Living the Travel Channel

First week of work – The college has a carefully planned out orientation schedule that covers two weeks. It has definitely given us a feel for what the college is about and how things work. The library alone has four new employees and one who started in February. We are all going through orientation together which definitely is different than going through orientation as the only employee in your department would be. We are developing into a close group through shared experience.

The director of the college gave a talk on Dubai and the college’s mission. Daddybird was interested and wanted to attend, so we asked if that would be okay. Apparently, this was the first time such a request had been made and they were impressed by Daddybird’s interest. so, he got to come to campus and listen in. It was a very informative time and we realized that we really did make the best decision in choosing this college.

Some of the other “newbies,” as the new employees are lovingly called, have expressed that there have been times when they wanted to pack it in and go back home. Daddybird and I have not had a single moment like that. We are very happy and are occasionally amazed by the enormity of the adventure we are on, but we are committed. My only fear is that we will be sent home. I won’t be able to relax until I have that residency visa in my hand. We miss you all and you are welcome to come live with us, but we won’t be coming back to the States anytime soon (of our own volition, anyway).

So, what adventures have I had this week? I am still struggling to find reliable transportation to and from work. Catching a taxi is hit or miss. I was late on Monday because I didn’t get out early enough and had difficulty getting a taxi. Daddybird is so cute. He gets up and gets dressed to go out with me to flag down the taxi (or to walk me to the bus stop). Taxis didn’t work so well so I tried the bus line. It is a short walk to the bus stop in the morning and the stop where I get off is right in front of the entrance to our apartment building. Daddybird and I went out together to the bus stop (the day of the aforementioned director’s talk), however we did not end up on the same bus. Here’s how it works. The first three rows of seats are reserved for women (actually they use the term “ladies” here) AND women are not allowed to stand. So, there is a maximum of 12 ladies on the bus at any one time. Men can sit in the back and stand in the aisle. So, when the bus came to our stop, the driver was only allowing ladies to get on because the bus was nearly full, but there were a few ladies seats available. So, Daddybird and I were separated. I got on the bus and he waited for another one. As the bus journey progressed, I watched as the driver would pull up to a stop where there were crowds waiting to get on and he would simply refuse to open the door or would open only half the door (for crowd control) and tell them how many of which sex could get on the bus. I shudder to think of how long some of those people had to wait for a bus driver that would finally let them on. Luckily, Daddybird was able to get on a bus eventually and join me at the college.

The bus works fairly well in the morning, but when I tried it in the evening – major fiasco. The street in front of the college is 2 lanes either direction with a fence down the middle to discourage pedestrians from crossing. This means that to get to the bus stop that will get me home, I have to walk all the way down to the intersection and back up to the bus stop, which makes it a very long walk. The bus is SUPPOSED to run every 20 minutes. The bus stop is one of the air conditioned ones, but it is still under construction, so no air. After my log walk to the bus stop, I waited an hour and 1/2 before a bus came. The bus stop is in front of a gas station and I saw several taxis going into the gas station to fill up, so figured I’ll snag one of those. No such good luck, since they were going off shift and did not want to go into Deira, where I live. ARGH! So, I tried calling a taxi, but the bus finally arrived and I got on because I did not want to continue waiting for a taxi that may or may not come in a timely fashion. I managed to get on the bus and pay my fare before the driver realized that there were no ladies seats available and I would have to stand. Luckily, one of the ladies was getting off at the next stop and convinced him that was good enough. That’s good, because after a couple of hours in the baking heat, mousy little me would have torn him a new one. I was not about to be thrown off that bus.

There are some other college employees living in the building, so I will be contacting them to seek a carpool or advice on how to get to work.

Thursday morning I needed to go to a different destination in the morning, so we walked over to a nearby shopping mall where it is easier to get a taxi. We were standing in a line of people politely waiting for taxis when three local women walked up directly to the front of the line as if there was no line and they were next. No one contested this and when the next taxi came, they made it clear that it was for them and away they went. After they left, a man (who by his accent was from a Slavic country) came to the front of the line to scold us for letting them get away with that. Where was he earlier??? Why didn’t he take them on?

The humidity has been significantly lower this week, which makes all the difference. It is still hot, but one can stand to be out in it. In fact, I was about an hour into my bus fiasco before I started to feel sweaty. This makes it easier for us to get around and I hope to explore the neighborhood a little this weekend.