The First Days of School

What could be better than getting going early with a great “Breakfast Box” each day while staying at the Hilton?  They pack plenty of food to cover breakfast, lunch and a couple of snacks for the drive to Al Wagan-about one hour away.  Thankfully the drive is fairly nice.  The sand dunes are a beautiful red color, the camels are roaming, Oman is in sight, and the Mountain Jabel Hafeet, lets you know Al Ain is getting close.  The only things to watch out for are the speed “humps” along the highway as you near towns along the way and the surprisingly thick fog that slows you down.

This weeks was the first week of school for the students at Al Saad.  This year, I am lucky enough to work with nine LTs and their Arab counterparts.  It really looks like we have a great group of teachers and I can’t wait to get to know all of them better. 

I find it amazingly refreshing to see how eager my LTs are to learn from their partner teachers and share their ideas as well.  The same can also be said for the Arab teachers who come from Jordan, Syria, Sudan, and the UAE.  Everyone is so friendly and welcoming.  In fact, in the mornings, there is much hugging and kissing as they greet each other and us, too!  I am being made to feel very welcome at my school.  As I have said before, Saad means happiness, and it appears that is very much the case. 

On another note, we were told that we should be getting keys to our apartments this weekend.  So, as soon as those are in hand I will be taking a little trip and taking plenty of pictures of my new digs.  I imagine the next week being very busy getting household items and furniture together so I can move in as soon as possible.

Stay tuned...

Picture Time!

Here are some promised photos-These are from my trip to the Sheikh Zayed Mosque:

These are pictures from the Fairmont Hotel-5 Stars are well earned!

The Road to Al Ain

I finally made it to Al Ain today!!!  The road from Abu Dhabi is a pretty good highway-3 lanes in each direction.  Some of the sights included camels, goats in the back of trucks and plenty of sand.  One thing that was quite interesting was the rest/service areas along the highway.  Our bus stopped at one and nearly hit several cars more than once.  There was a lot of inching the bus forwards and backwards until he was finally able to gas up.  However, the most interesting sight was the mosques at the service/rest areas.  In fact, our bus driver even took a break to run in and pray!  It if fascinating how their religion is so closely tied to their everyday lives. 

Sheikh Zayed Mosque

Today was a big day. We began the day with a “Field Trip” to the Sheikh Zayed Mosque. During the bus ride over to the mosque, I was in awe of all the construction going on around Abu Dhabi. It made me think that it was much like living in a house while the builders are still constructing it around you. I have never seen so much construction in one place.


The Mosque itself was amazing! Building began in 1996 and is still going on as they continue to expand. It was quite a beautiful, holy place. The columns, domes, glass, chandeliers, and tiles are all very grand. Here are several facts about it:  It contains the world’s largest chandelier, the world’s largest dome in a mosque, and it is the third largest mosque in the world.  I also had to dress in an abaya (black dress) and shayla (head scarf). This was required before we could enter the main prayers area.  Picture will be posted soon.

Afterwards, I found out my actual school assignment. I will be at an Al Saad, an all girl’s school in Al Wagan. It is south of Al Ain, and a bus will take me to/from school every day. By the Way-I was told that Saad means Happiness. I am sure it will be that way if it is anything like what I have experienced so far here in Abu Dhabi.

Tomorrow looks as if it will be the big day-the day I finally go to Al Ain. I will be staying in a hotel there for a few days, then back to Abu Dhabi next week for some more training and then into my apartment by the end of next week-Insalla (God willing)!