There’s no place like home . . .

We’re not in Kansas anymore, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing this time ‘round.  I was recently given the keys to my new place, and I started work!  After six weeks, I now have a home.  I am officially a resident of the United Arab Emirates.  How does it feel?  Well, I really am not complaining about the 5 and 4 star hotels I have been living in, but I will say that I am excited to get into a place where I can cook, entertain and not live out of a suitcase.

I arrived in Matinad Zayed, U.A.E. last Wednesday at about 2pm.  The hotel I have been given is through the Danat Hotel group and is called the Tilal Liwa Hotel.  It is very ‘authentic’ looking with a Spanish and Moroccan influence.  The hotel is absolutely glorious in every detail.  The light fixtures are just amazing and Majestic Flooring would have their work cut out for them with the building being coated in head-to-toe tile/marble/granite!  I have been at the pool a lot (be jealous of the tan) and trying to get some things printed out for my classroom.

Entrance of Tilial Liwa Hotel

Lobby in hotel

View from my balcony

Pool overlooking the Empty Quarter Desert

Breakfast

Yummy

Our fearless housing leader, Mahmoud, took us over to the brand new Teacher Villas on Saturday, where we saw our new luxurious desert apartments and got our keys.  There are 10 villas in this gated complex and the villas have these small venetian-style walkways in between.  A few people on FB commented how clean the streets were –however they are just walkways between the buildings.  Anyway, I took the elevator up to the second floor and found my new home.  When you walk in, it takes you into a hallway with a bathroom on the left and the kitchen on the right (with balcony).  You walk down a little further and the large room on the left is the living room.  Make a left and there are two large bedrooms with another full bath at the end of the hall.  Great place, but I am a little weary about furnishing it all.  I will just furnish as I go along, I guess.  But overall, I love it and am ready for visitors!

Building

Entrance to Villa 8

Entryway to my apartment

Kitchen

Balcony off kitchen

Living Room

Guest bathroom

One of two bedrooms

Hallway leading from LR to bedrooms and bathroom 2

Bigger bathroom

I went into work, like a good teacher, on Thursday, September 8^th and met with the staff and principal.  Everyone was so welcoming, smiling their beautiful smiles (what an attractive culture) and saying hello.  They must have been taught to shake hands with us, because everyone was doing it.  I guess no kisses on the cheek . . . just yet.  The principal is lovely and we have managed to have at least two cups of tea both days we went in.  Let’s just say that you do not ‘pop’ your head in and ask for something; you go into the office, chat, ask how everything is going, they ask you (and you actually tell them how you are rather than spouting the regular “I’m fine” response.  After, you sit and have tea and dates or chocolate.  Then you ask anything you need to ask, at which point you may get an answer or you will get an “Inshallah” (if God wishes it to be so).  You say your good-byes, walk out and wonder if you actually got and answer for what you wanted.  The classroom was in a state that reminded me of how a school looks like during the summer when construction goes on during the summer.  However, the attitude is, that the students may not all show up for another week or two, so there is no big rush.  

Main Hall area that connects the four KG classrooms

Being a western teacher and having deadlines, standards and stipulations put in place your whole professional life to make sure the classroom is at its peak the first day of school, you’d think it would drive me crazy.  But, after doing the research and mentally preparing myself for this very different cultural approach, I was okay with it.  It still was difficult not to start cleaning, rearranging and setting up, but I managed.  Today was the first day of school.  I am no longer comparing (out loud at least) the West to the Middle East, which saved me today.  By our standards, it was a ‘what never to do’ scenario (you know the kind that you see on video tapes shown to you at meetings made in 1978).  By the standards of what I heard it could be like and what I expected it to be like, it wasn’t too bad.  Only a few boys were bad, maybe 6 to 8 kids cried (out of 40 or 50) and no one got hurt.  It was a little over stimulating, with children running around, screaming, playing, so I sat in a corner with a few books and some children came over to watch.  The families that decided to stay were nice.  One woman even said to me that she wished I spoke Arabic, because she likes my ‘personality’ and wishes I could speak to her son in Arabic.  I was flattered and it pretty much made my day.  After the children left, I hung up a few borders on a couple bulletin boards, and unpacked my very large suitcase of school supplies I brought from home (it was worth the $250 luggage fee!).  My co-teacher is opening up more and the others are getting more comfortable as well.  I would say a success so far.

It is pretty cool being down the street from a camel race track

The booming town of Madinat Zayed is like Schwensksville in the desert with no Moccia's, run down stores (and really good local food spots) and a bunch of Pakistani men staring at you.  I don't really pay them any attention.  Although with today being 9/11, I had it in the back of my mind (unavoidable, really) but this is probably the last place, even compared to some Western regions, that I am worried about.  Anyway, it is bare bones town.  It is authentic, gritty, real, and I am just so blessed to be where I am in location, profession and life.  Enjoy the pics!

Madinat Zayed Fire Company (we'll see if I can get a patch, being a woman and all)