This Lebanese Life- a long winded account of my life these days
Upon return from winter break, it was hot and sunny in Beirut. I unpacked, walked around the area, got a haircut (which looks very Lebanese and I have no pictures yet) and enjoyed the warmth after being cold most of the time in India.
Lately, it's been raining- so much so that I bought rain boots and a proper umbrella, not just one of those little travel ones. Today is a bit warm and it's becoming overcast, though it was sunny when I left yoga class an hour ago.
Work life
I am now in my eighth year of this teaching career. This is the first time that my job does not consume more than half of my life. Despite doing as many extra things as I can at school, I still am completely under-stimulated with work. At the same time, due to the nature of the Fine arts program, with grade 6 &7 students moving to a new discipline every 6-7 weeks, I am overwhelmed with starting two new classes every month and a half. Since September, I have started 7 classes, including the Grade 8s who stay with me all year. I still have to start 4 more classes this school year. It is exhausting, especially teaching kids from scratch how to play instruments.
Social Life
Anyway, I am supposed to have a personal life, but I don’t know how. I take private Arabic lessons, go to yoga, buy produce, walk, watch TV, read books, cook, hang out with Bashar when he’s here, attend monthly book club meetings, and go for drinks on Fridays after work. My friend David is an English bloke, who I consider the president of Friday drinks and my own personal Simon Cowell (I have recently started watching American Idol). He criticizes me when I talk about work, tells me to get a life, and tries to help me to think of things to do for fun. He is not as miserable as I make him sound-he is one of my favourite people. He is a bit lonely, I think, maybe because he’s a bit critical. He is an excellent conversationalist, but he can be really tough if he disagrees with you.
The other thing here is I am making less money (almost $1000 per month less) than Kuwait, and have far more to spend money on. It seems I go through my money like wildfire, and that’s not even including the visa and plane ticket to India, which was pretty pricey. Anyway, I don’t even have the luxury of a car or regular visits to expensive coffee shops. I buy local produce, and cannot figure out where all my money is going. I am going to keep track as of this month.
With Bashar, things are much better for several reasons. The first reason is I made it clear to him that he needed to make a bigger effort to come see me more often, because even though I chose to come here, if not for him, I would have been far more proactive about getting a job outside the Middle East. The second reason is I realized I have been selfish, not so much in this request, but in feeling sorry for myself and expecting him to drop his entire life on my whim. It’s not free (or even that cheap) for him to come here as often as he does (which is about twice a month). He has family obligations and he’s doing the best he can. And no, I am not making excuses for him. I have been mean to him and he has been forgiving, like he doesn’t even notice me being critical. He has shown me unconditional love and understanding. When he comes to see me, he cleans the balcony, washes the dishes and cleans the floor, makes tea and shops for food. I have only recently begun to cook for him because he always cooked for me. We go for walks, play cribbage, occasionally eat at local diner type places, shop at discount stores. It’s fun.
Lately, it's been raining- so much so that I bought rain boots and a proper umbrella, not just one of those little travel ones. Today is a bit warm and it's becoming overcast, though it was sunny when I left yoga class an hour ago.
Work life
I am now in my eighth year of this teaching career. This is the first time that my job does not consume more than half of my life. Despite doing as many extra things as I can at school, I still am completely under-stimulated with work. At the same time, due to the nature of the Fine arts program, with grade 6 &7 students moving to a new discipline every 6-7 weeks, I am overwhelmed with starting two new classes every month and a half. Since September, I have started 7 classes, including the Grade 8s who stay with me all year. I still have to start 4 more classes this school year. It is exhausting, especially teaching kids from scratch how to play instruments.
Social Life
Anyway, I am supposed to have a personal life, but I don’t know how. I take private Arabic lessons, go to yoga, buy produce, walk, watch TV, read books, cook, hang out with Bashar when he’s here, attend monthly book club meetings, and go for drinks on Fridays after work. My friend David is an English bloke, who I consider the president of Friday drinks and my own personal Simon Cowell (I have recently started watching American Idol). He criticizes me when I talk about work, tells me to get a life, and tries to help me to think of things to do for fun. He is not as miserable as I make him sound-he is one of my favourite people. He is a bit lonely, I think, maybe because he’s a bit critical. He is an excellent conversationalist, but he can be really tough if he disagrees with you.
The other thing here is I am making less money (almost $1000 per month less) than Kuwait, and have far more to spend money on. It seems I go through my money like wildfire, and that’s not even including the visa and plane ticket to India, which was pretty pricey. Anyway, I don’t even have the luxury of a car or regular visits to expensive coffee shops. I buy local produce, and cannot figure out where all my money is going. I am going to keep track as of this month.
With Bashar, things are much better for several reasons. The first reason is I made it clear to him that he needed to make a bigger effort to come see me more often, because even though I chose to come here, if not for him, I would have been far more proactive about getting a job outside the Middle East. The second reason is I realized I have been selfish, not so much in this request, but in feeling sorry for myself and expecting him to drop his entire life on my whim. It’s not free (or even that cheap) for him to come here as often as he does (which is about twice a month). He has family obligations and he’s doing the best he can. And no, I am not making excuses for him. I have been mean to him and he has been forgiving, like he doesn’t even notice me being critical. He has shown me unconditional love and understanding. When he comes to see me, he cleans the balcony, washes the dishes and cleans the floor, makes tea and shops for food. I have only recently begun to cook for him because he always cooked for me. We go for walks, play cribbage, occasionally eat at local diner type places, shop at discount stores. It’s fun.
posted by Granola Girl at
2:43 AM
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