a mini-victory with make-up girl (from the European school). One day I let her sit in the hallway during her study period because I was tutoring the ESL students. When I went to check on her she was gone, I walked down the hall and found her in the Year 11 classroom (she is year 12) doing her make-up! I said "What are you doing in here??", she said "Miss, I am sorry I didn't mean for you catch me doing my make-up", Me "You are always doing your make-up! Get out of the year 11 room and go back to the table!". It had been a long and bad day with the students, so I was really frusterated with her. The next time I was at the school she came up to me after study period ended and said "Miss, did you notice I am not wearing any make-up today?", I said "No. You don't need make-up, you look very pretty without it". She said "Yeah, well I wanted to go with my natural look today because last week you said all I ever do is my make-up". I was shocked because she had actually listened to me and thought about what I had said. Of course, she is now back to doing her make-up all the time, but it was a mini-victory with her while it lasted. :)
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
the small things
I feel like a lot of my experience is made up of small moments of success/happiness. I am not saying that the rest of the time is bad because I am definitely enjoying my time here, but there are moments when I feel really happy for one reason or another. Examples:
* Last week I connected with one of the students at the European school who had left the school for a year and was feeling a little lost upon returning (I could relate after leaving Linfield for a year). I spent over an hour listening to her and it was nice because I think she just needed someone to listen to her express herself.
* Yesterday I drove for the second time here (with someone else in the car, not alone...maybe someday?) and during rush hour! It was great! :)
* A few days ago I was at the athletic club I joined and was waiting for my cousin to pick me up. I looked out the window and saw a car that kind of looked like his, so I went outside. Once I opened the door I realized it wasn't his car, but I decided not to go back inside because it was SO nice and cool outside. I sat on the steps and decided to take out my journal, I was SO happy to be outside by myself. A few minutes later a woman from the club opened the door and asked me to come inside. I got up a little confused and walked to the door, she said I should sit inside, I asked her why and she said that it was the club's policy that I wait inside. I was bummed, but I went back inside.
* At the new school I am teaching at (I will talk more about it later) a girl came up to me after the first class and said she was so happy to hear me speak english because she had been living for the past 7 years in Sweden (she is about 11 years old) and misses talking in english (she speaks english, swedish and arabic!). She was telling how hard adjusting to life here has been for her and she started to cry. She had to go to class but I told her we could talk more later in the day if she had a break. She found me during her lunch break and I listened to her for about an hour, she cried the entire time. I felt so bad for her and didn't feel like I could do anything but validate her feelings. I couldn't say things will get better because it's the culture here and it's not going to change...hopefully it will just get better. She is such an intelligent young girl and cares so much about others and knows what's going on in the world (something that can probably be attributed to her education in Sweden and her parents). It made me reflect on the 16/17 year olds I deal with at the European school and I really think this 11 year-old is wiser than any of them. I could say so much more about her...she came to conclusions and realizations that some adults don't even come to in a lifetime. She told me she wants to do something big for her country and I think she will. :)
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My dad left about a week ago, so now the "real" work starts (as I can't rely on my dad to translate for me). I feel like I am understanding more Arabic now and if I don't understand something my family is usually able to use different vocabulary that they know I do understand. Sometimes I still won't understand it, but that's okay. Speaking...I have learned new words, but putting sentences together will still take some time.
As I mentioned earlier, I started teaching english conversation classes at a Libyan school. I teach 2 days a week and the other 3 days I am at the European school. It's a lot different than the European school, but similar in some ways. The way children are raised here somehow creates incredibly disrespectful students (at least when they are younger, the older ones are better). I went into a couple classes with 6/7 year-olds and WITH the teacher in the room they were yelling, running around, hitting each other, pulling hair...meanwhile the teacher is yelling at them to be quiet, taking a ruler to some of them and the kids don't listen nor care. I enjoy working with the older students (11-15 yrs) because they are more eager to listen to me and can actually understand me (most of the time) when I speak in English...the younger ones bascially know "Hi, how are you? I am fine, thank you", colors and numbers, so it makes it really difficult for me to control the classroom and I am not really fond of yelling all day and will not use a ruler (side note: in the 6/7 yr old classroom one of the students broke a stick of wood off her desk to give to me to use...there were nails sticking out of it, I had to hold onto it the entire day until I could properly dispose of it because I knew a student would take it and start hitting someone with it). I honestly don't know how they learn anything. The poor 11 year-old I mentioned earlier has been having a hard time dealing with all the noise at school, she said that swedish students are so calm and listen and respect their teachers...she isn't used to being yelled at all day and threatened.
Anyway, despite all that I am enjoying teaching at the school...it's good practice for me. :)
I feel like there was something else I wanted to write about, but it has slipped my mind. I hope everyone is doing well! :)
* Last week I connected with one of the students at the European school who had left the school for a year and was feeling a little lost upon returning (I could relate after leaving Linfield for a year). I spent over an hour listening to her and it was nice because I think she just needed someone to listen to her express herself.
* Yesterday I drove for the second time here (with someone else in the car, not alone...maybe someday?) and during rush hour! It was great! :)
* A few days ago I was at the athletic club I joined and was waiting for my cousin to pick me up. I looked out the window and saw a car that kind of looked like his, so I went outside. Once I opened the door I realized it wasn't his car, but I decided not to go back inside because it was SO nice and cool outside. I sat on the steps and decided to take out my journal, I was SO happy to be outside by myself. A few minutes later a woman from the club opened the door and asked me to come inside. I got up a little confused and walked to the door, she said I should sit inside, I asked her why and she said that it was the club's policy that I wait inside. I was bummed, but I went back inside.
* At the new school I am teaching at (I will talk more about it later) a girl came up to me after the first class and said she was so happy to hear me speak english because she had been living for the past 7 years in Sweden (she is about 11 years old) and misses talking in english (she speaks english, swedish and arabic!). She was telling how hard adjusting to life here has been for her and she started to cry. She had to go to class but I told her we could talk more later in the day if she had a break. She found me during her lunch break and I listened to her for about an hour, she cried the entire time. I felt so bad for her and didn't feel like I could do anything but validate her feelings. I couldn't say things will get better because it's the culture here and it's not going to change...hopefully it will just get better. She is such an intelligent young girl and cares so much about others and knows what's going on in the world (something that can probably be attributed to her education in Sweden and her parents). It made me reflect on the 16/17 year olds I deal with at the European school and I really think this 11 year-old is wiser than any of them. I could say so much more about her...she came to conclusions and realizations that some adults don't even come to in a lifetime. She told me she wants to do something big for her country and I think she will. :)
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My dad left about a week ago, so now the "real" work starts (as I can't rely on my dad to translate for me). I feel like I am understanding more Arabic now and if I don't understand something my family is usually able to use different vocabulary that they know I do understand. Sometimes I still won't understand it, but that's okay. Speaking...I have learned new words, but putting sentences together will still take some time.
As I mentioned earlier, I started teaching english conversation classes at a Libyan school. I teach 2 days a week and the other 3 days I am at the European school. It's a lot different than the European school, but similar in some ways. The way children are raised here somehow creates incredibly disrespectful students (at least when they are younger, the older ones are better). I went into a couple classes with 6/7 year-olds and WITH the teacher in the room they were yelling, running around, hitting each other, pulling hair...meanwhile the teacher is yelling at them to be quiet, taking a ruler to some of them and the kids don't listen nor care. I enjoy working with the older students (11-15 yrs) because they are more eager to listen to me and can actually understand me (most of the time) when I speak in English...the younger ones bascially know "Hi, how are you? I am fine, thank you", colors and numbers, so it makes it really difficult for me to control the classroom and I am not really fond of yelling all day and will not use a ruler (side note: in the 6/7 yr old classroom one of the students broke a stick of wood off her desk to give to me to use...there were nails sticking out of it, I had to hold onto it the entire day until I could properly dispose of it because I knew a student would take it and start hitting someone with it). I honestly don't know how they learn anything. The poor 11 year-old I mentioned earlier has been having a hard time dealing with all the noise at school, she said that swedish students are so calm and listen and respect their teachers...she isn't used to being yelled at all day and threatened.
Anyway, despite all that I am enjoying teaching at the school...it's good practice for me. :)
I feel like there was something else I wanted to write about, but it has slipped my mind. I hope everyone is doing well! :)
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Life is Different
Life here is very different.
Things I like:
*Being able to spend time with family.
*Getting to know my cousins better.
*Feeling welcomed by everyone.
*The sense of community here...everyone knows ALL their neighbors. When someone moves somewhere the most important factor is who are the neighbors.
*The slowness of life (although as my dad well knows, this is also something I don't like at times as I prefer to be busy...but it is nice to slow down). When I mentioned the possibility of working 5 days a week 8am-3:30pm to my family, there was an uproar of "No!" "That's too much work!" "It's bad for your health!". It made me laugh :)
*Living 10 minutes from the mediterranean sea.
Things I don't like:
*Not being able to freely go on a walk (you only see men walking around....women go shopping and such, but it's not acceptable for a woman to wander the streets)
*The driving. Everytime I am in a car I pray I don't get into an accident.
*The color brown. Everything here is brown and I don't find it aesthetically pleasing at all.
*The language barrier...but I guess that is what I am here to overcome, right?
*Living with a 1 1/2-year old who's only form of communication is screaming. :)
*There are very few places to go to hang out with people (especially for women, but there isn't too much for men either).
*The mosquitoes...I try to keep my body covered in bug spray in the evening. Probably the only spot that was not protected was my lips, so I currently have a bite on my lip. They just love me :)
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One of my cousins has lived in England for the past 5 years and recently moved back to Libya. I was talking to her husband who said something I found interesting. He told me "You shouldn't let people tell you what you can and can't do. You should learn for yourself, it's a safe country so no one will hurt you". I took this to mean "go outside and go on a walk if you want to" or "go to a place that they say only men can go to"...but I am not sure that is exactly how I was supposed to interpret it...we'll see.
The daily schedule (which doesn't actually exist) goes something like this on some days:
Morning: Wake-up at 6:30am if I have work or wake-up at 10-11am. Have breakfast (eggs, cheese, bread). If not at work, sit around the house, go on the net, play with the 1 1/2-year old, read until lunch(between 2:30 and 3:30pm; it's the big meal of the day) or go somewhere with my dad and my cousin for a couple hours.
Afternoon/Evening: Lunch, nap (I generally don't nap), hang out with my cousins, have an arabic lesson, ask my dad questions about the arabic language.
On Thursday the sister of a family friend wanted to take me out for coffee and I found out about it as she was driving to get me....that's how planning works here :) I was really excited though because I didn't know such a place existed (for women at least). It's basically a family restaurant, not what we would call a "coffee shop" in the states.
Let me know how you are doing when you get the chance :)
Things I like:
*Being able to spend time with family.
*Getting to know my cousins better.
*Feeling welcomed by everyone.
*The sense of community here...everyone knows ALL their neighbors. When someone moves somewhere the most important factor is who are the neighbors.
*The slowness of life (although as my dad well knows, this is also something I don't like at times as I prefer to be busy...but it is nice to slow down). When I mentioned the possibility of working 5 days a week 8am-3:30pm to my family, there was an uproar of "No!" "That's too much work!" "It's bad for your health!". It made me laugh :)
*Living 10 minutes from the mediterranean sea.
Things I don't like:
*Not being able to freely go on a walk (you only see men walking around....women go shopping and such, but it's not acceptable for a woman to wander the streets)
*The driving. Everytime I am in a car I pray I don't get into an accident.
*The color brown. Everything here is brown and I don't find it aesthetically pleasing at all.
*The language barrier...but I guess that is what I am here to overcome, right?
*Living with a 1 1/2-year old who's only form of communication is screaming. :)
*There are very few places to go to hang out with people (especially for women, but there isn't too much for men either).
*The mosquitoes...I try to keep my body covered in bug spray in the evening. Probably the only spot that was not protected was my lips, so I currently have a bite on my lip. They just love me :)
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One of my cousins has lived in England for the past 5 years and recently moved back to Libya. I was talking to her husband who said something I found interesting. He told me "You shouldn't let people tell you what you can and can't do. You should learn for yourself, it's a safe country so no one will hurt you". I took this to mean "go outside and go on a walk if you want to" or "go to a place that they say only men can go to"...but I am not sure that is exactly how I was supposed to interpret it...we'll see.
The daily schedule (which doesn't actually exist) goes something like this on some days:
Morning: Wake-up at 6:30am if I have work or wake-up at 10-11am. Have breakfast (eggs, cheese, bread). If not at work, sit around the house, go on the net, play with the 1 1/2-year old, read until lunch(between 2:30 and 3:30pm; it's the big meal of the day) or go somewhere with my dad and my cousin for a couple hours.
Afternoon/Evening: Lunch, nap (I generally don't nap), hang out with my cousins, have an arabic lesson, ask my dad questions about the arabic language.
On Thursday the sister of a family friend wanted to take me out for coffee and I found out about it as she was driving to get me....that's how planning works here :) I was really excited though because I didn't know such a place existed (for women at least). It's basically a family restaurant, not what we would call a "coffee shop" in the states.
Let me know how you are doing when you get the chance :)
Thursday, October 7, 2010
The European School
This week I started work at the European School. On Sunday I went in to talk with the Director and the Vice Principal about what I would be doing. They wanted to station me in the Library and have me supervise the Year 12 students during their study periods. They also wanted me to help update the Library, help with ESL classes, and work one-on-one with students who needed extra help. I committed to working 3 days a week.
I love being stationed in the Library, it's not very big but I still like it. The Director is in the process of ordering more books and has asked me to create an online catalog of all the books (I will start that next week). I basically have been babysitting 16 and 17 year olds all week. There are a total of 10 students in Year 12 (the school has a total of 98 students), so it's pretty small. They come to the Library when they have a study period, there are a total of 7 periods in a day (each 55 mins long) and some of them are only taking 2 or 3 subjects, meaning they are with me for 4 or 5 periods....which is a lot. The Director and Vice Principal know that the students don't really study during that time, so they asked me to supervise them to make sure they do study. The first couple days I wasn't too strict on them, mainly because I wasnted to get to know them a little bit (the Director said it would be good for me to get to know them, that way they might be more open with me). The guys will generally listen to what I say...although they also lie to me a LOT (Example: I come in the morning and no one is in class, I look at the schedule and it is the Biology period (most of the guys are not in Biology, so I know they should be with me). One guy walks by the room and says "Oh, we are supposed to be in here?", Me: "Yes, where are you guys?" Student: "We are in the classroom, I will go get them". He comes back, alone. Me: "Where are the others?" Student: "Oh, they say they have a subject right now." Me: (deep breath) "Ok, where is the classroom?". He tells me, I open the door and there are the other 4 boys, playing on a laptop. The history teacher always looks out for me a bit (he gives me a heads-up when they are downstairs when they should be with me) and when he saw me walking down the hall, escorting the boys to the Library, he gave me a look that said "sorry you have to deal with them), BUT I am starting to realize when they are lying now. :) Yesterday the boys were horrible though and for the first time I had to tell them to sit in different seats. The school is having a football tournament (they play during the lunch break) and the Year 12 boys I guess are in charge of keeping up the schedule. The first day I was there they decided to work on the schedule instead of study. I asked them if it was for school and they said "Yes, Student Council" (which I now know is what they say when it is something they aren't supposed to be doing, but want to make it sound vague and important). After a few minutes I walked over picked up the piece of paper and said "You guys get tested on the football schedule?", They kind of chuckled and said "No", I told them they had 5 minutes and then I didn't want to see it again.
Sometimes I feel bad for them because I think things are really strict at the school (not that they follow the rules anyway), but a student got in huge trouble the other day for listening to an IPOD during study period that I had said he could listen to. Almost everyone I know studies listening to music (I personally can't), so I didn't think it was an issue. I told the teacher who walked in and got upset that I didn't realize they couldn't listen to IPODs and that I had allowed him to do it. The teacher said that wasn't the main reason the student was in trouble, I guess he was skipping classes also. Also, when they have 3 study periods in a row, I usually let them talk a little bit because I can't even study for 3 hours straight without some kind of distraction. I have also learned which students can and can't study with talking, so I keep the room extra-quiet when certain students are present (or at least I try).
The students at this school remind me a lot of the students at the University I attended in Ecuador because these are the country's elite that are able to afford this school. They all have their own drivers that take them to and from school (and elsewhere I assume) and maids. There is one girl that really doesn't listen at all and says the oddest things. She is Libyan, but grew up in England. On the first day she was telling me how she does her make-up the last 5 minutes of every class and that make-up is more important to her than school. Almost every day she arrives 30 minutes late to school because she refuses to wake-up earlier to come to a class she doesn't like (usually Bio or the study period) and she would rather spend extra time making herself look better. I guess her mom is still in England and she said she wished her mom was here to do her laundry. Another girl said she should get a maid, "Oh, well we have 2 maids, but the house is just sooooo big that there isn't time for laundry". "Well, you could do the laundry yourself". She gave the worst look as if to say "How dare you". She also hates Americans and manages to let me know more than once a day (although she says I am a "decent" American). She LOVES American T.V. shows though and is obsessed with The Kardashians. A couple days ago she told me how she knows EVERYTHING about them (she watches their show, some other show about them, reads their blog updates every day and follows them on twitter), but it suddenly hit her that "They don't know anything about me!". Well, of course not! I didn't say that to her, but was amazed by her sudden revelation. She also likes to talk about how she gets everything she wants and can do whatever she wants, no one controls her. I said "Obviously, you apparently are incapable of listening to me, I have asked you to be quiet 10 times, yet you are still talking". At the end of the day a couple days ago she apologized and said she would try to be better and yesterday she actually was good most of the day.
Yesterday, the Director walked in during one of the periods and asked me if I could stop by his office for 5 minutes before I left for the day. I figured it was just to check in about things, but I was a little worried that he was going to say I needed to be more strict with the students because more than once he or the VP have dropped in to check in during study time and either I have been talking, a student has been talking, or had their head on the table (this only happened once and he had JUST put it down when the VP walked in, so I didn't even realize until she pointed it out to me). I walked into his office and he said that this week they have seen dramatic improvements in the students (he wasn't sure about the quality of the work, but they are actually completing work now). He and the VP said they know supervising them isn't easy and isn't the most interesting thing, but they can see how much they really need it. Once I start updating the Library system it will give me something to do and he said I can also study my Arabic material while I am there. Yesterday I started working in the ESL classes (the Director said he would watch the Year 12's for a couple periods while I did that), and I really enjoyed that. There is one girl from Spain, so maybe at some point I can practice my Spanish with her!
The faculty is really nice and most have been there for quite some time, but aren't Libyan. The teachers are from Palestine, Turkey, Ireland, Scotland, England, South Africa, Bangladesh, United States, and I know there are others that I can't remember now.
This post was originally going to be about more than just the school, but it' so long I will just give a brief overview and talk more about other things later. I have my first Arabic lesson today with an Egyptian teacher. I went to my first wedding last night (am slightly deaf now) and have another one tonight that I just found out about.
So far things are going well! :)
Hope you all are well!
I love being stationed in the Library, it's not very big but I still like it. The Director is in the process of ordering more books and has asked me to create an online catalog of all the books (I will start that next week). I basically have been babysitting 16 and 17 year olds all week. There are a total of 10 students in Year 12 (the school has a total of 98 students), so it's pretty small. They come to the Library when they have a study period, there are a total of 7 periods in a day (each 55 mins long) and some of them are only taking 2 or 3 subjects, meaning they are with me for 4 or 5 periods....which is a lot. The Director and Vice Principal know that the students don't really study during that time, so they asked me to supervise them to make sure they do study. The first couple days I wasn't too strict on them, mainly because I wasnted to get to know them a little bit (the Director said it would be good for me to get to know them, that way they might be more open with me). The guys will generally listen to what I say...although they also lie to me a LOT (Example: I come in the morning and no one is in class, I look at the schedule and it is the Biology period (most of the guys are not in Biology, so I know they should be with me). One guy walks by the room and says "Oh, we are supposed to be in here?", Me: "Yes, where are you guys?" Student: "We are in the classroom, I will go get them". He comes back, alone. Me: "Where are the others?" Student: "Oh, they say they have a subject right now." Me: (deep breath) "Ok, where is the classroom?". He tells me, I open the door and there are the other 4 boys, playing on a laptop. The history teacher always looks out for me a bit (he gives me a heads-up when they are downstairs when they should be with me) and when he saw me walking down the hall, escorting the boys to the Library, he gave me a look that said "sorry you have to deal with them), BUT I am starting to realize when they are lying now. :) Yesterday the boys were horrible though and for the first time I had to tell them to sit in different seats. The school is having a football tournament (they play during the lunch break) and the Year 12 boys I guess are in charge of keeping up the schedule. The first day I was there they decided to work on the schedule instead of study. I asked them if it was for school and they said "Yes, Student Council" (which I now know is what they say when it is something they aren't supposed to be doing, but want to make it sound vague and important). After a few minutes I walked over picked up the piece of paper and said "You guys get tested on the football schedule?", They kind of chuckled and said "No", I told them they had 5 minutes and then I didn't want to see it again.
Sometimes I feel bad for them because I think things are really strict at the school (not that they follow the rules anyway), but a student got in huge trouble the other day for listening to an IPOD during study period that I had said he could listen to. Almost everyone I know studies listening to music (I personally can't), so I didn't think it was an issue. I told the teacher who walked in and got upset that I didn't realize they couldn't listen to IPODs and that I had allowed him to do it. The teacher said that wasn't the main reason the student was in trouble, I guess he was skipping classes also. Also, when they have 3 study periods in a row, I usually let them talk a little bit because I can't even study for 3 hours straight without some kind of distraction. I have also learned which students can and can't study with talking, so I keep the room extra-quiet when certain students are present (or at least I try).
The students at this school remind me a lot of the students at the University I attended in Ecuador because these are the country's elite that are able to afford this school. They all have their own drivers that take them to and from school (and elsewhere I assume) and maids. There is one girl that really doesn't listen at all and says the oddest things. She is Libyan, but grew up in England. On the first day she was telling me how she does her make-up the last 5 minutes of every class and that make-up is more important to her than school. Almost every day she arrives 30 minutes late to school because she refuses to wake-up earlier to come to a class she doesn't like (usually Bio or the study period) and she would rather spend extra time making herself look better. I guess her mom is still in England and she said she wished her mom was here to do her laundry. Another girl said she should get a maid, "Oh, well we have 2 maids, but the house is just sooooo big that there isn't time for laundry". "Well, you could do the laundry yourself". She gave the worst look as if to say "How dare you". She also hates Americans and manages to let me know more than once a day (although she says I am a "decent" American). She LOVES American T.V. shows though and is obsessed with The Kardashians. A couple days ago she told me how she knows EVERYTHING about them (she watches their show, some other show about them, reads their blog updates every day and follows them on twitter), but it suddenly hit her that "They don't know anything about me!". Well, of course not! I didn't say that to her, but was amazed by her sudden revelation. She also likes to talk about how she gets everything she wants and can do whatever she wants, no one controls her. I said "Obviously, you apparently are incapable of listening to me, I have asked you to be quiet 10 times, yet you are still talking". At the end of the day a couple days ago she apologized and said she would try to be better and yesterday she actually was good most of the day.
Yesterday, the Director walked in during one of the periods and asked me if I could stop by his office for 5 minutes before I left for the day. I figured it was just to check in about things, but I was a little worried that he was going to say I needed to be more strict with the students because more than once he or the VP have dropped in to check in during study time and either I have been talking, a student has been talking, or had their head on the table (this only happened once and he had JUST put it down when the VP walked in, so I didn't even realize until she pointed it out to me). I walked into his office and he said that this week they have seen dramatic improvements in the students (he wasn't sure about the quality of the work, but they are actually completing work now). He and the VP said they know supervising them isn't easy and isn't the most interesting thing, but they can see how much they really need it. Once I start updating the Library system it will give me something to do and he said I can also study my Arabic material while I am there. Yesterday I started working in the ESL classes (the Director said he would watch the Year 12's for a couple periods while I did that), and I really enjoyed that. There is one girl from Spain, so maybe at some point I can practice my Spanish with her!
The faculty is really nice and most have been there for quite some time, but aren't Libyan. The teachers are from Palestine, Turkey, Ireland, Scotland, England, South Africa, Bangladesh, United States, and I know there are others that I can't remember now.
This post was originally going to be about more than just the school, but it' so long I will just give a brief overview and talk more about other things later. I have my first Arabic lesson today with an Egyptian teacher. I went to my first wedding last night (am slightly deaf now) and have another one tonight that I just found out about.
So far things are going well! :)
Hope you all are well!
Friday, October 1, 2010
We're in Libya now
20 some hours later and we made it! :)
For the most part, the 9 1/2 hour flight to Amsterdam went well, I watched 4 movies. The flight from Amsterdam to Tripoli was a lot shorter (4 hours), but was a lot harder to get through because I was soooo tired and couldn't sleep on the plane. I knew we were getting closer to Libya when a flight attendant was walking around the plane before take off with a "lost" toddler. The guy next to me said "we aren't even in a mall, imagine if we were in a mall, this is a small plane, how can he be lost?". After the lady walks through the whole plane asking if anyone knows who the boy belongs to, one guy says that the family hasn't gotten on the plane yet. A few minutes later the family walks on the plane and puts their stuff in the row next to us, they realize they are in seats farther back in the plane. They walk back and my dad and I realize they left their little baby girl behind. Eventually they came back for her. A few minutes after that there was an announcement that someone left their carry-on luggage at the front of the plane and needed to come pick it up before we could take off...it happened to be the same family again. Yep, we are almost in Libya :)
Upon landing the flight attendant announced that "Tripoli International Airport is a non-smoking airport", as we walk off I see people smoking everywhere. When we walked off the plane there were no signs indicating which direction we should walk in, so we chose one direction, then turned around and found a worker to ask which way to walk. We put our carry-on bags through security and then walked throught the metal detector, I didn't beep, but just about everyone else did and they didn't say anything (I don't think they even look at the monitor to see what's in the bags). We then went downstairs to baggage claim, we had to wait for bags from Dubai to come through first. My dad started to joke around about how the conveyor belt was probably going to break... and then it stopped. I thought maybe it was just paused for a little bit, but while laughing my dad announced that it was indeed broken because he could see a guy trying to fix it. It eventually started working again and we got ALL our bags (yes!). We then had to put all our bags through a conveyor belt security check (what is that called?). The guy told my dad that he needed to check what was inside the box we had (it was full of car parts that my dad was bringing a friend...it went through a very thorough check at PDX). My dad told him that "In America they checked it very thoroughly and he was bringing car parts for a friend because people buy cars from the U.S. and then don't have the parts to repair them. Really, it's just a big headache to go through". The guy said "ok, just take the box then". I don't think you can talk yourself out of a security check in the U.S.!
While waiting for our flight to Benghazi, a few friends came to visit us in the airport. A family friend came with his 2 daughters (they just moved back to Libya a year ago). They are about 10 and 11 years old and started giving me the scoop on life in Libya. One asked me if I drive, I said yes, but not in Libya. She said "but why? it is so easy, you can do whatever you want. in a driving test you can drive 300 km/hr, do what you want, and the teacher will say 'good job!'". I think I forgot how crazy the driving was until driving around last night and today. There are very different rules around here (e.g., if I honk and flash my lights at you that means don't merge in front of me; 2 lane roads can easily be made into 4 lanes; if the light is red it doesn't matter; seat belts don't work and if they do, no one uses them; carseats for babies? what is that?).
The first day here was good, I am still experiencing jet lag....it's 3am right now and I am wide-awake. It's frusterating not being able to communicate on my own, so I am looking forward to starting classes or getting a tutor. Tonight I was at my aunt's house and was walking around the yard with 3 cousins and the 2 sons of one of my cousins. They were all pointing to things and telling me the name in Arabic (all at the same time, so I had some information overload and don't remember anything...I need to remember to carry a notebook with me). I will be going to the British school in the next couple days to figure out what I am doing (I was really confused when my dad told me this because it's the weekend, but I forgot that Friday is the day off here and Saturday through Thursday there is school).
Oh, so remember how I said I bought a new planner for my trip (that my dad made fun of me for?) Well, he told some of my family about it today (in order to explain to them that I like to plan ahead), they thought it was SO funny and said "no, no, not in Libya....welcome to Libya!"
For the most part, the 9 1/2 hour flight to Amsterdam went well, I watched 4 movies. The flight from Amsterdam to Tripoli was a lot shorter (4 hours), but was a lot harder to get through because I was soooo tired and couldn't sleep on the plane. I knew we were getting closer to Libya when a flight attendant was walking around the plane before take off with a "lost" toddler. The guy next to me said "we aren't even in a mall, imagine if we were in a mall, this is a small plane, how can he be lost?". After the lady walks through the whole plane asking if anyone knows who the boy belongs to, one guy says that the family hasn't gotten on the plane yet. A few minutes later the family walks on the plane and puts their stuff in the row next to us, they realize they are in seats farther back in the plane. They walk back and my dad and I realize they left their little baby girl behind. Eventually they came back for her. A few minutes after that there was an announcement that someone left their carry-on luggage at the front of the plane and needed to come pick it up before we could take off...it happened to be the same family again. Yep, we are almost in Libya :)
Upon landing the flight attendant announced that "Tripoli International Airport is a non-smoking airport", as we walk off I see people smoking everywhere. When we walked off the plane there were no signs indicating which direction we should walk in, so we chose one direction, then turned around and found a worker to ask which way to walk. We put our carry-on bags through security and then walked throught the metal detector, I didn't beep, but just about everyone else did and they didn't say anything (I don't think they even look at the monitor to see what's in the bags). We then went downstairs to baggage claim, we had to wait for bags from Dubai to come through first. My dad started to joke around about how the conveyor belt was probably going to break... and then it stopped. I thought maybe it was just paused for a little bit, but while laughing my dad announced that it was indeed broken because he could see a guy trying to fix it. It eventually started working again and we got ALL our bags (yes!). We then had to put all our bags through a conveyor belt security check (what is that called?). The guy told my dad that he needed to check what was inside the box we had (it was full of car parts that my dad was bringing a friend...it went through a very thorough check at PDX). My dad told him that "In America they checked it very thoroughly and he was bringing car parts for a friend because people buy cars from the U.S. and then don't have the parts to repair them. Really, it's just a big headache to go through". The guy said "ok, just take the box then". I don't think you can talk yourself out of a security check in the U.S.!
While waiting for our flight to Benghazi, a few friends came to visit us in the airport. A family friend came with his 2 daughters (they just moved back to Libya a year ago). They are about 10 and 11 years old and started giving me the scoop on life in Libya. One asked me if I drive, I said yes, but not in Libya. She said "but why? it is so easy, you can do whatever you want. in a driving test you can drive 300 km/hr, do what you want, and the teacher will say 'good job!'". I think I forgot how crazy the driving was until driving around last night and today. There are very different rules around here (e.g., if I honk and flash my lights at you that means don't merge in front of me; 2 lane roads can easily be made into 4 lanes; if the light is red it doesn't matter; seat belts don't work and if they do, no one uses them; carseats for babies? what is that?).
The first day here was good, I am still experiencing jet lag....it's 3am right now and I am wide-awake. It's frusterating not being able to communicate on my own, so I am looking forward to starting classes or getting a tutor. Tonight I was at my aunt's house and was walking around the yard with 3 cousins and the 2 sons of one of my cousins. They were all pointing to things and telling me the name in Arabic (all at the same time, so I had some information overload and don't remember anything...I need to remember to carry a notebook with me). I will be going to the British school in the next couple days to figure out what I am doing (I was really confused when my dad told me this because it's the weekend, but I forgot that Friday is the day off here and Saturday through Thursday there is school).
Oh, so remember how I said I bought a new planner for my trip (that my dad made fun of me for?) Well, he told some of my family about it today (in order to explain to them that I like to plan ahead), they thought it was SO funny and said "no, no, not in Libya....welcome to Libya!"
Monday, September 27, 2010
Leaving on a Jet Plane...
Wednesday afternoon I will be on an airplane flying to Libya. I fly from PDX to Amsterdam, from Amsterdam to Tripoli (Libya) and then will fly from Tripoli to Benghazi, Libya...my new residence for the next 7 or 8 months. I started to feel a little anxious about the trip last week because I realized I didn't really have any finalized plans, everything is kind of up in the air until I arrive. I know I am doing something at the British School, but I don't know what. I am told I will have a tutor for Arabic, but I don't know who. Just this week I found out where I am living (I wasn't worried about this because I had many options). My dad was trying to explain to me that no one plans ahead for anything, "you wake up in the morning and don't think about making plans for that evening...it's just not how it works over there". I kind of laughed and admitted that I had just gone out to buy a new planner to take to Libya with me...so is every day going to be blank? My dad began laughing really hard and thought it was hilarious that I had bought a planner for Libya. It's interesting because this won't be my first time living in a culture where plans fall through all the time, it was exactly the same when I lived in Ecuador (I never used a planner in Ecuador...)
If you've ever heard me talk about living in Ecuador you know that I describe it as one of the hardest experiences in my life and not the most positive experience. With Libya, I know it is going to be difficult in ways that Ecuador was not (i.e., language barrier, lack of independence), but I think the fact that I am going to a place that is familiar to me and where I have family is helpful. It also helps that my dad is going with me for the first month to get me settled.
I am excited for this next adventure and hope to post updates regularly :)
Please keep me updated on your lives as well! :)
Peace,
Nadia
If you've ever heard me talk about living in Ecuador you know that I describe it as one of the hardest experiences in my life and not the most positive experience. With Libya, I know it is going to be difficult in ways that Ecuador was not (i.e., language barrier, lack of independence), but I think the fact that I am going to a place that is familiar to me and where I have family is helpful. It also helps that my dad is going with me for the first month to get me settled.
I am excited for this next adventure and hope to post updates regularly :)
Please keep me updated on your lives as well! :)
Peace,
Nadia
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