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 12th we had been here in the UAE for two years. How that time has flown! But even more importantly for me, on February 2nd it was my son’s 21st. 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 21st 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.
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 12th we had been here in the UAE for two years. How that time has flown! But even more importantly for me, on February 2nd it was my son’s 21st. 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 21st 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.
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