Ghayathi

The public kindergarten I was teaching at is located in Ghayathi, a very small town in the Western Region of Abu Dhabi called Al Gharbia. It's a 3-hour drive from Abu Dhabi through desert, and not the nice kind with red sand and rolling sand dunes you see in movies-- it's more like a dirty sandbox of flat, ugly desert though nothingness. I didn't know I was going to be sent here until a few hours before my connecting flight to Abu Dhabi. A quick Google search at my layover airport gave very little information so everything was a surprise.

Although my 2-bedroom apartment shared with another expat teacher is roomy and new and paid for as part of the package, Ghayathi is still the very definition of "in the middle of nowhere", with no movie theaters or anything else really-it's hard to imagine what kind of place this is without being here. Lower your expectations. There is a supermarket, a bank, local shops, and some opposite-of-fancy restaurants around (you can get some food delivered to your place for free although they won't always understand English perfectly).

There's also a clinic and a dentist which I visited a few times. For some reason, the walls are painted pink and I had no way of vetting whether the doctors are legit so I just hoped for the best. The time I saw a doctor for a cold, I was under the impression that maybe he could just be an extra from Bollywood--not because he was Indian, but because he didn't seem very serious and there were strange men sitting in his office while he saw me and no explanation was given. Maybe privacy's not as important? He asked me a few questions and chose things from drop down menus on his computer then printed off a prescription. I picked up the medicine from the pharmacy downstairs, but I didn't feel comfortable taking some maybe-dubious medicine.

I had to see the dentist here too. While the equipment doesn't seem as modern as you may be used to, the Egyptian dentist, Dr. Baha, and his Filipino assistant did get the job done (while listening to Muslim prayer music). Dr. Baha kept his hand in my mouth while he took an x-ray unprotected and seemed surprised when I asked for an x-ray protective apron. "Are you pregnant?" It was a bit bizarre.

There appears to be very few women here, as most people outside are male migrant workers so it's not the best idea for women to walk outside, especially alone. I have done it many times and although nothing bad happened, sometimes men drive by very close and shout things at you.

Once internet was setup with etisalat in Ruwais, it was just about livable. To be honest, I got a bit depressed while living here even though the money was good. When I went to the hospital and told the doctor I wasn't feeling my best, she told me to "look outside! Everyone feels the same." Good medical advice. You can take a public bus from here to Ruwais or Abu Dhabi for a little escapade.