Riyadh (via a short visit to the UK) to Malaysia

Hi all,

It's been a while since my last posting, but I can now post some news. I have my ticket to Malaysia and will be departing this evening. It's a long flight! As you may know I've spent the last 3 years s in Saudi Arabia (Riyadh). I imagine Malaysia will be a bit different to this. I haven't regretted my time in Riyadh and I managed the following things. I'm sure there are more, but as I m typing this I can't remember many of them:

1. Experienced heat of the +50 degrees C variety. Fooking hot.
2. Visited the desert.
3. Drove a Quad bike in the desert.
4. Drove in a 4*4 with the locals.
5. Met a man with the hairiest ears ever.
6. Met people from Djibouti, Sudan, Yemen, Jordan, Kuwait, Egypt and Korea. This is a few of the many nationalities.
7. Visited Jeddah and Jizan (albeit briefly)
8. Had Kabsa many times. This is rice and meat (kind of).
9. Taught many students, 70% who were OK and 30% who were of the 'off the rocker' variety.
10. Taught a few Princes.
11. Lived in a huge house.
12. Met a British Prince.
13. Saw an exhibition about Bath plugs.
14. Didn't visit a mosque.
15. Heard the prayer bells every morning, evening etc (5* a day).
16. Met some eccentric teachers.
17. met more eccentric teachers.
18. Went swimming in the desert.
19. Visited the British Embassy.
20. Departed for Malaysia.

Not all of the above happened in any particular order. I also saw a camel or two. I have no idea what Malaysia will hold, but it'll certainly be a different experience to Riyadh and I shall look forward to it. I shall update people when I get there so you'll all know what it's like!

All the best. Until next time.

LAtoAsia.blogspot.com

Update from the UK

Hi All,

This is an update from the UK. I have finished my 3 years in Saudi Arabia. It's all over.

LAtoAsia.blogspot.com

Teaching is fun! Honest!

My latest update from the Riyadh. I m writing it in England, and hope you can understand it! I was marking my students tests the other day and they came up with some cracking sexual messages:

1. Who do you do?
2. Where do you want?
3. Who did with you?
4. How many do you want play?
5. How is it?

I can add this to the classic:

'Yes, teacher I play with Mohammed', and 'I go with my friend.' Another classic is 'I do with Ali at the weekend.'

Anyways, for all you teachers out there, it is fun sometimes, although it would be better if the students got the grammar right in the first place! Until next time!

LAtoAsia.blogspot.com

Latest Update

Well, this is my weekly update. To be honest not a great deal has happened this week. I m working 6 days a week at the moment to try and make some extra money before I depart here sometime in September. I'm still awaiting a contract though from my new boss. He needs to get a move on and get it sent to me! I m sure it'll happen in the next few weeks.

IELTS (International English Language Testing System) is interesting. Not only do you meet some very strange candidates, but the testers are all a bunch of oddballs as well. I had to attend this session of standardisation to make sure all the examiners are on the same page and I was sat next to this guy who was continually fiddling with his phone. I know he'd been at the session most of the day, but it was continual fiddling. What was so important that he couldn't put his phone down for 5 minutes.

Some of the candidates you get are odd too. One guy started telling me about his country and why it was famous, and he couldn't think of it being famous for anything. Another guy rambled on about his remote control car that he got one day as a present. The Egyptian guys are the funniest they go on and on and on. You very rarely need to ask them any questions to keep them going. Mainly they're doctors as well!

I m also getting a bit sick of the inability of certain students to do anything. I ran an activity where they had to describe another person in the class. One guy just copied my example and wrote nothing of his own. Another guy described what everyone was wearing. It's not as if they didn't have any examples to use! It just beggars belief sometimes.

In other news, I have started scanning in all my teaching notes and that should be finished in the next week or so. Not that exciting I know, but I don't want to be carrying loads of paper with me to wherever I go next. I want it all on a flash drive or two.

I also played badminton the other day with my colleague James and unbelievably for once I won. Usually, when I play against Mark he thrashes me, and the other week a young lad of 14 beat me. I m not that bad, but he was very good. Mark almost lost.

Until next time....