A few weeks ago I was having a really bad day at work and I sat there and made a list of things I miss from home. I have tried not to focus on those things, but instead look at the positives. However, I have had a few people ask me, so I thought I'd post it here for everyone to see. My sister-in-law was actually surprised by some of them.
1. people- this sounds so obvious...I mean, I could list each person by name...but I'm especially having a hard time with my extended family. Skyping and texting just isn't the same and I realize now that we didn't spend enough time together when we had the chance.
2. being able to have a conversation with anyone and everyone- although quite a few people here speak English, there are many who don't or who speak very broken English and it's very hard to understand the cable guy and some of my coworkers
3. food- even though there is excellent food here, I miss Chickfila, Taco Bell, and McAlister's Deli. I have not been able to find crackers I really like either.
4. super reliable internet- we finally have it in our apartment which is great, but most places don't offer free wifi...even at Starbucks you have to buy something (which I have no problem with, but it gets expensive). We haven't decided to get a data package on our phones and I'm not sure if we will. We also have prepaid minutes so we don't call and text as much as we would at home.
5. driving myself around- we were relying on taxis, but we finally got a car...but I'm not allowed to drive until I get my UAE license. Robert is allowed to though because he doesn't have a residency visa yet (weird, I know)
6. knowing where I am- we got a GPS as soon as we got a car, so that helps a lot...but this city is very sprawled out and there are tons of roundabouts, so it's very easy to feel lost. Maybe when I start driving it will feel more familiar.
7. diversity- I kind of already talked about this in another post, but even though most of the people here are expats, they all have the same color skin and hair. It makes it very hard to learn names at school because they literally all look the same...and they basically have the same names. I have like 5 Abdullas and 4 Mohammads and 3 Saeeds in each class!
8. teenagers- I taught high school for the past 7 years and before that I taught middle school...and there's something nice about being able to joke around with an awkward teenager and watch them grow into a mature adult
9. music- I always had the radio on in the car at home...but here we haven't found any stations in English here :( I feel so out of the loop!
10. Key Club- at my old school I was the advisor for a very large community service group...and I REALLY miss it!
11. playing outside- it's so hot here...hopefully it will cool down soon!
12. pets (especially dogs)- there are stray cats here, but you really don't see dogs
13. grass- there are grassy areas here and there, but for the most part sand is EVERYWHERE
14. football Fridays- one of the reasons I left my old job was because I had to work so many hours after school...but I really miss Friday night football games
15. my washing machine and dryer- the washing machine we have here is TINY...and we have NO dryer
16. having control over my class- this can be a whole post in itself
I'm sure this list will change over time...truth be told, there were 2 other things on the list that I left off now because they have been fixed :)
You will have things to talk about until the cows come home once you are back in the states. None of us have experienced what you have at it will always be intriguing to us. When you get back in the states, you will miss things from the UAE also. It's just how it is . Enjoy the journey and keep sharing in your blog. Very interesting.
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