definitely, maybe...

This has been a ridiculously crazy week.

Sunday I rented a car and ended up driving out to Mirfa which is where my school is.  I met the Head of Faculty and took a tour of the school which is really nice.  When I left it was with no clear picture on when I would be starting work.  

 Fast forward to 9pm when I received a call saying that I was starting work the next day and would be checking out of my hotel and moving to another one as well.  So I had to run upstairs and get packed so that I could check out at 5:30am.  Made my way to my new hotel (Novotel) Monday morning and got checked in and caught the bus to the school.  Yes, we have to be bussed in because the hotel is so far away.  The bus ride is approx 90 min each way. It's crazy because school starts at 7:15 but our bus doesn't pick us up until 6:30...so we always miss the first period.  So when you walk into your room the class is already sitting there waiting for you.  There is no time to get yourself situated for the day!

The school day goes from 7:15 - 1:15.  So we get to leave at 1:30 three times a week and the other two days we have PD until 3:00.  It's really a good schedule!

 I spent Monday learning about the school and finding out my grade and classroom.  Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday I was with my girls.  They are really sweet.  I have never gotten so many hugs and kisses on the cheek before.  It's such a different world - it's a very social culture which is very apparent when you are trying to teach and they just want to talk to you! It is going to be such a challenge.  

The week pretty much just consisted of work and sleep.  Hard to get back into the groove! I did get to a teacher store and bought posters and other things to decorate with.  I will post pictures of the school when I get my room set!  

The weekend was pretty relaxing and consisted of hanging out at the hotel.  Not too exciting - except for one trip to the mall that ended up with me and friend lost in the city and literally driving around in circles for an hour.  The was one little detour that took us down a road where there were armed guards...it was insane!  A drive that should have taken twenty minutes ended up being an hour.  Oops...

Which brings us to today.  What to say about today...absolute chaos.  We come downstairs for the bus at 6:30 to find that it is not there.  We are told that it is "definitely, maybe coming."  It does not come until 8:00.  We still don't know why that happened.  As we are waiting we are told that we will be checking out of the hotel tomorrow - problem is we have nowhere to go!  And no one has any answers...Let's just say it went downhill from there.  Issues at school that I just won't get into on here.  If you really want to know - you know how to reach me! Lol  

Thank goodness Mom is on her way.  The only good thing about today!!!

pictures!!!

Historical Village:

Abu Dhabi City:

ups and downs

ok so clearly I am not the best at updating my blog!  i've been here for two weeks and only have a couple of entries...oops!

Had a few bad days - was super homesick, all of my new friends moved to Al Ain/Al Gharbia, and the city was overwhelming.  after crying a lot and hiding in bed for a day (ok maybe it was two days) - I finally sucked it up and moved on.  I was able to get my placement changed out of the city and was placed in a school/region that I think will be a better fit.  People here still can't believe I would give up the city for the western region - but I am really happy with my decision.  I can't wait to get out there and start teaching.  Also, one of my new friends is working there too so that's a plus!  I'm still not sure when I will be getting out there to teach - apparently there are no more hotel rooms out there so a bunch of us are in a holding pattern in Abu Dhabi.  We are pretty much getting paid to hang out and see the city.  


Some things I've learned so far:

• People who think we are bad drivers in MA have clearly never driven in Abu Dhabi!!!!!!!
• Women and Men in traditional dress look really nice!  
• Inshallah!!!
• Hotel food gets boring and expensive really quickly
• It's very confusing thinking in dirhams - things seem expensive when really they aren't
• American brands/products are everywhere!
• The heat is not as bad as I thought...you get used to it pretty quickly
• Inshallah!!!
• Personal space really doesn't exist
• Chaos is okay and normal
• Slingbox is the best invention EVER
• and most importantly...INSHALLAH!!!  :)  

what i've done so far!

I can't believe I have been here for almost a week!  It has been so many things: fun, crazy, scary, exciting, lonely, and so many other things!  I've met some fabulous people who I feel like I've known forever already.  I'm going to be sad to see them leave to other areas of the country on Friday.  Only one friend has been placed in Abu Dhabi City but our schools look to be quite far away from each other.  I'm hoping we are housed near to each other though.

So what have I been doing...

Friday I pretty much slept the entire day.  Jet lag caught up with me big time.

On Saturday I went to the Historical Village which was very interesting.  But probably not the best place to visit during the height of the days heat as it is all outdoors.  I believe it was around 102 degrees when we got there.  We also didn't plan the excursion very well as there were no taxis around when we wanted to leave.  After melting in the hot sun for twenty minutes we finally just paid 200 dirhams ($50) and hopped onto a tour bus.  We stayed on it for about two hours and got to see a lot of the city.  We got off at the Central Market Souk which was really interesting but pricey.  

Sunday we had a short orientation which provided general information.  We set up our bank accounts with the National Bank of Abu Dhabi (NBAD) and filled out some forms.  The longest part of it was the Q&A session where people asked silly questions that had already been answered.  Seriously, teachers are the worst listeners!!  

Afterwards I went to dinner at the Lebanese Flower with some girls.  It was amazingly good and super cheap.  Definitely somewhere I would like to go back too.

On Monday we had our medical checks and ID card fingerprinting.  I was in the first group that left the hotel at 6:00am.  I'm glad I was in the early group because the later groups ended up waiting a while.  The medical check is crazy thorough.  They do blood pressure, chest x-ray, urine test, blood test, and physical.  If they find anything wrong with you - you get sent home! The whole process took about four hours.  That night we also got our school assignments.  Which was exciting!  I am very very happy with being placed in Abu Dhabi City. I truly thought I would be in Al Gharbia - the western region.

Tuesday (today) I had a blast!  Seriously one of the most fun days I've had since I have been here.  One of the perks of hotel living is the free breakfast buffet everyday.  You learn to eat like a king at breakfast so that you don't need to spend money for lunch/dinner.  We usually end up meeting in the restaurant at 8:00 and staying for a few hours. Yes - hours!  That way you can turn it into two meals. Eat when you first go down, sit and chat, then eat again for "lunch" and you are all set until dinner.  You have to stay in the restaurant because if you leave and come back you will have to pay for the "second round".  Anyways, after breakfast we went to the Madinet Zayed Mall to look at a furniture store.  Because our housing will be unfurnished we get 20,000 dirhams to set it up.  They had lots of nice things - I'm excited to pick out my things.  

I also bought my first abaya!!!  It is really pretty and comfy!  I totally understand why some EMT's (english medium teachers) wear them to work!

After that we went to the Marina Mall to have our driver's licenses translated.  We had dinner and gelato and just walked around the mall.  We had an INSANE cab driver on the way home.  We couldn't stop laughing because it was so terrifying!!  He would literally be inches away from the car in front of us and slam on his breaks.  His little GPS thing kept saying "Slow down.  You are driving too fast."  I swear everytime it said that he sped up.  Honestly the cabs are the one thing I don't enjoy so far. 

So why was today the best day I've had so far?  Because all day we just laughed. I was with three women who are the nicest people and we literally just kept laughing.  It was a perfect day!

Tomorrow we have a long day of school orientation.  Not sure what it entails but I'm sure it will be informational and interesting!  

Sorry this was so long!! My next post will be all of the pictures I have taken so far!!!

there's no place like home

Just finished my first full day in Abu Dhabi.  This jet lag is killing me which is why I am wide awake at 2:30 in the morning.
To recap - after being a crazy person for the month of August I finally received my itinerary on Sunday, August 25.  I had one day to finish packing and say my goodbyes and then I got on the plane at 3:50 on Tuesday.  The flight to Chicago was uneventful which was good because once we landed in Chi-town chaos ensued!  First of all getting to the international terminal was super long and it felt like I walked for miles before I found the shuttle.  For someone who used to be a flight attendant - my navigation skills of the airport sucked!  Finally got to the international terminal to find myself in a wicked long line to check in at Etihad.  Here's the thing, even if you check in for both flights at your initial airport they still make you check in again.  But before you can go to the counter you have to put your carryon bag in this little contraption and if it doesn't fit completely they make you check it - for $137!!!  People incurred huge charges - luckily the girl at the counter let me take mine with me even though it didn't completley fit in the aforementioned contraption.  I was very lucky.  I also met a group of teachers while making my way through the line so it was nice to have someone to talk to!  By the time we made it to the gate most of my three hour layover was gone.

Now onto the flight.  What can I say except it was 14 hours filled with turbulence and a crying/shrieking toddler sitting right behind me.  Also the girl sitting next to me kept climbing over me when she needed to get out...like full on sitting on my lap.  It was super awkward.  I still don't know why she wouldn't just ask me to get up so she could get out!!!   I watched a few movies and slept for a few hours.  Typical flight.

When we landed there was someone from Nirvana Travel Agency to meet us.  They gave us badges and then we made our way through immigration and security to finally get our bags.  Mine were the last to come out and I was getting nervous they had not made the flight!   Leaving the airport was a shock because even though you prepare for the heat - it hits you like a wall.  By the time we got to where the bus was waiting for us most of us were drenched in sweat.  Thank god for air conditioning!!!!

We are staying in Aloft Hotel.  It is gorgeous!  The room is really nice and big - huge king size bed!   I'll have to take some pictures when it is clean tomorrow!!
 

Today (Thursday) I went to the Marina Mall with some new friends.  We ended up in groups of four because that was how we went into the taxis.  The mall is ridiculously big.  It has an ice skating rink and a bowling alley.  Every single store you can possibly imagine as well.  I figure I'm all set since there is a coach!!  The mall was beautiful and had some really cool fountains.

We were at the mall for about five hours and then decided to call it a day.  The cab ride back to the hotel was insane.  First of all we got beeped at because we went to the wrong cab - because really who would know which cab to get in when there are fifty of them right there??  But whatever, when we found the one we were supposed to get in the driver didn't say a word to us.  Just started flying through traffic and weaving in and out.  It was the scariest ride ever.  Words can't describe how awkward it was.  When we got back to the hotel we just started laughing because really it was that bad! 

Anyways, we don't have anything scheduled until Sunday so I am basically free to explore and sight see until then.  Our general orientation is Sunday where we should find out where we have been placed and what school.  I am hoping I am in Abu Dhabi city or Al Ain.  But I have a feeling I will end up in the Western Region.  We shall see!!  Monday or Tuesday will be our medical check and then Wednesday is our "education" orientation.  Then it really begins!

Ok, now it's 3am.  I should probably attempt that thing called sleep.  

So it begins...

Where to begin...perhaps with an answer to the question that always comes up when I tell people where I am headed.  The dreaded "WHY???".  Honestly, I am so not a fan of this question - probably because I ask myself it everyday. I can't really answer with a few words.  Part of it is because I was getting restless and wanted "more".  Partly because the money is going to be pretty damn good.  Part of it is to prove people wrong.  Part of it is to prove to myself that I CAN do this.   Who knows?  There are tons of answers to this question but none of them really seem to be completely true.  All I know is this:  I love my family.  I love my friends.  I love Allendale.   But I wasn't 100% happy and it was beginning to show in my teaching and in other areas of my life. Something was missing.  So I guess you could say that this is my attempt to find whatever that thing is.  I'll let ya know if I do.

Another question that I really don't have an answer to is "Why Abu Dhabi?".  I know it is strange - a girl who HATES summer weather is moving to the freaking desert.  Doesn't really make sense, right?  I guess the best answer is - they hired me.  ADEC was the first place that hired me,  and therefore the place I am going.  Also, it looks pretty darn cool if you google it!!!

Anyways, I wanted to get this blog going before I actually get to Abu Dhabi and since I still don't have my plane ticket now seemed like a good time.  I've been told to expect to leave between the 19th and 24th which is only a week away.  I'm super nervous since I haven't gotten my itinerary and scores of other people already have.  Its really hard to be excited for everyone when I am still a basket full of nerves over here.  Hopefully I will hear something soon so I can stop checking my email every two minutes and enjoy my last week at home!!!

And with that, my first post is done.  I feel a little like Doogie Howser typing all of this.  I almost expect my screen to turn blue and the font white.  Wow - I'm a dork!