13 things in 30 days.

 

September 21 marked one month since I landed in Abu Dhabi! I've experienced a wide range of emotions since touch down, from sorrowful due to missing my family, church, and friends to purely ecstatic joy at my new experiences. As these first 30 days have passed at the beginning of my journey I've encountered many learning experiences. Enjoy the leisurely reading below; some thoughts are more serious than others but its all in good fun! 



1. The first day of school is no big deal.
Yes you read that correctly! All of my fellow educators know the stress that we feel as the first day of school approaches as we organize classroom, populate class lists, and attend endless meetings in preparation. But here, my first day at work was the first day of school, where I had an average of 8 students in each class! And that was no big deal! At orientation they told us, "If you haven't been assigned a school or you just aren't ready to go in on the first day, its okay just go when you can."

2. Christians are NOT the only hypocrites.

 

I feel like Christians get a bad rap for not being perfect...for being human. You know that "hallelujah, thank you Jesus" church lady that is M-E-A-N, or the deacon that loves gin almost at much as he loves Jesus...well these folks exist in every religion. Take it easy on the Christians! lol

3. Brown is brown...IS brown.
I won't go into much detail here, but shades of beautiful brown skin are everywhere and the prevailing opinions on having it seem to follow...

4. I had no idea what heat was!!!
I used to complain about humid 90 degree days in PG county. I recently found myself thinking how it felt nice outside...its 91 degrees at 10pm!

5. Smiles have dollar signs.
I get a lot more smiles and actual HELP in the hotel (where the tips are heinous as well as included) than at...well anywhere else!

6. It's always a beautiful day.
I have yet to see a mostly cloudy or overcast day, much less a drop of rain! I have to remind myself not to take beautiful days for granted.

7. P. Diddy was wrong! More money = less problems.
Aside from the "problems" associated with furnishing a new home. It's interesting to see what poverty means in a country with such great wealth. Our American middleclass is distinctly different that the Emirati middle class. However, the poverty that I've seen has been associated with such abject circumstances that it leads one to wonder...
*Sips tea...but that's not my business*

8.White privilege has no borders.
This has been a lightly debated topic, and initially I was on the side of there being an absence of white privilege here. However, after closer observation I've come to see that the meritocracy of privilege that white Americans enjoy in the United States can also be observed overseas. Although we are surely not at home the old euphemism "white is right" still seems to hold true. 

9. I'm American.
My father asked me recently if I considered myself to be Black or American. Prior to living here my answer was proudly, "I am black." BUT as of late when asked my answer is "American." White privilege has no borders and Americans as a whole seem to reap the benefits of that.  American privilege carries a certain...tone. I've witnessed someone's entire demeanor change when they heard my American accent.

10. Black women are the ish!
I have met countless black women here that I consider to be movers and shakers that were too fancy for their homes of origin! Us newbees are pretty cool, but the women that have been here for over a decade and have created businesses and made lives for themselves! Now that takes guts and I tip my hat to those sisters!!

11. America is relegated to New York and Los Angeles.
Simply put, all of my local students and other adults for that matter (with the exception of one banker that I met that said he lived in Charlotte for a few years while doing business with Bank of America) have only the knowledge and pretty pictures of NYC and LA. And not to mention they look at me like a two-headed monster because I haven't been to LA!

12. No addresses!
I do not have a physical address...no one and no where has a physical address! Seriously...I don't know what street I live on. What the what!!

13. I don't need street names to find my way...or GPS for that matter.
No street name..no problem! No GPS...no problem! Now to be honest, I've gotten lost several times and called my bff to help me navigate these streets. BUT the many times that I've figured it out on my own is pure awesome! I found out that my since of direction is even better than I knew!



Thank you for partaking in the first dose of 'A Journey Along the Journey'! I hope that you continue along the ride, until we meet again...be blessed!