First Impressions-Dubai

No matter the amount of preparation, Lonely Planet guidebook reading, or talking to others who have been to Dubai, I tried my best to come with an open mind and have really been enjoying my life here in Dubai so far. I arrived in Dubai on August 15th. That was three weeks ago! I cannot even begin to tell you all of my impressions, and observations that I have witnessed thus far of Dubai, United Arab Emirates in this one blog entry but I will try.

The flight to Dubai was nice! I flew Delta from Seattle to Atlanta and after Atlanta to Dubai. I thought the long flight would be much worse than it really was in the end. I watched three movies, slept for about three hours total, and arrived living off pure adrenaline. Five other teachers on my flight and I were greeted by a service called Marhaba. These ladies greet us in gold jackets and whizzed us through lines: baggage check, visa, passport, you name it. The arrival went quite well and it was really quick. The weirdest experience of all was having my eye scanned. Yikes! Still have not figured that one out?

My apartment is quite nice and spacious. The floors are marble, the ceilings are high and I had a few things all ready for me that I had ordered through the school: a shower curtain, a bed, matress, sheets, toaster, etc. Needless to say, I unwrapped the sheets and enjoyed a nice evening of sleep in my comfortable bed. I was one of the lucky few who only had jet lag the first few evenings. I woke up at 5am wide awake the first morning and 7am the second morning. Like usual, slept right through the night from there on out. The accommodations are nice, our building is safe and the neighborhood is interesting. Let's just say, several of the returning teachers call it "little India".

The welcome committee of about five teachers drove us to Festival City the first few days. Festival City is one of several Dubai malls. Festival City had a mega WalMart type grocery store called HyperPanda (my colleagues call the Energetic Bear), an Ikea, a nice coffee shop and several clothing stores. I just remember being overwhelmed but after a few trips I managed to furnish the apartment with the basics.

One of the things that I am trying to get used to is the fact that there is a service for everything. Furniture delivery, water can be delivered to your doorstep, taxi drivers load your car, pretty much all of the things I am used to doing myself are not considered normal here and there is someone who will do this for you. The facilities manager of our school's company saw my Ikea furniture in boxes on the floor. I had begun putting some of the furniture together and he said, "why do you do this? You can have someone do this for you." This will definitely take some getting used to. Most people order take out and it is delivered to their door. Phone cards? 24 pack of Diet Coke? Why walk the two blocks to the grocery store in humidity when you can have someone do this for you? I have still not adjusted to this mentality but I can see why expats get so spoiled that they stay here for years.

My co-workers, and department head are so incredibly wonderful! Everyone is so helpful here! I really lucked out by getting a really cool department head. She is so nice, willing to help. She even took us out our first weekend to a gorgeous hotel at the foot of the Palm (island shaped like a Palm tree). It has been a pleasant experience and it has made going to work everyday something to look forward to.

I apologize for the length of this blog entry. From here forward, I will just try to post shorter blogs with brief descriptions of interesting observations! I am really enjoying Dubai. It is difficult to be a tourist and go do some of the tourist outdoor activities this time of year because of the heat. I am patiently awaiting the late fall and winter when everyone enjoys the beaches, outdoor patios and lovely parks that the city has to offer.

For now, I just want to let anyone who is reading this know that life here has been very good to me so far, inshallah! I am so busy preparing for lessons for my classes and trying to soak up as much of the culture as I can! The adjustment period is still going on but I am definitely loving every minute of it!