Makes me sad

The semester has come to an end.  I have one exam to give tomorrow.  I had a couple of really nice classes this semester, but I had one class that may be the worst class I've ever taught.

One particularly irritating student made snide comments in Arabic followed by mocking laughter every time I turned to the board to write something. Twice I caught him cheating on quizzes.  He never even bothered to do the last two major assignments I gave. He NEVER did homework. He came late to class every day until I threatened to kick him out of class permanently - and then he came to the final exam 15 minutes late. This student is repeating the class because he failed it last semester. He had a D going into the final exam.

So...I get this email today.

I know I was not the best student this semester and i was not up to your hopes of me as a good student especially the last two weeks, and I do not know what is my exact stand in the course but I know that i was trying to do my best and i could not. I had a lot of family problems back in my country at the end of this semester so i could not concentrate plus I had a lot of projects and finals the week before the finals week. the reading assignment and the reflective essay are the only major assignment that i did not do for this whole semester. 

I do not know what could be my grade for the course but If I did not pass it, I will get out of the university and I will lose 60 credits and three years I spent finishing them.

I know that this has nothing to do with you or with my grade, but I think that I did good in the final today and I hope that you may understand my situation.

sorry for bothering you and taking out of your time, and it was great for me being taught by you.

Thanks in advance.

Well, he didn't do well in the final.  I don't believe his excuses.

Another student, who was a borderline B+/A- student sent me this.

As you know I really worked hard for this course and honestly I enjoyed every assignement we had to do. My GPA is low and I need to raise it in order to get a financial aid. Therefore if you see that I deserve to get an A in the course please sir help me and I would be really thankful if you took my situation ino consideration. And I would really like to thank you for this great semester.......

Is it any wonder that degrees here are looked at askance?  I was considering adjusting his grade up a little because he did work hard in class, but now I don't think so.  The fact that these two students thought that this would work seems to me to be an indication that it works on some professors.

I am really going to enjoy my summer vacation, which starts in a couple of days.

New driver's license

When I first moved to Dubai more than ten years ago, I got a Dubai driver's license.  It was good for ten years.  When I came back to the UAE last August, I rented a car for 6 months; then I bought a car.  The rental agency had a copy of my driver's license.  The car dealer had a copy of my driver's license when I bought the car a couple of months ago.  The insurance agent had a copy of my driver's license.  No one noticed that my license expired last year in September.  For almost 6 months, I've been driving with an expired driver's license.  Part of the problem was that the Dubai Traffic Authority had an old address, so they couldn't contact me to let me know.  The other problem is that I, like most people, don't look at the expiry date on my driver's license very often.  Fortunately, I didn't have any accidents, but every day that I drive in the UAE, I think I could easily have one.

At any rate, the university has a traffic police officer who comes to the campus every day or two.  Today, he was 45 minutes late.  Then he told me that I could go to ANY Regional Transit Authority outlet in Dubai to transfer my file to Sharjah, then get Sharjah to renew it.  The RTA website has dozens of outlets listed, so I chose one that was listed as being in Festival City Mall in Dubai.  I thought that would be great because I could get everything done and then go for dinner.  I got to the mall and was told that the RTA outlet was a couple of kilometers away, so I flagged down a taxi and went there only to be told that they could not do it there.  I had to go to City Center Mall.  After hiking along a deserted road for a kilometer or two, a taxi came by and took me to City Center.  At City Center, I got an eye check up (5 minutes) and then went to the RTA outlet at the mall and walked away with a brand new license 5 minutes later.  I didn't need to change anything to Sharjah.  I can drive in the UAE with a Dubai license.  It was frustrating getting to the right location, but, once I was there, it was quick and easy - and, yes, it looks like any other driver's license photo - nothing to write home about.

Emirate ID Authority

I went out to the Emirate ID Authority today to apply for my national ID card.  The whole process was quick and painless.  I've lived in both Brunei and Korea, where everyone was fingerprinted as part of the issuance of ID cards, so it was nothing really special.  However, here they scanned all eight fingers, both thumbs, my palms, and the sides of both hands.  The only thing they didn't scan was my retina, and it looked like they had a connecton for a retinal scanner but it was nowhere to be seen.

Life in the UAE

I teach at a co-ed university that is really remarkable.  Most universities in the UAE are single-sex.  When I walk across campus at lunch, I sometimes forget where I am.  The students wear a wide variety of outfits.  Many of the guys, especially now that it is getting hotter, wander around in shorts, sandals, and T-shirts.  Small groups of male and female students sit and chat comfortably.  Students in traditional dress mix easily with those in casual western dress.

So...today, when I was sitting in the cafeteria having lunch, I thought nothing of it when two young female students sat at the table beside me.  One of the girls was wearing a zip-up sweat shirt.  She unzipped it and took it off because the cafeteria was a little warm.  She was wearing a sleeveless tanktop which was NOT revealing or shocking.  In less than a minute, the female "security" guard came over and told her to put the sweat shirt back on - and she did.

I've often wondered what the female "security" guards did.  Now I know.

I'm not sure what the actual law is now in Sharjah, which is a more conservative emirate than Dubai.  At one time, it was illegal for women anywhere in Sharjah to wear sleeveless tops or skirts that were above the knee.  I had heard that the law was quietly dropped at the urging of the federal government which is based in Abu Dhabi.

The Last Lecture

I read this book in two sittings.  It was nothing new, but it was a pleasant, easy read.  It is simply an autobiographical story told by a thoughtful, interesting young (middle-aged man) who was dying of cancer.  His attitude towards living fully to the end was quite remarkable.  I do recommend it.

All a twitter

This is the latest update on my pigeons. The little critters are growing pretty quickly. They still don't have real feathers, but they are getting there.

This post seems apropos. We just got an email today telling us that AUS is on Twitter at AUSharjah and on YouTube at wwwausedu. My first reaction was a scornful "hmff" but its fairly well done. Clap. Clap.

Twitter seems like such an odd concept (waste of time), but I'm thinking that my friends might really want to find out what I had for dinner, if my workout was good, or if I'm wearing my brown loafers or my brown dress-shoes (Koff! Koff!). I wonder if I can catch Ashton Kutcher. He only has a million fans. I think I need a gimmick.

Twitter - HA! It's like blogging for the incredibly lazy.

Sharjah wild life

And this ladies and gentlemen is as wild as it gets on campus. Mom hatched two little chicks. I was pretty sure that there were three, but I can only see two now. The mother pigeon was regurgitating something for the chicks. I'll bet that was tasty. I guess she partially digests her catch and then gives it to the babies when it is mush.

At home in the classroom

This is one of my classrooms. The window has a little area that has been the home of a pigeon for the last couple of weeks. I'm assuming that we will soon see some little baby pigeons.

Dubai Dragon Boat Festival

Last weekend at Festival City on Dubai Creek, they held the 1st Annual Dubai Dragon Boat Festival. The venue has potential; however, the whole thing was a little tepid. There were several thousand people, but, if you took away the paddlers, there weren't very many people there. It's too bad, but maybe it will catch on and next year's will be better.

Hail! Hail!

Tonight it poured rain. Then it started to hail. Pretty big chunks of ice fell for a couple of minutes. It was quite amazing - especially because it has been getting warmer and warmer here. The daytime temperatures are around 30C.

Harry Belafonte

I was watching a great interview between Riz Khan and Harry Belafonte on Al Jazeera this evening.  I've always admired Harry Belafonte, but I hadn't realized what a huge influence he had on the political and the music scene in the U.S.





Then, I wandered off to a video with Harry Belafonte and Nat King Cole.



And, then wandered off again to just Nat King Cole. Nat King Cole is so cool. I love this version of Unforgettable.

Wadi Hayl

With a couple of colleagues, I went to Wadi Hayl near Fujairah last weekend.  It was the first road trip in my new car.  It's a smooth ride in the nicest, safest car I've ever owned.

The wadi had quite a bit of farming going on.  It's in some really harsh, rocky mountains, but there's obviously water.

At the wadi, there is an old fort/house ("palace") that belonged to Sheikh Abdullah Bin Hamdan. It was built in 1932.  When I went there 8 years ago, little had been done to it.  It was quite rundown.  However, the main building and the watch tower have been restored.  For much of the year, it must have been quite comfortable.  There were a number of rooms and roof tops that would have been nice covered in carpets and cushions.  It was easy to imagine a bunch of guys lounging around, drinking coffee and smoking.

After our trip to the wadi, we drove in to Fujairah and had lunch at the Hilton.  Although the service was less than four star, we sat outside, looking out over a nice beach on the Gulf of Oman.  That was really enjoyable.  The weather was nice and a cool fresh breeze blew while we were there.

Update

It has been a tiring semester.  I have three writing classes.  There seems to be endless amounts of marking, preparation, and student meetings.

In addition, I was on a committee that met a lot.  We finally finished our report and sent it out to the faculty.  Just as I was taking a deep breath, I was asked to serve on another committee - one that will be powerful and involve a lot of work and meetings - sigh!

We have only three more days until our spring break (one week).  I am so looking forward to it.  Unfortunately, I have a lot of work to do.  I need to try to get quizzes and material ready for the last half of the semester so that I can get all the marking done.  I'll be working a lot, but it will be more relaxing not having the students around.  I'll probably sit in the Caribou Coffee shop at Festival Center most of the time.

Lately, the office has been kind of nutty.  There's been a lot of backstabbing and fighting.  I've tried to keep out of it, but I've had a lot of people on both sides asking for support - yuck.  I has made me a little sad.  My normally open office door has been closed.

Because I wasn't really busy enough, I am now a university senator.  I was really hoping to be able to wear a toga, but, after our first meeting, I realized that I'd be out of place.  Drat!

I've been renting a car for the last six months, but I decided that I needed a car of my own.  Initially, I was just going to buy some old clunker (anyone who knows me knows that that's not going to happen).  There are lots of stories of thousands of cars being abandoned at the airport in Dubai.  When I drove out to the Dubai Used Car area, I saw a sea of cars.  Tens of thousands of cars parked everywhere.  It was hard to find a spot to park.  The used car dealers had full lots and cars parked on the street.  The days that I was there, there were very few buyers.  The only people out and about were the guys with hoses, washing the dust off the cars.  I was looking for a Honda CRV.  ALL of the car dealers were selling two year-old cars for about DH80,000 - oddly enough exactly what they sold for two years ago brand new.  Not one car dealer would budge on the price.  When I finally asked one guy why they weren't slashing prices to clear their stock, he said that they had bought the cars when they were worth more and they couldn't sell them at a loss - even though no one was buying.  Those cars are just going to sit there losing value, and they won't price them to sell.  I finally bought a brand new 2009 Honda CRV for Dh105,000 (they threw in 13 months of insurance for free, three year unlimited mileage warranty, 3 years roadside assistance, rustproofing, registration fee of Dh500, Honda mats, two fire extinguishers, a first aid kit, and a better financing rate than the used car dealers).  I told the used car dealers what was on offer at the new car dealers, and they just shrugged.  This is sometimes a bizarre place.  I was a little hesitant to buy a new car, but I plan to stay here until they throw me out.  My plan is to do ten years and retire.  That makes the car a reasonable value at about $3,000 a year.

The picture is not MY car, but it is the same model and the same color.  I plan to go out for a drive next week to Wadi Hayl when we have our break.  I'll update it with pictures soon.

English School

You'll have to excuse the blurry photos.  I can't remember if I was laughing too hard to hold my phone steady or crying.  Somehow it just seems wrong for an English school to allow signs like this to be posted for weeks in our hallways.  I'm praying that these were not my students.  Level 5 is our highest level.  Students at this level are close to entry to freshman university courses.  The fact that these books are being offered for sale at the beginning of the semester seems to indicate that, at least the Level 5, has a high enough TOEFL score to begin studying in major classes and no longer needs to be in English preperatory classes. Koff, koff.

Saturday Morning Treat

My Body for Life program allows one falling-of-the-wagon meal per week.  I've decided that Saturday morning breakfast at the Mugg and Bean at Festival City is going to be it.  I've always enjoyed a long, slow breakfast on the weekend.  I enjoy sitting over a full meal and reading a newspaper or book for an hour or two.  The Mugg and Bean restaurant has a few tables that look out over a large courtyard.  There's glass roof, so there's nice natural light.  There are numerous "waterfalls" so there's also the pleasant sound of running water. 

Ras Al Khor Wildlife Sanctuary

I and a colleague went to the Ras Al Khor Wildlife Sanctuary yesterday (Friday) because I had checked one website that said the hides were open every day from dawn to dusk.  Ha!  They're actually closed on Friday.  Fortunately, we were able to walk along the fence.  There were a lot of cool birds.  It made me wish that I had a better camera with a long telephoto lense.  In spite of the fact that we couldn't get into the hide, we spent a pleasant hour and a half there. Now that I know where it is (there's no big sign), I'll go on a Saturday morning at 9am.

It's really strange to be looking out over a lagoon full of flamingoes and seeing the Burj Dubai in the background.

Rain

Last night, it poured rain.  There was thunder and lightning.  This morning, it was 12C.  I'm wearing a sweatshirt and wool socks.  I actually kind of like it.  It feels like an autumn day in Vancouver.  I'm going in to town later this morning.  I hope the traffic isn't affected too much by the rain.  There are no drains anywhere, so the water pools until it evaporates.

Body for Life

Today was the my first day of a 12-week fitness/diet program.  I have a feeling that this is something that I will have to slowly get used to and I may have to adapt parts of it.  I've been doing basically the same workouts for 20 years and I think a change may be exactly what I need. I liked the focus that it brought to my workout today (Upper Body).  Alternate days are aerobic days.  I will be trying to get up at 5 or 6AM for a ride on my bike.  I used to get up at 5AM every day, so I'm not expecting it to be a big problem.  I figure I'll ride to the front gate of University City.  I'll have to check it with my car, but I think it's about 15 km.  I can usually manage to ride hard all the way to the front gate, and then ride back at a slightly slower pace.  I've been wanting to do this ever since I bought my new bike.  I think this program will provide a little more structure and incentive to do it.  I've report back in 12 weeks.

Outsourced

I really enjoyed this movie. Both Josh Hamilton and Ayesha Dharker were wonderful. As an English teacher, I enjoyed the occassional language struggles and, as an expat, the cultural bits were great. The movie also dealt with the topic of outsourcing in an interesting way.

The movie was funny and thoughtful.