Anyone who knows me understands that I never do anything half way and my life's twists and turns become a roller coaster. It is not a bad thing, in fact I don't think being normal is very much fun. I already knew 2009 was going to a big year of change for me - I have found my soul mate and am getting married & I will get my MBA in May - and Tyson and I had talked a lot about possibly moving and going where the best career options were. Little did I realize that could mean the Middle East and living 7,589 air miles from Atlanta!
About 6 months ago one of my classmates told me about the U.A.E. and the opportunity that was there for pilots. Tyson and I talked about it and thought it would be great to be able to go somwhere and make enough money to pay off our enormous school debt. He posted his resume to a few websites and life went on and we sort of forgot about it.
Fast forward six months and now we are leaving tomorrow for his job interview in Al Ain. Most people have never heard of Al Ain but it is the fourth largest city in the United Arab Emirates and is approximately 1.5 hours from both Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Al Ain (meaning "the spring" in Arabic) is referred to as the "garden city" of the UAE. Approximately 10% of the population in the UAE are Western expats.(I stole that description from another blog...thank you and sorry). We'll get to catch glimpses of Dubai since that is where we will fly into, but I have a feeling we will spend most of our time in Al Ain.
I am as excited as a kid at Christmas, but it all seems surreal to me. The thought of leaving my friends and family for a few years and immersing myself in a new culture (especially one as different as this) is quite overwhelming. Also, if we decide to go our October marriage will be no more (think shotgun wedding) and we might have to live apart for awhile until I finish school. I have done extensive research on the area, perused message boards and other people's blogs and tried to gather as much information as possible. At first I was very worried about being a liberal strong-willed woman in an Islamic country, but the more I learn, the more intrigued I become. I strongly believe that you can’t judge something until you experience it - so Al Ain, here I come!
The things I have gathered so far are
- it is so hot during the summer months that you feel like your head is an oven and it becomes hard to breathe (120 degrees people!) but luckily everything is air-conditioned
- Al Ain is full of roundabouts and they each have a theme (thus the name of my blog...clever I know!)
- I don't have to wear the traditional dress or cover my face so no Abaya for me. I do know that even though you can wear what you want, you should be respectful of their culture and try and dress conservatively (so keep "the girls" under wraps).
- Western women are stared at... a lot. The more attractive or the more you reveal the more you get stared at.
- The cost of housing is ridiculous and you have to pay your rent a year at a time
- There is an IKEA in Dubai and Abu Dhabi - thank god because I don't think we will be bringing much with us if we go!
- The Emiratis (natives of the U.A.E.) operate on their own timetable and you can expect for meetings to start much later or to be moved around without much notice (Tyson's interview was supposed to be weeks ago but they just sent his flight information a few days ago). They have a word for it "Insh'Allah" meaning god willing or not everything is in our hands. I am working on getting better with my patience now!
- There can be different lines in government office for men and women
- There is a call to prayer five times a day and if you live close to a mosque you will be awakened to it
- During the month of Ramadan you don't eat, drink or smoke in public out of respect to those fasting and a lot of restaurants and businesses are closed during the day
There is so much more I could add but I have to get ready for the big trip. I can't wait to post my thoughts and reactions to our first trip there!
