Introduction

I am a little late in starting a blog about my recent move to Abu Dhabi. You see, I have been here a week already and I am actually slated to start work tomorrow. I will return to that later.

It all started when I lost my job as a teacher in the United States. The job wasn't ideal or anything so I wasn't too upset, but I wasn't happy about looking for a job either. Of course, jobs in the US at this time were few and hard to come by. I lost my job due to budget cuts and most of the counties around me were making cuts to. Since I knew I would likely not find anything close to home I broadened my search to nationwide. How then did I end up interviewing for a job in Abu Dhabi, UAE you might ask? Well, to be honest it all kind of started as a joke. TeachAway Inc. a recruiting organization was hosting interviews in various cities around the US to help Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC) find teachers to come and work in their country. I found their link online during a nationwide search and started looking into it. Like I said, I wasn't totally serious about it and didn't expect to ever accept a job offer. I figured it couldn't hurt to interview and take some time off work, but as began to look into the offer and the UAE, it became more appealing. I would lying if I said that one of the major draws wasn't the money. I am getting paid more money here then I could ever hope for in the states. However, as I did my research the job become much more than a way to make good money.

I have always had a traveling spirit in me. It might not be as strong as others, but I have always had places I wanted to explore. I just never really considered living in there. United Arab Emirates wasn't even on my list, but it slowly became an experience of a lifetime that I could not see passing up. Most of my friends and family were open to the idea, but I have to admit that we were all a little nervous about me moving halfway across the world. The stereotypes of life in the middle east and their treatment of women were of no help, but thanks to Facebook, TeachAway, and the World Wide Web, theirs fears and mine were abated. Don't get me wrong I was still nervous about moving so far away from everyone I know on my own, but I was no longer irrationally worried about my safety, security, etc.

It was a long summer, but I finally arrived in Abu Dhabi on September 1, 2010.