Joy meets Sadness: Befuddled?

The song below is what I was listening to when my day began today. Perhaps this song's relevance will make more sense when you're done reading about the day below...




A funny day its been, my today; 6 hours that I am on the clock:

1st hour (start), An absent student shows up to class mid way through the session. She is so sick, that she needs to sit with her feet up on the chair. Why she has to sit through the class is beyond me. The system is not to be questioned, hence I keep my pie hole shut and continue teaching, trying to be concious of where and when the sickly lady needs extra attention.

1st hour (mid way), This one student brought in food for everyone, insisted we eat it hot, and she brought it because she was going to discuss the recipe for one of those things in her presentation. So I move my conversation class to the start, inorder to be able to eat and talk at the same time and not lose out on time for the writing hour. The same student had been in Makkah for Umrah, this weekend just past, and she got me this pretty travel Jaanemaaz (Prayer mat) and a miswaq. I was beyond touched.

3rd hour, I find out just before leaving for this class, that the lady I only just began making friends with got fired for no rhyme or reason (or so it appears to us for now). With tears suppressed, hugs exchanged, I go off to class, re-iterating to the almost friend lady, to hang in there!

4th hour (start), I find out that most of the collegues who are expatriates got their pay cheques today. They are on *fishy* visas that 'technically' do not allow them to work, hence rendering them incapable of being issued a working permit, or any other kind of ID that is a MUST to live in this Kingdom, and because of the lack of said ID, they cannot open a bank account, HENCE were going around asking people who had an ID if they were free so they could cash their cheques through them and take money back home for their needs!

4th hour (start too), a friend's husband messages that she had a baby girl, and that the mother and daughter are both well, Alhumdulillah

4th hour (midway), A student does a presentation about how to make a traditional saudi dish, that I had once voiced out loud my appreciation of, and she got a WHOLE POT full of it for me to take home in a picnic basket! I was blown away... Err, really? Ill take it home? Wow!

5th hour (start), Im still being dangled around about my contract (by the way, this has been going on for this entire month now), told to wait some more till the end of the next hour.

5th hour (soon after start), ladies in this class insist I have some of their coffee and pastries. Wo-ho, what is going on people! I decline the coffee and eat a small treat of the pastry, thanking them profusely and then settling back down to continue with the class.

6th hour (start), another class with presentations, another student remembered my liking of the SAME traditional dish, and SHE too got me A POT full of the stuff to take home O_O Totally overwhelmed now! Thank her over and over... remain astounded!

6th hour (end of the day), finally sign the contract (3rd time btw this month, because clauses KEPT being changed), and got told that I wont be paid for another week, and I wont be paid for my entire duration of the contract (ie Feb 10th), but will only get the salary for the month of Jan, around the 7th of Feb. My dam contract ends on the 10th of Feb!!! Why cant I just be paid in full then!!!!!

AAAAAaaaaa....

Everytime Ive opened up with someone in this place and gotten friendly with them, they have gotten fired for the retardest of reasons -UNWARNED- soon after!

It makes me wonder, why I bother in the first place.

The day has been a freaking overload of emotions running from one end to another on the scale of happy and overwhelmed to sad, distraught and pissed!!!

Inn Allaha Ma 'as Sabireen!!! Allahu Alim...

I keep repeating these two phrases to myself, because when I complain I feel like Im kicking the hands that pay for my work and by doing so, am being ungrateful. But watching the injustice being handed out to my collegues is making me feel wretched about remaining a part of this institute that has no conscience.

Its like a dam tug of war... ive applied to other places, prayers for things working out would be truly appreciated right now! JazakAllah Khayr...

At the moment all thats been happening and things that I have to decide on are all situations wherein it feels like im constantly jumping out of the pot and landing up into the frying pan. I hope this ordeal stops sometimes soon, iA...

As for the happy moments, I remain super grateful, Alhumdulillah!

Wierd day indeed...