Back to School - October Break 2017 in Dubai
Back to School - October Break 2017 in Dubai
We returned for our second year at APIS at the end of July and it felt good! We knew what we were doing, what to expect, knew the kids, etc. There wasn't as much pressure or nerves this time around. We met the new teachers and already it felt like a positive year. My 5th grade class is stellar. They have great study and organization habits and just do what they are supposed to! More than half of the class is girls, so I think that helps with the behavior :)
We joined back with our job searching company, Search Associates, in October to start the process again. We visited our friends Mary and Luke in Dubai for the October break to see if we could envision ourselves living/working there. We met with a couple of schools to get a tour and meet some teachers. We did a BigBus tour for 3 days to get our bearings and get off at all of the major attractions. The old city part of Dubai was what I pictured the Middle East. Dusty, yet colorful with souks (markets) selling spices, gold, carpets, and food. We learned that Dubai isn't very old and they are constantly expanding. Dubai has everything - lots of glitz and things to do such as malls with EVERY store you can imagine, beaches, indoor ski parks, endless restaurants and excursions.
On Thursday we took a day trip to Abu Dhabi through the BigBus company. It is super convenient to not have to worry about transportation in a big city. First stop was a boat cruise at the Yaz Marina circuit. Yaz Island has a race track for cars, horses, and Ferrari World! I wish we had time for Ferrari World because it looked and sounded amazing - but that would be a day in itself. Maybe one day...
In the afternoon we rode around the rest of the city and stopped at the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque for a tour. I'm so glad we did this tour at the end because we went into the Mosque at sunset, and came out at night when it was all lit up! It was beautiful and the tour was fascinating - we learned about how they made the Mosque and other facts about the Muslim Religion.
The next few days we spent at two different beaches and did a marina cruise on a boat that was included with our BigBus pass. There are many beaches and water front locations to hang out in Dubai it's overwhelming! I don't know how people were not under umbrellas but we couldn't stand the sun for more than 30 minutes. The water was beautiful and a refreshing temperature. We stayed until the lifeguards kicked everyone out the water the minute after sunset!
Fridays and Saturdays are the weekends for the Middle East and Mary and Luke spent those full days with us. On Friday we went on a desert safari! A jeep picked us up and took us about 45 minutes out of the city to the dessert where we dune bashed. It was intense, terrifying, and a little queesy. I don't know how to describe it, and I'm amazed we didn't roll down the sand cliffs but it was fun! We took pictures at sunset and then went on to the camp. At the camp we met up with other groups for a big dinner and a show. You could smoke hooka, get henna, ride a camel (which I'm slightly ashamed I did), go sand boarding (which was not very fun) and watch a belly dancer and man that could spin a thousand times in a circle. Definitely an interesting night but a fun way to spend our last night in Dubai. You can see our desert safari video here.
On Saturday afternoon we went out to The Palm and swam at the Atlantis hotel and Water park. If your an Amazing Race fan, you can challenge yourself to the Pharaoh's Revenge...a tube that drops you 25 meters straight down a water slide. I was the only one in the group to do it! The worst part was waiting to be dropped, after that you forgot you were in a tube. You can see the video on our YouTube channel here.
December
When we came back from October break, it was about the time we started our job search again. While we've had a few Skype interviews with a schools in Israel and Egypt, we haven't found a good fit yet. Ben and I are still considering coming home, but want to see what our options are abroad first! We go to a job fair in Bangkok in January (and get to see our friends Mary and Luke again like 2 years ago!).
This weekend we are meeting my mom in New Zealand for a grand 3 week tour of the South Island!
We returned for our second year at APIS at the end of July and it felt good! We knew what we were doing, what to expect, knew the kids, etc. There wasn't as much pressure or nerves this time around. We met the new teachers and already it felt like a positive year. My 5th grade class is stellar. They have great study and organization habits and just do what they are supposed to! More than half of the class is girls, so I think that helps with the behavior :)
We joined back with our job searching company, Search Associates, in October to start the process again. We visited our friends Mary and Luke in Dubai for the October break to see if we could envision ourselves living/working there. We met with a couple of schools to get a tour and meet some teachers. We did a BigBus tour for 3 days to get our bearings and get off at all of the major attractions. The old city part of Dubai was what I pictured the Middle East. Dusty, yet colorful with souks (markets) selling spices, gold, carpets, and food. We learned that Dubai isn't very old and they are constantly expanding. Dubai has everything - lots of glitz and things to do such as malls with EVERY store you can imagine, beaches, indoor ski parks, endless restaurants and excursions.
On Thursday we took a day trip to Abu Dhabi through the BigBus company. It is super convenient to not have to worry about transportation in a big city. First stop was a boat cruise at the Yaz Marina circuit. Yaz Island has a race track for cars, horses, and Ferrari World! I wish we had time for Ferrari World because it looked and sounded amazing - but that would be a day in itself. Maybe one day...
In the afternoon we rode around the rest of the city and stopped at the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque for a tour. I'm so glad we did this tour at the end because we went into the Mosque at sunset, and came out at night when it was all lit up! It was beautiful and the tour was fascinating - we learned about how they made the Mosque and other facts about the Muslim Religion.
The next few days we spent at two different beaches and did a marina cruise on a boat that was included with our BigBus pass. There are many beaches and water front locations to hang out in Dubai it's overwhelming! I don't know how people were not under umbrellas but we couldn't stand the sun for more than 30 minutes. The water was beautiful and a refreshing temperature. We stayed until the lifeguards kicked everyone out the water the minute after sunset!
Fridays and Saturdays are the weekends for the Middle East and Mary and Luke spent those full days with us. On Friday we went on a desert safari! A jeep picked us up and took us about 45 minutes out of the city to the dessert where we dune bashed. It was intense, terrifying, and a little queesy. I don't know how to describe it, and I'm amazed we didn't roll down the sand cliffs but it was fun! We took pictures at sunset and then went on to the camp. At the camp we met up with other groups for a big dinner and a show. You could smoke hooka, get henna, ride a camel (which I'm slightly ashamed I did), go sand boarding (which was not very fun) and watch a belly dancer and man that could spin a thousand times in a circle. Definitely an interesting night but a fun way to spend our last night in Dubai. You can see our desert safari video here.
On Saturday afternoon we went out to The Palm and swam at the Atlantis hotel and Water park. If your an Amazing Race fan, you can challenge yourself to the Pharaoh's Revenge...a tube that drops you 25 meters straight down a water slide. I was the only one in the group to do it! The worst part was waiting to be dropped, after that you forgot you were in a tube. You can see the video on our YouTube channel here.
December
When we came back from October break, it was about the time we started our job search again. While we've had a few Skype interviews with a schools in Israel and Egypt, we haven't found a good fit yet. Ben and I are still considering coming home, but want to see what our options are abroad first! We go to a job fair in Bangkok in January (and get to see our friends Mary and Luke again like 2 years ago!).
This weekend we are meeting my mom in New Zealand for a grand 3 week tour of the South Island!
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