When we sat down last week to plan, I couldn't believe that this week would end on the 2nd. I left Iowa and then the U.S. and about 20 hours later, landed in Doha exactly one month ago! I still haven't quite wrapped my head around it. Many things have happened since then: I've met some absolutely incredible people, finally found out who all my little new "friends" would be, wrestled with the insanity of Doha driving (although apparently real craziness hasn't even begun yet), managed to actually find my way around ASD and the city without a) getting lost (except that one time) or b) turned around too many times, and finally have started to feel at home. Life is great!
Thankfully, I haven't had too much excitement or drama, but it sure makes for a more interesting blog! In a frustrating way, it's reassuring that these kids are just like any other kids you would deal with at a school. There are still the smart ones that always finish first, think they know it all, or---my personal favorite---try to correct me (let's face it, sometimes it's necesary). And there will always be the shy ones that fly under the radar but the second you notice them, their sweet eyes and faces light up and you finally discover what makes them who they are. There are the ones that, no matter what, will always move slower than mollases. But let us never forget that there will ALWAYS be the flighty-ditzy-airhead-love 'em but wanna kill 'em butterfly chasers that are distracted by everything and catch NOTHING you say. (My naive self somehow thought this would go away once I got to 5th grade).
A lesson in the manipulated and responding variable:
As some of you may know, I've had some issues with my car this last week. Apparently, it's decided that it doesn't like me anymore and wants to start having fun by way of not allowing me to remove my keys from it once I've turned it off (and yes- I've tried turning the steering wheel). I've also been teaching a unit in science inquiry focusing on many vocab words, but in particular, these two: manipulated variable (a variable you change to see how it affects the outcome of an experiment) and responding variable (basically the results of manipulating a variable). I found myself thinking about these lesson as the car key drama went on.
The conditions were always the same. Car turns off, car doesn't give me the keys. The first few times the keys stuck, I didn't mind so much cuz I could tweek it a litle, turn the steering wheel back and forth and even sometimes, stop then restart the car (manipulated variable) and the keys would them come out (responding variable) However, these methods all lost their effectiveness by Sunday evening when I found myself at the grocery store and my keys absolutely would NOT come out. It was at this time, that I realized I broke a cardinal scientific rule: only manipulate one variable at a time. I really did myself in because I tried all my little tricks, but still didn't know which variable allowed my keys to come free! Maybe it wasn't one, but instead maybe a combination of tweeking the keys whilst turning the wheel...I guess I'll never know cuz it's too stinkin hot to stay outside and do the proper scientific experiment.
My solution? Leaving the keys in the car. And because this is Doha and not Vegas, the car was still there when I came back out. In fact, as I "speak", my keys are sitting in my car outside ASD on a pretty busy main road. Side note: I burned my self on the keys when, after the first day of them being left in the ignition, I finally freed them...turns out they can still get REALLY hot, even while in the ignition. The teacher in me hopes you've all learned a valuable lesson here.
Tonight, I get to experience a Sohor feast at a 7 star hotel here in Doha known as the Sharq. These feast are held during Ramadan when, after basically scarfing their faces as soon as the sun goes down, Muslim people set up a proper feast/buffet and eat/party all night. Should be a good time :)
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