Min Wayn Inta...

This Arabic phrase means, "Where are you from?" After today's orientation, I can proudly say that I live in the town of Baniyas in Abu Dhabi. After praying and being content with wherever I was placed, I was ecstatic to find out that I will be working near the capital city of the UAE, my first pick. Breakfast was not as appealing this morning because it had some of the same dishes as earlier in the week but it was free so great in my books. We headed over to the ADEC (Abu Dhabi Educational Council) to begin teacher orientation. One of our presenters, Khaled Subaihi (head of video production/multi-media) was hilarious and down to Earth, which eased a lot of our tension about what to expect. He went through general information about how things are different in the East. He informed us that Arabians tend to keep more personal space when greeting and that Friday is the religious day as opposed to Sunday in the West. He advised us not to eat with our left hand because that's what people use wipe with. He joked that he would beat the left-handed out of his son if he found out that he wasn't right-handed. His sarcasm was on point because people thought he was serious at first. He also informed us that it is very rude to show the sole of your shoes or feet when speaking to someone. Oh! That's why it was such an insult when that Middle Eastern dude threw a show at George Bush a few years back! He then went on to explain out Abu Dhabi is more conservative than Dubai. The crowd erupted in laughter when he said that Dubai was, "off the hizzain"! Right then, I knew I had to network with this dude.

Levi, a teacher from Houston, and I met him after his speech and found out that he is also a film maker and pretty well-connected with the Hip-Hop scene. We traded contacts. He said he would take us to a tailor to buy the traditional kandora and dishdasha that men wear if we wanted. Khaled said that we were allowed to wear the traditional clothing but, Levi, who is black, said he was shocked when he went in to a tailor and the owner would not sell to him. I guess racism didn't stay on the continent of North America. Khaled was so cool that Levi did the DJ Khaled imitation assuming he would get the pop culture reference. He didn't and I realized, right then, how far we are from home!

Lunch was great! We had tons of traditional finger foods from falafel to small turkey sandwiches with our choice of mango, orange, or strawberry juice. The day-long workshops were a little overwhelming but informative. I learned that I will officially be teaching high school English/Literature. There are very high expectations for teachers but I am confident that I will fit in well. The trainers suggested that we listen to our leaders and build relationships with faculty to make the transition easier. After the sessions were over, we all received our placements. Some were upset that they didn't get placed in Abu Dhabi. One girl from England said that she would fly back home if she didn't get placed in Abu Dhabi. Luckily, she did. Most were thankful for their placements even though they will be far from a big city. We were also told of a nice furniture allowance and pay advance that we should be getting in a couple of days. We should also be getting our keys to our permanent housing as well. That was all good news because I am tired of eating the Arabic equivalent of Ramen noodles! Some of us plan on going to Ikea tomorrow to begin pricing some furniture. Later in the evening, my new homegirl, that I affectionately call Mo because she resembles my poet friend, Mahogany Browne, had a small Bible study together reading Scriptures about spiritually healthy thinking. It was a refreshing discussion because there aren't many Christian churches although it is allowed in the UAE.