The day our tickets arrived, I flew back to Albuquerque from Salt Lake, and Matt and I packed our bags and prepared everything to leave the next morning. We got a good night's sleep and left for the airport earlier than planned.
Matt's dad, Ron, took the day off so he could take us to the airport with Darlene. We stopped at Jimmy John's for some subs to take with us so we wouldn't have to spend a ton on airport food (best idea ever). After more tearful goodbyes and thank yous, we were off on the next part of our adventure together!
When we checked our bags, we found out that we would have to pay $120 in baggage fees, because our tickets were booked as separate trips (one domestic flight from Albuquerque to Chicago and one international flight from Chicago to Abu Dhabi). After calling the travel agency and e-mailing them asking whether we would pay for their mistake or they would pay for it, we paid in hopes that we could be reimbursed later. At any rate, we were not going to let $120 ruin the experience of a lifetime.
On the flight from Albuquerque to Chicago, I slept for about an hour. Then, we had a couple of hours' layover in Chicago. We were taking a homeopathic pill called "No Jet Lag" every 2 hours of our flight time. I fell asleep for 6 of the 13 hour flight to Abu Dhabi. Matt didn't sleep very long.
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| Matt's entertainment center while I slept on him |
We arrived Thursday evening around 7 PM Abu Dhabi time. We were fast tracked through security and driven to our new temporary home at the Grand Millennium Hotel next to the Al Wahda Mall. Matt and I were so excited to meet friends we had become acquainted with through Facebook groups, and met them with hugs and smiles.
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| Eye Scan at the airport |
Before we went to bed, we unpacked ALL of our bags for the first time in over a month. Our hotel room looks pretty funny with all of our stuff on shelves and clothes in the closet, but it feels so nice to not have to go through bags to find things. We each took a ZzzQuil and slept through the night.
Friday is the Sabbath here, so we woke up and got ready for church. We had an amazing breakfast with others who are here with ADEC (Abu Dhabi Education Council) and then took a taxi with our friend Alecia to the newly dedicated LDS Stake Center in Mussafah. Church was awesome. We felt so much like we belong, were warmly welcomed by all of the members, and felt uplifted and even more excited about being here in Abu Dhabi.
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| First day of church! |
After church, we oriented ourselves to the area by wandering around the Al Wahda Mall and seeing that there is everything we could ever need there (including Pocari Sweat, Tim Tams, Digestive Biscuits, and other things that I have missed since leaving Hong Kong!) We made it 2/3 of the way through the mall and could walk no further, so we went back to the hotel to rest. That evening, an awesome veteran teacher came to get the Butterfingers we brought her and then took us on more of a tour of the city and to dinner! We walked around the Madinat Zayed Shopping Centre and saw hundreds of abayas. I found one I love and decided to wait until Saturday to do any shopping (no shopping on the Sabbath for us).
Saturday, we took a taxi back to Madinat Zayed Shopping Centre and bought my abaya (they even added pockets for me, since I will be using it for teaching and NEED my pockets). A sweet girl showed me how to wrap the sheyla (scarf) around my head. She was so patient and told me that I would get better with more practice. We also bought Matt the traditional men's outfit (a long white kandora and a red keffiyeh), and the shop owner showed him how to wear it appropriately. When they asked us if we were Muslim, we said, "We respect Islam," and they were so happy. For more on traditional Emirati clothing, see this website.
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| My attempt at putting my sheyla (scarf) on. |
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| My first abaya! |
We bought a cheap Nokia cell phone and SIM card so we can make local calls, and felt so productive before it was even 1:00!
After a successful shopping trip, we went to the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. I wore my abaya and sheyla, and even though I felt much more comfortable being there dressed appropriately, it was so hot! I was pretty jealous that the men get to wear all white. The best way I can even attempt to do this place justice is with some photos!
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| Magnificent! |
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| We were very kindly asked to not do any more "hugging" pictures after that... Matt had his arm around me! |
We got back a few hours ago and Matt fell asleep. I feel really lucky to not have gotten jet lag. The heat makes me tired, but using "No Jet Lag" pills and ZzzQuil have helped me adjust my sleeping schedule. Tomorrow I have an orientation for work at "10:45 am sharp." I am looking forward to learning and getting set up with my new job!
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| The view from our room on the 23rd floor! The white tent looking thing is the Al Wahda Mall. |
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