One month in... patience is a virtue.

One month in… patience is a virtue.

Well we are still here, much to the surprise of many I would guess! We have had moments where we would happily jump on a plane and head for home but so far we have resisted the temptation.

The boys have started summer camp (holiday programme) on Monday, Tuesdays and Wednesdays which is run by CfBT. They are enjoying hanging out with other kids and we are enjoying having someone else entertain them for a while. They start school at the end of August so it has been a monster of a break for them away from school.

School for me is going really well. The school day is shorter at the moment due to Ramadan (Muslim month of puasa (fasting)) school starts at 7.40 and finishes at 11.40. My three 1 hour lessons have become three 50 minute lessons. The children are very tired in class, as they are not allowed to eat or drink during sunlight hours, meaning they stay up late to eat and then get up early to eat. Because the majority of the population is Muslim the country slows down as most people are suffering the same tiredness and hunger. It is frowned upon to eat or drink in front of a Muslim during Ramadan so I need to be discrete whilst I sip away at my water between classes.

We are only permitted to stay in Brunei for 30 days at a time (while visa is processed), which means we have to leave the country and re-enter for a new 30-day social visit stamp in our passports. As we have a hire car at the moment and hire cars are not allowed over the border, so we had to park the car in Brunei and walk through customs/immigration, which is only set up for vehicle crossings. An interesting experience. The only good thing about the exercise is that there is booze shop within 50 metres of the Malaysian border where we purchased our maximum quota of spirits and beer, turned around and headed back to Brunei. Alcohol is pretty cheap, Smirnoff $12 Brunei a bottle (about $11.50 NZ).

Jas has been coping okay, this week he has been on a bit of a downer with boredom and monotonous driving me back and forward to school which is a 60km round trip times 2. No sooner has he dropped me off that he is coming to pick me up. I think we will need a couple of cars here as we are averaging 1000kms a week. Jas had a run at touch rugby last night with a bunch of expats. It was nice to meet people who can now look back and laugh at what it was like to be a ‘newbie’ in Brunei. We were invited to one couples home to watch the super 15 semi-finals this afternoon. A real novelty as we have been watching Malay TV for a month with the odd programme in English. We have been treated to ancient reruns of Aussie “the new inventors” and the odd “Bones” “CSI LA” in no particular order or specific series. All shows are censored with no kissing, bikinis, or reference to pre-marital shenanigans.

Eventually we will get astro (cable TV) but we ware unable to set up an account without an IC (identity card). To get an IC card I need my visa processed, to get visa processed, well I am guessing someone has started the process but I haven’t heard.

To buy a car we need a Brunei drivers licence, to get a drivers licence you need an IC card…

To set up the Internet you need a phone line, to set up a phone line you need an… IC card!

Whenever my visa is eventually processed and I can apply for my IC card, the IC card maker (only one in the country) is broken…. And has been for a couple of months.

It has taken a month to set up a joint bank account, well over a month because it is still being “processed”. The bankcards will be available a week after the bank account is opened whenever that may be. I am coping much better with the ‘patiently waiting’ than what Jas is. He has done nothing but wait for everything and everyone and is over it.

We are still in our temporary apartment, we were scheduled to move into our permanent housing last Saturday, however I text housing to check that we were all go for move on the Thursday and turns out there is going to be a 2-4 week delay in the maintenance being completed. We have decided to give up on that idea as 2-4 weeks is likely to end up 2-4 months of waiting. We have started looking at rentals, there are some really massive homes around, they call them the 'Dallas Palaces'. Hopefully we can find one that ticks all the boxes.

We have figured out that if something takes an hour back at home, it takes a month in Brunei. And the only way to deal with it is to stay calm, smile and carry on. Everything happens in good time here... Eventually.

Introduction to Teaching and School.

Introduction to Teaching and School.

At the moment I am in the process of completing the CfBT Orientation course which is a crash course into all things Brunei and being a junior school teacher of English. The programme I will be teaching is a prescriptive approach and very different to that of my NZ teaching responsibilities. Here, each day is already planned in a programme of learning with resources specifically set (though they all need to be made which appears to be the VERY time consuming part) but once they are made, they are ready for the following year – providing the programme doesn’t change.

Last Friday we were told which school we would be teaching at and that getting to my school would require a quick boat ride to work as it is across the river. We had been scheduled to make a school visit on Monday. I was freaking out about jumping on a dodgy boat to a strange “land” to meet a GB (Guru Besar – Malay for Principal/Head Master) who may or may not be expecting me and/or know what to do with me, so Jas, the boys and I did a dummy run Friday afternoon where we found my school and jumped on a dodgy boat and went for a ride around the surrounding “community” of water village.

Monday morning went much better than expected,. I was told there would be a Ministry boat that would come around 7am to pick up the teachers (for free) and take them across to school, we waited until about 7.10am and decided to jump on yet another dodgy boat and pay for the ride over -50c per person. Jas and the boys came over with me for moral support –more for the ride! When we arrived the children were assembling to raise the flag and do morning prayers until they caught sight of these strange looking whities. We caught their attention pretty quickly and they were pulling out all their best English to greet us. When the Ministry boat finally arrived the senior academic teacher was on board and showed me to my room. The GB hadn’t arrived so she left me to explore my room for a while until the GB sent for me.

I must say I was very impressed with my room and how extremely well resourced it is. I had heard plenty of horror stories about the condition and lack of teaching materials in some schools so I felt very blessed to be taking over from a CfBT teacher who was super organised and careful about looking after what was in the room.  The view out of the classroom door is fantastic with the water literally a stones throw away.

The staff seem nice, all with at least enough conversational English to ask me what my husband does for a job. “He is a house husband” doesn’t compute to Bruneians so “He works from home” generally makes do. Staff all seem laid back and go with the flow i.e. run on Brunei time. The GB warned me about the monkeys, I asked if he meant the child kind or real kind of monkey, he replied “We have lots of both”. 

I will be teaching 3 one hour classes a day which is made up of PRA(Kindy/Preschool) a year one and a year two class. Teaching across 3 levels is apparently difficult but necessary for smaller schools.  I start officially on Tuesday 17 July as it is public holiday Monday for His Majesty’s 66^th birthday.

After exploring my room and most of the school I left school at 11am (yes via yet another dodgy boat) and back to Jas patiently waiting for me on the other side of the river waiting to hear about my adventure.

Today (Tuesday 10 July) I have spent the ‘day’ observing another CfBT teacher. I had better clarify that school ‘day’ in Brunei is 7.30 -12.30 with just the 3 hours of teaching within that time J Of course there are stay backs and meetings etc but the school day is pretty sweet. I found my observation today very noisy but lots of fun, especially the PRA kids who are so cute you could just take one home.  They wear their traditional Muslim wear with their uniforms and look so sweet. The children again did their best to try and impress me with their “Hello Teacher” “I like chocolate and ice cream” “I am a girl” “I am 5 years old”. One little super star came up to me and said “Teacher your shoes …(pause) … Teacher your shoes… they are so….. spikey”. I burst out laughing and had to commend his English “Yes they are very pointy!” (Had my points on hanging out the bottom of my baju, all kids could see were ‘spikes’).

In Muslim culture to show respect, children take an elders right hand and in their hands, bow their head and place your hand on their forehead. This includes the teacher at the end of the school day. I found it very nice compared to the usual racing out the door the moment the bell rings. One little gem even held my hand against her forehead and told me I was very beautiful. I just about kidnapped her. 

One week in

Besides our rough start, our first week has gone incredibly smoothly. We have managed to venture further into new territory with Jas bravely behind the wheel. My brief stint at racing to the hospital through the ‘circle of death’ (nastiest round about ever) while Jas cradled Noah has been my lot at driving thus far. I must say I am happy to keep Jas on as my driver. Although road rules apply here, nobody seems too concerned with pulling out in front you or not giving way at intersections and roundabouts, you would expect cars to be covered in dents with driver mentality but quite surprisingly it works just fine. All is forgiven with a smile and friendly wave and there is no road rage at all. With that being said Jas can continue to drive while I observe/co-pilot and watch out for the unexpected.

On the subject of driving we were highly amused (and reluctant to pass) this guy riding a chopper whilst texting. Yep… riding a chopper whilst texting. To our even greater surprise he had a bit of trouble getting his phone back into his pocket and needed both hands, his solution, to let go of the handlebars.

Petrol is CHEAP. $19 to fill up the tank from near empty, couple that with the fact the hire car seems to run on the smell of an oily rag, we took a week to get through the $19 tank.

 

We found the Jerudong amusement park and got some pics next to the errr Ring thing in the middle of the round about.  Yep cheap shots at my attire are expected. We were a bit early to head into the park, but will take the boys back one evening as it opens at 5pm.

We headed into Bandar (CBD) and saw some amazing architecture, many buildings are massive and represent grandeur on an incredible scale.

The water village is somewhere we will investigate in the near future. Apparently there are around 40,000 homes over the water in Brunei. Water taxis constantly ferry people from one side of the river to the other.

This cheerful water taxi driver saw our white faces and zoomed over with a big grin and giant wave. “I take you for ride?!” “Not today” I replied “Sunday, you come Sunday!” “Maybe… Thank you”. It costs around $30 for a 1 and a half hour boat ride up the river, which we are keen to go on. Once Noah’s leg heals we will go for an adventure, I am not keen for any dirty water to get anywhere near his leg at this stage.

We have spent some time in the mall in Gadong, a massive shopping centre which is 4+ stories of shopping. 

We are slowly getting accustomed to the heat, the air con runs constantly in the lounge but we are able to survive without it in the bedrooms during the night. The boys head out the basketball court in our complex but usually only last around 20 minutes before they return red and sweaty. The temperature pretty constantly 33degrees from about 10am till 4pm.

5 other teachers who are starting with CfBT have arrived in Brunei and have moved into our complex over the weekend so it will be nice getting to know other newbies over the Orientation course which starts Monday 2^nd July.

 Jas will be keeping the boys occupied while I learn about what I have got ahead of me over the next 18 months.

Noah’s leg appears to be healing well, he heads to the doctor for a dressing change and check on Tuesday 3^rd.

With any luck life will continue to run smoothly.