Abu Dhabi TimeSix months have passed since I moved to Abu Dhabi - and boy what a difference six months can make! In the past six months, I have met new people, tried new foods, and traveled to places I had previously only seen in books.
To really understand my journey, I would have to rewind my life for a while... probably two or three years. I am not sure if anyone has ever had the feeling that where they were wasn't for them... but needless to say, for the most part, my time in Atlanta was a failure for me. While I met a few great people, for the most part I never had a best friend, or even a group of friends to which I felt I really "belonged". My first and only teaching job had pretty much scarred me and tarnished my love for teaching, which I am still trying to get back. My salary as a teacher in the States made it nearly impossible to support any type of social life, as I was just scraping to pay rent and bills and living paycheck to paycheck. As many people know, on top of all of this, my mom passed away in May of 2011. Although I usually hid it well, I was miserable and had hit rock bottom. In my mind, I was nearing on 30 years old and this is what my life was? I had always dreamed of something bigger. So, what do you do when you hit rock bottom? You pray. You pray and take action. I knew I needed a big change, a clean slate. I prayed and prayed about the job in Abu Dhabi, and admittedly I think I might have begged a little too. Either way I landed the job in Abu Dhabi and never looked back.
It is odd to look back on it, because I remember just about a year or two ago I told someone "I would never want to live anywhere but in the US", but I guess desperate times called for desperate measures. And here I am!
I guess it is a good time to get reflective and share what I have learned from living overseas.
What I have learned living overseas:
1. Relationships can get stronger.
I think I have talked to my dad more since I have been here than I had in all 6 years I lived in Atlanta. The same people consistently call and text me to check on me. Until you live overseas (especially alone), you don't totally "GET" how important these relationships are.
2. Relationships can dissolve.
Calls and texts are still a two-way street. Nothing erks me more than someone in the States who I text who replies with "Wow, it's been a long time since YOU texted me".. Ummmm.. Everyone knows that my phone number here is the same as it's always been and I can still RECEIVE calls and texts. And yes, the time difference is a pain, but it's a pain on my part too. I have people I considered my closest friends that haven't even once tried to contact me. My favorite part is when I came home for Christmas for two weeks, all the people that had been urging me to come home so we could "hang out", were suddenly busy, so I spent most of the break in the States lying in bed watching Prison Wives. Maybe it was better that way. But nothing helps you determine the strength of your friendships like moving overseas.
3. You are stronger than you think.
When I moved here I was so worried about traveling through airports in foreign countries alone, and would my visa be right, and what the heck do I do with a toilet that has a sprayer on it?!?! Well, I found out most cities have English signs in the airports, my visa is fine and I get fun stamps in my passport, and well, I still haven't figured out the toilet sprayer - some people say it's for your feet, others say it is for your butt - I personally ignore them in public, and disconnected the one in my apartment. Point is, you wonder if you can really handle all the change. And you prove to yourself you can. All the things that once worried you are now part of daily life.
4. One's enjoyment of a particular occasion in life is directly correlated to the prior experiences in life.
Many people came here, hated it, and already moved back home. Most of these people loved their job back in the States, and have a spouse and kids at home. First off, if you have a teaching job in the States that you LOVE, why on Earth would you leave? Finding a teaching job you love is pretty much one-in-a-million these days, so I wouldn't recommend giving that up. But for me, my last job was hell. I was constantly picked on and trashed by my administration, had 86 observations in my classroom in one school year, and the kids' behavior was horrible. Not only that, I was teaching from 7am-3pm and then working the after school program until 6pm or 6:30pm every night and still barely scraping by. Coming here, I doubled my income, halved my hours, and nearly eliminated my expenses. I am not great at math, but isn't that something like a 75% increase in income? Maybe more? Anyway, for me it was the right move because ANYTHING was better than where I had been (professional, mentally, financially, emotionally).
5. People that have never lived overseas won't fully understand your life.
I love to post pictures and update my blog and show all the fun things going on over here. But most people don't realize what daily life is like. It is full of frustration, inefficiency, and being fed up. I would have to write a book to explain how, why, and what I mean by this. Exactly my point. I recently bought a vacuum cleaner that didn't work. It cost me 180AED (roughly $50USD). Upon finding it didn't work, I happened to be texting a friend in New York who said "Well, just return it". HAHAHA.. Most people in the States might not understand why I laughed, but most people in the UAE understand why I told that friend I would probably just throw it in the trash and buy another one later.
6. Faith can be strengthened.
It is crazy to think that living in a Muslim country would actually make my faith stronger, but look at my testimony. My pastor used to say "You may be in a pit, but you are not pitiful". Just one year ago, I was at the lowest point in my life. I felt pitiful, but I had faith that it would be better. I put all my faith in it, because I had nothing left. And here I am! Some days here are tough, and other days I feel on top of the world. I guess that is life, but I can honestly saying I truly enjoy where I am at in my life right now! Wherever you are and whatever you feel, God can turn it around!!
Yeah, I know that everything here may seem like butterflies and rainbows, but it isn't really. To even everything out, since I am being reflective, here are some things I miss about the USA!
1) My family and friends
2) Walgreens, or any store really, where you can park, walk in, and be out in 5-10 minutes.
3) Turn signals on vehicles actually being used
4) Rain (every now and again)
5) Wings and Beer and Football
6) Common manners, and waiting in line - That is not a thing here.
7) Seeing a child be backhanded in public. Yeah, that sounds crazy, but I miss it. Parenting, sigh...
Well, to wrap it all up. I have no idea where I will end up, or when I will go elsewhere. I am here for the time being. I will probably want to move back to the States at some point, but doubt I could ever teach there again. Soooo... who knows...
