As an American who lives in Washington State, I have travelled by car to Canada more times than I can count. The new passport laws have changed and now Americans are required to have a passport to enter Canada. Going through Canadian customs was the first experience I had with international customs, and I was shocked to see them stamp my passport! I honestly did not want my first passport stamp to from Canada, a place I had been to numerous times and driven across. I wanted my first stamp to from somewhere cool, exotic, far away. Such as the United Arab Emirates!! Not Canada! A place I could drive to in two and a half hours! Don’t get me wrong, for all the Canadians reading this, I LOVE Canada. Think it’s the bees knees. Has great cities and beautiful untouched land. And Mounties. Arrival in the UAE was a breeze. You signed a declaration form and the Abu Dhabi Education Council met us right outside the terminal, gave us our pink work visas, got our eyes scanned, and the passports stamped. It was easy. Nobody asked about medications or censored items and are illegal to bring into the UAE. I wonder if it is as easy getting out as it is getting in….
Customs
September 26th, 2009Bags, Bags, Bags…!
September 26th, 2009Flying from Seattle, Washington to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates is quite a large task. I had to fly two different airlines, Air Canada into Toronto and then Etihad Airways to Abu Dhabi. I had never flown international before and the first time was definitely a learning experience. A word of the wise to anyone flying international (or domestic for that matter) and moving and/or taking extra baggage, learn the baggage restrictions and fees and do not accept any less from the airline. I looked up the fees for extra baggage for both airlines and calculated spending approximately $500.00 USD to bring two extra bags, total, for legs of my journey. This was not the case. The Seattle airport does not have a ticket counter for Air Canada, so I was checked in by United Airlines, and airline I do not fly and now definitely never will. The ticket agents were extremely rude and unfamiliar with the baggage restrictions, requirements, and fees for Air Canada. Anyone who has had to through their personal items in the middle of the airport knows this is not a fun experience. Not only did I had to take out items, I was overcharged by $400.00 USD. Now I am in a dispute with Air Canada for United Airlines mistake that happened in Seattle and I am in the Middle East…not any easy task. I am boycotting United Airlines forever and will do the same to Air Canada unless this mistake is taken care of. Note to the wise: if they try to charge you more, put your foot down, stand your ground, and call the airline themselves and get it figured out. Now my credit card is being charged interest on a fee it never should have seen.
Authentication Procedures
August 3rd, 2009There is nothing like driving to your state capital (Olympia) to have documents authenticated when it is 100 degrees outside and you are driving a car with an air conditioner that for despite better words, stinks. My experience actually authenticating the documents was quite painless, however getting the documents and understanding how to actually get them authenticated was confusing.
I have recently completed my master’s degree in the end of June and had not received my transcripts and the end of July was approaching quickly. I called my university and literally begged the graduation department to review and post my degree before everyone else…I was desperate and I am sure they could hear it in my voice. So, after endless phone calls and a decent fee to overnight transcripts, I was ready to start authenticating them. Naturally, it can never be that easy. I attended a college outside of Washington State for my master’s, it is based in Baltimore, and every state has different requirements for authenticating documents. Washington can authenticate an actually diploma, not transcripts from out of state so my options were (1) literally fly to Baltimore or (2) authenticate a copy and hope it is good enough. I choose option 2, and also decided to pay to authenticate my undergraduate transcript, since it was from a university in the state. I did this just in case, as a backup. Better be safe than sorry. I had to get the copy of my master’s transcript notarized first and then authenticated, all in all, it was just another stop and another fee in the entire process.
After paying for the transcripts to arrive, authenticating them, and overnighting them to the US State Department in Washington DC, I was out over a hundred dollars. I am still waiting to receive them back from the State Department so I can send them to the UAE Embassy and then have my mom send them to me in Abu Dhabi, since I will not be here to receive them.
I think I called the US State Department about 20 times over the course of two weeks and left messages and emails and still, to this day, have never had anyone call or contact me back. However, the UAE Embassy actually has a person who answers the phone and in knowledgeable in the most common questions asked and they can actually get another person to call you if need be. The Washington Department of State was also helpful as well as Maryland’s. I had some very helpful people who tried to lead me in the right directions.
I also had to go to the Washington State Patrol headquarters and get a copy of my background check and a notarized letter stating it was authentic. I had to wait over an hour for this, so I just went shopping. It is one of my favorite past times.
I wonder how many times I typed the words authentic, authenticated, and authenticating in this post?
Greetings and welcome to my blog! :)
August 3rd, 2009So, I was at home one day, bored, and wondering what I was going to do about a job for the next school year seeing that I lost mine along with hundreds of others in my district when I thought, hey, why don’t I apply overseas? Less than a month later, I was flying to Los Angeles to interview for a job in Abu Dhabi and then signing a two year contract to go and live in the Middle East! I am currently trying to figure out how this blog works…and patiently waiting for my e-ticket, I am glad I have found something to distract myself with!
Accepting the position in Abu Dhabi was a challenging decision to make, especially when it came to considering leaving my family and friends behind. When I first starting looking for a new teaching position, I looked overseas as well as throughout the country. I had two interviews set up, one for Alaska and one for Abu Dhabi. One of my friends said to me, “So, it’s blizzards or sandstorms. You can’t find a job anywhere else?” Apparently not!!! 
I do not think anyone thought I would actually through with it and leave but when I sent out that mass text message while still in Los Angeles, I recieved a variety of responses, some supportive and some thought I was nuts. My mom said to me, “Why of all places there?” Most people have the impression that the entire Middle East is war-torn and oppressive towards women and violent towards foreigners but that is completely untrue. Abu Dhabi is one of the safest places to live and visit in the Middle East and is modern and also the richest place in the world. I did my research before I was even offered an interview because honestly, I did not know anything about Abu Dhabi or the United Arab Emirates other than Dubai is there and they are building islands.
I look forward to continuing this blog and sharing my insights and experiences. Please feel free to ask me a question or comment on my posts! I am slightly unconventional, and that will come across in my writing style. I apologize in advance! Best wishes and exciting travels!