Arrival in Dubai

Marhaba, Dubai!

It has been one week since we arrived and already Dubai is beginning to feel just a little by like home.  Tracy and Wyatt’s school made a tremendously welcoming effort—from being greeted at the airport by the entire leadership team, having all of our luggage and boxes transported in to our apartment, and to finding our beds already made when we walked into our new apartment, they have done everything they can to make us feel welcome and comfortable.  Meanwhile, Travis has been shuttling back and forth between his company’s Abu Dhabi and Dubai offices, taking care of his on-boarding and immigration processes.  We can’t drive yet, so a school bus has been sent to collect Wyatt and Tracy every day.  Meanwhile, Travis has enjoyed the comfort of chauffeured commuting; after this convenience, he may not be as excited about buying a car and driving himself!   

So…what’s it like?  Well, many details feel familiar and a lot like Seattle; others are quite distinct to Dubai.  What do we mean?  Our apartment, for example.  It’s a pretty standard two-bedroom…except that there is a light switch next to each bathroom door that doesn’t turn on any lights; it activates the water heater.  There’s also a switch to turn on the stove and every electrical outlet, individually.  Our front-loader washing machine is almost identical to the one we had back in Seattle, except it’s about ¼ the size and located under the kitchen counter in lieu of a dishwasher.  I was disappointed about that at first, until I realized that it washes almost exactly what we can hang on the drying rack we bought from Ikea over the weekend.  (The Ikea was basically identical to the one in the States, too…except it also had tags in Arabic and the clientele were significantly more ethnically diverse.) 

Speaking of diminutive sizes, our apartment is comfortable but cozy.  The view from our living room

on the 26^th floor is inviting, even if it is just the local Sports City high rise buildings and canal(?!) under construction.  We are grateful for the intentional down-sizing we did before we left, as our closets and cabinets are nearly full and our shipping container hasn’t yet arrived (early October?).  Interestingly, we don’t miss most of what is in it, except maybe bicycles.  These last few months we have been amazed with how simplifying begets more simplifying.  We are planning to let go of quite a bit more after our container arrives.  It’s quite freeing.  Without so much stuff to occupy our attention (Unpacking is mercifully quick when you “only” bring 11 boxes and 4 suitcases!), we will lots of time to relax and enjoy life.  Travis and Wyatt have been playing Legos together, and we are already well-known users of the rooftop pool and fitness area.

 

Sunset Over Jumeirah and the Arabian Gulf

Wait a second…why do you say you’re “well-known”?  We are not notorious, I promise.  It’s because there are always at least two building employees in the fitness area/pool when we come—a full-time lifeguard and a cleaner.  The common areas are immaculate.  Our building also has a full-time security guard, maintenance man, and doorman/woman.  This is part of a general pattern here.  Dubai is simply more highly staffed than Seattle.  To Tracy's delight, this pattern carries over to our school, too.  From the five administrators (for our school of 600 students!) to the dozens of maintenance and facilities workers that she's encountered, there are big teams mobilized everywhere we look.  There is a more polished feel than we're personally accustomed to, and more delegation is expected.  Last week Tracy learned that our school has an in-house print shop with three full-time staff members.  They were shocked to see her, and politely informed her that it was typical for her to send her teaching assistant to collect materials (…that they had prepped!), so she did not need to trouble herself to walk over “in future.”  It’s the same at Travis’ offices—they even have an “office boy” to run general errands and prepare and serve beverages to visitors.  No kidding.

With 85% of the city’s population expatriates, we have met people from many different countries.  Here are a few:  Canada, Brazil, Nepal, South Africa, India, Bangladesh, Philippines, New Zealand, Great Britain, Ireland, Hungary, Bolivia, Russia, Nepal, Pakistan, Australia...  There is an inclusive, multinational feel everywhere we look; the multilingual signage and abundant, well-stocked ethnic sections at the grocery store were a great surprise.  In addition to the opportunities to get to know so many different people and cultures, almost everyone knows what it’s like to be new here.  They have been friendly, helpful, and patient with us as we learn the ropes. 

The people we have met also seem eager to welcome us into their circles.  This week, Travis went dune bashing (more like 4x4 dune surfing) twice with a neighbor we met just last week (also a teacher at our school).  Wyatt has been having a wonderful time playing with his new school friend every day; he was invited to spend the day with his buddy this coming Sunday while Travis and Tracy are at meetings.  Tracy thinks many of her new co-workers could also become friends, but she tends to wade in a little more slowly; it will be a challenge for her to step out of my comfort zone and accept the fast friendships that are being offered.  All three of us will need to find a balance between building new friendships and maintaining our bonds with the dear people we have left behind.  Luckily, we’ll have plenty of free time to do it.

Taking a Pause--Stuck on the Crest

And in regard to the weather?  When we arrived, it felt intense, with temperatures around 110 F and humidity exceeding 90% every afternoon.  Supposedly the weather is still the same (remarkably consistent day-to-day, in fact), but it seems much more tolerable now.  So yes, we are adapting well to our new environment--culturally, climactically, and socially.