1) the campus is beyond incredible
2) the classroom setup is great...in fact, I can request just about anything I want/need (within reason)
3) the students in 5th grade are AWESOME! I love them and they are such great leaders. I recently had the students lead a class meeting about what we're doing well or not well and they completely took charge with discussing possible solutions, voting, etc. I just sat there, listened, and only answered when they asked for my advice/input.
4) the administrators (or more specifically the Elementary administrators since we have "4 schools" in 1: Early Childhood, Elementary, Middle, and High School)...the Elementary administrators are by far amazing! They're positive and are quick to share some positive thing they've heard or seen recently in your classroom. It's great to feel uplifted and receive any possible criticism in a truly constructive way. I can't say enough wonderful things about my admin. They respect our role and support us in any way!
5) My grade level team! I've had some great teams before. This team here is exponentially great! I always feel like I'm not keeping up with their level of awesomeness yet we work our strengths in different ways to benefit the team.
6) coworkers - the staff is wonderful...I walk down the hallways and feel like I'm surrounded by exceptional teachers. It sure makes the bus rides to and from work entertaining talking with them or going to events after work.
6) coworkers - the staff is wonderful...I walk down the hallways and feel like I'm surrounded by exceptional teachers. It sure makes the bus rides to and from work entertaining talking with them or going to events after work.
7) the school leadership (the people who direct the school above the Elementary administrators level) - Simply positive! It's the daily vibe I get when I see the Director walking around the campus. I have no idea how stressful his job is, yet he manages to problem solve strategically and keep a smile on his face. That truly shows his character.
8) Parents - Although I can tell many of these parents are helicopter parents, I've had mostly positive interactions with them. It's learning how to work with them without changing your expectations.
Granted, not everything is perfect but life isn't perfect. I've had my hard moments. I don't think I've hit the culture shock yet. Either I skipped that phase or it's taking longer for it to hit me. I did start listening to Christmas music but it doesn't quite give me the Holiday vibe when I'm riding the bus home past all the crazy traffic, litter everywhere, stray dogs running around, and the bustle of Cairo.
I do feel completely safe here. There are various local workers or neighbors we say hi to often. I have this feeling as if they've "adopted" Dereck and me as their neighbors and protect us, in a sense. We've got a taxi cab driver who often parks near our road. His car is old, looks like it's had better days (and sounds it too) yet he is so friendly and waves to Dereck and me every time we pass him. One morning, we mentioned where we wanted to go and offered a price...most cab drivers would up the price (because we're foreigners) but this driver says, "Don't worry about the price. You're my friends and I will take you where you need to go." That's the first I've heard anything like that. WOW! I love the people here. They truly are remarkable. I hear what's going on in the news....don't let that frighten you! The Egyptians are good people.
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