Answers to Some of my Questions...and some!!!

Prior to leaving for the UAE, I had a zillion questions.  Many of them centered around misconceptions that I had of what it would be like to live in a Muslim-centered culture.  Many of them derived from judgments I had made of the Middle East based upon what we see of Muslims in the news (especially since 9-11).  Many of them came from my own insecurities about leaving everything I knew.  Heck, I'm the one who made the decision to go to a university thirty minutes away because as my dad wisely summized: "the umbilical cord just won't stretch from Northern California to UCLA!" So, approximately four months later, I sit here in Abu Dhabi and am able to answer with knowledge many of the questions which once kept me up late into the night.

Random Before AD Thoughts1. Will some poppy seed land on my luggage in some connecting airport causing the UAE police dogs to smell opiates on my person and put me in jail? (random, but happened to a British traveler when poppy seeds from a bagel that he ate while at Heathrow airport landed on his laptop case)  Interestingly, I made it through the airport without even one person even checking my medications. I wasn't even sure my Advil was going to get through.  There was one nerve-racking moment when we did the eyescan.  My new friend at the time, Andre, and I nervously joked that we were entering some scientific experiment and now they had our data and we would be cloned or something of the sort. 
2.  How many people might I unknowingly offend by crossing my legs when I sit? (we have been instructed to sit with our feet planted on the ground as it is offensive for the sole of your shoe to be showing to another person) I don't even think about whether or not I am crossing my legs! I just do it. I do, however, make sure to not expose the sole of my shoes to anyone.  To do so is definitely considered an insult.  In fact, one of my fellow teachers and friends, Tawnee, had a student take off her shoes and throw them at her: a major offense. 
3.  Will I ever be able to eat with just my right hand?  If we can only eat with our right hand, how are we supposed to cut our meat?  Perhaps, the rule only applies to eating with your hands??? (As eating and especially eating meat is near and dear to my heart, I really must look into this one).  Here's another rule that I rarely think about.  However, I'm usually eating at the Abu Dhabi mall with Westerners or ordering Lebanese food with fellow ex-pats.  Even amongst my Muslim friends, I'm not really cognizant of eating with my left or right hand.  Perhaps, I need to mingle more with the locals, throw the utensils to the wind, and then re-visit this one!!!
4.  Will I connect with the twelfth grade girls of Abu Dhabi?  (At least I'll never have to worry about or spend instructional time sending a girl to the office due to a dress code violation like wearing a short skirt, a skimpy tank top, or an offensive t-shirt as they will all be in burkas).  If there's one thing which keeps me here, it is the girls. They are amazing. There isn't a day in which a student doesn't run to carry my books or tell me how beautiful I am or tell me that "thank you" for something.  In fact, on my birthday, I walked into a full-blown surprise party.  The girls showered me with homemade confetti and silly string and lots of hugs.  They sang happy birthday to me in Arabic and in English.  They brought in a cake and homemade goodies.  And, if that wasn't enough, they bought me a piece of bling: a watch which I rarely take off these days.  It was one of those moments in your life in which you just step back and try to take it all in.  I have students from all over: the Sudan, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Palestine, Egypt, Oman, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Morocco.  One thing that binds them is that they are Muslim; and, to some, one might think their Muslim identity was the one thing that separates them from myself.  It never feels like that.  It just isn't like that.  In fact, we use the basis of our spiritual faith (love for one another) all the time; and, in that moment, I just wished that those people in the US who believe Muslims are terrorists, etc. could feel what I felt in that room: a purity of spirit and a genuine sense of love and appreciation for one another.  Isn't that what its all about anyway?
5.  Do they sell Diet Mountain Dew over there? Onto the major negatives in my life...there is NO DIET MOUNTAIN DEW in the Middle East.  I have told all my friends here that if they ever run into diet mountain dew, they must buy me a case and deliver directly to my door!!!  The first thing I will do when I land in the US is head to the closest Circle K and down a 2 liter.  Do not pass go; do not collect 200.  I will be on a "do the dew" mission.
6.  Will I ever see One Life to Live and General Hospital again?  (Sad, yes, but in all honesty, I do worry about this.  I need at least a fix of such mind-numbing television once every six months in order to keep abreast of my peeps).  I probably won't see my soaps for a very long time.  However, on the bright side, I do periodically put the Young and the Restless (a soap I barely watched at home) on as background noise. I'm still trying to figure out if it is new Y & R or old. Victor just doesn't age, so it is hard to tell.  Also, I've caught up on all the crime drama I could ever wish to watch.  Oh my gosh, they must think the US is just a major cesspool.  At any time of day I can watch Law and Order or Criminal Minds or Burn Notice or Miami Vice!!! I'm also thrilled to say that Jimmy Fallon, Ellen, Oprah, and Jay are all on the tele here as is True Blood, Glee, Modern Family, Clean House, and the survivor series with my man Bear!!!
7.  If I feel like I'm melting when it hits 105 degrees, how am I going to handle 115 plus degree heat?  If it is this hot outside, will I ever be able to keep my make-up on or am I going to be sweating like a pig (poor choice of metaphor...pigs are off limits too) as I do when I'm down in Mexico? When I arrived in August, it was hotter than Hades.  We had a welcome teacher party on the beach one night and we all call it the Sweatfest 2010.  Since then, things have cooled down tremendously.  Actually, it gets down to 68 degrees or so and I'm freezing.  I can't wait for it to heat up.  By March, I should be feeling the heat again!!!
8.  Will I remember to refrain from hugging colleagues and giving students pats on the back, etc.? (In the UAE, such gestures are not done and are considered offensive).  I can just see myself now: extending gestures in which I believe are endearing when all the while, I'm offending colleagues and superiors left and right!!! Wow, I'm so oblivious that I don't even stop to think about this one.  I have students hugging and kissing me all the time.  I give pats on the back.  Hmmm...I now have to wonder: how many people have I actually offended?  I guess you can take the girl out of California, but not the California out of the girl.
9. Do camels really spit?  Can you actually bet on the camels at the camel races?  And, if so, is the betting similar to the track here?  If so, I'm all over the 20 dirham quinella box!!! I have only seen two camels in person and I don't think they really count as it was from the car on the way to Dubai.  It is weird though.  Just like in the US how there are cows along the freeways, there are camels here.  I really do need to get myself to a camel farm and to a race.  I have watched camel racing on television.  They ride without jockeys (I guess children used to be the jockeys, but that has been outlawed).  I believe betting is "haran" (forbidden), but what's the harm in a little side betting???
10.   If I choose to read Kathy Griffin's autobiography on the plane ride over to the UAE, will it be confiscated upon arrival due to its content? Kathy made it!!! Also, the bookstore sells non-fiction novels written by Arab women detailing their stories (many of which include heart-breaking tales of injustice toward women).  These books are not kept on some back shelf; rather, they are front and center. Granted, I live in what I call the Disneyland of the Middle East.  It really is a melting pot of cultures and, for the most part, I am taken aback at how we all seem to get along and appreciate the differences as opposed to use those differences to build walls amongst us.

Teaching in Musaffah

Teaching in Musaffah has to be the best professional experience I've ever had.  Even despite fighting off every single new germ that has been tousled through the air conditioners, I've absolutely been blown away by the hospitality of my fellow Arabic teachers, my advisors, and the LT's who have been at the school since the previous year.  When I changed careers, I loved walking the hallways of the school and grabbing a cup of coffee and entering the English office and overhearing my colleagues (Amelia, Shelly, Carole, Krista, Colleen, Lynn, and many wonderful others) talking passionately about students, teaching, administration and administrators, Shakespeare, Holden Caulfield, and everything in between.  Now, my love for international flair and mystique has been thrown into the mix as I walk in to my new English office and I look around and one Arabic teacher is praying, the other is surreptitiously surfing the internet, and another is thinking of what new Arabic phrase to teach me for the day.  Additionally, where in the U.S. do the high school students treat their teachers like they are rock stars (i have no question mark left on my computer...is that a sign that I should stop questioning things so much).  (along those lines, my enter button is broken too, so please forgive lack of paragraphs).  Where in the U.S. do students yell, "I love you, teach-a!" "I missed you, teach-a!" "You are beautiful, teach-a!"  Where in the U.S. do the students literally run to carry your books and greet you enthusiastically with a "Good morning, teach-a!"  I don't know if there is such a place.  Don't get me wrong.  I've learned that universally, high school students LOVE to talk and in this part of the world, they don't understand the concept of whispering and socially the dynamics of conversation are more animated and done with greater vigor than those who are accustomed to the Western mode and norms of communication.  For now, I'm thanking Allah, Buddha, God, and others for this opportunity.  Each day, I feel blessed to work with my co-workers and to be teaching English here in the Dhab.

Change of Mindset

Watching the international news this morning, I saw more evidence of how the images we receive of many foreign nations provide a horribly simplistic and negative view of the country itself and the people within.  For instance, if I didn't know any better, I'd think that Mexico was laden with gunmen and cartel members at every turn.  Thankfully, having travelled in Mexico, I know the people, the customs, and the culture which allows me to put those news stories in context.  It seems a very similar process is occurring right now with regard to the Middle East.  In America, we are inundated with negative stories of the Middle East and of Arabs and of Muslims.  However, this culture has a multitude of attributes which are endearing as well as gracious.  As a visitor in their country, I feel it is not my place to judge (even if I didn't like something), rather it is my place to understand, build bridges, and even embrace.  For instance, here, it is common for a businessman to walk out of a meeting in order to take care of his family and it is expected that other businessmen respect that family comes before business.  In fact, here, God, family, and then business...that's the priority.  It is deemed rude to engage in business without first inquiring into the other person's well-being, their family's well-being, or even perhaps just to exchange niceties and/or have a discussion about soccer.  Afterward, then you can ask the business related question.  This goes against much of which we are accustomed to in our fast-paced notion of: "We must get this done...and yesterday!"  Indeed, if commitment to God and/or family is necessary before business, then it is God and the family which will prevail.  I'm still trying to wrap my head around the concept.  I'm still trying to understand this as those of you who know me well know that I can be rather highstrung and rather headstrong (we'll get to headstrong in another post!!!).  I believe that this adventure will not only be one in which I travel to tourist sites and see sand dunes and such, but one in which I learn how to relax a bit, focus on what is important (such as commitment to one's inner faith, one's family, and one's friends) before getting "down to business."  In the end, I may just find my inner schway, schway.

Along those lines, today's agenda includes breakfast and chatting with colleages at the pool.  Indeed, we were instructed by the powers that be to enjoy the holiday.  Gone, it appears, are the days of incessant in-services prior to the start of school and, in its place is an explicit reminder to live each moment as it comes.  What a simple, yet profound lesson for us all.

Landing in Ramadan

I believe I have been here two days now.   I left in such a whirlwind that I really didn't comprehend the huge change that was about to take place.  It really didn't hit me until I checked into Etihad Airlines at O'Hare and I saw women in a variety of burkhas.  Stepping onto the plane was even a bit like walking into Lawrence of Arabia meets Southwest as the stewardesses donned hats with elegant looking scarves which covered half of their faces.  The ride was fine and the service fantastic; however, my seat did not recline.  Fourteen hours in the prone position and I felt a bit like a repressed pretzel.  Despite my ability to sleep anywhere, due to the prone-ness of my position and the anxiety in my head, I stayed up the majority of time.

Landing in the UAE, we were greeted immediately by ADEC (my new employer: the Abu Dhabi Education Council) and we received our visas, went through an eyescan, proceeded onto customs.  My Kathy Griffin book made it as did my bag of diet cookies and a trashy US magazine.  I breathed a sigh of relief and within moments was whisked upon a bus (where I actually did fall sound asleep).  I woke up thanks to a new friend's nudge and entered the land of 16 star service.

Since landing, we've had a few orientations wherein we have been advised of the ADEC vision for education in the upcoming seven years.  I find myself agreeing with so much of what is being said about the need for cooperative learning, respect, and fostering of the L1 (native language) in order to create literacy in an L2 (second language).  In the United States, school districts debate the latter agnosium despite the evidence that clearly states that if a student can't read and write in their native language, he/she will inevitably be unable to process and become literate in the second language.  This is why many schools do not offer Spanish for the Native Speaker, etc.  This is why our test scores our declining and this is why our ESL teachers struggle so hard to get the second language student to become proficient, let alone fluent.  Here, they have taken what we know about language acquisition and developed a strategy around the research such that, I believe they will produce students who can read, write, and speak in both their native tongue and in English.  This is indeed my passion and I felt like the wife in Field of Dreams in the school board meeting; although, this time I wanted to jump up and scream in agreement!!!

Landing in a Muslim country in the middle of Ramadan though has its drawbacks.  In fact, I've never been so parched in my life.  I've never had a bottle of water in my bag, be so excruciatingly thirsty, but then not allowed to drink.  Many of us take refuge in public bathrooms to down our water and take in a breath mint.  However, there are many pluses to this as well.  Who needs Jenny Craig or expensive spa treatments to lose weight? Just get plopped into the midst of Ramadan.  Who needs a 12 step program to refrain from alcohol and tobacco?  Just enter the world of Ramadan where from sun-up to sun-down, there is absolutely no drinking or smoking in public of any kind.  It certainly has kept me on the straight and narrow!!! Ramadan really does put Jenny Craig to shame.

All kidding aside, I'm truly grateful to be here.  Truly grateful for all the support I have from my friends and my family back home.  I believe that being connected to y'all at home helps me in those moments when I do feel like an absolute fish out of water and when I wonder, "OMG, what have I done?"  Thankfully, at this point, when I answer that question, I believe I have done the right thing and have ended up remarkably where I am supposed to be at this moment in time.  Inshallah.

Random Before AD Thoughts

As Abu Dhabi time is 13 hours ahead, I find myself calculating when the work day will begin for the people on the other end whom are hopefully expediting my Visa application and arranging my eticket as I type.  Since their workday occurs in the midst of our night, I find myself awake (on the blow-up mattress in the kitchen nook/living room of the coach, mind you) checking my email essentially all night long.  It is at these quiet times, when everyone else - including the dog - is sound asleep, that I wonder and worry about the oddest things.  So odd, indeed, that my need for a cathartic release (or, actually, a release of any kind at this point!) has trumped any desire I might otherwise have to put up a front of relative ease and togetherness.

Random Before AD Thoughts
1. Will some poppy seed land on my luggage in some connecting airport causing the UAE police dogs to smell opiates on my person and put me in jail? (random, but happened to a British traveler when poppy seeds from a bagel that he ate while at Heathrow airport landed on his laptop case)
2.  How many people might I unknowingly offend by crossing my legs when I sit? (we have been instructed to sit with our feet planted on the ground as it is offensive for the sole of your shoe to be showing to another person)
3.  Will I ever be able to eat with just my right hand?  If we can only eat with our right hand, how are we supposed to cut our meat?  Perhaps, the rule only applies to eating with your hands??? (As eating and especially eating meat is near and dear to my heart, I really must look into this one).
4.  Will I connect with the twelfth grade girls of Abu Dhabi?  (At least I'll never have to worry about or spend instructional time sending a girl to the office due to a dress code violation like wearing a short skirt, a skimpy tank top, or an offensive t-shirt as they will all be in burkas).
5.  Do they sell Diet Mountain Dew over there?
6.  Will I ever see One Life to Live and General Hospital again?  (Sad, yes, but in all honesty, I do worry about this.  I need at least a fix of such mind-numbing television once every six months in order to keep abreast of my peeps).
7.  If I feel like I'm melting when it hits 105 degrees, how am I going to handle 115 plus degree heat?  If it is this hot outside, will I ever be able to keep my make-up on or am I going to be sweating like a pig (poor choice of metaphor...pigs are off limits too) as I do when I'm down in Mexico?
8.  Will I remember to refrain from hugging colleagues and giving students pats on the back, etc.? (In the UAE, such gestures are not done and are considered offensive).  I can just see myself now: extending gestures in which I believe are endearing when all the while, I'm offending colleagues and superiors left and right!!!
9. Do camels really spit?  Can you actually bet on the camels at the camel races?  And, if so, is the betting similar to the track here?  If so, I'm all over the 20 dirham quinella box!!!
10.   If I choose to read Kathy Griffin's autobiography on the plane ride over to the UAE, will it be confiscated upon arrival due to its content?

If you're still reading, by now you have a glimpse into how this waiting has evolved into not just a holding pattern, but a full-fledged neuroses of sorts.  I think I have a long way to go before I master the art of schway, schway.  Nonetheless, I do look forward to finding out the answers to the random questions as well as to the more substantive ones that I have in the daylight hours!!!

Well, must run...have email to check...

Sleep well, my friends!!!

Schway, Schway

I've been told that "schway, schway" is Arabic for "hold your horses" or "be patient" or, as some might say, "chillax."  Presently, I'm doing my best to do whatever you'd like to term it at my parents' second home, or as we affectionately term it "the coach" rather (in real terms: a rather posh doublewide), in a retirement community of many "coaches."  On the bright side, for once, I'm the spring chicken on the block.

I was initially told that I would leave for Abu Dhabi sometime in August; however, much to my dismay (and probably much more to my parents' dismay), I am in a holding pattern.  It is now looking like I will be in the September 2nd or 3rd bunch.  Accordingly, I'm spending my days looking for bargain long sleeved shirts and ankle-length skirts at the various Ross, Marshall's, and TJ Maxx stores within a thirty-five mile radius.  Well, I can't lie, I'm also becoming intimately close to the laptop as I check my email incessantly for the golden eticket.

Like they say, if fish and family both spoil after three days, what happens after three weeks? Hopefully, the waiting will end soon, so I can get this adventure on the road.  I am so ready to do this and I invite you along for the adventure!!!  I will miss you all, but writing to you will definitely make me feel connected to all of you and it is my sincere hope that you get some pleasure from it as well.  And, who knows?  Perhaps, it may persuade some of you to actually come visit.