Stereotype

During the first week at Al Masa Hotel, I heard rumors that some black teachers were being asked strange questions. A women told a friend of mine that while she was entering standing outside the hotel taking a cigarette break an Emirate man walked up to her and asked, "how much". She didn't understand what he was saying so she asked him to repeat what he had said and he explained how much does he need to pay her to have sex. I was surprised to hear this piece of news. She said a few teachers had this happen to them. I thought to myself why would an Emirate man do that? I came to the conclusion, they probably think American women and in this case black american women are easy to sleep with. I heard by some teachers that since we don't cover up, the men and women think we are like prostitutes. I got angry and the notion and just shook it off. They also said that we have to remember that Muslim men don't usually let their women out alone. I did notice a lot of women with men but I did see some Emirate women travel together.

One day I decided to catch a taxi to the mall alone because I didn't want to bother my friends. I knew exactly where I needed and what I wanted to buy so I didn't think it was a big deal. I waved a taxi down got in and went to the mall.  I got my shopping done and headed outside. It was so hot that I had to cover my head as I walked to the line of taxi's. The sun was burning my hair in minutes because I could smell it. I found a gold colored taxi and got in. I made sure to ask him if he knew where my hotel was located. He said yes, he was an older Pakistani man. I could tell by the way he was dressed. He had a different type of hat on compared to the Emirate men. The driver tried to make small talk which was fine with me. He asked if I was married, I said yes and if I had any children. He asked why i was in this country and I told him I work as an English teacher. I arrived at my hotel pretty quickly. The taxi driver told me the fare. As I was searching my purse for the correct change, he said, "I'm coming up to your room". I said to him what? and he repeated himself, "I am coming to your room with you. He put his car in park. I looked at him for what seemed to be a long time. My brain was still processing that information. I gave him the exact change and said no thank you. I literally couldn't believe that just happened as I walked into the hotel. I thought to myself, but my head was covered and I was wearing long sleeves and a long skirt. I really didn't get why he had to step to me like that way. Later on, as I told some teachers what happened they told me it's bad to take the Golden Taxi's. They explained to take the newer silver taxi's or the women only pink taxi's. That was definitely a lesson learned.

Meetings

By the second week of school,  the English teachers were having a horrible time adjusting. One teacher came out crying during recess because the Arabic teacher was giving her so much trouble. We had a few meetings to discuss our issues among ourselves but the English director for our school advised we suck it up for now. Since we had no principal there was no one to bring our issues to.

During a meeting by Mrs. Sharina, the Arabic director announced there would be no curriculum. Since, Mrs. Amal was saying most of my lessons were too difficult I was looking forward to having a curriculum.  It would have given me a better guideline how to structure my lesson plans. She also announced our supplies, books, computers etc were still in route and hopefully we'd get them by next month. She said the word insha'allah almost after each sentence. That means in English "God willing" or "If it is God's will". I really didn't like that word. People used it a lot here. It would be much more beneficial for people to be responsible for their actions. Instead of saying  insha'allah, people should make sure the supplies will be delivered at a set time. I found that very strange they were so nonchalant about things. In America time is money, you can't just guess when things will happen or you will waste time and money. I had barely any resources. I had my preschool activity book and that was it. My internet access was limited because the school had no connection. We also learned that our principal was arriving later in the middle of the week. Her name was Mrs. Tina and she was from Montana.

At the end of the week, we had a meeting and all the teachers had to be present. In the past, some of the Arabic teachers would go home. Mrs. Tina was tall, blond hair and had a tattoo on her ankle. She always dressed nicely, wearing suits and usually pearl earrings. She was very down to earth and easy going. In the meeting, she told us the English teachers are the main teachers and the Arabic teachers must assist us. The Arabic teachers always talked during our meetings. They showed poor conference/meeting etiquette. As soon as the principal said  the English teachers were the primary teachers they grew silent. They didn't appear to be happy about the news at all. I was nervous the Arabic teachers would give the English teachers an even harder time. They are so laid back its not even funny. Some of the English teachers told me how their Arabic teacher would come in thirty minutes late to class. They are allowed to breastfeed so the teacher can come in late without giving notice. There were no strict guidelines for the Arabic teachers. In my head I kept comparing rules to the U.S. which was not a good idea according to some friends.