Hello Friends, Family, and anyone else reading this blog!
I cannot believe that I have already been here for a month! Time has begun to really fly, and I am loving Jordan. Since I have now been here for quite a while, I have gotten used to the different customs and traditions here and I feel (and fear) that I have been somewhat misrepresenting my current school. Even though everything that I have said is entirely true, I have not been quite fair in sharing all of the the mumtaz (excellent) things that have been going on over here! I have even developed a soft spot in my heart for the differences in discipline and uniform :)
Last week I had my first hip-hop class which was actually really fun! When I got to the dance studio, they were already practicing and everyone looked really professional and into it. For that reason, I thought to myself, "oh gosh, what on earth did I get myself into..."
But no worries, all of the girls are super nice and jokey, and the instructor is really cool! He has his own dance group which is going to audition for the Arab version of Britain's got Talent, or The X Factor. We are currently working on a routine that is really fun and can go with many different songs and beats.
Golf is challenging, although my shots are getting longer by the week! My french is also being improved and tested since the golf instructor only speaks French and Arabic! That makes it really fun - and I have learned many new vocabulary words.
Just like at Castilleja, King's has regular assemblies and speakers. Alansbo3 Almaddee (last week) the actor, Rob Campbell came and spoke to us about how he became a full time actor and talked about some of his favorite roles that he has played. This was particularly interesting for the kids who are in the school play because this year they are putting on 'The Crucible,' and Mr. Campbell has been in that play before.
My classes are getting more and more interesting now that the review part of the year is finished, and today I had 2 tests and an oral french presentation that took up the entire class period! (Casti style :))
Arabic is actually going really well also! I now know 8 letters, and many conversational things. My teacher is pretty awesome and he teaches us really useful phrases.
Even the lunches seem to be improving! Today we had this AMAZING cupcake thingie... oh my gosh, it was so delicious! I am also becoming obsessed with the laban (yogurt) here as well as these wonderful pita sandwiches that everybody makes. What you do is you take a pita, put some sliced meat and some cheese inside it, and then put it in the Panini maker. Oh my goodness, it is so unbelievably good! All of you must try it immediately!
The people here, both at King's and throughout Jordan have been so friendly and welcoming, that I am really starting to feel at home. Assdiqaee (my friends - basically everyone at King's) are just super nice, and they even humor me by letting me try out using (and typically pronouncing horribly wrong) Arabic words, as well as riding around on a scooter that one of my friends bought! Btw, I am so getting one next weekend! Although the weekends are rather empty, this weekend I did some community service and volunteered at Rwwad, a education center in downtown Amman. I helped an 8th grade boy with his English homework, and it really gave me a new sense of how difficult English is, and how lucky I am to be a native speaker! There was also a class of adults who were learning English as a second language so we sat in on part of their class, which was interesting since they were learning some things (although they were much more advanced) that I am currently learning in Arabic. Some of the Arabic speaking kids who went also read Arabic books to the younger kids and helped them with reading skills. It was a really amazing experience and I will certainly be going back later on in the term!
I am sorry that I have not been writing very frequently, but I will try and up the number of blogs that I write per week. I have just been busy with activities and hanging out with friends, and I have neglected my blogging duties :) I miss all of you and I will try to write again soon!
Kat
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Saturday, October 2, 2010
King's Academy Week 2
Well, I have pretty much finished settling into my routine here at King's although I am still figuring out how things work, as well as how to work the system here :)
Lots of things at King's can been changed or can be slid by, especially if parents get involved! But, one thing that most people cannot get around though are the rules, discipline and uniform. I have been told many times over the past few weeks how crazy last year was and what happened. Apparently over 25 kids were expelled, and the main problems were uniform and showing up to class. At King's there is a lot of discipline, but it doesn't rub off very well. There are many semi pointless disciplinary actions, but none that really work. For example; the uniform at King's consists of a blazer, oxford shirt, tie, and kaki pants. In each class, the teacher must give the students permission to remove their blazer before said blazer is taken off, and yet when children shout out answers or talk back to the teacher nothing is done about it.
The uniform is a main sticking point at King's and forcing kids to stay in dress code is an issue. Boys must always have their shirts tucked in and all students must have their tie tied. Last week however, was a polo week! A polo week only occurs if the weather is unusually hot. Everybody loves polo weeks because it means that instead of the oxford, tie, and blazer, students only have to wear one of the King's Academy polos with their pants. The polos also do not need to be tucked in - which causes great happiness among the male population :)
As I said, a major problem last year was that kids simply did not show up to class. This is one thing that I really do not understand - especially for boarders. Because, I mean, what else is there to do? Really, there is almost nothing else to do. Kids are not permitted to leave campus (and there is only one exit which is gated and always has guards) and the only other options are the library, student union, or their dorm rooms. The other thing that kids skipped was lunch. This on the other hand, I completely understand.
Lunch at King's is very different from lunch at Castilleja. In fact, most (or all) meals at King's are worse than Castilleja lunches (although we are really spoiled at Casti since the food is so amazing), but that is not the only difference. At King's, lunches Sunday through Thursday are served by students, and each student and teacher is assigned to a table. This means, that you are not permitted to sit with your friends, and if you are very unlucky, then you will be the waiter. Waiters are randomly chosen students who are forced to bring the food to the table, clear the dishes, bring the dessert, and put everything back by the kitchen. And they must perform these tasks every day for 3 weeks. I am hoping that since I am here for such a short period of time, that I will not have to be a waiter - at least I am keeping my fingers crossed!
Another new thing that started this week was co-curricular activities. My major co-curricular which meets after school 3 times per week is golf. Lets just say that golf in Jordan is very different than golf in California. The golf course, for instance. Like most things in Jordan, the golf course is brown. There is no grass, except for the artificial turf mats at the driving range! I am hoping that the lack of grass will help me get better at dealing with sand traps and things, but I am not sure yet! My minor co-curricular is hip-hop, and that should be very interesting. It only meets once per week, but most of you know about my totally rad (not) dancing moves. Since I am a severely bad dancer, we will have to see how that goes!
My classes are going well, although I still do not have nearly the amount of homework that I typically have at Castilleja. When I tell the kids here that we start our homework around 4:00 pm and don't finish until past 10:00, they are shocked. Which, is understandable, seeing that the homework here can be completed in 2 hours :)
I miss you all and will write again soon!
Kat
Lots of things at King's can been changed or can be slid by, especially if parents get involved! But, one thing that most people cannot get around though are the rules, discipline and uniform. I have been told many times over the past few weeks how crazy last year was and what happened. Apparently over 25 kids were expelled, and the main problems were uniform and showing up to class. At King's there is a lot of discipline, but it doesn't rub off very well. There are many semi pointless disciplinary actions, but none that really work. For example; the uniform at King's consists of a blazer, oxford shirt, tie, and kaki pants. In each class, the teacher must give the students permission to remove their blazer before said blazer is taken off, and yet when children shout out answers or talk back to the teacher nothing is done about it.
The uniform is a main sticking point at King's and forcing kids to stay in dress code is an issue. Boys must always have their shirts tucked in and all students must have their tie tied. Last week however, was a polo week! A polo week only occurs if the weather is unusually hot. Everybody loves polo weeks because it means that instead of the oxford, tie, and blazer, students only have to wear one of the King's Academy polos with their pants. The polos also do not need to be tucked in - which causes great happiness among the male population :)
As I said, a major problem last year was that kids simply did not show up to class. This is one thing that I really do not understand - especially for boarders. Because, I mean, what else is there to do? Really, there is almost nothing else to do. Kids are not permitted to leave campus (and there is only one exit which is gated and always has guards) and the only other options are the library, student union, or their dorm rooms. The other thing that kids skipped was lunch. This on the other hand, I completely understand.
Lunch at King's is very different from lunch at Castilleja. In fact, most (or all) meals at King's are worse than Castilleja lunches (although we are really spoiled at Casti since the food is so amazing), but that is not the only difference. At King's, lunches Sunday through Thursday are served by students, and each student and teacher is assigned to a table. This means, that you are not permitted to sit with your friends, and if you are very unlucky, then you will be the waiter. Waiters are randomly chosen students who are forced to bring the food to the table, clear the dishes, bring the dessert, and put everything back by the kitchen. And they must perform these tasks every day for 3 weeks. I am hoping that since I am here for such a short period of time, that I will not have to be a waiter - at least I am keeping my fingers crossed!
Another new thing that started this week was co-curricular activities. My major co-curricular which meets after school 3 times per week is golf. Lets just say that golf in Jordan is very different than golf in California. The golf course, for instance. Like most things in Jordan, the golf course is brown. There is no grass, except for the artificial turf mats at the driving range! I am hoping that the lack of grass will help me get better at dealing with sand traps and things, but I am not sure yet! My minor co-curricular is hip-hop, and that should be very interesting. It only meets once per week, but most of you know about my totally rad (not) dancing moves. Since I am a severely bad dancer, we will have to see how that goes!
My classes are going well, although I still do not have nearly the amount of homework that I typically have at Castilleja. When I tell the kids here that we start our homework around 4:00 pm and don't finish until past 10:00, they are shocked. Which, is understandable, seeing that the homework here can be completed in 2 hours :)
I miss you all and will write again soon!
Kat
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)