Spam!

Hey everyone,

I know it has been a while and unfortunately I am not writing anything truly new at this moment, but a real post will follow soon.  I just wanted to apologize if anyone received a spam email with disturbing links on it recently.  My blog was hacked.  I have, hopefully, removed all such posts.  I thank you for your understanding.

All the best,

K

I have returned...

Firstly, I want to apologize for my lack of writing these past months.  My only excuse is that I got married.  My husband and I wanted to wait to announce it as we are waiting to change my name until this summer.  You see, in order to live with a person of the opposite sex, you must be married.  If you are not married and you are “found out” then it could mean jail and/or deportation.  So to be able to move in together and also to make sure my husband could get proper medical care, we had a legal marriage in the UAE and are currently planning our big white celebration for this summer.  I have also waited until this summer to change my name.  Soon I will no longer be Kelby Hackler, I will be Kelby Hines, which is really quite nice because it means I really don’t need to change my signature much.

Now first things first, dating in the UAE is an interesting monster.  There are many ways you can go about it.  Clubbing, pubs, sports, etc.  I met my husband, oddly enough, through his parents.  David’s father was also a teacher and we shared mutual friends.  We spent many fun times at wine tastings and brunches before taking a trip to Bali together in the spring last year.  To all the men out there, I would definitely suggest spontaneity when it comes to a proposal.  It was our last night in Bali after a lovely dinner at Bumbu Bali, a restaurant that prides itself on serving traditional Balinese fare.  It began pouring down midway through our dinner.  Within minutes the roads began flooding. Since we typically don’t get much rain in Abu Dhabi, we were like children when it came time to leave, looking forward to getting soaked.  The restaurant was kind enough to give us a ride to our hotel, which was just a few blocks away.  Once we got to reception we decided we would make a run for it (we were staying in a small villa, so to get to it you had to walk outside).  I dashed out into the rain and promptly began splashing in the puddles and dancing around.  When I finally turned around to find where David had gone, he was getting down on one knee with a purple orchid in his hand.  We both have a love of orchids and had taken many pictures of them during the trip.  He looked up at me, the rain streaming down his face and asked me, with a little stumbling over words, to marry him.  So yes, definitely go for spontaneity.

That was in April.  As soon as we got back from break, we realized that a) we wanted to move to a different apartment, b) we couldn’t live together without a marriage, so c) we needed to get married ASAP.  So, we made an appointment with one of the Pastors at St. Andrew’s Church, where David’s parents attended mass.  We just had to pay a set fee, save a date and they took care of all the paperwork.  Then we had a couple hours of pre-marriage counseling in which they walked us through what would happen on the big day and things to talk about before marriage.  Then the big day happened with very little fanfare as we decided to treat the marriage as an extended engagement since none of my family could make it to the ceremony.  A month after the wedding and after much legwork from David with ADEC, he had a medical card and visa and we were moving into our new apartment in Rihan Heights.  It was a crazy few months. 

Since we got married, I have been enjoying the benefits of being married in a Muslim country.  I have a problem with maintenance, David calls and it gets taken care of right away.  Having problems with getting proper documents, David goes in and its done snappish.  However, being married also means that I get asked at least three times a week if I am pregnant yet, which I am not.  It is difficult for my local coworkers to fathom waiting to have children, as most of them hope to get pregnant right away.  One thing I do have to say is that the Maturnity benefits are excellent in this country and from what I understand there are midwives.  I have finally found a proper hospital, which is very quick with results and has a mostly western trained staff, in Harley Street Medical Center. 

As I am coming to the end of my third year in Abu Dhabi, I have found that very few things change here.  The students are a little better behaved then past years, the admin a little more difficult, but ultimately Abu Dhabi is Abu Dhabi.  The city is still growing, which means constant construction.  The number of brunches and wine tastings increases as more and more hotels are built. Our new favorite brunch is the Ritz Carleton Brunch and Stay package, which is more than worth the money spent.

While I have learned a lot these past three years and have had some wonderful times, the feeling that my time in this place is coming to an end gets ever stronger.  While we are planning on staying one more year so as to be able to comfortably pay for our big white wedding ceremony this summer and to have a nice cozy bonus when we do leave, my husband and I can’t help but scour the wanted ads around the world for our next adventure.  Until next time, pity me as the heat and humidity rises and my prayers for the end of term to speed up increase.

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.