Back to Routine

Routines seem to follow me. You know what I mean. Just when you think that your life is becoming exciting and full of adventure, a new routine creeps up on you. It’s already happened to me in Kuwait. Allow me to share my very routine day…

7:30 a.m. I wake up and eat a bowl of cereal. If I am feeling like I need some caffeine, I’ll make me a quick cup of some instant Nescafe coffee. Delicious. Then, time to shower and get ready for the day.

8:45 a.m. I meet Jill and Emily in the lobby for our cab ride to campus. They hand me their money, and then I am in charge of flagging down a cab and negotiating our ride. “American University. Salmiya. 1 KD.” I’ve got it down.

9:00 a.m. I arrive at my desk and begin to check the following websites: Yahoo mail, Virginia Tech mail, CNN, Wichita Eagle, Ark City Traveler, Blogspot, and maybe if I am feeling lucky, Bank of America. This process will continue for approximately 45 minutes

9:45 a.m. I decide that I should probably check my AUK email and respond to any student emails. During this time block, I also decide to plan class, make copies, check PowerPoints, etc, etc. This takes me about an hour and a half.

11:15 a.m. At this point, I’m hungry. I eat lunch. Lunch is usually PBJ, some veggies, and an apple. If I get really crazy, I go for a granola bar too.

Now the next two hours are somewhat of a blur for me. Justin and Jill are teaching during this time, so the office is empty. I usually “do work.” No, seriously. I have plenty of VT stuff to work on, and I spend that time working on those items. Unless, I don’t feel like working. Then I managed to spend more time on the Internet.

2:00-4:00 p.m. I teach during this time. Enough said.

4:00 p.m. Jill, Emily and I wait in the lobby by the elevator for our ride home. Our friend Amy lives in the same building, and she gives us a ride in the evenings.

4:45 p.m. I hit the “gym.” We are pretty lucky to have new treadmills and some random weight machine in our building. I’m getting huge.

6:00 p.m. At this time, I start to figure out what I want/can make for dinner. This can be quite a process because nothing sounds good.

7:00 p.m. If I am lucky, there is a good movie on one of our English channels. Or sometimes, I’ll even watch a not-so-good movie. Although one night, I decided that wasn’t bored enough to watch Herbie Fully Loaded starring Lindsey Lohan. I told Justin that if he ever catches me watching the Tyra Banks show (which is ALWAYS on) to hit me.

Again, the next couple hours become a hodgepodge of doing not much. It usually involves television, chatting on Facebook or MSN, and some conversation/laughing with my VT pals.

9:30 p.m. I try to read. That sounds funny. I mean I read. I have lots of books to read, so I read.

10:00-10:30 p.m. Time for bed!

2:45 a.m. The call to prayer wakes me up. There is a mosque next door, and they have loud singing/praying they play through the neighborhood. I’m not kidding…this lasts until 3:15 at least.

That’s my routine. Even thousands of miles from one ordinary routine, another has found me. It’s not a bad one, definitely not strenuous, but it is, for lack of a better word, routine.

ENGL 108: Public Speaking

As of today, we are halfway through our four-week public speaking sprint. Class is going well, and there are many similarities between my students here and students in the United States. I still have to remind them to be on time and to put away their phones. I have to tell them to take notes, and I remind them each day to bring their books. Some of my students do the readings, others do not. Some actively participate; others sit back and do not. There are also differences. My Kuwaiti students are still much more polite. Even when I did not allow a student to attend after being 40 minutes late, she still apologized and thanked me. They actually dress up every day. I have not seen one pair of sweatpants, and I’d say only once or twice has a student worn a t-shirt.

Today is their second presentation. I’ll report how they were next blog.

Other items of interest:

Dunkin’ Donuts. I am afraid it’s not going to happen while we are here. I got really excited when I saw Pepsi machines being unloaded, but sadly they were for the shop next door. Dang it.

4th of July. While many of you are celebrating our nation’s independence with barbeques, pools, and beverages, we will be celebrating it Kuwaiti style. We have prepared our American menu, and Jill has made an American playlist. I’ll let everyone know how it turns out. Sadly the group has vetoed my idea of hanging American flags out our windows.

Electrical concerns. It seems that there are a few electrical issues with our apartments. We’ve heard of two washing machine plug-ins that have melted in the wall (Meredith’s being one) and the cable box in the gym was smoking the other day. There is one elevator that I have decided to avoid…it just seems sketchy. And yes, this is a brand new building.

Free Ice Cream. The AUK Office of Student Life sponsored free ice cream yesterday. Emily and I enjoyed a cup of cookies and cream before we realized we could have gotten two scoops. No worries, I went back with Jill later in the day.