Job Discussion Forums

[La Reve]

Living overseas is not easy. The problem with overseas expats is that they're small in number and catty as high school idiots. There's nothing else to do for many but gossip. It's normal human behavior, but when that's your only social activity in a small village, life can be unpleasant.

I used to be sociable before I went overseas, but having been too friendly, open and sharing secrets too early, I�ve been seriously burned. I learned to put walls up. Trust your instincts about people. Don't be open, but be friendly and careful.

And yes, it will be worse if you're going to a bad school. Many of my colleagues at UofB only had BAs, so they were happy to be working at a university, not knowing what a real university is like. Unhappy people, tolerating a good paying job, overseas, are much more unpleasant than at home. They have to accept all sorts of bad things and may become delusional about what reality really is. They don't have close friends or family members to help them.

And - last I heard, SKYPE was illegal in Oman. But you may use it through a proxy.

Many times teaching material you have will be superior than what the school offers, but you won�t have much time to use your extra material. Just bring some materials, not too much. You must cover the material in the book for the exams.

Slacks, not jeans are okay. Tight slacks or tight anything is haram (hah-rahm) = forbidden (forbidden to do, not a group of veiled woman, and where they live in a house). If your dresses go to the knee, you still have to wear tights to cover your legs. Plus it's smart to cover because the sun is so dangerous for the skin. No short sleeves, no cleavage. Sleeves to the elbow, but I always made mine to the wrist cause the sun hurt my skin.

Sun screen on your face, neck and hands too. Sunglasses all the time outside. Carry a small bottle of water with you in August and September and then from around April to September cause you can easily get dehydrated and not know it. I didn't wear a hat cause I just went from one place to my car, then another place, then back to the car. I thus didn't stand or walk in the sun much. If you do, you need a hat.

I had dresses made that went to the ankle - free, flowing not tight anywhere. Those really are the most comfortable to wear in that hot weather. Then I started having dresses to the knee, that went in a little at the waist (still loose) so I could use them outside Oman, and wore tights or loose fitting slacks under them. It's fun to choose your own material and have your clothes made by hand from an Indian tailor. Omani cloth can have lots of sequins and other shiny things on them, kinda elaborate. Just watch and see what you like.

Bring enough bras and underwear that fit. It's impossible to find underwear when you�re over a size 14. Even the Chinese XXXL underpants are still small. There are some stores in the Al Ain Mall where you can find them (underwear), but for dresses and blouses it's much cheaper and more fun to have them made specifically for yourself.

It will be stressful if you�re walking into a bad situation for your first overseas job or first job in the Gulf (Middle East). At worst, your teaching will be 80-90% ineffective. But it might be just 50% or 60%. Even the female students can be awful.

But living in Oman, Omanis outside the school, administrators and cheating taxi drivers, are 100% lovely. They're kind, many speak English, and are helpful and polite. A friend told me when a society is in transition like Oman, there's a whole generation of confused people leaving but keeping their traditions and trying to choose new foreign ways of living.

Only some of your students' parents went to college. Their grandparents didn't even get to go to high school. They usually come from outrageously large families, and thus act up in school cause they don't get enough one-to-one parental attention. I liked to ask my students, "What's the first word in the Koran?" It's READ. To remind them that learning is valuable.

It's also lovely to feel 100% safe - not worrying about thieves, rapists, spree murderers, etc. Many Americans have not experienced that. Once you do, it's quite relaxing and valuable.

So yes, go. Be aware living overseas is really about 60-80% frustration and only the remaining exotic adventure. However, I really enjoyed living in Oman for many years, (�cept for my last 2). I enjoyed Arabic culture because it is friendly and open most of the time. I also loved the weather.

You may want to bring just one jacket or sweater, but you'll rarely use it. Sandals year-round was great!

Don't rent a flat (apartment) by a mosque! It takes a while to learn to sleep though the 3 or 4 am prayer calls and some mount loud speakers so their Friday sermons (of people sounding like they're preaching fire and brimstone) is annoying.

Yes, I miss living in Oman.

I loved Oman in many ways, and am grateful for my years there. I saved lots of money, had a car and photographed so many wonderful sights. I also love the desert, but usually went to the UAE for desert photography down to Liwa, which is next to the Saudi border and in the Empty Quarter. It�s a five hour drive from Buraimi. There's a small village near Sohar called Liwa, but I'm talking about the UAE Liwa. I also had a wonderful best friend for five years. She made a big difference in my life.

So go, have fun. Be careful. Save some money. Stay two years, then go to the UAE or Qatar.

Good luck!

[lizziebennet]

Just to add to what La Reve has written.

It is true, when there is a small community of expats and everyone is gossiping things can get unpleasant. I have been lucky enough to live in a quiet building with good, quiet expat neighbors and no drama, but that is not always the case. To avoid this I suggest taking an allowance and finding an apartment that is not in the same building as all your co-workers. Although, if you are a lady alone you might prefer the safety of living in the same building as people you know. I also suggest making friends with people outside of your workplace. In my case I met some amazing people through church and animal rescue organizations.

Skype has been unblocked in the UAE but not in Oman as of yet. You can now use video chat via G MAIL hangout. All you need is a g mail email account and there you have it. It is very easy to use.

As far as underwear goes you can easily find over size 14 and larger at Marks & Spencer, Woolworths Intimate and even La Senza which all happen to be in Muscat City Center. Bigger size clothing options would be Marks and Spencers and H & M also in the same centre.

Jeans are perfectly ok and most of the expats I know in Oman wear them. Even Arabs from other countries wear them with nice long tops, high heal shoes and scarves. To be polite it is nice to wear longer style tops over the jeans (ones that cover your bum). Most young people wear jeans and normal clothes that at least cover the knees and elbows.

As La Reve said just buy a few pairs of tights to wear with your shorter style dresses and nice little cardigan and you are good to go.

I live right by a mosque and never hear it, you get so used to it that unless you are outside during the call to prayer you probably won't even notice it so don't worry to much about that. I suppose it depends on how sensitive you are to noise though.

[CANDLES]

[La Reve]

I have a BA in writing and an MFA in writing. The two years I did my MFA taught me so much more than anything I was able to learn as an undergraduate. Yes, the undergraduate work was the foundation, but the graduate work:

1. Shows my dedication and commitment to writing

2. Encouraged me to write in various genres at a more intense level than undergraduate school

3. Helped me learn and use new mental tools to successfully communicate what I wanted.

I am a much better teacher, especially in writing to native and non-native speakers, because I earned an MFA in writing. Sometimes I think I might be a better EFL teacher if I had more than the few courses I took towards an MA in Linguistics. I earned enough graduate credits in EFL to add EFL to my state teacher's license - which was another full year of education.

Yes, I agree, a graduate degree does not necessarily make a person a good teacher, whether the degree is a masters of doctorate. But it is a measuring stick to measure the commitment and knowledge a person has.

From my experience, most people only with BAs and working at a foreign university, often lack professionalism and knowledge of their subject. Without previous college/university teaching in their home countries, they think they know more than they do and they can be quite unpleasant as colleagues.

It's the old argument: Would you like a nurse or an experienced medical doctor operating on you?

Of course I've worked with many people at language schools who only had BAs, and in that context, they were fine. They did the job they were hired for. They didn't get delusional about their abilities or the situation they were in.

The world economy has caused many universities to demand graduate degrees in linguistics as well as teacher certification in one's home country. Even with an MFA in writing, often my job applications were ignored because my masters was not in linguistics.

I'm just sharing my experiences. A college that has hired more BAs than people with masters - makes a professional teacher wonder how professional the employer is. Or they're just hiring cheap, warm bodies. (People with masters cost more than those with BAs).

[russianbear]

La Reve,

MAs are better teachers than BAs, huh? MAs are more professional than BAs, huh?

If MAs throw markers at students, is that a sign of a better teacher? Do they teach MAs to throw books at their coworkers heads? Is not remembering any of your students' names the hallmark of a "professional" MA? When the students refuse to attend a teacher's classes because she is so nasty and intolerant, is that the sign of a "professional" MA? When security removes the MA from campus because she is running up and down the corridors ranting and raving, is that what being a better teacher is all about?

Yes, it must be very difficult for such a professional and classy person to work with all of those "unprofessional" BAs who know their students names, are respected by their students and don't feel the need to throw things at people.

If you are an MA of similar training and behavioral attributes as La Reve, then you would be well advised to double down on your meds and just stay home. Don't come to Oman.

[CANDLES]

I've noticed that some teachers are caught up in their fantasies of assuming that the more qualifications you have the better one becomes! To me, it means that you have taken time to expand on your knowledge for personal satisfaction and that's it.

I hate people belittling others!

[johnslat]

Jeepers, here we go again.

Do more qualifications make a better teacher?

Come on - it's pretty simple. It depends, to a large extent, on the individual.

So, not always. I've known teachers with BAs who were fantastic; I've known those with Ph.Ds that were terrible.

But to call it a fantasy that more qualifications can make someone a better teacher is itself a fantasy.

It's NOT the qualifications themselves that "make" someone better; it's what he/she learned to get them and how well he/she can apply that knowledge in the classroom.

If you think getting more qualifications can never help make one a better teacher, then let's also say that a student's getting certificates in leaning English never means that he/she can have a better mastery of that language.

[CANDLES]

Colleagues!

What I was saying was that just because someone has a higher qualification does not mean a 'better' teacher, but merely someone who has taken the trouble to study further for their own benefit and hopefully would pass this down to their students.

By 'fantasy,' (Johnslat-you misunderstood my meaning) I meant denigrating teachers who have lower qualifications so aren't deemed as compatible, or in the same sphere as MA / Phd people.
"I'm better than you" mentality has never sat kindly with me. I abhor it!

I'm all for furthering higher education, but will never look down on someone who has a lesser degree than me and that's what annoyed me in La Reve's initial thread.