SA vs UAE

We've been in Abu Dhabi for 1 week now, and I have been "at work" in my new job also for 1 week now (though much of the time has been spent with administrative matters rather than on-the-job training). It is a whole new lifestyle from that we grew accustomed to while in third-world (not to be confused with first-world) South Africa, and 7 weeks in the United States was not a lot of time to get readjusted to the first world, which is where we find ourselves today (well, sort of--more on that below). Though we did get some good practice in with consuming things (shopping, flushing toilets, etc.) which no doubt helped prepare us for this next adventure, as Tim mentioned, we still find ourselves on a regular (hourly?) basis reflecting on the many differences between living in a rural village in South Africa and living in a highly modern city in the United Arab Emirates. Here are some of the more obvious ones:

1. Infrastructure
We lived on a dirt road, off of a gravel road, which led to a very poor, potholed "tarred" road in Makhonyeni while serving as Peace Corps volunteers. From there we were six kilometers from town, which had only the bare essentials in terms of groceries. Thus we ate the same things every day (oatmeal, peanut-butter sandwiches, and veggies and sauce with rice and beans or noodles for dinner).

Here we live on an eight-lane road which extends to 14 lanes at the major intersection a few blocks down. No, we do not live next to a freeway (there are many traffic lights). The place is just made for driving. Another block or so from the nearest main intersection is one of the biggest malls in Abu Dhabi, which has 3 floors above ground level and 2 below; Coldstone Creamery, Hardee's, Fuddruckers, and Pizza Hut--among some more locally based, more palatable options; a large grocery store; a Body Shop, Steve Madden, and a bajillion other stores. We also live a block away from a grocery store that has more than three times the produce our "shopping town" in South Africa had; normal household items including name-brand cosmetics; Jiffy peanut butter and Kraft macaroni and cheese; salmon, yogurt, granola, frozen pizzas, and soy milk; and one of the awesomest Asian foods sections I have ever seen. Not far from us is a Spinney's, another grocery store which is favored among expats for its selection of international foods. Life is definitely more convenient now.

2. Housing
In South Africa, with the Peace Corps, the two-room cement hut we had could easily be placed entirely within the living/dining open area of our guest apartment here. In South Africa, our toilet was a "long-drop" 50 yards away, while we cleaned ourselves, our dishes, and our clothes in buckets (note: not at the same time). Our bed was a "full" bed, which we barely fit on, and our air conditioner was a single fan.

In addition to indoor plumbing and air conditioning our new home has 2 and a half bathrooms, and a dishwater! We have a king size bed, 2 balconies to view the city from 11 stories up...it's a step up for us.

3. Work
My theory on this one is that unpaid employees are simply not highly valued in a workplace, which is why Tim and I often struggled to be heard in a way in line with our level of experience and education in South Africa. In any case we grappled constantly with the Peace Corps in South Africa to feel like anything we were good at, or keen on doing, was possible work for us. Rather, we normally felt underutilized and undervalued as we were not necessarily good at or enthusiastic about the few tasks suggested as work for us (such as classroom teaching). Clearly there were divergent expectations regarding our roles between ourselves and our supervisors at the institutions that we worked at.

Not a lot can be said with confidence about my work and possible opportunities for Tim here as we have only been here for one week, but against this backdrop I immediately feel grateful to be doing work which is appropriate for me to do--which I have relevant experience for, and interest in. As Tim engages in interview processes for possible opportunities it is also clear that those he interacts with are making efforts to appreciate his talents and strengths while his own interests and motivations are also being considered...at least initially. It is nice to feel like you are valued for the things you can do well, and like people want you to succeed, grow professionally, and function personally in a new environment in a productive, healthy, smooth way. This stuff was much harder in South Africa.


One thing I did not realize about Abu Dhabi before arriving is that in some ways it is considered by many to be a "developing" place. Fourteen lanes the street we live on has, yet the United Arab Emirates is an extremely young, if prosperous country, and may be experiencing growing pains from developing differently than other countries have before it, given aspects of the context here. This makes us reflect differently on the term "developing country," which now seems like a euphemism in the context of many countries in Africa, which are far from economic independence and prosperity, as the term better fits Abu Dhabi, which is literally growing upwards and outwards at an astonishing pace, as we find our niches here. This context makes me happy we had the time we had in a rural village in Africa, despite all the differences between that place and this one, as it has given us more patience and strength than we had before in situations of cross-cultural misunderstanding, bureaucratic bungling, confusing social hierarchies, etc...which are simply part and parcel of living in a diverse developing country. At any rate it is very cool to feel again, as we felt in South Africa, like we are part of living history, and maybe just might be able to make a positive effect on life here as we in turn are changed and grow through our time here.

Today is Saturday, which is the end of the weekend here. Tonight we are going to have our first hotel meal with 2 other couples, which I understand is a common activity for some expats (the only place one can purchase alcohol for immediate consumption here, but that's another story). There's still a lot for us to get done (getting residence visas, proper internet set up, etc.) but we are taking things one day at a time, and enjoying opportunities to shop in malls, cook amazing experimental Thai-noodle lunches (I have such an awesome husband!), and get to know new places and new people...when not sleeping like logs at night. Talk to you later.