Air Conditioning

**I'm going to try to publish a few posts today. I need to get you all caught up!

Days 10 – 14: September 18th – 22nd, 2011

2nd Week of School

School is already becoming routine. I knew all of my students’ first names by the end of last week! I was really proud of myself. I still say a few of them incorrectly, but they just laugh at me and correct me. I will get this! However, if you ask me their last names you will be on the receiving end of a blank stare.

I have 3 students named Hamad (all in separate classes), 2 named Ahmed (in separate classes) and 2 named Mohammad (in the same class). I can tell them apart while in class, and am getting to figure out which one is which. I find it interesting that I have repeat boy names, but not girl ones.

My students come from all over. The diversity in my classroom is amazing! It allows for different perspectives during class discussions. I have students from: Korea, China, USA, Canada, Germany, Kuwait, Egypt, Palestine, Lebanon and those are the ones that I know for sure! I’m sure there are others. I haven’t asked yet!



Why Air Conditioning is a Necessity:

September 15th – 17th the air in my apartment stopped working. Need I remind you that I live in the desert and that it hasn’t really been below 100 °F since I got here?

I talked to the Assistant Principal at book club on Friday. She called the head maintenance guy and told me to wait for an hour after I got home, then talk to the security guys downstairs. I waited 2 hours and thought I was going to melt.

He came up and messed around with the electric box. I didn’t, because none of the switches are labeled. It did get a little cooler, so I left it at that. It was also dark out by this point, and it does cool down a bit at night.

The next morning I woke up quite hot. Not happy at all, I went downstairs and talked to the maintenance guy. He came up and looked at it and moved the temperature setting on my thermostat (which I had done). He tells me to let it sit for an hour, then come down if it’s not better. Seriously?

It wasn’t better. I went down again. He swore up and down someone was coming. I went to the English Department get-together and came back to a cooler apartment. Thank god!

I also was trying to do my dishes, and the water just stopped. I knocked on Megan’s door, and she had water. So back downstairs I went. Apparently there were plumbers fixing a broken pipe in the buildings next door, so they shut off our water. (I had used what was in the tank). Really? No note in the elevator to tell us there would be no water? Apparently not. Welcome to Kuwait!