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Thursday, September 11, 2014

I'm Still Here!

     First I must apologise that I have been in abstencia for so long. Life has been so busy that I haven't had a chance to write.  My friend was here from home, so between showing her around, starting school and starting grad school. There has only been time to sleep. 
     My good friend A came to visit from Montreal for eight days. We had the time of our lives.
    First went went to the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. The Burj Khalifa is the tallest building in the world. The observer story deck is in the 124th floor. Here is the stunning view. 


Selfies from the top are always a must.

     We then went on a desert safari. Many of you may be familiar with Groupons, well they have them for Abu Dhabi and Dubai. There is also a similar site called Cobone. I bought my friend and I tickets to the desert safari throught this website. The safari was about 55$ for the both of us and we got picked up at a nearby metro station in Dubai. We drive about an hour into the desert and then we went dune bashing. This is when you take a 4x4 all terrain vehicle and drive all crazy on the sand dunes. Picture a car driving all crazy up and down the sand dunes in the desert. So much fun! 
   We then got to take a few pictures with a camel as we sat in him. 
   There was also a belly dance show and a buffet dinner. 

       They next day was my big UAE birthday brunch. I celebrated at the Saffron resaurant at the Atlantis hotel in Dubai.


Saturday we went to the Mall Of The Emirates. We did some shopping and then headed back to Al Ain.
  
     Sunday, was my first day at school. I now teacher the same girls I did last year but they are now in grade 7. The funny thing is I thought that they would change up the classes. Mix up the girls a bit. No, no, all the students  are in the EXACT SAME CLASSES as last year. So that means the behaviour problems I had with certain individuals or certain combinations of individuals are still there. One thing that has improved is my relationship with my co workers. Last year, no one talked to me in my department. I swear if I was lying dead on the ground they would have walked over my body. I guess there is a one year initiation because everyone is much nicer to me this year. They actually talk to me and ask me questions. Huge improvement from last year, huge.
   The first day was pandemonium. We had no schedules and most Arabic teachers did not know what they were teaching. 
    
     I have to give a shout out to Heidi, who just moved to Al Ain. I met her last night at a welcome event and she recognised me right away. She told me how much she loved the blog and she actually made me feel so bad that I haven't written in awhile so this post is thanks to her! Thank you for reading and good luck ok your adventure! 
     

5 comments:

  1. Hey Miss Haneefa
    I'm headed to Abu Dhabi after accepting an aircraft maintenance job offer. & I am as equally excited as I am anxious. Do you have any tips for newcomers? Also, has the recent political situation had any effects? I'm very fortunate I came across your blog.

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    1. Hello Dominique,
      The political situation is non-existent, you wouldn't even know that there was conflict in the Middle East. Good luck with your new job. As for advice I would just say to keep am open mind and have lots of patience. You will be great!

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  2. Thanks for the response. My transition has been really cool thus far. I have not started working yet so it's been like a mini vacay. As of right now, we are playing the waiting game in Abu Dhabi but soon we will be moving to Dubai. In the mean time, would you like to meet for coffee or lunch? All of my allies have been men so far; I could use to woman-to-woman advice.

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  3. I am glad to hear that you arrived safely. I don't know if I told you, but I live in Al Ain in between Abu Dhabi in Dubai. Send me an email and we can make an arrangement, haneefa underscore c at hotmail dot com.

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  4. Hi!!!!! I'm so excited I met you...I just now caught up on your blog since I've been here :) take care!

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