I woke up in Abu Dhabi

I woke up in Abu Dhabi and, even after a full 24 hours, I can't really believe this is my new home.

My 14 hour flight from Chicago to Abu Dhabi was uneventful and with the exception of being in a middle seat (grrrrrrr), it was a pleasant experience: tons of movies and tv shows to watch and plenty of food - yes, please to a Klondike ice cream bar at 2:30 in the morning.

14 hour flight

Best airline meal I've ever had - not saying much. 

New Girl to pass the time? Yes, please. 

Built in USB? Oh, sure.

It's still surreal to look at the map and
realize I call this part of the world home.

I was met at the airport by a representative from a travel agency and with her guidance, our (there were four other teachers on my flight) eyes were scanned, our visas were processed, and we were escorted through customs in less than 20 minutes. We loaded into a shuttle bus and 30 minutes later we were checked into our hotel, bags delivered, and, most importantly, wifi passwords in hand.

After an emotional half hour of not getting the wifi to work (aka not being able to talk to my hubby), I was able to figure everything out (thank goodness for personal VPNs) and I was able to talk (okay, okay, I kinda sobbed) to Rob.  He assured me that everything was going to be okay and to be honest, I only half believed him. I've never felt loneliness quite as keenly as that first night.

I've also never been to another country before (with the exception of a resort in Cancun - I don't think that really counts), so the airport, the flights, customs, the time difference, etc, coupled with the fact that Rob still doesn't have a ticket was draining and stressful, but after a good night's sleep and a (free) continental breakfast with deliciously caffeinated coffee, I felt a little more ready to take on my new country and city.

And today was AWESOME. First off, after a good night's sleep, I could better appreciate our appartment-style hotel. Last night, I was disappointed when we pulled up to it. Other teachers had posted pictures of 5 and 6 star hotels that wretched of way too much money and here we were checking into a very nice, very clean, but older hotel. That disappointment lasted only until I opened my eyes the first morning. It may be older, but it is clean and comfortable. And by older, I mean, not really old, marble floors, flat screen tvs, and a pretty decent view of the water. There is a rooftop pool and jacuzzi with a breathtaking view, but most importantly, there is a kitchen: a fridge, a two burner stove top, a microwave, dishes, coffee maker, toaster, washer (they don't have dryers here), literally EVERYTHING I will need to live like I'm not in a hotel (aka live cheaply). This is really important since we haven't been paid since August 25 and we have some pretty lofty financial goals.

Anyways, even though a six star hotel would have been awesome, I'm very appreciative of the fact that I have the tools necessary to live frugally the next few weeks.

After breakfast, five of us headed to the five story mall located about 3/4 of a mile away from our hotel. The guy at the front desk laughed when we said we would walk. He reminded us how hot it was outside, "Taxi cheap. Walk is hot." We all said, "No. It's fine. It'll be a good workout. We like to walk." Let's just say by the time we got to the mall, we did indeed get a good workout and were dripping with proof. I'm still glad we walked, but the AC was heavenly once we reached the mall. To picture the mall, think three storied, that has  everything from Nike to Pottery Barn - it's like walking into any mall in America, just bigger and better.

Nike Abu Dhabi

The bottom two basement levels consist of a beautiful combo of Whole Foods, Wal-Mart, and Target. It is appropriately named Lulu's Hypermart and is is HUMONGOUS. I won't need to shop anywhere else. And again, walking in, you would think you were any large grocery store in the US...if every grocery store had clothes, electronics, produce, fresh spices, and was large, clean, and friendly.

I purchased hangers, a curling iron, straightener, Gatorade, and Salt and Vinegar Pringles and I'm headed back tomorrow to do actual grocery shopping. It is awesome coupled with awesomeness.





This afternoon I settled into my hotel room. The only thing I'll be sorry about when Rob finally gets here is giving up closet space. I watched the sun go down over Abu Dhabi's skyline (no decent pictures, but I'll get one eventually) and went to dinner with three other female teachers who are also staying in my hotel. We had falafel and hummus and pita bread at the Lebanese Flower and it was delightful.

First official meal out in Abu Dhabi

On our walk home (it had cooled off to 87 degrees once the sun had gone down), stadium lights caught our attention and we took a detour  to check out a soccer, excuse me, football game. The security guard took a liking to us and told us to, "Go. Go. Enjoy." We had our bags checked, were told we couldn't bring our dinner leftovers and my (full and favorite) water bottle into the stadium. The "security guard" turned out to actually work for the soccer club as a vendor (or in marketing? His English was shaky.) and insisted that he would hold our bags for us so we could watch the game.

Kristen, the nervous giggler.

At first we were resistant, but decided, "Eh? Why not?" So we handed off our bags and water bottle and headed into the game. As were were walking in, we received a few strange stares from the crowd. I assumed it was because two of us are tall and young and blonde, you get used to people staring after a bit. I led us up to some seats and Kristen, one of the other teachers, started nervously giggling and couldn't stop. She sputtered under her breath, "Look around (insert nervous giggle). We are the only women here (insert nervous giggle)." And sure enough, there wasn't a single other female in sight. We all just sat for just a moment, unsure of what to do, so we clapped when the men around us clapped, cheered for the team that they were cheering for, and reassured ourselves, "Everything is fine. They wouldn't have told us to go in if we weren't allowed." We stayed for the rest of the half and I'm pretty sure we got on TV. The cameraman on the field spotted us walking in and more than once pointed his camera in our direction.

Definitely some seats available.

Upon leaving, we couldn't find our vendor/marketing guy anywhere. Typical, right? Someone sees four foreigners and thinks, "Sweet. I'll steal their doggie bag and water bottle." We asked around a bit, describing him (of course, we hadn't got his name!) when we ran into a man in full Emirate garb who introduced himself. "Ahmed" shook all of our hands, stating he lives part time in the United States and part time in Abu Dhabi. Long story short, he reassured us we had not been robbed, "This place is safe. No crime here! We find him. We find him." He helped us locate "Fajeev" and our belongings. Fajeev had kept everything safe and apologized profusely for leaving his post because he assumed we would stay for the entire game. Turns out, Ahmed, is the coordinator for events at the arena. He gave us his phone number and email and promised to connect us with someone who will get us tickets for a U-17 World Cup qualifying game tomorrow.  Fingers crossed that it works out! Oh, and Ahmed had Fajeev drive us back to our hotel, stating it would be way quicker than a taxi and he hoped to hear from us and to enjoy the rest of our stay in Abu Dhabi.

I have a feeling we will.

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