The last day of school here was Thursday, June 26th, but the students stopped coming several weeks ago. The kids at the kinder and elementary schools tend to follow their older siblings at the high schools. When the big kids take their final exams, they stop going to school and their younger siblings follow suit.
This is a common practice state wide. I'm not sure why the school calendar isn't adjusted to accommodate this. Unlike the US, our funding is not tied to attendance.
The positive side of this phenomena is the teachers get several weeks to close up their classrooms and reflect on the year.
The down side is not having a distinct closer for the year. There are no goodbyes, unless you start in May while the students are still all there, but that seems a bit hollow.
The turnover rate for the ex-pats is high, so they are especially left adrift without the traditional year end goodbye rituals. They're not complaining, per se, just observing (and living) the difference.
Truthfully, their minds are turned towards home now. Our official last day of school is July 10th. The airports will be packed with folks leaving the country from that point on.
The fasting month of Ramadan begins this Sunday, so our school day will be from 9:00 - 1:00. Folks fasting (most adults) eat a large meal before sunrise and go without food and water all day, until breaking their fast just after sunset with another large meal. The days are especially long this time of year, so this time can be hard for those fasting. This is a time of intense prayer, which is evident all around.
We ex-pats are expected to be respectful of this time, making sure we don't eat or drink publicly.
We reminded our teachers that they can not pop popcorn or warm their food in the microwave during this time, so there is no aroma of food. If they must eat, it has to be behind closed doors.
All food shops in the malls are closed during the day. There is to be no smell of food that might be tempting to those who are fasting.
Learning about other cultures has been one of the real treats and benefits of living abroad. In my 2.5 years here, my learning curve has been steep. In fact, I'd venture to say I've learned more during this time, than at any other time in my life. It's one thing to visit a place, but it's a whole other ball game to live there and be immersed in the culture.
So, as much as we've been charged with sharing our teaching practices, whether we admit it or not, we're the ones getting educated.
Now though . . .
School's out soon and we're headed home for summer break.
This is a common practice state wide. I'm not sure why the school calendar isn't adjusted to accommodate this. Unlike the US, our funding is not tied to attendance.
The positive side of this phenomena is the teachers get several weeks to close up their classrooms and reflect on the year.
The down side is not having a distinct closer for the year. There are no goodbyes, unless you start in May while the students are still all there, but that seems a bit hollow.
The turnover rate for the ex-pats is high, so they are especially left adrift without the traditional year end goodbye rituals. They're not complaining, per se, just observing (and living) the difference.
Truthfully, their minds are turned towards home now. Our official last day of school is July 10th. The airports will be packed with folks leaving the country from that point on.
The fasting month of Ramadan begins this Sunday, so our school day will be from 9:00 - 1:00. Folks fasting (most adults) eat a large meal before sunrise and go without food and water all day, until breaking their fast just after sunset with another large meal. The days are especially long this time of year, so this time can be hard for those fasting. This is a time of intense prayer, which is evident all around.
We ex-pats are expected to be respectful of this time, making sure we don't eat or drink publicly.
We reminded our teachers that they can not pop popcorn or warm their food in the microwave during this time, so there is no aroma of food. If they must eat, it has to be behind closed doors.
All food shops in the malls are closed during the day. There is to be no smell of food that might be tempting to those who are fasting.
Learning about other cultures has been one of the real treats and benefits of living abroad. In my 2.5 years here, my learning curve has been steep. In fact, I'd venture to say I've learned more during this time, than at any other time in my life. It's one thing to visit a place, but it's a whole other ball game to live there and be immersed in the culture.
So, as much as we've been charged with sharing our teaching practices, whether we admit it or not, we're the ones getting educated.
Now though . . .
School's out soon and we're headed home for summer break.
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