Get Back to the Hotel!

This morning started the same as the others, breakfast with the teachers, chit chatting, laughing, making memories.  I decided today was the day I would try Camel's Milk.  Well, it wasn't disgusting, however it wasn't something I would ask for a big glass of either.  Lindsey and I tried it together, she is the one pictured with me.  Rebecca, Casey, Lindsey and I decided to head to the mall to look for a suitable dress to wear to the Emirates Palace that night for their swanky ladies night party.  I was able to find a long flowy dress.  As I was in line to pay for it, the girls grabbed my attention to let me know that there were teachers that were supposed to be headed to Professional Development in 20 minutes!  We walked our butts out of the mall and to our hotel so fast, I was a hott mess by the time I got to my room!  We all went to our rooms to see if there were notes under our doors stating we had to be at the meeting.  The meeting turned out to be for Cycle 2 (middle school) and Cycle 3 (high school) teachers only.  Poor Lindsey had only 7 minutes to prepare herself for this meeting!  It turns out since it was such last minute notice, there were people who showed up in workout clothes!  Since the rest of us didn't have anything scheduled, we went back to the mall.  We shopped for probably a couple more hours and called it a day.  We retired to our rooms to take much needed naps, however I haven't really been able to take a nap here, so I just rested.  I turned the TV on to the Today show which was awesome to watch real time with the people in New York.  I made a call to my parents to catch up which was nice to hear what they are doing.  I found out that my dad had called to see how the dogs are doing at the boarder and they reported that they were both doing fine.  This made my heart happy to know that Moe is doing well.  I knew he would because he loves other dogs and attention, two of the things he encounters the most there!  
I called down to the front desk to ask for a fork so I could eat my salad I purchased for dinner.  They answered the phone "good evening Miss Lardie, how may I help you", I was taken aback by this, it's so fancy and customer service oriented in this country!  I was checking up on Facebook seeing what other teachers were doing when I noticed Alecia had received a note under her door to be in the ballroom to sign contracts at 8 PM!  So, what did I do?  Well of course I stared at the door for the next 5-10 minutes waiting for my note!  It came!  I sent Rebecca a message trying to tell her that she needed to get back to the hotel because of contracts.  I received a call from her telling me to get my butt down to the hotel lobby and bring my drivers license to have translated.  I threw on some clothes, grabbed my purse and booked it to the elevator.  Of course this had to be the time that on my way down in the elevator, I picked up about 5 people on 5 different floors making my elevator ride excruciatingly long!!  The gentlemen that was translating our documents was in the lobby slightly later than he had told people, we had to be in the ballroom at 8 and we got into a line at 7:45!  The licenses have to be translated in order to get a drivers license here.  It only cost me $16 for him to translate it and get the proper stamp on it for me.  They should be returned to us on Thursday.  
In the ballroom, we were greeted by some employees from Nirvana who is dealing with our meetings and communicating (it appears) with Abu Dhabi Education Council.  He handed out Visas and Passports to those who would be getting their medical exam tomorrow.  I was not one of the chosen ones, which only meant I had the day free tomorrow.  The time came when he called out our names to get our contracts which had our location and school on it!  It was like being called up to receive an Oscar only you didn't give a speech and no one really cared if you were called except for you because everyone else was worried about themselves being called!  I received my envelope, opened it and saw that I was going to be teaching in Al Gharbia which is in the Western Region.  This is a fairly remote location, but not as remote as others.  I found that I will be in the same region as Rebecca, so I was happy to hear that!  I looked at the school name which is Al Mahabba KG school which means I will be teaching Kindergarten!  The Kindergarten here is equivalent to PreK in the United States.  I also realized that I will have an Arabic co-teacher which I think is so awesome!  I am wondering how in the hell they came up with me teaching Kindergarten though, my qualifications are K-8 however my experience is in 2nd and 5th grade.  I don't get it, but I am not complaining!  I have been told that my school day will start at 7:30 and end at 12:45 on Sundays and Thursdays and 7:30-1:45 on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.  
I did some research about the area and found that it is where they have camel races!!! I am so freakin' excited to see that and to see a camel!  I called my mom and dad and talked with them about my placement and how I was feeling about it, etc.  They are excited for me and wanted to know more, however I couldn't tell them anything more than the limited information I did know. After all the excitement, I decided to go down to the ladies locker room where there is a jacuzzi and relax.  I wasn't able to get much sleep for he night, I am seriously tired of "sleeping" or as I like to call it "napping" for 4-5 hours a night and then waking up and being ready to go!  I somehow manage to make it through the day, but I am seriously lagging in the energy department.  Enjoy the pics!

Breakfast Buffet 

Progression of tasting Camel Milk