International living is interesting. We are the international babies of the group- there are just two other teachers whose having their first international experience with us. The other teachers have been so nice- no one has ever been like "Check out the newbies- they'll never make it!" And they have given us extra toys (more Ikea train tracks for Teddy and a cute John Deere animal tractor), picture frames, books for Ev, a few odd dishes. Because they all shipped stuff. The only other family that didn't really ship was evacuated from Libya in the spring and had to leave their stuff behind. Their daughter has two toys- an American girl doll and a Playmobile figurine. So Evelyn has been having her over for Polly Pocket time. That is the really nice thing- there is a pack of girls Evelyn can play with- some are a little older, some a little younger. So nice!
International teachers are travel addicts- everyone is plotting what exotic location they will go for November Eid, Winter Break and Spring Break. Dubai, Jordan, Oman, Turkey? African safari?
And it seems there is an international lingo you just pick up. Everyone says "Eh?" like the Canadians- even if they are from Boston or Montana. And you take the lift, push the baby in the trolley, and get things "sorted" like "I am still getting my work visa sorted, then I can get my rental car sorted," which is from the Brits. The teachers are originally from the USA, Canada, New Zealand, Great Britain, various Middle Eastern countries, Bahraini natives, etc. I would say the majority of the teachers are US and Canadian- but then the para-pros and support staff are mostly Bahraini.
When you ask someone where they are from- that can be tricky- so you ask where they were originally from and where they just came from. And they all have neat stories they will pop up with like nothing- "When we were in ______ we ______," like its no big deal vs. something totally awesome most people will never get to do!
Hopefully I'll get some cool stories soon!
There is absolutely nothing wrong with saying "eh" at the end of many of your sentences. I'm surprised noone ever teased me about it. But all our radio stations growing up were Canadian, so perhaps that's why I never thought twice about it.
ReplyDelete