Expat Travel Mom

A few weeks in, and the ordinary is starting to turn extraordinary.

Abayas and the Grand Mosque

We've had an amazing time exploring Abu Dhabi so far. Because of my teaching position in the local schools, I need to be covered head to toe, and honestly, that doesn't faze me one bit. I've welcomed the new adventure and everything it brings, abayas included. Finding mine has turned into its own kind of fun, my girls especially love helping me pick them out.

We've hit some incredible sites too, including the Grand Mosque, which I genuinely can't describe in words, beyond breathtaking doesn't quite cover it. The food's been amazing as well. First plug, of all places, the InterContinental makes the best, spiciest green curry we've ever had. But outside the hotel walls, we've been feasting on biryani, falafel, naan, shish tawook, and so much more.

Living Out of a Hotel

Now, mind you, we'd been living in a hotel for two weeks by this point in Abu Dhabi, and while that sounds amazing, fully paid for and all, it genuinely takes a toll on a family of five. And to top it off, the day before we were set to transfer to our new city, Al Ain, I ripped my toenail clean off on the hotel bed. The hospital care that followed was excellent, the staff genuinely incredible, and we may or may not have gotten a quiet upgrade once we settled into the InterContinental Al Ain for the weeks ahead.

Settling Into Al Ain

Living in Al Ain is a completely different experience from Abu Dhabi. They call it the Oasis, and you see why immediately, parks and green space everywhere, genuinely made for families. That's likely why all the teachers with two or more kids seemed to get placed out here. We now have two bedrooms, a living room, and a full kitchen in our new hotel setup, and we know exactly how fortunate that makes us. Other families here are stuck in basic hotel rooms as a family of three or four, no kitchen at all, buying induction cookers and electric kettles just to make do in their rooms. The promised "one more week in a hotel" isn't holding up, and understandably, feelings are starting to flare.

Small Moments of Culture Shock and Kindness

Yesterday, I had quite the experience. I went to the grocery store to stock up while Jared stayed back with the kids at the hotel. On the way out of the parking lot, my taxi driver stopped, got out, and prayed on the side of the road, a small, quiet moment that reminded me exactly how far from home I am. He hadn't had time for his evening call to prayer yet, so he simply stopped and made time for it.

Then came one of those good surprises. A salon visit turned into an unexpected friendship with a local woman who ended up helping me through a genuine money mishap and driving me home herself. I was sitting there, all the women around me speaking Arabic, having a perfectly nice time in a very unfamiliar place, when it came time to pay and my new UAE bank card simply didn't work. The kind woman getting her hair done next to me, already finished, offered to cover it on the spot. Then she drove me all the way back to the hotel. That's the UAE so far, culture shock and kindness, often arriving in the very same afternoon.

Ordinary is already starting to feel extraordinary, exactly the way I hoped it would.