Two Thanksgiving Weekends

I was wondering what I was going to do for Thanksgiving.  That is not exactly a holiday that is celebrated out here.  Finally found a turkey at the Lulu's Express (which is the grocery store that I shop in out here, sorta like a very small Wal-mart), but they only had one and it would have fed an army, so I ended up with two small frozen chickens.  I figured I would finally fire up my oven and attempt to cook in it for the first time.  The numbers on the knob are not like in the U.S.A.  My co-worker Denise asked me what I was doing and I told her my plans.  She invited me to Dubai for dinner with a friend of her family.  YES!

The weekend of November 23-24 (remember our weekend is Friday and Saturday) we didn't end up in Dubai.  Plans change, but it was for the better.  We went into Abu Dhabi early Friday morning and attended church at the Evangelical Community Church.  They serve a little bit of everyone there.  They have a Filipino Ministry, Afrikaans Bible Study, and Indonesian Ladies Fellowship among their programs.  The church was packed!  After church I found out that Gary Lovelace, who was two rows up from us, was from the Hilton section of Newport News and had been in Abu Dhabi for over 30 years!  He said if we didn't have plans we were invited to his place for dinner.  We declined, we had plans.  We also met Darryl (whose place is where we actually had dinner) who took us to Denise's friends, Tommie and Vernon.  Tommie works for American Airlines and she is friends with Denise's niece.  Vernon works in Dubai and is from Chesapeake, VA.  Darryl's grandmother was from Emporia, VA.  My Virginia roots were in the house!  Joe and Hewlett (his girlfriend) brought the turkey dinner over to Darryl's condo and we dug in!

Afterwards we watched the menfolk try to beat each other playing Ping Pong, learned how to play Dominoes, then watched a DVD.  Then we all went to the Mercure Centre hotel where Denise and I were spending the night so that we could attend the jazz set that they have on Friday nights.  That's why I go to that hotel, the jazz trio is wonderful!  Saturday morning Denise and I went home.

Now dawns the weekend of November 30-December 3.  We get a four day weekend because the U.A.E is celebrating National Day.  National Day is like our Fourth of July.  The U.A.E is now 41 years old!  Lots of celebrating!  During the week previously we were in a parade in Ghayathi and had a celebration at the school on Wednesday.

Lots of excitement!  There were grand celebrations everywhere!  Denise brought her belongings with her to school so we left from there.  Last weekend I drove to her place in Madinat Zayed and we took the bus into Abu Dhabi.  This weekend I drove.  This ended up being great because we did ALOT of shopping!  We first went to Mushriff Mall in Abu Dhabi to get some banking done at the National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD).  That is the branch that all of our banking has to be done.  We then did a little shopping in the mall, then checked in at the Beach Rotana where I spent my first few weeks when I first came to Abu Dhabi.  We checked in, then went shopping in the Abu Dhabi Mall adjacent to the Beach Rotana.  Friday morning found us back at church, then leaving with Tommie and Vernon and going to Dubai!  We had a wonderful seafood buffet that had food from EVERYWHERE, and experienced a rainstorm!  The U.A.E. is not used to such rainstorms and the drainage system is nothing like what we have in the States, so of course there was some flooding.  That night Darryl joined us and we went to see the play "The Woman in Black" which was a two person thriller and went to a club in the adjacent hotel to see Darryl's friend sing.  She was amazing!

Thanksgiving dinner number 2 at Tommie and Vernon's apartment with Denise and Darryl

Saturday morning Denise and I hit the Gold Souk in Old Dubai!!!!  Oh my goodness!  We ended up having to buy bags to put our bags into!!!!  There is also a Spice Souk and a Fabric Souk, but we never got to them.  That's another trip!  I immediately got a high from all of the haggling and bargaining!  They would give me one price, I would say no, then they would ask me what I would pay and I would half it.  Then it was on!!!!!

One of my little baubles from my trip to the Gold Souk!  Gold starts at 18kt! This is white and yellow gold.

The Burj Khalifa, the tallest man-made structure in the world!

The Burj Al Arab luxury hotel. Notice the raindrops on the car window!

Gold vending machine

Ski Dubai from the outside at the Mall of the Emerates

This is the fountain outside of PF Chang's where we had lunch Sunday in the Mall of the Emerates.  That is a whole 'nother experience!  Lots and lots of high end stores (notice Cartier in the picture).  I did end up with a few things, including Birkenstocks from the Birkenstock store!

Unfortunately we had to leave.  I drove Denise home to Madinat Zayed.  My little car was packed with our loot, so it was a great thing that I drove.  Then the hour's drive back to Ghayathi.  It feels funny as I sit here writing this.  For the last two weekends I have had a wonderful time traveling and eating with good people.  I am truly blessed!

The Eyes of the World Are Watching Us!

Okay, gonna try to do this an an impartial reporter.  Will try my best!

A couple of weeks ago I was talking to a friend who is from South Africa.  She told me that during our last election South Africans were glued to their television sets like they were when Nelson Mandela was elected.  Our Presidential election was a big thing to them.

Today during my second period my "support" teacher came in.  He is from Egypt and is encouraging me to go visit at some point.  He asked me who I wanted to win our election.  I really didn't want to start talking American politics.  Not today.  Just wasn't feeling it.  This was Day 4 of no-air-conditioning-and-I'm-on-the-second-floor-with-two-broken-blinds-so-the-sun-is-shining-straight-in.  One girl has already been hospitalized for dehydration.  So I tell him that I just want the election to be over with.  Just tired of all the election stuff.  He says "The Middle East likes Obama."  I asked him why.  He said that he is just a really good president.  I found that interesting that he was paying any attention at all to our election.

At the end of the day I'm clocking out and another teacher comes up to me.  He asked me my nationality and I said American.  He says "Congratulations."  I asked for what? He said "For President Obama being re-elected.  He is a really good president."  He went on to say that President Obama was doing the best he could with the mess that that other president "what his name?  Bush?" left.   Maybe now he will have more time to fix everything and America can become a great country again.  He said that he realized that the President isn't the only person making the decisions, but now after the election, maybe "the other party will help to fix things again."  

Honestly I just listened to these three people.  I didn't interject, I didn't really comment.  Just interested in hearing what other people from other countries are saying.  The eyes of the world are watching us!

Got Through the First Week

Things got better with every day.  Not wonderful, just somewhat better.  I found out that I am supposed to have support with every class.  That is not the case by a long shot.  Wednesday was my best day as I had another body in the classroom with me during all classes.  Thursday during my last class was one of the worse.  No one in but me, and the kids kept running out of the classroom trying to fight kids in other classes.  I told the HoF that I was not going to break up any more fights (3 in one period with the same kid) and I was not running after them when they run out of the classroom. I will not yell and scream at them.  I only raised my voice when it was evident they were going to hurt someone (like when they were throwing sharpened pencils at each other instead of doing the work that I had out for them).  I will teach the ones that want to be taught and reward them accordingly. That has helped somewhat.  It is amazing how well the "special needs" class has picked up on what I have been trying to teach them.  I have limited hands on manipulatives, but have been using other ways to show them how to "draw" out math problems and how the moon and Earth rotate and revolve around the sun.  My ego has been stroked by the Arabic Head of Faculty.  She is the Arab teacher that comes in sometimes to help.  She likes the way I teach and asks me questions on how and why I do what I do.  This is what keeps me going everyday.  That, and the kids that actually want to learn.  They are "through" with the others and are "drinking up" what I'm teaching. 

So, for this next week I am getting my lesson plans done.  Have a good idea where to start with them.  The classroom is bare, not really kid friendly, and missing a lot of things (scissors, glue, paper) that I could be using.  Nothing on the walls, and if there is it is just plain bare essentials. Need to remedy that.  I printed out and laminated the Sun, Moon, and Earth and they are already using them to identify with what I'm teaching them.

I have been told that the students are doing better than they were before.  Since I didn't see them before I have no way of knowing.  All I know is that this is unacceptable, but I can only do what I can do to the best of my ability.  I am making very small baby steps, so maybe by the December Holidays I can get them learning.  Then afterwards, will have to start back all over again.

Except for 5

This was one of the worse teaching days of my life.

I was nice.  I knew that being moved to another grade was not my idea, so why punish whoever was going to take over my class?  So I did this weeks lesson plans and sent in most of the activities to do them.  This is me.  This is what I do.

The class I went into wasn't so nice.  The teacher had just been fired.  For what?  Behavior management.  Kids were off the chain crazy and she was not getting any support.  She did a lot of yelling at them.  She was there when I got there before the students got there.  I had met her briefly during orientation.  She wasn't happy.  She was packing up her things to leave.  No lesson plans.  No idea what I am going to be doing with this class.  Actually two classes.  I teach Math, English, and Science to one class, then turn around and do it all over again. An Arab teacher took the students for the first two periods so that I could talk to the Head of Faculties (there are two of them) about what I was supposed to do with these students TODAY.  One gave me something to do for English, then they put me in the classroom.  This was the end of the second period and the Arab teacher was leaving.  The students then proceeded to totally lose their mind! No behavior management was in place, and I couldn't get them to calm down.  Lunch time!  They ran out of the room, all except 5.  I walked those 5 down to where they were to go.  When I went to pick them up, they were gone!  The next class was in the classroom waiting.  They are supposed to be a special needs class.  Not a problem. I can do that.  Not with them!  All, except for about 5, lost their minds!  They would not sit down, they would not be quiet, they would not do anything that I asked them to do!  They were walking on the tables and desks, throwing popcorn all over the place (left over from lunch), breaking pencils, trying to plug in the computer on my desk (and if I tried to stop them they would run out of the room). They took the push pins out of the bulletin board and tried to poke each other with them.  Took some of the math manipulatives and threw them on the floor. When the other Arab teacher came to teach them Arabic, I told her that they couldn't leave until they cleaned the room.  She made them do it, and I had about 30 minutes of peace and quiet.  Then they came back.  Same thing all over again.  I was trying to teach, they were trying not to learn.  The principal comes in.  I tell her what was going on, she yells at them and leaves.  It starts back up.  She comes back and yells some more, hits them over the head, puts them all (except for 5) on a wall and tells them to stay, then leaves.  Those on the wall either sit down and/or start talking.  I did have about 15 minutes where I actually tried to get some teaching done.  Another teacher came in and tried to help, it didn't help. She helped me take them to the buses, after about half just ran out of the door.

So now I need a really good behavior plan that they understand.  Nothing means anything to them.  There is no consequence at school that scares them into wanting to behave. My job for tonight, start on formulating a good behavior plan and something to do tomorrow to teach so I can see what they already know.  I was told today that no teacher lasts in that school longer than a year.  To tell you the truth, they really need to pay more money to be in there.  Hazard pay.  And that's sad.  These are children!

'Bout to "Catch a Case" in the UAE!

Those of you who know me, you know that I'm "easy."  Nothing much excites me, I go with the flow, " glad to be of service" as they say in the robot movies.  I don't get upset that often, and it usually takes me a while to get there.  If I go from 0-100 quickly, then something set me off.

Okay, a little definition in the Urban Dictionary for those of you who don't know what I mean:

To Catch a Case:

"To physically assault someone. To attack physically, barehanded or with a dangerous weapon." Ron gripped the handle of his cane sword, saying "both of y'all better leave this place," as he slowly unsheathed the blade "or I just may have to catch a case!"    So, you get the picture.  I get up this morning knowing that I need to go to the bookstore by the bank.  This is like an educational supply place and I need a few things for my new position tomorrow.  Being the cash society that it is, I also knew that they wouldn't take my debit card, so needed to go to the ATM machine and get some money.  When I get to the bank, both ATM machines were down, so I go into the bank itself.  Now there are a lot of  workers here that work construction and other utility type stuff.  They were also in the bank trying to cash checks and deposit money.  I got in line behind about 6 or 7 men.  Usually they let ladies go first, but this was not the case, and I was content to wait my turn. Along comes a nice Emerati looking man all dressed  in white.  He goes to the nice banker man in the nice suit and fills out a piece of paper.  Then he goes up to our ONE TELLER, asks the man that is in line next if he can cut in front of him.  Banker man in suit sees the look on my face and tells man in white that there is a long line and that he needs to get to the end of it (there are people now behind me).  All of this is in Arabic, but I read people really well.  Man in white says that he asked if he could go next, man in suit says he needs to ask everyone.  So man in white asks everyone, then stops and asks me.  I just look at him.  Man in suit says to me in English "You don't agree that he should go next ma'am?"  I said "I have been standing in this line for a long time."  That's all I said, but I guess it was the way that I said it.  Of course man in white totally disregards me and gets in the line anyway.  Teller tells me to come to the head of the line.  I really didn't want to because the other men were a head of me.  I was only taking money out, their transactions were taking a while.  I guess the other men didn't have much to say because of their "station."  That means a lot here.  But I don't have a station and I was upset about it.   Although I didn't say it, they saw it on my face.  I guess I need to stay out of the bank. And I was right.  Not only did the bookstore not take debit cards, their electricity was off due to the series of little shops were getting new signs.   I'm back home now, trying to behave.

Good news and bad news...

Good news:  Finally got my post office box:

Marva Fulp
UAE  Ghayathi
Box 79528
0562721394

The long number at the bottom is my cell number, or the "moBILE number" as they call it.  The cranky lady at the post office said that things sent to me will get to me using this address.  I am also working on another way to do this, just waiting on my account number and I will post that one also.

Bad news:  I report to the Boys School on Sunday.

(heavy sigh)

Whew!

Things were really popping around here for a while!

 After I posted the last blog, I jumped in the car with my friends and we went into Abu Dhabi.  They dropped me off at the drivers license place (that didn't close until 8 PM!) and I came out with my drivers license!  Then they took me to the hotel.  This was a Thursday night and I couldn't get the car until Saturday morning (since Friday is the Holy Day and the car place wasn't opened).  Remember, our weekend is Friday and Saturday.   I stayed at the Mercure Hotel, which is part of the Accor Hotel group.  It is now my new favorite hotel!  It is in downtown Abu Dhabi and is very friendly and homey.  Two things won me over:  They had a jazz trio on Friday night and they have oatmeal as a part of their continental breakfast!!!  In all the hotels that I have been in since I've been here, none have oatmeal, and I love oatmeal.  The jazz trio (baby grand, bass guitar, and drums) was wonderful and very de-stressing.  I hope to stay there whenever I go into the city.  Good price, and easy to walk to places downtown.  This tent was set up in the lobby.

I did a lot of shopping on Friday.  The hotel has a shuttle going to Marina Mall and Abu Dhabi Mall.  Abu Dhabi Mall is next to the Beach Rotana Hotel that I stayed in when I first got here, so I already knew what was in that mall.  I bought so much at the Marina Mall that I just took a taxi back to the hotel.  Not a lot of extra stuff, just household stuff (dish drainer, printer, laminater, towels and wash cloths, etc.).  After I got back to the hotel, I walked next door to the Home Centre.  I was looking for a laundry basket that I had seen at another Home Centre, but this one didn't have it.  What I DID buy was this elephant.  Wanted to get the big silver one, but it wouldn't fit in the car:

Just one extravagance.  Didn't need it, but it sure is nice!  It is unfinished wood, so the grain is interesting!

I then took the shuttle to the Abu Dhabi Mall and did things for me.  Got a wonderful pedicure and sat down to some Italian coffee. Went to the Hypermart Co-op to get a few things that I knew I could get there and some things for school.  Caught the shuttle back to the hotel, and that is when I experienced that wonderful Jazz Trio!

Saturday morning found me trying to get my car!  It took me about three hours, but shortly after noon I was the proud recipient of a 2012 Kia Rio!

I am just leasing it.  My son Chris has a 2009 Kia Rio, so I'm used to driving it and already know how it hugs the road.  I just hate the color.  Most of the cars here are silver or white.  Neither one are great in fog, and it gets really foggy here in the morning.  As soon as I got the car, I loaded it up with my "stuff" and drove the two hours back to Ghayathi!  Was an eventful weekend.  I hope to go into the city about once a month if I have things I need to get.  Can't always find things out here.  I found a sling for my shoulder at a pharmacy down the street from the hotel.  Can't find a heating pad here.  May have to wait for that one until I get back to the city in a couple of weeks.

Have heard that I am definitely moving to the Boys School whenever I get a replacement at the Kindergarten.  So I'm just waiting........

Life's not always easy.....

Been a little busy trying to get myself together.  First the job.  Easing into it.  It's difficult in that the school system does not recognize the importance of child development.  Actually that's wrong.  It's more like they are expecting 3 and 4 year olds to be little learning machines, instead of realizing that they learn a lot through play.  It's almost like I have to take everything I've ever learned about child development and teaching and throw it out of the window and start all over again. Their attention span is maybe five minutes, but they are expected to sit through thirty-five minutes of instruction back-to-back through English, Math, Islamic instruction and Arabic. There is Art, Library, Music, and P.E. but except for P.E. that is all sit down stuff.   I feel for them, so I try to plan for them to do hands on work when they have me for math and English.  I was so surprised today!  One of my "challenging" little girls just started to sing the ABC song out of the blue during P.E.!  I sing this to them 3 or 4 times during the day, and some of the kids have got it already.  One little girl knew it when I started.  They were counting to ten without my help today also.  Three weeks of this English stuff and they are getting it!  My up hill climb is not as steep!

I have my apartment basically furnished.  It is sparse, but it's home.  I would like to get a few more pieces of furniture (bookcase, computer desk), and some odds and ends (curtains, lamps, dish towels) and I'll be fine.  I love the solitude and not having to worry about anyone other than myself when it comes to eating.  I eat what I want to eat.  I was having a serious veggie craving because most places don't have vegetables with the food when you order it.  So now my freezer is LOADED with frozen vegetables.  And you would never guess that one of my favorite fast food places would be the ADNOC gas station cafe!  ADNOC is the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company and they own all of the gas stations.  They are very clean, but their little food place makes some great food, and they deliver!  Having a little problem with the hot water in my master bedroom suite....there is none.  I have complained about it a few times, they got it working somewhat, but I'm still having to take my shower in the main bathroom which just has a shower stall in it.

My issue right now is leasing a car.  I have been riding with two friends, but I try to just get in the car with them when they go places so that they don't have to go out of their way to much to accommodate me in the back seat.  I wanted to get my own car this weekend, but am running into a bit of a problem with a drivers license.  Had to wait until someone could take me down to get the license today.  The problem?  They are sending me to the hospital to get an eye test, but they (the drivers license place)  close at 1:30 (my hours were changed so that I get off work every day at 2:00 except for Thursdays which is still 12:30).  They told me to come back on Sunday.  Well that's not gonna do me any good with the fact that I'm still not going to get there in time, and I wanted to get the car this weekend (my weekend is Friday and Saturday).  Am a little bummed out about it right now.  This is still a work in progress.  Something positive may still happen.

First Days of School

Just finished my first two days of school!  Okay, I have a cushy job (I think). You decide:

My day starts at 7:30 AM, the students come in at 8:00.  I have a break from 9:30 - 10:00.  The students leave at 12:00 noon.  On Sunday and Tuesday I leave at 2:00 because of Professional Development meetings.  On Monday and Wednesday I leave at 1:00.  On Thursday I leave at 12:30.  Off on Friday and Saturday.  And I have an Arabic co-teacher!  I love this!

I have a KG1 class which means I have the 3-4 year olds.  Yesterday I had 8 kids (only 2 boys).  Today I had 12 kids (4 boys).  Yesterday I had one cryer.  Today she wasn't crying, but 3 of the 4 new ones cried almost the entire time.  Two came in with nannies and were having a hard time leaving the nannies.  I know that eventually they will calm down and I can start teaching.  Right now they are getting everything in Arabic with me trying to figure out what's going on through context clues.  I should really start trying to teach during the third week.  Oh, I get to loop up with this class, so I have them for two years!

We were told that we would have to move out of the hotel on Saturday. I was supposed to be told at some point when I was going to be moved so I went to Ghayathi to clean my apartment. My furniture was supposed to be delivered on Saturday, so I waited from 3-5:30 PM only to find out that they had loaded it on a truck and sent it somewhere else.  They wanted to deliver it Sunday morning, but I told them that I had to work and could receive them on 3:00 on Monday. We drove back to the Mirfa Hotel, getting there around 7:30.  When we get to the hotel, there is a guy there ready to move me to Ghayathi!  After some calls we found out that no, he was to move 7 of us to another hotel in Madinet Zayed - the Tilal Liwa Hotel.  So had to run upstairs and pack our bags.  We took off about 9-9:30 PM, so got to bed around midnight.  Had to get up at 4:30 AM in order to leave about 6:00 AM to get to work on time.

 So yesterday (Monday) I waited again.  I called and was told that they would be there in 15 minutes (after again waiting since 3:00 and this was at 4:00).  At 5:30 they finally come.  I was shocked to find out that EVERYTHING (except for the couch) was in boxes and had to be put together.  We (Sarah, Lori, and I) had just had our first day of school.  Lori and I literally walked in and found out on the first day what age level we had and where our rooms were.  Hadn't been given a pacing guide until yesterday.  So, we had to get back to the hotel which is an hour and a half away to do lesson plans and to just plan what we were going to do. I just left the workers there and asked that they call me when they were leaving.  The door automatically locks when you close it.  There wasn't much in the apartment other than what they were bringing in, so I wasn't really worried about doing that.  They called me at 10:30 PM! There was no way that after the night before getting in bed so late and having to get up so early in the morning that I would have been able to do that again!  After work today I went back to the apartment.  Almost everything is put together and installed.  The man did tell me that he would have to come back, but didn't say when.  I can move in on Thursday with it the way that it is.  It all doesn't look so bad.  My vision is coming true!

The Tilal Liwa Hotel is by a camel race track, so we see the camels working out on our way to work every morning and on our way home in the evening.  Quite exciting to see!  Would love to post pictures on here, but for some reason they aren't loading properly.  Will try to post on my Facebook page.

The next item on my list is to get a post office box!

Reflections

First, a story:
I was pregnant with my son Chris during the summer.  He was born at the end of July.  I CRAVED fruit, mainly peaches, strawberries, and watermelon.  Oh, and one Baby Ruth bar a day.  It didn't matter what size, so I normally ate the small ones.  There was a guy, Rusty, who had a fruit and vegetable truck that came down our street twice a week.  He had a standing order to leave a watermelon on my porch twice a week whether I was home or not.  We would settle up later.  My midwife laughed at me and said that watermelon is nothing but water and iron so I could eat as much as I wanted.  The Baby Ruth didn't matter at all since I was only eating one.  Even now, one of my favorite pictures of Chris is him sitting on the tail gate of Rusty's truck eating a banana from the truck that "made" him.

I thought of this story every morning that I ate breakfast at the Beach Rotana Hotel in Abu Dhabi city.  They had a bowl of fresh watermelon every morning (along with other types of fruit), and I really enjoyed it.  I would have potatoes, sauteed mushrooms, croissants, and two juices (orange and apple) every morning. Sometimes I might add a vegetable (corn, peas, or green beans), a selection of different cheeses, an omelet, or a selection of different meats (smoked chicken or turkey, turkey bacon, grilled fish, or steak.  There was also yogurt and a variety of Indian, Asian, and Arab foods that I had never heard of, but tried to try them to say that I did.  The always full coffee or tea cup was also a delight, but if I wanted a latte all I had to do was ask.  This was all done with a great smile.

The cleaning staff was also awesome.  They provided water, slippers, and a robe.  They would clean your room every day, then come back in the evening to turn down the bed, set a bottle of water and a glass on the nightstand, and your slippers by the bed.  There was always a plate of fruit on the desk.

My stay at the Beach Rotana is a pleasant memory that I will always cherish.

Now I am staying at the Mirfa Hotel in Mirfa.  It is a beautiful hotel on the Arabian Gulf.  Controversy about Persian and Arabian Gulf.  Iran took over some islands that belonged to the UAE.  This is how Wikipedia explains it:

"The name of the gulf, historically and internationally known as the Persian Gulf after the land of Persia (Iran), has been disputed by some Arab countries since the 1960s.^[12] Rivalry between Iran and some Arab states, along with the emergence of pan-Arabism and Arab nationalism, has seen the name Arabian Gulf become predominant in most Arab countries.^[13][14] Names beyond these two have also been applied to or proposed for this body of water".

Anyway, back to the Mirfa Hotel.  This hotel is not as opulent as the Beach Rotana.  The rooms are bigger and the plate of fruit has more fruit on it.  The cleaning crew (2 guys) just came inchanged the bed, but didn't vacuum the room.  Both hotels provide water bottles, robes, and slippers.  Although they both have balconies, the Mirfa Hotel's balcony has two chairs and a table so that you can relax and look at the Gulf.  All of the rooms face the Gulf.  The breakfast buffet reminds me of the US with a few local cuisines mixed in.  But the essence!  This is the ultimate in de-stressing!

Although I am a little concerned that this is Tuesday and I see my class for the first time on Sunday, and I haven't gotten close to my school yet, I'm not going to stress about it.  I still haven't gotten to my apartment to clean or set

Random stuff

Found out that I will finally move out to the Western Region which is called Al Garbia.  Al Garbia comprises about 71% of the total land mass of the Emirite of Abu Dhabi.  I will be in the town of Ghayathi, but will be staying in a hotel is Mirfa for five days until I get the furnishing for my apartment.  Teachers are reporting to school, the students come on September 9th.  Somehow I will get from Mirfa to Ghayanthi.  Not gonna worry about it yet.

I was sitting in the mall in the Food Court when I came up with some more interesting things.  When you eat in the food court, most people just get up and leave their tray on the table.  This is because there are people whose job it is to clean the tables and make sure the floor is gorgeous.  Talking about gorgeous floors, the floors in the malls are ALWAYS shiny and dirt free!  There are people that walk around dust mopping and cleaning the floors all of the time.  I guess so!  Those women wearing those beautiful abayas that drag on the floor would be pretty upset if they got dirty. 

Went to two days of orientations to tell us about the Abu Dhabi Education Council that was created in 2005.  As it reads in this book that was given to us: "ADEC was given the mandate to elevate the quality of education in Abu Dhabi to the highest international standards and to ensure that all residents have access to high-quality education."  There was a session with the police.  Here, if there is an emergency, they dial 999.  Also, the most interesting thing that I found out:  if you get a ticket, the fine goes with the car.  Not a good ideas to buy a used car without checking if the car has any fines on it.  It would be your responsibility to pay it.  This country is so clean!  It is against the law to litter, or to even spit on the ground!  Also found out about the curriculum and what I am required to teach.  Basically it's standards that the students must reach by the end of the school year.

Not quite sure when I will have Internet again.  Have to make an appointment with the Internet and cable people once I get out there.  Will let you know more of my adventure when I can!

Al Fanar and Home Centre

Yesterday I had one of the best meals I have ever had!  This is the Le Royal Meridien Hotel, and that round disc at the top is the Al Fanar Restaurant.  This restaurant has a champagne lunch on Friday's....and it revolves! The restaurant doesn't revolve, the floor does.  It is on the 23rd floor and it has the most spectacular views of Abu Dhabi and the Persian Gulf!  This is what Luxos says about it:

"This is by far one of Abu Dhabi’s most sought after locations. Al Fanar is the rooftop restaurant at Le Royal Méridien Abu Dhabi, and it is a revolving restaurant, famous for its unashamedly romantic atmosphere, with unforgettable views of the entire city and the sea beyond. The Bubbly Brunch on Friday is very popular, with unlimited champagne and a superb and varied menu, including wonderful desserts. The European-inspired restaurant menu features seafood, grills and salad specialties. All amidst subtle lighting and background jazz."

And the jazz was performed by a lady on the piano and a guy on the violin.  It was great!

                                                      Lobster cut in half, and prawns!

 And the desserts!!!  I can't eat sugar for a loooooooooooong time!  They even had roast beef and yorkshire pudding!  I had never had yorkshire pudding, and was surprised to see that it looked more like rolls, not pudding.  They were wonderful!  Gonna have to work on learning to make them. Everything was fabulous, and the champagne kept flowing!  It is from 12:30-4:00, and whenever any of you come to visit, this is where I'm taking you.  It's not cheap, but then as with everything, you get what you pay for.  I was so wiped out when I got back to the hotel room, I tried not to lay down and profess that I had "itis," but I could only stay awake until about 8:30 PM.  Well, great food and lots of champagne will do that to you.

I was there with a group of "seasoned" young ladies.  One of them, Brenda, had made a comment on Facebook a few months ago about being older than a lot of the others that were being hired, and she wanted to know if there were others of us.  Another Brenda who has been here for a while agreed to set up a luncheon "meet and greet" so that we could meet each other. I believe 13 or 14 came.  I won a prize for being the oldest one there ( which I figured I would be).  It was supposed to be for age  50 and over, but most were in their 40's.  This is the prize I got:

                                                 Cute little elephant key chain from India.
We are about to be spread out all over, so the first Brenda has agreed to set up something so that we could meet about once a month and do things we like to do together.  Suggestions are to see some of the museums, things like that.

Today I went to Home Centre to see what they had in the way of furniture and stuff for my apartment.  They are offering a 20% discount on all merchandise other than those on sale, so I figured I might as well take a look.  Besides, it is next to the Marina Mall which is a HUGE mall that I hadn't been to yet.  Gave me somewhere to walk around and look as I try to walk off the calories I ate yesterday.  I found a bedroom set I can live with.  My apartment doesn't have closets (there are cabinets in the kitchen) so I have to get a wardrobe and a shoe closet also. I found a nice kitchen table with inlaid tile that I really liked.  Found a floor lamp and matching regular lamps for the living room.  Could not find a living room set that I liked.  My non-negotiable for the living room is a chaise.  I have always wanted one.  I found one, and it is okay.  I saw the wrap around couch sets with the lounge, but they were all made of leather, or leather like material.  I don't think that is a good idea in the heat of the desert even if there is air conditioning. I have another store to go to.  There are several places around, but this other place I can also get appliances.  None of these apartments have appliances so I need a stove, refrigerator, and they have these contraptions that are a washer and dryer all in one unit.  Have never seen anything like this before! 

While I was out I saw someone from the Abu Dhabi Education Council go into Home Centre, and when I came back to the hotel I saw someone from the travel agency.  They hadn't been around lately because Group 2 of the teachers came in and are staying at a different hotel.  So far we are taking up 3 hotels.  The teachers at the Intercontinental Hotel are all going to live in Al Ain, Those here at Beach Rotana are either staying in Abu Dhabi or are going to Al Garbia like I am.  The travel agency people have been giving the Business Center things to run off and deliver to our rooms.  We need to know where our orientations will be on Monday and Tuesday, and we need to have our money to start buying things since they will be shipping us off next week.  Things are looking up!

 

Support is a Wonderful Feeling!

It is interesting to me the levels of support that are here.  There are many couples here...men and families that have followed the wife/mother on her new adventure.  Some couples are both teachers.  Some men are working their jobs by Internet.  Some are house husbands, some are enablers:  enabling those of us that don't have menfolk to make repairs, give wonderful advice on technology, stuff like that.  There are men that are the teachers and the wives have come as support.  There are the teacher wives that left husbands at home to take care of the families. What a level of support!  Then there are those of us that are single/divorced who have the support of their families and friends back home.  We have each other's backs here, especially those teachers that have already been here.

Yesterday I was fortunate to attend an informal meet and greet here at the hotel with four teachers that have been here to let us ask questions so we know what to expect.  One lady put it very graphic for me:  it is as if we have just gone through Brown vs. the Board of Education and we are the Little Rock Nine.  Wow!  Remember how long and hard that fight was!  Abu Dhabi is a growing country.  The New School Model is only about five years old and this is about the third year that they have been hiring and importing teachers.  We have been told all along that we need to "go with the flow" because we aren't in Kansas anymore.  Literally!  Throw out the "Western" way of thinking!  Their education system is nothing like ours.  Students aren't disciplined here like they are at "home."  Trust me, I witnessed something in a store yesterday that  Child Protective Services couldn't have prevented me from having that "Come to Jesus Meeting" with my boys!   Things are different, and those that have been here before us are helping us to get acclimated to this.

I have been on a two week glorified vacation in this wonderful hotel.  I have been taking advantage of lazying around because I know that next week things will start to pop.  We have two days of orientation, then they put us out of this wonderful five star hotel and we go to a hotel in our respective cities.  So next week I will make that 3-4 hour trek out into the desert....

People watching and observing

Interesting how I figured this one out, even though in most places everything is in English and in Arabic.

Did some people watching.  Been doing it every day, but I really paid attention today.  Had to get a new cell phone.  I was just going to get a new SIM card to go with my iphone, but someone posted that when they did this, they would lose minutes whenever they accessed the Internet on their phone.  So, went to the mall to buy a cell phone.  Underneath the Abu Dhabi Mall (which is connected to my hotel) is the Abu Dhabi Hypermart Co-op.  Interesting place.  Has a little bit of everything!  Bought a Nokia phone for 89 AED ($24.23) and a SIM card for 40 AED ($10.89).  Still have to have it activated, but it is just for people to contact me here.

Back to the people watching.  People wear what they want to wear here.  That in itself is interesting!  You may see men wearing long white robes (I think they are called a "thobe") with or without the head scarf (ghutra in white, or red and white) talking to a man in jeans and a t-shirt.  Women may wear the black abaya (in different beautiful fabrics) with or without the black head scarf (hijah) and sometimes with the veil in front.  Sometimes the abaya is not fastened in front, most times it is.  There are a lot of people from India here as well.  Most people speak English in some form.  So far I haven't had much of a problem being understood.  Oh yes, in case you wanted to know.  The men's white attire does have pockets.  Most people look like you or I walking down the street.  I had been told that there is no public displays of affection, but in the mall I have noticed a lot of hand holding.  Maybe that is as far as it goes.

My apartment building.  Notice the construction.  The construction is in the front of the building.  Has nothing to do with the building itself.  Talked to a young lady this morning who wants to go home.  She is to live in the apartments that I am going to, and she doesn't like it.  If they aren't going to move her to other apartments, if they aren't going to be flexible,  she is going home.


The teachers here are trying to get things moving on their time, not waiting for things to happen.  Not willing to sit and wait.  We are getting to the end of Ramadan, and things are moving slowly because of that.  They want their money NOW, and want to clean and move into their apartments NOW.  The American mentality.  They have stormed the bank to get their debit cards.  For what reason?  There is no money associated with them.  We got a notice not to have furniture sent to our apartments yet.  Again, why would you do that? Some of these apartments need to be cleaned and painted first. There are messages flying around about mattress toppers and other things.  People want to start renting cars.  Can't do that without our residency visa which we don't have yet.  I may be behind the eight ball at the end, but I'm doing as I am told, not making any plans to go above and beyond what they tell me to do.  Trying to go with the flow.  Besides, they are going to have to drag me kicking and screaming out of this hotel!

Unfortunately I'm becoming addicted to the frozen yogurt at Pinkberry.  Have to stay out of that mall.  I'm getting tired of spending money anyway.  But we only have breakfast paid for here and have to go out for dinner.  Tonight I got smart (or smarter).  Went to Subway and got a foot long.  Ate half, put the other half in the mini fridge for tomorrow.  Ahhhhhhhh......(can stay away from Pinkberry's mango frozen yogurt with mangoes, dried cranberries, and pistachios!)

Ponderings....

It is interesting to me to see people react.  I know that I am a people watcher, and I know that my background in psychology kicks in from time to time.  I watched people react to their placements and their living arrangements.  I listened during breakfast to some people how they discussed with others their views on life out here in the UAE.  Most (mostly the "younguns") are happy if they have been placed in the bigger cities and have the brand new apartments.  Those that were placed in the Western region and didn't want to be there in the first place aren't happy about anything. I hear how people are going to complain and ask to be placed other places. People are complaining that they have been placed in this school and they wanted to be in that school.   Maybe I'm just older or maybe it's just the way that I am, but... we were hired for a job.  If we were in the states, we go to the school that we are assigned.  Here it's the same.  We go to the school where we were assigned.  Maybe there wasn't a place in the school that you wanted to go to (there are boy's schools and girl's school, unless they are in kindergarten.  The boy's schools are a little challenging).  If you are in the bigger cities (Abu Dhabi City for instance), the experience is more like what you are used to.  I, on the other hand, have been placed on the other side of the world, and I asked for it.  I am in the middle of the desert by Saudi Arabia.  If I go to a new country, I want to experience the new country.  The apartment does not look like anything that I would have in the states unless it is in a run down section of a big city.  But that is okay.  It is what they have, and I will make the most of it.  The living room is large, the kitchen is small, but I'm not paying for it so I will be grateful!  I have talked to people that live out there and they have given me ideas and information.  It will be okay.  I can't and won't complain.

Busy two days!

Finally figured out how to view everything in English. Notice the orientation of the last post. The Arabs write and read from right to left, which is why the edges are lined up on the right instead of the left.
Okay...the news!  I am going to the Western Region which is the largest region of the country of Abu Dhabi (and the most untamed).  I am teaching Kindergarten with another teacher from Louisiana.  Of course there are other teachers there, we are just the newest ones.  Although this is literally out in the middle of no where (they call it the Wild Wild West), I've been told that those of us going out there have been handpicked.  There are 50 (out of 650) going out there and 9 going out to where I will be...a little place called Ghayathi, which is in Al Garbia, Abu Dhabi, UAE.  From what I understand this is where the oil workers live, and the people with some of this money.  My school only has kindergarten. There are about 196 students and about 25 teachers.  If your math is as good as mine        ( probably better) that is about 8 students per teacher.  I think I can handle that!  Another good thing: the lady that interviewed me back in February came up to me and said "I remember you!". So we turned in our stuff to get our residency visa, and got the keys to our humble abodes.

Got on the van/bus at 8:00AM to make the three and a half hour trek to our apartments today.  Nothing but sand, barbed wire to keep you out of the sand, the occasional camel, and a few oil trucks.  There is some greenery in the desert but not a lot.  We finally get there!  There is a lot of construction going on including in Ghayathi.  Other teachers reported getting brand new apartments with marble counter tops if they are living in Abu Dhabi or Al Ain.   Not me.  There is a film of sand EVERYWHERE and mold between the tiles in the kitchen.  There is a crack in the living room and in my room.  The good parts are I have a 2bedroom one and a half bathrooms.  The living room is big!  I can work with it. Have to buy appliances and furniture but I refuse to complain.  To busy making silver linings!

I am here in Abu Dhabi!!!  Interesting thing....I logged on and everything ins in Arabic.  Have to figure that out.  Anyway, largely uneventful trip.  As hard as I tried by weighing my bags at the bus station, they still were overweight.  Enter the greatest Skycap in the world!  Like he said, you look out for me, I'll look out for you!  I had to pay $300 for my bags anyway, extra for overage was not happening!  So, checked my bags and sat down to wait on the plane.  Mom, Ethel, and Larry brought me to Norfolk, but they had left.  Here comes TJ, who waited with me until I went to catch my flight.  Fly to Chicago, and they tell me that the money that I had paid for my bags just had a receipt to Chicago!  I told the man that I wasn't paying any more money!  He said no, but I would have to go back to Terminal 1 to get United to fix it.  I was in International Terminal 5. Told him that that wasn't happening either.  So they fixed it!  On to Royal Jordanian.  Nice flight, pretty decent food....all the way to Amman, Jordan.  Got off, changed planes. Each time I got off the plane I had to do the TSA thing and get searched.  Nice plane ride with meal to Abu Dhabi.  They picked us up at the airport, had to do an eye scan, went through customs so fast that I didn't realize that we went to customs, picked up our bags, put us on a small bus, and brought us to the hotel.  Gorgeous hotel.  I am in the Beach Rotana, look it up!  Am supposed to be here until the 19th at least. Gonna be busy the next couple of days.  Tomorrow (Sunday) we will have our first orientation and I find out where I am living.  Monday and Tuesday we go to see it and start planning how we are furnishing it.  Well, gonna go out and see if I can find some adapters.  I bought some, but for some reason the laptop plug won't fit into the converter and I need a USB adapter for my phone.  The things I didn't think about!  And so the adventure begins......

Scared!!

I went to check my reservation on Thursday, and I noticed that the flight from Norfolk to Chicago had mysteriously disappeared.  Oh well, I figured that it would show back up.  After all this is technology, it's hot, and things happen.  Then, last night my entire TICKET disappeared!   Oh my goodness I STARTED STRESSING!!!!! I emailed my person at Nirvana Travel in Abu Dhabi to find out what happened.  This morning I get two emails from him.  First one: confirm your previous itinerary (which I had already done).  Second email: ignore my first email, here is your ticket and visa.  Breathe!  Woosah!  Woosah!  Okay, slight change of plan. Not leaving on Wednesday August 8th as previously planned.  Leaving on Thursday August 9th.  Same basic itinerary except not as long a layover in Chicago:

Norfolk 5:30 PM to Chicago 6:45 PM
Chicago 9:30 PM to Amman, Jordan 5:30 PM Friday
Amman 8:05 PM Friday to Abu Dhabi 23:15 AM Friday

Okay, back to re-packing!

I just realized that it would probably be a good idea to explain what I'm up to.  Many people know already, but for those that I never got around to telling about it, here it goes:

I have always wanted to teach overseas.  I am a military brat, having graduated high school at Wiesbaden High School in Wiesbaden, West Germany (H.H. Arnold High School for those of us that don't want to give up the name).  I got my teaching certification after graduating with a double degree in psychology/sociology at Virginia Intermont College.  Didn't know what I wanted to do with my life, but I figured it would work itself out eventually.  My father wanted me to get my license to teach while I was in college, but I had no intention of teaching anybody anything.  So what happened?  I kept getting jobs where I was teaching somebody something.  I did the all American thing, got married and had two kids (boys).

When I got divorced I figured I needed a job where I was on my children's schedule...hence teaching!  Still, I loved traveling and the urge was always there.  When my youngest turned 21, I started investigating teaching jobs overseas, which brings me to my newest adventure.

Last summer I was working my part time job one Saturday at a Teacher and Parents Store.  A customer that I always enjoyed came in and I asked her what was going on with her.  She told me that she was going to Abu Dhabi!  I asked how she managed that, and she told me the website.  I made a mental note of that and kept on about my day.  Later on that same day I went to Starbucks to get a coffee.  While there I got a call from my sister-in-law Tracy (in Atlanta).  She called to tell me that her cousin and a church member just got sent to Abu Dhabi and used that same company!  To me, this was God talking to me!  So I went home, got on my computer, and I had already bookmarked this website during all of my research.  Scary, huh?  They were hiring for January, and I wasn't ready for that yet. So, in January I put in my application.  The website was really pushing Abu Dhabi (although they also provide teachers to other countries) so they sent me an application to the Abu Dhabi Education Council.  A few days later I had a phone interview.  Towards the end of February I had a face-to-face interview in Atlanta, and in April I (along with about 649 others) were hired!  It is a wonderful opportunity with amazing benefits! Plus, this is a real growing experience for me.  I finally have the time to take just for me and to grow as an individual.  I am SO looking forward to this!

I got my ticket today!!!  Okay, didn't really get my ticket, but got my itinerary.  I confirmed it, and now am awaiting the ticket.  It's a positive step in the right direction!  Now it seems sooooooo real!  Now the traveling part.  OMG!  I leave on Wednesday, August 8th from Norfolk, VA to Chicago.  There I have a five and a half hour layover (good thing I love to read), then hop on a Royal Jordanian flight to Ammon, Jordan.  Stick around there for two and a half hours, then on to Abu Dhabi.  Will arrive there about fifteen minutes past midnight on Friday.  It's not as bad as it seems:  They are eight hours ahead of us so it is about an eighteen hour flight.  Just checked how much baggage will cost.  Thinking that I am going to have to downsize.  They want $300 for three bags!!!!

All this because I wanted to teach overseas.  I am a military brat, so going overseas is not a big deal to me.  Moving is something that I enjoy, so changing classrooms or grade levels was just a new challenge to me.  Oh well, better start looking in my suitcases to see what I absolutely positively cannot do without for at least a year until I get back home.......

Wow!  People are beginning to get their e-tickets.  Me?  Nada.  Maybe tomorrow.  I have packed two and a half bags already, but how do you pack your life into two 50 pounds bags?  Doing good to do it in three bags plus a carry-on (and numerous boxes to be mailed later).  Wow!  The Great Adventure is about to begin sometime next week....whenever I get the e-ticket.....

First post 5/8/12

Never did a blog before.  Brand new concept for me, but I figure that the best way to let everyone know what is going on with me while I'm on my new "adventure" is to do it in a diary style, which pretty much means I get to do a blog.  This will be a lot easier than repeating the same things over and over, then forgetting things.....you know.  So, here goes.  Right now I have just about all of my paperwork in.  I have submitted the last bit to Washington D.C. and hope to get it back by next week.  Then it will be submitted for my work visa, and I'm gone!