The weather!.... At the start of September, AD was still unbareably hot.....like 45 degrees every day!..with high humidity.....so it was an effort or stupidity to go outside much during the day. The dash to your car or waiting for a taxi was a debateable scenario...do you bother or not? I am pleased to report that by the months end, the weather has pleasantly changed! We are still in high 30's, but that now feels like a cool day...and there is a breeze..which you dont often get. There has even been the odd sighting of a cloud or two.( seriously...we usually don't [View Full Entry]

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Tall towers of air conditioned comfort, generally shield us from the approaching desert on our doorstep. Abu Dhabi island is surrounded by desert, once you are near the edge of town, behind the smaller buildings & bitumen roads lies a vastness of desert, which links each city here. Driving to Ras Al Khaimah (Northern coastal Emirate of UAE) we pass a deepening orange sand spreading out into dunes, revealing groups of camels searching shade. The odd hut pops up in amongst the dunes providing relief for its owners, as relief for most of us travellers is in the comfort of our [View Full Entry]

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As previously mentioned I have been experiencing the joys of having my underwear cleaned and pressed by those little men at Bombay Laundry. One day, I asked a friend from school to pick it up for me as she lives in town and we are now living in khalifa B. The next day, I was informed that my clothes were being held due to the fact that the school had not paid the complete bill yet…We are now in week three of the hostage taking…I have no idea what is going on over there but I want my clothes back!! I [View Full Entry]

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Ah......warmth, heat..no wait a minute, extreme 45 degree hot & humid! Well ,after a break from living in Abu Dhabi, back in Melbourne for a while, I was glad to be leaving the long dreary winter, shedding the hat, coat, scalf, gloves & constant carrying of umbrella that had been adding weight to my winter hibernation!.. Flying across the globe, my first views of reconnecting with AD, were from the plane window, after a turbulant & noisy flight.. of the desert below stretching for as far as the eye can see..and a haze of heat & sand. Off the plane, into [View Full Entry]

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I realise that the Middle East does not have a great reputation for Health & Safety in the workplace - or to and from the workplace for that matter - but I'd like to redress the balance a bit and show an example of a company that is not only keeping up with European standards, but knocking them into a cocked hat. Mushrif National Construction L.L.C. are building a 20-odd storey tower right next to our building, and as the HSE stats board proudly proclaims, in the Month of August they held 5,404 Toolbox Talks or HSE meetings! Since they are [View Full Entry]

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And so it begins, (or, The things ive learnt about international travel in the last 24 hours) I find myself at a thankfully free internet terminal in abu dhabi airport at midnight. Thankful in part for the freeness and in in another part because it is midnight outside and dipping to a very chilly 33 degrees celcius. I am on a time limit so i will just list a few points i have been thinking about interntional travel. 1. Lingua Franca internationalle baby! Every single native english speaking person has an almost intollerably wonderful advantage in the world of international [View Full Entry]

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Hello everyone, This past weekend some friends and I went to the only mosque that I know of that allows visitors. Our adventure began when the women of the group had to dress in the traditional muslin dress, basically covered from head to toe except our faces. Once suited up, we had to remove our shoes before entering. There were doors next to the visitors center that had a sign saying "Shoe Store". I guess shoes are often stolen ...not sure why it said that but again as I've noticed signs here are badly translated to english so it could actually [View Full Entry]

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Hello everyone, I felt I could not go on withought first imparting some humorous things that were done to me, someone else or was seen. The first thing would have to be where I go to get my laundry done. The school said they would pay for all our cleaning at this particular place across the street from the hotel - Bombay Laundry. My adventure began when I opened the door and saw these faces. I was a little apprehensive about leaving my delicates with them but as there seemed to be undamaged clothes everywhere I thought just take a chance. [View Full Entry]

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Hey everyone, I thought I would talk a bit about the school as I have been getting many questions about it. We had our first staff meeting today. All week we will be picked up at 8:30 a.m. Yes, I actually drag myself out of bed at 6:30 a.m. to work out, eat breakfast and get ready. It's a miracle...I know! School officially starts the 30th of August so we have all this time to set up our classrooms. My class is smaller than Chantal and Anita's classes and I have no bathroom! That will be interesting - DID I MENTION [View Full Entry]

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Hello everyone, It is my first official day in Abu Dhabi, well actually my second but we arrived late last night. The flight was very long..I did not sit next to anyone with B.O. but I did play arm jockey for 7 hours with some guy who thought that a quarter of the space on my side should be his...so finally I just rested my arm on his. British Airways from Toronto to London was pleasant and the food edible. The flight from London to Abu Dhabi however was not. The food was almost unedible...in fact I had to ask them [View Full Entry]

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