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
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