Episode # 5 Moving to Dubai

After much conversation, packing, planning, residency visa documents etc...we finally flew to Dubai on August 21st.  Thanks to Pete and Somer for letting us take over their basement for the last 2 weeks we were in D.C. 

As we boarded a flight at Dulles Robbie recognized his future colleague, Amy Carey, and her family.  Amy and Ryan lived in Kuala Lumpur for a number of years and then moved to Baltimore while their two boys, Ethan and Grant, were young.  Now that Ethan is in kindergarten and Grant is in 4th grade they are moving the family to Dubai!

The first flight got us to Frankfurt and a five hour lay over.  8am in the morning in Frankfurt airport and the only thing to eat was frankfurters and beer? 

Our second flight dropped us into the desert heat of Dubai.  After completing visa processing and picking up all our bags/boxes we were greeted by the Superintendent of our new school (Dubai American Academy) as well as several other school administrators, quite surprising as our flight landed after midnight!

It has been interesting to arrive during Ramadan, a yearly practice in which participating Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking and during daylight hours, (with the desired outcome of patience, humility and submissiveness to God).  Restaurants did not open until dark for nightly Iftar buffets.  We have now entered the Eid al Fitr holiday, the end of Ramadan.

Everyone at the school has been wonderful and extremely welcoming.  We are really enjoying spending time with all the other new teachers who have a wide range of teaching, travel and life experiences.  Some days we feel great and some days we feel overwhelmed, but all in all we are really excited about our time here and look forward to starting school!

Some initial observations...

1. It is hot.  It is as hot as the hottest day in DC ... day and night.  The breeze feels like hot air dryers blowing at you.  People keep reminding us that this is as hot as it gets here and as the school year progresses it gets more hospitable.  Most people say that late September is the breaking point. 

2. Dubai is extraordinarily diverse.  There is every race, religion, and nationality here.  In the mall you'll see West Africans speaking french, next to scandanavian kids with bright blond hair, next to chinese and phillipino, next to Indians, Bangaladeshi, and Pakistanis.  It's really fascinating and amazing to see so many groups living here. 

3.  Things aren't as expensive as we thought.  Food prices are only high if you buy imported stuff.  Clothes, and electronics etc all seem to be the same as US prices.  Taxis here are cheap which is good since we don't have a car and won't be getting one in the near future.... although I keep eyeing up the Range Rovers (way out of my price range!!) 

This week is the Eid holiday so we are setting up our classrooms/offices, going bowling, going for a bus tour of the city organized by the school, going to the Sheik Mohammad Cultural Center, the bank (not as cool), the beach tonight for my first dip in the Persian Gulf, going to dinner at Lucy's house... and whatever else we can come up with.  Next Monday all the returning teachers will be back as we gear up for the school year.

More soon about our first impressions, but here are a few pictures from our apartment.

view from our balcony. sun setting over the ski hill at Mall of Emirates

View from our rooftop pool area of the elementary side of the school

pool is refreshing even though a touch warm

view of the field and High School & middle school. big school of 2,236 kids!

Living room.  came with some bright couches! 



Entry way with our new ikea additions, two shelves and nice rug



View into the kitchen. We have a balcony off the kitchen

This is the view towards the ocean from the top of our apt. The Burj al Arab is on the left.

our new bedroom.  The 2nd bedroom has become a bit of a storage space for now.

strange man on strange colored couch

The tallest building in the world is faint but there through the haze. The humidity and dust causes the haziness but this goes away in the winter time. 

Jenn on the balcony.

 

Episode # 4 - The Wedding!

Returning from the Olympic Mountains several days after the fourth of July we realized we were just a few weeks from the wedding.  Amy's house (Jenn's mom) became the location for wedding headquarters with the kitchen table serving as the crafting table where Amy assembled the programs, family tree, gift bags, and other bits and pieces. Jenn and I met with all our wedding vendors in the run up to the wedding.

On Tuesday of the week of the wedding, guests began arriving from England and Miami and the week of festivities had begun!

We had a WONDERFUL wedding and Jenn and I were so happy to have friends and family from all over the USA and the World joining us for our big day! Thanks to everyone who made the journey!  Here are a few of our favorite photos!

Episode # 3 - The Pacific Northwest

The upside to crashing the car was that we arrived a week early in Seattle, giving us some time to help Amy with her house, cleaning up the yard etc.

Our first West Coast stop was at Allison and Jesse's wedding outside of Wenatchee WA.  They had an incredible location having rented out an entire state park.  The ceremony, food, dancing, and camping were all amazing!

sweet ceremony

The site sat in a spectacular valley with the campground just up the road

View from the dance floor

lots of dancing... "total eclipse of the heart" brought out some impressive interpretative dance

Jenn with the beautiful bride 

The next morning the campsite was very very quiet as the party went on into the wee hours of the morning.  Jenn and I packed up the car and headed back to Seattle where we switched cars and jumped on the ferry from Edmonds to Kingston.  Mountains to ocean all in one day. 

The trip across the sound takes about 35 minutes and drops you in the town of Kingston.  From there we drove to the Gretchen's parents house in the small town of Hanesville, WA.  The house has one of the most amazing views ever!  It looks out over the small neighborhood, the marina, the Cook Inlet and the Olympic Mountains! Thank you so much to Mr. and Mrs. McAllister for hosting us for the Fourth of July and letting Kurt and I shoot Roman candles at each other on the street.  

Hot babes on the deck. 

Our next stop was the Olympic Mountains which was about a two hour drive from the McAllister's house. We drove up Hurricane Ridge which is a long and winding road that snakes up the valleys and onto the steep mountain ridges in the Olympics.  The views kept on getting better and better as we ascended.  The honda did well getting us  up there.  We took a 2 mile hike up to the top of Hurricane Hill. At the top we could see Victoria, BC, Mount Baker, the Olympic Mountains, and the Cascades in the distance.