It was emotional. It finished with me and Steven dancing around the office to Fall Out Boy. So much fun!
Goodbye King Saud University. I’ll see you in 10/11 months!
The tales and musings of a British man who worked in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, but is now in England. All photos are mine unless otherwise stated.Email Me
Read my posts About Me --My Story in Pictures--Books--Diet--Saudi Arabia--Football--Mecca--Medina--My Face--Travel--Teaching--
50 Questions to Expand Your Mind--My Photography-- or Recommend me Ask me anything
Read my posts About Me --My Story in Pictures--Books--Diet--Saudi Arabia--Football--Mecca--Medina--My Face--Travel--Teaching--
50 Questions to Expand Your Mind--My Photography-- or Recommend me Ask me anything
February 29, 2012
My last day at work is done.
February 18, 2012
It’s really weird but it feels like I’m only really coming in to my own in Saudi now that I’m leaving.
I’ve been way more social, I’ve been doing more fun things, I’ve been relaxed and chilled and comfortable being here. Teaching is great. My friends are fantastic.
It’s so weird. Until just a month ago I was really hating it. Then I knew I was going to hand in my notice and it all changed. I don’t know what’s changed, though. I think it could be that I know I’m going so I can just relax and not let any of the things that would normally get me down influence me. I’m able to brush them all off and just focus on the good things.
It’s a pretty cool feeling.
11 days to go!
February 13, 2012
Anonymous asked: If you say your name really fast continuously, you sound like a duck! Funny anon will be funny
Oh, Anon… Thanks for making me smile. The truth is that I know saying Waq really quickly makes it sound like quack so much that I often sign emails “Waqwaq” and then add “if you say it quickly it sounds like quackquack”
(I’m sorry to go in to English teacher mode but, Anon, you actually made a sentence structure error… It’s not me who sounds like a duck but it’s my name that sounds like a duck. Saying that, if you ask nicely enough I might make a video of me sounding like a duck!)
February 8, 2012
bint-alsrh asked: Salaam friend :) this is (smc27lv). I deleted my tumblr and then decided I wanted it back <---Stupid. Are you counting down the days? I wanted to bother you about your classes. Are they integrated skills classes or do they have a focus?
W/salaam! I’m really glad you’re back. You know, deleting my tumblr would be one of the most thought through things I would EVER do. I would have to make sure I was certain I wanted it gone (I don’t think I’ll ever be certain).
3 weeks and 8 hours before I land in London, in sha Allah. I’ll be home about 14-16 hours after that.
Currently I’m teaching speaking and listening but that has grammar and vocab thrown in. Last semester I thought a couple of integrated skills classes. Last year I was actually teaching English for academic purposes - for medicine. That was really fascinating. We get a mix. It’s kind of the luck of the draw. I work for the largest TEFL programme in the world - we have 10,000 students (ten thousand!) so there’s always something going on if you want to focus on one area.
February 7, 2012
Today was a really special day for me
It started in a really low place. I didn’t get any sleep at all after Fajr and I didn’t feel like talking to anyone at work. I was thinking about Syria and my own life and had all these things running through my mind and it was crap.
It got better once I started teaching. My new batch of students are actually really good kids. There are a couple who stand out already and they can be a pleasure to teach. They’re smart and funny and I can engage with them on all these different levels. I can actually talk to them about things and that makes teaching them really great. They know I only have three weeks left and they’re going to try to make them as good as possible for them and me. I’m giving teaching my all right now. I’m preparing classes with diligence and care and it shows. I’m going to miss a few of them.
Anyway… Let me give you a bit of back story before I continue… I’m not the best driver in the world. I’ve only had my licence for a few months and I lack experience. Regardless of that I have a dream car (my actual dream car is an Aston Martin DBS but this is a dream car I can afford) that I was giving serious consideration to buying but when I realised I wasn’t going to stay in Saudi for long I decided against it.
The dream car is a Chevy Camaro. I’ve been wanting to drive one for years and years. I love the way the look and they’re powerful and they always looked like incredible fun to drive. I’d never driven one, though, because I didn’t have a licence/didn’t know how to drive and also because I couldn’t afford to buy one. That changed today!
One of my students has a Chevy Camaro and we were talking about it last week and I told him that he better let me drive it before I leave the country. He told me he’d let me drive it but I thought he was just saying that to placate me. He took a few days off school because his sister was getting married and today was his first day back in class and I reminded him of what he said and he replied again saying that he’d let me drive it.
At the end of the class, I asked him if I could drive it today, as a joke, and he agreed!!! He told me it was fine so we went to the car park after work and he handed me the keys and… OH. MY. GOD!
It was amazing. It was everything I dreamed and more. I loved every second. I drove it for around twenty minutes in total and really let it rip a couple of times pushing it to over 100mph. He was loving it. I was so nervous about hitting it against someone or getting in an accident because it could cost so much to repair but it was all good.
We’re going to go out again on Saturday. He told me we can head to the desert where they have crazily long straight perfectly smooth roads and he said he’ll drive at 180mph/300kmph on the roads out there and show me some of his drifting skills. I think I’ll snag the keys off him again and try to push the car. I can’t wait.
I was literally bouncing up and down for about an hour afterwards. I’m still not fully down from the experience.
That’s one thing ticked off the bucket list… the only problem is that I want one for myself now…
January 30, 2012
I had dinner with the dean of my university tonight.
A bunch of us were invited to have dinner with the dean at a fairly nice restaurant so we could share ideas and make suggestions to him on how to improve the teaching and learning experience at work.
I ended up eating a little bit too much as I often do when I eat out nowadays.
Anyway… more importantly than food it was a really good experience to look in to the mind of a guy with that much responsibility. He’s new in the position after the last dean was fired when a bunch of students held a protest because the maths exams at the end of the last semester was so tough. The new guy is young but you can tell he’s incredibly ambitious. He’s smart. Best of all, he’s willing to listen and pay attention to the people around him.
We all talked through a bunch of really important issues and I had a fairly good evening. It certainly made a change from my usual routine of doing a whole bunch of nothing in the evening.
January 28, 2012
My first day with my new students
It was interesting. I have a couple of pretty decent classes.
I did my standard ‘get to know each other’ kind of classes. I played a name game where I run through the classes and try to memories their names. I did a standard three question thing I do where I get to know a little bit about each student such as their hobbies and their lives. Both of these help me assess their level of English and a lot of the kids were really smart and totally with it when it came to English comprehension. I was impressed.
My favourite part of these introductory classes is always the part of the lesson where I open up the lesson to a Q&A. I tell the students they have a 15 minute window where they can ask me anything they want and I’ll answer their questions but it’s a one time deal. It’s amazing how good this exercise is in terms of building rapport. It gives me a great indication of which students are inquisitive and curious - read nosey - and which are shy and quiet. It really lets me look in to the way they think, the way they gather information, and they way they then process it. I really like it.
My second class was cut a tiny bit short because Man Utd v liverpool was on. I actually taught them through the first half - which is a big deal for me. The game kind of ruined my mood, though.
Today was a long day. I woke up at 5:30am and I’m really shattered now. Sleep soon, I think. More impressions on these kids over the next few days and weeks.
It’s unusual but I always seem to like the cheeky ones the best. Maybe it’s because I see a bit of myself in them.
January 27, 2012
Tomorrow is my first day of teaching in a month
I get a brand new class. I get brand new students. I get a new partner teacher. I get a fresh start. I can put everything I’ve learned over the last year and a half in to action. I get to hit the ground running. That’s all true but I have a feeling of apprehension.
I don’t know what kind of teacher I’m going to be for the next five weeks. I don’t know how I’m going to come across to my students.
You see, the problem is that I’ve totally checked out of Saudi Arabia mentally since I realised I’m going home on the 1st of March. I’m done. I’m finished. That’s a problem because I still have an obligation to my students. I have an obligation to myself and to my profession as a teacher to give it my all until I dismiss my last class on the 29th of February. I don’t know how to reconcile those two conflicting mental stances.
I want to slack but I also want to be the best possible teacher.
I really don’t know which version of me will turn up tomorrow. I really don’t know how I’m going to stand in front of my students tomorrow afternoon and deliver a class.
I’ll find out when the class starts. I’ll find out when I’m in front of my students and utter my first words.
I’ll let you all know which version of me turns up.
Also, these next few days I’ll be working from 7:30am-5:15pm which means I’ll be waking up for work at 5:30am. Woe is me.
January 26, 2012
thehalalpeniswhisperer asked: I really enjoy your blog, and came it across it from Ahmad's blog (kosmosis). Your experiences are fascinating, and I'm also quite interested in teaching in some capacity for a portion of my life.
Thank you for the compliment. It’s so cool that you found my blog and I’m glad you’ve enjoyed my ramblings.
Its’ so easy to teach English language abroad. If you want any advice or information I’d be more than happy to help you in whatever way I can.
January 25, 2012
A new video blog where I talk about a little bit of this and a little bit of that.
January 7, 2012
I was being silly and immature at work today…
I blame it on the fact that there’s no work for the next three weeks but I still have to go in.
Woe is me.
January 6, 2012
smc27lv-deactivated20120208 asked: asalaamu alaykum, brother :). How do you like teaching in Saudi? I'm studying my master's in TESOL right now and the KSA is where I am hoping to go for work, inshallah!
Walaikum assalam.
Teaching in Saudi has its positive points and negative points. If you looked through my blog I’ve been writing about teaching here for a year and three months. It’s had its ups and downs. I’ve found it really hard to be here and am in the process of leaving (I only have 7 weeks and 6 days left).
Living in Saudi is the same. It’s hard in a lot of ways but it will help you come so much closer to Islam. I’m sure you’ll find something to work here. There are millions of teaching jobs. Do you have a preference to which city you want to end up in? If I come back it’ll be to Jeddah, in sha Allah.
January 2, 2012
I don’t normally shame students at my work - or in general - but this is beyond anything I’ve ever seen. This is after 15 weeks of intensive English teaching.
This has to be the worst exam script I’ve ever come across. Just look at it! Shocking!
Do you understand anything he’s talking about?
Bonus points if you can find the two words in the whole thing that are spelt correctly…
December 30, 2011
I’m going to have a little bit of a moan now…
I hate my job. Well, I don’t hate it but it’s stupid and annoying. I should be happy because I don’t have to teach for four weeks but this coming week is finals week and that’s not good times.
I have so much crap to do. First of all… we’re being asked to come in to work at 7:30am everyday and leave at 5:30pm. That’s a long ass day. On top of that the students are going to be having their final exams and there’s so much we’ll have to do around that.
Saturday is going to be spend invigilating and grading writing scripts. Sunday and Monday are going to be spend on the computer based exams for grammar, vocabulary, reading, and listening. Tuesday and Wednesday is going to be spent doing the Speaking exams. It’s going to be LONG!
Eugh.
December 29, 2011
Anonymous asked: What are you teaching in the Saudi?
I was asked a question almost identical to this a while ago and it brought back a whole lot of memories.
That time I gave a one sentence answer. I’ll do a little bit better this time.
I teach English (as a foreign language) to students at a university in Riyadh. I’ve been here for nearly 15 months and I’m planning on going home in just over two months. Teaching English has been fun but it has nothing to do with my educational background. Even though I teach at a university, I’m a good teacher, and the job is amazing in a lot of ways, I don’t feel like a teacher all that often.
Thanks for asking, Anon.
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