The Next Steps

Happy Mother’s Day to Kay and Fran and all the other great moms!

Last week was tough. I finished classes at both schools. I had been teaching at Polytech for seven years and DelTech for six. That’s the longest time I’ve ever stayed in the same job (or jobs). I’ll be back to both this summer: to Polytech for graduation, and to DelTech to teach a summer class. Still, it was weird walking out of the buildings after my last classes. We had planned a big picnic Saturday for students, past and present, from both schools, but it was been cold and rainy all morning, so it has been postponed until next weekend.

I had my first Arabic lesson last week, too. (Thanks, Fatima!) It was sobering. Because I am a visual learner, I really need to see something written down before I can understand it. However, I have no comprehension of the Arabic writing system, so I can’t see things written down. This means that I will have a huge learning curve at the beginning of the process, but once I master the script, I’ll be okay. (If you’re interested in learning more about the Arabic language, Omniglot.com seems good.) Charles will do better at first because he learns very well from spoken language. Of course, Paul will sound like a native within a year!

Of course I have a lot of other things to do this summer besides learning a new language. Now that school is done, I’ll have more time to do everything. We need to sell the house, the cars, and most of the other stuff we’ve accumulated over the ten years we’ve lived on the East Coast. We’ll have two garage sales: one in the next week or so, and one in late July, just before we leave.

In addition to selling stuff, I will be dealing with paperwork. A lot of paperwork. I've passed the security check for my new job. Now I have to gather documents and get them attested (something like authentication) by the State Department. I plan to just take everything to Washington myself, if possible. That seems simpler and safer than sending all our official documents through the mail.

We’ve also been looking for a school for Paul, but it’s incredibly difficult to evaluate a school from however thousands of miles away we are. We’re really hoping Charles and Paul can both find places at the same school, though, which would reduce or eliminate tuition. We are playing this one by ear…

You're going WHERE?

A lot of people don't know much about Abu Dhabi or the United Arab Emirates. Here are a few links. The ones that I like the most are the BBC News and the Gulf News. Enjoy!

First, BBC News has a nice overview.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/country_profiles/737620.stm

The Emirates Network also has some maps and information.
http://guide.theemiratesnetwork.com/maps/uae_world.php

Here are a few UAE newspapers. Warning: While I was reading one of these papers (I'm not sure which), a matrimonial service pop-up got through.

I've mostly read the Gulf News. Their website is kind of frenetic. http://www.gulfnews.com/home/

7 Days: http://www.7days.ae/

Al Arabia: http://www.alarabiya.net/english/

Khaleej Times: http://www.khaleejtimes.com/index00.asp

Decision Making

A few people have asked me what made me decide to go to Abu Dhabi. It was simple, really. I needed a change – in job, in lifestyle, in location.

I have made several life-changing decisions in my life, as have most people. Mine tend to involve really big life changes, like moving cross-country, or to another country, or joining the Army, which I did when I was seventeen years old. Some people may have thought that was a precipitous decision, but that was far from the truth. It was 1983, jobs were hard to find, and I had no money for college. The best option for me at that time was the military. I did realize that there was always a chance of war; anyone who joins the military without keeping that in mind hasn’t thought things through. And while I may not have discussed my decision-making process with friends and family, there was a process.

There is still a process. After living in Delaware for several years, I realized that the best opportunities were elsewhere, so I started looking there. Because the US economy was not promising and because I wanted to live abroad again, I searched the world for the places that had the most jobs, best opportunities, and highest salaries. Next, I looked into opportunities for my husband, Charles, to teach, and good schools and support for my son. And then I thought about what the most different, most exciting place to live would be. All of my research led me inexorably to the Persian Gulf countries, so I applied and interviewed for several positions in the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, and Saudi Arabia.

Months ago I told my family I was looking for jobs in that part of the world, but I’m not sure they believed me. I guess they do now.

So now that I’ve accepted a position, I have to get myself and my family (including Trouble, The World’s Most Patient Cat) to another continent. The last time I left the United States, the US Army took care of the logistics; this time it’s all up to me. This time I have property to deal with (a house, cars, furniture, thousands of books, televisions, dishes, and other trappings of American domesticity). I remember when the Army sent me to California, I had one duffel bag and a purse with my uniforms, a pair of flip-flops, and one John Lennon t-shirt. I can’t even think about all I have now. Most of it is not going with us. It’s not necessary.

I haven’t had much time to think about anything beyond getting there, finding a place to live, learning my way around, and starting work. But the real challenge will be learning the culture and being patient with things that may not immediately make sense to me. I want to learn Arabic although I’m told that it’s not necessary and that most people speak English. I don’t care; I don’t want to live in a place and not learn the language. I’m ashamed I didn’t learn more German when I lived in Germany. It wasn’t necessary, but necessity is not the point. The point is to learn something – anything – new. The point is to know more languages. The point is to expand my understanding of second language acquisition. The point is to build empathy for my students. The point is to be a better person.

That’s my real goal.