F1 Track

On the last day of school before winter break we took the 4th and 5th grade classes (all 140 plus students) on a field trip to the Bahrain International Circuit, which is the Formula One track. I've never been there, so I was as excited as the kids to go. The plan was to watch cars practice for the 24 hour race that was happening the next day. So, we loaded 140 kids into 3 vans and 2 medium-sized buses and took off. And holy shit were we crammed in the vehicles--the kids were sitting on top of each other--we literally had, in my van, 17 kids where there was seating for 8. Organization, and safety, for that matter, are not something that Arabs are good at. Janet, the principal, was pissed about the transportation. And who can blame her? It wasn't safe for the kids, wasn't safe for us, and something like that would never, ever fly in the states.

The first picture is of the kids in the overcrowded van. The second was taken as we were walking toward the grandstands at the BIC. The third one is probably one of favorite pictures I've taken here. It's of my homeroom just as they had gotten off the shitty buses, and none of them look happy. The only one that knows I'm taking a picture is Salman, who is in the very front. The pissed off expressions on the rest of the kids' faces is highly amusing.