The Abu Dhabi airport….my first encounter of what is to come….tons
of people in a small room fighting to get their luggage, kids running around
wild, and people taking that 1 inch of room that you left open between you and
the person beside you. I think all the
women put Thomas Gamboa to work that night, he was our hero, he would grab our
luggage off the carousel as we pointed it out….we all worked as a team to watch
other EMT kids, pass luggage back to whomever it belonged to and watch each other’s
carts and purses so we could point to luggage and maneuver.
After we finally had most of our luggage (some people were
still waiting for theirs, but we were told if we had our luggage to leave with
the group) we had to fight people walking in front of you while you’re pushing
a trolley full of luggage, stopping in front of you as you’re pushing said
trolley, and a moving sidewalk type thing that has enough of an angle that your
luggage falls off the front if you’re not prepared….good times my friends, good
times.
The bus to the hotel…omg! Luckily one of the experienced
teachers warned about the bus. The busses come equipped with 2 seats on 1 side
a middle aisle and 1 seat on the other side….with a seat that flips down to
fill the space in the aisle…..and I was near the back. Yaaaaa I’m pretty sure that wouldn’t be OSHA
approved…lol…but we made it safe and sound to the hotel.
We arrived at the Grand Millenium hotel in downtown Abu
Dhabi…niceeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. But of
course we couldn’t have an easy check in….They had all the new teachers set up
at a special table to check in with the travel agency and then get our key for
our rooms and were told our luggage would be brought to our rooms when it
arrived (it was thrown into a truck that followed..not my first choice of
options but oh well…when in Rome). So I received my room key, entered the
elevator, found the door to my room. There was no slidy thing like in the States
to stick the key card in to unlock the door…lol. Soooo being a problem solver
(with no sleep) I started holding the key to everything on the door..lol….nothing…lol.
Then I see a little yellow light to my right on the wall, but it was too dark
to really see what it was so I start holding the key to that. As I accidentally
hit a button I hear a bell inside the room, and then a click on the door
unlocking it…success! As I walk into the room, here comes a man walking towards
me from the room…..ummm, really? This is happening to me again…Jekyll Island
part deux! Luckily for me and him, he was dressed…lol. Well Matt wasn’t there
for me to laugh and back out of the room this time, so I had to apologize and
say sorry they gave me this room and key…close the door behind me and go back
downstairs. When I arrived it’s almost
like they didn’t believe me, so they told me to wait while they investigated….as
I waited the luggage arrived and I pointed out mine so they marked it with tags
as to where it went (lucky me!). Finally the hotel person came to me and apologized
and gave me a new key and new room number. I hit the elevators again….made it
to my room, which was at the end of the hallway, and being an expert now on the
key, held my key to the pad….NOTHING!...seriously???? Soooo I trekked back
downstairs, they rekeyed my card and took me back upstairs…finally in my
room!!! It was veryyyy nice!
By this time I was starving, I mean fall on the floor
someone throw me a bread crumb or I’m going to die starving. I found the room
service menu and the instructions say, just use “one touch” to order room
service…..ummm, wtf is one touch???? I couldn’t find anything with one touch on
it, I hit the number 1 on the phone, nope not it. I went through all the
manuals for the room, nothing explaining one touch, just that you use it for
everything. Yup, I had a breakdown…laid on the bed exhausted and crying….after
a few minutes of getting that out of my system, I started looking on the phone,
finally I see on the menu one touch…friggin really? So room service was
ordered, food was ate, and I facebooked my partner in crime Debra that I had
met at the Chicago airport who was stuck at the Abu Dhabi airport waiting on
her luggage. She had finally received and was at the hotel, she came up and we
chatted for a few.
The next day Debra, Thomas, and Janell ventured out, we
found the mall right next door (soooo convient and HUGEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!) and
bought a few necessities. The next few
days were spent doing things for ADEC and getting situated in the country and Debra
trying to kill me (she opted for an adventure walking in the heat)a…lol! As
well as seeing some beautiful places, going to Ikea, and visiting a few other
malls.
Within a week we received our placements and would have to
leave to go to them. I was placed in a city in the Western region of Al Gharbia
called Madinat Zayed. But before we could move in to our accommodations we had
to relocate to a hotel an hour plus away…ugh! Soooooo checking into the new
hotel….the adventure continues…..There was about 15 of us checking in to our
rooms, I was about 4th or so in line, they asked for the copies of
our passports and entry visas to make copies and start the process, the first 4
of us gave the guy making copies the items and he placed them on the desk next
tto the lady doing check in. She got through with the first 3 and looked at me,
I told her she had my copies right there (pointing down next to her), she
looked at me, then to another teacher, took their information, gave it to the
guy to make copies and handed them a room key. When she got through she looked
at me and I told her the same thing, she did exactly the same thing again….She
did this over and over and my voice got stern and louder each time, and to say
my face was starting to look a little pissed off is putting it mildly…finally I
was the last person, I broke down, I looked at her (trying not to cuss) and
said with gritted teeth…YOU HAVE MY STUFF RIGHT THERE! I started to cry again…I’m
not a crier, but I was done and exhausted! She looked down, picked up my paper
and said oh sorry miss for the miscommunication….ummm, what
miscommunication????? Buttt anyways I finally got my key and headed to where
the sign said my room should be. I get to the other side of the doorways and
the room numbers are in the 200’s, mine is in the 100’s…wtf??? Luckily I see a
porter who was coming down the hall and he asked if he could help, I told him I
was trying to find my room and told him the number. He looked a little
bewildered, repeated the number to me and I said yes. He tells me he thinks
that room is already occupied…..say it isn’t sooooooo, really??? Again????? So
we went together to the room (which I would have never found on my own) and
knocked on the door..yup one of the other teachers was already in there…..ugh! So
back to the front desk….the lady who checked me in face went pale when she saw
me coming. I remained calm, all I could do was laugh at this point….twice in
one country…who would have thunk it…lol. Finally got to my room and in…..A
couple of us received a message late that night that we had to show for work
the next day….omg I was tired, but knew I needed to go. So began the long drive
back and forth and the added stress of trying to get situated in a new country
with no car and nothing near by.
