January arrival

January 23, 2009

We've now been in Dubai for several days & are starting to get settled in...we've found an apartment (papers to be signed after the weekend), but are still looking for a school for Chloe. Jim's been in to work a couple of times, and will start in earnest next week, with days off here and there to move, shop for cars etc. We will move into the apartment as soon as our stuff arrives from Moscow, probably around February 8th. Until then, we remain in our temporary apartment -- quite fine except for the fact you can only get internet access in the lobby, where I am now listening to screaming children and a video game that does a Bugs Bunny-style laugh every so often.

Dubai is interesting so far...we had a tour of the city with our relocation agent where we saw the famous 7-star hotel and drove onto the Palm Island residential area (kind of cool, kind of weird...no trees or greenery yet, just crammed in giant villas, with the whole "trunk" area of the tree filled with giant apartment blocks) and drove through the newer developments further inland. Parts of the city are so beautiful, amazing architecture for sure, but lots is pretty run-down looking too. We haven't really checked out all the fancy malls or more arabic-style markets yet, I guess that'll have to wait until we are settled in more. I promise to do all of that so that when visitors come, I'll be prepared with all the best sights!

Our new apartment is quite fine...not as big or well equipped as we were in Moscow -- that was a surprise to me! But our budget here is somewhat limited, and we opted to stay within our budget rather than go over -- we are here to save money after all! Our building is brand-new, with a gym and a rooftop pool. Our apartment is 2 bedroom, but set itself apart from other 2-bed apartments by having a little box room for storage, quite impressive! We have to furnish it ourselves, including all appliances -- another reason not to go over-budget on the rent. Luckily, there are good networks here for second-hand furniture, as it's such a transient population here. There is also an Ikea, and various other furniture and appliance stores. We'll have options! That'll be my next two weeks...shopping for furniture! We have all our house stuff coming from Moscow, so no need to buy dishes, linens, etc, and we do have a couple of bookshelves and a desk for Chloe. It's a start.

Quite a few things have to wait until we have our resident's permits... for instance, we can't shop for a car yet, or get cell phones. (Luckily Jim has one from work already!) We'll need 2 cars here; it's a driving city, and the public transport isn't really practical here considering the heat most of the year. We are also still shopping for schools... finding one that fits all our desires, plus is fairly close to home, plus has seats available is proving to be a little challenging. The 2 best schools are totally full, and not at all close to where we live (chosen for its proximity to Jim's work, and the fact that the area near Jim's work is much cheaper than other areas!). Many of the schools with American curriculum are really geared toward Arabic students; not a problem in itself, but I'd really like Chloe to have the chance to meet kids from all over. Almost none of the schools offer Spanish as a second language, which is what Chloe's been studying. Many have very expensive busing, which DHL is not paying for. ALL have uniforms, which Chloe is reconciling herself to. I've heard that most schools here are very high quality, but it's turning out to be pretty hard to judge! There are so many schools here that it's difficult to find people who know them all and have formed opinions. Can you tell it's turning out to be a little frustrating? Moscow was SO much easier, American or British, one of each at her grade level. And her school there is looking to be much better in terms of facilities and courses offered than anything we've seen here. We will keep looking this week, and probably choose one that is close to home, while looking into the 2 top recommended schools (both are full), with a view to getting on the wait list for the fall. Wish us luck!!

We're all enjoying the weather, though I'm a bit worried...it's absolutely perfect for me right now, low 20's and sunny, but apparently 8 months of the year it's 30-50 degrees. Since 40 is my official melting point, I might need a place to stay in Canada in the summer!