Out of Abu Dhabi...

I recently relocated to Portland, Oregon to move closer to my fiance, so this is my last post!

I'm going to miss a lot of good things about Abu Dhabi:

1. Precious friends:

work friends

a few Crossroads friends

2. Sunshine 360 days of the year & living in proximity to the beach!

Park Hyatt Saadiyat

3. Multiple food stores in walking distance to home & the kindness of Sama Tower guards who open the door when you return home laden with groceries.


4. Weekly cleaning help from dear Himaly & dry-cleaning laundry service from Muhamed.

5. Free yoga, pilates, and Extend Barre classes thanks to NYUAD Athletics. Amazing!

On the other hand, I won't miss:

1. Staying indoors all summer because of the heat

view from my apartment

2. Sandstorms: sand in the eyes, ears, and nose is far from pleasant!


3. Lack of recycling

4. Mail delivery time of 3-4 weeks between the UAE & the US or sometimes mail getting lost.

5. The days when Abu Dhabi runs out of things like soy yogurt or baking soda. It's also hard to find fresh lettuce at affordable prices.

6. Missing my fiancé, Scott, and communicating over skype! I am so thankful to finally live near him and spend more time together.

I praise God for every day of my life. He has provided for me beyond anything I could imagined, and I trust Him as I enter into the new adventure of marriage.

"Because of your great compassion you did not abandon them in the desert. By day the pillar of cloud did not cease to guide them on their path, nor the pillar of fire by night to shine on the way they were to take. You gave your good Spirit to instruct them. You did not withhold your manna from their mouths, and you gave them water for their thirst." 
Nehemiah 9:19-20

Reflections on September 11th

"Attention, attention. A fire has been reported in the building. Please standby for further announcement."

Those of us living in Sama Tower have become accustomed to hearing this message quite often, so I didn't think anything of it when I first heard the message around 11:30 pm on Saturday, September 10th. I was talking to my boyfriend on Skype so was awake to hear the announcement in the hallway. But when the automated message kept repeating itself incessantly, I said goodbye to Scott, grabbed my keys and mobile phone, and headed into the hallway. I figured I'd be back home soon...

It turns out that the students and I were some of the first to leave the building. As the evening unfolded, we discovered that evacuation truly was necessary because there was an electrical fire on the 35th floor. Smoke had filled many of the higher floors. As more people filled the parking lot and street behind the building, we commiserated about the heat and humidity. Someone was kind enough to run to the grocery store nearby and buy water bottles to pass out. We told fire drill stories and compared notes on what we brought with us when leaving our apartments. (How did I forget my passport?)

Word traveled by mouth that we wouldn't be allowed back in the building for many hours. It was now about 1:30 AM. Families with kids made arrangements to spend the night at nearby hotels, but we still had hundreds of students milling about. I happened to be chatting with my colleague Beth when the Dean of Students approached us. She was about to send the students to campus, a few blocks away, and asked if we'd be willing to open up the library. We agreed. In a matter of minutes we were walking with the students over to campus. I chatted with a freshman about his year of RV travel to 40 U.S. states with his family.

Beth and I opened the library around 2 AM, and the students filled the space in mere minutes! I've never seen the library so crowded-- over 100 students on the ground floor alone. Many raided our shelves of DVDs to find entertainment to pass the time; others tried to do homework. One student needed to read an ebook, so we offered her the first iPad to circulate at our library. Another student even checked out Kissinger's 600-page hardcover book on China-- for pleasure reading!

Though I was a bit tired and stressed (couldn't remember my email password), I wasn't very worried. I didn't have enough reason to believe that we were in significant danger. It was just very strange to be working at 3 AM in the morning.

The best moment of the night was when the dean of Science entered the library and announced that classes would be canceled the next day. Everyone erupted in a loud cheer! Course-related questions definitely dwindled after that announcement.

By 3:30 AM, we received word that we could return home to Sama Tower. The students cleared out of the library quickly, leaving food trash and misplaced furniture in their wake. A few conscientious students helped us clean up.

I made it home by 4 AM, but it took me a while to calm down enough to fall asleep. I didn't get to sleep until 5 AM, so made it to work by noon the next day-- Sunday, September 11th. (HR sent out a message that we could arrive at work at anytime that day given the unusual experience of the night.)

On this tenth anniversary of 9/11, I can't help but compare my experience with that of ten years ago. A decade ago I was teaching Middle School and High School English in New Hampshire. I was a brand new teacher and not very confident in my role. When the horrible news of the day made its way to our school, I had no idea how to answer the students questions-- Are they going to attack us here? Are we at war? All we could do that day was pray...

The connection between the two days is a tenuous one-- trying to help students in an emergency situation. Abu Dhabi is nearly a polar opposite city to Nashua, NH. Perhaps I'll have some deeper reflections on this comparison in the future. For now, all I can say is that I'm thankful: thankful for safety this year and over the past ten years; thankful for all God has taught me; and thankful for the opportunity to live and work in the Middle East; thankful that I understand Muslim cultures just a little bit more than I used to.

May God grant us peace in our time.

Lunchtime

When the weather is nice here (October - May), I like to go outside at lunchtime and enjoy the sunshine. I usually bring a salad from home and find a bench in one of the nearby parks. And there's usually time for a quick walk as well.

But the summer poses challenges when it comes to lunchtime, since it's too hot to spend much time outside. In June, July, and August, the temperatures reach over 40 degrees Celsius (100+ Fahrenheit). We have a small café on campus where we gather most days. But sometimes I feel claustrophobic staying inside all day on the same floor of the same building. Here are some ways my coworkers and I have been creative in doing things a little differently this summer:

• Drove to Kitsch Cupcakes to pick up treats for a coworker's birthday.
• Went out for Indian or Lebanese food.
• Ordered Jones the Grocer sandwiches-- best in the city in my book!
• Walked to Costa, an Australian coffee house chain. I used an umbrella to block the sun.
• Headed home to use the time to pray.
• Held a Library Open House for the campus staff. Balloons and sweets wooed people to stop by and learn about the library's resources.

Now that it's Ramadan, we're not taking full lunch breaks because our work days are shorter. It's also illegal to eat or drink in public during the day, though we can still eat in the café because screens block the view. I'm looking forward to the weather cooling off soon... then I'll be outside again mid-day every day!

Not our average method of acquisition

A few weeks ago, Christie's auction house of Dubai contacted us at the NYUAD Library, asking if we'd like to acquire some of their old catalogs. My boss thought they'd be good additions to the collection because they can contain beautiful images and hold research value.

So yesterday afternoon a Christie's employee, Osama, was passing through Abu Dhabi anyway, so the plan was that he'd drop the catalogs off at our campus. Easy? Not quite. Here's what transpired:

~ 2 pm : Osama calls from the car asking for directions. I pass him off to my colleague Ron, who knows the city street names better than I do.

~4 pm: Osama calls me again, having lost Ron's phone number. I do my best to give directions, but he's still several miles away, so he plans to call when closer to the city

~4:15 pm: I go online trying to figure out best directions to give him. Truth is, the campus isn't that hard to find, but it's really hard to explain when there are three street names for the main road you need to turn onto: 2nd Street, Old Airport Rd, or Sheik Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum Street. And I couldn't remember what name is listed on the signs!

~4:25 pm: Osmama calls me again. I try to give directions, but he's hesitant to follow them because he has to get to the palace for a 5 pm appointment. He asks if I can meet him somewhere...

~4:30: I hop in a cab and get to the Hilton quickly. Cab takes off.

~4:38: Try calling Osama but get a "cannot connect" message.  See a large SUV parked in front of me with an Arab man inside. Smile hesitantly. He rolls down the window and I say, "Are you Osama?"

~4:40: Thankfully I'm correct and haven't sent an unintended message to a stranger. We shake hands and he says, "Where's your car?" I explain that I took a taxi, while he opens up the back of his SUV to reveal five piles of catalogs! I'd envisioned a small bag full that I could carry easily, but there are about fifty catalogs I need to get back to campus...

~4:42: Run out to the Corniche Road and try to hail a taxi, even though there's not a taxi stand there. Several cars honk while they pass by-- either because they want to make sure I don't cross the street or because my skirt is a little too short. Finally, after about five minutes, find a taxi.

~4:46: Osama, the taxi driver, and I load catalogs into taxi trunk. Osama will make his appointment at the palace after all.

~4:55: Return to campus and unload catalogs with the help of our mailroom attendant. Tip the taxi driver nearly 100% for his help.

I sure hope someone uses those catalogs sometime!

WOMAD

The weather is perfect these days-- 80s during the day and 60s at night. Lovely for a day at the beach or dinner outdoors. Last weekend (April 7-8), Abu Dhabi was treated to the WOMAD (World of Music, Arts and Dance) festival on the Corniche beachfront. I can't imagine a better way to spend an evening than hanging out with friends while dancing to music on the beach! Heavenly.

 

Dr. Jimmy Cliff from Jamaica

Bands traveled from all over the world: Mali, France, Senegal, Iraq, Hondoras, UK, Egypt, South Africa etc. These musicians represented a wide range of styles and skills. 

The crowd itself hailed from an even broader spectrum of countries and socioeconomic backgrounds.
 
My favorite moment of the weekend came on Thursday night when listening to the Colombian band LA-33. They played great salsa music that I couldn't stand still to. So as I was clapping and swaying to the music, I noticed two young Emirati girls nearby. They kept watching me and started clapping with me. At first the girls stayed close to their father, too shy to dance. But over the course of the next 15 minutes they inched closer to me, and soon we really dancing together! Clapping, smiling, twirling. The girls invented a game of burying our feet in the sand and then almost falling over from dancing. Such joy! Music transcends language and cultural boundaries like nothing else. I'm grateful for the opportunity to soak in the diversity of this city.

35 hours in Colombo

What do you say when a friend asks if you want to get out of town for the weekend?
Yes!
My friend Angie and I booked last-minute tickets to Colombo, Sri Lanka, packed our bags, and took off just two days after she suggested the idea.

Abu Dhabi is just four hours from Sri Lanka, but it feels like a world away: tuk-tuks (open air, three-wheeled taxis) are the main mode of transportation; the weather is more humid this time of year; and the culture is Asian rather than Middle Eastern.

Angie's and my goal was to balance adventure with relaxation, and we managed this goal quite well!

We had heard that the Barefoot Cafe was a must-see. It's a wonderful blend of cafe, gift shop, bookstore, and gallery.

After the Cafe, we wandered the streets a bit...

stumbled across the library

... And found our way to the Gangarama Buddhist temple: 

  

In the Buddhist temple I asked a man about the significance of elephants in Buddhism. He didn't understand my question, but he did answer by telling me about the elephants in a nearby park. So Angie and I set off to find them...

chained up, but cared for

35 hours was just enough time to get a sense of Colombo, but not enough time to see the country. I'd like to return to Sri Lanka to see the beaches, tea plantations, and lush countryside. 

Through younger eyes

Recently some dear friends visited for the week. I enjoyed spending time with them, and it was especially fun to get a six-year-old's perspective on Abu Dhabi.

When you're a kid, you're not quite as interested in visiting the major sight-seeing destinations. What matters much more is...

...playgrounds!

 

Abu Dhabi has some great parks that are magical for kids. You go from one jungle gym to another, discovering fountains, basket ball courts, and pirate ships along the way.

And then there's always your first camel ride...

Since Trey was taking a break from school, he needed to do some homework while visiting Abu Dhabi. So he interviewed me in the library and asked for a violin lesson too.

I also enjoyed meals with Trey. There's nothing like having a kid at the breakfast table to teach you Arabic, play a game with, or just laugh! Thanks, Tom, Terri, and Trey. You're welcome back any time.

Year in Review

January 11, 2011 marks my one year anniversary of moving to Abu Dhabi.

Here's my top ten list of lessons learned over the past twelve months:

10. If you work hard, you can play hard.
(Some really long weeks at work, but also some great weekends and vacations.)

9. In this part of the world sometimes you have to be extra persistent (or get angry) if you want something accomplished. (i.e. My new bank account was only created after I waited for three months and then got upset about the wait.)

8. Expats are easy to befriend. We're all far from home, so many are happy to chat and get to know you. I'm thankful to have made friends from Kyrgyzstan, Australia, Sri Lanka, India, Nepal, Albania, Cameroon, South Africa, Brazil, Syria, Jamaica, and many other places.

7. There's so much I take for granted as an American: the freedom to worship; the freedom to vote; rights as a woman; relative safety etc. My eyes have been opened as to how much of the world will never know these freedoms.

6. With freedom comes responsibility: it's impossible to break residency with Massachusetts, so I still have to pay quarterly state taxes.

5. I love line dancing!

4. I listen to more country music than ever before-- perhaps because it's so American?

3. Camping in the desert is amazing: stars, campfires, dune-bashing, goats, camels... What more could you ask for? A toilet, I suppose, but it's worth doing without for a night or two.

view from one of our campsites

2. Starting an academic library from scratch is simultaneously exhausting and exhilarating. 7,800 books and DVDs: 90,000 to go! I'm very thankful for a true team of colleagues in AD and NY.

1. God is good-- in Concord, Chicago, Somerville, and Abu Dhabi. He has provided more than I could have imagined this past year: a job that's a good fit, a church community, new friends, an orchestra, an expanding view if His world and His grace. Praise Him!

The walk to work

Over the last few weeks I've taken a few pictures on the way to work.

Covered & uncovered.

H&M advertises winter clothes despite the balmy weather.

Rainbow in the sprinklers

Delivery time at the local foodstuff stores every morning around 9. I love walking by and smelling the spiced air wafting from the stores-- a welcome relief from the pigeon and trash odors nearby.

All types.

 

 

Work-- the silver and purple buildings.

View from my desk: statue turns her back on the TP delivery.