And so the trouble begins...

So, the forum was amazing and fulfilling. I was so happy to be part of such a great reform. I'd finally be able to teach since getting my degree and teaching certificate in 2008. I tried looking for work off and on but things just didn't seem to fall into place for me. I had to look for work in the business industry to take care of my responsibilities and bills. I found a steady job at a masonry company but teaching was my main calling.

I found out where I'd be living and teaching. I was surprised to see they had sheets posted on the four corners of the room listing where I'd be moving to and if you haven't guessed it yes I was to move to Al Ain which is part of Abu Dhabi but is more in the countryside. It's more slower paced and family orientated. I was also assigned to Al Sarooj New KG school to teach pre k. I wasn't very happy to find out I'd be moving. I had to write down on the sheet you see on the side because I had no formal paperwork. I thought quickly to myself how they can have such fancy buildings, events and food but they couldn't give us proper notice and paperwork as to where we'd be teaching. I was a little frustrated because I am very into organization. I was looking at the chart like it was crazy. I had to jot down exactly what I saw because it didn't quite make complete sense to me. It said Al Sarooj secondary school. I'm like wait a minute "secondary school" means high school. I was like darn i'm teaching high school kids?? I don't have the experience but teaching is teaching so oh well. Then I tried to find the address which was in GPS coordinates. I later found out they don't have actual addresses still. It's a new country so they have GPS coordinates and you give or find an address by saying for example near Bawadi mall next to the tea pot round about. I tried asking other teachers for help and started texting Jose for help. He basically told me not to panic that's the way they do things and i'd figure it out. I also thought to myself it would be hard for my husband to find work in the country compared to the busy city. My husband has computer/office skills and is a newly certified first lieutenant in the National Guard at the time. It'd be hard for him to find work in the army field because UAE is a neutral country in terms of wars etc. We had a feeling that he might not find work but we agreed we'd deal with any issues. So...... my paperwork says I'm going to live in Al Ain. I decided that I have to go with the flow and that's it!

After the forum, Jose and some friends invite me to go with them to lunch at a nice restaurant called Lebanese Flower. The food was pretty good. I have eaten goat, lamb and curries before so it was nothing new to me. I don't remember the dish I had but I ordered something very simple because I just wanted to socialize and listen to the other expat teachers speak. I can still taste the countries sodas. They are the same name brand as ours but was very sweet so I enjoyed it the most from my meal. I had a great time listening to everyone talk about where their from and their reasoning for teaching abroad. Everyone said basically in my generalized version that it was for the money or travel opportunities.