School Placement!

Lindsay here!  Matt is sleeping.  Today wore him out!  I hope he isn't getting sick, or that if he is, that he can sleep it off. Today was an eventful day!  First off, I have to thank my dear friend, Audra, for posting an amazing recap about our expedition to the Abu Dhabi Heritage Village today, as well as perfectly summing up my feelings about skewed views of the Middle East.  Please read her post here!  She is one talented writer!  In fact, you could read her entire blog from the beginning and get a really good idea of what we've been through over the past few months.  That wasn't really a suggestion.  DO IT!

Second, I found out tonight that we will be living in the oasis of Al Ain, and I will be teaching KG (kindergarten) in Al Khleef KG, which is a school of ALL KINDERGARTEN!  I am seriously near tears about this.  Tears of joy!  I don't want to go into too many details, but I cannot express how grateful I am to be at a school with only kindergarten.  Kindergarten is such a completely different animal (although I learned today that I can't use that term here), and kindergarten teachers just get each other.  No one else gets us.

Matt showed me where my school is, and it is about as close to the border of Abu Dhabi and Oman as you can get.  Which will be super convenient when Matt has to go do a border run in 24 days to renew his 30 day visitor visa.  Awesome.

I can't believe this is my life.

Exploring Abu Dhabi

So, we are both feeling great, sleeping through the night, and really haven't had to deal with jet lag, thanks to "No Jet Lag" on the flights and ZzzQuil for the first three nights.  Matt says he felt he was getting sick the other day, and he did end up sleeping for like 18 hours straight!

Sunday was Lindsay's first day of work, which consisted of one hour of orientation about housing, cell phones (which we already had), and banking.  The rest of the day was free, so we did a little grocery shopping at the mall next door.  Here are some pictures from our shopping excursion:

Kids cooking set for only $5.45

Digestives!  Lindsay missed these from Hong Kong!  Matt said they were in Germany too, but he never tried them because of the name.  He WILL be trying them here!

Just the cutest little boys' clothes ever!

And that was when we realized that there are huge signs saying, "No pictures."  Oops!  Hahaha... Lindsay wanted to take pictures of Pocari Sweat (the drink she loved from Hong Kong) and her favorite fruit in the whole world, mangosteen (although they don't look very appetizing here... maybe they aren't in season).  So, we took pictures out in the mall of the cool signs that were in Arabic and English:

Red Lobster

Tim Hortons (for Erin)

Starbucks

Build-a-Bear

And then some really funny signs:

Trolley?  That is SO much better than "shopping cart"!

Don't smoke or you will die!

Keep the walls looking nice!

And here are some pictures of our hotel room at the Grand Millennium Al Wahda:

These beds are so comfortable and LONG!

We get complimentary bottled water and have a mini fridge.

Our bathroom has a bidet!  So... fancy?  HAH!


Lindsay loves this bathtub. It is really deep and has a handheld shower head.

Lindsay's cosmetics consume the counter top near the sink and bathtub.

Matt sits at the desk, staring at his computer screen.

Our tiny closet. Surprisingly, we got most of our clothes in there. :)

This is on our ceiling.  It points the direction to face while praying.

Camel Milk!  One of the many options at breakfast.  We tried it, and it tastes like watered down milk with a bit of a kick.

Abu Dhabi at Last!

Lindsay here again!  Matt is still sleeping... It's 6:30, and I don't know if I should wake him up or just give him some ZzzQuil to sleep through the night...

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.  

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.

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.

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.

My attempt at putting my sheyla (scarf) on.

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!

Magnificent!

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!

The view from our room on the 23rd floor!  The white tent looking thing is the Al Wahda Mall.

Golden Tickets!

Lindsay here!  Matt is fast asleep... I think the jet lag is catching up to him.  I'm taking this opportunity to update the blog... last time we posted, we were waiting for our golden tickets.  Last Saturday, they still hadn't come, and I made the decision to take a quick "business" trip up to Salt Lake to help one little autistic boy in his new kindergarten classroom.  As soon as I booked my ticket, I knew my ticket to Abu Dhabi would be coming.

I woke up the next morning to two of my friends messaging me that their tickets had come and I frantically checked my e-mail.  Nothing.  Spam folder?  Nope.  So, we went to church and I distractedly checked my e-mail over and over again.  After church, we ate a quick lunch of Olive Garden left overs and Matt, Darlene, and I headed to Albuquerque.  I continued to check my e-mail every 10 minutes, but no e-mail.

I checked and checked as I awaited the first leg of my trip to Las Vegas.  Nothing.

At the Vegas Airport... nothing.

Salt Lake Airport... nothing.  

In spite of being preoccupied with the prospect of receiving my tickets at any moment, I was still able to enjoy my time in Salt Lake.  My parents couldn't have me be that close to them (4.5 hours away) and not come see me, so they were there to pick me up at the airport (I love them)!  We enjoyed sushi and Chinese food at Red Ginger Bistro and then they took me to stay with the family of the little boy I was there to work with.  My parents stayed in a hotel close by so that they could spend as much time with me as possible.

Monday was as wonderful as could be, and I managed to truly enjoy my unexpected time in Salt Lake with some friends and family and doing some very rewarding work with this little autistic boy I have come to love so much.  That afternoon, I received a phone call from Footprints Recruiting letting me know that my visa had been processed.  What a relief!  At least I didn't have to wonder about that anymore.  By the end of the day, I was feeling pretty confident that my tickets were not going to end the trip early, but I still had a feeling in the pit of my stomach that I needed to be back in Albuquerque by Tuesday evening.  Exhausted from a long, eventful day and feeling a cold coming on, I managed to book the flight before my head hit the pillow.

Tuesday morning, I awoke to the long-awaited e-mail from Nirvana Travel Agency with my visa and tickets!  I needed to add tickets for Matt and change the departure city from Salt Lake to Albuquerque, but I was still so excited to finally be making progress in this journey.  Nirvana had the problem fixed before noon, and everything was set.  Matt and I were to depart the NEXT day at 12:53 PM!  Things were working out perfectly.  I couldn't have planned it better myself!  I said more tearful goodbyes to my sweet friend who brought me up to Salt Lake and to my wonderful parents, who were able to take me to the airport and truly send me off to Abu Dhabi... the last time was so anticlimactic, since we were just going to New Mexico to wait for our tickets.  What a blessing for my parents and for me, although I cried a lot more than the last time.

Hurry up and wait! A lesson in patience.

We have been here in Santa Fe for 2 weeks now, and don't know whether we will be here for a few more days or a few more weeks.  It has been really nice to be here.  We've done things we don't normally have time to do.  Matt helped his dad repair a leaky pipe buried in a corner of a bathroom.  He also repaired a washed out driveway.  Lindsay has been indexing names for family history, going to a class on world religions with Matt's mom, playing the piano, learning Arabic, running, baking, and just enjoying getting to know Matt's parents better.  She tried getting a job subbing in the local schools, but found out it would be at least a 2 week process, and an expensive one (it included getting a New Mexico teaching license)!  We have weeded, played with our kitties, gone to two movies, and read a lot of Facebook, e-mails, and blog posts about Abu Dhabi.  We even celebrated our 2nd Anniversary on 13 August 2013!

We don't know yet what the future brings, but we are at peace and know that we are where we need to be right now.  We are patiently waiting for tickets to arrive and the next chapter to begin.

Road Trip!

On 2 August 2013, we had a potluck at the same park and even the same pavilion that we had our wedding reception at.  It was so good to see so many of our friends, and so hard to say goodbye!  Lindsay shed quite a few tears.

On 3 August 2013, we said our tearful goodbyes to the Anderson family and went to Seven Peaks Water Park in Provo with our friends the Hunts.  It was really fun to spend time in the sun.  We felt like our summer vacation was finally beginning!  That night we drove to St. George, where we had dinner with Brent and Kathleen Kap, Lindsay's friends from her mission.  After a wonderful chat, we got on the road again and finished our trek to Las Vegas.

We were in Vegas for a week with Lindsay's whole family.  It was so much fun.  Lindsay's dad was working at the ASD trade show, and we helped a bit with that.  It was so crazy how much stuff was there.  Visual overload.

Some highlights of our time in Vegas include: The Las Vegas temple, Hoover Dam, Lake Meade, family photos, the Strip, the Stratosphere and its crazy ride, Insanity, a light show, deep fried oreos and shrimp cocktail on Freemont Street, Capo's Itallian restaurant, Los Tacos, L&L Hawaiian, Komex (Korean-Mexican fusion restaurant), swimming at the condo, Jordan riding a wheelchair at Smith's (his femur is still healing) and chasing us around in it, and just being with our family.

On 10 August 2013 we resumed our road trip and saw the Grand Canyon at the South Rim.  Matt hadn't been since he was super young, and Lindsay was only there for 30 minutes when she was 12.  We took a few pictures, but mostly just soaked the beauty in.  There was a man who started singing "How Great Thou Art" and some others joined in.  It was really special.  It was fun to hear how many different languages were represented.  Lindsay was really excited to find some people speaking Cantonese and asked them (in English at first) if they were together, because they were trying to take a group photo.  When she broke out in Cantonese, they were all in shock and amazement.  It made everyone smile.  They thanked us for our help, and then we went on our way.  We ended up at Four Corners at about 11:30, only to find the gate was locked and the hours were from 8 AM-8 PM.  Since no place within 100 miles had any vacancy, we parked right in front of the gate and slept (not so soundly) in the car.

11 August 2013 we awoke to find quite the line of cars behind us.  We were the first ones into the monument, and enjoyed standing in 4 states at once, eating cereal in 4 states at once, and kissing in 4 states at once!  We then drove to Ship Rock in New Mexico, had lunch in Farmington, and arrived in Santa Fe in the late afternoon.

Downsizing

Since that official offer came in on 18 June 2013, we spent nearly every waking moment selling, loaning, storing, or packing ALL of our possessions.  Two people in their upper-20's and early-30's can acquire a LOT of stuff!  We hope to keep it simple in the future.  Our deadline was 31 July 2013, and it was barely enough time.  We posted many items on KSL Classifieds.  We held 3 yard sales. We found homes to store our children's library, heirloom furniture, sentimental items, and some of our other possessions we want again some day.  We packed what we were taking to Abu Dhabi (only the essentials) in two 50 lb. checked luggage, one 15 lb. carry-on bag, and one personal item (purse for Lindsay, laptop bag for Matt) each.  Pictures, old school work, letters, souvenirs, pots and pans, some kitchen utensils, tools, sports equipment, and things we just couldn't part with (mainly because they were irreplaceable or we didn't want to have to buy them when we come back) went into plastic storage bins.  We are so grateful that Lindsay's parents came down from Idaho with a trailer and are storing those things for us.  That saves us a storage unit rental of $50/month at least!

On 15 July 2013 Matt's parents drove off with our 2 cats, Jane and Dot. This was really hard on both of us. We really wanted to take them with us to Abu Dhabi, but after finding out the costs involved and other discouraging variables, we decided it was best to find a new home for them. Thank goodness we get to see them and be with them again.

On 27 July 2013 we had the last of our 3 yard sales. We packed up everything that didn't sell and hauled it off to Deseret Industries. It felt so good to close that chapter of our journey.

On 30 July 2013, Lindsay's parents arrived with their trailer and we loaded up!  Our house was getting so empty.  It felt so good!

On 31 July 2013 the four of us (Matt, Lindsay, Lisa, and Doug) cleaned for about 6 hours straight.  That house never looked so good!  We were pretty nervous about not getting a full refund of our security deposit ($1000), but our landlady was so happy with the work we did.  Actually, we had never seen her that happy!  She even said she wanted to move in there.  She asked us to write to her and let her know how things are.  Unheard of from her!

We moved in with our friends who are more like family, Cory and Robyn Anderson, until 3 August 2013.