We have been in Dubai now for 3 weeks and I have yet to post
anything on this blog. We’ve been very
busy and don’t have internet set up yet at our apartment. But, today is the
day! I will give you a “quick” recap of our time here so far.
Our apartment: The first two weeks here were really a
blur. My school had us very busy the first
few days visiting just about every grocery store, furniture store, and “Wal-Mart”
type store in town! It was nice to see
some of our options (as we have found, there are MANY options for any type of
store you could ever want here). After we saw our options, THEN we started
shopping. Todd and I moved into an
unfurnished 2-bedroom apartment (with a furniture allowance from my school), so
we had a lot of work to do. We shopped
every day that first week and a half and found ourselves constantly going back
to Ikea to get most of our things. We aren’t completely done with our
apartment, but we have most of the things we need to make it feel like home for
now.
My school: We started professional development for school the
first week I got here. The school provided lots of good, informational sessions
for us, but by the time school actually started I was on information overload!
(Not to mention, I would be at school all day and then Todd and I would shop
most nights.) Our first day with
students was this past Tuesday. I have
the most adorable 3rd grade girls in my class this year! It’s been an odd start as I’ve only had about
8 girls coming to school this week. I
have 12 on my roster (still a SMALL class!), and I’ve been told that the other
girls are probably still travelling (must be nice!:)).
Around Dubai: We live a part of town that isn’t too far from
everywhere, but is like a suburb to the city. During our first few days here,
our fabulous aunt and uncle took us out to eat, invited us to a friend’s house,
and showed us a little around town. Not to mention had stocked our fridge and
cabinet with a few essentials before we even got there! We are so glad Thom and
Brenda live in Bahrain and that it isn’t too far to visit! We’ve also ventured
out on our own…mostly to eat at restaurants. There is quite a night life here
and lots to do, so I’m sure it will take us a while to experience it all!
Trip to the Hospital:
Yes, I have already made a trip to the hospital! I woke up last weekend and had really sharp pains
in my stomach and side. It was so severe
that Todd took me to the hospital. Turns
out, it was a kidney stone and the pain stopped (thank goodness!) shortly after
we got to the hospital. Happy to report
that the hospital looked clean, organized, and our doctor seemed to know what
he was talking about. J
I figured it would be like that here, but you just never know when you are in a
foreign country! Kidney stone was most
likely formed from being dehydrated. Lesson learned: I live in the desert so
drink more water. Hopefully, that was a
one-time thing!
Since I am a teacher, I hope to teach you SOMETHING about
the Middle East in every blog post. Today,
I will leave you with a common Arabic word (really the only one I have
learned!): Shukran (meaning thank you)
I have LOTS more to
fill you in on, but wanted to break the ice with this recap. Will post again soon!
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