Tag Archives: School

Part 8 – Work, Work, Work

Well, how the turntables. All of a sudden, the “holiday” vibe was gone, and it was almost a settled life for almost all of us. The general arrangement for this week was: Nina goes to town and does basically a full workday either at the National Libary of New Zealand (Turnbull Libary) or at Te Papa Tongarewa. Maybe a brief meetup for lunch, if I am in town, but that was it.

Number 3 got the chance to go to school. Which is mind-blowing to us, coming from Germany. He could not have hit it better, though. He got assigned to Mr. Cross` classroom of year 3 kids. First day kicked off with swim class. He was in love. Just the logistics were a bit of a challenge.

That left me and the Agent of Entropy, finding our ways. Most of the time, that meant going to Wellington as well, either to get stuff sorted (like, voting as #1 and #2 voter in NZ in that incredibly unneccessary snap election Germany had) or just to hang out.

Then, in the evening, with the kids in bed and the house settled in, I would go and get to work, usually 8pm to midnight. Sometimes, a bit longer. We knew, this whole trip could only work if we both put in serious time to work. But still, ouch. Those first few days hit me hard. Especially before I managed to make a mid-day nap a non-negociable. Working late is weird. Somehow, not helped by the 12 hour time difference, it feels like “the morning” in my mind.

Anyway – we got through this mostly alive – probably the hardest week of our entire trip in terms of work commitments. Time for some weekend fun …

The kids really warmed to Lupin and Loki, the two Golden Retrievers
Showing off the moves
Trying to lower the nervousness of going to school in a different country
She’s a cuddly monkey, isn’t she?
quite the hike down the hill
Joining in to our hosts tradition of “first day snapshots”
It’s a first but just being in the coolest little capital again made me happy
Wellington Railway Station
Out and about, she loved it
The sculpture caught her imagination
Plimmer Steps – walk down memory lane …
We managed to link up with Nina and her old friend Aaron. Shoutout! Great guy!
Even though Plimmerton is quite far out, the train connection makes up for it
no photos in the embassy, so lets take a selfy with the odd scuplture in the yard
No.3 warming up to the dogs
The benefit of having the last house before the sheep
e
we tried to just have a peak, could not pass the colering table
This time, it’s all about free tours and information. Last time (over a decade ago), it was all spears and barbs on the outside
From the best chippery in Plimmerton!
linking up with mama, waiting for friends
The AoE listening to an audio book
One of the drawers kept sliding open and then something broke. It was quite rusty so we got a replacement for Timmy.
custom toping, gentle touch
and done

Day 245 – Back to school (8th Month-i-versary)

Today, we had the amazing opportunity to accompany our friends Lina and Michael to their workplace. They both work here in Sohar at an international school; one teaching secondaries and the other a bit younger ones. We tagged along on our bike, with the chance to meet staff, visit a class and have a general look around.

Sports Hall

Sports Hall

When we left at noon, it was once again one of those times where we had to pinch ourselves to believe that we really keep on getting these amazing encounters. Being able to sit with a class and see how much better school can be compared to what we were both used to from our own time at school was elevating. On top of that, we had the chance to hear an amazing author talk.

First we got a grand tour of the school. It is relatively small, even though it covers all from kindergarten up to the A-levels. A gym, dance and music halls and even a swimming pool on the grounds. We also got to say hi to a lot of staff, including George from Spain, who passed us on our way to school on a beautiful KTM 950 adventure. Always great to meet fellow riders.

Looking towards the building for secondaries

Looking towards the building for secondaries

After that, we joined Michael’s class for a lesson. They are just old enough to transition to a more self-managed style of learning. It was so great to see these kids picking up skills that a bunch of professionals I encountered in the past struggled with. As a bonus, we even got the chance to work with some of the kids. We both got interviewed for their current long term team projects.

Pretty impressed, we joined back up with Lina after the lesson and learned that we could hang around and listen in to Lorie Ann Grover presenting to Michael’s class and another one. Lorie Ann is the mother-in-law of another teacher. We already got a chance to hang out with her, her husband and daughter during our wadi trip on Thursday. Back then, we did not quite realize how much of an amazing person she was. We were also once again impressed with the kids. The were fully switched on during the talk and with their questions afterwards.

The shadow of the safety railing on our curtain. So pretty!

The shadow of the safety railing on our curtain. So pretty!

With a full day’s worth of new impression collected by lunch time, we got back on the bike and made our way “home”. Along the way, we stopped at the local mall for lunch and more importantly shopping at Carrefour for dinner. We promised Michael and Lina to prepare dinner for them tonight and Michael opted for Nachoes.

We came back with plenty of time to get everything ready. Imported Avocados from New Zealand proved, unfortunately, much better in Gisborne that Sohar. Overall, I hope it was still nice enough. Our hard working hosts definitive seemed to appreciate the gesture.