24 Hours to Paradise

Wow I cannot believe the time has finally arrived for Madisyn and I to depart on this excursion. It seems like yesterday we received the news and now everything is slowly turning into a reality. This last week has been a little overwhelming, but for the most part relaxing. I made a list based on recommendations on what I needed to bring outside of clothes and electronics. The list included:

1) Your favorite soap
2) Shampoo and Conditioner (I heard these items are difficult to find)
3) Make-up
4) Facial cleanse products
5) Medication for Marshall and Madisyn (I was informed that although they have traditional medications, it is a lower dosage from what we are accustomed to).

For the most part Maddy and I are packed and ready to rock and roll. Between us two, we have 4 large duffel bags to check-in. For convenience I paid in advance for the additional luggage, which actually saved us $35 (Etihad Airways). My carry-on luggage will only be my baby's backpack and an Ogio Brooklyn Shoulder Bag. Since this will be my first time traveling with my baby, I want to make the journey easy.

Today I visited our local AAA office to purchase travel insurance for our flight. I recommend this service because it covers your flight in the event an emergency occurs, medical expenses, missing or damaged luggage, and if your flight is delayed more then 6 hours they will cover food and lodging expenses. It's actually pretty cheap costing only $46 (amount based on your flight cost and age). 

My husband walked me through the process of downloading Astrill to my MacBook and iPad. It provides privacy protection and allows you to access the Internet without geo-restrictions.https://www.astrill.com/index.php

As the time nears, I am getting emotional about leaving my family. I am such a mother's baby (and proud of it)! I do thank God that I was given the opportunity to spend the entire summer with family and friends, before departing. I know it will be bittersweet when my mom takes us to the airport, but my saving grace is knowing that my family will not hesitate to hop on a flight to visit me. 

Tomorrow, I plan to spend the day relaxing and enjoying my last 24 hours in Alabama.

I can laugh now....

Only because I sit here now on the 42^nd floor of Sky Tower looking at an amazing sunset can I chuckle about it. It’s still too early to give it a full laugh just yet…maybe in a few weeks after the nightmares fully stop. What I am about to describe is probably one of the craziest days that I have had here and one of the more stressful issues I have had to undergo…HOUSING. Now some teachers may read this and think to themselves, I won’t have to go through this, but I assure you that it may not be housing, but you may very well find yourself running around like a chicken with its head cut off at some point about something. I assure you that you are not immune!

My crazy day, which was a Monday actually started on the previous Thursday.  After being denied my first housing preference and having to go back and look at more places, I finally found one that I loved. I finally got the offer letter, which is simply a letter from the landlord outlining the terms of the rental. FYI…you do not want to spend your maximum on housing because there is no law about how much a landlord can raise the rent from year to year. In the past it was capped at 5%. Typically, as you are negotiating you will want to have your landlord agree to not raise the rent for two years. I have some tips that you can use that will possibly get you more items such as appliances and such. However, you will need to email me and we can talk more about some negotiating tactics you can use. I was able to have my landlord buy all of my appliances brand new and I picked them out as well. #PROOF

Anyway, back to the story…So I rush down to “the place” on Thursday afternoon to submit all of my documents. See previous posts about what ALL my documents really mean. I upload them into the ERP system. Oh did I forget to mention that during this process, we were told that we had to be out of the hotel on the following Monday, but our ERP numbers only started to work that Thursday and we were told initially that housing approval could take up to 7 days. Yeah, my other colleagues and I were a little panicked. However, housing and general services got on the same page and gave us extensions…and more extensions….and more extensions. After uploading all of the required documents, I along with a friend (Renee), were told to come back on Sunday and pick up the official contracts……or so we thought.

I arrive Sunday and the person that I was told to meet acted as if he did not remember me from the previous Thursday. He “shooed” me away and told me to wait for another person to assist me. I had no idea who this person was. I was only given a name and pointed in a general direction. After waiting about 30 minutes, I realized whom I was waiting on. Let’s just say, the entire time this person had been causally talking to another person and even though I don’t know Arabic, I could tell it wasn’t all that important. As she stood up with her pocketbook, I became alarmed and rushed over to speak with her. Clearly, she was ready to go. I would tell you what happened over the next 15 minutes if I didn’t think it would raise my blood pressure again, but needless to say, the contract would not be ready on Sunday. I was told to submit another document and to come back the next day. GREAT…NO PROBLEM!!! Or so I thought…….

The next day, my friend Renee who has been one of my ACES so far though this hilarious, yet stressful journey decided that she would go to “the place” the next morning @ 7:00 a.m. and get both of our contracts….or so we thoughtJ I went to work and spent the next few hours texting Renee as she sat and waited for our contracts to be done. At 12:00, I decided to go to “the place” myself and wait because surely the contracts would be ready shortly. After all, Renee had been there since 7. So we waited….and we waited….and waited…and waited…Poor Renee had been there all day long. At about 2:30, we were told that the person needing to sign off on the contracts had gone to a meeting and would not be back. SAY WHAT!!!!! (insert whatever curse word you want here) We clearly were being punked! This was not happening for real….but it really was!!

I decided that the next morning (which was now Tuesday) I would go and wait…it was my turn right??J After about an hour and a half, I finally had the contract! I felt like I had the golden ticket all over again. I left jubilated and went to the school and my realtor, Tom, met me to pick up the contract. A few hours later, I got a call from Tom telling me that the information in the contract was WRONG! REALLY!!!! I jumped back in a taxi and went back to “the place” to make them aware of the situation. After being scolded for not having Tom come, I must have pulled at someone’s heart strings because I was told that there was an apartment in the same building that I wanted (and thought I had a contract on) and that I could move in right away with no deposits or realtor fees. The only thing I had to do was to go and look at it. So off to Reem Island (in a taxi) I went…..the whole time conflicted that I might pull the carpet from under my potential landlord and Tom, both whom I had really come to like. Meanwhile, Renee had come back to “the place”, and begun to work her magic with compliments and candy in getting our contracts fixed. Oh yeah, hers was wrong as wellJ PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUCEMENT: I cannot tell you how important it is to keep your cool when things do not go your way. It’s all about relationships here. If you piss off the person that is the gatekeeper between you and any type of normalcy you are used to, then you will spend a longer amount of time waiting (and I do mean longer) for whatever it is and it maybe something as small as a signature. DO NOT PISS WHERE YOU EAT!!! 

So of course I did not like the apartment as much as the one that I had chosen. It was about 400 square feet smaller. Might not sound like a big deal, but it was. About the time I was realizing that this had been a wasted trip, Renee called me letting me know that she had our contracts and they were all done correctly! However, I needed to come back to “the place” because Tom wanted to get the contracts and have them signed as soon as possible. So off in yet another taxi I went. Are you keeping track? We met at a restaurant and waited, commiserated, laughed, almost cried, and talked about how good GOD had been and how good he was/is even through this ordeal. Tom came and took the contracts and we hopped into a taxi (yet again) and headed back to the hotel. So let me recap my day that day!

1.     Taxi to “the place” (25 aed)

2.     Taxi  to school (25 aed)

3.     Taxi back to “the place” (25 aed)

4.     Taxi to Reem Island (40 aed)

5.     Taxi back to “the place” (40 aed)

6.     Taxi back to the hotel (15 aed/split with Renee)

Like I said, a chicken with my head cut off! And that’s where the fun really begins…..between furniture shopping, appliance shopping, waiting on deliveries, internet, gas, running around getting the AC cut on, electricity, and “chilled water”. That’s right I said “chilled” (In the states you pay for hot water…over here you pay for it to be cold)..the fun is just beginning!

So you say you want to work in Abu Dhabi huh??? Well come on! It is an adventure all to itself…and mind you…I haven’t even given you the real on work yet:) LOL…(in my sinister laugh)

First Impressions......a week into a lifetime

So today officially marks my first full week here in Abu Dhabi and it has flown by! I have seen many blogs that start and stop and I see why. It is hard to stop and find the time  to fully explain(write) everything but I want to stay committed to this to 1) document my experiences 2) to help others navigate the waters and 3) encourage someone to follow their dreams when folk around them are calling them crazy! There are SO many topics that I want to discuss so let me preface this post by saying two things....it will be long and these are "MY" experiences, thoughts, and perspectives.

The Goodbyes

A picture is worth a 1000 words....Missing my Maddy Poo!

Sherrica and Maddy

My mom and Maddy

The Plane Ride

Whew!!! 13 hours in a tight space. But all I can say is that Etihad Airways is the truth. From the goodie bags with headphones (they collect them before landing), to the food, to the free alcohol, to the customer service, they were absolutely wonderful. For me this was my first up close exposure and realization that I was heading to a new land. It was interesting to see all the different cultures on the plane and to also see those  of the Islamic faith get up every so often with their prayer rugs to go and pray. A lot could be learned from them and one of the things that I hope strengthens my family is their faithfulness to their religion. Being here a week, I have begun to understand that their faith is not something that they do (like some of us on Sunday:), but who they are. It is the foundation for EVERYTHING in this society and it is beautiful to watch in amazement. 

We were met like movie stars right of the jet way with our names on an ipad and whisked through customs. We had our vision checked and bags retrieved in record time. Not sure how they do it, and if you have ever flown into Atlanta's airport you certainly know what I mean, but by the time we made it to baggage claim, our bags were arriving. 

ADVICE: You will here conflicting things on FB but get your Sim card at the airport!!!! You will not have your passport beyond this point and it is darn near impossible to get a sim card anywhere else without your ACTUAL passport. NO, they do not accept copies of passports. Yes, ADEC "may" give you one but it comes with restrictions such as no data and it only has about 10 minutes on it. You need a local number and it helps to already have that secured ASAP! Myself and another AVP were the only 2 of about 30 or so AVPs and teachers to get it at the airport and each one will tell you that they probably wished they had!

ADVICE: Exchange some money at the airport! It is quick, painless, and the exchange rate is really good. It also makes you feel really rich walking around with 500 dollar (dirham) bills #bigballer

Emirati Appearance, People, and Culture

From the airline attendants, to the hotel clerks, to the normal citizenry, their is a pride in how they present themselves. No doo rags, no sagging pants, no hair bonnets, no pajamas in public.....This culture is a very prideful culture and they make it a point to not do anything or allow anyone to do anything that would bring shame to them in any way. Another aspect of their culture is that is strikingly opposite to my American culture are the use of cellphones. Yes, everybody has them but when they are with their family, you rarely see them....EVER. I have yet to see anyone on their cellphone while in a family setting and family is hugely important here. Again, another aspect of this culture that I hope to learn a great deal from. 

One of my favorite activities thus far has been to talk with the service staff. THEY ARE AMAZING and ALL have wonderful stories. I have met a young man who was a teacher in Uganda. Another who recently graduated from a University. He and I spoke for nearly an hour one night as he was curious as to why cops were killing black people. Yes, THE WORLD IS WATCHING US! He told me that because of his University major this epidemic was really interesting to him. He made sure to speak quietly as he did not want anyone to hear our subject matter. He told me that America needed more Marcus Garvey's to stand up and say enough! I make it a point to visit with my favorites everyday at some point. It seems the list keeps growing because each day they introduce me to someone else. We laugh at the fact that our dreams are opposite. They dream to come to America and my dream was to leave America and live abroad. They all are supporting families back home and it is quite normal to see them working in one position in the morning and then another at night. Steve Harvey says that the Dream is free, but the hustle is sold separately. They give a whole new meaning to the word hustle and grind and whether they know it or not, they inspire me. I admire them for trying to carry the weight of their entire families. Many have left children and wives to come here and make roughly 500-800 US dollars a month and they send most of that back home. So to my new friends...I salute each of you and your courage, will, and hustle!

Hotel Life

View from my hotel room

I mean, who could get tired of a 5 star hotel, with daily cleanings, free breakfast, huge pool, with a private beach! If you are waiting on a however or but......it ain't coming!! I have no complaints about the accommodations and I am truly grateful. If ADEC had placed us in a Holiday Inn, no one would have complained, but they didn't! Everything has been amazing and the staff go to no ends to make you feel welcomed and secure. 

Education..."Without a Vision, People will Perish"

Abu Dhabi and the Royal Family values education and are serious about strengthening their society through education. There is a joke the locals tell...My grandfather rode a camel, my father drove a Mercedes, my son will drive a Maserati, my grandson will drive a Lamborghini, but my great grandson will ride a camel. They understand that eventually a society that was built on oil will have to transition and education is the means that will allow this transition. Yes, it will be hard work but you have to remember...The US educational system is over 100 years old. They just started practically 10 years ago and already have made huge leaps. They have researched the best systems and practices in the world from Finland to the U.K. and have/are creating a system/curriculum that will leap frog them into the future. Beginning this year, every 10th and 11th grader will be exposed to a S.T.E.M. curriculum with expansion coming each year after that. 

Malls

I am not going to waste my time typing this or your time reading it talking about shopping. Let me say this, there are malls everywhere. There are upscale malls, decent malls (like the ones back home, and not so good malls. You will have to venture out and find the 1, 2, or 3 that fit your need and budget.

Security

I am sure that many of you have family members who were concerned about your safety. Never take anything for granted, but let me say that everywhere you go, there is security. This country goes to great lengths to make sure that everyone is safe. Crime and violence is something that brings shame to them and they are swift in punishing those who commit crime. For instance, the American teacher who was killed in December 2014. Her murderer was captured, tried, and executed July 2015. SWIFT! Other than getting to know the cultural norms and behaviors in public, I always feel extremely safe and comfortable.

Housing and Placement

This subject is what brings out the U.G.L.Y. in people. Both show who was truly prepared for this experience and who was "hoping" that everything would work in their favor. It shows who can roll with the punches and who still has yet to realize that they are not in Kansas anymore. As I type this, there have been some who have been sent home for an inability to accept that which was always an option. 

Now, there are two types or placements/housing when it comes to administrators and teachers. As administrators, we know months ahead of time, which region we will be placed. The only aspect of our assignment that we do not know is our school and what type of school it will be; elementary (cycle 1) middle (cycle 2) or high (cycle 3) or a combination. We also know that our region can and/or school can change at a moments notice (I was originally placed in Al Ain and then reassigned to Abu Dhabi). We (admin aka AVPs) have the responsibility of finding our own housing based on the budget prescribed by ADEC according to the region and our marital status. For example in Abu Dhabi our housing allowance is 210K (dirhams) if we are married compared to 131K dirhams for single. In Al Ain, the housing allowance for married is 112k (dirhams) and 67k for single. If AVPs are places out west in Al Gharbia then our housing is chosen for us as there is not as much housing to choose from. Regardless of where we are placed, we are given 20k (dirhams) or about $5,500 usd to purchase furniture. Unlike in the states, most places do not have appliances or furniture. The downside to this is that unlike teachers, who are placed in housing (I will get to this), AVPs must pay realtor fees (5%) and security deposits (5%), which come from the furniture allowance. If you are a quick study in math, you will realize that much, if not all of your furniture allowance is gone after those "hidden costs" so any appliances and furniture must come out of your own pocket...SAVE YOUR MONEY AVPs!!!

Teachers...Teachers...Teachers...GET YOUR MIND RIGHT BEFORE YOU GET HERE! Teachers enter into this new opportunity completely, or mostly blind. They know their salary and they know that there housing will be taken care of, but they don't know their region or school. The school placement is not that big of a deal, unless a teacher has taught high school and has now been given a kindergarten class.....Hey, it happens but not so much as they really try to match the skill sets that you bring so that their students are successful. The PLACEMENT is the BIG ISSUE. Even though teachers are told from the outset that they could go to any region, many come with their mind set on one or two places....and let's be honest, very few want to go out west (Al Gharbia) where it is thought to be rural and desolate. Let me say this....there are many teachers that have gone out west and love it! However, some teachers come wanting the "bright lights" of Abu Dhabi and when they don't get it...how should I say this.....ACT A COMPLETE DAMN FOOL! As if they knew this wasn't a possibility. I think you do yourself a huge disservice if you come close-minded. Some might say, it is easy for me to speak since I am in Abu Dhabi but let me say that when I was TOLD that I was going to Al Ain, I was preparing to go and make the most of it! Sherrica and I both wanted Abu Dhabi because it gave her the greatest opportunity to work, but had it not occurred, we were prepared to move on with plan B. 

You have to prepare yourself mentally for anything and anywhere. If you wanted ABSOLUTE control, then you have to stay in the US where you can control the school you work in and the neighborhood you live. You give ALL that up when you sign up for this opportunity. Understand that. Yes, there are times that you can dispute housing arrangements due to certain things, as some teachers have successfully changed housing, but placement for the most part is an absolute and without a HUGE reason to change, you are where they place you.

Let me repeat. TEACHERS GIVE UP ALL CONTROL OVER YOUR LIVING ARRANGEMENTS AND PLACEMENT WHEN YOU GET ON THAT PLANE!!!

Family

I know that they encourage you to leave your family at home until you get settled but I would have to disagree. If you have the opportunity, BRING THEM. I could not due to a family event that is occurring at the end of the month, but I wish they were here with me. The hotel is wonderful and there is plenty to do to keep from getting cabin fever. And as many have stated before, your spouse can do some of the leg work or be there for deliveries when you cannot. This is a wonderful experience so you might has well enjoy the ups, downs, and bewilderment of it all together!

New Haircut

The jury is still out but right now officially the vote is as follows:

• My mom hates it
• My wife is on the fence
• I like it....

If you are keeping total that is one Hell No, one Hell Yeah, and one I'm not so sure, which maybe code for Hell No, but I don't want to hurt your feeling honey! LOL

Until next time....Shukran (Thank you) for reading and Inshallah (if Allah (God) wills it)

And so it begins……..

Let me give a disclaimer that this will be a long post as there are a few topics that I want to cover. I will break them into sections just in case one section appeals more to you than another.

The WAIT……

Now for those that will read this post who have already been through it, those that are going through it now, and those that will HAVE to go through it in the future…..it is simple dreadful. I am not going to sugar coat it! You will go crazy some days. For me the wait was not bad during the months of June and “most of July due to me having my boys and doing a lot of vacationing with them. We (admin) were told to be ready mid to late July so the “waiting” for me was not a real thing because I was not expecting to leave before the end of July. Well……a funny thing happened. Teachers, that’s right….teachers began to get their notices to leave August 6^th and 7^th. Now, I would be lying if I told you a bit of my “admin” ego didn’t kick inJ I thought to myself, surely, admin would go before teachers. Nonetheless, this started the “waiting” for me. AND THEN IT HAPPENED! Other admin began to receive notification about leaving on July 29^th and 30^th, just as our recruiters had told us. But I never received that elusive GOLDEN e-ticket.

One of the aspects of waiting that drives you absolutely mad is that there is no rhyme or reason as to why some people leave before others. Furthering infuriating your mental state is when some people post on Facebook how excited they are to be leaving even though they just submitted paperwork 6 weeks ago and yours has been in for 4 months.  WHAT THE HELL!!! There is a biblical lesson in learning to rejoice and celebrate others while waiting on your blessing….BUT IT’S HARD!!!!

Now, believe it or not, and others can chime in with an AMEN here who have gone through this, the waiting doesn’t begin until others have gone. When they start posting pictures of their travels, excursions, housing (if I see one more picture of someones bidet toilet I am going to screamJ), and etc., you die a thousand deaths with each new posting and you can’t help but to click on the photos. I don’t want anyone to get this emotion confused with “hate” or “shade”. It’s just that you are thinking you want the same experience! I CANNOT stress enough how tough this period of time is. Those in group 1 will talk about the wait, but those in the groups that come after them, have lived “the wait”. I tried to hide my daily disappointment from others, while believing that GOD had a plan and my leaving would be through and by his will and not mine, BUT STILL! A brother was hurting when those daily and constant emails checks went unanswered. And the sad part is, I could tell you to spend time with your family, or go do something that you have never done, but the truth is, your mind will always be wondering/wanting “that email.”

Yet another aspect of “the wait” and the one that I think plays the most havoc in your mind is that it will make you question your decision. As money gets “thinner” and time seemingly gets longer, you start to ask yourself did I make the right decision. In my case, Atlanta Public Schools salary for principals was nothing to sneeze at. With three kids, I began to question (quietly) had I made the right decision. Even though my reasons were strong and good for wanting this new opportunity, I wrestled and contemplated about what I had done by leaving a job that I enjoyed seeking something that I might LOVE. It’s hard to stand still when the winds of “the wait” are blowing and it’s even harder to stay steadfast in your decision without thinking, “What in the world was I thinking!”

Even though it was hard and admittedly my faith wavered at times, I prayed about it and I believed in it. I had a great support system in my wife and others who had already gone over that would check on me and give me words of encouragement. All I can offer is my hope that EVERYONE going forward will not have to “live the wait” for long.

For me, “the wait” ended at a designed and ordained moment.  A good friend of mine who is also an admin, called me earlier excited about receiving her ticket. I was genuinely happy for her, but a bit nervous that I had not received “my” email.  Again, “the wait” is HELL when you know others are leaving or have gone. I decided to log onto Facebook to see what was floating in the atmosphere. Another friend of mine on Facebook had posted her daily affirmation/devotion. In it, she talked about being unique and how God has not forgotten you. A few days prior, I had told myself that I was going to read more post from people about GOD, especially if I could click on the ratchet fight clipsJ Don’t act like it’s just me….. I hit the “like” button because something about GOD not forgetting about me resonated with me. When I tell you that not 10 minutes later the email came, I was like WOW….nobody BUT GOD! (the two most powerful words in the bible)

Preparing Ourselves For the Blessing…..

You see, many folk who have this opportunity will waste it. Yes, they will travel and live it up, and come back in a number of years broke, busted, and disgusted. Some of you know I AINT LYING! This decision was huge for me because I sacrificed a great deal and I also asked my wife to sacrifice as well. Now I’m not trying to tell other grown folks what to do, but I will ask them to take an opportunity to think about the end game. Maybe this opportunity is about traveling the world and making memories and then going back to the “rat race” at some point. My only advice would be to take a little money back to the “rat race!”

If I knew then what I know now…I would be more than halfway to being a millionaire. I look at some of the folk fortunate enough to have this opportunity and I am envious of their age. Oh to be 25 with this opportunity and the knowledge that I have now. I WOULD BE DANGEROUS. But since I’m not 25, I have to be much more savvy and intentional with my finances. Have you ever seen people who should be enjoying retirement working. I’m not talking about the ones that love being active so they work. I’m talking about the ones that HAVE TO WORK. If you take nothing else from this blog, please meet with someone about your financial future so that when you are done chasing “kids”, you can enjoy the rest of your years.

There is a fallacy that since I make more then I am going to have more to save. WRONG!!!! If you couldn’t save a quarter in the states, then you won’t be able to save a dollar in the UAE. The trappings are too real. The palaces, the malls, the travel, the cars. They are all much more easily assessable now and the temptation to act as if you were born of such means is luring and easily exploitable. Where else in the world could you walk into a bank and walk out with a loan 3-5 times what you make by simply providing a letter that states how much your earn yearly.  No credit check. No background check. No nothing! Certainly not in the US! This is the true meaning of a no hassle loan!

As sure as I am typing this, there will be one or more that fall prey and find themselves in trouble.  What’s the worse that can happen in the US, bill collectors call and you have the option of dodging them or telling them to go tale a flying leap. NOT IN THE U.A.E! In the UAE, you will go to jail, have your passport denied, and be stuck until you can pay off your debts that incur interest at rates sometimes quicker than you can pay.

Prepare yourself for this blessing. Do not waste a huge opportunity by just “balling out”. Enjoy the UAE….travel….but at the end of the day, please have something (monetarily) to show for it. AND monetarily may mean that you paid off the debts you brought from home. Just be smart and wise and understand that “everything” that might be at your disposal, still may not be meant for your “disposal!”

Spouses of ADEC

Ephesian 5:21

Submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Being the spouse of an ADEC expat can be a perplexing process. They continue to thrive in a field they adore, and we are asked to leave behind our careers to join the journey. When my husband and I first fell in love he made the following statement, “Don’t worry about anything, I got you!” There was something about his particular tone and his eyes that allowed my wall to slowly come down and to wholeheartedly believe him. That being said 12 hours after giving birth to our daughter he received the email to travel to New York the following week for his final interview. Whoa…wait one second, I just delivered a baby! I had to remind myself that throughout our lives I knew my husband made every decision for our family through the wisdom of God, thus there was no need to stress.

After receiving the awesome news to prepare for an adventure in Abu Dhabi we were bursting with excitement. Then the reality of the move hit home. What about my career in Atlanta? Will I find my dream job in Abu Dhabi? How will I find this job without any networking connections in Abu Dhabi? While I enjoy being a stay at home mom in the interim, my desire is to focus on elevating my career in business.

After some time reflecting, I decided to utilize the faith I have in my husband and his ADEC opportunity as a stepping-stone for my career. This opportunity should allow the spouses to not only focus on obtaining a job, but rather to make their dreams a reality. Whether starting a business, working in corporate, or balancing both is completely up to you. Whatever vision God has displayed upon you can be achieved anywhere.

“Dream so often and so clearly it becomes a vision. Once you make it a vision, you start to see it. Once you see it-there’s only one way to make it a reality. You go get it"-Steve Harvey

Below are some resources I've researched to assist me as I embark on my professional introduction into Abu Dhabi.

Professional Development:

1. theMuse: The ultimate career finder and guidance destination. Any questions about creating or revising your resume and cover letter can be found here. It also provides great advice on interviewing and job searches. www.themuse.com

2. Coursera: An education platform that partners with top universities and organizations worldwide, to offer courses online for anyone to take, for free. You can also earn verified certificates to enhance your resume. https://www.coursera.org/

Facebook Groups:

1. Abu Dhabi Women’s Group: A great group to socialize and network about the ins/outs of Abu Dhabi. Anything from referred physicians, restaurants, and activities can be found here.

2. California-Abu Dhabi Connections: They meet for coffee and plan family activities. Their purpose is to build friendships and support one another.

3. Real Housewives of Abu Dhabi: A community of single or married women comprised of mothers, entrepreneurs & professionals.

Networking Groups

1. American Women Network of Abu Dhabi: An informal group of American women living and working in Abu Dhabi. They offer coffee meet-ups and other social activities. http://www.awnabudhabi.com/

Membership is free

2. ExpatWomen.com: A platform that offers support to women and families taking on new expat challenges. They provide information on family life, food, entertainment, education, shopping, where to live, jobs, health and sightseeing in Abu Dhabi. http://www.expatwoman.com/

I hope these resources are instrumental in making your professional transition less stressful.