The First Day at School......

First Day at school
Amirul is 14, Haziq 13 and Luqman 7. All of their academic years, they have been in International school - in Singapore, Jeddah and now Dubai. As a result, besides academic achievements, they have also developed social skills - to adapt and adjust in new environments and meet and get along with friends from ethnic and cultural diversities. Yet, they are truely Malaysian in their values.....Today was their first day in Dubai school.


Today was a significant day for all three – Amirul, Haziq and Luqman. It was their first day at new schools in Dubai.
They have left behind their best friends, favourite teachers and their comfort zones to start a new adventure in Dubai, making new friends, re-building relationships with new teachers, and jumping right into new zones.
Even the school uniforms are different. Unlike their Jeddah school, here they can see girls in skirts! There are also more Westerners then they have ever had in their Jeddah classrooms, and perhaps one of the significant difference is to have their mom driving them to and from school. At last, LiL can drive again after four years of living in a kingdom which barred women from being behind wheels.

This morning all of us woke up early, and left the residential serviced apartment by 6.30am. I wanted to make sure we have ample time just in case traffic was bad or in case I lost my way like we did last Friday when we went for a trial drive. This time however, I have the aid of Satellite Navigation which is provided by my newly acquired N95. We tested it yesterday – and I realized that even the GPS has some confusion when it comes to a multi-exits intersection. When I relied on its advice solely, I ended up on the motorway to Al-Ain instead of making a turn into the neighbourhood community. In that sense, we learnt the limitation of the GPS, and can be more careful at major intersections.

This morning, luck was on our side. The traffic was smooth and the GPS was helpful. We were amongst the first to arrive, and benefited from it by getting a parking space right infront of the gate. We left both Amirul and Haziq at their schools after introducing them to their respective form teachers. They seemed confident, although a bit intimidated by the large population of westerners and all of them being strangers as well. In the car, LiL releaveld that she too was anxious when she asked, "Do you think they will be alright? I hope they can make friends quickly".

We then proceeded to Luqman’s school. Due to over crowding of primary students, we could not get Luqman into the same school as his elder siblings. This meant even after we have moved into the new house in the neighbourhood of the school attended by his brothers, Luqman has to travel every morning for about half an hour. As a motivation we involved him in the decision to choose the school he wanted. After looking at four, he chose one which is also the closest and with an available seat. At least it was available...until this morning!

“Sorry sir, we have to tell you we can’t offer Luqman a place. The class is full”.
These were the words from the registrar when we arrived. We went there to start his first day, and instead were told he did not have a place. Lil was shocked. I was speechless! But for only three seconds. *now I can laugh about it...*. No…..I did not shout at anyone! Neither did I left grudgingly. I paused, counted to twenty, *and I did pray to God and praise the Prophet - pbuh *.......before I spoke, calmly and confidently.
“Ma’am, look….Luqman is going to start his school here today. There is no other option and there is not going to be one. Now, I need your help. And if I need to speak to anyone else – please let me know, because I am not leaving this school without a place for Luqman”.

We waited in her office. She went out and came in again, then out again and in again. Busy! Obviously. We just stood there by the wall without saying a word. Each time she came in I held eye contact with her and smiled.
Then after nearly half-an-hour of 'now I see her, now I don't' , she caved in with the most polite of tone and the sweetest of smile, “Can you pay for his fees now?”
I took out my check book and wrote a check within seconds. Phewww.... And Alhamdullillah......And thank you...sorry I forgot to ask for your name, Ma'am!

We had early dinner today, everyone was tired. Amirul reported “All ok, friendly people”, Haziq reported, “We didn’t do anything today…but ok lah” and Luqman shared the story with his brothers of how he lost his place and got it back again within half-an-hour, “I got my choice school – but only after Ayah begged for it”.
Hehehehe…..that was how he saw it. That I begged for his admission into the school.
I wanted to correct him that I did not beg but I was *whatever*.......... Gosh, I could not find a better word. So what the heck! If that was how he saw it, so be it.......at least he appreciated the effort and he was a happy young man.