Steve and Alison's Excellent Adventure...: Week 2

Week 2:

Steve's comments are in italics.

Week 2 has been busier. The week started with an overview orientation and was followed with medicals on Monday. We have bank accounts, telephone numbers, school placements, and requests for an apartment. Steve will be teaching Cycle 3 English (grades 10-12) at Al Ittihad School in the Al Banteen Area of Abu Dhabi (The oldest school here and the only exclusively Emirate public school. Sort of like all-boys Central High—you get the picture). I will be teaching Cycle 2 grade 6 science and ??? at Al Lulu (a bit of a change, but flexibility is a must over here). Our schools are on extreme sides of Abu Dhabi so a car is a needed quantity. We have put in a request to live on Al Reem Island, which is downtown and beautiful. We would have beachfront property with a pool, a gym, and covered parking. My commute will be approximately 30-45 minutes. On Saturday, we rented a car and did trial runs to locate both schools and the possible new apartment. Abu Dhabi does not currently use address numbers to identify buildings, schools, or homes; addresses are on the docket to arrive with the Guggenheim in 2015. Instead, we use GPS coordinates and landmarks to locate places. Garmin is a good friend in the car! Alison did well driving. People here use the horn more frequently than turn-signals. It is not uncommon to have someone cut you off and then continue over two more lanes to exit. One definitely needs to pay attention. The radio remained off.

The rest of the week was filled with school operation orientation and professional development. The school operation orientation was held at the Sorbonne University Auditorium. It was very informative. The professional development centered on the ADEC twist of gradual release, inquiry, and an introduction to the curriculum. Because our medical reports are not back, we will have 2 more days of professional development and hopefully be in school on Tuesday! (Insha’Allah). Though school starts Sunday officially, students wander in piecemeal.

We started at school on Tuesday. There was a little confusion for both Steve and me as to what we would be doing at each of our schools. At the end of the day, things sorted themselves out – I had a classroom and a basic schedule. Steve was told he would be teaching grades 10 and 11 and would begin with his students on Sunday. After 2 days in school, I can say I love my girls. This year will be a challenge to find appropriate materials for them, but they are eager.

Tourist Update:

The exhibition center hosted an outdoor living exhibit with falcons and horses! Steve and I attended on Friday afternoon and Saturday evening. Friday we explored the exhibits on camping, hunting, and traditional desert dwellings and lifestyle. It was very interesting to see the old ways along side of the new. They had traditional tents and then modern RV’s. They had several displays of real falcons. At one location, they allowed us to each hold the falcon. What an experience! While holding the falcon, the trainer kept urging me to hold the bird closer. Go figure. That beak looks much bigger up close. Saturday evening we went back to the arena area to watch the showcasing of working dogs, horses, camels, and predator birds. Each show was interesting, but my favorite was the horses and amazing display of horsemanship. I preferred the camels.

Camel racing

Alison holding a falcon

Friday evening, we went on a desert safari, which consisted of dune-bashing, camel-riding, sand-boarding, henna, dress-up, “hubbly-bubbly,” dinner, and a belly-dancing performance. Our driver was very skilled. The drive was better then any rollercoaster ride. Steve tried the sand boarding and the hubbly-bubbly pipe, which had a licorice aftertaste. I stuck to henna. Dinner was yummy traditional fare with kebobs followed by a fabulous Kim Khardashian-like belly dancer. Definitely a worthwhile experience that I would recommend to all.