“Miss, I am going to present about coffee now. Please, let me make you a cup. ” I smile and thank her profusely as she hands me the cup. Secretly, I am dreading it. I hate drinking coffee. It has the most disgusting flavor- bitter, with a strong after taste. Since moving to Saudi Arabia,…
Category: Teaching Adventures
Girls Only: Inside a Female Only Campus
One thing that often draws foreigners to Saudi Arabia is how secretive everything is. Until recently, there were no visitor visas issued so no tourists came here. Public photography wasn’t legal, so you didn’t see a lot of pictures from here. The culture in itself is also a bit private and secretive, so it’s not…
Today in class we were discussing the presentations that are coming up next week. We went through lists of requirements and topic choices, picked the order to present in, and talked through any concerns students may have. “If anyone needs to ask me a question about their presentation, or if you want to show it…
Presentation day
I always love it when my students have a presentation. It’s so amazing to watch them progress in their language abilities and come out of their shell. Their progression is made better by their visual aids- FOOD! That’s right, every presentation yields enough food to feed us for a week. No matter what their topic is,…
Culture sharing
One of my favorite things about being an expat worker is that you often work with other expats from all around the world. The diversity is quite incredible! It isn’t uncommon to see people from 10 or more nationalities working together. When we come together, we are able to share experiences and culture. On the…
Okay, so I know I haven’t written anything in a bit… or a long time, but whatever. First I forgot my login information to this site, and just couldn’t be bothered to find it. Then I went on vacation to Egypt with the hubs. And now I’m back to work and have resumed my normal…
Other mother
The other day in class I tried explaining the concept of a nuclear family to some of my students. During the lesson it dawned on me that maybe it was a stupid thing to teach despite being in the book, because most of my student’s fathers have more than one wife, so what I was…
Mashaallah
Before I came to Saudi, I guess you can say I had some preconceived notions and stereotypes about what to expect. Well, let me just say that my students have really shattered them. They are all so amazing, kind, smart, and unique. Really, each girl has something so special about her. All of them are…
Cooking roosters
I’ve avoided this topic as long as I possibly could. I guess it was just naive of me to expect I could avoid it forever. But today was the day it finally happened. My students at Qassim university, located in one of the most conservative cities in the world, asked me the difference between “cook”…
My first day of classes
When I arrived at the compound around 9pm Tuesday, they said “we’ll see you at 7AM in the morning for your first day.” I was a little worried I would have difficulties waking up that early considering I was so tired from all the traveling and moving, however I ended up waking up at 3 am…
US Politics
I really found it adorable yesterday when one of my 18 year old freshmen told me that she feels sad that Donald Trump is a presidential candidate, and how amused she is by the fact that he hates immigrants yet he’s been married to two. Bless that girl.
Considering ESL?
I really wanted to get my TESOL or ESL certification, however I couldn’t afford the program easily. Initially I wanted to get my masters degree, but already I have student loans from my undergrad so it just wasn’t an option for me. I checked into getting a certification online, but those run upwards of $500,…
Kendra in KSA 