Arrived!

I'm in the emirate of Abu Dhabi, in a city called Al Ain, about 160km from Abu Dhabi city. I'm in an apartment block, which is exclusively for staff of the company. We are all based in schools throughout the city. Mine is a girl's primary school, about 10 minutes drive away from the apartment.
School starts on September 15, and it looks like I will have to get used to the fact that I'm not in an Australian school! Children go home at 1:30, and are in class for a maximum of 165 days a year, but I've been warned it is actually much less than this, but not to stress!
The apartment is good, porcelain tile floors, very high ceilings. Practically no storage though, but we'll not worry about that. The washing machine is in the kitchen, the balcony is tiny, but adequate for drying clothes. I put my washing out overnight to dry and it was all dry by the morning.
Outside the building are lots of Indian men who work on the construction sites that are around, they just look at the women as we walk past, but don't talk, and are quite safe. They just sit on the steps of the building, a bit like strays. Many of them sleep in the open air, on the roof of the building next door. I can see them from my window on the third floor.
I have visited two malls, the Al Ain Mall, and Bawadi Mall. Bawadi is amazing, full of shops I know from the UK, as well as a huge Carrefore which sells anything you could want. I'll wait until Mark arrives to get a tv, only another two weeks away.
I don't have a lot of internet access yet, and will not have full access until I get my residency visa, and that might be a couple of months away, so I'll write more when I can.

Tickets are here!

Finally I have my plane tickets, leaving on the 20th August. I will be living in Al Ain, Abu Dhabi's second main city, and the birthplace of Sheik Zayed, so a very important place for the Emirati people. It is an oasis, and a lovely place to live. There will be lots for me to photograph when I'm there.

Getting ready to go.

So much to do. I'm off to Abu Dhabi in less than two weeks and there is still packing to be done, and the house to leave nicely vacant. I'm going to write about my time in Abu Dhabi, I hope to be there for two years, and want to let all my friends and family experience it with me. 

Will be posting regular updates, see you in two weeks!

Cheers,

Michelle