An Abu Dhabi Christmas

So I am sure many of you have been wondering what Christmas in Abu Dhabi would be like and as I have relaxed my travels this holiday season, I am uniquely qualified to tell you.

In all the hotels in Abu Dhabi and even the malls they have up holiday decorations compete with fat laughing Santa's and two story Christmas Trees.  You can even find Christmas music playing in most places.  Now I knew that Abu Dhabi was a place where you can get almost everything at your fingertips, but not so much at here in Abu Dhabi.  It is a well kept secret, but for both Christmas and Thanksgiving there is a restaurant that will make your entire meal for you.  It is called jones the grocer, www.jonesthegrocer.com, and I can honestly say that their turkey is akin to what I have back home and their pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving was the closest to my mom's homemade pie that I have had in a while.  They are also the only non-hotel related restaurant that is allowed to serve wine here in Abu Dhabi.  They have to serve it in tinted glasses and it can only be served after 6pm during the week and 12pm on the weekends, but its a plus.  jones is also decked out with Christmas decorations and has some of my favorite Christmas music playing from songs from the Nutcracker to Bing Crosby to songs from Home alone.  All in all it is the best place to come for a bit of home.

If you don't want to cook or worry about a whole turkey for Christmas, you can come into jones and get a three course meal.  The entree is really for two people, but if you come with an appetite like I did today, you can easily finish it on your own.  It has all my favorite starters, bread and dip, olives, seafood, etc.  Then you have a choice for the main Turkey or Salmon, today I chose to do the turkey, but I may come back tomorrow evening, so I can get the free-flowing wine option, and have the salmon with cauliflower gratin.  All this is wonderful, but the desert is what I am really looking forward to...Christmas Pudding!  The only way this day could get better right now is if I had some Gluvine!!

Yesterday we shared a wonderful Christmas Eve having Tracies homemade sushi.  Today we look forward to finally opening those Christmas gifts and getting to have a nice relaxing meal with close friends.  All in all a good Christmas day.  

Winner!

I first want to say thank you for all of you out there that read this blog and have found the information helpful because I am now Teach Abroad Blog Winner of 2012 through  http://teacherport.com.  I am honored by this award and hope to continue to give helpful tips in the future, thank you.

Now onto business.

The first term this year has shown some good changes and some repetitiveness of last year.  I have noted that the Arabic staff, overall, are more accepting, friendly and helpful to all the English staff.  This is great as it has meant less misunderstandings, less disrespect and more effort to work with us then last year.  That is not to say that there aren't still problems with some of the staff, but overall I see an improvement, which makes me hopeful for the rest of the year.  You are always going to have those one or two who enjoy making trouble, but luckily they are not the majority this year.

The Administration has also improved quite a bit this year and seems more focused to being our advocates with parents and other teachers, however there are still some cultural differences that can cause problems.  Discipline is considered primarily a teacher based issue, so when you have that one or two students who just won't listen, talks back, doesn't do work, comes late to class, or is even violent despite the best effort of the teacher to deal with the student, it is still seen as the individual teacher's problem not the problem of the administration.  There has been some improvement with the social worker being a greater advocate for the teacher then the students' whining.  These are simply cultural issues that can cause problems, but I tend to deal with students in my own way.  The year eleven students are much better behaved overall then the tenth grade students and like last year it is the tenth grade students that cause many of the problems with the discipline.

One thing that has both helped my life and made it more difficult in ways this year is that I have been put in charge of more responsibilities.  First, I am in charge of putting together the resources and plan for the eleventh grade units.  This is both good and bad as sometimes new teachers, who have a lot more experience then me, think that they can go off the plan, which doesn't always work with the rubrics and curriculum set by ADEC.  This has become a bit of a problem this term, but hopefully next term will be a bit better.  I am also in charge of organizing and executing the activities for the English department and I was made assistant coordinator for the Al Mafraq Activities group by my principle.  In addition, I am sometimes sent to computer related Professional Developments in the school so that I can then teach them to my co-teachers, a few of which sometimes struggle with computer-related work.  All these extra duties have brooked some good things, however.  This year we worked with our cluster manager and administration and are now streaming our students based on ability and because of my work load, I was given a three high level classes, which makes my life and planning much easier.  However, my two high level arts classes range from 32 to 35 students, which can be a bit of a challenge.  These girls do work hard and I have seen a real improvement in some of them, but because of the size of the class I sometimes worry that a couple of them feel like they are getting lost in the crowd so I continually try to make sure I get some one on one time with the students.

Overall this year is better, having a good home life helps.  My Abu Dhabi family has really worked hard to get together every weekend and to keep each other sane.  A lot of us will be staying in Abu for the holiday, which I think will make the break all the better.  I was at the Etihad Towers the other day and was ecstatic to see that they had the entire entry way decked out for Christmas complete wit a twenty foot tall tree with lights and Santa decorations.  They were also playing some of my favorite Christmas songs.  I am looking forward to my break which begins December 13th.  There will be a lot of relaxing, sunbathing and fun times, so until next time... Happy Holidays!  

Another year

That is right, I am back in Abu Dhabi for another year.  I had an amazing break seeing family and friends I also had an amazing time traveling to Australia and New Zealand and meeting some new friends in both places.  I loved the majestic beauty of New Zealand and I especially loved the rugged beauty of Australia, with all its possibilities. I hope to go back someday soon.

This year has already started with some new things.  I came home to find that I had friends that I hadn't realized.  I also came home to my not so little cat Leo, who had missed my company and is, as we speak, playing with his new toy mouse.  Leo is a ridiculously smart cat who realized, in the middle of the night last night, that he could open the front door the same way as he can open all the other doors.  I wasn't exceedingly happy to be woken up at 3am to the sound of my front door opening, but you have to admire his intelligence.  I had to lock the door, but Leo didn't stop.  Once he realizes he can do something, he won't stop trying.  Therefore, I was kept awake till my alarm to the sound of Leo continually attempting to open the front door...until I finally locked him in my room so I could rest for another hour before I had to get up for work.  I guess he is like me...stubborn.

My school moved to a new location this year, due to the old school needing repairs.  Luckily the new school is just around the corner from the old one so its not any more difficult to get to work.  I also have four new co-workers, two from the states, one from South Africa and one from Ireland.  We make quite a group.  So far we are getting along, even though we are all in the same teacher room as we are floating while the girls stay in the same room for all their periods.  I thought it would be more of an issue being that we are all women, but so far so good.  Headphones are always a plus.

I am attempting to save money this year, for reasons that I will wait to discuss until outcomes become more sure, and my friends have been more then happy to help.  I have been eating dinner with my friends every night and some of the others have been hosting get togethers and movie nights.  This means that I am thoroughly enjoying my first couple weeks back without having to get all dressed up or spend a lot of money.  It has been fun and relaxing.  I can't say adjusting to the concept of another year here, and being back here, has been easy, but my friends have made it much easier then I had hoped.

Overall, I have hopes for this year being a good year and maybe at the end of it there will be an amazingly brilliant light.    

The year is ending...

So my first year in Abu Dhabi is coming to an end and I find myself looking back on the last year with something akin to surprise.  I realize that I have changed a lot in the past year.  I came over with bright eyes, excitement and hope.  I felt like my life was starting and anything could happen.  It did too.  I made friends, met a lot of interesting people, and did some fun things.  As my excitement of a new place died down, my hope to open minds and make a difference did too.  Time healed my wounded hopes and dashed excitement though.  Time, friends and some great times.

Brunches at Pearls and Caviar are a special treat, with drinks on the roof after as we watch the sun set over the mosque.  Rain Parties are another special treat.  They start up when the weather gets warm enough and it is always a good time if you go with some fun people and love dancing in the rain.  Allure is another fun time and A-list time if you don't mind the thirty minute taxi ride to Yas Island.  Heroes and Captains Arms are good places to grab a pint and a nice way to unwind after a long work week.  Then there is always hanging out with friends and watching a movie, or going upstairs to the pool and laying in the warm water under the stars.

One thing that has proved more difficult then I expected, has been traveling within the UAE.  I have yet to spend any real time in Dubai, even though I was there for three days for Dubai 7's Rugby Tournament.  I also haven't been able to go to Al Ain to see the zoo, which I hear is amazing.  I would like to go jet skiing in the gulf, out for a few nights in Dubai, kayaking in the mangroves...etc. It all sounds interesting and like a heck of a lot of fun.  However, without a car traveling between the cities can be challenging.

I have also realized that while Europe is amazing and what I always hoped, I want to see the more rugged sides of the world.  Thailand, Africa, India, China, Australia, and Brazil to name a few.  I want to teach and live in places where I am not surrounded by expats and Americans.  This may sound surprising or even rude, but part of the reason I moved abroad was to go someplace new, meet new people, experience new cultures.  It is hard to do that in a place where the people surrounding you are from back home and the only country's culture is so completely removed from yours.  The only time I truly experience Emirati culture is when I am riding in a car, at the mall, or at school...which is pretty sad.

Living here, I have also realized how much I miss the little things.  Being able to walk out my front door and walk around without sand or cars making life difficult.  Being able to find the same thing at the grocery store every time I go.  Common courtesy on the roads and in general.  Not having to worry about how covered I am when I leave the apartment.  Being able to wear a real work outfit to work.  And pork...I didn't eat much pork in the states, but not being able to eat it makes me miss it.  I even miss real hot dogs and anyone who knows me knows I don't like hot dogs...at all.

I find that I am beginning to get more confidence in my abilities and myself.  It helps that I have friends who are constantly telling me to "stop letting people splash in my puddles."  I am learning to say no...slowly and not a hundred percent.  I am learning to stand up for myself instead of just standing up for others.  Finally, I am learning to love myself.  Its hard, and I am no where close to done but the encouragement of friends and loved ones drives me to continue to find myself.

Life here, though frustrating and even somewhat depressing at times, is a constant stream of unique and interesting times.  The friends I have made and the people I have met will remain a part of my memories and my life forever. This, however, is not my last stop in my career.  It is a stepping stone and I feel a renewed excitement and hope for what will come in the next couple years.

  

Some Musings...

Not much new has happened but I have had some recent revelations about working in Abu Dhabi.

To enjoy Abu Dhabi life, you really only need a small group of true friend that you can be yourself with.  Which I guess isn’t any different from anywhere else for me.  Going out once or twice a month with those friends makes me feel much more content then hanging out with a whole group here, like many people here tend to do.  Eating a really good meal and hanging out at home with some good friends is much more enjoyable to me than going out clubbing every weekend.  Not to say that I don’t go out.  One of our favorite Friday excursions is going to the brunch at Pearls and Caviar and then up to the bar to watch the sun set after.  This past weekend we met some interesting people and had an absolute blast!  There are also sushi nights that we have created and just simple movie nights.   

Teaching is about the same.  Some of my students continue to copy, despite losing major marks.  We are trying to convince admin to let us take the top English students to a kid-friendly version of Romeo and Juliet, which is a task and a half in itself.  My students have turned in most of their work and are now preparing for their trimester exam though taking practice tests, reading and answering questions and other such work.  Some of the students are excelling and improving daily.  It’s nice when you see a student who couldn’t speak English the first trimester beginning to use full sentences during class and completing more of the work on her own.  Times like that help me remember why I became a teacher and why I still love teaching.  I am beginning to get over worked though.  I want to come into work less and less every day and my days seem to be more and more exhausting.  I think that there needs to be a long weekend in the middle of each trimester to give teachers and students a little bit of time to recoup. 

Some interesting things about Abu Dhabi.  Students repeatedly choose my classroom to pray in despite there being the mosque (messejed) and places in the gym.  Not sure why this is but it is an interesting practice to watch.  Mainly, it is one of the few times some of the students are ever quiet.  I always make sure the room is quiet when they come in to pray during the breaks, maybe that is why they come to my room so often. 

People don’t use seat belts here.  You will be driving down the road and see a child sitting in daddy’s lap or running around the back of the car.  I have become desensitized to it, which worries me a bit.  Also, parents are allowed to hit their children here and brothers of my girls get away with anything.  One student’s brother pushed her down the stairs, not sure why, and other kids cry when they have to go home at the end of the day.  Some of the local staff hit their students with sticks or pull their hair.  This is something that I have had to learn to accept, but I don’t enjoy watching a student getting hit just because she is talking during the morning meeting or seeing her with welts on her arm because she made one of her other teachers angry.  Oftentimes things aren’t that bad, however I have to be careful about sending students to the nurse about mental problems such as cutting, because some places here they will send kid to jail for trying to kill themselves.  Sand storms and fog are the equivalent of rain and snow in Minnesota.  Driving in the fog here is dangerous and we get 2 hour late starts due to intense fog.  Sand storms are easier to deal with but instead of being drenched you have a thin film of dust on your skin and in your home, no matter what you do.  Therefore, cleaning weekly still looks like you haven’t cleaned in a month. 

Yes, life here can be interesting and difficult.  It can also be lovely.  Laying out in my bikini in February is one of the many pluses to this environment.  Also, as a woman you get many perks.  In a line of men, you are sent to the front.  There is a ladies night every night here at some bar or other.  People will do anything you ask at a store or in general.  Also, you can enjoy better service from waiters and bartenders at any joint.  Finally, you don’t have to pay to get into any clubs and dress codes are overlooked if you are a woman.  I suspect if I showed up at one of my favorite bars in sweats they still would let me in but they wouldn’t let in a guy with shorts or without a collared shirt. 

My taste for wine has increased tenfold.  I worry about coming back to the states and not enjoying the selection there.  I have also gotten a bit used to having any food and such at my beck and call during brunches here.  The U.S. should really pick up this idea, it is a great one.  I also worry that my style of dress, as it is much more formal here, will be out of place back in the states.

Overall, traveling and living outside the U.S. is an adventure.  

Travels and Lessons

I first must say that I apologize for not writing before now.  As I said when I started this blog, I am not great and have never been great at journaling as it requires a constant reflection.  This is a problem because as a teacher, especially a teacher in Abu Dhabi, it can sometimes be difficult to find such time.  Therefore I will give you a rundown of the past months.

November:
Trimester one was a long and frustrating learning process and by this time was beginning to get a bit overwhelming and frustrating.  Therefore, Eid break could not come soon enough.  Eid is similar to Christmas for Christians.  It is a time of gift giving and buying new clothing in celebration for Allah, at least that was my understanding of the hour long school meeting, spoken in Arabic, before Eid break.  It was translated at points but often times there will be five minutes of talking for one or two lines explained in English.  During Eid, many people travel to other countries, especially teachers.  My trip was planned to Germany, where my boyfriend Tim had been shipped to compliments of the Air Force.  I admit, I had never really been interested in traveling to Germany, other then a trip to see WWII places.  I knew it would be colder and wetter then Abu Dhabi and I didn't expect to enjoy it.  However, when I stumbled off the plane late at night after a long day of traveling I noticed, as we were driving, in the voice of my over tired mind "oooh green!!"  Tim lives near the Ramstein Air Base and at that time was living at the Hotel on base.  Since he couldn't get every day I was there off work I found myself hanging out in a hotel room.  However, when he was able to get time, Tim took me to Trier and Luxembourg to see some of the sites.  We found a lovely little traditional family owned Italian restaurant.  The food was amazing.  It was a lovely place, and when the sun was shining it was even more beautiful with all the greenery.  Walking around in towns in Germany is very relaxing.  The city centers are typically blocked off to cars and the centers are still paved in the original cobblestone, which is nice but somewhat difficult to walk around on in boots with heels.  The heels like to slip in the cracks at the most inconvenient moments.  However, with a week of good food and amazing company, its not hard to understand how much I looked forward to returning for Christmas break.

December:
As November ended and December began, I life turned from teaching to proctoring tests which is walking around a room of students doing tests in Arabic.  If they are caught talking, often times the response is "they forget."  Then, joy of all joys, we find out that we have to go to downtown Abu Dhabi to grade the English tests; three different times, for four hours a time and only 100dhs pay.  I tell you, it is the joy and love of my life to grade test after test in which the answers are basically the same and in broken English.  If you grade too high or too low you are asked to redo it.  Usually its only if you are grading too low.  However, when that last test was graded and you knew you were going to be leaving the next day, you didn't seem to care so much.  The day after, I went to a brunch with a couple friends at Pearls and Caviar, one of the best brunches in Abu Dhabi.  Then I went home, took a short nap and got on a plane back to Germany.  Although we spent most of my break in Germany, we traveled to Rome for a few days for Christmas.  It was an amazing trip.  We stayed right around the corner of the Trevi Fountain at the B&B Trevi.  Tim's friend Ryan met us in Rome and stayed nearby.  Ryan even more of a Roman history buff then I am and knew all the good places to eat.  He had made reservations for dinner both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  Anyone that knows me knows that I don't typically eat a lot, rather I snack throughout the day.  In Rome, however, I found space. For almost every meal I had two courses and wine.  Italian restaurants in the states pale by far in comparison to the food I had in Rome in general.  The best meal while I was there was our Christmas day dinner.  We had amazing food, amazing wine and we were waited on hand and foot.  We were shown into their wine cellar where they had some of the oldest wines I have ever seen, it was amazing.  When we left, one of the staff gave me the rose of my table.  It was lovely.  Then we proceeded to a pub in which Tim was friends with the owner.  I almost beat the owner in water pong, losing by just a couple cups two games to one.  I have high hopes for next time.  Walking around Rome, seeing all the architecture of all the places I have read about was surreal.  I need to go again to see the things we ran out of time, energy and/or good weather to see.  I loved Italy and can't wait to go back.  The rest of the time in Germany was equally amazing.  We spent New Years Even with some friends in Trier having great food, company and wine.  We kissed at midnight in front of the Port de Negra, an old roman ruin at the center of Trier, as fireworks were going off.  It was again amazing.  We finally found Tim an apartment on the last day I was there.  Its a big old apartment in downtown Kaiserslautern.  Its near everything and will be fun to return to in March for my Spring Break.

January:
I returned to Abu Dhabi a bit despairingly, but have now gotten back into the grove of things.  The first two weeks were rife with planning and extra work for our principle.  I was sick all of the third week back with a flu bug that made me lose about ten pounds, not fun.  If you are sick here and need to miss work, you have to go to your doctor and get a doubly stamped and signed note from the doctor and hospital.  Then you have to take this note across town to the Ministry of Health and have them stamp it.  Then when you go back to work you have to scan it in and sign it onto your account.  It is then confirmed by your principle all so you can get paid for sick leave.  If you don't have the note, they apparently think that you are lying.  Which means that even if you have stuff coming out of both ends, you have to get it together long enough to make it the half hour cab ride to the doctor.  Also, had a lot of trouble with my neck and back over break and found out that I had injured my neck pretty seriously in Rugby back in the end of November and because I not gotten help when I first injured myself, the injury had gotten worse.  I was at the point that I couldn't sleep because the pain was radiating from my neck all the way down my legs.  Now my doctor here is an 80 year old man who studied in Germany.  Whenever I go to see him he greets me with "Hello, my dear! How are you!"  He told me no more rugby, that I need to try to learn to relax because my knotted muscles were making it impossible for my spine to go back to normal.  He told me to take walks and spend time with friends relaxing.  He told me if my friends were busy that I could call him and we could go down to the Corniche and have a picnic.  This week I will be going in for a check up and getting paid for massages set up, yes I know its a rough life.  My doctor called me on Thursday to check in on me and I found out that he had been in a car accident.  He said he may be needing to get massages with me.  Stacy keeps joking that maybe he is looking at me for his next wife.  He he very funny.

On other notes:

The Port de Negra

Trier City Center with Port de Negra in the Background

Dinner with Tim at the Emeriates Palace in Abu Dhabi

At the Palace Pool, city in background.

City view from the beach

Marina Mall in the background

Rain Party at the Aloft Hotel, best party I've been to here

View from my Apartment. (curved building is Aloft and the U.S. Embassy is the doorstop on the right)

Rest of my view, with the Grand Masque in the background on the left.

Eating Cinnabon down on the Corniche

Outside my classroom

Some of my co-workers, Stacy is the blond.

View of my classroom from the door, soon the walls will be covered with ECART Projects.

Walking around here isn't the easiest thing to.  All the sidewalks are right next to major highways and crossing the road, even with the green walk sign, is at your own risk.  I know many of you imagine that I am living in this rich desert culture like my amazing experience in Morocco.  The people here are very interesting.  On one hand, they are extremely devout, but on the other hand, they show a high value in possessions.  This is one of the many ways I have come to realize the differences in the various Arabic cultures.  In Morocco, more was placed on the value of the inner person then what they owned.  Here, money and connections are power...sound familiar.  The area around me is still developing, but the roads are better then most of the ones we have in the states, they put pretty colorful lights on everything, and there are more malls then you will find in any major city in the U.S.  The hotels are top class and there are plenty of places to go out to eat or dancing.  In fact there isn't any true Emeratie food, rather they have somewhat sucked the foods of other cultures into their own and made enough changes to make it "original."  There are some of the best sushi and Italian restaurants I have ever been to here.  Seafood it easy to come by as well.  The malls have everything a fashionista could hope for and I am sorry to say that I have too much fuel for my shoe addiction here.  I also found that the clothing I thought I needed to wear is only what I wear to the mall or grocery store and its only because I could run into students.  At rugby games, nights out and brunches, you are expected to dress up.  All the bars have dress codes and some are more strict then others.  There is a ladies night to be found every day of the week here with free drinks to be had.  I am not much of a clubber but it is nice to never have to pay an entrance fee anywhere.  I'm hoping to be able to make it to Al Ain and Dubai in the coming months, but as of now I am happy to be caught up at work, spending time with friends and traveling.  In March Tim and I will be driving down to and staying in Luzern Switzerland for a few days and then hopefully to northern Italy, if Tim can get enough time off.

Well that is all for now...until next time :)