Work update: off to the camel races (or maybe tortoise?)

We're off to a pretty slow start, but things have started. I have been assigned to teach two sections of a particular course. In one section, there are no students enrolled yet. That doesn't mean there won't be any students; it just means none have gone through the registration process at this time. In the other section, there are 8 enrolled, and I met 2 of them today. Yup, only two. Aparently there were 4 in the first class this morning, but by the time I got to see them, the number had dwindled.

There could be a number of reasons for the lack of bodies, including the facts that it's still August, people are returning from vacations abroad, and Ramadan is about to start. I'm sure I'll be posting more about Ramadan in the coming weeks.

As for the students themselves, my first impression is that they are very lovely gentlemen. While the school I work for is co-ed, all the students in my classes will be men. It's a trades preparatory program, and these guys will go on to be process operators or instrumentalists for a large local oil company. But first they have to improve their langauge skills to the point where they can make it through their courses, all of which are taught exclusively in English.

I'm all ready to get them to work, but I'm learning to be patient and wait for the dust to settle, if you will. In the meantime, I have organized my office space and made a lovely calendar of my workweek.

I hope to meet some more students tomorrow, but then again, it will be Thursday - which is the equivalent of Friday at home (see Darren's post), so chances are not good. Good thing I'm easy-going.