Visas

Well I think after 8 months of waiting that I may finally have my residency visa!!! When I first arrived they asked for quite a bit of paperwork and I have to admit that I was a little slow in turning them in, but 5 months later the paperwork has been processed. We are in the last few days of the process, the final papers are being filed and within a few days I will go in for a blood test. Once these things are complete then I will be an official "temporary" resident of the United Arab Emirates.

The visa will last for 3 years and allows me to work during that time for my current employer. I believe the visa can be continually renewed until a person is of retirement age. Once you retire you are kicked out back to your home country - even if you were born here! (Okay let me explain that one: a co-worker's parents came from India, he was born here, but is not a UAE national, so when he retires he will be kicked out and must return to India, a place that he has never lived!)

After 8 months of running for the border I will no longer be obliged to go out of my way to update my visa. This will really help me to move onto other worries that are bothering me....

The Toilet - Everyone needs it

When we were young my sisters and I always knew where the bathrooms were in every store or restaurant that we visited. I guess as a kid it was like an adventure to see the bathroom and know where it was at; now that I’m older this has not really gone away.

In Abu Dhabi everywhere I go I know where the bathroom is or I find out very quickly. Here I have found that there are many types of bathrooms and I have learned to not be surprised by what is behind that female bathroom sign.

Most women here use the sprayer instead of toilet paper, so I know that the majority of bathroom floors will be covered in water, but I always hope that I can find one without it. Many mall bathrooms have a cleaner that walks around and mops the stalls, keeps the towels and soap filled, and wipes down the counters, so in general the bathrooms are clean. The great things about the restrooms (no matter where I have been) are the stalls – they are fully enclosed! This means that the walls are tiled and solid, the doors close all the way (no cracks for people to look through) and they are almost floor to ceiling; there is so much privacy I wonder why we can’t have these at home!

While visiting Oman I have seen different types of bathrooms. My first experience was during my first visa run – the one where I became very ill and almost passed out due to lack of water. The Omani visa check-point was packed with people and when I visited the restroom I also found it packed with people and the floor covered with water; the toilet had no seat and there was no toilet paper. This put me right out of my comfort zone, but I survived! My other experience was more recent, while wandering at a new visa check-point we stopped at a gas station; I knew that the toilet would be a hole in the floor and it was, but I also survived that.

Even at work the bathroom is a constant issue. Without going into too many details I have found that the teachers are very messy and the toilets back up frequently. A few weeks ago they had to hire a plumber to come out and unplug the drains due to the back up and I thought we were without a bathroom (at least for a few days). While nursing a full bladder one day I wandered into an unused part of the school building and found a hidden restroom! It was meant to be and even though they have cleared up the other bathroom I still insist on venturing to my “off-the-radar” bathroom on a daily basis.

I know that this is an unusual topic, but it is something that stays on my mind while venturing in and around Abu Dhabi. I hope you found it interesting.

The Palace Hotel

We went over to the Palace Hotel to see a art show (all the artists are from the UAE), anyway, as we were leaving we took some great shots of the water fountains out front!!! Too beautiful :)

Green Apple Beer?

I sent Pepe to get some beer forgetting that he is not nearly old enough to legally purchase alcohol. He proved to be a resourceful monkey and returned with this strange concoction of barley and hops. It vaguely resembles the sudsy brew that I expect from the folks at Anheuser/Busch albeit the non-alcoholic (what's the point then) version, but the green apple depicted on the side of the can is what really piqued my interest.


I was still a little hesitant about this, so Pepe was brave enough to take the first sip of this curious libation. His face brightened and his eyes became wide as if he had just suckled the nectar from the life-giving teat of the earth-mother herself. I had to pry his arms from the can to be able to sample this supposed wonder-drink.


There is definitely a difference between monkey taste buds and my own. It actually is not half bad if you don't mind watered-down barley pop with a strong artificial apple flavoring bite. The after-taste almost reminds me that I'm drinking beer until I remember that the only reason anyone drinks Budweiser piss-water is for the benefit of the alcohol. Apple flavoring is a poor substitute for alcohol, but what else can you do to make an alcoholic beverage appealing to a non-alcoholic society such as this? What's up, Pete, where's the Cherry Coors Light?

In summary: Bad monkey! Very bad monkey!

Okay only a few weeks late but here are some pics from our Visa Run in January. Monkey had a good time :)

On our way.

We saw some camels on the way.

Everything went fast at the border! No problems this time :)

Afterwards we made a stop in Dubai to see the new mall.

We saw the three-story aquarium inside the mall.

And we ate at the only Taco Bell in the UAE!

We headed home - late at night - after a lot of food and fun :)

The Corniche

We finally made it down to the Corniche. It's the road and walkway along the ocean front in Abu Dhabi. It must be an Arabic word for waterfront or something because I have heard of other "Corniche"s in other countries. Anyway, it was amazing. They have built up this huge sidewalk area for bikes, walkers, runners, mo-peds, etc! It is so beautiful. Then, of course, you are walking right next to the water which is amazing too! We parked across the street and had to walk in this underground tunnel that was beautifully tiled. Once we emerged there were three huge water fountains flanked by stairs that led to the walkway. I couldn't believe all the water! Incredible! Walking along we saw so many people there. It was near sunset, but there were a lot of expats and nationals milling around the area. Everyone was just out enjoying the sunset and the cool breeze coming off the ocean. We both regret that it has taken us this long to make it out there, but now we regret that we live so far away from it. Now we have said that everytime we go into town we will try to walk out along the water. One of our missions over the next two weeks is to visit the beach at the end of the Corniche, which we have heard is a good swimming beach. Can't wait!

Happy New Year!!!

Well the end of the holidays is WAY past and here we are in 2009! I am not one for making (or keeping) new year's resolutions, so I did not make one.

The school semester break starts on January 16th, so most everyone I work with is gearing up to go home. It's kind of like college - at semester break everyone abandons the campus. I don't know how many people will be around our villas for break, but we may be on our own! It will be a great time for us to do some more exploring around Abu Dhabi and Dubai. There are so many things that they have to offer and we have been promising ourselves to go see more, so this will be our time!

Well, I hope that you all are off to a good start to the new year... cheers and good luck :)