Our New Home

Part of the perks of accepting this job other than living in a wonderful country is that housing is paid for. On Day 1 we were told that we'd be able to find our own housing and they'd pay as long as it was under the amount allotted. I had asked questions via email for clarity about this but I received no answers.

Today we were taken to a school for our housing orientation. I was sure that all of my questions would be answered. We entered the school and I could not believe this was an actual school. There

were chandeliers and it was spotless. There was a receptionist area and instead of the nurse's office there was a clinic.

We arrived at the auditorium and we took our seats. We were told the possible towers that we could be in. They also said that the majority of the people in this room would be in Gate Towers. There was no mention about finding our own accommodations.

He began calling names and their respective towers. We had to turn in a copy of our Passport and a copy of our Entry VISA along with a signed copy of the tenant agreement. They were calling names and I thought they said my name and so did my friend sitting beside me. So, I went up to check. I gave them my name and they said, "No, we didn't call you but you are in Gate Towers." The gentleman in charge said my name and said to me come. I'm assuming he remembered my name from the few emails that I sent asking for clarity. He asked if I was married and he explained to me that if they ran out of housing they had realtors who would help us find accommodations in the towers that they had reserved. Well, there was my answer. He told me I could move into my own tower in 2 years or unless I had a baby. There was no baby in my future so I was fine with where I was placed. I returned to my seat and waited for them to call my tower. They called my tower and gave us all a paper that listed our tower number, floor number, and apartment number.

I was hoping for a floor or apartment number with a "5" in it. All my life since I can remember every house I've lived in has had a "5" in it and the same goes for my brothers. Example when we were in Texas our house number was 150, in Kentucky it was 150, in Charlotte it was 1520 and 2500. My brother's house number is 5620. When I bought my own house it was 5929. So, I was expecting a "5" as confirmation. I looked at the paper, found my name and saw that my new house number would be 1312. I decided to find some happiness and said to myself 13+12 is 25 so I'm good! LOL!

Once we turned in the forms we boarded a bus that would take us to our new homes. As we rode I began to think about our decision to move abroad and how happy I was about this decision. I made up in my mind that no matter how big, small, good view, bad view, or what have you, this home would be our home because we'd make it that way. The views on the way to our tower was amazing!

 

We arrived at our tower and I was at peace.

We had to go through another tower, go through the parking garage, and cross a bridge

in order to enter the property management area. The property management area is where we'd get the keys and any pertinent information. Here comes the waiting. The people inside the property management office seemed shocked to see about 36 people in their office at one time. Everyone began to walk back and forth at a fast pace. We were trying to figure them out and they were doing the same for us. Once they got their bearings they gave us forms to fill out and told us what we'd need to have. I filled out the paperwork and waited to be called up. They called my name, I gave them the forms and they checked to make sure everything was complete, and they handed me keys and an inspection report. I waited for this process for an hour plus for the actual process to be so quick. Once I got the keys we had to go back across the bridge, down to the parking deck, walk through the parking deck and then enter our tower. We walked in, got on the elevator and looked for our new apartment. I was trying to video call my husband so we could see it for the first time together but the video call app was not cooperating.

I walked in and the first thing I noticed was the view because the windows were so large. I checked out every room and was very happy with my new home. Mike decided to grab a taxi and come to the apartment so we could do the inspection report together. Once he got there he seemed happy too. The only thing he didn't like was there was no balcony and no way to open any windows. We walked through the apartment discussing decor and the items we'd want to purchase. Once we were done we grabbed a taxi back to the hotel so we could get dinner and we decided to online browse for furniture for the rest of the night. As we rode back I couldn't help but take in the views we'd now be afforded.

Click on our door above to get a tour of our new apartment!

Week 1 in the Books

Day 3 - Orientation began on Sunday. That's right the work week is Sunday through Thursday. Orientation began with all of the new teachers gathering in a ballroom in our hotel. If I had to guess I'd say there were about 200-300 of us. This was an article in the local newspaper about us. Click here to read it. They welcomed us and there were breakfast foods surrounded by the many vendors that wanted our business.

The day began with the overview of the day followed by receiving our placement letters and filling out information for a bank account. My friend and I decided to go to the placement letter table first and battle that crowded area and then go to the bank table. The placement letters were organized by first name. My heart was beating so fast! I was so nervous. The options for placement were Abu Dhabi which is like New York City, Al Ain which is like Huntersville right outside of Charlotte, and Al Dhafra which is the western region and can be thought of like the country. I got to the table and told her my first name. She shuffled through several papers and then she got to my name and asked me to make sure I received mine. I saw my name and let her know it was correct. I didn't look at the letter until I got a little far away from the line. I looked down and saw Abu Dhabi! I felt myself let out the biggest sigh of relief. I knew my husband would be pleased because he had been contacted by a few companies in Abu Dhabi. I immediately sent him a message. See his response below.

*****If you are reading this in hopes of joining ADEC I would suggest going to the placement table first as long as you have a SIM CARD. Thanks to my husbando I had mine but many teachers were unable to get them or were waiting on ADEC to provide them with one. SIM Cards were not available this year so get your SIM Card from the airport. Do not leave the airport without one. On Day 1 go to the placement table first and then get the bank forms and fill them out. They will walk you through what needs to be done but have it filled out so all you are doing is checking to be sure everything is complete. As soon as the last slide is shown go directly to the bank table. DO NOT WAIT! The line will get very long! Also, have copies of your Passport and Entry VISA. This is so important. Do not wait until you get here. Some will you say you won't need it but it came in handy having the copies made. *****

After turning in my bank information I visited the furniture and rental car tables to get information to discuss with Mike.  I grabbed a little fruit and headed back to our room to discuss lunch and the plan for the remainder of our day!

That evening I checked out one of the groups I'm in on facebook called Best Bites of Abu Dhabi and looked for a nice place to eat. I found a place called Loca that served Mexican Inspired Dishes. The food was delicious and the service was great. We were the only people in the restaurant! Loca was located right inside but beside Galleria Mall which is on Al Reem Island. This mall was an upscale mall and some places had security at their doors because of the items inside.

Day 4 - Orientation for day 2 was held at another hotel. We were bused there. On my way down I had to stop at the elevators to appreciate the view.

Orientation began with a welcome from the General Education Director followed by an overview of the Abu Dhabi Educational Model. It was really background on where Abu Dhabi has been as it pertains to education. Once this part was over we had to go outside to get in line to get our contracts and placement letters. Again it was all organized by first name.

*******If you are reading this in hopes of joining ADEC I would suggest sitting by the door. In Group 1 there were hundreds of people and well, as Ricky Bobby says, "If you're not first, you're last!" No, but seriously the lines can be treacherous. I was the 3rd person in my line.*******

I got my contract and placement letter and went back to my seat. I read over it ever so carefully making sure there were no mistakes because we were told if you sign and turn it in, as is, there will be no corrections. I did what a few VETS had said and took pictures of each page of my contract even though they said they would email us a copy. I turned my contract back in and then began googling my school. There was nothing! No website, nothing! I wasn't alarmed or upset I just decided that my school was too good to be on the internet! 😊😜

They corralled us all back and then went over cultural awareness, dress code expectations and some HR procedures. They dismissed us to lunch and again the lines were treacherous but not for me because I sat by the door! While I was in line to get my food I saw the man who was over housing in Abu Dhabi and I felt like a stalker because I watched his every move. I faintly heard him calling for teachers placed in Abu Dhabi and I made sure I could hear what he was saying so I waltzed right over to where he was. They had said in Day 1 that if we wanted to find our own accommodations we could and they would pay as long as it was under a certain number. Mike and I had scoured the internet looking and we found something so I needed to hear what this guy was going to say to make sure they didn't change their mind about paying. He basically said we all would be placed on Al Reem Island (which is where we found a place) and it would all be taken care of. Mike and I had an appointment to view a few apartments that afternoon and in spite of what he said we still decided to go.

******ADEC hopefuls, things change all the time so be sure to listen carefully and take note of everything. We were told that they'd pay agency fees. The realtor showing us apartments told us just 3 days ago he closed a deal with ADEC teachers and they were told ADEC will not pay the fees. So, LISTEN!!!!*******

This is the US Embassy in Dubai. Pictures are prohibited.

Day 5 - Today was a free day for me. My medical check is not until Day 6 so Mike and I decided to just hang out and take care of a few things. We had to go to the US Embassy to try and get some
documents notarized. We got to the US Embassy and found out that we had to have an appointment so, we went to Mushrif Mall. This mall was really nice. The top floor was mostly food places. We saw Chili's, Applebees, TGI Friday's, McDonald's, Burger King, and then tons of places we had never heard of. We decided to eat at Marrybrown. Marrybrown is a nice chicken spot and they also have stir fry. We ordered our food and as we were leaving, Mike saw a Coldstone and he decided to get an ice coffee. We walked out, hailed a taxi, and made our way back to our hotel.

*****ADEC hopefuls, enjoy the free days but take care of your business. You still have to get some documents translated and attested so use free days to do this. We are going to a translator tomorrow to translate our marriage license and drivers licenses.******

When we got back to our room we were greeted by this...

Day 6 - Today was my Medical Day. We were told to wear plain short sleeved shirts as we'd have to have blood drawn. My time was 8am so I was downstairs around 7:30ish just to make sure I was in the know. Before we boarded the bus they told us how the day would go. We were going to get our passports, stamped VISAs, and Emirates ID Paperwork but we were to give it back immediately after our Medicals were done. We got on the bus and I sat in the very 1st seat because I figured we would have to be in a line. If I had to put a title on today it would be, "Hurry up, and wait."

The group of 10 that I was in, was taken to the ID area first. We entered and there were 2 women working. Well, they were actually eating a snack and laughing. They saw us come in and did not rush to finish their conversation or their snack. As I've learned and come to appreciate, everything will get done when it gets done so there is no need to rush. They called me up and took my fingerprints and my picture for my ID. She stamped my Emirates ID paperwork and I was out the door to wait in another line. The next line was for the medical check-in. I had to take another picture, sign some forms saying I'm aware of what's about to happen, and once he was done, I had to wait in another line. The next line was for my vitals. They took my height, weight, and blood pressure. I was told my blood pressure was good, given a cup to pee in, and sent on my way. I went to the toilet to pee, (it's called toilet here and not restroom) placed my specimen in the marked box, and back in a line to wait. As I was waiting I saw people that were in the group before me. (They had separated my hotel into 4 groups. Group 1 went to medicals at 6am, my group at 8am, 3rd group at 10, and the 4th group at 1. Seeing group 1 let me know today may be quite a long day.) The line I was in wasn't moving very fast as it was the line to see the doctor. Once it was my turn, she asked me if I could be pregnant, and what my name was. She asked me to pick up a book and read the numbers randomly. She then asked me to lay on the table and she took my pulse and listened to me breathe. She asked me to lift up my shirt and if I had any skin issues. I answered and she sent me to the next line which is where they take blood. The customer service lady asked to see my receipt and once she saw it said ADEC Teacher she sent me in to have my blood drawn even though there were a few people in front of me. The lady who took my blood didn't say much. She looked for the biggest vein, inserted the needle and started taking my blood, 3 tubes full! She gave me a band aid and I was off to another line. This line was for the X-Ray. They called me in, she asked me if I was pregnant, and then asked me to put my hair up and hold it. She took one picture and said, "Ok, Ma'am, you're done." After that I was off again to be directed to the next line. But there were no more lines. I was met by our travel agency representative who took my passport, VISA, medicals receipt, and 1 copy of my Emirate ID paperwork. She then directed me back to the bus. We had arrived at 8:30am and it was now 11:00am and I was only the 3rd person on the bus! I knew I would have to wait. If I had dirhams I would have taken a taxi but Mike had all the money. I wasn't upset though. I pulled out my phone and read a book in between dozing. Around 1:00 or so I started getting antsy and at that moment people from Group 4 began getting on my bus! I was so confused! Come to find out the air on their bus stopped working so they moved them to our bus AND they would not be able to get their medicals done because the facility was too crowded. There were a lot of us having to go through this process.

Back at the hotel Mike was waiting on me because we had to go get our licenses and marriage license translated and attested so we could get UAE licenses and to start his residency VISA process. Someone who had went through this process told us there was a lady across from Al Wahda Mall who would do it cheap

and fast. So, with our new couple friends we hopped in a taxi and were on our way. She took our originals and let us know it would be ready for pick up the next day. Since we were right at the Mall, we went in because I wanted to get a phone that I could put my UAE Sim card in and Mike wanted to get some drink to have in our hotel room. I was able to find a nice and cheap Samsung in Lulu's. Lulu's was like Carrefour. Lulu's had TVs, clothes, and food. Once I purchased my phone we went to look for drink and some food we could make in our hotel. We found some pasta and soup that we'd only have to add water to and we knew that would come in handy when we craved food at midnight. We paid for our items, met our friends who also purchased some food and drink, and we were back in the taxi headed for our hotel.










Mike and I decided to eat our leftovers and soup for dinner. The hotel in room dining service would heat up our food for us so we called them up so they could do that. They brought our food back and I made soup using the electric kettle in our room. The food wasn't the same as it is on the stove but it did the job!

At about 12:30am I was hungry and I asked my husbando if he'd make me some pasta. He not only made pasta but he figured out a way to heat up our chicken, that we also had leftovers of, without a microwave and calling in room dining. He put it all on a plate and I couldn't even get a picture of everything because it was sooooo good! He handed me my plate and within a short minute or 2 it was all gone!

*****ADEC Hopefuls, when doing Medicals, bring a light jacket because it is quite cold and try to bring some snacks because the wait could be long. If you want to save money, don't eat out as much and try to go to the store and pick up food that can be made in the hotel room. I'm going at some point to get peanut butter, jelly, bread, and Doritos so I don't have to order so much room service.*******

Day 5 - We slept in today because there wasn't anything imminent that we had to get done. We went to pick up our documents from the translation lady and we went back to Al Wahda Mall to look around a little more. We went to the Food Court. I was itching to try the McDonald's and Mike went to Popeye's.

 

The food quality was a better than back home. After eating we walked around the mall and to my surprise we saw a Red Lobster. I went in and got a chocolate lava cookie to go that I would enjoy once we were back in our room. I was so excited and happy.


We continued to walk and talk and came upon a London Dairy that will definitely give Dairy Queen a run for its money. Mike ordered a milkshake. This mall, Al Wahda Mall, has a bowling alley, movie theater, and sports lounge INSIDE of it. I cannot wait to go back to explore it a little more and go shopping! Once we were done walking and looking, we got back in a taxi and headed back to the hotel.

My Dad has now learned how to text and answer his face time calls so he and I face timed and I updated him about what we had been up to!










We decided to reorganize our bags because we were probably going to be in the hotel for another week. We will be having a housing meeting in a few days and we hope at this time we'll be able to let them know where we want to stay. The teachers who will be in the other 2 regions, Al Ain or the Western Region, will be bused there on Friday and put up at another hotel while they wait for their placements. Since we're placed here in Abu Dhabi we'll remain at this hotel. We were told once we have our keys we have 5 days to check out of the hotel. Mike and I have decided that our first purchase will be a bed and after that, we'll play it by ear.

And that is our first week in Abu Dhabi wrapped up! We have thoroughly enjoyed being here but it does feel a bit like vacation. I can't wait to get into our apartment and live our life!

As always, Be Kind to One Another and Be Uniquely You!

Adventure #1

Oh my where do I begin!

Our first adventure was to YAS Mall. YAS Mall is on YAS Island and it is HUGE!

As we arrived at YAS Mall, immediately to our left was IKEA.

We were with other couples so we decided to eat first. The mall was so big we had to ask for directions a few times. We arrived at the food court and the options were overwhelming. Mike and I decided we'd try a different place every time we went to the mall. We all decided to eat at Texas Roadhouse. The decor was exactly what we know from back home but the food was exquisite! It tasted so fresh!

  

Once we left the mall we decided to walk around. Every store imaginable was in this mall. MAC, H&M, Victoria's Secret, etc. One couple needed to get SIM cards so we walked to Etisalat. As we were walking we passed a costume store. I had to send a picture to my little brother and my older cousin. My little brother has always loved costumes and my older cousin's son is just like my little brother, lover of costumes. Once I sent pictures my little brother requested a Red Power Ranger suit in Large and my cousin said she was going to start packing.

We had read about there being something like a Wal-Mart in this mall and we found it. It's called Carrefour and they have appliances, televisions, clothes, fresh fish, fresh meat, etc all in once place. I think I'll be visiting Carrefour again.

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Since we do not yet have a car we had to take a taxi back to the hotel. At the bottom level of the mall is the taxi line. All of the taxis are lined up and you just walk up to the taxi and get in. We had to watch others to see how this works. No number to call and no need to wave your hand. As we were driving back I was able to capture the mosque lit up in blue. It was gorgeous and I can't wait go see it in person.

We got back to the hotel but we were not very tired. Jet lag is real. I forced myself to go to sleep but Mike stayed up and ventured off to look at the pool and take an early morning swim.

Royalty

When we arrived in Chicago we looked around and took in the sights. We knew we had to be at Gate M but we were not sure what Terminal that was in. We asked someone and got a general sense of where to go. Turns out you have to go out of the arrival area even though signs say in bold YOU ARE LEAVING THE SECURE AREA. We went out, went up an escalator, crossed a bridge, down an escalator and then we boarded a Train that would take us to Terminal 5.




We arrived and had to back through the TSA check. I'm glad that we didn't wait to do all of this because others had to endure lines. Once we went through security we decided to get a little snack before our 13 hour flight. I ordered pizza and Mike got smoked salmon pasta. Both tasted great!

We had to show our passports and boarding passes again at the service counter and then we waited in line based on our zone. Once our zone was called we were directed to our seats. At our seats were a pillow, headphones, cover, a small tube of tooth paste and toothbrush combo, and sleep mask. This was everything that was needed to have an enjoyable flight. We buckled up, got comfortable and plugged in our headphones so we could watch the complimentary movies. We were also able to see exactly what the pilots saw.

  

 

For such a long flight, I felt like we were being fed every 2-3 hours. I wasn't able to capture a picture of every meal but I did get one. That was grilled salmon and white rice, strawberries and blackberries, grilled veggies, rice cake, and water. It was pretty good.

Overall, I slept and watched movies during the entire flight. Once we landed instead of going through a tunnel like walkway we had to disembark from the plane using the steps. As soon as we stepped out we were greeted by 115 degree weather. 

A bus then took us to the airport where as soon as we got off we were welcomed with signs that said ADEC Teachers and we were given lanyards to wear to help them identify us.

We were then fast tracked through immigration and customs where they stamped our Passports and my Work Visa and we had to complete an eye scan. This will be the first of many stamps that I add to my Passport. Many Vets told us to take a picture of our stamped passport and work VISA because once I got to the hotel they would take my passport and I did just that.

After this process we went to look for our bags. This was not hard at all because we were given Bag Porters to help us retrieve them. Once we got all of our bags and Mike's golf clubs our Bag Porter rolled our bags and walked with us to meet the other part of our group. While we waited for everyone to make it through all the steps Mike went to get us Sim Cards for our phones. Everything in the UAE is tied to your phone number and we had to have this in place before my orientation which begins on Sunday. We were then ushered outside and our bags went on one truck and we went on a bus. We were only riding for about 15-20 minutes when we pulled up to the Park Rotana which would be our home until we are assigned our permanent location.

Inside of our welcome packet were our room keys, orientation agenda, and a few drink vouchers. We are happy with how everything has gone and I cannot wait to begin exploring my new country! 

Be Kind to one Another and Be Uniquely You!