When I last left you,
I was preparing for my first official day on day. I could not ever remember
being that nervous before! The day had finally arrived that I had spent the
last 6 months preparing for. Yes, the malls, the travel, the so-called
"high life" is great, but at the end of the day, the reason that I,
and many others came, was to work. For the purpose of this blog, I cannot go
into a great deal of detail about work, but I will give you a general overview.
On last Sunday, I met
my principal. He was/is a striking figure wearing a crisp white Kandora. As
a side note, I have yet to see one that was not pressed flawlessly without a
hint of a wrinkle! I presented him with a gift, which was a box of
chocolates. Depending on whom you ask, this is an un-written rule. While some
have said that this is not required, I decided to err on the side of caution.
We spoke briefly and he asked me about my experience in the states. He is quite
fluent in English. His office is BEAUTIFUL; A huge desk, majestic curtains, and
big comfy leather chairs and couches. Not a bad place to spend a few hours
a day. The first day was filled with me trying to meet and learn all the
names of the teachers and staff. I am in a School Cycle 1 (1-5) school. We
are fortunate to have both male and women on staff. EVERYONE
was incredibly nice. All of the women wear an Abaya and some wear the more
traditional covering where they reveal their eyes only. Imagine the task of
trying to learn the names of individuals and the only thing you can see are their
eyes. Needless to say, the first day flew by.
The next day was
filled with meetings. If you have never been in a meeting that lasted an hour
where it is entirely in a foreign language, in this case Arabic, then you have
not lived. Every now and then, someone will stop and translate for you a
summary of the discussion, but it is quite an interesting experience. People
are also very passionate during these meetings. I refuse to allow this
experience and opportunity to simply pass me by so I am trying to learn and
build my capacity as much as I can. Not only and I trying to learn the
language, but this experience also has me often reflecting and thinking about
all the ESL / ELL children in America without a hint of our language who have
to learn both the language and the content. WOW !!! AND ... the teachers who
have to support them. I also think about the struggling learners who sit in
classes, understanding the language, but completely lost in the content due to
instructional gaps and / or poor instruction. My heart goes out to them and I
have a deeper appreciation of their struggles.
During the week, I
had the awesome opportunity to sit and dialogue with an elder. I came into work
one day and the principal, who was sitting on the couch in the lobby, summoned
me to come and sit next to him. I am still a bit afraid of him, although he is
a really nice man. He introduced me to the elder gentleman. Shortly after, my
principal left us alone. The elder gentleman asked me how long I had been in
the Abu Dhabi and then asked if I knew their culture. I was a bit taken back
because I could not recognize his tone or intentions. I responded that I knew a
little, but that I was learning something new everyday. The elder gentleman,
who turned out to be extremely NICE, spent the next hour talking to me about
the language, culture, and education. It was a powerful experience. He was so
welcoming. If I could give any advice to those who are thinking about this
opportunity or are coming in the near future, it would be to learn some of the
language, a few phrases ... .it goes a long way!!! Before the principal left us
two, the elder asked me if I was married. I told him yes and that drew quite a
bit of laughter. I will not divulge the contents of our conversation, but what
I realized is that men are men and there is a universal language no matter
where you are in the world! LOL
SCHOOL PERKS!
Much to my amazement, our schools and from what
I hear all others, have "butlers or maids". I respectfully refer to
them as this. Their job is to make sure that you have as much coffee and tea as
you can drink. I am not a coffee drinker but the gentleman at my school makes a
great cup of Java! I have tried Arabic tea ... .not my favorite. When I asked
could I put sugar in it, I was laughed at. I guess I will have to stick to
coffee. The other perk is that one teacher comes to my office with an incent
burning each day. She told me it was like cologne. I guess mine was not good
Enough. I place the burning incent close to my chest to allow the smoke
and scent to "get into" my clothes. It actually smells quite good!
GETTING MY TIGER WOODS ON!
No, I have not played
a round of golf but I have learned that many of the EMT's who are from Ireland
play and have invited me to play with them when the weather cools a bit. Yes,
it is HOT! However, my building is kept extremely cold due to the women wearing
many layers of clothing. The women wear Abayas but will often have another
outfit on under it. But I digress ....... I am committed to learning the names
of the staff. Some of the challenges thus far are:
1. Unfamiliar names
2. Many staff have
the same first name so you have to call them by both their first and last Name.
It is common to have 3 or 4 Mohammads (spelled differently but pronounced the
same) or several Fatimas ... .OMG
3. I can only see the
eyes of some of the womem and you are not to stare od look at them for long
periods of time. It is quite hard to learn their names when I can not see or
look at them ... but I am getting better
So a funny thing
happened unintentionally. One day I was on a hot streak! A few men and women
had gathered in the entry way and I began to try and call them by name. Every
time I got one right, I would do the Tiger Woods fist pump! Well ... .now they
ask me each day what their names are and when I get it right, they want me to
do the fist pump! They find it funny and I think it is quite humorous myself.
The ladies also like to challenge me, especially the ones with the full head
covering. I never get their names right. I almost hate to guess now because I
do not want it to be seen as disrespectful that I know some of the names, but
not all of the names.
BRING YOUR BEST SELF
I can assure you that
at some point something will not go the way you want it to go. You have to know
this coming in and be able to deal with it. You have to remain patient, yet
firm. I had a major issue this week dealing with housing. I am not going to
bore you with the details, but the day to move into my new apartment (later post)
and the day to move out of the hotel did not coincide. It created a huge issue
but I went and TALKED to the appropriate people and even though it was
stressful and frustrating, IT ALL WORKED OUT. I have heard and have witnessed
people "losing it." When they tell you this might happen, or you
might be placed here or there ... believe them. Do not act crazy because what
they said would happen ... HAPPENED. Do not get so hung up on where your
friends are going and what they are doing. This will cause you great distress.
You "betta" find your own happiness no matter where they place you or
where you go. If not, they will GLADLY place you on the next flight back home!
YAS VICEROY HOTEL
I was invited to dinner at the Viceroy
Hotel. I had heard about this hotel, but still did not know a great deal. As I
am on a “budget”, I decided to look at the menu before hand. I noticed that
they had a dinner buffet and for some reason I thought this had been mentioned
during the invitation. 200 AED was the price!!! 200 hundred anything in any
language is a lot! Fortunately, the invitation came via a groupon so my group
and I only had to leave a tip. But it would have been well worth the price. Now
the Fairmont Hotel where I currently reside could be considered a 5 star hotel.
The Viceroy however is in a league of its on. The picture above is the actual
hotel and the lighting changes every few seconds. The dinner buffet included
lamb, different types of fish, cheeses, ox tails (yeah, I said it), salads,
fruits, and deserts. The food, atmosphere, and company were amazing! I
definitely urge anyone to try it and I will definitely be going back…even if I
have to pay 200 aedsJ
FEW TIPS
ALL: Watch Out For Your Taxi Driver !!!! Taxi
drivers hear make as little or as much or a third from their fares. I have been
told that they are expected to accumulate at least $ 450.00 dirhams a day in
fares. Many / most if them are supporting families back home so they tend to
drive LONG shifts often forsaking sleep. Today my taxi driver was nodding off
and I began to talk to him about his family. He admitted that he was tired. No
one loves to take a quick power nap more than me in the taxis, but before you
do, check to see how alert your taxi driver is.
Future admin: SAVE YOUR MONEY! There are so many hidden
cost that you do not find out about from realtor fees, security deposits, gas /
water / electricity deposits and such. Basically, you need to expect that your
entire furniture allowance will be used up before you buy a stitch of
furniture. The ironic part is that many of us spent that last few months
selling everything we had and now we have to buy it all again!
Future admin: Yes, Abu Dhabi and other regions are
nice. I encourage anyone to take in the sites. HOWEVER, your first
priority should be to find housing! When ADEC gives you your ERP number and
your furniture check, you are one the clock and they "is not"
playing. Do not think that you can live it up in this 5 star hotel for a month
and some Sundays. They will kick your butt out OR gladly pass the bill along to
you! A great realtor is Thomas Williams with Better Homes. He is from the UK
and knows Abu Dhabi well. He can only assist if you are placed in Abu Dhabi. His
contact information is Thomas.williams@bhomes.com.
Again, Find Your Housing FIRST !!!
INTERESTING
SITE
While walking in the
mall today, I came upon this.
These are bathing
suits that would be worn by Arabic women. They are essentially a onsie bathing
suit covering them from head to toe.
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