First Day at Work

Our first day at the college. When it’s finished, it’s going to be very impressive. Perhaps it will be finished before my two year contract is up. The English and Key Skills temporary building will be more than adequate, with the big classrooms you get here. They should be ready by the end of March. For now, we’re in temporary-temporary classrooms. I don’t know when it’s anticipated that we move into permanent classrooms, or where they are.

The admin staff have inputted a password to enable us to connect to the college’s Wi-Fi network, but it’s obviously overloaded – I was able to have a look at my email account, but it froze me out before I could send anything much.

Still no Internet at The Houses. (We had a conversation today about what we should call it. There was no definite answer. When I was talking to Engineer Whatsisname in the the corner shop the other day, he asked if I was living “in this village”. I confirmed that I was, but like a bloody fool never asked him what this village was called.)

There’s a big fuck-off gate, which is locked at night. There was no one around at 7.30 this morning, so I couldn’t get out to get bread. Likewise, tonight, T2 had to ring me because she’d popped out to the shop and couldn’t get back in. We’re promised a full time gate-keeper in due course.

No telly either. The upside of that is, I’m listening to the local radio on FM a lot. The Arabic pop music is cheery enough, and some of the more serious music is ace. I just wish I could ascertain who the artists were. Another incentive for learning Arabic.

The no-internet, no-telly situation is the result of politicking between our management and the locals, and also internal bickering. So far as one can tell.