Home Sweet Dubai

We live here now.  We are very official with our Emirates ID Cards, Visas, telephone numbers, internet connections, meal delivery services, bank accounts and classrooms.  We are residents of Dubai.  It feels sureal.  For at least the first two weeks, I half expected someone to come along and tell me there had been a big confusion; that in fact I had been mistaken with another version of Regan Moore, middle school teacher and that they would be returning me for the correct model.  So far, this has not happened and with all these bits of official evidence that I am truly a resident of the UAE, I suppose I can begin to believe this is in fact, my new home.

Along with a new country and city of residence comes a new living space.  We are living in a two bedroom apartment just across the street from our school and a short cab ride away from the Persian Gulf beach.  Pretty swanky.  When we look out the windows, which we rarely do as it might let some of the sweltering sunlight in, we are surrounded by desert, high rise buildings and the general hubbub of the city below.

The school provided some of the basic furnishing (beds, couches, dishes, linens and a few food items) to get us started.  These were fantastic and a great start; however, I had a deep need to make this new space our own.  We spent the first few nights shopping for furnishings to make our place feel a little softer.  The furniture provided was great, but a little stiff.  We bought bed-pads, pillows, and a higher quality duvet.  While I can't say we're entirely done, I think we have a pretty good handle on things and it feels like "our" place now.

We have two bedrooms and two bathrooms on the fifth floor.  Having all this space and no family within a 7,000 mile radius, means that Landon and I have our own bathrooms and our own dressing rooms.  While it is just a two bedroom, I've never felt like I have this much space to spread out and it's pretty great.  Getting ready for our 30 second commute is a breeze.

Our school is right across the street.  It is a high caliber K-12 school with three smaller divisions, elementary, middle and high school.  It is a beautiful school with loads of support for teachers.  Each day I am amazed at how productive I can be given so much support.  I have shared lab techs across the science department who not only set up the lab for us and manage the equipment (inventory, cleaning and organizing) but also can be scheduled to assist with the actual labs!  There is an EA (education assistant) who is similar to a student teacher, but is paid for her work.  She is shared between the science teachers at the middle school level and can come in to assist with students, decorating bulletin boards and grading.  I have eight planning periods per week and a full hour lunch every day except my lunch duty day, in which I still have a 30 minute lunch.  Students have a twenty minute break between their first two blocks in which they can socialize and have a snack.  I have access to a school store that provides teachers with unlimited pencils, pens, markers, crayons, paper and pretty much any other office supply you could imagine.  While I did spend a few dirhams on decorating my classroom, the majority of my needs were met by the school.  It should be noted that is is NOT a public school and cannot be compared to my previous schools, but as a result of the support, I was able to teach lab safety and graphing lesson by setting up Bunsen burners, tripods, ring-stands, clamps, thermometers and lab coats within the first week of school with little to no worry.   Applied, hands on education is much more manageable in my current scenario.  The students were blown away.

I share planning periods with everyone on my grade level and spend a good amount of time collaborating with my peers.  We have an advisory period, similar to what I have experienced in the states, that focuses on building character, organizational skills, and mentoring my students.  This is perhaps one of my favorite times in the day and I love building individual relationships with my kids and being an adult they can count on at school.  Our teaching blocks are around 85 minutes, which is on the longer side of the spectrum, but as a science teacher, this plays to my advantage.  Preparing, conducting and debriefing a full science lab in under an hour is really difficult.  I hope this extra class time will make hands on science more tangible for my students.

I definitely am very happy with my working situation so far and home is coming together, but it's not all work and no play.  We've had a great time so far getting to know our new home town.  We've been to a mall almost every weekend since we've been here, a habit we are hoping to break soon.

Part of the problem is the heat.  It's really too hot outside right now to spend much time outdoors.  For my South Carolina friends, you should know, when I was warned about the heat of Dubai I really didn't believe it.  We know that South Carolina can be brutally hot.  It was hard to believe that there could be a hotter place.  Also, as we've all imagined, Dubai is desert and therefore may be hot but doesn't have the humidity of South Carolina, so it probably is similar to Arizona.  Wrong on both counts.  Dubai is both incredibly humid and hotter than South Carolina.  There were days last week (early September) in which the temperature high was 106°F and the humidity was near 80%.  The lows at night maintained 85°F.  It is definitely hotter.  But, I have been promised that by next month, the weather will be beautiful and will remain so throughout the winter.  Maybe we'll be able to see a few more places around the city without the requirement of an AC. 

We've had some great food and I am particularly enjoying learning about the different varieties of fresh cheese available at most grocery stores.  One of my favorites so far is a Saudi version of feta cheese.  It's smooth, creamy and little lemony.  But we've also had Lebanese, Emirati, and Japanese.  Of course, sometimes we crave a taste of home.  KFC is a local favorite, but we have found it's actually better here than at home!  I don't really know what about it is so much better, but it just is.  Maybe it is the oil?

Now that we're set up in our apartment though, we have been eating at home more regularly.  One of the main grocery stores, of course located in a mall, is Carrefour.  The big one is at the Mall of the Emirates.  The amount of people there is insane.  If you have ever been frustrated with long lines and wandering people around Walmart, take that feeling and multiply it by three.  This might get you close to understanding what it is like at the Carrefour on a Friday afternoon.  I have found another grocery store, Union Co-op, which is much less crowded, but still pretty busy.  I have also found that if you visit the store on Friday morning, its nearly a ghost town.  Friday is the holy day in the Islamic faith and it is like our Saturday morning in comparison to the weekend.  It's prime grocery shopping time for me.  So we're finally getting the hang of grocery shopping here and it has been worth the wait!



There are so many food options available and range of produce is unbelievable!  You would think that being a desert city, Dubai wouldn't have much to offer in the way of produce.  However, this is simply not true!  There are fruits and vegetables from all over the region found at these mega-stores.  We even found the dreaded durian, but have no plans of purchasing any of this unless we have visitors who want to give it a go.  You can even choose the country of origin for your meats and poultry.

Which brings me to one of the many myths of Dubai.  Before coming here, I read as many articles about Dubai as possible, trying to prepare myself for this adventure.  There were so many cautionary Do's and Don'ts.  But from my experience so far, which is admittedly pretty short, most of these are no longer necessary.  For example, I have read countless articles about what to wear and not to wear in public, but have found that the reality is that people here wear whatever they want.  Of course, there are many who dress conservatively and proper dress is required before entering a mosque, but it is a far cry from some of the hyped up articles warning women to keep everything covered around the clock.  I think in recent years, Dubai has become even more international and hence a loosening of these type of restrictions.

Local Emirati wear Gutra (male head covering) and Kandoras (male clothing) or Abayas (female clothing) and Hijabs (female head covering).  They celebrate this clothing style as a symbol of pride and of culture.  We learned about the dress of "the desert people" at the Sheikh Mohammed Center of Cultural Understanding where we also enjoyed an authentic Emirati meal.  The slogan of the Sheikh Mohammed Center of Cultural Understanding is "Open Doors, Open Minds."  It is a really cool place in which all questions are welcomed and understanding is the goal.  Definitely a stop on your trip if you come to visit.




So as of week four: I am comfortable in my home.  I am comfortable in my school.  I am comfortable with the food and I am comfortable in the way I dress.  I live here now.  I think it is official.  I am calling Dubai home. 

** Side Note - I have very little control over how the pictures show up on this blog.  They show up where they want.  Maybe I will learn some more HTML in the future.  Until then they will be all over the page.  So for all my Type A friends, I apologize.

Goodbyes and Dubais

I originally planned on writing a separate blog detailing our last few days on American soil, but as I sit here in my hotel room on the other side of the the world, I realize that this will have to be a combo. 

We continued our farewell tour through the month of July, spending time camping with my nieces and nephews, hanging out in Atlanta with my dad and sisters, another trip to Charleston with the twins (Kyndale and Kirkland), a stay on Lake Murray with some of our besties Becki and Eddie, and landed in Gastonia, NC for a visit with my mom.  Each stop was filled with new memories and happy times.  My mom was worried that this farewell tour would be like pulling a band-aid off slowly, but in true Scarlet O'Hara form, I had no problem spending this time living in the moment and with no fear of the goodbyes to come.  We could just think about that tomorrow. 

Girls Team: Regan & Melissa Rose

Boys Team: Landon, Sheppard and Rowan

Waterfalling

Fire Bug Sheppard

Blue Crab - Caught and Cooked at Villa de Mottram

Chris schools the kids on how to eat Blue Crab

Future Home of Hobcaw Brewing Co. 

"Brother" Waylon and Kirkland

At the end of this tour, we planned a "Doodbai" farewell party.  We rented a lake house on Lake Wateree a few minutes down the road from our family lake house.  We spent the long weekend lounging in the water, enjoying great company and housing 12 pounds of BBQ along with all the fixin's.  While there were many who were missed in the festivities, the people who were there were some of my hardest goodbyes, each one tearful and tender.  At one moment, I looked up and saw the gathering of people sitting around a table sharing stories with each other.  In that moment I recognized how truly lucky I am to have such special relationships with the people I love.  Some people only ever have one or two true relationships throughout their life.  I am lucky enough to have dozens.  I hope each and everyone of these people know how much I love them and how much I appreciate the people they are and the person they have helped me become.    

Bon Voyage Party

Who is having more fun here? Wyatt, Landon or Melissa Rose?

Dalton brought me Bon Voyage Flowers!  He's a keeper Kyndale!

Ashlee, Kyndale, David, Dalton, Sistie, Kirkland and Elizabeth

Wyatt couldn't wait to play his tablet with Uncle Landon

We said our goodbyes and loaded up once more for our last stops stateside before the flight.  We organized, unpacked and repacked our two large suit cases, one carry-on each and book bags.  We spent the night in a hotel room in Greenville, though I use the term "night" loosely.  We decided the best way to help our internal clocks adjust to the new time zone would be to stay awake until we left for the airport at 3AM.  Landon was fairly successful with taking only a 30 minute nap sometime around 2:30AM.  I, on the other hand, could only make it until 1AM.  We arrived at the airport, checked our bags and proceeded to the gate.  There would be a two hour flight to New Jersey, a three hour layover and then a 12 hour flight from New Jersey to Dubai.  Accounting for the time zone difference, we would arrive in Dubai on Thursday at 8:30AM. 

Deek sent us off in style in Greenville

The flight to Dubai was pretty miserable.  Landon and I were sandwiched in the middle most seats of a four person row.  We are seriously considering paying whatever the prices are for an upgrade on return flights in the future.  But outside of our extreme discomfort and being packed like sardines, the flight went smoothly.  We arrived in Dubai and met up with other teachers in our group.  Unfortunately, the electricity was not set up upon our arrival, so the school put us in a hotel for a few days.  This was actually a blessing.  While I have been battling an extreme need to nest and prepare our home for this new life, the hotel includes WiFi, breakfast, currency exchange, and a never ending line of taxis ready to whisk you away to a destination of your choosing. 

Our first excursion was to the Mall of the Emirates.  This mall is huge and boasts an indoor ski slope.  While shopping would be a reoccurring theme for the next few days, we had two very specific purposes for this visit.  First, acquire sim cards for our phones so that we could connect with friends and family without incurring ridiculous fees via AT&T and second, get some dinner.  We opted to go with Virgin Mobile mostly because the teacher we were with had already done the research and found this to be the best deal.  We were able to pay for 12 months up front and save 50% on the bill.  While we don't have a large amount of international calling minutes, we do have a pretty hefty data package which should come in very handy when using web apps for video chat. 

Mall of the Emirates

In the mall, and through our experiences thus far, one of the biggest differences to note is the wide variety of people we have encountered.  Dubai is an international hub.  In walking through the mall I encountered people from almost every corner of the world.  Because of this, Dubai doesn't fall into some of the stereotypes associated with middle eastern culture.  For example, I was very worried about what clothes I would be able to wear in public as I am a lover of all things shorts and tank tops.  As I walked through the mall, I saw plenty of men, women and children dressed in casual attire and in fact, felt quite comfortable in my longer shorts and short sleeve shirt.  This doesn't mean that modest dress isn't appreciated, but instead just means that I will be a tad more comfortable than I originally thought. 

Another point of interest is the friendliness of the people in Dubai.  I think I expected a more stoic attitude among the Emirati, but what I noticed so far is that the people I have encountered here are not only kind and welcoming, but love to share their stories.  A developing theme is the story of how and when a person came to Dubai.  Dubai itself is not an old city.  Many of the people who call it home are immigrants from other places and therefore have a unique story to share of how they came here and where they come from.  Most, so far, have come here to earn a better living and plan to return to their home countries in the future.  Sounds familiar.  These stories have a way of instantly bonding the people here and I appreciate it.   In some regards, I have already gained a sense of normalcy and I think it is due to this common thread. 

A friend told me before I came that "Life is very easy in Dubai."  I didn't really understand at first, but I think I am coming to learn what that means.  Here, you can order almost anything day or night.  There are always taxis available.  I can have my laundry washed, dried, folded and returned to me in less than 24 hours for around $15.  I can have groceries delivered to me day or night for a minimal cost.  I have yet to carry my own luggage or shopping bags as there is always a man ready to assist.  To be honest, I am not sure how I feel about this yet.  While I am more than excited to enjoy the easy life, I am already questioning how these luxuries can be afforded.  I wonder how people are able to make a reasonable, fair wage.  I wonder about all the boxing and plastic packaging used to deliver meals.  I know I will need to reconcile these things soon and wonder how I will find a balance between the luxuries of Dubai and personal responsibility. 

The biggest struggle for me in a land of ease and comfort has been the jet lag.  I remember from my time in Indonesia that it took me about a week to really adjust to the new time zone.  I have no doubt I will experience the same here.  On Friday, I got up at 6AM and walked at least half of the mall (approximately 5 miles) during the day.  I was still unable to go to sleep until around 4:30AM.  I slept on Sunday until 10:30.  We went to Ikea on Saturday, and I was luckily able to get to sleep by 11:00pm.  Unfortunately I woke up on Sunday at 3:30AM.  While I have tried to keep myself busy enough for exhaustion, sleep still seems to elude me. 

The jet lag is compounded with the first week of school jitters.  Many teachers know exactly what I am talking about.  The intensity of your mind racing about the possibilities, the laundry list of things to do and the anxious energy building up to meeting your students.  Imagine this syndrome on steroids.  When I am awake in the middle of the night I cannot quiet my brain.  Not only do I have the teacher jitters, I have the new house, new country, and new everything jitters.  Hopefully in the coming days, I will continue to adjust and try to get some rest.  I won't hold my breath though. 

So I leave you now, on my way momentarily to my first day of school (new teachers only, professional development).  Next week, I hope to have some pictures of our apartment and some interesting sights.  Welcome to Dubai. 

Our apartment buildings - Barsha Modern

GEMS Dubai American Academy - Our new school! 

View from our apartment

View from our apartment

The beautiful and affordable Ibn Battuta Mall

I've never seen a mall this beautiful! This is a painted ceiling.

All in the Family

Evening Shade Ranch

After our wild camping nights in the beautiful Appalachian mountains, Landon and I returned home to Camden, the place where we met and our story truly begins.  We also returned to some of the people who have seen us through the thick and thin, watched us grow and given us a leg up over the years.

Evening Shade Ranch

We arrived at my grandmothers house and unpacked our gear.  We showered up and headed directly to Landon's parents house where a family reunion was brewing.  Landon's grandmother, Lenora (Arizona), and her two sisters, Sandy and Sherry (New Jersey), came in town to spend the fourth at Evening Shade Ranch.  All of Lenora's children, Harold (Florida), David (Landon's father), Glen (West Virginia) and Dianne (Arizona) also joined the group.  Dianne brought her daughter Shelby, Aunt Sherry brought her grandson Josh and Glen drove Landon's sister, Meredith down.  Tiffany, Chris and the boys came up from Charleston with Maya in tow.  Kyndale and Kirkland floated in and out as they moved around work schedules at the local IGA.  All together there were twenty people spanning four generations preparing to spend the next several days touching base with the family core.

Lenora, Sherry & Sandy

Glen, Dianne, David, Harold & Lenora

As an honorary member of this tribe, indoctrinated over twenty years ago, I always enjoy watching and relating to the deep seated relationships between the brothers and sisters.  The way they tease and joke with each other highlights their individual character traits.  The perspectives offered by siblings is universal, yet specific to the family.  It is through these shared memories that the husbands, wives, and children get a sneak peak into the blueprints for the construction of the people we love the most.  We get a better understanding of how they became who they are and the people who shaped them.  It is really a special time and I always walk away feeling inspired, humbled, and in love.

Lenora, Shelby, Josh, Wyatt & Maya

But a family reunion isn't just for older family members to relive their glory days.  There is also the development of relationships between younger members of the family.  While the older generations sit around sharing stories of their youth, the younger members of the family begin to forge relationships of their own, forced to spend large quantities of time together.  Age becomes irrelevant as all the children are lumped together.  This was the case for this reunion as well.  The younger generation ranged from Maya at 19 to Waylon at age 1.  This group became its own pack.  Older children were generous with their time and beyond patient with their younger counterparts.  The younger children looked up to the older ones with adoration, following their every move.

Waylon & Shelby

Shelby & Maya

Maya & Kyndale

Wyatt & Josh

Food is always a center piece of any good family reunion.  As all the master chefs come together in a central location, the best of the best dishes are served up.  When we arrived, Aunt Sherry was working on cupcakes and the sisters had already prepared sausage & peppers and cherry delight.  The kitchen was bustling.  The next day we had a BBQ feast fit for kings.  Chris brought some of his smoked pork butt, David provided brisket, coleslaw and bacon baked beans.  I made my best macaroni and cheese and my worst potato salad.  For dessert, there was orange bundt cake and peanut butter cream cheese brownies.  Aunt Sandy brought Glen's favorite pasta braciole with New Jersey gravy, to include beef and pork meatballs.  On Saturday we wrapped the reunion up with some southern fried chicken.  To give ourselves a break from all the cooking, we decided to have a showdown between KFC and Bojangles and left over pork chops.  The results were inconclusive.

Waylon

Shelby, Josh & Sherry

Specific to this family is also the sports connection.  Many of the people in this family have strong affiliations with specific teams.  Uncle Glen brought WVU shirts down for many as a early Christmas present in response to the USC gear given at the previous Christmas.  Wyatt was not thrilled by the gift and instead almost exclusively wore USC gear for the remainder of the trip.  Probably the most prominent rivalry exists between professional football teams though.  Raiders, Redskins, 49ers, Saints, Chiefs, Cowboys and Rams were all represented at some point.  As a fairly new football fan (term used loosely) I was really torn when I was compensated for technology support via a Rams shirt from Uncle Glen.  I'm afraid Landon may become violently ill when I wear it.  But the rivalries are fun and sports is always a hot topic of conversation around this clan.

Regan & Landon

Glen, Dianne & David

While most of the family found space to stay at the ranch for the duration of the reunion, Landon and I took up residence at my grandmothers house.  This allowed those who had traveled from states away a place to stay in the center of the action.  Because my grandmother's house is a short 15 minute drive, it allowed Landon and I a little room to spread out. 

GG & Jim

We spent the mornings with my aunt GG and her sweeties Jim, Jake and Jake.  For me, this was perfect because there was also time to connect with some of my family roots.  While GG is actually my aunt, we really became more like sisters as we moved into adulthood and had kids close in age.  As we have become older and parents of teenagers, life grew busy and our time together has grown thin.  We stayed a few extra days after the reunion to take care of some car repairs as well spend a little quality time together.  We even got to "help" Jake get a new car.

Jake & Jetta

Spending so much time with family has really been a blessing.  I hope that the time we have spent and the memories we have made will keep us satisfied for a while as we make our international move.  Onward to Atlanta this week!

Side Note- Nearly all pictures on this edition of the blog were taken by Dianne.  She's the only one of us who seems to be able to take pictures at family reunions.  Thank you Dianne!