Human Rice
Work has been very busy since I returned to the land of almost perpetual sunshine, hence the long silence. Sorry to tell you this, but I was very grateful to be 'home' if only because it seems I have become a sunshine addict. It was so dark in Norfolk. I don't remember it being dark at 9 am when I lived there. What's happened? Still, it was nice to catch up with family and friends and be 'normal for Norfolk' for a short while. I noticed that I've started to refer to 'going to England' rather than 'home' and 'coming home' instead of 'back to Al Ain'. Ah, these nuances of speech that give away our subconscious thoughts. Don't worry - I'm too Norfolk to forget my roots, but I'm pleased that I've settled down so much this year that I feel very comfortable in my every day life. Moving to Ol' Squit Towers made all the difference.
Last year my boss groomed me for stardom - to take over as Queen of the Model Office from a lady who had done the job with great authority, organisation and precision for several years. Here's the contrast - I was given a reduced teaching load in order to spend time with my predecessor to make sure that I knew what to do. Yes, read and weep all Norwich City College lecturers - a reduced teaching load in order to learn how to do something properly. That's a concept that went out of the window a long, long time ago at City College. There, I would have had to hit the ground racing, trying to pick up what I had to do as I did it. The consequence, as I'm sure you can work out, would be a less than professional job resulting in unhappy students and an exhausted and dissatisfied teacher. The one downside to all that grooming is that I had to make damn sure that I managed the model office extremely well. The model office (the course is actually called Office Simulation) is an 8 week project where the Office Administration students carry out real work for staff, set up employment contracts and payroll, organise stationery, the whole shabang. I love it. It is a bit hair-raising at times - a bit like trying to round up cats on really bad days. I have two groups of students, so we've had to set up two branches of the same company. What was interesting to observe was the high level of competitiveness that developed between the two branches. I actually had a mother of four, who somehow fits in studying at the college too, come to me with a long face and a drooping lower lip in classic pout formation wailing "Miss - you like the other branch better than us." My heavens. I spend a lot of time shoring up emotions and self-esteem. I think that part of the problem is that the students come from large families - 4 siblings is considered to be a small family in the UAE. It means that the girls have to compete for attention from their parents at home and they continue the behaviour at college.
The good news is that the Open House we held as part of our marketing strategy went very well, with a massive cake and key rings inscribed with the logo designed by one of the students. The students had a wonderful time. I've experienced a feeling that I didn't have for the later years at City College - I look forward to going to work. In fact, this morning I couldn't wait to get to work to sort out a problem with the photocopier so that the students could carry out work for one of our first clients. I LOVE it.
It's important to remember that the students are taking instructions and holding meetings in English which is not their native language. Sometime the language barrier causes a great deal of frustration. I was talking to one student, in what I thought was very simple language, but could tell from the blank look in her eyes that she hadn't understood a word I'd said. I just didn't know how to make it any simpler for her. Sometimes the language confusion can be pretty funny. Like yesterday when I had orders to take the students to a talk with a special speaker. It's about Human Rights, I said to them, ready to explain what that meant. "Human rice, Miss?" queried one of the girls. Today, we held a weekly staff meeting. The Assistant Manager was working through the agenda typed, with my guidance, by the Secretary. Item no 3 was Matters Arising - or as Fatima said "Mattress Rising". Close enough.