Challenge

About 2 months before I left the UAE a very dear friend challenged me to make a list of all the things that I am thankful for and that I will miss once I left the UAE.  I accepted her challenge and began reflecting on my time overseas.  In no particular order, this is what I came up with.

What I am thankful for:

1. Making enough money to pay off my student loans and credit card debt.  Without the job at ADEC, no matter how stressful it was, I would not have been able to pay off my student loan debt and now be debt free.  I would still probably be living pay check to pay check.
2. Making enough money to be able to travel.  I have been able to experience many different places and cultures because of the job that God has blessed me with.  I have been to Jordan, Oman, Thailand, Ireland, UK, Australia, Germany, Lebanon, and Turkey.  Despite all of the hardships of working with ADEC and ENS it is only because God has allowed me to work here in the UAE that I have been able to travel.
3. Being able to learn a new culture.  Living in the States I was surrounded by people just like me, and in the UAE I was always surrounded by people who are different than me.  Not just Emiratis, but people from many different countries.   I have been exposed to a multitude of cultures, languages, and people.
4. I can truly get any type of food I want.  I know at times this has been a challenge, but it was a good challenge because I have tried many different foods; foods that I had never heard of.  True, I didn't like them all, but just being able to try them is something that I wouldn't have done in the States.
5. Having a cleaner and taking my laundry in are luxuries that I never would have been able to experience in the States.  True, I didn't need them but it was nice to be able to have someone provide those services.  Again it's because of the jobs that I've been blessed with because without them I wouldn't have been able to afford those luxuries.
6. Redeemer Church of Dubai.  This really goes without saying, but God truly blessed me with a fantastic church family.  One that made me feel welcomed and loved and one that continually and accurately preached the Word of God.  I came to know Jesus there and grew in my love for the Lord.  This is what I am most thankful for and what I'll miss the most.
7. Friends who became my family.  I made my home in Al Ain and God blessed me with wonderful friends both in Al Ain and in Dubai.  I am thankful that I didn't spend my 4 years there lonely and bitter.

What I'll miss:

1. Camels.  Camels in the backs of trucks.  Camels walking along the side of the road.  Camels in the desert.  I'm just going to miss seeing these beautiful animals.  Although I've never seen a real camel race I did enjoy the practice one that I saw 3 years ago.  Even though there are no wild camels in the UAE, I did love seeing them roam the desert as I traveled to Dubai on the weekends.
2. Arabic.  I'm going to miss seeing, hearing, sounding out words, and attempting to speak the language.  Despite the fact that there are many letters that I cannot produce the correct sound for, it's a beautiful language and I'm going to miss being around it constantly.  Maybe I'll just have to throw a few habibis, khallas, and shway shways around when I get home.
3. The desert.  Yes, it's hot and sandy, but it's beautiful.  I love the rolling sand hills and seeing the sand sparkle in the sun.  The changing colors of the sand continues to amaze me, as it goes from reddish brown to yellow depending on where you are in the country.  Beautiful.
4. Being around different cultures all the time.  Everyone here is different.  From different countries, speaking different languages, wearing different clothes... and I love it.  I'm going to miss the different accents and expressions that I've gotten used to hearing.  You may hear me saying that I'm peckish (hungry), taking the lift, or crossing at a zebra (that'd be zebra with a short e instead of a long e) crossing.
5. The grocery store and the huge confusing selection of a wide variety of foods.  I'll miss seeing where my produce comes from.  Sometimes going to the grocery store was overwhelming because they just didn't have what I wanted, but I never really knew what I would find.  Then there's the fact that I could buy a whole fresh fish if I wanted to.  I'm sure I won't miss the smell of that part of LuLu and Carrefour.
6. All the malls.  There are a ton of them and each one is different in its own way.  There's the Dubai Mall with the aquarium, Burj Khalifa, and the dancing fountain.  There's Mall of the Emirates with Ski Dubai.  There's Al Ain Mall with the ice rink, bowling alley, and tons of coffee shops.  There's Bawadi Mall with Marks and Spencer's where I bought all my clothes from.  There's Jimi Mall with the men who stalk women and try to pick them up (first-hand experience).  And there's more on the way.  When I got tired of one mall I knew there were at least 5 others I could choose from.
7. Food.  I will definitely miss foods like hummus, chicken tikka, briyani rice, tabbouleh, zatar croissants, garlic paste, and many other ethnic dishes.  This goes back to being thankful for the opportunity to try new things.  I'll just have to make many trips to Dearborn to get my fill for middle eastern food.
8. Roundabouts.  Scary at first, but I have come to like them and find them quite helpful; that is if the rules are followed and you know how to drive on them.  Maybe where I'm going will end up having a few!
9. The kids.  Despite all my struggles with the students, Emirati kids are just like kids anywhere.  They are fun, intelligent, thoughtful, kind, and most of all they are extremely adept at reading emotions and adjusting accordingly.  They are not afraid to speak their mind and correct you.  They are open and honest and extremely loyal, once you earn their trust.  They will forever hold a special place in my heart.
10. Call to prayer.  I think I'll miss hearing that 5 times a day; it kind of became like an external clock.  It was always there, and something that I tuned out or ignored, but now that I won't hear it I think I may actually miss it. Not the 4:30 am one though!
11. Kandoras, abayas, sheylahs, and burqas.  I'll miss seeing men, women, and children dressed in traditional clothes and being proud of their heritage.  It's funny how the girls long for the day when they will be able to wear an abaya; it's such a huge part of their identity, and the boys will do anything to be able to wear their kandora to school.
12. Having Fridays off.  True, I'll go back to Saturdays and Sundays off, but for 4 years I've had Fridays off and I"ll miss that as a weekend day and making my weekly trip to Dubai for church.  Who knows how long it'll take me to adjust to having to work on Friday and not on Sunday.  I guess I'll just have to wait and see.
13. Public transportation.  I'd rather drive, but just having it available is something that I will  miss.  I even sort of got used to taking the metro in Dubai.  Now, the buses aren't all that fabulous, but there are taxis everywhere and the metro is fantastic.
14. Tagalog.  Having so many Filipino friends I was constantly surrounded by Tagalog and I will miss hearing it.  Unfortunately, I never learned any of it other than salamat (thank you).

Who I'll miss:

1. My church.  Wonderful encouraging Christians who I love and will miss dearly.
2. Kristie.  My beloved younger sister and one of the first people I met in Dubai.  She may be crazy, but I love her all the same and I will miss her terribly.  We spent just about every weekend together for nearly 3 years, we truly became a part of each other's lives.  She loves life and the Lord and it is a blessing to call her my friend and sister.
3. Vanny.  We met through Kristie and when Kristie left in the summer of 2013 Vanny and I became even closer.  We traveled to Turkey together and enjoyed each other's company.  She has taught me many lessons on how to stand up for myself and not always seek peoples' approval.  She has been a true friend in good and bad times and I am blessed to know her.
4. Jane.  We met through Kristie and I am so thankful that I got to meet her and develop our friendship.  She has such a kind and gently spirit and is always full of joy.  I loved being around her and seeing her constant smile.
5. Dave; the pastor at Redeemer.  I may not have known him personally, but I will miss the gospel centered sermons that always pointed me back to Jesus Christ.  He faithfully preaches the gospel each week and I hope and pray that I can find a church that has a pastor who is not ashamed of the gospel just like Dave.
6. Lucia (aka Bambie).  After Cindy left for Doha, she took me in and opened her home to me.  She became like a mother to me as she shared her life and faith with me.
7. Godly.  I just met him a few months ago and our friendship truly took off.  He is such an encouraging, kind, gently, and accepting man and I am so glad that I got to know him through Redeemer Kids.  He helped me through struggles and laughed with me through many good times.
8. Ronnie.  My brother.  So sweet, kind, loving, encouraging, understanding, and compassionate.  Many times I would seek his advice and prayers as he is such a godly young man.
9. Karen, Jeriel, Cecille, Sheba, Miranda, Glen, Linda, Whimper, and way too many more people to mention, who would always greet me by name and a hug on Friday morning.  True friends and brothers and sisters in Christ who I know I will see again in Heaven.
10. Alexandra.  I worked with her at ENS for 2 years, but only really got to know her this year.  We are both so alike that we clicked immediately.  I enjoyed spending quiet evenings at home just chatting with her, and traveling to Oman to enjoy a luxurious getaway.  Having a friend across the hall made the move at the end of the year a lot more bearable.
11. Fara.  Another wonderful friend who I am grateful to be able to call my sister.  She became such a part of my life and we were there to help each other through the struggle of our first year at ENS.
12. Deborah and Sophia.  I had the pleasure of starting ENS with Deborah and living and across the hall from her for a few months before she moved down the road.  We spent many afternoons and evenings at Al Ain Mall and I got to see Sophia grow from a 14 month old infant to a bubbly 3 year old.  I loved the fact that she called me "her Sara."  Definitely my favorite toddler in Al Ain and I am thankful to Deborah for allowing me to have a part in their lives.
13. Kevin.  Now here's a weird relationship, but we loved it.  Kevin was part of the best grade 4 team ever and we had a very interesting relationship.  There was lots of playful  flirting going on between the 2 of us, despite the fact that he is happily married to Rosalind.  He truly is a great friend; one whom I could really joke around with and he will be missed.
14. Peter, Heidi, Suzanne, Jenn, Maureen, and other members of the staff at ENS who helped me survive 2 years there.

That about wraps it up.  My amazing 4 year adventure in the UAE.  I can't say that I loved every minute of it, but I am thankful for every minute of it!

Saying Goodbye

The worst part of leaving is the saying goodbye part. For 4 years Al Ain, UAE has been my home and I have been blessed to make many true friends whom I hope will remain life-long friends. On the bright side, I now know many people from various parts of the world so when I travel internationally I know I will have people to visit and places to stay.

The goodbyes started on Thursday June 26 as I said goodbye to the teachers and admin at ENS and walked out the door. That wasn't the hard part as I have been looking forward to this day for many weeks, if not months. I will say that Una, the principal, was very supportive and encouraging and I enjoyed working for her. I will miss Jenn, Aimee, and Maureen but I know that I will keep in touch with them; at least through Facebook if nothing else. And Maureen is only in Windsor so we have already decided to plan a lunch date.

After leaving ENS, for the last time, on Thursday I headed to Dubai to begin my summer getaway plans with Kristie, Vanny, and Jane.  We had planned on staying in Dubai on Thursday night and then The Palm on Friday night. So I met Vanny at the hotel and then we went to the mall for sinner before Kristie and Jane joined us. They surprised me with wonderful going away gifts - a sand design of the Burj Al Arab with our names and a Longchamp bag - before we popped some popcorn and made coffee and tea for our movie watching night.

Friday morning dawned early with our human alarm (Vanny) waking us up at 6:30 so we would have time for breakfast before church. We got ready and walked over to the JW Marriott for breakfast before church. Now this is where things got emotional. I was not at all ready for Friday and having to say goodbye to my friends who became like family to me. The girls like to sit in the front, but I didn't really want to because I knew it would be hard for me, but they talked me into it so after chatting for a bit we entered the ballroom and walked to the front for service. We started singing and I started getting emotional and couldn't hold the tears back and walked out crying. Thankfully Whimper was a greeter that morning so she was still out by the door handing out bulletins and I walked up to her and just started crying on her shoulder. We walked into the bathroom, where we were joined by Kristie, so I could get myself under control. I just sat there and prayed and cried for a bit before I was ready to go back into the service. Thanks to God for calming me down and focusing my heart and mind on the service so I could worship Him instead of focus on leaving. After church I said many, many (too much as the Arabic people would say) goodbyes to sweet dear friends. It was hard, but I know that I will see them again in our eternal home. After many goodbyes, I just turned to Jane and said that we needed to go now. I didn't want anymore, I just wanted to leave. Maybe that was a bit selfish on my part, as I could have seen more people, but I didn't want to cry anymore so we left and headed to the Mall of the Emirates for lunch and our shuttle to the Rixos on The Palm.

When we arrived at the Rixos it was like we had left Dubai altogether, it was secluded and beautifully landscaped and manicured. We checked in and explored our rooms, fiddling with the electronics controls for the lights and AC, before heading out to the pool. We spent a few hours at the pool where Jane got a free swimming lesson and I ended up shooting some baskets with another guest and his daughters while Kristie and Vanny sunbathed. The pool we were at closed at 6:30, but the other pool was open until 7:00, so we headed over there for the last 1/2 hour. When that pool closed we returned to our rooms to get cleaned up for dinner. We put on our fancy dresses and went down for the buffet dinner that was included in our deal. It turned out that the buffet was having a Turkish night and the chef was from Turkey. Vanny and I got really excited when we found out that we could have Anatolian ravioli, since we both enjoyed it so much on our trip to Turkey. When the chef found out that we had been to Turkey he prepared the ravioli as well as some other Turkish dishes and brought them to our table. We spent a few hours just enjoying each other's company and the delicious Turkish cuisine before heading back to the room for movies and popcorn. We enjoyed the night, but stayed up way too late knowing that our human alarm was waking us up at 6:30 so we could have breakfast and go to the beach before checkout. We spent an hour at the beach before it got too hot so we made our way to the pool where we knew that the water would be chilled and feel refreshing. We enjoyed the pool for another hour before we had to go back to our rooms to get cleaned up and ready to checkout. After checkout we took a cab to the nearest metro station and boarded the train for Karama so I could have lunch with Godly and Merlin before heading back to Al Ain to finish packing.

The train ride to Karama was way too quiet and sobering as I knew we were all dealing with too many emotions to be able to enjoy the time together. I just held Kirstie's hand and couldn't  even look at her without starting to cry and there was no way I was going to do that on the train, so we rode in silence not really looking at each other. We got off the train at Karama and waited in silence for Godly to pick me up. When he arrived I knew it was time to go and the tears flowed freely as I said goodbye to my 3 closest and dearest friends. We hugged for sometime and promised to stay in touch always before I again just had to go. I broke away from Kirstie's embrace and walked away, with tears still flowing, with Godly and I didn't even look back as they headed in the opposite direction to board the train to Deira City Center. And that was it. They were gone. I walked out, in silence, to get a taxi with Godly and head to his place for lunch.  

Merlin, his wife, was supposed to be cooking lunch but she decided not to because she didn't think she could make any Indian food without spice, so we went out instead.  Funny thing is we went out to an Indian restaurant and what they ordered was spicy!  We had something called sizzling chicken and it really was sizzling when they brought it to the table!  I think I would have enjoyed it, but the spice was just too much. After trying a bit, I asked Merlin if what she would have made would have been that spicy and she said it would have been spicier, so I guess it was good that we went out!  Too cool my flaming tongue we had brownies and ice-cream for dessert; I had more of the ice-cream than the brownie.  When lunch was finished we headed to a mall to meet Lucia and her husband so I could pick up my picture that he painted for me and then I had to say more goodbyes.  Although it was difficult to say goodbye to Godly, Merlin, and Lucia, it wasn't nearly as hard as it was earlier in the day.  We said goodbye with promises to keep in touch via What'sapp and Facebook and I got in the taxi for my final ride back to Al Ain.

The rest of the goodbyes that I needed to say took place in Al Ain.  I spent Sunday morning with Alexandra and Sunday afternoon/evening with Fara.  We didn't really do much, just kind of enjoyed each other's company.  Many promises were made to keep in touch always, whether it be through Facebook, What'sapp, or Skype, as we hugged, cried, and said goodbye.  Fara and I are talking about meeting up in Italy sometime soon (although I'm not sure if that will ever happen) and Alexandra and I are talking about a reunion at the Shangri-La in Oman.  If that never happens and I do end up traveling internationally again I know that I will have a place to stay in the UK and in South Africa.

And so my 4 years in the UAE ended.  I made wonderful friends who I will never forget and I had a life changing experience through it all.  For my last night in Al Ain, I went to bed tired and emotional, but found it too difficult to sleep as I was processing too many mixed emotions.  On the one hand I was sad to be leaving all my friends in the UAE and on the other hand I was excited to be returning home to my family in the USA, then there was anxiousness about not having a job and dealing with the inevitable counter culture shock that I have heard will come.  Thankfully I was able to get some sleep as I needed to be up at 3:00am for my 4:15 ride to the airport.  

It's been a great journey and I hope that you've enjoyed reading about it as much as I've enjoyed living it.  Now on to the next chapter in my life :)

Clearance Process and Preparing to Leave

The exit procedure for ENS was so much simpler than that for ADEC, mostly because all the signatures that I needed only involved me traveling all of about 3 minutes to the Boys' School. Now, once there things got complicated as the correct person had to be in the office or I had to try to track him down, but at least I wasn't running around town like I was 2 years ago with ADEC.  The entire procedure involved me returning my CD player and speakers to the school store, getting a signature from the main librarian stating that I didn't have any books checked out, getting a signature from the IT guy (not really sure why that was necessary), turning in my passport so my residence visa could be canceled, an apartment check to make sure I didn't damage anything (kinda hard to do in 6 weeks, but I guess it's possible), and getting a signature from the principal and the campus director. No problem and I could have had the whole thing done in one day if Ahmed (the IT guy) and Hussam (maintenance guy) would have coordinated their trips to Abu Dhabi. But all in all the entire process for school was a piece of cake. I wish the rest of what needed to be done went as smoothly as the school side.

I had to make the dreaded trip to Etisalat a few times. Thankfully they opened a new branch in Al Ain Mall so I didn't have to go to the main branch, which is a horribly time consuming experience. I made my first trip to Etisalat a month before my scheduled departure (I learned my lesson the first time around) to schedule cancellation of my service.  While there I inquired about switching my post-paid phone plan to pre-paid and I was told I'd have to go to the main branch 3 days before I was leaving. Ugh. Knowing that things and rules change from day to day here I decided to wait a few days and then go back and ask again. Turns out my strategy worked because I talked to a different person who told me it was a simple procedure that could be done the day before I left and they could do it there. What a relief!  So I waited a few weeks until I had paid my bill and then went and switched to pre-paid with no problems at all.

Two weeks before I was scheduled to depart I decided to return my car so I could save some extra money. I had Alexandra to take me to work and the bus when she couldn't bring me home and then there's great public transportation for getting around Al Ain and to Dubai so I figured go ahead and turn it in early. Little did I know that I actually should have turned it in a month early due to the fact that it takes 30 days to get a refund of the deposit. I'm not quite sure why they don't make these things known, other than for money. Thankfully the guy has agreed to credit my US account when I send him my card info. I couldn't do it there because the card that I have is expired, so it was no help in the matter. I'll just have to make sure that I get him the info when I get home.

Figuring out my salary and gratuity was a whole separate issue that was quite frustrating. Ammar sent me the information and it didn't seem to match what I figured I should be getting so I went to talk to him. He showed me the numbers and calculated everything and it turned out correct. My issue was it didn't include the 1000 for being a coordinator. Unfortunately that's not part of anything other than my June salary so that's where the confusion lie. Once I got that figured out there was nothing to do but wait for the money to be deposited so I could start sending it home. Thankfully my salary didn't show up in my account when it was supposed to (I know that sounds crazy, but let me explain) so I went over to talk to Ammar. In addition to assuring me that it would be deposited that day he nearly gave me a heart attack by telling me to go to the bank and withdraw it immediately so the bank won't freeze it. I told him they shouldn't freeze my account because I don't have any loans or credit cards so it shouldn't be a problem. Shouldn't, but it was happening; 2 other employees in the same situation as me had their accounts frozen so he was warning people to take the necessary precautions. So I anxiously waited for the text to come stating that my salary had been deposited in my account so I could go withdraw it. The only problem was I didn't have a car and I couldn't get in touch with Alexandra. Thankfully Suzanne gave me her keys, but unfortunately I couldn't fit in her car so she ended up having to drive me. We went to the branch at Al Ain Mall, but the line was out the door so she took me to a branch on the way to Abu Dhabi where I was the only customer and had no problem withdrawing my salary and getting reassured that they wouldn't freeze my account when the gratuity came. When my gratuity arrived three days later I promptly went to the bank to withdraw that and send it home. The only difference this time was that the teller told me that the money had to be in the account for a day before I could take it out so he told me to come back after 5. Now it was 3:30, so I didn't object or question the fact that withdrawing it after 5 wouldn't be a day after it was deposited, but I just left and sat at a coffee shop and read until 5 when I could return to the bank. Back at the bank I was told that I needed to see the manager so I could close my account. I told them that I had just withdrawn all my money a few days earlier and I didn't have to see the manager or close my account, so after discussing this with the manager he decided to give me my money. What an ordeal!

At some point during the whole end of school stuff, we were told that they changed the end date for teachers from June 30 to June 26 and we could change our flights if we wanted to, but we would have to pay any charges. I decided to see what it would cost so I got in touch with the travel agency that booked my ticket and told them I wanted to change my ticket from July 4 to June 30, and I would like to know how much it would cost. The travel agent got back to me the next day quoting 1250!  There was no way I was going to pay that much, so I just let it go. A few days later she emailed me back and told me she had been searching and found the last remaining seat available for 500 dirham extra plus the 300 dirham change fee. I decided that I could manage 800dhs to be home 4 days sooner so I told her to book it. A few days after that I called Etihad to try to choose an exit row seat. They still had a few remaining so I paid the 450 dirham to secure an exit row seat with extra leg room. So, with that added to the 800 for changing my flight date I ended up spending the 1250 that I originally didn't want to. What I'll do for a somewhat comfortable 14 hour flight!

I think that about wraps up the exit procedure and getting ready to leave. All that remained was packing, getting rid of stuff, and saying goodbye.

Three Weeks Left

I can't hardly believe it.  Only 3 more weeks left in the UAE.  How am I doing?  It's really hard to explain and understand.  On one hand I'm totally ready to go back to the USA and be with my family there, but on the other hand this has been my home for the past 4 years and I have made a "family" here.  Lots of mixed emotions and I suppose that will continue even after I return.

I said my first real good-byes this weekend, and it was OK.  Surprisingly.  But then again not so surprising, because the people I had to say good-bye to, although they are as sweet as can be and were dear friends at the beginning of this journey, we have sort of separated over the past 4 years.  I met Cassie and Kisha in 2010 as we boarded the bus to the Intercontinental, from Abu Dhabi International Airport, and we spent the first year trying hard to figure out our new life in the UAE together. But it pretty much ended there.  Sure, we talked to each other, but life just took us in different directions.  This past weekend I met up with Cassie and Kisha at the Intercon to say good-bye.  It was planned that we would spend the night together, but Cassie ended up staying with Kisha while I stayed at the Intercon.  I must admit that didn't really sit well with me.  I booked my room under the impression that we would be together like we were 4 years ago.  Plus that was what we had talked about.  That right there tells you how things had changed between us over time.  We went to the ballet and spent a lot of time just reminiscing.  It was nice, but just not what I had expected. Feeling kind of like a third wheel, I left Saturday after check-out.  We said our good-byes with promises to keep in touch through Facebook and meet up when they return to the States.

During the school week, I decided to start the exit process, so I left school early on Sunday and Thursday to get some stuff done.  I went to the Dr. Erin on Sunday to get a physical, not that I necessarily need one I just wanted to have one done while I still have insurance.  The thing is that nothing really got accomplished.  She had to order the tests and then they needed to get approved by insurance; which they didn't, so that was a wasted afternoon.  In addition to trying to get a physical I started and finished the process for a police clearance.  This was a bit frustrating, but once I was at the right police station things went super smoothly. Laura and Peter had already done this process and they suggested going to the new station by Al Ain Mall, so that is where I went.  Big mistake.  After about 20 minutes of Emirati men telling me, in broken English, that I needed to go to the US Embassy I left and headed to the Police Directorate (main station).  I should have started out there because the process was shockingly simple.  There was a separate entrance for women and as soon as I entered there was a sign on a desk which said "Police Clearance."  I walked to the desk, presented my passport, paid the fee, and was given a receipt so I could collect it "after 2 days."  It couldn't have been any easier!!  The Police Directorate is only open from 8-2 so I left at 1:15 on Thursday and I had my clearance and was home by 2:00.  I sure hope everything else is this quick and easy!

I have put in the order for canceling my Internet, so that's taken care of.  I need to figure out how to cancel my phone and make sure I can get a new SIM card with a pre-paid number so I can still keep in contact with friends after I cancel my post-paid number.  That's on my agenda this week.  The bank should be pretty easy because I don't have a loan or a credit card.  I'll just have to clean out my account and transfer the money home.  School maintenance came on Thursday and inventoried the apartment so that's done.  I hope I'm not forgetting anything!!

3 weeks from Monday I'll be on a plane!!

Nearing the End

As I enter my last month in the UAE there have been a few developments that I should share.  Besides the fact that school is still school and it's getting quite HOT; I've had to move, I spent the weekend at a resort in Oman, I've been challenged to list all the things that I've enjoyed and will miss about living here, I've been busy applying for jobs in MI and other states, and we went on a field trip to Wadi Adventure.  So that's what I've been up to for the past month since my last post.  Now that you know I guess that's about it! Well, I suppose I should add some details since that is what I require of my students:)

About 2 weeks ago, I found out that the contract on the apartment complex where I was staying was expiring at the end of May and ENS wasn't going to renew so we all had to move.  Now, I totally agree with them not renewing it's just the timing was horrible; 6 weeks before I leave the country for good I find out that I have to pack and move.  Granted the new place is 100 times better and I am really enjoying living in a bigger place (I went from a one bed/bath to a 2 bed 1 1/2 bath) that doesn't have ants or roaches and no water issues as of yet.  I just wish they would have cancelled the contract last year so I could have spent the entire year here.  Oh well; I'll enjoy it for the 4 weeks that I have left.

Last weekend was a long weekend so Alexandra and I decided to live it up at a resort in Oman.  I'd been to the Shangri-La before, but not the Al Husn hotel and it was truly an experience to remember.  There really is a difference in quality based on price.  Yes, it's true that cheaper hotels can be very nice, but it was worth the extra dirhams to get totally pampered.  A few of the extra amenities included everything in the minibar, afternoon tea, pre-dinner drinks, exceptional breakfast buffet with made to order items, slippers, flip-flops, and a small beach bag.  There was even a bath tub that I could fit in and I made use of it!  I never take baths, but last weekend I had 2!!  How relaxing.  Outside of the room I thoroughly savored every moment on the balcony listening to the sound of the waves, and taking in the views of the Gulf of Oman and surrounding mountains.  I relaxed with a Chi Balance Massage, pedicure, and time by the pool reading.  It was a fabulous weekend and I have decided that if I were to ever return to the Middle East I would go back to Oman and stay at the Shangri-La.

The challenge.  One of my very good friends challenged me to reflect on everything that I like about living here and everything that I will  miss.  It's been a very good challenge and helped me to be thankful for the many blessings that God has provided through this job.  My list includes things such as the ability to travel, pay off debt, try new foods, meet many new people, sort of learn a new language, learn about different cultures, being able to go to a wonderful church where I hear about Jesus's amazing steadfast love, grace, and mercy every week, the resources to afford a cleaner and laundry services, plus many other things.  I'll probably do a separate blog about that right before I leave.  I really haven't focused on the people that I have been so blessed by having in my life since I've been here; I'm kinda putting that off because I don't want to think about it.  This weekend we had a banquet for volunteers with Redeemer Kids, and as I was sitting there I almost started crying because I will miss the church, the kids, and my wonderful friends who have become my family.

Applying for jobs has been time consuming, frustrating, and stressful.  So far, I've applied in Michigan and Washington D.C., but I have heard that Texas is hiring so I'll be checking that out this afternoon and seeing what's available.  Although I haven't heard anything yet, I am not concerned.  I know that God will provide the right job at the right time and I'm praying and trusting Him to provide the perfect job for me.  And, I am extremely thankful for His provision of an amazing family who will let me stay with them until I find that job.

Wadi Adventure was a blast!  Due to the extreme heat with temperatures over 110 degrees, we spent the day in the water.  Although that meant that we couldn't go to the air park like we did last year, but we had a fabulous time in the wave pool and rafting.  While in the wave pool Peter, Kevin, and I spent some time throwing the kids around and just playing with them.  Fun times!  Rafting was so much fun.  The guide was really good and he had us spend a lot of time "stuck" in the rapids.  The girls were so brave and after they figured out that the guide was in control and would keep them safe they really enjoyed getting soaked by the rapids!  Wadima was right up front next to me and poor thing kept nearly drowning as the waves continually splashed over her head, but she was sputtering and laughing as she came up each time!  I really think we should have this field trip every week until the end of the year!

Well, the end of the year has changed.  June 26th was the last day for students and June 30th was supposed to be the last day for teachers.  On Tuesday we got an email saying that the last day for teachers would be June 26th and we could change our flights home if we wanted to!  So, that is what I'm in the process of doing.  It is quite difficult since I did not book the original ticket; I'm trying to get in touch with the travel agency, but they're not being too cooperative.  I've called a few times and no one answers or calls back.  I've sent a few emails and I'm waiting to hear about the flight details regrading the flight that is available on June 30th.  I decided to try to change my ticket because it would give me more time to recover from jet-lag before heading to DC on July 6th to try to get some paperwork done there which would expedite the hiring process.  Plus it'll give me more time to look for a job while at home; which may be a bit easier since I'll be able to take the UAE address off of my resume.  We shall see.

Last week we had our exit process meeting; hopefully it won't be too intense.  I've already visited Etisalat to cancel my Internet; I'm not paying the charge like I did 2 years ago for not canceling it within a month of departure.  Thankfully, I don't have a credit card or any loans so the bank aspect doesn't apply to me.  I'll just have to clear out my account before I leave.  No problem there!  The rest of the stuff is school related; like making sure I don't have any resources checked out and turning in my passport for visa cancellation.  I'm taking a 1/2 day off tomorrow to go to the Dr and get a physical (who knows if I'll need one for a job and I have insurance so I wanted to get that taken care of before I went home) and going to the police for a background check (again who knows if I'll need one, but it'll definitely be easier to get one while I'm here instead of trying to arrange for one when I'm back in the States).

I guess that's about all that's been going on.  I'll try to be more regular about posting as I go through the exit process again.

It's blazing hot here!  Feels like July already!  111 at 3:30 vs 61 in South Lyon at 7:30am.

Turkey Part 5 - Istanbul April 3, Departure, and Arrival in Dubai April 4

Last chapter!  Thanks for sticking with me and reading about all my adventures!

This was a day of waiting.  Waiting to check-out, waiting for our transport to the airport, waiting for the flight to arrive, waiting to land in Dubai, and waiting for a coffee shop to open for breakfast.  It was a long day with not much to do, other than wait.

We were able to get a 1 pm check-out instead of noon, which was something I guess.  Our flight wasn't until 11:50 pm so an extra hour at the hotel was better than nothing.  We ate breakfast, then returned to the room to get ready and finish packing.  We checked out at 1 and headed back to Taksim Square to see the sites one last time.  Before we actually got to Taksim Square we saw the restaurant that Jenn told me about so we decided to have lunch before doing last minute souvenir shopping.  After lunch we walked around town, buying last minute gifts, and found a bench in the sun to sit and rest while we waited.  It was another sunny, but cold and windy day in Istanbul, and we were both quite tired of being tourists so we just sat a lot and people watched.  Which was totally fine with me.  We did happen upon a local film crew that was taping a scene where we were seated, so we got to watch that; not that we could understand anything that was being said, but it was still interesting to watch the making of some sort of movie.  Our transport back to the airport wasn't supposed to arrive until 8, but we were cold and a bit bored so we headed back to the hotel around 6 to sit in the lobby so we could warm up and use the wifi.

We got to the airport around 9, had dinner and chatted about our trip before heading to our gate.  11:30 came and went and we were still waiting to board.  There were no announcements indicating that the flight had been delayed, but delayed it was.  We didn't actually board until midnight and by then we were supposed be 10 minutes into the flight.  I had purchased emergency row seats for the flight back, hoping that I would be a bit more comfortable and able to get some sleep but that didn't happen.  I only got my typical 2-2 1/2 hours of sleep.

Despite leaving late, we arrived into Dubai early.  Now that would have been a good thing if we could have actually landed, but due to stormy (really??) weather in Dubai we had to circle the airport for about 45 minutes before we could land.  That I believe is the worst feeling, knowing that you are so close to getting off the plane, but you can't.  Frustrating.  We finally landed at about 5:45; 45 minutes after we were supposed to arrive, but we landed safely so I guess that's the only thing that matters.  Since ours was the first plane to arrive, passport control was a breeze; I was the second person in line!  After we cleared customs we grabbed our bags and then got a taxi to Vanny's so she could drop off her luggage and I could get my car.

We headed to one of the local malls for breakfast, but unfortunately things open later on Friday than they do during the week, so we had to wait until a coffee shop was ready to serve us (before they actually opened) at 7:15.  After breakfast I took Vanny back to her place so she could shower and get ready for church, while I went to church (that's the main problem with having many Filipino friends - they don't have room in their apartments for me, as they share with many other people all of whom have to use the shower as well).  So I went to church and cleaned myself up in the car before going into the hotel.

I was supposed to have lunch with Kristie and Jane after church, but I was exhausted.  Having been up since 8 am the previous morning and only sleeping about 2 hours I was ready to crash, so I drove back to Al Ain and by God's grace alone I made it without falling asleep.  I took a 2 hour nap and forced myself to get up when my alarm went off because I wanted to be able to sleep that night and sleep I did; I was out for nearly 12 hours before I woke up at 8:30 Saturday morning.

So, all in all it was a great trip!  It wasn't the Philippines, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.  I would definitely go back to Cappadocia and if anyone wants to join me please let me know.  I would probably pass on Istanbul and Ephesus (unless I went to the Christian parts), but there are many other places that I would love to see.  I'm thinking a Greece/Turkey cruise!!  It will be a while before that happens though:)

Turkey Part 4 - Ephesus April 2

Our trip to Ephesus did not have a pleasant start.  We were met at 5 am for our transport to the airport for a 6 am flight to Izmir.  The flight was short, only about 45 minutes, and smooth.  We landed on time and went to find our local tour guide who was to meet us at the airport and take us into the city for our tour.  The scheduled meeting time was 7:45, and when no one was there by 8:00 we began to wonder what to do. One of the problems with international traveling is the fact that I don't have an international plan (it costs 1,000 dirhams extra) so I can't make calls.  We went out of the airport 5 times, and back in again through security, looking for someone holding a sign with my name on it.  No one.  At 8:15 we were directed to the 4th floor to information, since no one was at the information desk on the ground floor, to use their phone. The attendant at the information desk called our tour guide in Istanbul, that was the only number that we had, and found out that the driver was waiting for us at arrivals.  We tried to explain to her that no one was there, but to no avail, so we went back downstairs and outside, once again, to look.  And no one was there. So, we went back in and the same attendant was now downstairs at the information desk and we had her call again. This time she was informed that the local guide would call her and explain the situation to her so she could relay the information to us.  Eventually we found out that the driver was still en route to the airport and would arrive in about 5 minutes.  What had happened was that the tour company in Ephesus had switched to their summer hours and hadn't informed the tour company in Istanbul.  I don't completely get this because in my mind it doesn't matter what time the tour starts, you have the flight number and time of our arrival so you show up at the airport to pick us up.  Right?  Logically that makes sense, but that's not what happened. Anyway, the driver showed up at 8:45 like he was "supposed" to and transported us to the tour company to pick up a few more guests before starting the tour.

Once our tour began we headed out to one of the supposed houses of the Virgin Mary.  There are several theories and stories surrounding the house, but the best story is that the site was revealed to a nun who wrote a description of it in a book that was read by a Turkish priest who realized she was describing the site in Ephesus.  It is highly probable that Mary lived there with John after Jesus' crucifixion.  The house is rather big for ancient times and it is well preserved.  Along the outside of the house there is a wishing wall that is covered in wishes written on fabric.  We had a nice visit and walk around the surrounding area before our bus left for the ancient city of Ephesus.

The walk down to the residential
section featuring the library

Ephesus was an ancient Greek city built in the 10th century BC with a population of at least 50,000. Walking around this ancient city reminded me a lot of the other ruins I had seen in Lebanon and Petra, especially the walk leading to the treasury in Petra.  As we walked from the governmental to the residential sections of Ephesus, the library was the focal point, just as the treasury in Petra was the focal point.  The governmental section had carvings of various Greek gods and goddesses, the medical facilities, fountains, and of course the governmental buildings.  The residential section had the houses, theater, library, and the hammam (bathroom).  Although the houses had their own hammams, the one built in the residential section was for non-residents, like those attending the market place.  The market place would have had more than 20 covered stalls along each side of the square.  We enjoyed the sunshine while wandering around the ancient city imagining what it would have been like to have lived there.  Because this settlement was dated BC there wasn't much evidence of Christianity other than a few crosses carved into blocks of the fountain.  This was unfortunate, because I would have liked to have spent time where Paul spent time preaching, but I guess that just means I'll have to go back to Ephesus to tour the places he preached.  The sunshine quickly became too much, so we sought solace in the shade before meeting the rest of our group back at the bus to continue on to the oldest mosque in Turkey and the Temple of Artemis.

Old mosque

Temple of Artemis

The last two stops of our tour were quick stops.  We spent a few minutes at the oldest mosque in Turkey where you didn't have to cover your head or take your shoes off to enter.  It is definitely different from the mosques that I have seen in Turkey and in the UAE, but it is still beautiful.  After walking around the mosque for a bit we headed to the Temple of Artemis (goddess of fertility), one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world.  With this description in our minds, we were a bit disappointed by what we saw.  There was only one column standing surrounded by a pile of rocks and other rocks that were underwater due to local flooding.  I would definitely not classify what I saw as a wonder of the ancient world.  It is listed as a wonder of the ancient world because of its size: 115 m (337 ft) long by 46 m (151 ft) wide with 13 m (40 ft) high columns made of marble.  I suppose with those measurements it can be listed as a wonder of the ancient world, but I was still disappointed.

Model of the Temple of Artemis

Our tour ended at 4:30, and we had a lot of time to kill before our 10:30 flight back to Istanbul, so the driver took us over to the coastal town of Kusadasi where we walked along the corniche, had dinner and enjoyed the view of the water before our driver came back at 7:00 to take us to the airport.  No problems at the Izmir airport and we were met by our driver in Istanbul to take us back to our hotel for our last night.

Turkey Part 3 - Istanbul April 1

After all of our early mornings, late nights, and walking around Cappadocia and Istanbul for the previous 4 days, we had a well deserved relaxation day.  We did not set our alarms or request a wake-up call, so we slept until 9 and had a leisurely breakfast before returning to the room to casually get ready for our day.

The first thing on our agenda was to experience a Turkish bath and during our wanderings the first few days in Istanbul we found one that we liked.  It was a private bath, so we would not be sitting naked with complete strangers.  I would have done it if Vanny wanted to, but I was secretly glad that she didn't feel comfortable with that idea!  So, we paid the extra money for a private one and it was well worth it.  Vanny was able to get the full experience, while I had a modified one due to my ribs.  I got what they usually give pregnant women who can't lay on their stomachs!

The Turkish bath started with us changing into a towel to go into the sauna and steam room before our scrubbing.  After the scrub, we were covered  in foam for a massage.  Vanny got both sides done, while I only got my front done.  Then we sat in the jacuzzi before our next massage and facial.  I am not a huge fan of massages, they usually hurt too much, but this one was really gentle and relaxing.  The facial was wonderful.  We walked out of the spa feeling refreshed, energized, and silky smooth!  If we had more time and more money we would have made another appointment!

Feeling refreshed we walked around looking for a restaurant that had been recommended to us by a local. We could not find it, but we did find another local restaurant that we felt like we should try.  We had the "world famous" Anatolian ravioli along with some feta pancakes and fresh squeezed orange juice.  Everything was expertly made, we even watched the woman make our pancakes, and extremely tasty.

Relaxed and well fed, we returned to the hotel to get directions to the theater for the Whirling Dervish show. We were told to take the train two stops past the Blue Mosque and then ask for directions; so that is what we did.  Once we got off the train we asked a local for directions to the theater; he was unable to help us, but he quickly found someone who could and he ended up walking with us to the theater.  The theater is very small, it seats only about 100 people, but it is very quaint and traditional.  We were given a program with a description of the show and shown to our seats, which were in the second row, just before the show started.  The show started with some local musicians playing traditional Turkish music and after they finished the Whirling Dervish show began.

The Whirling Dervishes are from a sect of Islam known as the Mevlevi Order.  The order is defined by "sufism" which is "a means by which a person makes  his personality free from bad habits, cleanses his soul, and attains maturity with his love for God."  The men performing this ceremony rid themselves of bad habits, cleanse their souls, and reach maturity with God by, and through, whirling.  The ceremony lasts for about 1/2 an hour, in which they are constantly whirling around their own axis and around a central axis (like the planets revolve around themselves and the sun).  The spin with one hand facing upwards and one hand facing downwards to symbolize that what they get from God they give to others.  The ceremony ends with a reading of the Quran and a prayer for the souls of all prophets and the salvation of their country.

We were amazed by their devotion and dedication and impressed with their continuous whirling.  They never once looked tired, and they never once faltered in their rotations around the central point.  It was absolutely impressive.

We left the theater in silence and headed to the nearest train station to return to our hotel for our early morning departure to Ephesus.

Turkey Part 2 - Cappadocia March 30-31

Sunday March 30 began in a quite confusing manner.  We were supposed to meet our driver for transport to the airport at 5:00 am, so we set our alarms for 3:00 and 3:30.  Here is where it gets confusing, and I hope you can follow.  What happened is that Turkey was supposed to spring forward at 3:00 am along with the rest of the EU, but Turkey decided to stay on the same time until their election was over so they did not spring forward.  Well, our smart phones did not know this so they sprung forward just like they were supposed to do.  One might wonder what happens when you have an alarm set for 3:00 and that time doesn't exist anymore, well the alarm goes off at 4:00.  Now that wouldn't be that big of a problem if there was only one of us that had to get ready, but there were two of us and we didn't hear Vanny's alarm at 4:00. I heard my alarm at 4:30 and wondered why it didn't go off at 3:30 like I had set it.  I checked my iPad to make sure that it was really 4:30 and not 3:30, but my iPad had sprung forward just like my iPhone so it too said 4:30.  So we hurriedly got ready and headed downstairs to discover that the clock down there said 4:00 instead of 5:00 like our phones.  What?!  We questioned the guy at the desk and he agreed with our phones and changed his computer time to say 5:00.  Good, so we were right and everything else was wrong. Wrong!  As we were waiting for our ride to show up, another hotel employee explained the situation, in Turkish, to the first guy and he switched the time back and explained what had happened.  It was indeed 4:00 am, and we had another hour before the driver would pick us up to take us to the airport.  A confusing start to a great, but confusing day as we wondered what time it was throughout the day.  There were 5 other people joining us for our tour of Cappadocia and they had the same problems that we had.  At least we weren't the only ones who were terribly confused!

Our flight to Cappadocia lasted an hour and we were given emergency exit seats so at least it was comfortable.  We were greeted in Cappadocia by the driver who would take us on our tour.  We quickly boarded the bus, as we didn't want to stand around outside while it was freezing (-4 C/24 F) and flurrying. It was neat to witness Vanny's first experience with snow, even though it was only flurries.  Even with our newly bought gloves we were definitely not prepared for these freezing temperatures.  At least the bus had heat!

Our tour that day consisted of the fairy chimneys, an open air museum where we saw monasteries built into mountains, an underground city, a quick stop at a pottery making shop, and the Dervant Valley.

The fairy chimneys are made from erosion of rock and volcanic ash and lava.  The rock erodes at a slower rate than the ash and lava so you are left with a column like rock (volcanic lava and ash) with a darker mushroom like top (rock).  They are absolutely beautiful, and there are so many of them.  The sun was shining making the day look warmer than it actually was, so we wandered around taking pictures of the fairy chimneys before getting back on the bus to get warm.

The Goreme Open Air Museum was our next stop on the tour.  It was here that we saw many houses and monasteries carved into the rock.  It was absolutely amazing to see how and where people lived and worshiped during the 4th century in Turkey.  It's difficult to imagine people living in caves carved into mountains, but that is exactly what they did.  The houses were divided into different areas, just like they are now, and there were even places for animals.  The churches and monasteries were built in the upper stories of the rock with the houses below and the barns below the houses.  Everything was easily accessible to all who lived there.  The monasteries had frescoes (natural paintings) covering the walls of the caves.  The frescoes are deteriorating, but they still are beautiful depictions of worship during that time period.  We walked through a few monasteries discussing what it would have been like to live during the 4th century, and then we made our way back to the bus to continue our tour to an underground city.

The underground city was absolutely amazing!  They were truly cities underground.  Christians had all they need to survive the persecution that they were facing from the Romans.  The cities were complex, narrow, and hidden so they could survive.  The tunnels were small and narrow with rolling stones to be used to block passages if necessary.  There were tunnels to bring food down, places for animals, and gathering places. Amazing.  Unfortunately it was necessary for these 4th century Christians to live this way.  Although it was very interesting exploring the city and imagining what it would have been like to have to live underground with no sunlight, it was quite painful touring the city.  The passages were very short and narrow and there were times when I almost had to go through on my knees.  I experienced more pain in my ribs than my back or knees, but it was definitely worth it.

Before heading to the Dervant Valley we took a quick detour to a pottery shop where we saw master craftsmen making and painting pottery.  This is where I got my vase to add to my collection.



Our last stop of the day was the Dervant Valley where we saw various rock formations, including one that looked like a camel.  This was just a quick stop for a few photos before heading to our hotel.

Although we were a bit disappointed because we did not get to stay in a cave hotel like we had wanted to, that quickly passed once we saw our hotel, the Lykia Lodge.  It was beautiful!  Definitely a huge step from the one that we were staying at in Istanbul.  The room was nicely decorated and big enough for the both of us, with a good view of the mountains in the distance and TV channels in English.  Dinner was included in our tour price so after briefly warming up and freshening up in our room, we headed downstairs to the buffet. What an assortment of food!  There was soup, salad, pasta, vegetables, chicken, lamb, and the required dish of rice.  Everything was exquisitely prepared and arranged on the buffet line and it all looked delicious.  I settled for soup, vegetables (cauliflower, broccoli, and carrots) with chicken and rice.  After our late dinner we returned to our room to get some sleep before our 4am wake up call (we decided to get a wake up call after what happened that morning) for our sunrise balloon tour.

Words simply cannot describe the balloon ride.  Stunning.  Spectacular.  Amazing.  It was not nearly as cold as I had been expecting because it was -6 C (21 F) on the ground.  It felt much warmer in the air, not sure why exactly, but we weren't freezing cold like we had been.  There are over 100 balloon companies in Cappadocia and each balloon holds 16 people, so there were a lot of people taking the morning sunrise tour of the Rose Valley.  To get into the basket you have to climb up using foot holds on the basket.  It was a bit challenging, but they help you and once you're in, you're in.  There really is nowhere you can go as they cram 4 people in each section of a basket.  There was only a little bit of room to maneuver around and take pictures.  We were shown how to brace ourselves during the landing, but other than that we just stood there watching the scenery.  The takeoff was smooth, and before we knew it we were airborne.  We witnessed the sun rise in the Rose Valley turning the rock formations a flaming orange, the fairy chimneys, and the open air museum from above.  I took way too many pictures, but it was absolutely beautiful.  The landing was a bump, and then we were down.  Before we could get out of the basket, they hauled us up onto a truck bed. I carefully climbed out, but they lifted Vanny out!  She is super tiny, so they were able to do that.  We had a nice chuckle over that.  On our way back to the hotel for breakfast I got to talking to an older lady who is from DC; I was talking to her husband while we were waiting for the balloon to take off.  She gave me her contact information and agreed to show me around DC if I end up there.  Pretty neat to already have a contact, if necessary.  We got back to the hotel just in time for a quick breakfast before the next part of our tour.

Pigeon homes

Greek city

We began our tours for the day with a 5 K hike through the Rose Valley where we saw ancient pigeon homes carved into the mountains.  The people of Turkey used to use pigeon droppings as fertilizer so there were many homes for these special birds.  After hiking through the mud and puddles of the Rose Valley, we hiked uphill to see an ancient Greek civilization where we met a woman who used to live in one of the caves that are now being sold and turned into cave hotels.  She showed us her cave, which was very modest; just one room, but you could tell that she loved living there.  There were places in the wall for placing belongings and nails in the wall for pictures or other wall hangings.  It was simple, but it was her home.  All of the hiking had made us hungry so we ended our tour and drove to lunch.

After lunch we went to another underground city, but after the pain and difficulties of the first underground city that I toured, I opted out.  I walked around the souq and just sat in the sun chatting with another couple that chose not to go on the tour either.

When the rest of the group got back, Vanny and I had some traditional Turkish ice-cream before boarding the bus to go to the carpet factory.  At the carpet factory we saw master carpet makers at work.  It was so impressive watching them weave the carpet just by looking at a simple design attached to the loom.  They rarely looked up and didn't even count the strands before threading the silk, cotton, or wool through the loom.  Amazing patience and skill.  One carpet may take over a year to finish, depending on the material used and how big the carpet is.  Watching them work definitely made me appreciate the cost of these carpets.  They really are worth every penny paid.

With our tours finished for the day, we headed back to the hotel to pack up so we could meet our driver to take us to the airport for our 9:45pm flight back to Istanbul.  We arrived at the airport around 7 and had to wait to check-in and then go through security.  In addition to waiting for the essentials, we discovered that our flight was delayed until 10:50.  That meant we spent nearly 4 hours waiting in a small local airport with nothing to do; no wifi, no cafes, no TV, nothing.  We did a lot of reading.

Upon our arrival in Istanbul, we met our driver to take us back to our hotel, turned the heat on and went to bed.  We had an exhausting, but exhilarating 2 days in Cappadocia and I highly recommend visiting that city.

Turkey Part 1 - Istanbul March 28-29

After 12 looong weeks of teaching, March 27th finally arrived and so did the beginning of a well-deserved 2 week vacation.  I had dropped Snowy off at Alexandra's the night before so I knew she would be well taken care of while I was in Turkey, so I was ready to go.  Since I do not teach the last 2 periods on Thursday I was able to request emergency leave and head to Dubai at 1:15 instead of 3:00.  I made it to Vanny's by 3:00 and we waited for what seemed like an eternity for a taxi to the airport.  We saw multiple taxis drive by without stopping and we wondered what the problem was.  We discovered later that it was shift change time so that was why all the taxis were passing without stopping.  We finally got a taxi, an airport taxi which are more expensive than regular city taxis, and we arrived with plenty of time before our 6:50 Fly Dubai flight.

The saying "You get what you pay for" is totally true.  Fly Dubai is a discount airline and that is definitely evident; everything - baggage, food, pillow, drinks -  is an extra charge.  Unfortunately I don't have many good things to say about this airline, other than the fact that we arrived safely; which I guess is the most important thing.  The seats are small and crammed close together, which is extremely unfortunate for someone with long legs.  There was no room at all.  Thankfully the middle seat was unoccupied so Vanny took the window seat and I had the aisle seat and the middle seat to sort of stretch my legs.  We were seated by a large Indian family, I think they occupied the seats in front of us, behind us, and next to us.  They were loud, passing crying babies to each other, and eating curry.  It was a rather long, loud, and unpleasant 4 1/2 hours, but we arrived safely and on time.  I don't think I'll ever fly Fly Dubai again; well I don't think I'll ever have the opportunity to choose that airline again anyway.

Once at Sabiha Gokcen International Airport, we headed to passport control.  I did not have an entry visa and did not know that I needed one; I suppose I should have checked into that before leaving; I did check, I just didn't check to see if I needed to get one on arrival.  Vanny had to get a visa before leaving so she was all set.  The agent looked through my passport for a visa and didn't find one so he directed me to the visa station so I could enter the country.  Fortunately there wasn't a line so I went right up to the counter to find out that they only accept euros or dollars, and of course I only had lira (Turkish currency) and dirhams, and they don't accept cards either.  He directed me to an ATM where I could get Dollars.  With dollars in hand, I headed back to the visa station so I could get a Turkey visit visa and then make it through passport control to meet Vanny on the other side.  After collecting our luggage, we met our transport and headed to the hotel so we could check-in and get some much needed sleep.

Istanbul March 28-29

Our first day in Istanbul dawned chilly, rainy, and overcast.  But, after being in the desert we enjoyed the change in weather.  Topkapi Inter Istanbul Hotel is located right near a tram station so after putting on our warmer clothes and grabbing our umbrella (thankfully Vanny brought one:), we headed to the tram station. At the tram station we had to figure out how to get a card and how to get where we were headed.  Despite being a major place for foreign tourists, everything in Istanbul is pretty much in Turkish so we faced a bit of a language barrier.  But, the people are extremely friendly and willing to help, even if they don't know that much English themselves.  We had many locals point us in the right direction, or ask someone who knew English to point us in the right direction.  We bought our Istanbul kart (tram card) and boarded the right train, with the help of the security guard, to Sultanhamet where we were going to explore Taksim Square.

We got off the train and headed to the Blue Mosque, only to find out that it would be closed until prayer time finished at 2:30.  As we were walking around Taksim Square we met a local (this local turned out to be a carpet seller - there are many of them who wander the square trying to get tourists to come to their shop) who directed us to the Basilica Cistern while we were waiting for the mosque to re-open.  We bought another umbrella and waited in line, with a bunch of high school aged kids on a field trip, to enter the cistern.

The Basilica Cistern is the largest of hundreds of ancient cisterns that lie beneath Istanbul.  The cistern was used to provide water to the Great Palace of Constantinople and Topkapi Palace.  It was built to hold 100,000 tons of water, but it is nearly empty now; there is only a few feet of water, with carp swimming around the bottom.  The cistern is amazingly beautiful.  It is dark, but lit by 336 candles that line each of the marble columns.  The water level continually changes due to rain and snow melt.  On the day that we were there it was actually "raining" inside.  We walked around the cistern for a while before getting our pictures taken in traditional Turkish clothing.  The main attractions in the cistern are the Medusa columns.  There are 2 of them, one upside down and the other on its side.  There are many theories as to why the Medusa columns are placed the way they are, but tradition holds that they were placed that way to negate the power of the Gorgon's (a Greek goddess who could turn those who looked at her to stone).  In reality they were probably placed that way because that is the only way they would fit in the cistern.

Upon leaving the cistern, we were met by the local that took us to the cistern and brought to his carpet shop. Neither of us were really in the market for carpet shopping, but that all changed once we saw what he had to offer.  Once inside the shop they offered us some delicious hot apple tea while they lectured about how the carpet is made and showed us the many different pieces they had to offer.  They literally unrolled hundreds of different carpets and kept bringing more in for us to inspect.  Not only did they show us the carpet, they explained how they were made and showed us how to tell if they were genuine organic carpets instead of fake organic carpets.  Evidently there is a huge carpet market in Turkey and it's quite important to know how to tell if it's genuine or fake.  After unrolling and displaying hundreds of carpets I settled on a piece that has Turkish symbols on it that I will hang over my sofa (when I get a place and have a sofa) and 3 pillow covers to go on throw pillows for said sofa.  Vanny bought a table runner and 2 pillow covers for her mother.  I know we didn't buy the expensive pieces that they probably wanted us to buy, but at least we made a purchase.  The amazing part was the speed to which they cleaned up the "mess" made by all the carpets. There was one guy re-rolling the carpets and nicely stacking the loose pieces and he was done in under 5 minutes!  One minute there were carpets all over the floor and the next they were all neatly put back where they belonged.  With purchases in hand we walked back to Taksim Square to the Hagia Sophia.

The Hagia Sophia

Inside the Hagia Sophia

The Hagia Sophia (Aya Sophia) was a former Greek Orthodox church, a Roman Catholic cathedral, a mosque, and now it is a museum in Istanbul.  It was built in 537 by Constantius II and opened to the public as a museum in 1935.  The Hagia Sophia contains many holy relics from the Christian and Muslim faiths and is a beautiful museum, both inside and out.


After touring the Hagia Sophia we went back to the Blue Mosque, only to discover that it was closed for prayer again.  The Sultan Ahmed Mosque, otherwise known as the Blue Mosque, was built in 1616 during the reign of Ahmed I.  It is called the Blue Mosque because of the blue tiles that cover the interior walls. Since we could not get inside to see the blue tiles, we just walked around outside and then left to try to find the Grand Bazaar.

Small Bazaar

We did not have any luck in finding the Grand Bazaar, although I'm not sure why as there are signs in English directing you to it (I guess it's possible that we didn't see those signs on our first tour of the city).  Although we didn't find the Grand Bazaar we found a smaller bazaar where I was able to find some souvenirs and fresh (I watched the guy press the pomegranate) pomegranate juice.  It was sweet and refreshing and throughout the rest of my stay in Turkey I was never able to replicate the taste of that first fresh pomegranate juice, although I tried many times.  We wandered around the bazaar for a bit before heading back to the hotel to freshen up for our Bosphorus dinner cruise.





Our cruise on the Bosphorus River, which divides Istanbul into European and Asian sides, wasn't all that great.  The food was good, but that was about it.  First of all it was freezing so we couldn't be outside enjoying the view of the city lit up and secondly there was a lot of down time.  When we arrived we remained docked for quite some time.  There wasn't any entertainment during this time, just light appetizers. Originally I thought we were waiting for all the guests to arrive, but that turned out to be false as no one came on the boat after we did.  I'm still not sure why we stayed at the dock for as long as we did.  Anyway, after the boat pulled out of the dock we were served dinner and entertained by belly dancing.  Real belly dancing. It was quite funny; men came out dressed as bellies and began dancing!  After their brief routine the real belly dancer came out.  She was quite good and her part of the show lasted about 1/2 an hour before the men came out and performed a traditional Turkish dance.  After that the show was over, but the boat ride wasn't. For a long time we remained in the middle of the Bosphorus, not moving at all, just floating around. Now I suppose this would have been lovely if we could have been sitting on the deck enjoying the view, but as I said it was freezing so that was not an option.  Music was being played and there was dancing, but as I am not into dancing it was not fun at all.  Both Vanny and I would have been happy with just a dinner cruise instead of all the wasted time.  Disappointed and tired we went back boarded the bus that would take us back to our hotel so we could warm up and get some rest for day 2 of exploring Istanbul.

Inside of the Blue Mosque
I suppose you can see the blue
tiles on the ceiling

If we thought our first day in Istanbul was cold, we were in for a rude awakening.  Our second day was utterly freezing with bitter cold winds.  The sun was shining, so it looked like a nice spring day, but oh how looks can be deceiving!  We headed back to Taksim Square so we could see the inside of the Blue Mosque.  It was quite pretty, but I thought the exterior was much nicer than the interior.  We walked around for a bit, got the obligatory pictures and then left as it was nearly prayer time.

Entrance to the Grand Bazaar

After leaving Taksim Square we found the sign pointing us in the direction of the Grand Bazaar so we decided to see where we would end up.  Lo and behold, we found it!  And they have aptly named the bazaar as it is huge!  It is one of the oldest and largest covered markets in the world!  It has over 3,000 shops and attracts more than 250,000 visitors each day!  Impressive to say the least!  As it is a covered market, we were sheltered from the bitter winds so we enjoyed walking around and looking at the various wares for sale.  We didn't do much shopping, other than buying gloves for our trip to Cappadocia, and one souvenir, but it was nice just walking around.  Because the bazaar is so big, we easily got lost, both inside and out.  We had no idea where we exited and how we ended up back down by the Bosphorus, but that's where we ended up.  Which turned out to be a good place to end up because we wanted to explore the spice bazaar as well.  After walking around the spice bazaar looking for apple tea, we decided to try to find our way to Topkapi Palace, and with the help of a local tour guide we were pointed in the right direction and began our walk uphill.

Topkapi Palace

The Topkapi Palace was the primary residence for the Ottoman Sultans for approximately 400 years.  It contains some important Muslim relics, Ottoman jewelry and clothing, and richly decorated carpets.  We explored the Palace for a bit, definitely not as long as we should have, but we were cold and tired so we found the nearest train station, grabbed McDonald's for dinner, and headed back to the hotel to turn on the heat and get some rest for our early morning flight to Cappadocia.


And that is the end of the first part of my journey to Turkey!

Bits and Bobs (British English for This and That)

It certainly has been a long time since I've written!  Thanks to all my readers for their patience.  I think the main reason I haven't written in over 2 months is that nothing has been happening.  It's been an extremely long 12 weeks and I'm so thankful that it's almost over!!  So, in no particular order, here's an update about what's been happening (or at least what's been happening that I can remember:).

It turns out that I have 2 fractured ribs.  After 1 1/2 months of continued pain, I went back to the doctor and had my 3rd x-ray taken.  This x-ray showed that the 6th and 7th ribs were fractured.  Now there is absolutely nothing that can be done about that, but at least it explains the continued pain and gives reason to my complaining instead of just being a wimp!!  I've been trying to take it easy; not going to the gym as much and not doing weights when I go, but I really  need to be back in the gym.  Other than that my health is fine.

Snowy, my foster cat, is doing well.  She went through heat 2 times and I have to get her fixed, but there is no pet vet in Al Ain.  They have local vets that serve camels and falcons, but no vets for cats or dogs or other pets.  The British vet comes from Dubai on Tuesdays, so when I get back from Turkey I'll be taking Snowy there.  Her fur is growing back and she loves being brushed, but because her fur is growing back she's beginning to shed.  I am definitely going to miss her when I have to give her up, but I am not going to bring her back with me; I have 2, that I miss, waiting for me at home.  Cecille, a friend from Dubai, is going to take her since Fara doesn't want her back.  I know she'll have a good home, but I'll still miss her.

My spring break plans have totally changed.  I originally had planned on going to the Philippines with Vanny and Jane and meeting up with Charity while there.  Jane just got back from the Philippines and couldn't get anymore vacation time and Vanny was convinced that we couldn't see the Philippines in just one week.  I'm sure we couldn't have seen the whole country in just one week, but I didn't need to see all of it; I would have been OK with just Boracai and Manila.  I think the real reason was that Vanny just didn't want to go to the Philippines.  So, we're going to Turkey.  I wasn't too thrilled about it, other than the fact that I was going on vacation.  I was under the impression that Turkey was going to be just another Muslim country.  I wanted to go somewhere totally different, and the Philippines would have fit that description.  Yes, I had heard that Turkey is amazing and there's so much to see there, but I didn't really want to see any more mosques.  My feelings about this trip have done a complete 180 turn as I am now totally excited about going.  We have booked an excursion to Cappadocia where we will see some amazing caves, possibly sleep in a cave hotel, and take a sunrise balloon ride over the caves.  Now that is something totally different!!  I can't wait!  Check back in a week and half for an update and keep checking Facebook for pictures.

Work is work.  Suhail is Suhail.  Nothing new there.  It's just been a long stressful 12 weeks and we're all ready for a break.

My job search hasn't really begun.  I've applied to teach in Washington DC and I've passed their application process; which began with an application, followed by a phone interview, and ending with a video taped lesson.  I am now in the recommended pool for hire for the 2014-2015 school year.  I'm just waiting now for a principal to contact me and set up another interview, or offer me a job.  The only catch is that I wouldn't be able to accept a job, if one were offered, without passing a fingerprint and drug clearance, which have to be done in DC.  Yesterday I had emailed Ammar, HR at ENS who is responsible for providing my flight back home, and asked for a ticket to DC instead of Detroit since I have to go there anyway.  Well, last night it dawned on me that I asked for July 4th.  There is no way in the world that I want to arrive in DC on July 4th. I'm sure the nation's capital does a great job celebrating Independence Day, I just don't want to be there for it.  I'm OK with watching it on TV.  Plus, I'm fairly certain there won't be many places to stay and whatever is available will probably be extremely expensive.  I'll email him tomorrow and ask to change my plans back to Detroit.  Thankfully the ticket hasn't been issued yet.  I just hope he doesn't get annoyed with me!  I'll just plan a trip to DC the following week, after the crowds have left.

Repatriating may be more than a hassle than expatriating.  I'm not looking forward to the process at all. Things have to be done here, things will have to be done in the States and then there's the reverse culture shock that everyone says will happen.  I've got furniture to sell/get rid of/throw away, knick-knacks to get rid of, packing to do, visa to cancel, id to cancel, bank account to cancel, secure a police check, buy another suitcase to take home some of the stuff that I've accumulated over the past 4 years, say good-bye to friends that I probably won't ever see again :(, get to Fujairah (the only emirate I haven't been to yet), research Obama Care, and lots of other stuff, in only 3 1/2 more months.  Then when I get back I have to work on getting a car, getting insurance, setting up a bank account, finding a place to live (assuming I've found a job), taxes, doctors, plus lots of things that I'm sure I'm not even thinking about right now.

I am totally having mixed feelings about leaving, which I hear is absolutely normal.  One day I am so ready to leave and if I had a ticket home I'd probably go right now and forget about all the stuff that needs to be done.  Then there are days when I am really emotional and sad about leaving, right now is one of those times as I actually write about it and think about leaving.  For a while there I really wasn't thinking about leaving the country, my home for the last 4 years, I was only thinking about leaving ENS and I was really excited about that!  Then one day on my way to work it hit me that I was leaving, leaving and that I wouldn't be coming back and I almost started crying.  This has been home and I've made some amazing friends, probably the best friends that I've had since my days at MSU, who have become my family and it's going to be terribly hard to say good-bye to them.  I know I will spend eternity in heaven with them and that I will stay in touch with them through Facebook, Skype, What's app, and phone calls, but I also know that it's not the same.  Don't get me wrong, I'm totally looking forward to being back in the States closer to my family, but I will terribly miss Kristie, Vanny, Jane, Fara, Deborah, Cecille, and many others friends that I've made at Redeemer and ENS.

Well, that's about all that I can remember.  I'll be back after my trip to Turkey.

After a couple of weeks with temps near 100, we're back in 70s!!  It's 79 and raining at 8:10 pm.  Temps in Istanbul are in the low 50s during the day.  It's going to be cold!!!