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| Camels on the beach outside Emirates Palace |
First off, my apologies for the delay--wifi is scarce, and we have been busy getting adjusted to the time change (if you thought losing one hour was bad last week, try losing 9)! It is now Tuesday morning in Abu Dhabi, and we have been here for almost two weeks. Here is a summary of our trip over to get you up to speed.
After a complete frenzy of packing bags, loading all of our belongings into a 20' storage container, and flying for 16 hours to the other side of the world, Jesse and I arrived safely in Abu Dhabi the Thursday before last. The company has us set up in a hotel next to Jesse's office building, which is very convenient as we can walk or cab anywhere from here (no car yet).
After arriving late Thursday night, the first item on the list was to get our cell phones set up, since this is the primary means of communication here if you expect to get anything else done. Friday is the holy day here and stores do not open until 2:00pm, so we tried to stay awake long enough to get sim cards. Mission accomplished.
Saturday was an Exxonmobil Family Safety Day at a resort 45 minutes away (yes, they are like OSHA on steroids and dedicate whole days to learning about first aid and health/wellness). It was actually a huge blessing because we met several other expats who had loads of advice! I've met with a few of the wives since and learned so much from these generous ladies! They also have parties quite often, so we are bound to make new friends soon.
The weirdest adjustment apart from being 9 hours ahead here is that the work week is from Sunday-Thursday so Jesse began working on Sunday morning (church here is on Friday morning when the others are at Mosque). The good news is that his company has been very understanding about us taking time during the day to run errands and obtain necessary documents, etc. It sounds like he is really enjoying his new job and co-workers.
We took turns feeling under the weather last week, and jet lag was a pain, so I'm just now feeling like myself again and ready to take on the city! People here are very friendly and most everyone speaks English so getting around is not difficult. The hotel is close to several shops and the Corniche (this is like the seawall with parks and bike trails all along the beach). The weather has been nice and cool with some sandstorms the past few days, so I have not been to the beach yet, but we hope to go here this weekend to check it out! http://www.saadiyat.ae/en/masterplan/saadiyat-beach/overview2.html
One of the most interesting experiences here has been house hunting. Believe it or not, living in a hotel for weeks is not as much fun as is sounds, and the company helps us find a place within our allowance. This is definitely worthy of an entirely new post altogether, which will include pictures and some colorful anecdotes for your enjoyment.
Obviously we miss our friends and family very much, and with the time difference it is hard to connect. We both have Skype, iMessage, Whatsapp, Facebook, and Gmail/G-chat which are free, so please email for our new phones numbers and we can stay in touch! Even though we are 9 hours ahead, I welcome messages anytime and always read them. Technology is a wonderful thing!
More coming soon so stay tuned...
