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.
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