The "R" word and a new job??

     Ok, Ramadan...where to begin?  I believe I have repeatedly said that working a split shift (8-12 then 4-8) was rough and I hated it.  Well, Ramadan takes the split shift to crack on steroids level of hell.  Sorry, I have a very profound appreciation for the whole idea behind Ramadan, and I respect the religious nature of the holiday, but most people get to stay home and sleep/pray almost all day as schools and most business either close or severely restrict their hours.  Because the people who observe the holiday are Muslim, all restaurants are closed during the day.  There is the usual number of calls to prayer, but there are additional, "sermons"? delivered over loudspeaker on and off all day.  There seems to be additional such prayers/sermons in the evening.  So, we are now working 10-1 then 9:30pm-12:30am.....shoot me!
     You are NOT allowed to eat or drink anything in public and we are not allowed to eat or drink in front of the students.  YES, we have lots of students....and kids....lots of kids....it is like a daycare drop off while the parents are out socializing with family and friends....(loud, heavy, long sigh).  We have 4 classes for each session, but the time of each class has been shortened to 45 minutes.  I teach only 2 in the morning, first and last, but the admin at school has us doing busy work all morning...I hide....and growl....I am still trying to catch up on the stuff I never got a chance to organize/sort from last sessions.  Because the students are mostly fasting, they are groggy and grumpy in the morning classes.  After the sunset prayer (? - about 6:30ish?), the folks who have been fasting all day gorge themselves.  So, in the evening they are tired and sluggish...yeah, it is a blast.  I am usually in bed by 10pm every night so this is killing me.
     My entire body is screaming at me.  I am NOT getting enough sleep, my eating schedule is all off, and my eating habits are for shit.  I get up at 9 and have breakfast after my first class at 10:15...if I remember to pack food.  I come home at 1:00pm and either crash and burn or eat myself silly and pass out from a foodgasm....I try to nap again around 8pm, but nothing is normal.  Baby Girl is not handling it well either and is not quite sure what and when we are going and doing....Decorations seem to be red, blue, and gold, and consist of crescent moons and stars.

     I have talked to other people who work at regular schools, and most of them are closed for the month of Ramadan or working a normal straight shift with adjusted hours or a later start.  So, this is where the possible new job comes in (fingers, toes, and intestines crossed).  I received an email about 2 weeks ago asking me to fly to Sharjah, just outside Dubai, I had to pay for my own flight and accommodations, but I was told the client, the Department of Education for the UAE, had asked the agency to invite me.  If nothing else, I got to see how the other half lives.  I flew in the night before and stayed in a hotel.  I left for the airport immediately following the interview.  I worked until 12:30 then caught a ride to the airport at 6:45am.  I slept the whole flight.

The sights were amazing and I was thrilled to be there.  I was given a queen sized bed and a room with a tub...life was good!  Because I had been unable to find a copy store that worked, let alone find a fax machine, my first goal was to print and fax the documentation I needed to update my income based repayment plan for my student loans.  Sharjah is also a Muslim country/province, so all food places were closed.  I had a small packet of cookies and a cup of instant coffee in my room, then headed downstairs to find printer/fax.  The hotel I stayed at let me print all my docs for free and headed me in the direction of a possible fax machine.  I was also given a list of local Souks.
     It is Ramadan, EVERYTHING is pretty much closed during the day.  I did manage to find a grocery store who let me sneak into the back room to chug the cold beverage I had purchased.  I showed them medicine (Aleve) I had to take so they forgave me drinking during daylight :-)  All possible fax shops were......closed until likely 8 or 9 pm.  At that point, I hailed a cab and headed for the farthest Souk.  I was THRILLED to see that the cabs in Sharjah were cheap and every single cab driver put the meter on while playing a reminder to put my seat belt on.  I made it the farthest souk and it was an amazing old world style, traditional, out-door souk....where most of the stores were closed, but I still found plenty open.

I found some amazing items as gifts for friends, and again, found a store willing to let me drink my cold beverage while hiding behind the counter.  Not kidding.  I bought 2 bottles of water and a thing that tasted like a virgin mojito....I was happy, but still pretty hungry.  My next stop was the "gold souk".  It was two enormous buildings connected by an overpass walkway. On the way, the cab driver circled an amazing park and pulled over to purchase something in a plastic bag from a guy who was standing on the curb...didn't ask, didn't want to know....I was on the meter and didn't want to argue.

I did finally get to the souk.

Again, most of the stores were closed but I found enough to keep me occupied until after fasting broke at 7:00pm.  I found a place that sold soft serve cones that would tide me over til I got real food.  When I left, the buildings were all lit up and the skyline was amazing.

 I didn't sleep well, but I got a hot bath the night before and I had purchased food and milk for breakfast.  I got dressed, checked out, and headed to my interview.

Because I was not in Saudi, I was not required to wear an abaya and the other women applying were also wearing pants or an abaya.  The recruiter said I looked perfect and I felt fabulous.  I had to take a test prior to interviewing that included drafting a lesson plan and then defending my choice of subject and teaching methods.  My lesson plan was for contract construction and negotiation.  I was of the understanding that I was interviewing to teach college level business English.  Nope, middle school English...oh well.  I thought it went well and my last words to the recruiter were, "I want this job!"

     When I got to the airport, I found that food court was open, albeit hiding behind a wall, but the only food available was Indian food and McD;s.  Because of the language barrier and my experience with the level of "hot" the Indians use to define spicy, I went with McD's.  They also served a decent latte, which I mixed with the milk from my happy meal to make it a drinkable temp :-)

After eating, I went shopping and found they were just toying with me...

Because my flight was going into Saudi, they did not even have booze on the plane...

I will keep everyone posted...if I survive Ramadan....InShaAllah....