First full day

My first full day in Abu Dhabi was eventful.   I was told that I would hear the call to pray at 4:30, but I slept through it.  I guess getting no sleep on the plane allowed me to miss that early wake up call.  I ended up getting up at 5:30 because my neighbor was very loudly talking on the phone (probably Skype, but who knows?!).  So that allowed me to get some things done in the mornning.  Breakfast was wonderful.  They had all sorts of food available on the buffet.  Lots of things that I had never seen before, but also many ordinary breakfast foods.  I did try a mint lemon juice which was awesome!  The mint really made it quite refreshing.  I also tried something called a frayter which is a bread type thing with some sort of icing on the top.  It kind of looked like a mini danish, but it certainly didn't taste like one.  I did not like it at all!  They had beef sausage, which was disgusting.  There is just no replacing the real thing:(  I am going to miss my sausage. 
After breakfast came orientation.  This was not planned out very well.  I had to turn in my passport last night, but I needed it this morning so I (along with everyone else) had to go to the desk and get it back.  We also had to make copies of our passport and visa.  So there was a lot of waiting in line and going back to rooms to get certain documents that were needed.  Once I got all the documents that I needed I was able to fill out the forms for health insurance (got the card already:) and a bank account.  So now that I have the bank account they can start putting money in it!!!   We did find out that we were going to get a pay advance to  help with the moving costs. 
I still have no idea where I will be living or teaching.  We are only allowed to stay 14 days so I better find out soon!  Not that I'm not loving this royal treatment, but it won't last forever!
After orientation I went out with Susan to do a little exploring around the hotel.  That's when we saw the pool and amazing view!  The water was so nice!  They said that they have to chill it to keep it cool!  How crazy is that?!  We then went to get a pedicure!!  I now have purple toes!  I know not too exciting, but it has to be done in the summer.  Then we went to the beach.  Oh my gosh it was beautiful.  A new picture will be posted.  The water was so still and clear.  Absolutely beautfiul.  The sand was white and soft.  Very nice beach.  The water was hot though!  I don't think I'll be swimming in the Persian Gulf!  I'll stick to the pool:) 
The big adventure for the day came when I went to the mall with a group of people.  We took a shuttle to the mall but were told that we'd have to get a taxi back.  The mall is huge!  I forgot my camera, but I guarantee you that I will be going back and the next time I will take my camera.  I tried to get a cell phone, but I didn't bring a copy of my passport page and visa so I couldn't get one.  I did end up changing some money to dirhams and buying a hair dryer, straightener, and an electric toothbrush.  The mall has this store called Carrefour (Carfour), which is like a Walmart.  So that is where I got my supplies.  You had to pay 1 dihram for a cart, and I didn't have 1 dihram so I had to use a basket.  If I could have gotten a cart I would have bought more essentail stuff, but I guess I can live off of hotel shampoo for a while!!  After I did my shopping I got my first taxi!!  I ended up splitting up from the group I went with because they were able to get phones and I didn't want to wait forever.  There were tons of taxis at the mall so I had no problem getting one and I didn't even feel unsafe getting into one alone.  It's just done over here.   Everyone takes taxis.
So now it's midnight.  Time to go to bed.  Medical check tomorrow at 10:00 and then the day is mine.  I'll probably do more exploring and I will definitely try out the pool!!