| Getting towards the end of my career, I'd been waiting | | | | made the right decision. I had 140 students in class |
| for some excitement in my life for years. My job with | | | | groups of 20 aged between 19 and 25. Their English |
| the Australian Government had changed after | | | | ranged from almost incapable to passable and most |
| successive restructures to a job in which I wasn't | | | | couldn't construct a simple sentence. They were |
| interested, not trained, educated or experienced. Sure, I | | | | apparently unaccustomed to study and not very |
| coped with the work, but I felt like a fish out of water. I | | | | motivated to learn. Life at college was an escape |
| desperately needed a new direction as I sat waiting | | | | from their homes. |
| for a promised redundancy package. | | | | My ladies wore traditional garb ... black abeyas from |
| When my wife returned from a trip to the Middle East | | | | neck to foot and black headdress. Several had only |
| and suggested I apply for a job in the UAE, I thought | | | | their eyes visible. Their names were not only lengthy, |
| she was joking. She wasn't. Within days I was | | | | but mostly new to me. I had great difficulty pronouncing |
| searching the Internet for job vacancies and found | | | | some names and remembering who was who when |
| there were hundreds. Within a month or two I had a | | | | they all looked similar; brown eyes, brown skin and |
| job offer to work as a teacher within the Faculty of | | | | black clothing. After I settled in, I began to realize that |
| Business at Al Ain Women's College, one of 13 Higher | | | | they were a very immature lot compared with |
| Colleges of Technology. | | | | Australian teenagers. Many had never been to a shop; |
| Having never lived overseas before, it was a big | | | | most had never spoken to males outside their families; |
| decision to go somewhere with a vastly different | | | | their knowledge of the world was very narrow fitting |
| culture, far away from our children and grandson. We | | | | tightly within the strict bounds of their Islamic religion, |
| decided that we'd take the challenge and if it didn't | | | | culture and place in life. They had mainly pleasant, |
| work out, we could always come home. | | | | humorous dispositions, which was a lifesaver as I |
| Our Arrival | | | | quickly developed an excellent rapport with most of |
| We arrived at Dubai International Airport at some | | | | them who in some ways reminded me of my own |
| ungodly hour after a 14 hour trip from Melbourne, | | | | daughter now so far away. |
| Australia. We had been told that we needed to pick up | | | | This strange fellow from Australia with a funny accent |
| our Temporary Visas from an immigration desk, but | | | | who spoke fast and occasionally used Australianisms |
| while we found the desk, the staff was elusive, our | | | | soon fitted in to his new surrounds and made friends |
| first clue that everything doesn't run as well in the UAE | | | | with the locals. |
| as it does in Australia. Within an hour, we had passed | | | | While work was a considerable challenge trying to |
| through Customs, collected our bags and visas and left | | | | motivate them, deliver education in a meaningful and |
| the airport with a very likeable, well-dressed and | | | | understandable way, it was also satisfying to know |
| well-spoken Indian man called Vijay. Vijay was a driver | | | | that one day, what I had helped them learn, would be |
| employed by the Al Ain Colleges and we found out | | | | of value to them and would, perhaps, help the United |
| soon that he was the person who made things | | | | Arab Emirates. |
| happen for new employees ... Mr Fix It. | | | | Making Friends |
| After signing my contract, I was handed two | | | | The best part of the whole adventure was the new |
| envelopes. One contained a sum of cash to cover our | | | | friends we made with expats from Canada, England, |
| stay at a hotel for six days, the other had a cheque | | | | Scotland, Ireland, the US, Jordan, Egypt, France, Turkey |
| for 30,000 Dirhams for setup costs. We had no idea | | | | and even Australia. With the cost of living so cheap, |
| what a Dirham was really worth, but it seemed like a | | | | we dined out frequently and celebrated every birthday, |
| lot of money ... and I hadn't done a day's work yet. | | | | national day, and often dined out just to share a meal, |
| Settling-In | | | | a glass of wine and some good company. |
| We found Al Ain a delightful oasis with two-lane | | | | During our summer holidays we managed to travel all |
| carriageways divided by iron fences and date palm | | | | over Europe, to Canada, Hong Kong and several |
| trees. It was surprisingly green for a place in the middle | | | | Middle Eastern countries outside the UAE. We spent a |
| of the desert, but everywhere we went, we saw that | | | | week at Cyprus. One of our reasons for moving to |
| the municipality had taken great pride in providing a | | | | the UAE was to travel. We certainly did that and it |
| beautiful city with an excellent system of roads and | | | | was much cheaper than doing it from Down Under. |
| infrastructure. It was much nicer than our town in | | | | Making Money |
| Australia and water was obviously plentiful. | | | | While my salary was about the same as I earned in |
| Very evident to us was the difference in dress among | | | | Australia, there is no income tax. In fact there is hardly |
| the populous who were largely Indian, Pakistani, | | | | any tax at all, although if you dine at a hotel now, you |
| Afghani, Asians, and Arabs. Caucasians like us were | | | | pay 10% service charge and 6% tourism tax. There |
| relatively scarce (about 3,000 among 400,000 | | | | are fees for motor vehicle registration, driver's licences |
| population). We could tell where people were from by | | | | etc, but all were much, much cheaper than I would |
| their dress, if not their appearance. Even the Arabs | | | | have paid in Australia. Petrol was dirt cheap as was |
| have different dress; visitors from nearby Oman have | | | | food and almost everything else, so we lived like kings |
| headdress that distinguishes them from the local | | | | and deprived ourselves of nothing, knowing that this |
| Emiratis, but both wear similar kandora (a long white, | | | | dream would eventually end. |
| dress-like robe). | | | | Although we hadn't gone to the UAE to make money, |
| Everyone we met was friendly, despite frequent | | | | my wife didn't work and we did our very best to |
| language barriers. There was no graffiti and litter was | | | | spend it on travel, a new car and living comfortably, |
| scarce. Buildings ranged from ostentatious to crumbling | | | | we left with a large amount of cash, some new |
| brick box abodes for low paid labour. Our | | | | furniture and tailor-made clothing etc. We did very well |
| accommodation in a huge housing complex was | | | | out of the UAE. |
| palatial by Australian standards; four bedrooms and a | | | | Conclusion |
| maid's room, five toilets, high ceilings, and a two car | | | | When you live in an isolated place like Australia, it is |
| garage. We couldn't believe that two people were to | | | | easy to become Australia-centric and maybe a bit |
| be accommodated in such large accommodation. | | | | arrogant. Visiting other places broadens your outlook |
| The HCT's orientation for our 14 new staff was | | | | and is the experience of a lifetime that every |
| lengthy and comprehensive, the best orientation | | | | Australian should take. It has a humbling effect when |
| program I had ever experienced. In September I began | | | | you see countries that don't have drunks stumbling |
| teaching with classes in human resources topics for | | | | about the streets, no graffiti, no petty theft, no street |
| final year students and computing and general | | | | brawls, and clean, well-dressed people with pride, unlike |
| business for first year students. | | | | much of Australia. Conversely, a couple of countries |
| The Challenges of Teaching | | | | we visited reminded us how very lucky we are to be |
| For the first few months I wondered whether I had | | | | able to get on a jet and return to Australia. |