Off to Abu Dhabi, I go!

The next day, I was ready to start the process of going back home. I knew that I had to go to the Abu Dhabi Education Council  to find out where my passport was and how soon I can get a flight.

I woke up at 06:30, and got into a morning groove quickly. My friend L was already dressed and was about to head down to breakfast. I thought to myself darn and I thought I was early for once. I agreed to meet her down soon for breakfast. I made sure I had my money, net book and Identification with me.

The breakfast and intercontinental was just as good as the aloft. I can't keep saying how good the food was there. It was WAY better than Al Massa Hotel. I was happy to drink my fresh coffee and cream which is served by the waiter/waitress. I ate my usual yogurt with fresh fruits mixed in. Scrambled eggs made fresh to my liking in front of me and lots of small breads. I always thought to myself, I could get used to this type of eating. It be nice to have a personal chef or buffet in my kitchen to make whatever I craved.

I sat down and ate with a group of teachers I didn't know too well. They were very nice and helpful when I told them I was going to Abu Dhabi to get my passport. Christy told me that I shouldn't wear long sleeves to get into ADEC so after eating and I ran upstairs to change into a long sleeve shirt. So now, I was wearing my black long sleeve shirt, long green dress skirt touching the floor and my favorite black open toed sandals. I asked the man at the concierge desk to confirm I can catch a taxi to the Al Ain bus station. He told me that was the only bus station in Al Ain as if I knew that already. How was I supposed to know the city was so small it only had one bus station. I am still thinking like an american so I thought there were several bus stations going to different places.

So, I go and sit outside the hotel waiting for a taxi which comes fairly quick. He takes me to the station and drops me off in front of a security guard. I ask him which bus goes to Abu Dhabi. He pointed to one where people were already boarding the bus. I ran quickly over and look at the top of the bus to make sure it was going to Abu Dhabi. The first thing I noticed while running to the bus was the station was filled with men! I thought to myself, Oh no. I need to be really careful and not make eye contact with anyone while I keep vigil of my surroundings. Luckily, I saw people surrounding the area in front of the bus. I got a ticket and asked the woman if the bus was going to Abu Dhabi, she said yes so I boarded the bus.

Once I boarded the bus, as usual I headed towards the back. I love sitting in the back of the bus because I can see everyone coming in and out of the bus. I also don't like having my back to people. I like to be aware of whose around me. As I headed toward the back of the bus, a Pakistani older man with gray hair grunted at me. It happened in a split second but I looked at him and continued more towards the back. He said "La" which means no in Arabic then pointed to a sign. I looked at it and it said basically women sit in the front only in a nice way. I actually took a picture because I wanted proof of that moment. I was like oh, sorry and quickly turned around to sit in the front. By that time, most of the seats were filled. I sat next to a woman wearing all black like an emirate women. I could tell she wasn't an Emirate because most of the women had cars or their husbands drove them where they needed to be. Only expats drove the buses. Including myself there were like four women on the bus. I thought to myself more separation. Women can't even sit with men in this country. It's just so weird to me how the country runs things. The women are so silent in UAE. It made me appreciate even more the U.S.

 The driver finally boarded and started collecting our bus fare. He was done pretty quickly and started our two hour drive to Abu Dhabi. I was so happy and headstrong to get my passport and finish this process.

The drive over was very calm and quiet. No one spoke on the bus.It was a little weird at times but since I am a quiet person by nature it didn't bother me much. 

I sat on the window side so I was able to look outside and take pictures. There wasn't much to look at really, just lots of trees, sand, small buildings, small farms, trees, sand and more trees.

The bus driver was a little aggressive sometimes on the road but I was used to it because of New York Taxi drivers and Al Ain taxi drivers.

We stopped once for a bathroom break but I didn't want to take any chances of going to the crusty bathrooms or getting left by the bus. The bathrooms and the small rest stops were just rooms with holes on the floor.Unless I have a major emergency I don't want to use them. The Pakistani man that grunted at me had gone off so when he came back in the bus he gestured to me like why didn't I get something to eat?I shook my head like no thanks. He just stared at me like he was undressing me with his eyes. I was so grossed out, I turned away so he could leave me alone. Not too long after the stop, we arrived at the last stop to Abu Dhabi. I found a taxi and told him to take me to ADEC. He got a little lost but we found the building!