Thursday, August 25, 2016

Never Alone

"Sometimes I'm alone but never lonely." - India Arie

When they say you're never alone and everyone is like family here, they're telling the truth.  On yesterday, I left my apartment keys at school, the school is a good 30 minutes away, I have no car, and a taxi would be quite costly to travel round-trip.  Thankfully there were teachers still in the building but they weren't coming back right away.  My next door neighbor whose Egyptian took me in, fed me and entertained me for about two hours until my keys arrived. I was so grateful for her and thanked her several times. She told me not to worry about anything and if I'm ever in need, she's there to help.  She reminded me that we're family now, and indeed sisters.

Today, I had yet another experience leaving my personal items at work.  This time around was my wallet 😯.  One of my  colleagues began a WhatsApp group which has come in great handy, so I was able to contact a teacher who was working late at the school.  The teacher found my wallet and brought it back to my apartment.

I was on my way to get something to eat when I noticed my wallet was missing.  One of my grade group partners gave me money so that I could still eat. She didn't stop there, she later picked me up from my apartment took me to the teacher store and gave me additional money so that I can put minutes on my phone.  I'm just so grateful to have a support system all the way in the UAE.  When I prayed for this job, one constant request was that i would work in a school where I would build healthy relationships among my colleagues, students and their families.  God has honored all of my requests thus far, and I'm sure He's not done yet.  😇😇😇

 

Sunday, August 21, 2016

Welcome to Abu Dhabi

It's Saturday, August 20th and I've been in Abu Dhabi for four days now.  On Tuesday, August 16th I boarded a plane bound to Doha, Qatar from Philadelphia, PA.  After a 3 hour layover in Doha, I finally landed in Abu Dhabi the following day.

This was my very first international flight and it went pretty smoothly.  We had a little turbulence, but it was a great flight.  Qatar Airways is a first class airline and they did not disappoint.  We were fed 3 meals and we had plenty of entertainment on board.  In between sleeping, I watched 3 movies: Barbershop 3, Creed, and one of my favorites Hair Spray. I also listened to music and read books on my kindle.  The flight to Doha was about 12 hours.

I transferred planes in Doha, still using the same airline.  The first leg of my trip was first class, the second part was...I guess I was spoiled with the big plane and comfy seats.  Once I made it to my seat on the second plane, I immediately began to dose off.  The fight from Doha to Abu Dhabi was 90 minutes long but it felt like 30.

After getting my passport stamped, I picked up my luggage and headed to the arrival hall where I was greeted by my Principal and other HR representatives.  I was so thankful that I made it to Abu Dhabi safely, and with no mishaps. After I arrived two more of my colleagues arrived, and wouldn't you know one is from Jersey too!  We eventually left the airport and was taken to our accommodations.  

We're already off to a great start, here in Abu Dhabi!  I'll write more about my accommodations in another post.  It's getting late here, and tomorrow is the first day of work.

Until next time...

Friday, August 12, 2016

Flight Itinerary

So the day that I've patiently waited for, finally arrived yesterday!  As with everyday, I woke up and checked my email but there wasn't an email from my school.  So I went ahead and began to prepare for my day.  I headed out to the salon to get my hair braided for my trip.  As soon as I step foot in the salon, I hear a ping from my phone indicating a text message.  My new grade partner sent a message telling me to check my email, so I immediately opened up my Gmail account.  I opened it up and was greeted with a ton of information.  It had everything from the schedule of the Induction program, to housing and the most coveted prize, my eTicket!

I'm so happy that I don't have to fly to Chicago.  We were told that we would fly Etihad Airlines but I'm now flying Qatar Airways.   I can't tell you how many times I've searched for fights going to Abu Dhabi from Philly.  I'm so glad one of the routes I continuously searched, is my chosen path.  On Tuesday, I will depart from Philly and head to Doha, Qatar (12 hour flight).  I'll have a 3 hour layover there then board another plan for Abu Dhabi which is approximately 1.5 hours.  I've already chosen my seats, an aisle seat for the first part of the trip and a window seat for the second leg. It's recommended that you get up and walk a lot, so an aisle seat is necessary.

I have my housing and searched all day for pictures and information on it.  But I couldn't find anything. I did learn that it's brand new, but that's about it.  I've decided to just let it be, I'm looking forward to seeing it for the first time on Wednesday.

I just have a few more things to pack and I'm all set!  I had my Bon Voyage party last weekend, I'll talk more about that on my next post.

Until next time!

Monday, August 1, 2016

Flight Update

I love my wall calendar!  How fitting for the month of August!


So I received an update from HR concerning our flight arrangements.  I now know that I'll fly Etihad Airways and we're currently waiting for the airline to issue the tickets.  We're still scheduled to arrive in Abu Dhabi on the 17th, just 16 days away!  Yikes!  It's really getting real!




Until Next Time!