The Calm Before the Storm (Maybe?)

The last post was a while ago due some internet prices that were outstanding at our hotel.  We were disconnected from the world for a little bit but we are back again.  Since I last posted lots has been going on.  After my medical check we mostly spent time going to the malls (very popular here) and trying to figure out what was next.  We spent some time pool side and we even went to Dubai. 

Sept 10-11
Spending time pool side was very nice.  We really aren't used to this 5-Star service but it is nice while it lasts.  As we walked to the pool deck, one of the pool attendants runs after us with towels and asks us where we would like to sit.  Once we have chosen our chair, the attendant lays out two towels for each of us arranges the chairs however we want.  Basically, all you need to do is sit down.  LOL.  It sounds funny but there is little that we actually have to do ourselves.  The heat in Abu Dhabi hasn't been too bad.  We had some strong breeze which is funny.  It's like having a hot breeze.  Difficult to understand but that is what it feels like, hot breeze. 

That same day, my friend Johny, who attended school with some years ago, came to visit us at our hotel.  He lives in Dubai and offered to take us out.  We were getting tired of the cab rides so we took him up on his offer.  He drove us all the way to Dubai where we made a stop at Dubai Mall.  I saw sooo many expensive cars.  That just goes to show how much money there is here.  We saw lots of the mall and explored the food court as we were starving.  I got really overwhelmed with the amount of people.  I got a little flustered because it was so easy to get lost there.  We saw lots of places that were familiar to us.  Taco Bell, KFC, Subway, McDonalds, Baskin Robbins, Johnny Rockets, etc.  These people can eat!  We ended up eating at this diner where I ordered the cesar salad I was craving since we had arrived and it was delicious.  Overall, Dubai seemed very westernized in the sense that I didn't feel out of place. 

They had am amazing aquarium inside of the mall!  It even hold a Guiness World Record.  We saw the Burj Khalifa Building which is the tallest building in the world.  I was amazed at how high up that building was.  I don't think I brave enough to take a ride to the top but enjoyed seeing it from the observatory right outside of the mall.  After the mall, we headed to my friends apartment.  His apartment had me speechless.  To compare, it is like living in a high rise on the beach that would cost millions of dollars.  The view in the master bedroom was astonishing.  All you see if ocean and the infamous Palm Islands.  I even saw some camels hanging out on the beach.   In the morning, we woke up to a gorgeous sunlight that is to die for.  I truly felt important having a view like that. 

Downstairs from his apartment is called "The Walk" where you can find some shops and restaurants.  
We ended up eating at Ruby Tuesdays.  I know, I know.  Ruby Tuesdays!!! The salad bar was very scarce, nothing like in the states but nothing here tastes actually like the states.  After lunch we walked across the street to the beach.  It was hot!!! We stayed for a few and walked over to a Starbucks where I had an amazing frap.  Way better than back at home.  We then hopped in the car and drove around sightseeing.  We went towards the famous sailboat building.  The architecture here is mind-boggling.  We saw a water park and took some pictures of the buildings.  We took a ride to the Palm Islands and I must say, that is some pretty expensive real estate. 

Soon after, we made our way back to Abu Dhabi and were exhausted.  Johny was so awesome and very hospitable.  We would have never seen all of that without him. 

Sept 13th
We had a Jamboree (the names they choose)  on Monday which included all the teachers both from last year and this year.  There was about 6,000 people attending this event.  They serves coffee and tea before it began and we then ended the auditorium.  Basically, they wanted to welcome us and show us their plan for then next ten years and how the educational reform will hopefully pan out.  After our assembly, we had lunch at a Lebanese restaurant called Lebanese Flower.  The food as delicious and very inexpensive. It was a group of 10 of us.  Joey loved the food and was happy that we finally ate something that wasn't American.  Overall, it was a great day!

Sept 14th
We were moved from the Park Rotana in Abu Dhabi and finally moving to the city we would be living in.  We are currently staying at the Al Ain Rotana which is wonderful.  Some teachers were booked in small, not-so-great hotels due to overbooking.  We are greatly we are here and have plenty of people over every day.  We really love it here.  It isn't so crazy here and I feel more at ease.  Abu Dhabi is really hectic and crazy almost all the time.  Al Ain isn't a touristy but it is awesome.  We had trainings both on Wednesday and Thursday at the Intercontinental Hotel in Al Ain.  Still haven't actually stepped into my school but nevertheless I am very excited.  We have been spending lots of time with Jessica and Saul (a couple we met through my friend Jose back home) and it makes all this craziness a lot better.  Jessica and I go to trainings and Saul and Joey hang out at the hotel.  Jessica and Saul decided to rent a car so luckily we have been out and about.  We are planning on renting a car as soon as I get my first check.  Jose picked us up and took us around.  He has been living here for a year and showed us around.  We went to his house and Lu (his wife) was kind enough to cook for us.  We haven't had a home cooked meal in some time and it was soooo delicious.  Her coffee hit the spot also. 

I supposed to be going to school for the first time tomorrow and truly don't know what to expect.  I know my provider (hired by my employer to run the school) has a rigid curriculum for us to follow.  We don't meet with parents or handle discipline.  We are specifically expected to teach and handle nothing us like the teachers do in the states.  They want us to concentrate on teaching.  I work from 7:30 to 2 pm.  The children leave school at 12:30pm and from then until 2pm we are planning or doing professional development.  I work an hour less than I did back at home for more money and less responsibility.  I really can't complain. 

Jose has also taken us to see some empty places in his complex since his house is about 5 minutes from my school.  I hope we can get a place in there and be close by to people we know.  Regardless, Jessica and I will be placed in Jose's complex or at Hili Complex which is about 20 minutes from Jose and our school.  By the way, Jessica and I were placed at the same school (we got lucky).  Now I know people in Abu Dhabi (Eric and Dee - couple we met in the airport that will be living in Abu Dhabi), Al Ain (Jose and Lu plus Mila the baby and Jessica and Saul), and Dubai (Johny).  I am very blessed. 

In a bit, everyone is coming over to go to the pool at our hotel.  Our room is pretty big and love having everyone here.  Can't wait to play with Mila.  I love having babies around.  I will most likely blog tomorrow to tell you about my first day of school. 

Medical Check Day

AMAZING GREEN APPLE JUICE
(credit to Dee for stealing her picture)

So far we have been getting used to the time difference.  We tend to get sleepy in the afternoon (Joey is napping as I am writing this LOL) which doesn't help when going to sleep at night.  Not to mention that being in the heat also makes us very sleepy.  Last night we got hungry and got tired of getting in cabs and trying to explain where we wanted to go so we ended up going to Cooper's which is inside our hotel.  The restaurant has foods you can find anywhere in states.  We haven't been very adventurous with the food mainly because we don't want to get sick (just in case).  We had delicious burgers!!! Very yummy!  We then hung out in some friends' room until we got a message on the TV letting us know we had our medical check early the next morning.  I don't know if it was the burger or just being tired.  But I went to sleep pretty early and woke up around 6:30 am.  (By the way, we are trying to get used to using military time because that's what they use here)

We get complimentary breakfast every morning which is unbelievable delicious.  We get a plate and pack our plates (since it's difficult to get food during the day).  They have french toast, pancakes, hash browns, waffles, veal sausages (yummy), fresh fruits, yogurt, ham, turkey, honey from the hive (yes the hive is cleary visible), salmon, eggs to order, etc.  The juice is AMAZING!!! You can literally taste the freshness.  It tastes as if you are biting into a perfect green apple. 

After breakfast we came back to our room and I took a shower and got ready to go.  I went to the lobby around 9:25 am and the bus got there within minutes.  I rode the bus over to the health screening center.   It was a fairly simply process.  All the workers are sooo friendly!  Besides the guy that took my picture which was talking on the phone through his headset which was kinda rude, but whatever.  The doctor that took my information was nice and told me they were very happy we were there.  I then proceeded to get my blood drawn which hurt :(
After I need to take off some clothes and was asked if I am pregnant.  I shook my head NO!  After about two seconds my x-ray was done.  I got back on the bus and now here I am at the hotel relaxing.  It is about 6 AM back home so I am waiting before I can call anyone. 

Tomorrow we are scheduled to take a tour of the mosque and will be followed by some more orientation.  We are also supposed to find out our school placement tomorrow Inshallah! 

Malls, Malls, and more Malls

The 2nd day here we decided to explore the malls which we packed with people.  We went to Lulu Hypermarket inside of Al Wahda Mall which was similar to a Wal-Mart.  Lots of everything.  We bought some things to have to eat in the room since Ramadan is still going on it isnt very easy to find things to eat during the day.  We stuff ourselves with free breakfast to keep up full until the fast is over for the day so we can eat at night.  I don't really care too much for eating at night but during Ramadan we really don't have much of a choice. 

Model of Marina Mall

His Highness

After Al Wahda Mall we went to Marina Mall which is HUGE.  I thought I have seen big malls but nothing like this.  Lots of the stores back in the US were here.  There was one section of Louis Vuitton and Gucci.  I was in handbag heaven but definitely not spending the money on that. 

Orientations follow and exploring on the down time.....

We finally made it here!

On Tuesday, we decided to pack up the house and leave everything behind.  As we walked out of the door of the house that has tons of mosquitos and well water..we both felt some emotion.  We walked out the door to step towards a two year journey.  We drove to Joey's uncle's house and had a really yummy meal and said our good-byes.  We then drove to Pembroke Pines to see our friends Miggs and Vanessa.  Soon after, we drove over to my sister's house to stay the night.  Considering that my nieces don't believe in sleeping in, we woke up pretty early to spend some time with the kids. Wow, how I miss them already. 
Diana and Andrea even came by to say good-bye.  I was so happy to see them before I left. 

Delta Flight

Now, it was a short drive to Miami International and a bags to carry in.  Turned out we checked our bags all the way through with Delta and did not get charged a cent!  We were expecting to have to talk to someone and get our money back, but none of that was necessary.  I felt the sadness drop to my stomach when I started saying goodbye to my family.  Granted, I am not leaving forever but it still feels like forever when you walk away from the people you love the most.  Going through security was fairly quick.  We made it to our gate and waited about 10 minutes before we started boarding.  The flight was uneventful but it was obvious that there was a scarcity on money with this flight.

Etihad Flight

After a couple of hours on this flight we landed in JFK and boy was it a nightmare.  We ended up arriving in NY about 45 minutes earlier than scheduled which didn't benefit us at all considering that they left us at a gate that was somewhere in the international flights section of the airport.  It took us a while just to find out where the exit to the airport was.  After about 30 minutes wandering the airport, Joey's aunt picked us up from the airport and took us to their house for a yummy home cooked meal.  It was delicious to say the least.  It was nice to be able to spend some time with the family before we left.  We were only there for about an hour when it was time for us to go in order to catch our connecting flight.  Etihad was a breeze but security wasn't.  NY is not a very nice place and I guess a requirement there is to be thick skinned.  We waited about 15 minutes prior to boarding the flight (we happened to run into Jose, Lu, and Mila at the gate)and when we got on we were extremely impressed with the quality of this airline.  I felt so catered to and the service was unbelievable.  These people truly earn their money and do everything with a genuine smile on their face.  They kept feeding us over and over again.  We had access to a tv which was on the headrest in front of each seat and I managed to watch two movies (Back-Up Plan & Valentine's Day)and watch a few episodes of 'How I Met Your Mother' and even listened to some music.

This was all available on the tv.  I didn't even turn on my IPod once. Although the flight was excellent, I will admit that around the 11th hour I felt very antsy and couldn't sit still any longer. 

There was slight turbulence which didn't make my anxiousness any better.  After we finally arrived in Abu Dhabi we were greeted by my employer as soon as we exited the gate.  They checked off our names and handed me my visa.  They then walked us over to immigration where they did a retina scan on me and Joey went straight through to get his passport stamped and grab the luggage off the belt.  I followed about 5 minutes after since all the teachers had a line waiting for the retina scan.

My employer was helping everyone get their luggage and assisting with any lost luggage.  We waited there for about 30 minutes until everyone had their luggage and were escorted to our buses.  As we exited baggage claim, there were people handing us roses to welcome us to the country.  I thought that was very nice and thoughtful of them.  As we stepped outside the airport the heat hit us.  It wasn't unbearable but you definitely felt it hit your face.  I would compare it to a sunny day in Miami even though it was night time when we left the airport, so you get the idea.

We were driven to the Park Rotana Hotel in Abu Dhabi which is also a 5-Star hotel and were escorted to a room where all the teachers checked in.  They took our passports to make copies and would be available for pick up in the morning.  We were very impressed with the hotel and then with our room.  The service here is outstanding to the point where I feel sort of spoiled.  I keep thinking to myself...All this for free....

Entrance to Hotel Lobby

We also met another couple who are actually really nice people and have been hanging out since.  Joey has someone to spend time with so it worked out.  

The roses handed to us

Considering we were traveling for so long we got a bit hungry and attempted to eat at the only restaurant that was open at the time inside the hotel.  Little did we realize that Thursday is a weekend here and the place was packed!  We attempted to go out to eat but trying to figure out where to go was a task in itself.  A bit tired from the journey, we ended up coming back to our room and ordering room service.  We ordered safe food (two burgers) and those were the best burgers we ever tasted.  The meal came out to about $50 USD but it really felt worth it. 

Room

bathrooms

Closets

The View

When you enter the lobby

near the elevators

Room Service