Hip Hip, Hooray! Joyous Exam Results...

WoW!! So totally chuffed!

Almost all my Science classes have increased the class average 

by at least 1 level (that could equate to around 10%)! I have had multiple students go from an very mediocre 4A, to a truly tremendously awesome 6A and 7C!! So proud! 

At first, the baseline results should me that many students that I teach have a poor to medium handle on the English language; most of whom took Science in Arabic last year. 

The December 2013 exam results have proven to me that going slowly, and having patience for 2nd & 3rd language speakers was a vital, step for me as Educator.

With a troublesome Year 7 group (thats Grade 6 to most of you) reaching a class average of 5A, after having a baseline average of 4C, I am very impressed. These youngsters did their best, putting in a lot of extra effort to ensure they reaped the rewards personally.

As a teacher, I could not be prouder. My Science students and my tutees have all done well to meet my proposed expectations - I challenged them all with increasing their grades by 1 sub level. 

Certainly a challenge well received!

Now, for the well deserved holidays to start on the 17th December….

*day dreaming*

Booked! Booya!

At last - Gerard's flight is booked for his December trip home to see Chandler! 

*happy dance*

After searching for days, we finally found  a reasonably priced flight that actually had seats available! At one stage we both hit rock bottom, thinking that we could afford to go home but that there would not be space on any planes for either of us. Now we know, Gerard has a seat!

Perseverance is all that counts - try, try and try again. And when all else fails, with a little word or 2 to the Big Man upstairs, keep trying!

We scoured the websites, trying every route possible. Qatar Airways flies direct from Doha into OR Tambo Airport, but alas, they were leaving a day too early and coming back on 31 December - not good enough! 

FINALLY! E-bookers - a website neither of us has ever heard of, had a flight for Gerard. The flight's departure and arrival was perfect timing for school. One Huge draw back though - Gerard would be in transit for 30 hours on the way to SA! *sheesh*

Tough luck - we have chosen to take it. Rather take what we know, than stand the risk of not getting a flight at all. 

So, Emirates & BA, fly well on 18 & 19 December - you have Gerard Victor on board! *cheeky wink*

 

Flying High

48 days to go… Gerard leaves Qatar in only 48 days time… Roz, well she's still waiting for her RP to be able to get an exit visa - a requirement before being allowed out the country… Hmph!

Exams are fast approaching which is both excitement and anxiety rolled into one. They have arrived rather quickly this term, but also just in the nick of time.  Arab school days feel far longer than Western school days purely because we start do much earlier than we would a home.

I keep catching myself with that feeling of wishing the time away - a good thing so that the holiday can start, but a bad thing as I will bid my man farewell for a while.

So, here's to holding thumbs that my RP comes through soon, and that exams are as good as we hope, in behaviour and in results.

Technology 1 ; Roz 0

What a battle today! Between the laptop not registering that a printer was plugged in and installed correctly, a tablet that wouldn't turn on (and then when it did, wouldn't turn the wi fi on) and a cell phone going dead, I've been well beaten today...

It's days like this that we come to realise how much we all rely on technology. If all my electronics were to die on the same day, I'd become one very sad person!

Gerard had magic fingers today - with 1 swift touch on the tablet, a stern glare at my blackberry and giving my laptop the cold shoulder, he managed to get it all up and running for me again! *thank goodness!*

Think about it, if your phone was to give up while you were living away from home, how would you adapt? I receive messages on 3 instant messaging apps, emails form 4 addresses, I also link up on Facebook on my phone.. Something makes me think that "Very Sad", "Defeated" and "Depressed" are not descriptive enough!

So, with all the technology working again, we debated getting cable tv (called OSN tv). We've decided that repetitive replays of the same movies (much like DSTV in South Africa) is not cool - once you've seen a series episode once, you don't need to see it a second time!  The only hiccup to this is that we need to first get our Resident's Permit (RP) to apply for such luxuries. So, once either one of us has this, we'll be getting cable tv *yay; happy dance!*

Electronics, technology and my skills simply did not mix today. But, tomorrow is another day. So, let's all see how it goes!

Good night, sweet dreams!

R x

Downtown Doha

Beautiful Doha, Beautiful City!

What an amazing city! There a skyscrapers everywhere. Many are very shiny buildings. We even found a building close to City Centre Mall that has a huge ball suspended between the 2 columns. Check these photos out:

 

PS: Although this is an amazingly 1st world country, some things never change!

 

Biltong is the Word!

Biltong is a vital commodity in many people's lives. Naturally, few in Doha can get their hands on biltong, let alone good tasting biltong. Don't mind we have a brag, but we think we've aced it! (Shaun, you should be proud!)

With our very own Biltong Box in the Laundry room, we have started making our own. Many South Africans seem grateful for this - noticeable by the orders that have been placed by fellow teachers already.

Gerard is in his element!

Brunch at the Sheraton

The Sheraton Hotel - the chosen destination for the first Lagoon Staff Brunch. This was held on a Friday morning. I had no idea what to expect - I was very pleasantly surprised.

This is the red carpet that runs from the front door through the entrance hall.

 

 

What an amazing place to be having brunch at!

 

Everywhere you look, there are palm trees! What beauty...

 

Without the English translations we'd all be a little lost!

 

A blessing - Check to the right of the urinal, us smokers are still accepted here!

 

 This is a true Ottoman Head Gear! Encased in the foyer of the Sheraton Hotel.

 

A designated Chill Out zone within the hotel - Very soft seats and perfectly located.

 

For a small fee, we could eat all we wanted and drink what we wanted! A genuinely good venue to be dining out at. I ate so much Norwegian Salmon, prawns bigger than my hand (Chandler, you would have loved this!) and drank Heineken at a steady pace (naturally, I ensured I behaved as the managers were around!)

 

Inside the restaurant

 

From the dining area/restaurant, the view was magnificent. These are things I could see:

 This is a privately owned beach where expats can come enjoy the sunshine!

 

 This is a traditional Dhow boat, made entirely from wood. The locals use these for fishing, while the expats use them for a fun day out in the bay.

 

 

What Pristine Beauty!

 

The next brunch we hope to attend will be in the Hilton Hotel:

 

 

 

 

Doha City Centre Mall

We have been to many malls in our life times, with Greenacres ranking as a fairly big mall. Doha City Centre mall trumps this by miles! It is a 5 story shopping mall, that also spans a kilometre or 2 side ways.

City Centre Mall Entrance

 

5 stories, with an ice rink in the middle.

 

 Almost like being in the Cango Caves...

 

 

 

 The Qataris clearly love their fountains!

 

 Perhaps Hippo for dinner would be better???

 

Great place to eat out! 

 Palm trees everywhere!

Wow! What an awesome looking (and sounding) sports car! Chandler, can you tell us what it is???

Geocaching in the Desert

Our Desert Trip was interesting to say the least!

 

We saw wrecked cars (literally rolled the night before), the Saudi Border, Charlie's Big Ball, Black Camels, cars stuck in the sand, a few injuries and how a South African does lunch in the Desert!

 

Here are some photos:

Stopped to deflate tyres for the soft sand ahead

 

 Miles & Miles of Sand - Near the Saudi Border

 There is some shrubbery around.

 Trying to decide which way to go to get to the Geo-Cache

 They found the spot! At the top of what looked like a lot of slate.

 Even Sponge Bob met the Black Camels

 Lunch done the South African way in the desert

 Someone got a little stuck.... Ron??? Hehe

 A Kinetic Cable that absorbed all the force from pulling the car out - we didn't even feel it in the Rescue Vehicle.

 This camel thought it was too hot.

 

 



 A well rolled Vehicle. This rolled last night apparently.

 

 Midday sun over the lunch spot.

 

Re-inflating our chariot's tyres before heading home.

 

 

Evening sun as we approached home..