Long time no blog...

At last I am back in Blogdom. I have no internet at home in the Philippines and none yet here in The Magic Kingdom. I have been here in the Kingdom for three weeks now and I have almost got all of my paperwork in order - I started doing this in June! Now that the Gnomad papers are about sorted I can arrange for Mrs Gnomad's visa etc. Mrs Gnomad has had to remain in the Philippines until all the bureaucracy can be completed, which we now believe will actually happen, although there were moments of near despair.

I had endeavoured to get an internet connection at home in Phils, but alas, I have a fibre optic phone line and, apparently, PLDT the Philippine national telecomms provider can only provide internet access down the old style copper cables?!

It's a bit tough being newly married and away from my beloved, but things are, as I said, looking much more hopeful now. I now have my IQAMA, which is the work permit, internal passport, and 'get-everything-done' card. This means I can do things like open a bank account, get a driving licence (swaps for my old Euro driving licence) it means I can cash my salary cheque (woohoo!) and many other every day necessities.

I am enjoying my new school. The kids are, on the whole, very well behaved. Class sizes vary from 7 to 14 in general but my exam class is just 5 strong. A chap can really bring out the best in his students with the amount of personal attention he can give to each student in classes of that size :) I have my own department (admittedly of only one - me) but I have my own budget to go with it and although the facilities are not as good as some places I have worked I do have the opportunity to expand on what's here and make things much more salubrious and at the same time increase the range of tools and materials available to the students.

Being as ex-pats can't actually own real estate in the Kingdom I am provided with somewhere to live, in much the same way as in my last school and pretty much all other ex-pat jobs in the Gulf region. Here, however I have been given a four bedroom villa with three receptions rooms, three bathrooms and a huge kitchen. I have front and rear gardens and a place to park my car under cover. Not that I own a car yet, I only just got my IQAMA, so I dont have a driving licence yet, which means I cant buy a car but that will happen soon. Security is taken seriously here and there is 24 hour private security for the compound supported by National Guardsmen. This level of security can be a bit of a culture shock if you're not used to it but I like the feeling of safety that it gives. There is a swimming pool, a gym, tennis courts and a function room provided for our use in the compound and the nearest big shop is about five minutes walk away.

The grubby little flat I was given by my last school would fit into the ground floor of my new villa. The existing staff and managers here appear to respect, listen to and assist their colleagues, especially their new colleagues. They appear to be genuinely interested in the well being of the school community. Such a refreshing change. I had a minor water leak in one of the upstairs bathrooms one night, the plumber was there at 7am the next day, job done by the time I got home, rather less than 18 hours after the problem was first notified. In my former accommodation I had maintenance requests take more than 18 months to be dealt with. I do think I have made a good move coming here.

More will follow, but I have to catch the free bus home from work...

G