Settling in - the first months

Hi everyone. So sorry it has taken so long for my first instalment form the UAE. I have been thinking of you all and hope that you are all well. We are travelling well...I will do my best to update you on just about everything...

Housing – after about a month in two different hotels, we have been located to Hili, which is an outer suburb of Al Ain. The vast majority of teachers has been sent here, so there is a lot of opportunity to catch up and socialise. We also have many Emirate families in the area, so I am trying hard (much to their amusement I expect) to practice my Arabic. Our accommodation is a new three bedroom apartment. We have the kids sharing one HUGE room, which they are enjoying, Tony and I in a double-sized room and Tony's office in the smallest room, along with the clothes horse and anything else I can sneak in (also very good as a room for visitors hint, hint – it has it's own bathroom...get your tickets one and all). We have a playground just outside, which we use in the early morning and late afternoon and have just gotten the kids bikes as there are heaps of paths for riding. The kids seem to be enjoying their new place so far, although Finlay still calls it a hotel.

Clothing – Around town I cover my shoulders and knees; at work I where pants and a long shirt or long skirts and long-sleeved shirts. The Emirate teachers wear a black abaya in front of men, but will take it off during the day as our school has an all female staff. Similarly, at home with female friends, Emirate ladies wear their own clothes rather than the abaya. The abaya is black so that it is not see through. As one Emirate lady said, “I am wearing my pyjamas under this!” It could be very handy some mornings...
Emirate men dress in a long creamish attire with a head-piece – I have forgotten the name. Children wear anything at all. The uniform is very cure at our school – it has a mini tie for both boys and girls and is mostly grey and white in colour.
Weather – hot, hot, very hot. The air conditioning works very well. We are still waiting patiently for rain and when/ if it comes, I am sure we will regard it with the same wonder as snow and immediately run out and splash in it. The mornings and evenings are alright to go out in for extended periods of time, but it is still most comfortable if you are in the shade. The swimming pool s in the hotels got a very good workout, especially by the kids who gained so much confidence.

Language – I am trying hard to learn as much Arabic as I can – I test it out on anyone – not very helpful when a lot of people around the Hili area speak Hindi and English, but I am learning to be more discerning... I don't think I will be able to learn Hindi as well – My Arabic acquisition has been rather slow, but I am having fun trying. Finlay, Tyler and Bronte are having fun counting in Arabic and can say yes, no, please, thank you and general greetings. Finlay had just gotten a book with 1000 Arabic/ English words in, which he is just obsessed with.

School – I am teaching in a lovely school in Al Yaher – it is about a 35 minute drive from home. Patti, a lovely lady from Arizona has been driving me and another lady (also lovely!), Melanie, who is from Canada. The school is beautiful – it has lovely murals on every all. The staff have been SO welcoming. We (the seven licenced teachers who arrived there) have really landed well. It has been such a positive experience. I am mostly teaching a KG2 class (4 and 5 year olds) but have just started going into a KG1 (3 and 4 year olds) class for between 30-45 minutes each day.
Generally the Arabic teacher is in the class when I am teaching, which is fantastic as the children are attentive. When the Arabic teacher leaves however...let's just say I need to improve my Arabic fast!
We get the most delicious lunched each day, ranging from Arabic pastries to homemade meals – my turn is on Tuesday, so Tony is cooking up African Lamb (Thank you so much Tony).
We tend to arrive at school at 7 each day and leave at two. The children are there from 7:45 though to 12:15. We have an hours professional development on four of the days for one hour.
Finlay is at Al Ain English Speaking School – in Year Two! He seems to be coping alright and enjoying himself, especially the Arabic lessons. Tyler and Bronte are enjoying being at home with Tony and love doing work in their portfolio. Tony seems to have settled into a bit of a routine with the house and work, and seems to be enjoying himself too.

Hili – This is the area where we live. It is located almost on the Oman border. We can see the border and hop to travel across when we all have our residency visas for a visit – it is supposed to be beautiful. We walked to town (it took about 10 minutes with the kids) and had a lovely meal in a local lebanese restaurant. The food is so reasonably priced and plentiful. We might try the Iranian Restaurant this week.
There are a range of shops in the local suburb, ranging form paints, to steel works, to pets shops, carpentry and a hypermart.

Landscape – The sand is orange and plentiful. The sand dunes are amazing – we always pass these on our way to work. There are lots of palm and fig trees. We haven't yet been to explore the Oasis, Camel Souk or Zoo, so I will update you on that another time. The malls over here are extremely opulent. They have skiing, skating, indoor play centres with roller coasters and of course a vast range of designer and other shops. We are going to try and support the local hypermart in Hili as well as the smaller shops, which are so well priced.

Hmmm...I can't think of any other headings for the moment, so I guess that means I will stop. I hope this has given you a snapshot (more like a photo album actually) of our experience so far. I will try to post some photos next time – am still looking for batteries that will work in our camera.

Ma Salama!