Taking a Taxi in Dubai

I remember my first couple of days in Dubai, and learning very quickly how to access the taxi system here.  (Remember I have not been here long as it is, but it seems like a life time.)  I will admit that the taxi service is exactly like like what I read and was told about.  It is a quick and relatively inexpensive way to get around Dubai.

I still use the taxi system whenever I go out with friends and there is a possibility that I might drink.  I do this because Dubai has very strict drinking and driving laws - plain and simple do not do it!

On my first day in Dubai I had one of our security guards call a taxi for me.  He was very nice to do that.  I had to have a taxi called for me because my phone was not working (it takes 24 hours for you sim card to get uploaded before you can use your phone).  The good thing about the taxi service here is that they call you when they arrive to pick you up so that you don't have to stand out in the hot sun. 

My first taxi ride was to Ikea, of course where else would I go.  I learned 2 things on that first taxi ride.
1. taxi's drivers in Dubai are crazy.  They drive like maniac's and don't pay attention to the speed limit.  I have been in taxis where lights are flashing, buzzers are buzzing, and a voice actually says. "Slow down you are going to fast."  Always buckle you seat belt in a taxi.  (Always buckle your seat belt in Dubai it is not just the taxi drivers that are crazy drivers here.)

2.  The taxi drivers here don't always know where they are going or where to go.  Many times during those first days the taxi drivers would enter my apartment complex in a different way than I was familiar with and I wouldn't be able to tell them how to get o my apartment.  Needless to say I spent some time going round -n-round in the round-abouts to find our way to the destination.

3.  Make sure that you know where you want to go.  I asked to go to Carrefour on one of my first days with knowledge that there are many Carrefours here in Dubai.  When I gave my destination the taxi driver said which one; my reply - the closest one.  "Which one there are many in Dubai,"  so the closest one wasn't good enough.  I finally told him the Mall of the Emirates which I pulled out of my head at the last minute.

Taxis can be quiet an adventure here in Dubai.  Make sure that you know your specific destination, and possible how to get there in order the taxi driver doesn't know how to get there.  Buckle your seat belt, and when appropriate hang onto the overhead handle for those fast, sharp curves, and know some different ways to get home.

The other night I took a taxi to Tecom to meet up with a friend.  I took a taxi because there was a possibility of adult beverages being consumed.  When I told the taxi driver to take me to Tecom he asked me which way. My comment to the taxi driver was, "Why am I paying you to take me to Tecom when I have to tell you how to get there; I could have driven myself."  Four weeks ago I'm not sure that I could have made that comment.  Progress has been made, but taxis still have their purpose especially if drinking is involved.

Washing Clothes in Dubai

 

 

Washing clothes in Dubai is quite interesting.  Learning how was clothes here is an entirely new skill that requires constant practice, and once you think you have mastered it, it changes.  Below are the steps to learn how to wash your clothes in Dubai.

 

1.  Stare at the washing machine.  It is easy to pick out.  It is the big white appliance in the kitchen with a round transparent door and lots of different buttons.

 

2.  Stare the washing machine again.  Walk closer to the thing and start to examine the buttons on the front panel.  Squint your eyes and examine the buttons again and try to make sense out of them.

 

 

3.  Stare at the washing machine and the buttons again, and even attempt to press some of the buttons and turn the knob.  Shake your head because none of the buttons make sense to you.

 

4.  Stare at the washing machine, examine the buttons, shake your head, walk away, and then start asking other people questions about how to use the dang thing because you can't make heads or tails out of it.

 

5.  After receiving verbal directions:  such as never use the dryer because it leaves your clothes wet and wrinkled anyway, turn the knob to off first in a counter clockwise fashion, put the fabric softener in the first compartment and the detergent in the second compartment, and press the start button.

 

6.  Stare at the washer, pull out the draw and recognize both compartments, turn the knob, and walk away.

 

7.  Attempt to use the washer for the first:  ask a friend to come and help you; put the clothes in the washer, fill up compartment 1 with fabric softener; fill up compartment 2 with detergent; close the door; turn on the switch so that the washer gets juice; turn the knob to off counter clockwise and then to the desired setting; press the start button; cross your fingers and hope that everything goes O.K.

 

8.  Immediately turn off the washer when the floor starts to flood.

 

9.  Call the 24 hr maintaince people to come and fix the washer (which entails them connecting the hose to the water hook up; really shouldn't that have been done when the washer was installed, but hey this is Dubai).

 

10.  Repeat the same procedure again keeping your fingers crossed.

 

11.  Success with minimal water on the floor.

 

12.  Continue to wash clothes in this fashion until you are given a set of printed instructions from another friend.  (Again would this not have been helpful when I arrived here, but, hey this is Dubai.)

 

13.  Learn how to wash clothes all over again by knowing what the buttons mean, and which is the proper setting to use with your clothes.

 

14.  Never use the dryer.  At this point it is too confusing to figure out. 

 

15.  Hang your clothes outside on a drying rack; hey this is Dubai, they dry almost immediately from the hot sun.

 

16.  Keep contemplating who wonderful it will be to have clothes dried in the dryer when you go home next summer.  (Ironic sense I was looking high and low for a clothes line to use in order to save on electricity and to be more green.)

 

17.  Start contemplating on attempting to try the dyer.

 

 





Jet Lag

 

 

  This is going to be about jet lag or should I say Zombie for a week.  I have been very fortunate in my life to be able to do a lot of traveling, and to go to different countries around the world.  I have had to deal with time changes before, but OMG this was like nothing I had experience before.

 

I have traveled across the International Date Line a couple of times, and it seems that I was able to adjust to the time difference much easier than I did here.   Maybe crossing the International Date Line  is easier to adjust to since you just loose a day and you really don't have to adjust to the loss of time.

 

Traveling to Dubai created a 10 hour time difference from Colorado, and it took a good week to adjust to the time here.  And it just wasn't me.  All of us were dealing with the same issues/symptoms. The symptoms created a Zombie for a week.  I was incoherent;  I wasn't able to sleep at night; I forced myself to stay up during the days and still couldn't sleep at night; my comprehension and focus was not normal; and my ability to think clearly was effect. 

 

Looking back now after 4 weeks I wonder how I survived that week.  Everyone I talked to had the same issues.  We were not sleeping at night and trying to stay awake during the day.  It was complete irony that I was dead tired and only sleeping 2 to 3 hours at night - then I was wide awake at 2 o'clock in the morning.  It was tough.

 

After a week things started to adjust back to a normal pattern.  One night I was able to sleep for 2 hours, the next night 3 hours, the next night 4 hours, and then I left Zombie land and settled into a normal sleeping pattern.

 

I am still wondering if the sleeping pattern adjusted itself as my body got use to Dubai time or if I finally went and brought a mattress pad at Ikea for my bed.  Perhaps that is another topic for a blog.

 

I am sure that you are all happy to know that I am no longer a Zombie, but I am back to my normal self and trying to adjust to life in Dubai.

Reflection:

As I sit here watching the sun go down behind the apartments, and listening to the T.V.  I realize that today marks 3 weeks since I left Colorado Springs for my adventure in Dubai.  Is it really only 3 weeks; it seems like a life time ago!

So much has happened in those 3 weeks.  I left behind a house, 2 cats, family, friends, and everything familiar for a new life.

The flight over was great.  I paid less for my extra baggage than I was expecting; I got upgraded to an exit row seat, and had as much free wine as I wanted.  The flight was easy.

I arrived in Dubai close to midnight on Monday night and the learning curve began. 

My first day in Dubai I had to walk to the grocery store and do some shopping; walk back in the hot heat half asleep and tried to function.  I had to figure out the cab system on my first day.  I hit the pavement running.  (The cabs here are wonderful and not too expensive.)  I had to work on setting up an entire new apartment, and deal with being dumped in a new country without any contacts.  (This was the worest part, and I'm still upset about being left alone for 2 days - not good.)

Then the group of new hires started to gel together.  And we quickly grow into a co-hesive group realizing that we were all in the same boat.  Over the past 3 weeks groups and friendships have formed which is natural and to be expected.

The school is totally over the top.  We have a planterium, an Olympic size pool, track, tennis courts, skate boarding ramps, a 3-D design shop, and so much more.  This isn't just a school it is facility like none other that I've seen! 

There are so many experiences that I want to talk about separately in other posts.  I am just including highlights here.  I have had to lean a new monitary system; how to use the washing machine, which floods when the the hoses are not hooked up; how to expect the light switches to be on the outside of the rooms, to turn on the outlets before I use an applice; how to get T.V. and internet hooked up; get help setting up my router; wrestling with a mattress pad; making numerous trips to get items up to my apartment; finding where to get rid of my garbage (which took me half a day to figure out); how to get/hire a car and to start driving in a new place.  And asking lots of questions.

I have met great people that are fun to hang out with and to do things with.  I'm still trying to form new friendships and that will take time.  It is weird to have to try to feel comfortable in my skin in a new place.

After 3 weeks I can tell you this is definitely the adventure I was looking for, but not if I was ready for.  But it has only been 3 weeks and I've been told to expect a roller coaster ride for the next 3 or 4 months.  I am very proud of the progress that I have made; and I am slowly learning how to be patient with myself.

Stay tuned for more posts about specific items.  I promise they will be entertaining and insightful.  Tomorrow the students come back, and I'm looking forward to comparing my new students to my former students.

One thing for sure - every day holds a new experience and that is an adventure!