Crazy in Abu Dhabi

(written last January 31, 2011)

And so the journey has begun. It's only been more than a week since me and my husband arrived in the beautiful land of Abu Dhabi, and already, my heart is bursting with stories to tell.

The past week has been a period of adjusting to this new city, new house, new people. To be completely honest, I'm still not done adjusting to this place. Its not like Sex and the City 2 where I'm off to a week-long vacation in an exotic location, my stay here can be classified as, well, semi-permanent. I'm now living here with my husband who has a full-time work, keeping our little studio-type home and later on, I'll be looking for a job myself. It's the real expat thing going on, which is why it's taking quite some time for me to settle in.

No doubt about it, the place is beautiful. It's modern and clean. It's like an even more well-kept version of The Fort, Rockwell, Makati and Subic. It's quite breathtaking especially at night when you pass by the Grand Mosque and its all lit up. Other Pinoys tell me that I'm lucky to have arrived here when its winter. The breeze is cold, especially at night. During the day its mostly bright and sunny, but the heat is tolerable so it's okay. Wait til summer comes, they warn me. Hopefully, I'll be staying in a well-ventilated room or office by that time.

I've already been to four or five different malls and several supermarkets. Quite a record, if you ask my husband. He told me that he waited months to be able to go to the mall when he first arrived. And here I am. The malls here are nice. Probably not as big as Megamall or not as homey as Alabang Town Center (awwh, I miss!), but they're pretty advanced and more secured. And then there's IKEA, where my eyes lit up like a little kid on Christmas morning. All the things I wanted to get! For our home, my parent's house, our future house...yes, to borrow Carrie's words, I've been cheating on fashion with furniture. I could go on and on with the nice shops I spotted here, but really, they had me at IKEA.

I'll never trade Manila for any place, but for the meantime, I think this place can work. What I miss about Manila though, aside from the people, is how carefree and independent I am there. I can go anywhere by myself without worry because I'm confident that I'll always find my way. I'm streetwise by Manila standards. Here I've managed to go to some places riding a taxi. But of course, it's so typical me to get lost in a new place. I was on my way home from the nearest grocery when that happened. 3 days into my stay. Honestly, my heart was beating faster than it ever did. I almost cried, except I was afraid I'd attract more attention. Locals were already blowing their horns as they drove by. I get kinda scared when that happens. Once I was walking to the supermarket when an old man drove past me but stopped at the end of the street, as if waiting for me. All I could do was say, "no,no,no..." and walk as fast as I could away from his car. I don't know if it's the language barrier, my husband's protective nature that made me assume the worst in them, or my overly wild imagination that made me so afraid to roam the streets by myself. My paranoia levels rose twice here than when I was in Manila.

But when I met with my close pal and high school seatmate, she reassured me that Abu Dhabi is a safe place and I need not be afraid. She has been working as a flight attendant for three years now and is currently based here in Abu Dhabi. I was amazed at how she and her flatmate, also a girl, conversed with the taxi driver without a hint of fear in their voices. She said it takes a lot of getting used to, but the people are generally nice. And if I ever encounter one that is rude, all I have to do is threaten to call the police and they would back off. They react well to authorities here, so I heard. Another thing that makes me miss my beloved Philippines, family ties is power. Everybody knows somebody in a certain place, working for a certain group. So when things go wrong, I just drop a few names, or call people who can help in case of an emergency. It's security, knowing that anywhere I am in Manila, I have a friend on-call. Here, the only person on-call 24/7 for me is my husband. So as a sign of being vigilant, I have the police department's hotline stored in my phonebook.

Being new in this city has made me appreciate my faith more. Everyday, when the hubby has left for work, my prayerbooks are my constant companions in the house. I'd spend the entire morning praying. Here in a place where I have no one but my husband to turn to, I am at peace and secure that the Lord is with us all the time, everywhere I go.

It's also fun to think of all the things that could happen to me and Babe while we're here. All the possibilities. All the jobs I could have, the people we could meet, the places we could go to and the things we could do. Here, it's possible for a middle-class Filipino to drive an expensive car, live in a semi-luxurious villa, eat at fancy restaurants, buy gadgets and designer things. Anything is possible. But your riches or status in the Philippines won't have any bearing here. What matters here is hard work. If you want something, you really have to earn it. The good news is, if you work and try hard enough, you'll most probably get it. Back home, you have to work day and night and it seems like life isn't getting any better, and you have to work for years before you earn the fruits of your labor.

I never considered myself that much of a hard worker before, but now I'm very inspired to become one. And okay, I might buy designer shades and have a few splurges at Ikea (the closet I've been fantasizing about!), but my main goal is for Babe and I to save faster for the house in the South of Manila, put up a business, make a few investments for the future and then we can be home for good, where we will raise our kids and grow old together. No designer bag or high-end furniture store or expat living can replace being in your own country with the presence of your family. When I think of all the trials and sacrifices that we would have to go through, I think about the future and know that it will be worth the wait.

But for now, I'll take it one step, one day at a time. I know I'll find the courage inside me to make it through the day. Soon when I have fully adjusted, I'll have stories to tell about Abu Dhabi and the many ways I will discover this city.