Final one....for now!

I haven’t written on here for so many reasons. I would love to say that it’s because I was too busy having a great time to write silly blog entires. I would love to say that it’s because my life is so boring that there is nothing to write about. That is simply, not true. I have avoided writing because I didn’t want to be honest with myself. I didn’t want to be honest about what this experience has been like and what I truly was sacrificing (other than my family) to be here. This experience has been the most, how do I even put this, the most degrading experience of my life professionally. Let me back up a bit.

As many of you know, I taught abroad for four years in Korea and LOVED it! I left Korea when my personal life was in shambles and I was desperately homesick. Professionally, while difficult, it was awesome! I loved teaching, going to work, loved the kids. It renewed my faith in teaching after a terrible student teaching experience. Korea was not easy but I’m pretty easy going so even when things got chaotic, I was able to pull myself through. When I took this job in Abu Dhabi, I knew there would be hardships. I knew there would be frustrations and delays. I was ok with that, I had already lived through it and survived and thrived! But I would find the delays to be the least of my worries there.

My employers seemed to think the answer to all of our problems, issues, and frustrations was that they had put us up in a five star hotel to await my life to begin in Abu Dhabi. At first, I bought it hook, line and sinker. They kept implying that I should just relax, sit by the pool, look at my awesome accommodations and wait until stuff started to happen. When I was trying to find housing with ZERO guidance from my employers and no information when I asked, I still maintained my dignity. When I was banned from the office for two days because the “man” in charge didn’t want to deal with the fact that I had no place to live and didn’t know how to find a place to live, I held my composure. As I washed my underwear in the sink for the 50th time, paid 30 dollars to wash two loads of laundry for the 10th time, when I had to order take out for the 150th time all because I was living in a hotel for weeks on end, I held my composure. When they denied my housing choice and gave no alternatives, I held my composure. When my promised “advance” didn’t come until two weeks after they said it would come, I held my composure. When they placed me in a school 45 minutes away, knowing I was brand new to the country, I held my composure. All of this basically because they told me to be grateful to be staying in a nice hotel and to be patient and flexible but please don’t forget to respect the culture and wear clothes that cover you from head to foot, don’t eat or drink in public during daylight hours during Ramadan, even when you are very sick. Oh yeah, don’t piss of an Emirate, they will turn on you.

So when did my composure fly out the window? When I started school. In my interview, I was asked all sorts of teacher questions like “how will you teach litarcy and science to ESL students?’ I talked about modeling, small group instruction, technology such as power points, and centers. Good stuff. Not once did the people interviewing me tell me that basically I would have no resources, not even a pack of pencils and paper for the children. That I would be required to have a print rich classroom but at the same time have zero resources to do it with and therefore would need to purchase all of my own stuff. I would have no books, no curriculum, and basically would be expected to “play” with the children the first week of school. No big deal, right? I’ve worked with no curriculum and had to buy all my own supplies before. The difference was that I was expected to be a western style teacher and have all those American classroom resources with no actual resources! I didn’t even have paper and pencil and neither did the children! The children were another matter all together. Nowhere in my interview did they prepare me for the fact that my children would have had almost zero background knowledge about classrooms and learning and all that stuff that is so important in the first few days of school. Nobody told me they would be running away, kicking and screaming. That they would eat paper clips and not be able to hold a pencil. That they would have no academic knowledge, no literacy skills, that in some cases they would hit us, kick us, punch us, and pinch us. Nowhere did they say that they would change school schedules on whims, that we were expected to NEVER call in sick. That we would always, always have to defer to the Arabic teachers and hopefully they would like us enough not make our lives a living hell. I found myself bitching the entire car ride home about my job. Everything about it was irritating. I was angry a lot, yelling at children a lot, losing my patience a lot. That is not the person I want to be nor the teacher I want to be. There is a huge world out there that is starving for good teachers, good ESL teachers. The pay won’t be as awesome but I’ve never done anything for money, ever!

So with that being said…..I have left the UAE. I sat down and was honest with myself and realized it wasn’t the right fit for me. I was happy with my friends and my social life but my professional life was in tatters and I didn’t want to get more entrenched only to leave 4 or 6 months down the line. It makes me sad, I wanted this to be the answer to my prayers, to be the job that finally gets me ahead after almost 1.5 years of underemployment but I’ve realized there is no quick fix and when something isn’t working, it isn’t working and you are doing nobody any favors by trying to ride it out. So I’m going home. I love it! I have no job, very little money and no car but I have a place to live, food to eat, people to love and laugh with so I will take it! My next adventure is there whether it keeps me in Superior, off to Asia or Europe (I’ve given up the middle east for right now). I’m grateful for this experience because it gave me a chance to “start over” again. To pick up the pieces and to really begin again, more grateful than ever to have choices in life.. I ‘m grateful for the experience of Abu Dhabi, the friends I met, the laughs I had. I won’t forget the endless days by the pool and the beach and the nicest hotel I’ve ever stayed in. I got to chose to experience all of that and I got to choose to walk away……that my friends is a pretty awesome life!

Eid Al Fitr

So last week there was a 3 day holiday to mark the end of Ramadan called Eid Al Fitr. Perhaps you read something about it in newspapers how most Muslims in the US chose, of their own accord, to push back celebrations so that their big holiday (think Christmas) would not fall on 9/11. I had to put that in their because when I read about it in various newspapers it warmed my heart....not because they made this gesture but because I have faith in humanity as a whole despite religion, culture, language, and politics. This just put a little tick in my evidence column!

So the big celebration started on Wednesday and Thursday and finished up on Sunday since Friday and Saturday are weekend days.

All I can say is....wow!!!!! What an end to Ramadan. The whole city came alive. The pool bar opened up, people (other than teachers) were swimming and enjoying themselves. Food and drink were flowing. Everyone was happy and in a good mood. The music was blaring. It felt like normal, especially when the last few weeks felt very strange and out of sorts with not being able to eat or drink in public! Children were decked out in brand new clothes and their pockets were lined with crisp new money. Families headed out to meet family and to feast on amazing food and drink! Thanks was made to Allah for getting through another fasting month. I'm glad I was here for it to experience it first hand!

So, I'm loving life outside of Ramadan. School has started, well kind of. I'm teaching 1st grade and have yet to meet my students. Basically, it's going to be a slow introduction into teaching here and it will take time to get me and my classroom up and running! Slowly but surely. I'm not going to let the stress of setting up a classroom and teaching in a new environment stress me to the point of not enjoying my life.

The housing situation is moving...perhaps I have an apartment? It's being inspected on Sunday so I'm hopeful! Once I get the keys and start to purchase furnishings I will take pictures! It's super cute though and in a brand new building with a pool and gym!! I don't want to get too excited because who knows what will happen but here's hoping!

Other than that, life is starting to become more normal. Talks have begun about our first break in November.....ideas being tossed around include Jordan, Lebannon, Egypt, or Sri Lanka.....

Dubai bound!

So yesterday some of us were pretty frustrated and decided to get out of dodge for the day. We decided to head up to Dubai for the afternoon. It's about a 90 minute drive and we were ready for something different!!!

Michelle loaded up four in her car and our other friends John and Vanessa loaded up in their car and off we went!



We went to Emirates Mall which was amazing! Well, all malls are amazing here. We walked around and checked out Ski Dubai! Yes, the infamous ski hill in the mall!



After a late lunch, we decided to go to the souks which are the local markets. Souks can cover a range of merchandise. There are gold souks, camel souks (YES!), textile souks, spice souks, meat souks. We headed to the large textile souk in Dubai! It was pretty cool. Yes, of course, anytime you are in a big city there is always going to be a sketchy dude on a dark corner asking if you want to follow him for "very nice Prada bags" so that we did! Down a very dark alley and up very creaky stairs! It was fun and interesting and not at all scary! We did some bargaining...some folks got great deals on some great stuff. I didn't shop because right now I'm in saving and budgeting mode! I look forward to being flush with cash and finding awesome deals!

The last couple of weeks....

The last two weeks has been intense here. Working in a new culture with new "rules" is always tough to adjust to. I know this, I worked in Korea for 4 years and that required a huge amount of patience. It's the same in the UAE but to different degrees....not better or worse...just different. I've sort of avoided it on my blog because I don't want to complain about my employers in a public forum and I would rather be positive and optimistic (as much as possible) about everything working out!

Housing is in limbo. That's tough. We were told one thing, another totally different thing has occurred and now I've given up and decided to live in my nice, beautiful hotel until they find me housing. I'm not longer going to stress myself out, driving all around AD looking for a place to live only to have it rejected by my employers. Pay has been an issue but that has now been resolved (thankfully). I'm still waiting for my visa and passport back and without it I can't do anything including wiring money home to pay bills. Communication is non-existent and that has probably been the toughest. This is my quick and dirty vent, what I can write in a public forum and to best show that it's been intense and difficult but hopefully getting better!

The positives:

1. I live in a literal 5 star resort where breakfast is free which is a beautiful and bountiful buffet.

2. I live 5 minutes from the mall and cand head there for groceries and a great and inexpensive meal.

3. I'm surrounded by friends that I have grown to love and adore....a second family in the making.

4. I'm healthy for the most part.

5. I've joined the Ambassador club so every night here I'm racking major points to redeem in the future. Plus, I get free internet and free fruit and Perrier in my room!

6. The pool and beach area rock and once Ramadan is over tomorrow the swim up bar will be serving alcoholic drinks once again!

7. I received a partial paycheck which will help alot.

8. A very safe country to live in.

9. A big, cosmopolitan city at my finger tips.

10. Adventures every day!

School starts next week....I'm nervous but excited!!!

Shway Shway

So there's this term in Arabic...."Shway Shway" which loosely means "go with the flow" "patience" It's a state of mind and it's truly embedded in the local culture. That term was seriously put to the test a couple of days ago.

First and foremost, life here is interesting to say the least. Communication is tough to come by and word of mouth seems to be the order of the day. Lots of conflicting information or really no information at all. I knew that going in simply because the culture itself is confusing in that way but also we are dealing with a government organization trying to sort out the lives of about 1000 new teachers. Sure, there is going to be some waiting, some wondering, and some frustrations. I've been doing ok and I definitely have a great support system of new friends that help each other out and try to find as much info. as possible. Plus it helps that our "waiting" is taking place in a five star hotel with wonderful amenities!

On MOnday, things took a drastic turn.......

I was at breakfast when I started hearing rumors that folks had gotten a message on their tv stating that all Abu Dhabi people living in the city were moving out at 3pm that day. This was a surprise to me since first of all, I don't have an apt. yet. Still waiting not only for the contract to be signed but for my furniture allowance. I wasn't too terribly worried, I assumed it was that the folks living in the furnished housing were leaving. Rumblings continued all day and we didn't hear a peep from anyone from our organization. This was all teachers going around and talking about this. We had no idea if it was true or not. I get back to the hotel. Have some lunch and am reading in my room when I get a phone call about 2pm saying to me "Kindly have your bags packed, the porter will be there at 3pm to pick them up, you are checking out" I jumped up! Freaked out! Called friends! I packed my bags in a hurry and went off to help a friend. We get downstairs to be told by the organization and travel agency "No, you are not checking out, if you are getting your own apartment you are staying" So....in the end it worked out but I really thought to myself, if they put me out, I'm going home!!! But it worked out, we laugh about the stress of that day now, but it's just a big reminder that I'm in a whole other world and to take heed from the local population and try to "Shway Shway" as much as possible!!!

Iftar......

Right now about 1 billion Muslims around the world are celebrating Ramadan. To put it simply, Ramadan is a month of fasting where a Muslim will not eat, drink, smoke, or engage in intimate relations from sun up to sun down. The time of Ramadan each year changes as it follows the lunar/islamic calendar. This year it is roughly from 8/11 to 9/11 depending on certain factors. What this means for me living in this country is that during the day there are very few restaurants open and serving. Those restaurants are identifiable by either curtains blocking windows and doors or paper on the windows and doors so one can't see in or out. This also means I may not eat or drink in public spaces during the day. This is to provide an atmosphere of support for those fasting. It has changed my eating habits drastically and has made me constantly think and plan for food. Once the sun goes down, the city opens up and the "party" begins.

Last night some friends and I went out for Iftar. Iftar is the meal just after sunset that breaks the fast. Many restaurants and hotels are offering Iftar buffets. Some are expensive, some are more reasonable. We went to an Iftar buffet down the street for a very reasonable price where both local food as well as western and Asian food was served. It was a wonderful time and I felt like for the first time since I got here, I felt part of the wider community, not simply because I was at Iftar but because I was enjoying my meal. It felt warm and fuzzy like you do on holidays when you are with family and friends. That made it truly feel like I was partaking in the Iftar tradition (think Thanksgiving but every night for a month, that is Iftar to local people).

Right now things are stressful here....just the idea of not having our housing sorted yet nor have we been paid an advance yet that was promised last week but I'm finding myself not in panic mode because I've made some very good friends and we do a wonderful job of supporting each other and helping each other. It feels like we are in this together and that feels awesome. So I may have some news after I post this blog entry about housing or where I'm headed next or I may not.....we shall see after our meeting today.

Lazy "Sunday"........

Many people don't know that the work week in UAE is Sunday through Thursday. Which, of course is weird to most people who don't live here but at the same time when you are here and everyone else is working that same Sunday through Thursday.....it really isn't a big deal. Your Saturday becomes your "Sunday" which for me means lazy day.....

Tomorrow beings the work week and another week of orientation although I'm not sure what we will be doing......perhaps school stuff? I'm hoping they let us out a bit early to take care of banking/housing needs since work hours are from 9-3 due to Ramadan. More on Ramadan later but it creates a bit of a juggling situation when you are trying to be at work but know that you only have a small window of opportunity to get important stuff done! Hopefully, I will have news about both my banking as well as my housing tomorrow!!! FINGERS CROSSED!!!