InterCon

Today was a relaxing day spent exploring the hotel.  I didn't go out, I didn't really want to get in a taxi today.  Plus, I am running out of money and I'm not sure when I'm going to get paid.  I still have some American money that I need to change, but it's going very quickly with taxis and meals.  I must be careful!

I woke up about 8 and spent some time on the balcony!  I love it!  It was so nice and quiet; the kids hadn't started arriving at the pool.  In addition to it being quiet, it wasn't all that hot.  OK it was hot, but not as hot as it was in Abu Dhabi plus it's always cooler in the morning.  There is a big difference in heat here, it's not humid like Abu Dhabi.  Now those people that say that dry heat isn't hot, well sorry but you're just wrong.  Dry heat is HOT.  It's just not oppressive HOT like humid heat.  It is definitely more pleasurable to go outside because my skin didn't immediately feel sticky, so that's a plus.

evening view from  my room

view from my room

I met Cassandra and Susan for breakfast at 9 and we just spent the morning chatting and enjoying breakfast and coffee.  The breakfast was good, but I miss the breakfast from Abu Dhabi.  No little crossaint (sp??) fruit pastries.  No Suraj to pour my coffee and keep refilling even after I tell him I don't need anymore ("just a little more miss" as he's pouring).  No Michelle to greet me in the morning ("good morning Miss. Sara; enjoy your breakfast").  No orange juice.  I don't know if I'll be able to survive!!  I did have a wonderful omelet made this morning though!  We enjoyed our breakfast/lunch until about noon.  What a great idea!  Free breakast and lunch!  Why didn't we think of that in Abu Dhabi?  I guess it takes us running out of money to think of ways to save money.

The pool is amazing!  There is a kids pool and an adult lap pool.  The kids pool is very cool.  There is a water slide; which is quite popular among the children.  There was always a line when I walked by.

children's pool area

adult pool

Oh huge plus; I was able to get my free Internet service that I signed up for in Abu Dhabi!!  I thought I was going to have to pay for Internet, but they're letting those in the Ambassador Club have free Internet!  Yeah!  I get to save AED 300.

Dinner was a wonderful salad at the Indian restaurant in the hotel.  Fabulous cucumber and yogurt dressing!  Very cool and refreshing.  Fresh and crisp vegetables.  Delicious dinner and I was even able to bring some back to the room since it doesn't require reheating!

Exploring Al Ain tomorrow and trying to get a car.

Moving Day

I am sitting in the InterContinental in Al Ain!  It is absolutely gorgeous.  The view is so much better than the view from Abu Dhabi.  Well, ok maybe not better just very different.  Palm trees are everywhere and it's very green.  The pool looks amazing.  I will post pictures later, but it's night and they don't show up.  I love the balcony.  I can sit out there and look at the pool, palm trees, and city lights in the distance. 

I can't wait to explore my new city.  There are mountains, forts, desert, oases, shops, restaurants, the zoo... lots to see and do.  Good thing I'm going to be here for 2 years!  Who knows what this week will bring, but I am up to looking around and finding places.

Not much else to write since I spent the day packing, riding on a bus, and unpacking.  I think I may just turn iin early!

Emirates Palace

I went back to the Emirates Palace tonight!  It is absolutely beautiful at night, unfortunately the pictures that I took outside didn't show up due to lack of light.  I was able to take some inside, but they aren't that great. 

largest dome in the world

grand lobby

Cassandra, Lakisha and I went back so we could see the 2030 exhibit and the embroidery exhibit.  There are so many amazing things planned for Abu Dhabi in 2030.  They are going to build a Guggenheim, Louvre, performing arts center, maritime museum (which will be partly underwater), and a Sheikh Zayed museum.  It is amazing what they are going to do and how quickly they will get it done.  They will have the Guggenheim, Louvre, and performing arts center done by 2014.  If I am not here in 2030, I will definitely have to come back to see all the new museums!

Abu Dhabi in 2030

The embroidery exhibit was beautiful.  The details on each piece were amazing.  Unfortunately I was not able to take pictures.  Each piece told a story with the embroidery done on it.  I loved the colors and the different designs on each one.  There was one that had a picture of a princess (I believe from Iran) on it.  Her face was all over it, along with a man and a woman.  The guide told me that in Iran the image that was on the wall hanging of the princess surrounded by a man and a woman is seen frequently. 

This Middle Eastern culture seems to really respect their leaders.  Pictures of Sheikh Zayed are all over the place here.  He was a man with a great vision.  He embarked on this 2030 vision and his plan to transform education.  He is very respected.

I had training today for the first time since last week.  The training was very good and the people that were running it were informative and funny.  One of them will be my cluster manager in Al Ain.  He said that the school is very good with a progressive principal.  Ammorriyah Primary School is really embracing this change in education.  The focus of our meeting was on classroom management.  They told us some pretty scary stories about what happened to LTs last year; kids jumping on desks, running around the classroom, taking things off the wall, and constantly talking among other issues.  This seemed to be a big problem last year.  They made a point to tell us that it is perfectly fine if we spend 1 month on classroom management.  They know that it is impossible to teach a class of students that aren't behaving.  They were very positive.  I am sure those incidents happened last year, but I am hoping that they were the exception, not the norm.

I am moving to Al Ain tomorrow afternoon!!!  I will be in a hotel there until I get my apartment ready.  Once I get my furniture allowance, I will have 5 days to get the apartment ready and then it's bye bye hotel hello apartment!

Tuesday

No creative title today.  I just couldn't think of one.

Well, the Abu Dhabi people have left.  The ones that will be staying in a hotel apartment left this afternoon.  It was kind of sad, especially since I didn't even get to say goodbye to Lakisha since she left while I was getting my hair done:(  I have her number so we will definitely stay in touch and I'm still in Abu Dhabi, even though she's not at the InterContinental anymore. 

I found out that I will most likely be moving to a hotel in Al Ain on Thursday!  Yeah!!  That means that I should be able to start shopping and getting my apartment ready.  Fun times!!  I also have orientation tomorrow morning.  I have been wishing for this since the people who are staying in Abu Dhabi have had orientation all week and have been getting a lot of great resources and information about their schools.  It's time for us Al Ain folk to be getting some information and resources as well.  Plus it will give me something do and focus my mind on.

I went to the bank today to set up my online banking.  Not that I have any money in my account, but at least it's set up for when I do have money.  So when Cassandra and I got to the bank there was a sign on the door; "ladies use back entrance".  I felt like I was in the Civil War time period when blacks had to use a different entrance.  Didn't make me feel really good.  We go in the bank and there is one teller, one customer service representative, and 4 chairs.  I don't know what the men's side looked like, but I'm sure there was more than 1 teller.  Plus the room must have been bigger because the bank was a very decent sized bank.  We waited in line for the teller and I was very pleased that she spoke English; I wasn't sure how I was going to communicate online banking to her.  She told us that we had to wait for the customer service rep.  There were 2 other people waiting for her.  When it was my turn I told her what I wanted and she clearly understood!  No language issues at the bank!  They have some really intense security measures in place over here.  I got an envelope with a security code in it and my password.  The security code changes all the time.  Weird.  You don't get to choose your username or password it's all given in sealed envelopes.  Same thing with my password for my debit card.  I filled out my form and waited for Cassandra.  While Cassandra was filling out her form an Emirati (local) woman began talking to the customer service rep and interrupted the service Cassandra was in the middle of getting.  That's just the way things are here.  The Emirati's don't wait their turn, they just do what they want when they want.  It's just something that we're going to have to get used to, along with the discrimination.  They can make it sound and look good like on the bus with priority seating, but having to use a different entrance is not very positive.

Went looking for a car today, not that I have the money or the residency visa that is required to get a car; it was just nice to look.  They are very expensive; at least the new ones.  I will not be getting a new car.  I am leaning heavily towards leasing one, it will just be so much easier to not have to worry about a car when I leave.  If I can get by without a car, that would be great as well. 

I ordered my first delivery meal in Abu Dhabi.  Again, I was concerned about the language but the recorded message said "to continue in English press 2".  I ordered my pizza with pepperoni on it.  Despite not eating pork here you can get whatever you want on your pizza; ham and sausage included.  Kind of weird!  I thought that they would have different toppings due to the culture.  Chicken is a big pizza topping here though. 

Excited for tomorrow!  I hope that I will get a lot of useful information!

Gold Souk

There was some excitement at the InterCon today!  The people who are placed in Abu Dhabi had been told that they were leaving the hotel at 3:00 this afternoon to head to their new apartments.  There was excitement in the air as they got packed and said goodbye to friends that were made.  It was a little sad knowing that Kisha, Kate, and Virginia were going to be leaving the hotel, but at least we're all still in Abu Dhabi.  Well, 3:00 came and went and no bus.  The excitement changed to nervous which changed to frustration when they realized that they were not leaving.  The lack of communication is getting to everybody.  I think everyone would be ok if we just knew what was happening when.  The people who are moving to Al Ain have been told to get comfortable; we'll probably be here another week.  That's fine with me, just knowing something is better than all the rumors and wondering that is going on here.  Even though everyone on Facebook from last year said to expect stuff like this, I thought they would have gotten it worked out and been more organized.  Guess I was wrong.  That's just the way this country works; not much planning and organizing except when it comes to consturction.  So, knowing that I am going to be here for a while longer I did some more laundry and organized my luggage.  I was so sick of rifling through suitcases and clothes that I'm not going to wear to find the stuff that I wanted to wear.  Now that I am all organized and have wet clothes hanging in the bathroom I'll probably leave tomorrow!!  I think I am getting to be quite good at washing in the tub!!  It's not fun at all and I thank the inventor of the washing machine:)  Can't wait to get my own!

This evening Cassandra, Kisha and I went to Madinet Zayed to pick up our abayahs and go to the gold souk.  Cassandra's abayah was finished and it fit her well; mine was finished, but it was a little too tight in the arms.  The guy said it was fine and that it was very loose; that was when I held my arms out like I was flying.  I don't normally walk around like that.  When I bent my arms, and even when I just put them by my side it was tight.  So after arguing with him that it was actually tight, he said he would fix it so it won't be ready until tomorrow.  After Cassandra got her abayah we walked next door to the gold souk.  I thought the gold souk would have bars of gold for sale and anything you wanted decorated in gold.  I thought there would be gold vending machines (they have them here) all over the place. I expected to see lots and lots of different gold objects.  Boy was I wrong.  All it was, was gold jewelry.  Quite disappointing.  I wanted to take some pictures of the very tacky (Mr. T like) gold jewelry, but no photography was allowed.  There was some nice jewelry as well, but most of it was very gaudy and "blingy".  Guess I should have gotten some bling, since I couldn't get my abayah!

The taxi ride home was very scary.  You are putting your life in danger everytime you get in a taxi in this country.  They drive so fast and cut other drivers off all the time.  The taxi is equipped with a device that tells them to slow down if they are going too fast.  This particular driver heard the warning and promptly sped up!  The horn is their favorite part of the car!  Cassandra said that she felt like she was at 6 Flags!!!!  In a way I can't wait to get a car, but it also scares me because I know I will have to drive with these maniacs!  Defensive driving is a must here.

Still no money in my bank account, but at least my card works at the ATM now!  One step forward!!  Patience.  "Shway, shway" (slowly) is a phrase that we're all using a lot now.  "Inshallah" (God willing) has become like "no".  Everytime we hear someone say Inshallah we automatically say that the answer must be no.  Off to bed; maybe more information or money tomorrow!!

Long weekend

My weekend just got lengthened!  Teachers that are placed in Abu Dhabi had to go to a meeting today, while teachers placed in Al Ain had the day off due to not being in Al Ain yet.  This would normally be a good thing, but I am so ready to get started.  It is kind of weird to say that I'm bored.  I mean I'm in Abu Dhabi of all places and I'm bored.  One can only go to the mall so many times!!

I went to a souk today.  A souk is like an outdoor market or street fair, only this one was indoors.  This souk specialized in perfumes, incense, fabrics, abayahs, and fabrics.  I saw a rug that was really nice that I would like for my apartment.  It was brown and it had some Arabic writing on it.  I asked the guy if he knew what it said, but he didn't.  I told Cassandra that I could just make up something poetic when people ask what it says.  The guy then said that it was for Muslims only.  I thought he meant that only Muslims could buy it, but he meant that the writing was verses from the Quran.  I decided that I didn't want it.  The incense was really strong and not pleasant smelling either.  You could tell that the perfume was cheap from the overpowering scent of the souk.  There were some places that I couldn't even walk down due to the smell.  When you go to a souk, the first rule is that you never pay full price for something.  The shop owners expect you to haggle with them over pricing.  They try all sorts of tactics to get you in their shop and to get you to buy something.  Susan was looking for a scarf and the owner kept telling her that everything looked beautiful on her.  He even asked her to name a price when the original price was too high, but she declined saying that she needed to save money for a car and furniture; which is true.

My abayah wasn't ready today.  Well, it will be ready at midnight, but we're not going back.  Cassandra and I will have to make a trip tomorrow.  Oh well, it will give me something to do; although it is going back to a mall.  Time to check the tourist book and find the museums and stuff.  Something intersting for tomorrow.

Short post

Not much going on today.  I am sick of the mall.  That seems to be the only thing to do here.  There are plenty of shops, but of course everything is closed until 8 and then it is so hot and humid at night that I just don't feel like walking around all the time.  I do have to get out and experience the local culture and that can be done by walking around and seeing the different shops and souks. 

Went for a walk with Lakisha this afternoon since we couldn't go to the tourist area where souveniors are.  It was really pleasant!  We went to a little park by the hotel and we tried to walk to the mall, but it got really hot really quick so we turned around.

Went to the Abu Dhabi mall this evening with Cassandra and Ertha (she used to work at the Intercon).  It's a huge mall, like any mall you may find in a big city.  We met at Starbucks!  Starbucks are everywhere here as well!  I got my new phone, I will try to keep better track of this one!  I also began looking for appliances.  If I am not careful I am going to go through my AED 5,000 in just appliances and a TV.  I found a little countertop stove that was cheap, and I will probably only get a washer not a washer/dryer combo.  I am looking at the Abu Dhabi Cooperative which is kind of like a discount store.  I will also check Carrefour and IKEA.

Another day with no word from ADEC about moving to Al Ain.  I talked to Anton at the front desk and he said that the rooms are booked untill Sept. 3rd.  So I may be here another week.