Back In Dubai

I have been back in Dubai for a little over a month, and I thought now would be a good time to sit down and share a couple of thoughts on returning to my desert home.

I had a wonderful summer.  It was great to see everyone and reconnect.  I had many lunches, dinners, and down time with friends that I had missed for a full 10 months.  Thank you everyone for a wonderful summer.   It was great to see you all and spend time with you - the memories that we made will stay with me forever.

Too soon it was time to return to Dubai.  I was looking forward to returning to my desert home; I was excited for this school year to start and to see the changes that had been made.

The flight back was long, and I learned that U.S. airlines have sucky entertainment systems on them and to fly other airlines that are not U.S. in order to get a better variety of movies and music to help entertain on a long flight.

It was great to land in Dubai and know how to use my E-gate card and not have to wait in the huge passport line.  My luggage came off quickly; and it was refreshing to know how to catch a cab from the airport and tell the taxi driver where to go.  

As I was approaching Motor City I had a huge wave of homesickness hit me.  I realized that I was returning to my flat, but the cats would not be there.   Oh my the ache was incredible.  Where ever I land next time those little shits are coming with me.  I still miss and crave their companionship.  One lesson reinforce - pets are part of the family and need to go with you.

It was wonderful returning to a familiar place and setting.  The nerves, tension, and uncertainty  were all gone.  It was hard to adjust to the first couple of days.  But how fantastic it was to have internet and the T.V. already set up and working.  It was great knowing that I could just walk to Hertz and get a car; I knew where to buy milk and I could finally have some of my black pepper baked potato chips that I had been craving.  

It was wonderful to meet up with friends and catch up with them about their summer as I walked around Motor City.  The breakfasts, coffees, lunches, and dinners with friends was a great way to reconnect with my Dubai friends.  

The anxiety of driving was gone.  However, I started to cuss at the drivers when my car shimmed as other drivers zoomed past.  I had to laugh because I was cussing at the drivers in Colorado Springs for being too slow and polite.  I am much more comfortable driving this year than last.

Time was nice; the jet lag was horrible.  

Returning to work has been a breeze.  Knowing what I'm teaching has taken a huge load off of my shoulders.  However, with returning to work all of my time is being taken up.   

It has been nice to return to a routine of work, karate, yoga, and quiet evenings.  In another month the weather will be wonderful.   Plans for vacations have been made and the planning is starting.

This year I am concentrating on forming new friendships and building existing ones.

Over the summer everyone asked me if I was staying in Dubai for another year.   I got rather frustrated with answering the question without answering the question.   I thought I would be able to come back to Dubai and have a couple of relaxing months to make the decision.  No, the minute I returned I had people here asking me about my plans.   

Plans, what plans?   I have plans to go to Nepal in October, Thailand for Christmas, South Africa for spring break, and maybe a quick trip to Hungary at the beginning of December.  

Plans, some plans have been made; some are still not firm; it depends on the day.   So where in the world will Pam be next year?  In Dubai?  In another part of the world?  Home in Colorado Springs?  Working for Walt Disney World?  Who knows - I'm not even sure.  Yet, I know the gypsies blood has stopped itching.   

Stay tuned - there is more to come!   Life is an adventure!

Summer Reflection

I know that this post is supposed to be about my adventures in Dubai; however, I figured that I would share some summer fun and reflections about coming back to Colorado Springs after 10 months in Dubai.

As always, enjoy.

I was anxious about coming home after spending 10 months in Dubai.  I wasn't sure what to expect.  I knew that my life had continued and that the lives of my friends had continued moving forward and I wasn't sure how the 2 were going to match up.

The flights from Dubai all went off without a hitch.  There were no problems with connections, flights, or time.  I am hooked on paying a little more for the economy plus seats.  It was great to have a little more more and extra space to stretch out my legs.  There was no one next to me on the flight from Frankfurt which was wonderful.

I never got that feeling of "home" when I returned to my apartment in Dubai, and I was wondering if I would get that feeling when I walked into my house.  Nope!  When I walked into my house it was just my house not my home.  Of course - what was I thinking.  This is not my home.  It is my house.  It was not decorated with my items nor was my personality present.  It is Sam and Kyle's home.  They have it decorated with their belongings and personality.    A new adventure will be to discover home when I return to Dubai.

I have been spending the summer in the basement of my house.  I have been very comfortable if cool.  I  find that the basement is my cave and I have enjoyed nesting in my cave.  Sam hung the quilts that Audrey had worked so hard on completing.  The quilts are created out of t-shirts and sweatshirts that had belonged to my mother.  Seeing them on the wall has flooded my mind with memories and has given my cave a very cozy feel.  Thank you Sam for adding such a welcoming touch.  (I'm wondering if I can hire Sam as my personal decorator when I return home.  He has such an eye for decorating.)

I have enjoyed getting together with my friends.   No worries there.  We have picked up just where we left off.  It has been so much fun hanging out with them and catching up with there lives.

I was counseled by some of my Dubai friends about what to expect when I returned home.  Some of the info they shared was right on. I listened to them, and have taken cues from my friends and have shared about my life in Dubai when the opportunity has presented itself.  I have enjoyed sharing tidbits about Dubai and sharing in the reactions.

I remember my first day back when I was running around completing errands.  I was walking through Target and saw a cute patio set.  I stopped looked at it, and said that is cute and it would look good on my balcony, and it is cheap - it is only 245 dirhams.  Just as I was ready to put the patio set in my cart I realized that I was Target and not Carfoure, and that the price was in dollars and not dirhams.  I decided that 245 dollars was a little too much for the set and that I had no use for it.

I don't know how many times I have opened up my wallet and gone to the side that has my dirhams instead of dollars and have been confused between the 2 currencies.  My coin purse has 3 different types of currencies:  Dirhams, Euros, and U.S.  I'm sure the cashiers think I'm a real ditz when I dump out my coins and go through them to find the right one.

I have satisfied all of my cravings.  Within 24 hours of returning I had a green tea frappicino from  Starbucks; peanut butter M&M's; and a charro from Costco.   I think I may need a couple more green tea frappicinoes and another charro or 2 before I leave.

I had a friend ask me if there was anything that I was missing from Dubai.  My answered was, yes.  I am looking forward to having my Lebanese/Arabic brown bread, bread from Spinney's (I'm not too excited about the bread here I have to go to a speciality store to get good bread.) And I am craving Forino's black cracked pepper baked potato chips.  

I would  have thought that the emotional roller coaster ride would be over by this time.  However, I was taken by surprised by the ride when I returned for the summer.  I spent a couple of days wondering if I wanted to return to Dubai.  I was home seeing all of my friends and falling back into a regular routine of karate training, yoga, visiting with friends - and did I really want leave all of that again.  As  I processed through my emotions I realized that my home was not my home so I would have to find a place to live, and I would have to find a job in order to support myself, and really how often would I get together with my friends. Yes, it would be easy to roll back into the comfort of routine, but I chose to do something different.  I want to continue to challenge myself and to have the opportunity to see more of this incredible world.  

I am excited to return to Dubai.  I'm looking forward to another year of adventure and travel.  I am very interested to see how my emotions this year compare to last year.  Who knows what the next 11 months  will bring in my life.  Will I stay in Dubai for a 3rd year; will I move to another part of the world; will I call it quits to the international life style?  I'm not even sure of the answers to the choices that are ahead of me, but I'm looking forward to the journey.  (I'm not looking forward to the packing that I need to do in the next week.)

Stay tuned - another adventure is about to begin.

10 Months



 

I meant to write this post at least a month ago, and here I sit with very little time left to my first 10 months of living and teaching in Dubai.  First off; where did the time go?

 

Ten months ago I zipped up my last suitcase and made my brother stand on the scale to weigh all of my bags.  I cuddled the cats one last time and walked out the front door of my house for an adventure.

 

I never once questioned my decision to this process of teaching internationally until I arrived in Dubai, and then I wondered:  "What the hell was I thinking?"  I was the one that wanted the adventure and the opportunity to do something different.  I wanted change.  You know that old saying - be careful what you ask for - well, there is some truth to that saying.  I'm not sure what I was thinking when I decided to jump off the deep end, but it has been an incredibly amazing journey of both highs and lows.

 

As I look back on the past 10 months of my life all I can say is Wow!  What a year of growth, learning, excitement, and adventure. 

 

I remember waking up last August, after I was dumped in my apartment, making a mug of tea with my favorite tea that I bought from Colorado(now I can't even remember the tea - I have another green tea to replace it), going and sitting out on my balcony and feeling like I was in a furnace (the weather has become very similar to that time), and wondering what had I done. 

 

I will be the first to admit that the transition was very difficult and full of raw emotional roller coasters, but now I feel comfortable.  For the last couple of months I have felt comfortable with Dubai, and know I'm leaving for a couple of months.  I'm sitting here thinking, "What will the next couple of months bring?'  I am excited beyond words to go home and see everyone and cuddle with the cats, but what other adventures are waiting around the corner? 

 

I have learned some very fundamental truths in the last 10 months.  Here are some of them:

 

1.  Schools are schools wherever you go.  There will be things that you really like about each school and there will be things that you don't like about each school.  No school is perfect, no staff is perfect, no administration team is perfect.  Truth learned:  focus on the good and positive and move forward.

 

2.  Students and parents are the same wherever you go.   You will have great students and parents, and you will find not so great students and parents.  You will have to deal with the same issues:  homework not being done, formatives and summatives not being done, parents denying any knowledge of assignments, etc.  Truth learned:  Holding students and parents accountable is the toughest part of teaching, and you teach as best as you can and hope that somewhere along the line learning takes place.

 

3.  People for the most part are good hearted.  Sometimes I think we get jaded and we loose sight of the good heartedness of people.  I think about all of the people who have helped me through this year and I am amazed at their kindness and willingness to help in the simplest ways.  Many times throughout this year I've had to turn to total strangers and ask for help and their kindness has been heartfelt.  I have had to rely on strangers in each country I have traveled to and never once did I feel threatened or nervous.   Truth:  Humanity is alive and well.

 

4.  I look back at the beginning of this journey and I look at myself now and I'm amazed at what I have accomplished and learned.   I wanted an adventure and I got one!  I 've learned and grown the most from this experience.  I wonder how much I've changed; how much I've grown.  One of the most valuable lessons that I've learned is just how important it is to have the love and support of people, accept what others can give and in return give to others no matter how strong and independent you think you.  Truth:  no man is an island unto himself.

 

As excited as I am to return to The Springs for summer I have anxieties about returning.  Odd, isn't it? I wonder if my cats will remember me, I worry about whether or not I'll survive seminar and how much I have lost, I am concerned about that awkwardness of reconnecting with friends,  I wonder if I can still remember how to clean a bathroom (I haven't cleaned a toilet bowl in over 9 months),  I have to remember to pump my own gas (here they have workers that do that),  I know running will be challenging -  I'll be coming from maybe 10 ft. above sea level up to 6,700 ft.  that is going to hurt for awhile.

 

When I arrived in Dubai one of the first units I taught was on change and accepting change.  We read Who Moved My Cheese for Teens.  In that book their is a handwriting on the wall that states:

 

What would you do if you weren't afraid?

 

I have tried to live by that motto for the last 9 months, and I have learned that sometimes I am the one that holds me back from experiences.  I will continue to try to live by that motto for rest of my life.  Have I grown and changed?  Yes, in one respect - everyday is a journey, every day is a new adventure; enjoy and savor it because you will gain so much in the end.

 

Ready or not I am returning home for 2 months and regardless of my anxieties and worries I will enjoy and savor in order to gain.  Here I come.  And I can't wait to have a Green Tea Frappuccino - I haven't had one in 10 months and I just may savor it enough to have whipped cream with it.

 

See ya soon!

 

 

 



10 Hours in Beirut

 

What do a large chai latte, a breakfast sandwich, a bag of Reese's Pieces, banana chips, and a Snickers before noon have in common?   Beirut, Lebanon of course!

 

Ten hours in Beirut was a day full of adventure, fun, and drama.

 

The scheme came about through two friends who work in the library.   One of the librarians is leaving at the end of the year to go home so that she can finish out her public teaching career and gain her state retirement.  (Like I did before embarking on this adventure.)  She had wanted to see Beirut for awhile, and with her husband home making preparations for their return, she decided that now was a good time. 

 

I was invited to travel along with them for the day.  The invitation was extended; I had to make my decision and buy my ticket within 24 hours.   Another spur of the moment adventure taken up. 

 

LJ, the other librarian that went with, had made arrangements for a friend of a friend's father-in-law to meet us at the airport and be our driver for the day.  When we got through immigration and customs to the outside world - there was no driver.  We walked up and down the exit aisle a couple of times looking for our names on a plaque, but there was none.  That is when the adventure began.

 

Thankfully a wonderful lady at the airport tired to help us find a taxi driver for the day.  Luckily we stumble upon Michelle, an elderly gentleman, that we ended up hiring for the day.  We were a little uncertain about the guy at the beginning, but in the end he turned out to be a great guy that was very helpful and did a wonderful job of showing us Beirut. 

 

Our first stop was at the Grotto.  We did both the upper and lower Grotto.  The upper Grotto was fantastic.  The formations in the cave were breathtaking!  It was interesting to walk through the cave and see the formations while being dripped on by water.  The lower Grotto was a short boat ride  that was nice, but again was cold and wet.

 

Our next major stop was at Our Lady of Beirut.   This is a scared Catholic site that contains a statute of Mary.  The statute is on top of the mountain overlooking the valley and the bay.  The only way to get up to the top is by cable car.   Ugh!  I do not like cable cars.  I bit my tongue and held on for the ride.  It wasn't that bad up or down.  The car didn't sway too badly.   The view from the top of mountain was incredible!  We were able to see down the valley, across the valley, and over the bay.  It was cool to stand near the top of the statute and see the sites especially since an afternoon storm was rolling in.  Watching the fog come in and surround the area was mystic.

 

We then went to the Old/New City for dinner.   It was very interesting to drive through the old sections of Beirut; we got to see some damage from the civil war.  We were able to see the Beirut Holiday Inn which is now just a shell of a bombed out building.  We wondered if the people of Beirut just left the ruined buildings from the civil war because it was cheaper than to rebuild.

 

The cornice looked beautiful.  The area was fancy and looked like a gem.  We had dinner at a local diner called Abo Hassan.  We had a traditional Lebanese dinner of salad, tubal (sp), humus, bread, and grilled meat.   We had waited way too long to eat.  We stuffed ourselves.  The meal was very good.  And I'm glad that we skipped the sheep brains!

 

We made one final stop at the Hard Rock Cafe to buy T-shirts.  We hit a sale and made a steal. 

 

Then it was off to the airport to catch our departing flight back to Dubai.  Many of the officials at the airport were a little confused as to  why we only spent a day in Beirut.  We explained that it was due to flights schedules and having to teach on Sunday.  

 

Our flight back home was not crowded and it  was nice to be able to move to a row of seats and stretch out and sleep for the return flight.   We walked off the plane at 3:45 am and caught a taxi home.

 

Ten hours in Beirut - yup I would do it again.  The adventures that I've had this year have been remarkable.



 

 





K-9 Puppy Ball

 

 

It was one of those nights that just turn out to be fantastic.   And you wonder what happened.  It was the annual K-9 Puppy Ball.  The ball is K-9's largest fund raiser of the year.  K-9's goal is provide ever homes to dogs that have rescued or left by their owners.

 

It started out as a prim and  proper night where you checked in the mirror to make sure everything was just perfect.  The make up was applied just right; the dress hung just right; and the hair looked just right.  Then it was off in a taxi with friends to enjoy the night.

 

The evening started with a single glass of bubbly and ended with I don't know how many glasses or bottles.

 

The prim lasted through the delicious 3 course dinner.  Then all of sudden it turned to  fun.   Caroline raffled off her puppy cake,  we danced and danced and danced, we searched for numbers ending in 9 to win door prizes, and ended up next to a Ferrari.

 

How many glasses/bottles of champagne were consumed?  I lost count.  And I'm happy to say that the night was one of those rare nights were fun turned out to be fun and it was a time to let totally relax and let my hair down.  Then a taxi home at 3 a.m. for a morning of rest.

 

Yes, it was a magical night.





What the f***!  It took my card!

 

I have never been a damsel in distress.  Even when I'm in distress I don't play the damsel roll very well; I'll be the first to admitt that I never did learn the girly flirty ways of my gender and many times I've been left on my own to figure out how to deal with furstrating events. However, when I ran into a bump in the road on my recent trip to Turkey it was wonderful to get some help!  Receiving the help and support of others really reaffirmed my hope in humanity.

 

Turkey was fantastic!  I would have to say that visiting Turkey is in the top 3 of my adventures this year.  Did you know that the tulip is originally from Turkey?  I have never seen such beautiful tulips in my life!  The colors were striking!

 

My good friend, Wendy Walis, met in Istanbul for the trip.  It was great to see her and spend the time with her.  It was a great experience to share with her.

 

Istanbul was great.  To see the great historic sights of the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophie, the Basicilla Cistern, marvelous Chora Church,  and the Topkapi Palace was thrilling.  I love it when I stand in  historic places and I can feel the weight of the ages pass me.  It gives me goose bumps.  The Grand Bazaar was mind boggling.  The twist and turns of the shopping arena with the different sections was over load.  The Spice Market was not that thrilling.  Glad we didn't spend that much time there.  It was so enjoyable to be able to walk the streets of the Old City in the morning and in the evening.  Eating dinner on the roof top terrace watching the Blue Mosque and Hagai Sophie lit up was magical.  Istanbul was wonderful.

 

The Izmir area was beautiful.  The Aegean region was lush and green.  We had 2 days there to explore.  We walked around the city center and got  haggled by the sale guys.  Look at my leather; I've got great carpets to show you; I can give you a great price.  By the time I left Turkey I was sick of carpets, leather, and ceramics. 

 

Kusadasi was a jumping off point to see the great city of Ephesus.  Ephesus is one of the great ruins that need to be visited.  To walk the streets of  this ancient city and imagine the Romans that lived there a thousand years ago was historic.   Seeing the old pipe and sewer system that served the city was very interesting.  The public latrines were much larger than the ones we have today.  Many historians have made comparisons to the ancient Roman Empire and to the U.S. and how the U.S. is mirroring the economic fall of ancient Rome; however,  after seeing the Roman public latrines, I think we are  a little behind ancient Rome.  Ehpesus was a highlight.

 

Ah, captiviting Cappadocia.   I fell in love with Cappadocia; what a magical place!  The geolical rock formations were awesome.  The ancient carved communities by the early Chirstians were inspirational.  To see the work and dedication of those believers was heart warming.  The walks along the valleys was refreshing.  The early morning balloon ride was fantastic. Incredible is the only word  to describe Kale Konak, our hotel in Cappadocia.

 

"What the f***!  It took my card!"  I exclaimed as the alarm continued to blare.  I have used my debit card all over the world and I have never had any problems - that was until I tangoed with the ATM in Uchisar, Turkey.  I put my card in the ATM, and entered my pin number.   The alarm started blaring and  my card was gone.  After hitting the cancel button numerous times the alarm finally stopped. By this time I had attracted the attention of everyone in the village, and they were watching me.  I continued to hit the cancel button in order to get my card back.  Our tour guide started calling the phone numbers on the ATM; our driver started pressing buttons and hitting the ATM; other officail looking people came over and started to call people.  At last I have to admit that the damn ATM won.  I never did get my card back.  All of the phone calls made on my behalf came to the same conclusion - I wasn't going to get my debit card back.  A very long international call to ENT cancelled the old card and new one sent to Dubai.  (Infact when I got back home to Dubai my new debit card was waiting for me - thank you ENT for being so efficient).

 

Yes, I have never been or played the damsel in distress, but when the ATM ate my debit card I was a pissed damsel.  The help of the Turkish people in my crisis was so heart warming and touching.

 

I can share a wonderful outcome of this experience.  The Turkish bath, oil massage, and wonderful dinner I had that night was thoroughly relaxing!  Bring on the bubble, oil, and wine.  Debit card; what debit card? 

 

. . . And the adventure continues. . .

 

KHDA ?

At the beginning of this month my teacher friends in Colorado were all freaking out and getting stressed over the TCAP (Transitional Colorado Assessment Program).  I know that the state test is in a transitional phrase, but I know how public education works.  The Colorado state test will probably be in transition for years.  Anyway, my dear teacher friends were getting stressed over their yearly exam and the chaos it causes for teachers, students, and schedules.

I sat on my couch in Dubai smirking away thinking how wonderful it is that I don't have to worry about the TCAP this year.  Man there are times when life is just right.  I felt for all of my teacher friends, but I was extremely happy that I didn't have to give that damn test this year!  I had finally escaped!

Ugh!!   Double Ugh!!  Damn UGH!!!  Then I found out about KHDA.  Some of you probably saw the postings on my facebook updates.  UGH!  is all I can say as I tip my head back and shake it back and forth.  KHDA  the horror of every school in Dubai and the terror that is instilled in every teacher at every school in Dubai.  KHDA - Knowledge & Human Development Authority.

Yes, that "A" word  - authority!  KHDA is a team of current and former educators that work for the UAE government.  There job is to go around and visit each school and evaluate the effectiveness of the school.  They visit and talk to most of the teachers in the school.  they sit on your classes while you are teaching and take copious notes; then the "authority team"  ranks the school accordingly:  outstanding, good, fair, unacceptable.  

There was this massive build up to KDHA's visit with personal development days, department meetings, discussion of dos and don'ts, and just nervous expectations.  We had to complete lengthy lesson plans for their visit which include a clear objective that could be measured at the end of the class.   UGH!!!  At least the school gave us a lesson plan guide to use for KHDA's visit.  KHDA must be big stuff since I didn't receive a plan book at the beginning of the year and had to recreate my own, but on no!  When KHDA visits you are given a lesson plan template to follow.  I guess "authority"  carries a big stick. 

KHDA was scheduled to come right after we returned from Week Without Walls.  We had one day to breathe and then we were thrown at the "authorities"!  I spent hours before  leaving for Week Without Walls planning and prepping for KHDA.  I was at school late every night making sure everything was just perfect for the "authorities".

The day finally came.  The KHDA team finally arrived at our school; you could feel the suspension building that day.  Lesson plans were hung on the door and nails were bitten down wondering who was going to be first on their list.  The KHDA team consisted of 7 different members, I only got to interact with 1.  An elderly gentlemen from England who was assigned to evaluate the English department.  He came and observed on their first day here and then came back 2 days later to observe me again.  Was I good enough for the "authorities"?  We will have to wait and see if the English Department retains its Outstanding status.

Once the week ended we all gave a huge sigh of relief and then had one hell of a party!  Thanks GEMS for the party.  Then life got back to normal.

In retrospect  I may have been smirking that I didn't have to give the TCAP this year; however, I did have to sweat through KHDA.  Did I learn some lessons?  Yes, I learned that regardless of what KHDA thinks I'm a damn good teacher; I am always prepared for my classes; and I work hard at my job. 

Which would I rather do - the TCAP or KHDA?  I would pick KHDA.  Why?  My salary is not directly tied into how students perform, but how I perform as an educator which is what should matter.  Plus the snacks that the school provided for us during KHDA were wonderful.  I never got those types of snacks giving the TCAP.  During the TCAP  I had to hope some kid in my class didn't want their provided snack.  Also, we had a great party after KHDA - the school never threw a party for the teachers after TCAP.  Also, I learned not to fear the "authorities"  I can hold my own ground against any "authority", and I will know what to expect when they comeback next year.

Moral:  There are always people out there watching and evaluating what teachers do so don't spend too much time smirking at others.