Work hard, play harder

People who come work here who are single have it MADE, especially if they don't have any financial obligations at home. Our housing is free, so other than utilities (which are dirt cheap), phone, possibly a car, and cable if you want it...they are pocketing a lot of money. I think most single people travel a lot. I would love to do that, but we have debt at home we are trying to pay off and we have 4 mouths to feed. However, we are better off than we would be in the US! Even though work is extremely difficult, I try to focus on the positives.

Luckily, gas is super cheap and Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Al Ain are all easily day trips from one another. I am constantly looking at UAE travel books and reading my favorite magazine, Time Out, to find things to do...and the cheaper the better!

Here are some of the inexpensive things we've found to do so far:

Beaches

• Saadiyat Island beach- outside Abu Dhabi, hands down my favorite so far because it's clean, the water is clear, and the sand is soft and white; you do have to pay to get in, but it's so cheap, who cares? (25 dirhams per adult, kids free, and free parking)
• Jumeirah Beach Residence- clean, has shops near by, free, but had to find/pay for parking; supposedly there are sometimes camels on the beach, but we didn't see any; kind of far from everywhere else in Dubai, but the new tram goes there; construction around it wasn't attractive
• Kite Beach- also in Dubai, found free parking, clean, but not a big fan of the sand
• The Corniche- Abu Dhabi, found free parking, it was night time, so I can't really judge it accurately
• Al Khan Beach- in Sharjah, free parking, dirty (numerous items floating in the water as well as trash on the beach), no bathrooms nearby, nice sand

Parks

• Creekside Park (Dubai)- we walked around half of it and weren't impressed. The playgrounds aren't anything spectacular, you can't swim in the "beach" area, and the cable cars weren't working. There is a Dolphinarium and a Children's City, but we didn't go in either one. There is a cheap entry fee to get in.
• Jahli Park (Al Ain)- FREE, very big with three playgrounds (one sand and the others with rubber bottoms), bike rentals, fountains, and a two story Starbucks right beside it (major bonus points!); side note: the park could use some cleaning...lots of trash around :(
• Hili Oasis (Al Ain)- FREE, walking trails winding through date farms, easy to get lost inside!
• Green Mubazzarah (Al Ain)- FREE, lots of green areas to have picnics, camel rides, hot springs (have not been in yet, so can't really comment), playgrounds are not well maintained, there are some chalets you can pay to stay overnight in, there is a KFC, Pizza Hut, Krispy Kreme, and a local restaurant if you are hungry
• Jebel Hafeet (Al Ain)- FREE, very windy road...make sure you have plenty of gas in your tank before you go; there are several pull over areas to take pictures; the view at the top is nice; there's a hotel near the top also; please be careful because we saw a truck that had flipped over the guardrail and crashed into the side of the mountain

Tourist Attractions

• Al Ain Palace Museum (Al Ain)- FREE, very well maintained and interesting to walk around and take pictures
• Discovery Centre (Sharjah)- CHEAP, had quite a few interesting hands on activities for the kids, but some of them weren't working or needed updating
• Grand Mosque (Abu Dhabi)- FREE, very beautiful building to look at and take pictures of; make sure you are fully covered when you go (including your head if you are a woman) or you will have to borrow an abaya
• Emirates Palace (Abu Dhabi)- FREE, gorgeous hotel to walk around and photograph
• Souk Madinat (Dubai)- FREE (unless you choose to buy something) indoor souk with nice shops; I don't think we saw the whole thing, so next time I want to explore more
• Jahili Fort (Al Ain)- FREE, really fun to walk around and there is a really nice photo exhibit 

I will definitely be adding to this list as we do more things :)

On the big screen

My husband and I haven't had alone time (without our kids) since we moved here 3 (!) months ago. Now that my mom is here (I just realized I haven't blogged about her arrival), we finally got a chance to go on a date. We decided to go see our first movie in the UAE..."Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1".

There are several things that are different about going to the movies here:
1. You pick your seats. We were actually the first two people to buy tickets, so our choices were wide open. We chose seats smack dab in the middle. An usher actually shows you to your seat.
2. The concession stand is MUCH cheaper than in the US. I'm sure the food options differ from theater to theater, but this one had popcorn, full size bags of chips, candy, and nachos. We got a large popcorn, two large drinks, and 3 candies for 46 dirhams (less than $15).
3. Someone carries your food in for you on a tray. Kind of nice to not have to balance all of your purchases and possibly spill popcorn.
4. There are subtitles on the screen in Arabic and French. A little distracting. I kept trying to match the French word with what they were saying in English.

Some things are the same:
1. There are still commercials and a few previews before the movie.
2. Some people are rude and don't silence their phones.
3. It gets rather chilly...next time I will remember a sweater!
4. The seats are semi comfy and it was stadium seating.

One thing we have not figured out yet is whether some of the movie was cut out. We heard that the original movie is 2 hours and 3 minutes. Our show started at 8 and the next one started at 10...and there were probably 7-10 minutes of previews...so mathematically it couldn't have been the full movie. Since it's PG-13, I'm not sure what would have been cut out though.

Definitely an interesting experience!

It's a Different World

In a previous post about culture shock, I touched on some of the things that are different here...but here are some more things you may not have ever thought could be different. I will also tell you which way I prefer :)

• There are no light switches or electrical outlets inside the bathrooms. I definitely miss this! I have to blow dry my hair in another room which is super annoying and I have to remember to turn on the light before I go in.
• There is a switch on all of the electrical outlets so you can turn them off. I'm neutral on this. I guess it saves electricity if you have it completely off. And maybe it would stop someone from getting electrocuted if they stuck something metal in the hole while it was off. But it can be annoying to plug something in and think it doesn't work and then you realize you didn't flip the switch.
• The water heaters have on/off switches too. At home, our water heater was in the garage...and it took FOREVER for the water to get warm in our kitchen. Here, the water gets SUPER hot...if you remember to flip the switch. Let's say that I have taken more than several cold showers because I didn't flip the switch until right before I had to take a shower in the morning.
• There is food all from all over the world here at various prices. You want Velveeta shells and cheese? You got it...for 17 dirhams (almost $5!) a box. Or you can get a bag of local noodles for less than $1, milk for less than $2, and cheese for less than $4 (depending on the brand of course...Kraft shredded cheese in a bag is almost $10!) and make your own. I LOVE going to the produce section and seeing where the fruits and veggies are from. Usually it's super cheap. Our beef comes from Australia, New Zealand, or Brazil. They have products from England, the Philippines, the US...it's just crazy what choices we have. Don't get me wrong...there are tons of things we don't have...but I'm trying to enjoy what is available.
• You have to take your produce to a little weigh station and have them weigh and sticker it before you take it to the register. I'm glad I read this before I came here! It's actually nice because you know exactly how much you're paying and it makes check out quicker. (If you've ever been to a store where the cashier has no idea what code to put in, you will agree.)
• Prepaid phones are very common here. It's actually what we have. We purchased a SIM card here (for like $10) and then we buy a code to load credits onto our iPhones (which we brought from the US). We also pay for monthly unlimited Facebook, Twitter, and Whatsapp. Super cheap and super easy...no contract and it comes out to be way less than our bill was at home with Verizon. The only thing I would change is adding Instagram to the unlimited plan we have.
• There are no taxes here! It is so nice to go to the store and know how much it's going to cost. No trying to figure out the 2% tax for food plus 7% tax on non food items. If it says 7 dirhams, it's 7 dirhams.
• All the units of measurement are different than in the US. This is where the US needs to get on the same page as the rest of the world. Why do we use pounds when everyone else uses kilograms?! Or miles instead of kilometeres?! Or Fahrenheit instead of Celcius?! I mean we seriously look like fools when everyone else is talking about it being 27 degrees and we're like "uh, what's that in Fahrenheit?" Come on math and science teachers...this is the "Common Core" we need to be teaching! 21st Century Skills at their finest!
• The Muslim religion is a way of life here, but it is never forced on you. They are going to do their thing, and they allow you to do yours. There are mosques EVERYWHERE. Prayer rooms on every floor of the mall, in schools, in government buildings. Businesses close for several hours in the afternoon for prayer time. You see groups of men praying together in the middle of the park after a call to prayer. Speaking of...the call to prayer is broadcast through the whole city 5 times a day. (I usually don't even notice it any more).
• Customer service here is phenomenal. The workers will bend over backwards to help you. They will remember your kids' names and greet them. They will carry your bags. And the whole time they are smiling and saying "yes madam". Take note of two things: 1. They are NOT American and 2. They are NOT locals. I will be writing more about this later.
• Most people either rent cars or ride in taxis. Even though I've heard you can get better deals if you buy, I don't want to deal with the hassle. We pay 1600 dirhams a month ($436) for a Hyundai Accent...but that includes insurance and maintenance. It was time for an oil change and they actually drove out a loaner vehicle to our apartment, took the car overnight to do maintenance, and then switched them out the next day. My friend had a flat tire and the same thing happened. So convenient! *Side note: It REALLY sucks going from a Honda Pilot at home to a small sedan here*
• Gas is SO cheap. That is probably obvious to everyone considering where I live, but let me tell you exactly how much it is: about $20 to fill up my tank.
• Everyone here gets water delivery. I've heard that even though drinking the tap water won't hurt you, it might give you a stomach ache because you aren't used to it. And I'm weird about water even in the US. And water delivery is SO cheap. For a 5 gallon jug it's about $3 and they bring it right to our door. The dispenser was about $100 and gives you cold water instantly. I LOVE IT and plan on trying to do this when we move back.

It'll drive you crazy

Lots of things are different about driving here. Apparently if you are American, you can just get your driver's license translated and pay 200 dirhams to get a UAE license. Once I do this, I will confirm that it's that easy to do as almost nothing is as easy as it should be here. I am thankful that they drive on the right side of the road here...because driving here is already crazy enought without having to get my brain and body to work together to drive a car on the left side!
I'm not sure what the locals have to do to get a license...but I've heard it's pretty easy. I can blog about that if I find out the process.
So, cars are pretty much the same style as at home, and unlike in other countries they are in pretty good condition for the most part. It's funny how they have different model names here, but some are the same. For example, the Nissan Sunny here is similar to the Sentra. They do have the Altima. And then there's the ever-popular-with-the-locals Patrol (an SUV). I have seen Fords, Dodges, Kias, VWs, and we have a Hyundai Accent. There are lots of Toyotas...I dare say that's the most popular brand, but that may be because every taxi is a Toyota Camry, and there are TONS of taxis here. Of course there are also a plethora of BMWs, Mercedes, and Lexus cars...and I have seen Bentleys and Maseratis. As far as color, I would say 90% of cars are white (including ours). I suppose it's because it's so hot here and they think the color keeps the car cooler.
In Al Ain, there are roundabouts EVERYWHERE. There are easily 25+ in the city...and although they can be terrifying and you often have near collisions, I must admit that I'd rather take a roundabout than sit at a stop light here. Maybe it's my imagination, but it seems like the lights take FOREVER to change!
The craziest thing about driving here is that no one seems to follow any sort of traffic rules. You really don't see police here unless there's an accident, so no one is worried about getting pulled over for speeding. I don't even know if the police cars have radars in them...but my guess is no. There are speed cameras set up all around town, but most people know where they are and slam on the brakes just in time. Trust me...I have seen cars fly down the road at 150 kph! If you are driving in the far left lane, you better be watching for someone flashing their lights in your mirror because that means MOVE. They also don't follow any sort of rules about the right of way, one way, no parking lanes, etc. Even scarier is that there are no car seat laws, so you will see people holding their children (or even letting them hang out the window) in the front seat.
For the most part, traffic isn't too bad in Al Ain. I haven't really even seen bad traffic in Abu Dhabi...it's Dubai that probably has the worst traffic jams.

Culture Shock

I have so many different topics I want to write about, but since I am so far behind, I figured the easiest one to write about (at 1 am since I have insomnia right now) is culture shock.

Before coming here, I did a lot of research. Some of my family members were very concerned because we are Christians and we moved to a Muslim country. So many people told me this is one of the safest places in the world...and they are right (for the most part...more about that later.) But I must say this:
THE CULTURE SHOCK IS REAL
Nothing can prepare you for it. It does get easier...but there are things I don't think I'll ever get used to.

When I first stepped off the plane into the airport, it felt surreal being surrounded by women in abayas and men in kandoras. I mean literally there were people in all black or all white everywhere! I remember it being very busy...and that was at 10 at night!

I also remember the first moment that we stepped out of the nice air conditioned building and the heat just slapped us in the face. Abu Dhabi is SO HOT AND HUMID. You feel disgusting after being outside for a few minutes. One of the things I really miss is being outside. At home we played in our yard, went to the playground, walked at the greenway...we spent a lot of time outside. I worked at sports events outside pretty much every day in the fall and most of the spring. Here, we take taxis to somewhere just a mile away. Playgrounds are located inside malls...and you have to pay to use them. (One of the reasons is that there is an attendant who is there to watch your child play so you can go shop.)

During my research, I read that 80% of the population here is "expats" which is short for expatriates. Basically, people who moved here from somewhere else to work. Being the naive person I am, I thought that meant that 80% of the people here would look like people in America. UM, NO. I didn't realize that most of the expats here are from countries such as Jordan, Egypt, Pakistan, Philippines, India, etc. So when you are blonde haired and blue eyed like my son, you really stick out. But I've also learned that when you see another blondie, you can't assume they are American because they very well might be from Ireland, England, South Africa, New Zealand, or Australia. I really love all the cultures here...I am even getting pretty good at discerning which accents belong to which country. Side Note: I am not the only one who has trouble identifying the different cultures. Today in an elevator a man from Pakistan said "oh are you from England?" HA...no sir...I don't sound anything like a British person!!!

Architecture here is very distinct. I have not seen one building that looks like something in America. Actually, I take that back...the malls look similar...especially on the outside. But malls here are UH-MA-ZING on the inside! They have so many of the same stores as in the US: American Eagle, Aeropostale, Carters, Osh Kosh, Tommy Hilfiger, H&M...but so many other stores too! That's one of the best things about this place...the shopping cannot be outdone. One difference is that the malls all have a "hypermarket" which is like Super Walmart attached to it. Some of the ones I've seen are LuLu's, Carrefour, Megamart, and Geant. They sell clothes, household items, appliances, and of course, food.

Speaking of food, that's one thing that there is PLENTY of here. The malls have huge food courts with a variety of choices. There are fast food places from the US like Hardees, McDonalds, Wendys, Burger King, Subway, KFC, Popeyes, Papa John's, Pizza Hut, and Church's Chicken. There are sit down places like Applebees, Fuddruckers, TGIFriday's, Chilis, Cheesecake Factory, PF Chang's and I've even seen Texas Roadhouse. Of course there are local places too. In any food court you will most likely have a choice of American, Asian, Iranian...whatever you want! Finding food here is not an issue...but don't always expect it to be just like at home. For example, at KFC you do not get a biscuit with your food, you get an uncut hamburger bun. Most places have beef bacon because Muslims don't eat pork. Some things just don't taste the same, but that may not be a bad thing!

Driving is another huge shock. I have to admit that I have not driven here yet and I've been here 6 weeks. Although I miss it, I am not in a hurry to drive here because PEOPLE ARE CRAZY HERE. They speed, pass you on the shoulder, cut you off, run red lights, back up in the middle of the street, stop in the middle of the street...you name the traffic violation and they do it. They also love round abouts here but there are no rules to driving in one. Since I haven't been driving, that means that I've mostly been riding in taxis which is another strange thing for me. Today we actually got a car, so at least we can go where we want...but that means that I have to learn where things are. That is a little difficult to do because things don't have addresses here.

You read that correctly...they don't use addresses here!!!!! Most people use a PO Box...but even if you don't want to pay for one, you can use the generic PO Box 88888 and put your city and phone number and they will text you when your mail gets here. But if you need to tell someone where you are, you just give the a landmark. A roundabout is a great landmark. So is a mall. But I can tell you that it is extremely frustrating to have a taxi driver drop you off somewhere and then you wander around in the 100 degree heat trying to figure out where a business is and then call the business several times and try to decipher what the person with limited English is trying to tell you.

I know that I have a lot more to post on this topic, but I can do separate entries on some of them. If you have questions, let me know...I'd love to answer them!

The very beginning

It seems like one of the most important things to start this blog with is how we ended up here. But first I must say this: I want this blog to be genuine and honest. I want to share as much as possible. However, I also have to remember where I am and that "Big Brother" is always watching. So, I have to be careful. I hope you enjoy this blog!

My husband and I have lived in the US (in the south, but I won't say exactly where) since we got married. He actually has lived there his whole life, but I was fortunate to live in Europe as a child because my dad was in the military. We were both teachers in one of the lowest paid states and hadn't had a raise in 5 years. We were struggling with regular bills and medical bills from child birth and my son's epilepsy. We love to travel, but didn't have the finances to do it after we had children.

Last fall, a non-profit organization called "Invisible Children" came to my school and mentioned a teacher exchange program they had. I could go to Uganda for 6 weeks during the summer and they would send a teacher to my school for 6 weeks in the winter. Sounded awesome...except for the part about leaving my kids for 6 weeks and the $4000 price tag. I realized I would never be able to do that.

Fast forward to January 2014 when a colleague in my county emailed me and said she was moving to Singapore. I immediately responded and asked if she would be teaching there. She said her husband's job was moving them there, but she would try to find a teaching job. I was so curious! Back in high school I'd had a math teacher from Singapore and had been intrigued by the culture. So safe and clean! I started doing some research about teaching there and found that the educational system is excellent. I mentioned it to my husband and he seemed semi-interested.

I started doing more research about teaching in Europe. I asked him what he thought about teaching overseas. His words exactly: "I'll go anywhere but the Middle East".

Within a week, there was a professional development session at school about doing seminars in class. The activity was modeled using a photocopy of a piece of art called "Mobius Strip" which shows an infinity symbol with ants on it. We talked about what the piece symbolized and I heard things like "we do the same thing day in and out" and "they will never leave the strip". I started thinking about my life and how I wanted something different. I had been at the same school for 7 years. I taught from 7:15 am until 2:15 pm and then I put on my athletic training hat. I covered sports until 5 or 6 Mondays through Wednesdays and then had games on Thursdays and Fridays. I hardly ever saw my family. I was tired of being overworked and underpaid. I can honestly say that the Möbius strip really inspired this decision.

We started looking at schools in Europe. I made a spreadsheet of schools with openings and what we needed to send. We spruced up our resumes and started asking for recommendation letters. It was A LOT of work. But after a week or so, we hadn't heard anything from anyone. We started looking at
recruiting companies that didn't charge a fee. We registered with one called Teach Away and found a posting for a school in Dubai and it had a job for both of us. We started researching Dubai...it was in the Middle East...but it was BEAUTIFUL and MODERN and everything we read said that it was safe. We were invited to go to Chicago for job interviews, so we decided to take a chance.

In February, we made arrangements to miss school. We drove half way to stay with my best friend, got to Chicago (it was freezing cold there!), interviewed and saw a few things, and then did the whole trip in reverse. We both thought the interviews went well...and we were convinced that we'd be offered the jobs. On the way home we talked excitedly about what it was going to be like living in Dubai, what we needed to get done before we moved, and what we were going to do with all the money we were going to make. For the first time we would be working at the same school! And living in the richest city in the world!

You already know what happened. We found out a few days later that they had selected others for the jobs. We were heartbroken. We felt rejected. I dare say we felt a tad bit depressed. Robert was ready to quit the international job search. I, on the other hand, was not. I felt this was just a stumbling block and within a week, I was searching again. The job listings were getting fewer by the day. I started looking at other countries...mostly China and Korea. They seemed exciting and had lots of opportunities. We even had an interview with a school in Korea. However, the more research we did and the more we talked to a recruiter (who only deals with Asia), we decided that it wouldn't be a good fit for our family.

In April, I had moved on to a few other recruiting companies, including Footprints, and had found that ADEC (Abu Dhabi Education Council) was actually hiring PE teachers this year. I had read about ADEC before...and had found quite a few negative things about them from several years ago. However, on Facebook I had found a group for teachers who were trying to get hired with them. Everyone seemed so excited...and the money would be more than double what I made at home! It seemed like a great opportunity, so I submitted paperwork, did a phone interview, and was invited to go to NYC for an interview in early May. Once again, we scrounged up the money, took time off of work, and this time flew to the Big Apple. We actually stayed with Robert's cousin and rode the subway to save money...it was a nice little trip.

Within a day, I received the job offer. I couldn't believe it! We had the opportunity to move to a completely different continent! After some serious discussion and lots of prayer, we decided that we were going to do it.

So that's kind of the short version of how we got here. I've now been here for 6 weeks and I have lots of blog posts in my head. Please, if you have any questions, feel free to ask! Like I said, I will try my best to be as honest as possible.