Farewell to Abu Dhabi

This post is long overdue.  I originally planned to post as soon as I moved back to the States, but that obviously didn't happen.  What was the hold up? Not enough time in the day.  Since I returned home I have been on the go.  It has been difficult for me to transition back to the fast pace and demanding culture of the United States.  I told myself that I would complete this post before 2017.  As 2016 comes to an end, I took the time to reflect on my time abroad.

As July began, my time in Abu Dhabi was coming to an end.  I spent the last month hanging out with my fellow expat coworkers wishing we had gotten to know each other better much sooner in the year.  Luckily we didn't have students for the last month so it allowed us to have a lot of quality time.  One thing I really appreciated from teaching abroad was working with teachers from other parts of the world.  During my last month at school, I got to know Chantelle and Shaazia better.  They taught us Americans a little about South Africa and Shaazia taught us more about the Muslim culture and Ramadan.  During Ramadan a few of us decided to fast for a day and Shaazia prepared a proper South African Iftar (the meal eaten after sun down).

In Abu Dhabi, you break your fast with dates.

This was my favorite part of the meal, samosas!

 Click here to hear more about our Iftar menu.

Before I headed home I had to fit one more trip.  With Cidney and Laura we headed to London and Manchester to not only see Big Ben and The London Bridge but to also see The Queen Bey!  Our first stop was in London where I had little expectations but was surprised how much I enjoyed the city.  We hit up all the major tourist attractions and stumbled upon some great summer festivals with good food and drinks.  Next we headed to Manchester by train of course.  I never even thought of Manchester until I heard Beyonce was performing there.  It ended up being a really great town with lots of nice boutiques with a variety fun restaurants and bars.  Take a quick look at our trip to the UK below.

After my trip, I returned one last time to Abu Dhabi to collect all of my belongings and head back home.  It was quite a challenge to try to get all of my clothes to fit in just three bags.  I had to ask a coworker to bring a bag for me because I just couldn't do it.  As I spent my last few moments with a the few friends who were still in town I thought about some of the things I would miss about living in Abu Dhabi:

Things I will miss:

-The "inshallah" attitude:  God willing, it will work out.  In Abu Dhabi you heard this after every sentence.  When I first moved there we didn't get paid when they originally told us we would.  People kept asking and they would get the same answer every time, "Soon, inshallah."  Okay, sometimes it was a bit annoying but it was better than the demanding attitude we have at home.

-How much family is valued:  Family was the most important thing to the local Emirati people.  At work, there were nurseries so moms could bring their young children to work.

-Work is NOT your life:  At the end of the school day everybody left.  No one was working overtime, not even the principals.  When the kids left the building, the parking lot cleared out because our work was done or it would be there when we got back the next day.  People went home to relax and be with their families.  Who wouldn't miss that?!

-The food:  When people came to visit they would always ask where they could get authentic Emirati food.  Well to be honest, I wasn't always a fan of Emirati food.  I was a fan of the Mediterranean, Lebanese, and Indian food which was all authentic due to the large expat population.  

-Great customer service:  Going out to eat, I never came across bad customer service.  There were no attitudes when you requested service from the server!  At the grocery store I rarely brought my grocery cart to my car.  At the gas station, you never pump your gas.  I got a little spoiled with this lovely treatment that the States has done away with.

-The beautiful sunsets

Pictures don't do it justice.

-Having the opportunity to meet others from around the world and learn about their culture:  It was awesome working with others from different parts of the world and having the opportunity to learn more about their way of life.  While Americans gasp at the thought of living in the Middle East, many of the women I worked with were frightened to visit the United States due to all of the violence they constantly hear about. Which leads me to the last thing I will miss...

-Feeling safe:  While living in Abu Dhabi I felt very safe and comfortable by myself.  People leave their doors unlocked, children play outside unsupervised even after the street lights come on, cars are left running without anyone sitting in them, and people don't have to constantly worry about someone possibly trying to attack them as they walk from one place to another.

With all of this being said, if you are considering moving overseas or just traveling outside of the country...do it!  Moving abroad was an amazing experience.  (I'm already considering where I can move to next.)  It wasn't always easy and I definitely was homesick on several occasions but I survived.  If you decide to take the leap that I have taken, just know that you will not come back home the same person you once where.  You will be stronger because will have done something you once thought you couldn't do.  You will see things and think differently because your perspective will have changed.  You will make new friends from different backgrounds and religions.  Your eyes will be opened and your spirit will grow....Oh the places you'll go!

Check out my London video!

Wadi Adventure in Oman

Here in Abu Dhabi most of the teachers communicate through Facebook.  Upcoming events and opportunities are posted among multiple groups to keep people aware and/or active within their respective areas of Abu Dhabi.  One group in particular that I took interest in was Al Ain Weekends.  This group organizes short weekend or day trips around the UAE.  The trips can be a hike, a day cruise, a weekend in another emirate, etc.  Because I don't frequent Facebook to often, every time I did check it out I would have just missed an Al Ain Weekend event.  I told myself, before I leave I had to do at least one event with them.  Finally I checked Facebook at the right time and I was able to sign up for a hike in Oman.  

Al Ain neighbors Oman, so it was only a short drive across the border to the location of our hike.  On our hike we had about fifteen people in attendance and we had no problem getting across the Omani border.  The problem was getting up some of the rocky slopes we had to cross over to reach the wadi area.  Good thing we had experienced adventure seekers who came prepared for such a situation.  For some of the challenging slippery slopes, the larger truck had to pull the smaller trucks that were getting stuck up the to the top of the slope while the rest of us walked to the top (that was not supposed to be where we started hiking).  Once we safely made it to our destination, we were able to hike, climb, and wade through small wadis while exploring beautiful oasis.  It was pretty awesome that these really do exist in the desert.  This wasn't a mirage.  I have proof.  Take a look at my video and see for yourself.

**If you are currently living in the Abu Dhabi area, check out Al Ain Weekends on Facebook.  It's a great way to meet new people from all over the world and explore The UAE or Oman at the same time!

Maldives

Before I moved to Abu Dhabi I had a list of places I wanted to visit.  When I arrived, I made a few adjustments to my list.  When I heard how close the Maldives were to the UAE I told myself I had to make that trip happen.  So I did!  I told my boyfriend, Jason I was planning a trip to the Maldives for the both of us.  He didn't really know what I was talking about, but once he arrived he was so happy he went along with the plan.

The Maldives (aka paradise) wasn't a place where I could just get up and go.  I had to save a few coins in my piggy bank and do some research to make it all happen.  During the time it took me to plan my trip I picked up a few tips to share with the general public.

For those of you who would like to experience paradise here are some suggestions:

• Plan a trip within in a trip:  If you are coming from the states, make the Maldives the second stop of your trip.  Jason flew from America to Dubai.  Then we spent the weekend in the Maldives (round trip Dubai - Maldives).  A flight to the Maldives from Dubai is a lot cheaper then what he would've paid flying from America.
• Do your hotel research:  I had no idea where we would stay.  I used hotels.com and researched hotels for a few months to see what the best options were within our budget.  I eventually found a great deal with the Sheraton property.  I booked the hotel during the weekend and when I went back to show a friend during the week the price had gone up.  My suggestion is to set up alerts for certain hotels you are interested in and when the price drops you can be notified.
• When looking for hotels try to find all inclusive deals:  I didn't come across deals that included everything but I did find a deal that included all of our meals.  I'm happy we went along with this deal because it was one less thing we had to think about while relaxing on the beach.  Each property is it's own island, so you have limited options in where and what you will eat.  So make sure you book a resort that has plenty to choose from.  Once you get to your island, you stay on that island unless you book a tour.
• Sign up for rewards plans:  Anytime I book a flight or hotel, I sign up for the rewards plan.  I don't know if I will ever get enough points through these programs but you never know what the future holds.  With Hotels.com, once you have booked ten nights through their site you earn a free night on them.  The free night is based on the average amount you have spent on the ten previous nights you have booked through them.  So it might not necessarily be a "free night" based off of where you staying for your trip, but you will get a discount either way.  I was able to get a discount for one of our nights during our stay at the Sheraton.

All in all, I was so happy that I was able to make this trip happen.  Through my research I was able to book the trip I wanted without any compromises.  Take a look at my video from the Maldives.  Warning:  The pictures are going to make you want to start planning your trip right now.

Things you will see in this video:

• Our bungalow on the Sheraton Resort.
• Our awesome view from our deck of the ocean.
• Bats!  Yes, I said bats!  Fruit bats!  But still, they were bats!
• Fish in the water.  Unfortunately, it's not an underwater shot of all the awesome fish we saw while snorkeling.  I'm currently looking on Amazon for a waterproof GoPro camera.
• Fish we could choose to eat for dinner. 
• The beautiful sunsets.
• A Maldivian themed dinner on the beach.
• Jason and I being extremely happy because we were in paradise.

Mom and Dad Come To Visit The UAE

Unlike last year I didn't have as many visitors this year because there was not a major deal on discounted tickets to Abu Dhabi.  But luckily, there were still some pretty good deals out there and my parents were able to make there way to the sandbox.  When I first moved to Abu Dhabi, my dad said he was going to come and visit.  My mom on the other hand wasn't so eager to visit my new residence and needed a little motivation.  As a family we came together and gave her the motivation she needed.  After all isn't that what family is for?

I found a great deal for a companion flight on Emirates in November around Thanksgiving.  I immediately forwarded the deal to my sister, Asani.  I told her to speak with my dad who was in town for the holiday to see what they could work out. That's where the plan was created.  Asani would tell my mom to make sure her passport was in order because they would be taking a trip in April.  We would then tell my mom closer to April that she would actually be going on a trip with my dad to The UAE. We weren't sure how my mom would take this surprising news, but when we all got together via Google Hangouts to tell her, after her initial shock she was...nervous.  But there wasn't much she could do but go along with it, the tickets were already booked!

In April, my parents landed in Dubai and we immediately hit the streets.  I took them to all the main attractions - a desert safari, The Grand Mosque, The Burj Khalifa, the beach, Dubai Mall, and the souq.  I then brought them to Al Ain so they could get a glimpse of my every day life.  They were able to see where I lived, visit my school, meet the people I work with, and meet the friends they had heard so much about.  Needless to say my mom and dad had a great visit.  My dad was amazed by the unique architecture and my mom actually wished she would have come sooner so she could have visited more than once.

Take a look at some of the moments captured from my parents visit.

Spring Break - Year 2

The 2015-2016 school year is coming to an end and even though I still  have about a month left (you're reading correctly, my summer doesn't begin until July 6th) I'm starting the exit process of my teaching abroad experience.  But before I say farewell and close this chapter out, I still have a few post I would like to share with you.  So let's get started with this one.

In April for my Spring Break I took a trip to Sri Lanka.  Hearing the recent news about the landslides Sri Lanka has been experiencing, I reminisced about the beautiful island nation and people I experienced just last month.  My friend Wam Bui and I wanted to see all that we could of the island, so we set up a route that had us in a new city almost everyday of our trip.  Along the way, we met great people while experiencing the culture, food, land, and religion.  

Day 1:
March 25th 

We arrived in Colombo and immediately took a very short drive to the next town over - Negomobo.  We spent the night at a hotel right on the beach.  We didn't have time to enjoy the beach because the next day we were heading to our next destination.

Day 2:
March 26th 

We drove to Pinnawala to see the elephants at the famous Elephant Orphanage.  When we arrived I was a bit disappointed to find out that the orphanage was just another tourist attraction where elephants were being put on display for our enjoyment.  I thought I was going to visit an elephant sanctuary where the elephants would be roaming free and where we would have the opportunity to interact with them by bathing or feeding them.  Instead I saw elephants chained to post or poked around for the tourist to see up close and personal   

I told our driver that I wanted visit a place down the street from the orphanage that was recommended by a friend. She was able to interact with the elephants the way I thought I was going to be able to at the orphanage.  Our driver took us to a place where we were able to ride an elephant but I soon realized this still was apart of the elephant orphanage.  Even though it wasn't what I had in mind, I still enjoyed riding the elephant.  

Next, we headed to the herbal garden where my legs got destroyed by the mosquitoes (I forgot to reapply my repellent, biggest mistake).  As we walked through the garden our guide  explained to us all of the different plants we saw and how each of them were used to create natural remedies.

Once we left the garden (with me purchasing mosquito ointment to put on my very itchy legs), we headed to our last stop of the day - Kandy.  When we arrived in Kandy we went to see a the Kandy Dance performance which included cultural dancing pieces and men walking on fire!  I must say I didn't care for the dancing (and if you know me, you know I love dancing) but the men walking on fire was pretty cool to see. 

We ended our night back at our hotel, enjoyed a local beer while eating dinner, and met our house pet, Lanka.  He was the small lizard in our bathroom.  When we asked the Bell Boy to get Lanka he refused (I'm assuming it's a cultural thing because no one seemed to mess with the lizards).  Fortunately Lanka kept to himself, so we didn't have any problems.

Day 3:
March 27th - Nuwara Eliya

The next morning, we headed to the Temple of the Tooth Relic.  This temple holds one of Buddha's teeth.  Yes...his tooth!  We went during the weekend, so it was very crowded with buddhist who were coming to pray.

On our way to our next town, Nuwara Eliya, we stopped and tried on saris and visited a tea factory.  You can't go to Sri Lanka and not try a sari or tea, it's what you do!

Day 4:
March 28th 

The next morning we got up to catch the train to our next destination - Ella.  When planning our trip we heard so much about traveling by train so this was a must do on our list and ended up being one of my favorite parts of the trip.  We met so many  people on our ride:

• Sean the cyclist who had been in Sri Lank for two months cycling around the island.
• The elderly firecracker of a woman from the Czech Republic who was with her friend backpacking through Sri Lanka.
• Sinto the tour guide who spoke seven languages.  He was with a large group of tourist from Germany who we happened to run in to at our hotel at the end of our trip.
• A man originally from Canada, but had been living in Germany for about 30 years traveling with his family.
• Two friends from Spain who meet and travel every three months in a different place because one lives in Germany and the other lives in Qatar for work.

Not only did I meet some interesting people, but I was also able to see the beautiful farm land and people of Sri Lanka.

Once we arrived in Ella, we had lunch at this very cool restaurant called Chill.  Good food and drinks, can't go wrong with that.  Following lunch on our way to our hotel we stopped on the side of the road and checked out a beautiful waterfall.  Bui was a bit hesitant to venture over the rocks to get a closer look, but when she heard my reaction to the natural beauty she couldn't resist.  Bui was later almost attacked by wild monkeys that came to join us in our waterfall photo shoot.  The monkeys pretty much ended our time at the waterfall and we then headed to my favorite hotel of the trip.  

The Jetwing Hotel was my favorite hotel for so many reasons: a cute little bungalow with an outdoor bathroom and shower, peacocks roaming the hotel grounds, bicycles for us to use to get around the hotel grounds, and the service was excellent. I didn't want to leave, but we had to move on the next day to our next stop. 

Day 4:
March 29th 

Our next destination was Yala, where we enjoyed the day on an animal safari.  I really wanted to see a bear, but they didn't want to come out and play while we were around.  We did get to see a leopard (which was very exciting), wild boar, a variety of birds, a crocodile, and many other animals.

Day 5:
March 30th & 31st

Bui and I wanted to make sure we had some time to relax on our trip, especially with all the moving around we had been doing.  So we made sure we ended our trip at the beach in Unawatuna.  For the next two days I was a beach bum.  That pretty much sums up my time at the beach.

Day 6:

April 1st 

Because we had a later flight Bui and I were able to squeeze in one more activity in Colombo before we left.  My friend who had visited in December recommended a cooking class that she found on a site called With Locals.  On this site you can find people you can hire to be your tour guide when you visit their city or you can sign up for different activities people are offering to give you a real "local" experience.  If you plan on going to Sri Lanka any time soon, I highly recommend taking the cooking class with Duneeshya.  She demonstrated how to make steamed rice, dhal curry, bean curry, gotukola sambal, coconut sambal, ambultiyal fish, and wattalapam pudding.  I didn't think I was going to eat most of this food because I don't really eat curry and I'm not a fan of coconut (which was used a lot), but I loved it.  The food was excellent and I was so mad that I couldn't take any of it with me because before we knew it, our driver was back and it was time to head to the airport.

Here's a picture of Duneeshya our cooking instructor.

I would definitely recommend Sri Lanka as a place to visit.  The people are nice, the country is beautiful, and it's an affordable trip (icing on the cake).  Oh the places I'll go!

Check out my Sri Lanka video!

Dubai Street Art

Last month Dubai showcased artist from around the globe during their annual art festival - Dubai Canvas.  This year they featured 3D street art.  The canvas pieces were showcased on the sidewalks and walls of Jumeriah Beach Residence also known as The Walk.  When looking at these pieces they may look flat, but once you add yourself to the master piece the 3D work came to life.  Here's a glimpse of some of the unique pieces and artist.

Kurt Wenner was a featured artist at the festival best known for inventing 3D street painting and pavement illusion.

Of course I had to take a picture with the swan!

Playing with my cameras creative features.

My friend Ebony testing out the water.

Our new pet!

Don't look down!

Exploring

My Dubai

 Panda

Desert Forecast

Before I get started, I just want to let my mom know that I was careful and safe.  Don't call me after reading this and yell at me.  Thanks!

They say it never rains in Southern California.  Lies!!  That's what we say for the desert as well.  We should say, it almost rarely rains in the desert (I"m sure that could also apply to Southern California as well).  Lately here in the desert we have been experiencing some unusual weather.  When I say unusual, I mean it's unusual for the dry and hot climate area I live in to get rain more than once in a month and just this week it has rained twice!  That's ludicrous!  

When it rains here, the kids and some adults go crazy because they are so excited to experience this rare occurrence.  It's like how people act in Atlanta when it snows.  Unfortunately here they don't shut the city down because of the inclement weather but they are just as unprepared as Atlanta for the foreign weather.  First issue: they don't have a lot of drains in the first place because it doesn't rain often.  Second issue:  the drains don't drain due to being full of sand which causes flooding issues. Third issue:  the driving is already crazy here and when it rains people don't make any adjustments to their driving.  Crazy, right?!  You basically don't want to be on the road when it rains because some  majority of the people here have not been educated on how the water on the road can effect their car and driving.

Unfortunately I had to be on the road today while it was not only raining, but pouring.  I would have loved to snap photos and videos to share with you all, but I was so scared.  All I could do was say little prayers the entire way home, keep both hands on the wheel (there might be an imprint from my tight grip), and try to avoid getting into an accident.  I did get some footage when I arrived home safely and I collected some from my friends.  My rainy experience included:

• Being escorted to my car by one of the cleaners at work who had an umbrella.  By the time I made it to my car, my feet were soaked because the parking lot was flooding.  
• Driving at a snails pace 
• Having cars flash their brights at me to move out of the way.  If I didn't they were bold enough to venture into the flooded area to go around me.  
• Fallen trees (Okay, I only saw one but at the time it added to the dramatic experience I was going through)
• Flooded and chaotic roundabouts.  We have roundabouts literally all over town. (For those of you who aren't familiar: A roundabout is a type of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic flows almost  continually in one direction around a central island.)
• Getting home and after being scared for my life, 10 minutes later the rain stops and the sun comes out.

Here's a picture after the rain had stopped.  This street was flooding an hour before this picture was taken.  The drains started working when the rain slowed down.

Take a closer look at today's weather:

In other news, (actually I'm still talking about weather) I also experienced desert fog.  Also not a fan.  You could be on one end of the road and by the time you get to the other side you can't see the car in front of you.  If the fog gets really bad, some schools will delay the start of their day.  By 9 or 10am the fog burns off.  Take a look at what I experienced one morning.

My school

So the lesson for today is that you sometimes do have to check the weather, even when you live in the desert!

March 9, 2016

Just and update.  Because of the rain that has continued off and on since yesterday, Abu Dhabi Educational Council has cancelled school for the rest of the week.  Some of you may not know this, but teachers are usually a bit more excited about days off than the students.

Here's a post I saw online of an area further out in the desert - Liwa.  Apparently they had bigger issues with the drains and still people are out on the roads.  Craziness!