Loving Jordan

WOW!  Where to start?

First I need to backtrack a wee bit and mention how easy it was for me to get through passport control today at Abu Dhabi Airport.  Having applied for and gotten an eye scan for the new automated E Gate I saw the sign and asked the police man and he directed me to the last counter.

Past the long queues I went and found the counter.  No-one was there, it was unattended.  Which is how it is supposed to be as that is the purpose of the E Gate - electronic gate.  Two helpful police men stopped to instruct me on how to do it and wham, bam, I was through!  So easy.

Now onto the next part of my journey today.  Is it only today?

After the last posting I went to queue outside the correct gate which didn't open on time.  I was standing behind a young man and couldn't help smiling when I read his T-shirt.
It read:  Russlan is my name.  Drifting Skyline R33s is my game.

Eventually he turned around and we began talking.  He was returning home to Jordan for a months break.  He drifts at events in Jordan, Abu Dhabi, and several other places.  He was interesting to talk to and sat beside me once through the check in and continued our conversation.  It transpired he is Checnian/Jordanian and works at the Hilton Hotel in Abu Dhabi to finance his love of drifting.  He is heading to Norway to meet up with his new sponsers - Drift Monkey (think that is correct).

As we headed off to board the plane I mentioned I needed some help to negotiate a reasonable price for a taxi to my Hotel at the Dead Sea.  Not hesitating he said he'd be happy to help and we'd meet once we landed.

The Etihad flight took 3 hours and time passed quickly as I watched a movie I had been wanting to see.  I had an aisle seat with additional leg room and two friendly Jordanian men next to me.  I was surprised to see how nervous many of the passengers were, fingering their prayer beads before take off and the women opposite me had white knuckles and was praying!  Perhaps recent events has made them nervous.

We landed and quickly disembarked.  My first impression of Jordan was in the airport terminal.  How spacious and sparse.  There was no-one around and within 15 minutes of landing I had my bags and was ready to leave.  My young man was still waiting for his while chatting away and swapping phone numbers with another man who I later found out (when he exited away from us) that he was a diplomat.

Exiting the luggage area with my entourage I was thankful that I wasn't alone.  I thought arriving in Abu Dhabi was daunting but this was a sea of men all wanting to 'drive' you somewhere.  Several men called out to see if we required a taxi or driver so swift negotiations took place and I had my driver for 40 Jordan Dinar.  Good price both the men told me.

So off I go with a middle aged rotund man in his car!  Luckily no-one was around to see me jumping into a strangers car on my own in a foreign country.  However, I felt safe due to the discussion that took place back at the airport.

Turns out my young man is from a well-known Checnian family and he told my driver in no uncertain terms that I must be looked after and arrive safely.  Or else he would be after him.  He took the drivers number and phoned him to check on me.  The diplomat said, "His family is very well known here." Possibly a bit like the Italian mafia!

Needless to say I got the royal treatment and stopped to take photos, check out Jesus' baptismal place, all the while with a running commentary on Jordan.  The road took a dramatic turn and literally dropped down to the Dead Sea.

One aspect that appalled me was the rubbish everywhere on the side of the road.  Many people were stopped by the roadside for a picnic or bbq amidst the rubbish.  Bedouin camps were everywhere.  I saw two men butchering a goat outside the shop.  Small patches of land were being ploughed for crops.  Roadside stalls were selling vegetables.  We had to stop to allow a child on a donkey led by an old woman cross the road.  Roadside shisha stalls were popping up all over the place, most set up by one guy on a camel.  Really, camels were tethered on the side of the road and men sat under the trees with a few plastic chairs on the footpath and a shisha stall set up ready to go.  Herds of goats were on the side of the road.

This is real Arabia!  Not like the 'plastic' Arab we see in UAE.

Sitting on my balcony at the fabulous hotel (Winter Valley Warwick) there is a Bedouin camp outside my room so the camel is there and I watched them herd the goats in earlier this evening.  When I went outside the smell was rural!  I can hear the men talking as I relax.

This hotel is out of this world.  I wish I was here for a week.  I ambled down to take a dip in the Dead Sea when I arrived and floated around.  I will return in the morning for a mud bath before lounging by the pool.  The sea itself is salty and very oily.  Your skin feels soft afterwards though.  Once again the rubbish outside our designated beach (with imported golden sand) is appalling.

Talk about high security.  When the driver found the hotel, which is isolated and away from everything else, it is shut off by security gates.  A man came out with a clipboard and asked who we were.  Once he found my name the boot was opened and checked.  In we drive with the gates gliding shut silently behind us.  Another man puts my bags through an airport security device and my driver has to go through it also.

Only downside was the slow check in, taking nearly half an hour when there was no-one else there.  My driver waited and ensured I got the best deal with my room and found out all about free breakfast, evening meal times & when the shuttle went down to the sea.  He is phoning me tonight to check if I want him to take me to the border run tomorrow.  I've priced a taxi from here and it is the same price whereas my driver will take me to local sites on the way.

My credit card didn't work here - declined - which is a bugger when you are so far from home.  I didn't want to use it but transport here is extremely expensive so I thought if I put the hotel on it I'd have more cash.

Can't wait for tomorrow and another bathe in the sea.  I have to keep pinching myself that I am sitting on my balcony in Jordan overlooking the Dead Sea and the twinkling lights of Palestine or Jericho on the distant hills.  The fact that I may have to eat cheese and crackers from the aeroplane and a museli bar for dinner doesn't faze me at all.  However, the manager keeps coming around to ask me if I've had dinner and chat to me.  Perhaps travelling alone does have its perks!!!

Jordan Day 1

I awoke early this morning to a landscape shrouded in fog.   Nothing unusual in this but today is my first day of travel.  By the time I left home it was a haze so looking good for take off!

Right now I am wishing I owned an ipad as typing on my phone is a challenge, especially with predictive text! So apologies for any typos!

I'm sitting here in the airport waiting for my flight to Jordan.

Arriving early isn't always the best way to do things as the check in wasn't open.  Then I find out I'm in the wrong terminal so have to walk to the other.

Lucky I had a very nice French man serve me so he checked me in and gave me a boarding pass - hopefully with a good aisle seat with leg room.   So it was only my bag that needed to go to the other check in.

Proceeding  to the other terminal was effortless as I travel light.  However, today I have a small suitcase, small backpack & a handbag.  The case negotiated the ramps and bumps with ease, gliding along on its smooth wheels.

Upon arrival I am stopped by an ever efficient marshal who asked where I was travelling to.  I responded, Amman, Jordan.  By now I'm beginning to think there is a problem with this destination.  He checks his watch and informs me they are not accepting baggage yet.   I presume he meant the luggage!!!

When I explain that I only wish to check in my case he promptly opens up the barriers and ushers me to a teller.

After making my way to the holding area I have ample time to test Chanel perfumes and admire Burbery handbags before exchanging my money.

$1000 US cost me 3824.49 AED while 250 Jordanian dinar was 1392 AED.

Armed with a stack of cash I am now sipping from my water bottle & munching a muesli bar.  So I am still a budget traveller at heart.

Meanwhile a noisy local kid (read uncontrolled) sits beside me.

Must away to find my gate and board the plane. 

End of Term!

Holidays!!!!  Love them or hate them, they are here again.  And in this country we LOVE them!

This morning (Day 1) say me downstairs early for a swim.  I flew through 20 laps, feeling like an Olympic swimmer.  I'm not sure if I looked like one but my wine infused brain assured me that I was,  so who am I to argue?

I'm not sure why it seemed so easy this morning.  Was it the feeling of liberation that only holidays can bring?  Was it a much needed tension release from the nonsense at school?  Was it the image of me in a bikini lying on the beach at the Dead Sea that spurred me on?  No one knows.  Not even me but something fueled my body and my arms pummeled like windmills through each 50 metre length.

Afterwards I spent some relaxation time soaking up the already hot sun and talking to a Canadian teacher and her parents who were visiting.  We reflected on the fantastic lifestyle we have here and how difficult it will be to give it up when (and if) we return home.  But, as with everything, there is always a flip side.  The craziness of this place had many reaching for the computer to input transfers or resignations yesterday.  I asked at Head Office about a transfer but was told I need to show some commitment and they wouldn't consider it before I'd been in my school for two years.  So suck it up!
Or go home!

All this madness comes on top of our esteemed employers deciding we need to return back to work a week earlier than planned in our summer holidays.  Too bad if we have already booked tickets!  Then they've taken away a week at Christmas which is a real blow!  Now we only get two weeks which is an additional cost if you are traveling home or having visitors from the Antipodes.

Anyway, a few beverages and some kiwi company while the boyz cooked a lamb roast seemed to do the trick and today I'm rearing to head off on holiday and return refreshed.  Then it's only one term before I have whanau visiting so I get to show off our amazing city. 

A leg of kiwi lamb set me back 135 AED which is about $45 NZ.  Australian lamb is cheaper and interestingly they don't cut the shank end off which they do on ours.  Pakistani lamb is the cheapest while Welsh lamb is the most expensive.  Needless to say, we are spoilt for choice.

Spuds are sold in small mesh bags as rice is the staple carbohydrate here.  Kumara (or sweet potato as they are known here) usually come from USA but last night's were from Australia.  A small butternut pumpkin and Watties frozen peas completed the meal.  Gravy was made in the traditional manner using the roast drippings.  All in all a great meal.

As two legs of lamb were cooked and there were only four of us (and I don't eat meat) there were plenty of leftovers so those fortunate enough to attend got to take some home.  Whatever is left will go quickly in sandwiches for the boys while I am away.

This week we've had rain.  When it rains here it pours.  Thunder storms with lightening and heavy downpours.  All this is an unwritten word for the locals to go crazy.  Young men jump into their cars and skid around like - well young men everywhere!  This means the accident rate goes through the roof and the radio announced there were over 6000 accidents in one day in Dubai. 
On the way to work the road was covered with water in places as there is no drainage and cars began aquaplaning.  As one would expect, the end result was several spectacular accidents.   Tyres here are not designed for wet weather and the cars throw up an incredible amount of fine spray which makes visibility even less.  Trucks overturn and the world goes mad!  Slowing down and increasing following distances would have a major impact but it's all about life in the fast lane here.

I head off in the morning for Jordan, spending my first night in a hotel at the Dead Sea.  Next day I will cross the border into Israel and spend the rest of my break there visiting an old Levin friend.  As it's taboo here to enter Israel it all has to be done on the QT, hence flying into Amman in Jordan.

Anyway, I'm like a kid the night before Christmas so may not sleep much tonight.  I've still to pack so will go and do that now.

Look out for some entries when I return in two weeks.











 

Winter is over!

Winter is over!

Well, it’s been so long since I last blogged. A journalist I met recently informed me that you need to blog daily to keep your audience so I’ll possibly have no followers left! So thanks to those of you faithful followers who inform me when I’ve been absent for a while.

Why the break I hear you ask? Thinking back over the last nearly two months there are lots of reasons - nothing specific but little things happening that all build up to no entries.

Firstly, the weather. It’s been ‘winter’ here. I absolutely love the term winter. Here it doesn’t mean freezing off your bits with cold wind and rain, frost on the lawn in the morning, waking at 4am to pull another blanket over yourself, hunkering down in front of the fire with hot soup at the weekend, freezing rugby or netball games... I could go on but you get the picture of what’s in store for those of you in the Southern Hemisphere soon.

No, here winter means balmy weather, warm winds, temperate days of sunshine. Sure the days shorten and it’s dark when I get up for work and dark not long after I return home. And this year has been the coldest in many meaning that even I’ve had to wear two layers to work for assembly in the morning. There were even several times when I was out walking that I felt cold. Not the cold of a freezing polar blast but cold nevertheless! A couple of ‘wet’ weekends kept me indoors reading and watching TV.

Here winter is a time for rejoicing. Beaches beckon to those of us from colder climes, days spent down by the pool lapping up the sunshine abound, evenings are perfect for getting out walking or picnicking or popping down to your favourite pub for a quiet drink outside or Friday brunch. Events are commonplace so the weekends are busy.

Last week saw the Red Bull Air Race take place here in Abu Dhabi. Now, I’ve watched this many times on TV back in NZ and marvelled at the stunts and speed so imagine having it in your own backyard. Of course the racing was accompanied by the ever necessary display of aerial acrobats with the obligatory smoke in UAE colours. No one can put on shows like they do in the UAE.

Secondly, work. What to say, what to say? It sure is difficult this year! I arrive home exhausted most evenings and just chill out. I’m lucky if I have enough energy to go down for a walk so relish the weekends to walk and swim and just relax and recharge for the week ahead. Part of this is the drive to and from work each day which takes the best part of an hour (huge for me with a three kilometer commute back in NZ) on roads which have you gripping the wheel and eyes glued on the vehicle ahead to ensure you can stop in time. The other part is the job itself, or should I say the staff? No more on that subject!

Thirdly, apathy. On February 12^th we had been here in the UAE for two years. How that time has flown! But even more importantly for me, on February 2^nd it was my son’s 21^st. Now we all know that within my family (and NZ generally) that’s a big event (unless you have babies) so to be on the other side of the world was difficult. I was surprised at my reaction as I’ve coped with missing other important events since I’ve been here but this one seemed to jolt me. Perhaps it was because plans were made at his birth for his 21^st and to watch nothing come to fruition was a strange turn of events. I think it caused me to take stock of my life and what I’d achieved and where I am now. Getting this particular son to 21 was an achievement in itself as it was a bumpy road, made easier with much help from his ‘other’ mothers and wider whanau and friends. It felt like a massive party was in order to celebrate our achievements but the main players were not here.

So instead I had a melt down at work, unusual for me. Unfortunately it didn’t achieve the desired result, only made me look weak. I did offer to transfer effective immediately but this didn’t eventuate. Now the official transfer/resignation window is open so I need to decide if I will take this option or is it a case of ‘better the devil you know than the one you don’t’? It certainly gave me pause to question my reasons for being here. My original contract ends in July so who knows what the future holds?

Fourthly, I’ve picked up a small ‘unofficial’ tutoring job with a local family working with their four daughters. It began as a catch-up for the Grade 10 girl for exams as she had been overseas and missed a lot of school. So G10 maths review for me on the internet as I ‘brushed up’ on my algebra. The other subjects were fine: accounting; business studies; economics; and english. When the two week stint ended the father "baba" asked if I would stay on and tutor the three younger daughters. So I now do two 1.5 hour sessions a week working mainly with the two primary aged girls and the older two as required. The ‘baby’ joins us often to practice her English writing. The family has an Arabic tutor also.

I’m treated like one of the family and the maid makes my favourite chai karak which is a spicy sweet tea and brings it in to me on a tray with water and something to eat, often straight out of the oven delicacies. The money covers my car payments so it’s a welcome addition to the monthly budget, leaving more for me to spend on holidays. Plus I enjoy spending time with the family and having girl contact.

I must say that I feel immensely privileged being welcomed into their home. It gives me an inside experience of how families here live but also how important education is to them. Our kids back home in NZ would cringe if they were expected to do quarter of what these students do from the day they start school.

Obviously having money helps but our official employer is beginning to realise that some students need help outside school hours and is relenting its policy on no tutoring by offering after school ‘volunteer’ classes at a couple of schools out where I teach. Most families out our way don’t speak English so the girls don’t get help at home. I know some of my teachers have put their names down but the financial reward is very low.

A noticeable aspect here is the variance in the education of the parents and the effect this has on student achievement. Many are educated overseas and PHDs abound. Masters degrees are normal. Then on the flip side (out where our school is) parents speak little, if any, English and money is not abundant. We had a case this week of high absenteeism. When investigated it transpired that one family had one uniform for its three girls so they only attended school on the day they could wear it. And this is in a country with abundant wealth! So it’s not all roses.

Lastly, just living life. My good friends downstairs have finally had their baby daughter which is wonderful. Once again, I realise how blessed we are to have made such fantastic friends and to be part of the wider whanau here. This whanau extends each time someone has visitors from home and we get to make new connections.

I am also investigating the option of beginning a Masters Degree through an Australian University. Time is something that we have a lot of here due to the fact that we don’t have to do all the work involved in running a household that we do back home. Plus we are not involved in volunteer work or sport like at home. So I could be using it to do something meaningful.

Cooking. I’ve rediscovered my love of cooking (occasionally) and have spent some fun weekends just hanging out in my kitchen being domesticated. Or is that homesickness???

Holiday planning. With spring break just two weeks away now some serious thought has gone into what and where I will go. Tickets are booked for a big adventure to Israel so watch this space. It was odd this week to get a reminder via Google calendar that my sister was due to arrive and we were heading to India for Spring break. Obviously that plan was changed but the calendar wasn’t updated hence the message. Plans are well underway for our big holiday in the summer break instead.

Keeping in touch. Although the blog has been quiet, I’m still in regular contact with family at home. Skypping takes a fair amount of time and I have to schedule it around my already busy day, usually swimming and sunbathing (she says tongue in cheek). This morning I’m attempting a three way skype with Dad and sister Di. Where were we before facebook?

Lack of my own computer. Always an issue with teenagers, (not sure how much longer I can use the teenager tag) as my computer has completely died I have to share. Having bought a new phone, Samsung S4, has helped with being able to Facebook and read emails via it but you still need a keyboard to type a blog.

Driving lessons and the ensuing time I spend chauffeuring to them (a blog entry on its own).

Not wishing to make promises I can’t keep but I’d say to keep an eye out for more regular correspondence. Especially now winter is over and the temperature is creeping up - 33 degrees yesterday. So I’ll be ensconced in my air-conditioned apartment seeking alternative diversions.

However, yesterday saw a five day storm arrive with wild winds, sand storms, even some rain, and today is hazy and dusty so swimming may be hazardous. It was crazy out by my work and driving home yesterday was fraught with moments. Especially when the fuel light was on from the moment I left work! Only in Abu Dhabi would you drive 30km with sand, wind, rain, blinding sun (all at the same time), then wait 30 minutes in a queue to fill up your car.