When I first started at the boys school the principal said to me " You are working with Ali. He is an Osama Bin Laden look alike. Do not be frightened by the bullet holes in the walls, its only a strategy to keep the boys in line!" He was right. Ali is a look alike of a young Osama Bin Laden. As for bullet holes and violence from Ali you couldn't get further from the truth. Hes a gentle but firm man with the boys. Ali is very devout. I wear an abya because its very much the done thing for a woman in his belief system (and also gave me access to his classes), he won't shake my hand, he tells me nicely if I show too much ankle when sitting in class, he won't sit near me in staff meetings etc. Can you pick him?
Ibrahim was educated in the USA at Pennsylvania University so he is alot more Westernised and liberal. He uses Western colloquialisms, he is not concerned about my dress code, he will occasionally shake my hand, he will sit next to me in staff meetings etc.
Today we all had to have our photos taken for the faculty notice boards. So can you guess who is who. A bit of a clue, I don't have my head covered and I am the one with the lighter coloured hair
At the end of the day, these two men are really nice people, I do enjoy working with them and they both have a fab sense of humour. Ibrahim is a bit of a minx and causes me lots of grief eg I told the boys to save their work..... when there is no work. But at the end of the day, I am a Western woman in their society, accepted for my ability, qualifications and experience. They treat me like a colleague and are happy to talk with me about a wide range of topics based on life outside the school and outside education. Ali for example was studying in Kuwait when it was invaded, Ibraham was an Arab in Pennsylvania at the time of 9/11. I came to live and be immersed in another culture, as much as a Westerner can. So I reckon we're an awesome threesome.
No comments:
Post a Comment