The Trimester in Review

Well, the trimester is almost over, and I haven't written much about the job itself, so I'll talk a bit about my work experience this trimester in this entry.

The trimester started off well enough. I had a great schedule: three classroom hours Sunday to Tuesday, and five Wednesday and Thursday. I had one section--all the same trainees, and it was a high-ability section too, which meant I could get some actual learning happening. They were a little rough around the edges, but in general quite good students.

Then, a couple weeks into the semester, on of my colleagues' contract expired and he went back to the United States...so I inherited a some of his students...and they were  terrible--they were loud, had terrible study habits, slept in class, etc. I had to teach them study skills. Yay.

But at the end of the day, I really liked my primary section. I was getting really into teaching them. I was even doing lesson planning at home, to make sure things were super tight, and so I could give the best lesson I could. It took a lot of effort, but I was slowly coaxing them into doing their homework, coming to class on time, and doing all of the classwork. I used every stick and carrot I had at my disposal, and it was working. I was turning the class into something almost respectable. A true feat for vocational students in Saudi Arabia!

Little did I know that some of the students were secretly conspiring to kick me out of the classroom and have me replaced! Perhaps I should have known--they had, after all, massed together to complain about me when I insisted on enforcing the school's lateness policy (more than five minutes late to class earns them an absence). So, it was to my amazement, when somewhat past the middle of the semester, my supervisor called me into his office to tell me that I would be changing sections.

Apparently, some students had secretly banded together and complained about me to whoever would listen--and were very persistent. Meanwhile I had an official classroom observation, which went fairly well, and aside from that, I didn't hear anything from anyone about my classroom performance. 

Imagine my surprise when the management swapped me out with another teacher! Allegedly, it was because I "wasn't teaching them grammar right." I was upset about the whole ordeal--not just because it called my teaching abilities into question, but also, because I really enjoyed teaching that class, and felt betrayed.

I shared my feelings with several of my co-workers, and to my astonishment, THE SAME THING HAD HAPPENED TO MOST OF THEM, at this institute or another. It turned out that this was fairly common practice.

Not having had to live up to any academic standards in their entire lives, it turns out trainees will often band together and do anything they can to indict a teacher they believe is asking too much of them.

So, I had to swap classes with another teacher. The class ended up being quite good, despite being of a lower level...although I had to deal with a couple days of "we got stuck with the shit teacher that got swapped from the other section."

Shortly afterward, on top of it all, I got stuck teaching another study skills class to what very well may have been the worst class in entire school. Trying to teach those guys anything was a lesson in futility...and the curriculum was awful. So, the rest of the semester was for the most part, less than pleasant.

However, I cannot complain now, because the trimester is over, and having no actual work to do, I am writing this entry from work. Yes, it's terrible--all of the marking has been done and now we teachers must bravely stave off boredom for two days, with only the aid of the internet. Luckily it's Ramadan, and we only have to come into work for six hours.

Next week we will do professional development, and then I'm off to Korea for vacation for six weeks. So, if you were wondering why I am wasting my days living in Saudi Arabia, now you know!

The Nicest Ghost Town in the World

A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to visit King Abdullah Aziz Economic City; or as I like to call it, "the nicest ghost town in the world".

The towering gate looms in the distance visible to all travelers on their their way south to Jeddah, with disembodied head of King Abullah Aziz smiling benevolently down. I had often wondered what it was like inside this mysterious segregated city, which I was told, was being raised out of the desert according to some mad architect's plan, with the aid of unlimited Saudi oil wealth. What wonders lay beyond that gate? Sadly, there are few...and yet I don't think I will soon forget the experience.

Most Thursdays, some colleagues of mine and I do something after work. In a bid to do something different, I suggested we go to King Abdullah Economic City. You need to have an invitation from someone who lives there, just to get into the city...and I'm told that Saudis aren't even allowed inside. Luckily we knew someone at work who was living there, so we were able to procure an invite.

It took us about half an hour to drive from Rabigh to the gate. Once past, the road continued...for a long time. Thinking it would be just a short drive into a bustling little city, I was amazed to discover that there was a lot of road, but not much city. We drove for about fifteen minutes on beautiful, freshly paved asphalt before we approached anything like civilization. Huge swathes of land on either side of the road had been carefully groomed to lie flat, bereft of vegetation, let alone buildings.

Finally as we approached the coast, the tiny buildings of the horizon grew to full size. Most notably, there was a massive, modern-looking block, shaped building that I imagined was for business. Beyond that, we discovered swaths of handsome sea-side apartments with well-maintained lawns, trees and bushes. In the center of the coastline, was a promenade along the beach. Beyond: more apartments, and an excellent mosque.

After trying to find a downtown that seemed eerily absent. We went back to the promenade, poked our head into the cafe and the restaurants, and gawked at the locals. Women without abayas! I had a moment of astonishment. The female form in jean shorts. Was I still in the Kingdom, or had I been in an auto accident and gone to the afterlife? Also...and there is a good chance I am mistaken, but I thought for a moment, I saw people drinking beer. No. Certainly not in the kingdom.  

Well the beach was fine and well, but Ahmed and I wanted to search for the illusive Hyper Panda (grocery store), which, so we surmised must be in a commercial area, which we must has bypassed. We took the car and the other two stayed at the beach. On our search we picked up a hitch hiker and gave him a ride--an Indian laborer. It took us fifteen minutes to drive him to his barracks, which was out in the middle of nowhere. In return he pointed us to the Hyper Panda, which was also in the middle of nowhere.

The Panda had no obvious signs from the highway, and even the parking lot was hidden. I think we were both surprised to find it open an operating. A fully-stocked, modern grocery store in the middle of a barren plain. A true desert oasis! Inside we met a couple of Somali guys. Ahmed, being half Somali, stuck up a conversation. Apparently, these guys were working in the country illegally. I wondered how in the nine hells they got access to the city, let alone procured employment...although I may be putting the cart before the horse...

Soon after our colleagues at the beach called us. They had had it. They were bored with this most modern of ghost towns. So we picked them up and spend out of there. We ended the night eating student food at a light night restaurant in Rabigh.

I'm sure in a couple of years, the Economic city will be a very different place--a bustling, western-style metropolis. But for now, it's little more than a skeleton, containing the basic infrastructure. Oh, how it will change! I look forward to coming back later and seeing the progress, and writing about it here. Check back next year for part two!