Getting My UAE License

The "good"view from Living Room Balcony

The "good" view from Master Bedroom balcony!!

Yeah, sounds like I am not going to have much to say here...right?? Wrong!! This is an excruciatingly painful process for which there are no correct procedures listed. The web site tells you one thing, a teacher who has been here for a year tells you something else, someone else tells you something else, and then some know-it-all's "imaginary friend" is said to have followed a totally different path. Let's start it off by stating very clearly, "There are no addresses in the UAE". Websites tell you the general area but not streets and cross streets. Nada. You are shooting blind. I could not even locate any of the multiple offices I had to visit on my GPS or Mapquest. Welcome to my "new" world!!

This process started out by having to get my U.S. license translated into Arabic. I did this back in early August when I had the time. This involved getting into a taxi and asking the driver to take us to the Hamden Center. While sitting in traffic en route, I spotted a translation center with an empty office!! We were able to get 4 licenses, all from different states, translated in about 90 minutes at a cost of 65 dirhams each. This was relatively painless except for the fact that it was still Ramadan and we couldn't walk around carrying bottles of water in the 118 degree noon sun.

At that point it became a waiting game. Nothing further could be done without my Passport and Residence Visa. The problem is that once I have my Residence Visa has been processed, my NJ license is no longer valid for driving in the UAE. I was advised that mine was in on September 15 but could not deal with the other steps until September 21 so I ignored the emails and figured I would play dumb if I got pulled over.

I picked up my Passport and Residence Visa on September 20 and at that point had to visit a Typing Center to complete my application for an Emirates Identification Card. This involved 370 dirhams and a walking tour of my neighborhood. Remember I have no sense of direction, and though I could see the Typing Center from my 19th floor balcony.....yeah...I thought my apartment faced a totally different direction than it does. Michele and I got our exercise for the week. The good news is that all of that walking alleviated some of the "pain of unknown origin" in my left shin!! An hour later we had met up with Melissa and Bernadette and we all had our completed applications (in Arabic) and our receipts. According to the website, I have to wait to get a text message giving us the time and date of my appointment. This is NOT true!!

The next morning, Michele had managed to get off for the day but both Melissa and I had to switch around classes with other teachers. I left East Camel Funk at 12:15 and she left The Mangroves at 1:15. Michele already had her UAE license in hand by this point BUT had taken a taxi and had no more information on intersections than we had the night before. Since the ID office is only open Sunday-Thursday from 7:30-2:30 I did not have the time to get lost, as usual, I hailed a taxi and trusted him to get me there. Of course there are several offices in the city but none of the taxi drivers knows the location of any but the one furthest from the city (24 dirhams). Once I was there, it was a piece of cake. I groaned at first when I saw the LONG line....but I am a woman in a Middle Eastern country. I got to create my own line and I was the only person in my line. After getting fingerprinted and photographed, I was on my merry way. The ID will be sent to my non-existent at this point Post Office Box. I am told that the main post office will have boxes of thousands of ID envelopes for those without PO Boxes...InshAllah.

I hop into another taxi (26 dirhams) and go to the Traffic and Licensing Department. After trudging up stairs I swear are modeled after the Philadelphia Art Museum steps, I get my number and have a seat. After not too long a wait, I get processed, pay my 200 dirhams and have yet another BAD picture taken. I hop into yet another taxi and pay another 6 dirhams to get home to my apartment. Yes, I am officially a UAE driver!!

My UAE license!! And yes, that is a GRANITE counter!! Yeah me!!

 

Furniture and Appliances

My living room/ dining room/ bedroom furniture delivery came on Thursday (9/8) while I was at work. Another teacher's husband zoomed over here and got the delivery for me...and the keys from the superintendent. I had left the apartment unlocked last night for the deliveries BUT the delivery people shut the door!!! Unfortunately my bed and wardrobe are on the wrong sides of the room...oh well. My appliances came in pretty much one at a time though ordered from the same location. There are different warehouses based on manufacturer! Talk about a waste of manpower! There is a BIG problem with my cooker. I ordered an electric oven with 3 gas burners and 1 electric burner since the gas has not been turned on here yet. The order was written for the wrong unit so I have a fully gas stove with electric oven. I gave up arguing and went out and bought a 2 burner hot plate. My mattress was ordered from a different store and that was delivered Saturday night pretty much just in time to get ready for bed. All in all, it went well considering many people are sleeping on air mattresses. I will just completely ignore the non-operational hot water heater and the fact that I took cold showers for 3 days! Luckily cold water here is not exactly cold. Desalinated ocean water is delivered daily into underground storage tanks. My skin likes the water but my hair...not so much!

Living Room

Dining Room

My first king size bed!!!

No closets so you have to buy them

Read carefully.....Rubbish Hopper!!

The hallway...yes EVERYTHING is marble.

My kitchen, granite counters, wrong cooker and all....note my baby fridge on the right.

The students started school on Sunday (9/11) and I am teaching 10th grade and 11th grade Arts (low performing and/or not college bound). School is supposed to dismiss at 3:05 but there was an announcement at 2:15 in Arabic and that was it....the buses had arrived so school was over. This was actually the latest dismissal for the week, the earliest being at 1:15!!

After a couple of issues, my internet was finally up and running this morning!! I am feeling much better now! We have had some issues in the building, which is a non-smoking building....lucky I have 2 balconies!! A teacher on a lower floor was constantly finding butts on her balcony from smokers above throwing them. She had placed laundry on her balcony to drive and an item had been burnt by a dropping butt. Gross guys. But since this has been addressed we now have an issue with the fire alarms going off at un-Allah-ly hours. I went to visit a friend 2 floors below and came back to my floor smelling like smoke and I AM THE ONLY SMOKER ON THE 19th floor!!!!

The "Zone", my new schools, and my NEW apartment!!

Sunday was the first day for teachers and it was a “fun” day. We were told that we had to report to “The Zone” (the Abu Dhabi Education Zone office) for our placement letters. From there we were to report to our assigned schools. No time was ever given. Some people left this to mean whenever they felt like it. I was bumming a ride from a teacher with a rental car so I left the hotel at 7:10am. We had to take a number from an automated machine and mine was 143. The office had just opened at 7:15. 20 minutes later they were up to300.I did manage to get out fairly quickly so I hit Starbucks, apparently the only one in this country with no AC. From there, I decided housing was more important so I headed to the ADEC office. My friend Michele was just walking out with the keys to her apartment so I felt confident that I would as well. I will skip the details but, I did not leave with keys.

I got to my school, met my principal and assistant principal and was informed that an abaya is required in that school. As I am ready to scream, I find out I can wear flip flops…… works for me!!! After sitting around and talking to second year teachers, I made my way back to ADEC to try again for housing. I learned the meaning of the word halas and a gesture that would make NJ Italians proud. I walked out of there still homeless.

Monday night I received an email that I was reassigned to a school whose directions included taking the exit for “The Camel Race Track”. I quickly picked up a rental car and did manage to arrive only 15 minutes late Wednesday morning. The principal had not been told about the personnel changes and was understandably upset. In the end, I REALLY like the principal. The way home involved an interesting 106 km tour of Abu Dhabi’s highway system. GPS anyone?

The view from the front of Omamah Bint Al Hadith Secondary School for Girls

This is the end of the street that the school is on...gives new meaning to the word "dead end"!

This is the school. It is ABSOLUTELY beautiful.

The AWESOME news came Wednesday night when I got the keys to my wonderful BRAND NEW 2 bedroom flat. Take the chippie who is afraid of heights and put her on the 19^th floor, right? I actually managed to go out on my balcony. I was so proud of myself!!! I had a little issue with getting on the elevator to come down…I couldn’t do it. Someone had to come up and bring me down!! I did much better Thursday night. At this point my bedroom, living room, and dining room furniture have been delivered.   I do not have a mattress, refrigerator, washer/dryer, or range (called a cooker here). I will be evicted from the Yas Hotel at noon on Saturday. I am so glad I bought futons!!

The apartment complex has a rooftop pool and gyms (men’s and women’s) complete with Jacuzzis!!

1905 Danat Tower B

View from Living Room balcony

View from Master Bedroom balcony

Living Room

Master Bath....yes that is a bidet. Google how to use an laugh your assets off!

Master Bath...even has a built in head rest

Master Bedroom

Guest Room

Dubai

Saturday morning, my Abu Buddies and I set off for Dubai. We were aided on this trip by a wonderful ‘tour guide”. We started off at Geant Mall on the outskirts of the city, checked out a beach, and moved onto The Palm. For those of you who do not know what this is…google satellite images of The Palm. It is one of 3 manmade islands in Dubai.  We went to The Atlantis Palm, hopefully the location where Lauren and I will start out the New Year!! Yeah Me!! 

Entering the city

The Palm from the mainland

Atlantis-The Palm

Exiting The Palm

We visited Souk al Bajar, “souk by the water” and moved onto The Mall of the Emirates. For those of you who have been to King of Prussia Mall, the third largest in the world, the second largest is MUCH bigger. They do everything bigger here. After shopping in the REAL souks, basically holes in the wall where you can bargain for anything, we took a ride on a dhow. This is the way many citizens of Dubai still travel.  From there we moved onto Dubai Mall and The Burj Khalifah. This is the tallest building in the world. No I did not. The only reason I ever made it to the 87^th floor of the WTC is that I DID NOT HAVE A CHOICEW. I was there for a business meeting. I am afraid of heights.  I do have to say that it is impressive. The highlight of the night was the nightly water show held at the plaza between the Burj Khalifah and Dubai Mall. Well, that and the pink Ferrari!! 

Burj Al Arab

Inside Souk Al Bajar

Snowball fights in 105 degree heat! Mall of the Emirates.

Toboggan Run

Tell it like it is....

Burj Khalifa from afar

Dhow rides

From the dhow

Burj Khalifa

Dubai Mall, Souk Al Bajar, and Burj Khalifa "courtyard"

Water Show at Burj Khalifah

Pimp My Ride

My new car.....pink Ferrari!!!!