Jellyfish, Souks and Shangri-La

Well, I was supposed to be heading out to Al Ain last weekend. Do you remember me saying something about 'desert time'.  Well here's another example of it.  I'm still in Abu Dhabi City, in the same hotel, waiting for some news that I'll be heading out.

The good news is that I've had my location and school confirmed.  We're definitely living in Al Ain and I'm definitely teaching at a new school called Al Jahili - I'm teaching on the girls' school side (they divide the boys and girls) and the last I heard, the school was still under construction - watch this space!

The other benefit of my continued 'waiting' is that I've had more time to explore this interesting country.  Emma and I decided that before we left Abu Dhabi we had to experience swimming in the sea.  We headed out on the bus to the Corniche and set about finding the entry to the beach.  We discovered the 'family beach' at a cost of 10DH entry.  Within it we found gorgeous sand, rows upon rows of deck chairs, changing rooms and lifeguards.  Shark nets surrounded the swimming area (comforting).  However, very few people were swimming...we wondered why.  In the 30 something degree heat we were ready to launch into the water.  The

first touch told everything.  It is like bath water.  However, for the 2 minutes we were in the water it was lovely.    Relaxing and strangely buoyant.  I mentioned 2 minutes - that's because I swam out a little and got attacked by a jellyfish.  Go figure.  To compare it to being attacked by stinging nettle is an understatement.  It really hurt!  Emma, my trusted friend, ran out of the water and got the attention of a lifeguard.  All the while I headed into the beach with smarting feet and legs.  The lifeguard confirmed that I would live and proceeded to spray vinegar on my wounds (note to self; carry vinegar at all times).  We decided we'd had enough and left.  We tried to get a refund, but were promptly told that none was forthcoming and were directed to some obscured notice warning of jellyfish season at the beach.  A good lesson in keeping one's eyes open!

So having overcome the jellyfish incident I decided to head out on my own the next day to visit a souk (a market).  Now that was an experience.  I took the taxi as I had no idea where to go.  The souk was great, although some of the stalls/shops were closed given it was Friday.  I saw a lovely dress to try on but was completely gobsmacked when the male assistant suggested he should come into the dressing room with me to see how it looked!  As I walked out the door he was still following, encouraging me to try on a variety of his wares!

The trip home was even more exciting.  I decided to brave a bus ride home.  I asked around and found which number and where to wait.  I waited in nearly 40 degree heat for around 10 minutes.  If I'd gone longer I would have passed out!  So I ended up on a bus heading towards Abu Dhabi Mall where I was to connect to another...or so I thought.  I hopped onto the bus and realised I was in a bus full of men and I was the only woman...and the only lightly tanned face.  On the buses here men are not allowed to sit at the front. Signs indicate 'ladies only'.  I had it quickly confirmed that I am not an equal in this society when none of the men shifted out of the female section for me.  When a local woman entered the bus however, they gladly obliged.  

I ended up getting off the bus at my stop and quickly discovered I was not outside the mall at all.  So after a few wrong turns and a few dodgy pieces of advice on the street as to how to get to the mall, a lovely Palestinian man showed me the way.  When reaching the mall I decided to get some cool air and have a look at the abaya.  A woman in a shop popped one over my head that was about 3 sizes too big.  When I stated that I thought it was too big she said "Oh no.  Just right.  Will take up the hem".  Of course it was more than the hem that required fixing - the arms were past my fingers!  She then set about hemming it and I asked her how much it cost.  She said 300DH.  Now that is 70DH more than she quoted to my friend the other day.  So I said I would have to go and have a coffee and think about it.  At this point she became quite upset with me and said that she'd already hemmed it!  It took all my polite perseverance to get out of that shop in one piece.  Needless to say the decision to get a taxi back home at that stage was the best one I'd made all day!

Recently we've had our medicals and police checks.  All smooth so far.  Given we've had these done we had a meeting where we were told our schools and location and that we would be moved to Al Ain on Friday or Saturday.  Today is Monday.  Go figure.  We wait.

So, given that we were supposed to be going on Friday, Emma and another LT and I headed out to dinner.  We went to a place called the Shangri-La where we ate at a lovely restaurant (our first on this trip) called the Noodle Bar (or something like that).  A magnificent two course meal for $33 NZ.  What an absolute treat it was.

So as you can see just navigating around this environment, the heat and the people takes a great deal of flexibility, perseverance and patience.  There's so much that is terrific here...and as with every place I guess you visit that is not 'home' there's the stuff that challenges.  I'm sure when I'm more settled in my own place with my family there to keep me grounded things will make more sense.  

I can't wait!!