I mean seriously, where else in the world would you find a stunning, white Lamborghini in the middle of a mall next to a Bath & Body Works? Only Abu Dhabi can make such a luxury item seem mundane. In another instance...
No biggie. I would like to order a children's play area with a side of roller coaster plus a bunch of arcade games, jumping gyms, and carnival rides inside a mall. (And yes there is a gazillion malls here.) This country is every kid's dream - clothing stores after clothing stores, toy shops after toy shops, sweets stands after sweets stands, play areas after play areas - Abu Dhabi has dedicated itself to catering to its next generation. It's family-oriented to the extreme.
Before I continue to ramble on and on about the various intrigues of this exciting nation, let me take you back in time to where it all began:
Week 1:
After a 6-week delay that almost ended my life from the waiting, anxiety, and boredom, I finally received an email containing my travel itinerary on a Thursday morning around noon. I almost burst into tears from relief and shock. My mind was going all over the place, lacking focus. I somehow managed to confirm my travel details, call my love ones, and announce the good news to my friends and second family (members of a group that I joined that kept me sane) on Facebook without losing my head. The whirlwind was followed by two days of packing, going-away meals, and hugs and goodbyes.
Thirteen hours after I boarded Etihad 150, I arrived in Abu Dhabi, UAE with another ADEC English Medium Teacher (EMT) named Laura whom I have gotten to know over the past couple of weeks and am happy to call a friend. A lovely Nirvana agent, equipped with an iPad and our names on it, met us at the gate and guided us through the entire security process - eye scan, passport and entry visa stamps, and luggage pick-up. At the airport exit, another Nirvana agent drove us to our temporary home, the Ibis-Novotel Abu Dhabi Gate Hotel. It was not the most glamorous of hotels but wonderful nonetheless. The check-in was easy as long as you don't panic over the fact that the front desk WILL, I repeat WILL, take away your passport and original, stamped entry visa and make copies of them for you instead. (Advice: Take these copies with you everywhere you go. You will need them to apply for, buy, and register for various things. Ensure that whichever company or agency needs them make copies of these copies. They keep a set and you keep a set.) The front desk is tasked with the collection of these items to hand over to Nirvana, whom will then pass them on to ADEC and other government agencies to process our residency visas plus other relevant materials. Upon entering my room, I immediately connected my Sony Vaio and iPhone to wifi (thank heavens everything worked), figured out that there was a switch for everything electric, Skyped with family, and posted pics on Facebook once again. I also exchanged about $30 dollars into dirhams at the hotel despite the poor exchange rate and chatted with a few EMTs at the bar of an Italian restaurant onsite. After a shower that took a while for hot water to come on but don't worry it will come on eventually, I slept a restful five or so hours. Darn you jetlag!
Breakfast time was always an excellent opportunity to meet people and figure out things to do for the day together. Upon discovering that the hotel provided a free shuttle to Mushrif Mall, a bunch of us decided to go there to get some essential to-do's done: {1} exchange currency (right now it's 1 USD to 3.66 AED - rate is actually negotiable especially if you're exchanging a relatively large amount of money like $500 or more), {2} buy SIM card for cellphone at either Etisalat or Du, {3} purchase prepaid data and minutes + SMS/text messaging (at Etisalat it is 100 AED for 1G of data a month, 40 AED for the SIM card, and whatever amount you want to pay for minutes [30 cents per min.] + SMS [18 cents per text] - I later found out that Du might be a better company to go with since it lets you roll over your unused data while Etisalat does not AND has wider, more reliable coverage but don't quote me on this; I heard this from other people), and {4} buy some grocery at Lulu's since lunch and dinner are not provided. We met more EMTs in the evening and had a delicious yet pricey meal at the Italian restaurant Gabbiano.
The next day some of us decided to visit Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. It is a place of worship and as thus one should dress conservatively, meaning women should have long sleeves down to their wrists and skirts/pants down to their ankles along with a scarf to cover their head. Don't worry if you forget to do so. The venue offers complimentary abayas with hoodies to wear in a changing area down the escalator. The Grand Mosque was immaculate, majestic, and breathtaking. Every detail was well thought out and no expense was spared - absolutely a place that one should visit in his or her lifetime.
On Wednesday evening, basically everyone was informed that we would get our medical check done the next morning, early next morning, like 6am for some and 8am for others next morning. Naturally, I got the 6am slot with half of the group and off on a shuttle we went. Our experience at the medical center would be best described as an organized chaos - the staff knew what needed to be done and we had an idea what needed to be done but it was the manner in which these tasks would be accomplished that came into question. My word of advice is be patient - don't act so eager and think that getting to the front of the line automatically means you're served first. Keep your cool or risk looking foolish and desperate like a little boy waiting for his first facial hair to show up. It's a "lottery" system so it's anybody's game. Just hang on to your ticket, look up at the tv screen that flashes the "lottery" numbers, and go only when it's your turn. Remember this is the Land of Hurry Up and Wait. Wait is inevitable. You either wait before or after so deal with it like nobody can touch you. Bring a snack, drink some water, listen to music. Be cool. Slowly and surely the medical staff will register your info (passport and stamped visa copies), weigh you, take your blood pressure, give you a general look over/consultation, draw your blood, collect your urine sample, and x-ray your chest. When the medical check is done, Nirvana will transport you to the fingerprinting and ID center, that is if they arranged for this to be completed on the same day as the medical. At this building, you will get digital fingerprinted and picture taken.
The rest of Week 1 consisted of visiting more mega-malls and hypermarkets, exploring the heart of Abu Dhabi City, eating at Lebanese Flower (a local favorite), enjoying some strawberry shisha, checking out the hotel's rooftop pool area, and going to Souk Qaryat Al Beri. The videos below capture more of my experience. That's all for now. Serving up Week 2 summary in my next post.
