first day of school...

Oh my, running a classroom is very different than being a member of the audience. Most of the students are working with two, if not three languages. I do have to remind my students that English is the language of choice in the school and that is what I would like to hear in my class. My students are interested in making history fun again and for the most part, understand that respect is in order to be able to do the fun projects--I have a girls section that wants to re-enact (in class) the trojan war... yes, this is going to be a fun year.

Courting in Bahrain is very different than in the states. There is NO public display of affection outside of a quick hug--if that. There are a few known couples in the student population, but they don't hold hands or anything that by American standards would indicate that they are anything more than close friends.

Most of the girls in my classes choose not to wear thier hijabs in class but once they hit the halls, they go back on. I saw this on the first day of school and have for the last couple of days--I find it interesting that they feel that they can uncover a little bit while in my class. That is a sign of being comfortable with other people and a sign of respect. It also doesn't hurt that I'm female and dressing modestly by American standards (long sleeves and long skirts most of the time, if not long pants).