As today was our first day back at work after Spring Break it's hard to remember that it is Easter Sunday for everyone else. Happy Easter to you all.
So this evening I went for my walk. I'm trying to go at night now as I would have to be up too early to get an hours walk in before work. I set off around 6pm and it was much busier on the track than it is in the morning. It was also much warmer and I got quite a sweat up. There are more westerners running at that time and they wear shorts and singlets. I still wouldn't feel comfortable dressed like that but will see how the summer goes.
Anyway, I'm walking around and hit the back end of the track and hear a choir singing. Alleluia! Alleluia! The sound was magical and I suddenly realised that it was Easter Sunday. Hearing the music and singing I wished that I was in there with them. So I'm enjoying the sounds but am amazed by the cars driving around, even onto our walking track!
The air was full of sound: a cacophony of horns tooting, motors revving, choir singing, the call to prayer blasting over the speakers, buses circling and people talking excitedly.
It was such a mix of noise that I could hardly walk for the distraction. I was drawn towards the sounds and wandered through the dark and sandy trees to take a look at the church. Sadly, mass was finishing when I arrived but I was treated to the spectacle of everyone leaving.
What struck me as absurd was the constant tooting of horns during mass. I could hear the singing but it was overlaid by this continual tooting, some prolonged, others short and sharp. During all this, the call to prayer blasted forth from the mosque next door. So visualise this, a mosque with a Catholic School between it and the Catholic Church. And both were competing for cliental.
I wonder about the tooting? Is it a deliberate attempt to provide a distraction to one or other of the religions during an important festival? It certainly seemed like it was. Most seemed to be from the empty buses and taxis.
I wondered where all the people came from for mass but as I spent half an hour at least just sitting on a bench waiting to cross the road, I watched and discovered most of them were Phillipino. That makes sense as a large proportion of the workforce here is from the Phillipines. And they are mostly Catholic.
As the traffic left, I sat and watched. It reminded me of the end of a test match at Eden Park or the Cake Tin. Except that no-one walked. Every person was in a vehicle, either car, taxi or bus. You wouldn't believe how many buses there were there. Jammed full. You have to see the number of buses on the roads here to really grasp the situation. Each company has at least one bus to transport its workers around. All the children go to school on buses. Then there's the public transport buses which we use to get around cheaply.
Most of the buses are small, around 20-30 seaters. They have a pull down seat in the aisle which they use, beginning from the back, when they get full. This means that there is no aisle so you have to exit from the front, row by row and lift the centre seat. Quite an experience. But I digress! So there are all these buses, hundreds of taxis plus everyone else has a car or big 4WD. Traffic circled the block continually with so many near misses. 4 lanes of traffic with a continuous stream trying to enter the lanes from two exits. All between a set of lights and a roundabout. And the traffic kept coming. And coming. And at speed! You would have been crazy to have attempted to get over the road at that time. So I sat and watched and waited.
Next year I fully intend to attend mass as I imagine it would be a once in a lifetime event. I wish I'd been there tonight.
Anyway, my first day back at work was surprisingly good. The kids were well behaved and I didn't have enough work planned for them to do as we don't usually get through anything much. The staff seemed far more welcoming and pleased to see me. I think there is such a big problem with the western teachers just not coming back without notice that anyone who returns is welcomed with open arms.
We've moved into a two bedroom apartment at the same hotel and I'm loving that. It's on the 13th floor so have a fantastic view out over the city and gulf. It also means that I have a kitchen with a stove, plus a refrigerator big enough to put food into. So I've cooked for the first time in nearly two months. I've nearly forgotten how...
Apparently our employers didn't realise that we are still in the hotel! There are three of us still here from our original group that they've forgotten about. It doesn't help that we are all happy here, especially with our bigger rooms. So let's hope they forget us again, now that they know we're here. It's so much cheaper for us living here as there are no outgoings other then internet (which is expensive). I get breakfast cooked for me, my rooms are cleaned daily, my bed is changed and made. My taxi driver picks me up at the hotel door then again at school. Why would I want to leave?
The paperwork is falling into place, as it should, as I've spent most of the break sorting it. I now have my Emirates ID card. My son has his residency visa and health card (with the wrong spelling of course so another reprint required) and his ID receipt, awaiting the ID card. My new passport has arrived so we are nearly all set and sorted. What a process! It's not for the faint-hearted.
My latest is that my postbox doesn't open and I've now had two sets of keys so have to return again. Nothing is straightforward here and once you accept that you are ok. If you don't, life here would be unbearable. Everyplace you go to, you push a button on a machine and take a number then take a seat and wait until your number flashes up at one of the numerous counters. So you usually sit for at least half an hour, even for a simple process. And don't leave or you miss your turn! And of course every task requires a taxi ride to and fro. But with 7000 of them in the city, it isn't usually a problem. One I got at the weekend had only been here two days and wanted me to direct him! Joy, joy, joy!!!
So this evening I went for my walk. I'm trying to go at night now as I would have to be up too early to get an hours walk in before work. I set off around 6pm and it was much busier on the track than it is in the morning. It was also much warmer and I got quite a sweat up. There are more westerners running at that time and they wear shorts and singlets. I still wouldn't feel comfortable dressed like that but will see how the summer goes.
Anyway, I'm walking around and hit the back end of the track and hear a choir singing. Alleluia! Alleluia! The sound was magical and I suddenly realised that it was Easter Sunday. Hearing the music and singing I wished that I was in there with them. So I'm enjoying the sounds but am amazed by the cars driving around, even onto our walking track!
The air was full of sound: a cacophony of horns tooting, motors revving, choir singing, the call to prayer blasting over the speakers, buses circling and people talking excitedly.
It was such a mix of noise that I could hardly walk for the distraction. I was drawn towards the sounds and wandered through the dark and sandy trees to take a look at the church. Sadly, mass was finishing when I arrived but I was treated to the spectacle of everyone leaving.
What struck me as absurd was the constant tooting of horns during mass. I could hear the singing but it was overlaid by this continual tooting, some prolonged, others short and sharp. During all this, the call to prayer blasted forth from the mosque next door. So visualise this, a mosque with a Catholic School between it and the Catholic Church. And both were competing for cliental.
I wonder about the tooting? Is it a deliberate attempt to provide a distraction to one or other of the religions during an important festival? It certainly seemed like it was. Most seemed to be from the empty buses and taxis.
I wondered where all the people came from for mass but as I spent half an hour at least just sitting on a bench waiting to cross the road, I watched and discovered most of them were Phillipino. That makes sense as a large proportion of the workforce here is from the Phillipines. And they are mostly Catholic.
As the traffic left, I sat and watched. It reminded me of the end of a test match at Eden Park or the Cake Tin. Except that no-one walked. Every person was in a vehicle, either car, taxi or bus. You wouldn't believe how many buses there were there. Jammed full. You have to see the number of buses on the roads here to really grasp the situation. Each company has at least one bus to transport its workers around. All the children go to school on buses. Then there's the public transport buses which we use to get around cheaply.
Most of the buses are small, around 20-30 seaters. They have a pull down seat in the aisle which they use, beginning from the back, when they get full. This means that there is no aisle so you have to exit from the front, row by row and lift the centre seat. Quite an experience. But I digress! So there are all these buses, hundreds of taxis plus everyone else has a car or big 4WD. Traffic circled the block continually with so many near misses. 4 lanes of traffic with a continuous stream trying to enter the lanes from two exits. All between a set of lights and a roundabout. And the traffic kept coming. And coming. And at speed! You would have been crazy to have attempted to get over the road at that time. So I sat and watched and waited.
Next year I fully intend to attend mass as I imagine it would be a once in a lifetime event. I wish I'd been there tonight.
Anyway, my first day back at work was surprisingly good. The kids were well behaved and I didn't have enough work planned for them to do as we don't usually get through anything much. The staff seemed far more welcoming and pleased to see me. I think there is such a big problem with the western teachers just not coming back without notice that anyone who returns is welcomed with open arms.
We've moved into a two bedroom apartment at the same hotel and I'm loving that. It's on the 13th floor so have a fantastic view out over the city and gulf. It also means that I have a kitchen with a stove, plus a refrigerator big enough to put food into. So I've cooked for the first time in nearly two months. I've nearly forgotten how...
Apparently our employers didn't realise that we are still in the hotel! There are three of us still here from our original group that they've forgotten about. It doesn't help that we are all happy here, especially with our bigger rooms. So let's hope they forget us again, now that they know we're here. It's so much cheaper for us living here as there are no outgoings other then internet (which is expensive). I get breakfast cooked for me, my rooms are cleaned daily, my bed is changed and made. My taxi driver picks me up at the hotel door then again at school. Why would I want to leave?
The paperwork is falling into place, as it should, as I've spent most of the break sorting it. I now have my Emirates ID card. My son has his residency visa and health card (with the wrong spelling of course so another reprint required) and his ID receipt, awaiting the ID card. My new passport has arrived so we are nearly all set and sorted. What a process! It's not for the faint-hearted.
My latest is that my postbox doesn't open and I've now had two sets of keys so have to return again. Nothing is straightforward here and once you accept that you are ok. If you don't, life here would be unbearable. Everyplace you go to, you push a button on a machine and take a number then take a seat and wait until your number flashes up at one of the numerous counters. So you usually sit for at least half an hour, even for a simple process. And don't leave or you miss your turn! And of course every task requires a taxi ride to and fro. But with 7000 of them in the city, it isn't usually a problem. One I got at the weekend had only been here two days and wanted me to direct him! Joy, joy, joy!!!
pleased to hear you are having so many adventures, like every time you leave home (or your posh hotel) there is yet another adventure waiting! Love to hear and follow what you are up to.
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