Teaching: My Window

Today, the students took their final English exam, so we are officially done teaching for the term. Since we just arrived not quite three months ago, it was actually a good way to get a taste of what we're in for next fall. We still have another month to work, during which we will be grading and receiving various trainings and I'm not sure what else. After the first week of July, though, we will officially be on summer vacation until September! We will be spending nearly all of our break in Egypt - in Alexandria (on the Mediterranean) for the first month, attending a TEFL teaching course to meet new standards for the university, and then traveling down the Nile to explore for the following three weeks. We're very excited to see the pyramids, museums, the Valley of Kings, and all the history that Egypt has to offer. We're also looking forward to enjoying the less restrictive atmosphere of Egypt, where we can mix freely with both sexes, wear what we like, within reason, and practice our Arabic.

As I suspected before coming to Saudi Arabia, I am very glad to be working. Staying at home on a compound all day, every day is not easy to do without getting depressed, and there are many foreign women who can testify to that. If it weren't for teaching, neither Josh nor I would have much interaction with the Saudi culture at all. Since stores, restaurants, and taxis are run by foreign workers, we rarely have the chance to meet Saudis or speak in Arabic. Though we see Saudi families in the mall or in the stores, they rarely go out of their way to speak to foreigners. The segregation between men and women limits us even more. Men in general never speak to a woman to whom they are not related, and vice versa. If we do want to get together with someone, it is not easy to take along our spouse, as it causes awkwardness. It's also quite a hassle for me to get together with other women because they are dependent on their drivers, and often their fathers limit where they are allowed to go. The Saudi culture is very family-oriented at the expense of non-family members and especially non-Saudis.

So it is through teaching that I have the best window into Saudi life, and for that I am grateful. Teaching lets me interact with Saudi girls every day; I can learn about the culture, the language, the religion, and the quirky uniqueness of the people here. My students answer my questions - about what sites to see, how to say something in Arabic, where to buy certain things, what behavior is allowed and what is not, and why. Because they are entrenched in such a “have” type of culture, with nearly everything they could desire handed to them, there are some difficulties getting students to put forth effort to “earn” anything. However, the problem is far better on the girls' campus than on the boys' and I was lucky in having mostly serious and willing-to-learn students. I have enjoyed my classes quite a bit, and though there are drastic differences in our worldviews and the way we have been brought up, my students have been fun to teach. I have enjoyed preparing interesting and fun lessons for them, to supplement the rather dry required texts. One day I told them the story of Rumplestiltskin (along with lots of new vocab for them to digest). One of my classes had never heard the story before. They hung on every word, cringed in all the right places, gasped in horror when the little man demanded the first-born child, and laughed in surprise at the ending. Since then, they have often requested, “Tell us a story!”

My students have also told me their stories – from comical stories about a man named Joha to stories from the Qur'an. One student was telling me the story of Mosa (Moses) and how he floated down the river in a basket. When she stumbled on a word (“basket”) and I quickly provided it, she looked at me with surprise. “Do you know this story?” she asked. “Of course!” I responded. It's sad how very little the Muslim and Christian worlds know about each other, especially considering the considerable similarities. Both sides also have a view that won't open up to the other side. For example, when I said that I knew the story of Mosa, my student made sure to add, “Teacher, this is the REAL story.” She even sung one of the parts from the Qur'an. When read aloud, the Qur'an is never spoken, it is always sung. That is something I didn't know before. Her singing was beautiful.

On the last day of class, one student sweetly brought me several books on Islam as a gift. Islam comes into play a lot in class, actually, and they are always eager to talk about it. During a discussion on friendship, the questionnaire brought up the topic of gossip. After explaining the word, the students quickly informed me that the Qur'an forbids gossip; therefore the problem of gossip didn't exist for them. And that was that. During another game, students had to choose what five items they would bring to a dessert island. Along with matches, an axe, and rope, some of the groups chose to bring the Qur'an and a compass to find the qibla (the direction of Mecca, so they would know which direction to pray). When I am asked, as I often am, what religion I am, I tell them I like to learn about many different religions. One student urged me to “focus on Islam, Teacher.” “Ah, it's the best?” I said with a smile. She responded, “Not the best. It's the truth. If you are Muslim, you will understand everything.”

Ironically, I find that their ignorance of other cultures and other religions along with their very privileged positions in society make Saudis startlingly similar to Americans. Imagine coming halfway around the world in search of something very different and running into a mirror! But that will be the topic of another post.