I am an ambassador of the UAE...

I have been too busy or exhausted to post the last few days but I have much to share!  On Monday we got to meet Mr Ali Alsaloom, he is the founder and cultural consultant for Embrace Arabia. He is an author, cultural consultant, professional speaker, and TV show host, and we each get an Ask Ali book! Here is a link to his website http://www.ask-ali.com/main.asp?pageID=476 

Another website he created that is really informative is www.embracearabia.com

I learned that Arabic encompasses multiple heritages but is not the same.  The best example that I can compare it to is Hispanic culture being different from region to region in all aspects (language, clothing, food, etc.).   The following are Arabic countries:  Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Sudan, Somalia, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman (which will literally be in my backyard), Syria, Jordan, Kuwait, UAE, Djibouti, Lebanon, and Palestine. 

Mr. Ali told us, "Cultural understanding is blah...doesn't get you anywhere..."  Let me try to explain what he meant.  We may read a stack of books on Emirate and Arabic culture and think that we have this deep cultural understanding, but in reality we are still making judgments based on our own culture.  For example, maybe I will see an Emirate women walking behind her husband and I understand the reasons why but I make a judgment in my mind that I think it is stupid or anti-feminist.  How will I ever really be happy in this foreign land?  He went on to say, "The ultimate level of respect is appreciation, with out acceptance you cannot appreciate." 

He went on to explain a few simple points I want to highlight a few more things from his presentation, he told us the three major influences on culture in the Gulf are modernization, religion, and tribal past.  He told us teachers are revered and looked upon with a great amount of respect.  We are considered holy!  He also told us were are all ambassadors of the UAE because after this experience is said and done we will be sharing with everyone in our country how safe and modern the UAE is.  I couldn't agree more!

We also learned about a superstition, the "evil red eye."  If you compliment someone there is a fear that something terrible will happen to them so you always say "Masha Allah," after a compliment.  The red evil eye can also be protected by images of a blue eye which comes the form of a blue circle with a dot in the center which apparently comes in the form of art or jewelry, so I am on the lookout for this jewelry! 

At the end of his presentation we got to line up for pictures and autographs in our books.  This by far has been my favorite experience so far.  Mr. Ali was a very energetic presenter and he joked around a lot ending by saying, "in answer to a question I am sure many of you have I am 30 and single."

On Tuesday we learned that we will have a great curriculum at some point, Insha Allah!  We also learned a bit about assessment, some more Arabic and reflection.  I was so exhausted from my long day of work that I came home to the room and made Michael go get takeaway (not carry out here!) and Gavin and I watched American Home videos and fell asleep at around 7:30...so sad.  On the upside we have all been sleeping in a bit later each day and I have avoided a nap all week!  Today I slept until 6:00 am.

Today we got to go to the Sheikh Zayed Mosque and it was breathtaking.  We had a guided tour and learned a lot.  I had trouble listening to our guide because I was blown away at the awwww-ness of it.

We ended the day by finding out our placement!  I will be teaching in the Om Ghafa region of Al Ain which is about 15 miles from my apartment.  I will be in an all girls public school called Al Nebras Primary School.  I was really happy because I was a little worried about working in an all boys school.  We also got our debit cards and set up online banking.  It is all  coming together as they said it would, Insha Allah!