The Journey 2

So let me break it down...

Life overseas or whether the task of getting here is very adventurous. From the beginning to the arrival and so much more you will encounter things that are unusual, amazing, and challenging.

First there was the 14 hr trip from Chi-town to Abu Dhabi:

I meet new and interesting people. The Flight Attendants were dressed so nice in their two piece gray suits, and simple head wrap and a cute little hat. They were pleasant, helpful and full of life. We enjoyed two meals and several snacks and a limitless amount of drinks. The plane was HUGE. It reminded me of the plane in Queen Latifahs "Last Holiday". It had three seats on the left and the right and four seats in the middle (total 10 seats). Yes! Plane was 98% filled to capacity. A lot of individuals coming over to teach, enjoying a leg of their flight as well as coming home to Abu Dhabi. I met an interesting Lady heading back to Abu Dhabi from visiting her daughter in Chicago. She shared and shared and shared...yes, talked sometimes when I had headphones on and not even listening. I think she just needed to talk.

Abu Dhabi is a beautiful place:

The city is only about 25 to 30 years old. They have done a remarkable job building it up and giving it "modern" life. The architecture is "crazy - wickedly" beautiful (if that makes sense). Odd shapes, a lot of lighting, culturally relevant buildings, and modern classic ones. They drive worse then New Yorkers and DC folks but they get the job done. The money here is called a dirham. Today it is worth $3.67 per US dollar. For you known math folks that means if I converted $100 US dollars to AED money I would get 367.00 dirhams. It is a little easier to convert then it was when I went to Curasau! LOL!!! I have been to the mall. It is HUGE! It has four floors, broken into four sections and even has an amusement park inside. Yes! I said amusement park. No it is not like Six Flags, Kings Island, or even Walt Disney however it is big enough to entertain an host of young children allowing their parents both stress and relaxing...sometimes at the same time. LOL! It reminds me of a "pimped up" Dave-n-Busters. CRAZY!!! I will be exploring more later.

My Hotel - The ALoft:

Nice accommodations. Not as nice as the Hilton I stayed in in Curacau but it's nice. They took care of us. Nirvana Travel picks us up at the airport. Helped us get through customs comfortably and brought our luggage and bodies to the hotel. Very organized. Upon getting here the hotel staff took over and did a great job checking some 150+ people (some with families) with few glitches. Yes! There were a few mishaps and errors but overall I am comfortable giving them a 9 on a scale of 1 - 10 (1 being worse and 10 being absolutely the best). My room and great! King size bed, shower with glass surround and overall nice. Food is good (at least the breakfast I had). Not sure how much longer I will reside in a hotel. Should be getting my home placement soon.

I am so blessed to have this experience. I WILL NOT take it for granted! I am hear to work, nurture young minds and enjoy this chapter of my life. I plan to do it on a BUDGET!!! LOL!

Til next time