We have just finished the first week of our course and it has been very intensive! Our daily routine involves catching the mini bus to Stanley in Alexandria at 8.45, starting our classes at 9.45, then four one hour classes through until 5.05 with a one hour lunch break.
On top of that, we are all struggling to work out the culture and customs. The roads appear to be impossible to navigate as there are few explicit rules and so many diverse players from mule carts to articulated trucks. Most people seem to get about in small minibuses which they hail from the side of the road but I still haven't worked out how they tell where they are going and it seems that sometimes they stop and sometimes they don't. Also sometimes someone, who has hailed a bus and it has stopped, will get on but other times they will turn away. I sat at lunch the other day and watched the people on the road outside and I still don't know what was happening in terms of getting a bus.
I'm going to try and add a great photo of a woman on the Alexandria front fishing and if it posts, I'll add more.
The ethernet at the college appears to be much more reliable than the wireless at the apartments, and I'm managing to post photos and longish text, so this seems to be the way to do my blog. I will need to stay after classes and wait for the later buses at 7.00 or 9.00. But I will also have to fight for the only two ethernet connection points that seem to be working. The week here runs from Sunday to Thursday with the weekend on friday and saturday, so most people have gone straight away tonight and I have been able to grab a connection.
On Tuesday night some of us were able to get dropped off from the 5.00pm bus at a shopping centre called Carfour. I needed to buy a few items of clothing so that I could make my wardrobe into a suitable presentation for our school teaching practice. We have to wear sleeves below the elbow, knecklines up to our kneck and skirts or trousers below the knee. We also have to avoid joggers. Women wear a range of clothing on the streets from full covering including the face to modest western wear. I have been coming to college in jeans and shirts but the sleeves are too short and we can't wear jeans so I wanted to get what people call a body stocking which is a bit like a long-sleeved leotard that many women wear to satisfy the covering requirement but also enables them to wear fashionable garb over the top. It is hot but most of the buildings are relatively cool. I also got a pair of trousers that weren't jeans and a little jacket that can be worn over short sleeves. So with the longer skirts that I have brought with me, I should be able to dress appropriately.
The 5.00 bus has gone now and the evening is starting to cool down so I think I will go for a walk along the corniche to get my exercise and find something to eat.
No comments:
Post a Comment