Decisions, Decisions, Decisions

By the end of the second week, I realized that I had some major decisions to make. I honestly felt troubled about a lot of things. In general, the process for new teachers transition into this country was not properly planned out. The travel agency forgot about me and didn't issue my ticket. I had to call until the day of my travel to a get a ticket. If I just waited and hoped my ticket would arrive instead of taking action, I could have left later than September!

Before I go any further, I wanted to say that I made the decision to go back home. It bothers me to speak out about the reasons why I decided to leave because a good number of people felt I should have stayed and taken advantage of the system.

My reasons for leaving were:

I rushed and was rushed to make a decision on taking the teaching position. I first applied for the position, did a phone interview, drove to Georgia for a physical interview, passed the interview and had three days to decide whether to take the position. All of these events happened in less than a week. I should have had more time to do research. I felt such a pressure to take the job because it's what I always wanted to do. I wasn't finding work at home so I felt I must take it. I know i'd kick myself in the head always wondering "what if" I didn't take this job.

In the rush of going to UAE, I found out my husband had to stay home longer than we planned. He had to stay and complete the closing of our house and find someone to rent it out. He needed to do more research on the process of getting out of the Nationsl Guard. I felt bad that he'd have to leave prematurely even though he said he didn't mind. My car was going to cost $3,000 to ship over via boat and I also found out its a bad idea to bring my vehicle because the radiator wasn't built for such a hot climate. If I brought it over the car could catch on fire so renting a car for about $450 a month would be a better choice. The other option was for him to stay the two years in the U.S. to take care of our vehicles and maintain the house. The plan was to have my daughter sent up by November but I wasn't prepared for the idea of having a long distance relationship.

While going to school and looking around the city, I could see the oppression of the women. I thought I had way more tolerance for other cultures but I didn't for this one. I couldn't stand seeing the women covered up. They wore black in the HEAT! They decorated their black Abayas to add personal touches but to me it's still a black reapers outfit. Some women even wore black gloves and black socks if their husbands were very jealous. If the women had a lax husband they could show their face but not their hair do they'd wear the abayas and Sheila's. I could feel such a confusing energy from the women as they looked at me.

The expat workers were being treated badly but getting paid VERY well compared to their countries. The Filipino women were treated badly by their employers and abused by the men. I heard first hand with my own ears, a Filipino woman who worked at the mall in a jewelry kiosk told me how a young emirate boy feeled her up in front of his father. She told the boy to back off and have respect. His father just smirked and told his son to come with him. She told me how the nannies who were from the Philippines, Ethiopia and Somali were physically abused by their employers constantly. She told me they don't report anything because they desperately need the money to send back home. I know this to be true because I have met some men and women who said they signed two or six year contracts to take care of their families back home. It was hard for me to just be in a place were things like this was happening. At least in the U.S we have rights. We can report abuse and maltreatment from our employers. Check out this link: Maid pregnant by 15 year old

I wasn't confident enough, in the private school system for expat children. As I did my research, the private school i wanted my daughter to attend was already full.

So, I told my husband all of these reasons and he made sure to ask if that was what I really wanted. I knew that's what I wanted and now had to find out the steps to getting back home.

This is when my journey began...