I forgot to tell you that I have a Masters degree in Second Language Education. I forgot to tell you that when we learn 2nd languages we have to consume a lot of language before we produce it. It's a well known fact about language learning.
I can't write your language yet, and it frustrates both of us. I keep failing your tests, but you haven't given me the chance to show you that I CAN read your words, and sound them out, if you would just stop rushing me and interrupting me to tell me that I obviously didn't do my homework.
I also forgot to tell you that more than reading or writing I really, really, really, need to know how to speak to people on the street. People on the street don't ask me the months of the year, or what the weather is like in August. Furthermore, putting a picture of rain to illustrate winter is a cultural lesson, not a language one.
People on the streets of Cairo ask me how many camels it will take to marry them. They charge me too much for things, (of course with the exception of Mohammed the fruit man) and I must learn quickly to argue with them, in their language. I need to know the arabic equivalent of “What are you staring at ???”
Did I also forget to tell you that I'm a bit of a pretentious snob who thinks she knows everything when it comes to teaching languages???
Sincerely,
Your worst student.
PS. I actually like your class a lot, and tonight for the first time the words you wrote on the board looked like words - not hieroglyphics. I might not be aware that I am actually learning. I'll come back next week, I promise.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Arabic classes are going well...
...but Mohammed the fruit man was a bit surprised when I ordered a half kilo of Chairs instead of Zucchinis.
Really, one letter??? Korsi = chair. Korsa = Zucchini. I'll never make that mistake again.
Really, one letter??? Korsi = chair. Korsa = Zucchini. I'll never make that mistake again.
Friday, November 13, 2009
School closure - the biggest loser!
So for once this country and our school have done something that somewhat resembles organization and planning. On November 12 we received official notification that school will be closed for three days after our November Eid holiday. This makes me a big loser in both our potluck pool and the bus pool. (I'll be checking into a gambling rehab facility for the break...)
Now according to the Ministry officials here in Egypt, they're not actually closing our school. Instead, they mention in the newspaper, "e-learning may be the answer." [yes, but WHAT is the question???] So our students may not come to school but we will still teach them via computers.
I was trained a few weeks back on a virtual classroom program, so that I could train other teachers. In typical fashion, the virtual classroom hasn't worked on another computer since this night of training!
We will send student work packages home, go to work every day, and hope against all hope that this only lasts 3 days. The rumours are strong, however, that the government will say "you should stay closed, because there's only 12 days until your Christmas vacation." We should start again on January 10, but we also think the goverment might say "public schools in Egypt are on holidays at the end of January - no school for you." For now, 3 days to clean my classroom and time to run on the treadmill in the school gym.
Stay tuned!
Now according to the Ministry officials here in Egypt, they're not actually closing our school. Instead, they mention in the newspaper, "e-learning may be the answer." [yes, but WHAT is the question???] So our students may not come to school but we will still teach them via computers.
I was trained a few weeks back on a virtual classroom program, so that I could train other teachers. In typical fashion, the virtual classroom hasn't worked on another computer since this night of training!
We will send student work packages home, go to work every day, and hope against all hope that this only lasts 3 days. The rumours are strong, however, that the government will say "you should stay closed, because there's only 12 days until your Christmas vacation." We should start again on January 10, but we also think the goverment might say "public schools in Egypt are on holidays at the end of January - no school for you." For now, 3 days to clean my classroom and time to run on the treadmill in the school gym.
Stay tuned!
Thursday, October 29, 2009
yallabina!
As I was finishing my Masters at U of T this Spring, and preparing to move to Cairo, I declared 2009-2010 as my "working holiday," meaning that I would work and get paid, but relax a bit more, do some traveling, read for fun and rest. I loved my studies at U of T, but it was tiring.
Of course I'm completely incompetent at saying no, and at knowing my limits, so I am now signed up for 2 nights of Arabic lessons a week. (On top of my other work and committee involvement).
Some of you know that I bought a self-teaching program before I left. I'm the worst self-teacher I know. (The ironies of this are great, I understand, since I am a TEACHER). But, I learn better when I have accountability and when someone is explaining stuff to me.
Arabic is no longer an interest, it is a necessity. Consider the following situation:
Electricity man arrives at the door to collect for October. He collected last month for August and September, and I paid him. Tonight he said in very broken English "you pay 3 months." I say the one Arabic word I know off by heart "La'a" [NO]. He pulls out electricity bills from June and July, and insists that I pay them. We're both pantomiming a ton at this point. Waving your hands and shaking your head is universal. I say "I no live here June July. I no pay." (Honestly, people understand pidgeon versions of their foreign language better, it's been proven.) The landlord was eventually called, and he eventually agreed to pay for June and July. I'm embarrassed to admit that we probably quibbled over about $10, but it was the principle of the matter!
Anyways, I wish I could have been a better guest to his country by at least greeting him and knowing my numbers in Arabic. Hopefully 4 hrs a week of small group tutoring will help some.
Someone suggested I post a question here, to get you to respond. So here it is:
If you were learning Arabic as a foreign language, what would your first priority be? What words and phrases would you want to learn???
Yallabina! Let's go!
Of course I'm completely incompetent at saying no, and at knowing my limits, so I am now signed up for 2 nights of Arabic lessons a week. (On top of my other work and committee involvement).
Some of you know that I bought a self-teaching program before I left. I'm the worst self-teacher I know. (The ironies of this are great, I understand, since I am a TEACHER). But, I learn better when I have accountability and when someone is explaining stuff to me.
Arabic is no longer an interest, it is a necessity. Consider the following situation:
Electricity man arrives at the door to collect for October. He collected last month for August and September, and I paid him. Tonight he said in very broken English "you pay 3 months." I say the one Arabic word I know off by heart "La'a" [NO]. He pulls out electricity bills from June and July, and insists that I pay them. We're both pantomiming a ton at this point. Waving your hands and shaking your head is universal. I say "I no live here June July. I no pay." (Honestly, people understand pidgeon versions of their foreign language better, it's been proven.) The landlord was eventually called, and he eventually agreed to pay for June and July. I'm embarrassed to admit that we probably quibbled over about $10, but it was the principle of the matter!
Anyways, I wish I could have been a better guest to his country by at least greeting him and knowing my numbers in Arabic. Hopefully 4 hrs a week of small group tutoring will help some.
Someone suggested I post a question here, to get you to respond. So here it is:
If you were learning Arabic as a foreign language, what would your first priority be? What words and phrases would you want to learn???
Yallabina! Let's go!
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
It has come down to this...
This morning walking to church I enjoyed a refreshing breeze and a long sleeved shirt after a heat wave moved through Cairo at the beginning of the week. We're enjoying seasonal norms of 25 C, as opposed to 40 C last Saturday and Sunday. Sometimes it hit me, as it did this morning, "I live in Egypt." That's a loaded statement now.
Courtney and I had some friends over for dinner the other night, and this was the result of full stomachs and the company of good friends.
In case you can't read the title, it is the "School Closure Potluck Pool." Rumours and speculation are so strong in Egypt about once again closing the International schools that we have started a pool for the date and the method by which we will find out. We have a break at the end of November, and the idea is that we'll be closed after that, until after Christmas. C'mon November 22!
Last weekend our Church hosted a Dinner Charity Auction for 450 people. It was amazing the amount of people who bought tickets and came to support various Egyptian Charities. The Church itself only has about 100 people, so I'm not sure where everyone came from. The evening was complete with a cash bar and black jack tables. I love being Anglican!
We had a table of "young adults" (starting to take issue with that phrase - as one person at the table put it "I'm not all that young any more, and I'm not sure I'm an adult"...). We talked a lot about why people come to Egypt and what we were all doing there. There seems to be three main reasons. 1) specifically for interest in their job. 2) Interest in the Middle East and Egypt.
3) Interest in living somewhere other than your own country.
I had to admit that I was in the third category. I was put to shame by some of the others, who have studied Arabic and Middle Eastern studies in University, and who really want to be specifically in Egypt. Don't get me wrong, I love it here, and it's a fascinating place. It's just that before January 28, 2009, I had not really thought much about Egypt as a living, current place. It was just boring history to me.
Now that I'm here, my interests still lie more in the way people live currently than they did in history. I wonder much more often about the people around me - how they live now, and how they interact with one another. It also frustrates me that I have few opportunities to interact with Egyptians, and many language and cultural barriers prevent this from happening. I will have to keep looking for ways to make that happen that are appropriate and safe.
I try to get out on Saturdays to explore somewhere new; last weekend I was in Old Cairo, tomorrow I hope to join some people from work on a tour of Zamalek, a small island region in Cairo with lots of little shops and galleries. The above picture is the inside of the first Mosque built in Cairo; it was built large enough to hold the Muslim army (3500 men) for prayer.
Courtney and I had some friends over for dinner the other night, and this was the result of full stomachs and the company of good friends.
In case you can't read the title, it is the "School Closure Potluck Pool." Rumours and speculation are so strong in Egypt about once again closing the International schools that we have started a pool for the date and the method by which we will find out. We have a break at the end of November, and the idea is that we'll be closed after that, until after Christmas. C'mon November 22!
Last weekend our Church hosted a Dinner Charity Auction for 450 people. It was amazing the amount of people who bought tickets and came to support various Egyptian Charities. The Church itself only has about 100 people, so I'm not sure where everyone came from. The evening was complete with a cash bar and black jack tables. I love being Anglican!
We had a table of "young adults" (starting to take issue with that phrase - as one person at the table put it "I'm not all that young any more, and I'm not sure I'm an adult"...). We talked a lot about why people come to Egypt and what we were all doing there. There seems to be three main reasons. 1) specifically for interest in their job. 2) Interest in the Middle East and Egypt.
3) Interest in living somewhere other than your own country.
I had to admit that I was in the third category. I was put to shame by some of the others, who have studied Arabic and Middle Eastern studies in University, and who really want to be specifically in Egypt. Don't get me wrong, I love it here, and it's a fascinating place. It's just that before January 28, 2009, I had not really thought much about Egypt as a living, current place. It was just boring history to me.
Now that I'm here, my interests still lie more in the way people live currently than they did in history. I wonder much more often about the people around me - how they live now, and how they interact with one another. It also frustrates me that I have few opportunities to interact with Egyptians, and many language and cultural barriers prevent this from happening. I will have to keep looking for ways to make that happen that are appropriate and safe.
I try to get out on Saturdays to explore somewhere new; last weekend I was in Old Cairo, tomorrow I hope to join some people from work on a tour of Zamalek, a small island region in Cairo with lots of little shops and galleries. The above picture is the inside of the first Mosque built in Cairo; it was built large enough to hold the Muslim army (3500 men) for prayer.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Routine, glorious routine
[it says at the top of this blog: "pictures, lots of pictures." when/if I get the internet to cooperate for more than a few minutes at a time I will keep my promise. No one loves pictures more than I do, I promise.]
We finally had a week of school here in Cairo, and it felt so good to be back in the classroom, doing something that fortunately I still enjoy, even after 3 months off!
Routine feels good, and I am at the mercy of a strict teacher bus schedule. No more rolling out of bed 10 minutes before work and sprinting to beat Mr. Buwalda to the front doors of Durham. Bus leaves at 7am, and returns around 5pm. It makes for a longer day, but so far I've managed to leave my work at school. Most days after school there is time to play ball hockey or ultimate with other teachers or run or swim before heading home. I'm enjoying this kind of schedule a lot.
I am now teaching middle school, all of my work until this point in my career has been in high school. It's been a steep learning curve, to say the least. Some of the finer points of management seem silly to me, like the detailed, step-by-step directions I need to give more often; but I'm also loving that I can get away with being so much more juvenile. We spent 10 minutes on Friday guessing how many fingers I was holding up, after learning 0-10. They never got sick of it!
The students are mostly Arabic, but they speak English quite well. I am supposed to enforce a “no Arabic rule” in my classroom, and after 2 years of language and identity discussions at university of Toronto I am having some ideological issues with this rule. When I realized, however, that the students were talking about me and each other behind my back, I became a big fan of the no Arabic rule.
Here are some of the finer conversations of the week.
[after at least 15 students ask if they can write with blue/black pen]. “Raise your hand if you think Mlle Marcus cares whether you write in blue or black ink.”
Student: “Mees, you can call me Aziz, it's easier to say that Abdel.”
Mees: “Is that your name?”
Student: “No, but it's easier to say.”
[you should know, Aziz is my favourite now... there's something in his little eyes...]
Student: Mees, I need to change classes, I'm the only girl.
Mees: Don't be silly, you're not changing classes. Besides, I'm a girl too.
Student: No, you're a teacher.
and my personal favourite ...
Student: “Mees, are you having a baby?”
Mees: “Do I look pregnant? WAIT, don't answer that.”
Friday and Saturday is my weekend now, which is still a bit weird. Going to church on Friday morning is a nice way to start the weekend - I feel like I should be winding down and getting ready to go back tomorrow, but instead I have another day! Bring on week 2!
We finally had a week of school here in Cairo, and it felt so good to be back in the classroom, doing something that fortunately I still enjoy, even after 3 months off!
Routine feels good, and I am at the mercy of a strict teacher bus schedule. No more rolling out of bed 10 minutes before work and sprinting to beat Mr. Buwalda to the front doors of Durham. Bus leaves at 7am, and returns around 5pm. It makes for a longer day, but so far I've managed to leave my work at school. Most days after school there is time to play ball hockey or ultimate with other teachers or run or swim before heading home. I'm enjoying this kind of schedule a lot.
I am now teaching middle school, all of my work until this point in my career has been in high school. It's been a steep learning curve, to say the least. Some of the finer points of management seem silly to me, like the detailed, step-by-step directions I need to give more often; but I'm also loving that I can get away with being so much more juvenile. We spent 10 minutes on Friday guessing how many fingers I was holding up, after learning 0-10. They never got sick of it!
The students are mostly Arabic, but they speak English quite well. I am supposed to enforce a “no Arabic rule” in my classroom, and after 2 years of language and identity discussions at university of Toronto I am having some ideological issues with this rule. When I realized, however, that the students were talking about me and each other behind my back, I became a big fan of the no Arabic rule.
Here are some of the finer conversations of the week.
[after at least 15 students ask if they can write with blue/black pen]. “Raise your hand if you think Mlle Marcus cares whether you write in blue or black ink.”
Student: “Mees, you can call me Aziz, it's easier to say that Abdel.”
Mees: “Is that your name?”
Student: “No, but it's easier to say.”
[you should know, Aziz is my favourite now... there's something in his little eyes...]
Student: Mees, I need to change classes, I'm the only girl.
Mees: Don't be silly, you're not changing classes. Besides, I'm a girl too.
Student: No, you're a teacher.
and my personal favourite ...
Student: “Mees, are you having a baby?”
Mees: “Do I look pregnant? WAIT, don't answer that.”
Friday and Saturday is my weekend now, which is still a bit weird. Going to church on Friday morning is a nice way to start the weekend - I feel like I should be winding down and getting ready to go back tomorrow, but instead I have another day! Bring on week 2!
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Swine Flu Folly [ a rant ]
Yesterday at a meeting with the school doctor, we learned that the school would be taking some pretty amazing preventative measures to fight an H1N1 outbreak, in accordance with the Egyptian Government.
Here are some highlights.
-The school will no longer be using the central air system, because, you see, this is an airborn disease, and our classrooms need "fresh" air from the dessert. If I can't see the field through the haze most days, what does that say about the "fresh" Cairo air we are pumping into our classrooms? Not to mention the noise of the playground most of our windows open to, or the heat, or the bus exhaust from the 100+ buses that are left idling most of the day.
- the bus drivers and the guards at the front gate of the school will be yielding thermal detectors, and are not to let any student or teacher on the bus, nor any visitor in the school, who has a temperature higher than 37.5. When the resources become available, the school is hoping to add forehead thermometer readings to homeroom every morning. Yes, that does mean the kids will be checked twice in about an hour.
-the mandate wouldn't be complete without a nod to Egypt's social class system. In the elementary wing, there are what we call "blue people" (no joke, this is the technical term). They are typically from poorer Egyptian families, and are hired by the school to keep the proper ratio of foreign-local hires. When coming into contact with elementary students, they are to be wearing masks at all times, because, you see, they may take a drug that brings down their temperature but you won't know then if they have swine flu. The same logic is not applicable to foreign hires - no masks for them.
-and last but not least the most frustrating of them all (a government mandate, not the school). Every trip abroad must be followed by an 8 day "in country quarantine" before you can get back to work. SO, no one may leave for our six day break in November, and at Christmas we must be back in Egypt by January 2, not the 10th as originally planned. Incidentally, this has helped me get off the fence about going home for Christmas - not going to happen in two weeks.
As you can tell we're a bit frustrated with all of this, and it's a frustrating way to start the school year (should it actually start in three days ...). Perhaps another day will bring a more cheerful post.
Here are some highlights.
-The school will no longer be using the central air system, because, you see, this is an airborn disease, and our classrooms need "fresh" air from the dessert. If I can't see the field through the haze most days, what does that say about the "fresh" Cairo air we are pumping into our classrooms? Not to mention the noise of the playground most of our windows open to, or the heat, or the bus exhaust from the 100+ buses that are left idling most of the day.
- the bus drivers and the guards at the front gate of the school will be yielding thermal detectors, and are not to let any student or teacher on the bus, nor any visitor in the school, who has a temperature higher than 37.5. When the resources become available, the school is hoping to add forehead thermometer readings to homeroom every morning. Yes, that does mean the kids will be checked twice in about an hour.
-the mandate wouldn't be complete without a nod to Egypt's social class system. In the elementary wing, there are what we call "blue people" (no joke, this is the technical term). They are typically from poorer Egyptian families, and are hired by the school to keep the proper ratio of foreign-local hires. When coming into contact with elementary students, they are to be wearing masks at all times, because, you see, they may take a drug that brings down their temperature but you won't know then if they have swine flu. The same logic is not applicable to foreign hires - no masks for them.
-and last but not least the most frustrating of them all (a government mandate, not the school). Every trip abroad must be followed by an 8 day "in country quarantine" before you can get back to work. SO, no one may leave for our six day break in November, and at Christmas we must be back in Egypt by January 2, not the 10th as originally planned. Incidentally, this has helped me get off the fence about going home for Christmas - not going to happen in two weeks.
As you can tell we're a bit frustrated with all of this, and it's a frustrating way to start the school year (should it actually start in three days ...). Perhaps another day will bring a more cheerful post.
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