Reflections on the UAE – Part two – Accommodation

Before coming to the UAE we had received a notice from the people at GEMS identifying the basics we would be provided for our accommodation here – and in truth we were only promised some VERY basic provisions – and a one bedroom apartment. Somebody at GEMS had developed a Spartan list and so our expectations were not so high – the list was quite definite, down to how many teaspoons to expect!

We spent the first 3 weeks living in the Grand Flamingo Hotel in Abu Dhabi – a dry hotel without a swimming pool or any recreation areas. I spent most of the day in the room in the hotel watching movies on television, writing letters and postcards and waiting for Ron to return from work so we could venture out on to the streets. It was August and the temperatures were around 50 degrees so I was not often tempted to go much further than the internet café across the road from the hotel during the day. We filled our evenings with exploring the city, the restaurants, the malls, the parks and gardens, the Cultural Centre, and in fact there are quite a lot of lovely things to do in Abu Dhabi.

Ron bussed it to work each day which added about 3.5 hours to the work day for him and the rest of the Al Ain crew. He was really looking forward to moving up to Al Ain as soon as possible. He came back each day telling me something else he had noticed about Al Ain and about the general feeling of the school and the town. He was not shown our accommodation as it was not yet finished and ready to move into.

Now I have to say after being volunteers in Vanuatu and living in Port Vila we were not the fussiest of people. We had lived in a very old town house (70s built) in Port Vila and I think the furniture had been in the town house since the day it was built and it was grotty and rickety. We had put in quite some effort to have the furniture repaired and reupholstered and new curtains made and had bargained hard with the owner to get these things done – mostly at our cost! So arriving in our apartment in Al Ain was a much anticipated event – and we would really have settled for much less.
Our apartments are brand new – only just finished the week we moved in. There are 10 apartments in the block and 9 of those are SIP apartments. We have neighbours from Ron’s team and also from the girl’s school. We were allocated a delightful 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment with a combined lounge dining area. There is a reasonable size kitchen and an extra room designated as a ‘maid’s room’ – though how anyone could live in something so tiny really bemuses me – so we use it as a storage room.

Our apartment was furnished with brand new couches, dining table and chairs, TV and sideboard, beds, fridge/freezer, washing machine, wardrobes and dressers and the kitchen had some basic necessities – kettle, cutlery, a 4 setting dinner set, a couple of saucepans, a wooden spoon…really just some VERY basic items. We were also supplied with a vacuum cleaner. We were in fact quite happy and set about augmenting what we were supplied with by hunting through the home shops and supermarkets to set up home. A home is something rather personal and I was very happy to be adding the personal touch to our new home. There was a flurry of activity to get some rugs for the floor and some linen for the beds, extra kitchen equipment and decorative items. I have to say IKEA did very well out of us and our home could almost pass for an IKEA brochure page! But we are very happy and quite comfortable. Just the other day I looked around the apartment and commented to Ron – “We arrived here with 2 suitcases – where did all this stuff come from!” I won't tell you what his response was but I believe he thinks I might be responsible for all the things we have accumulated!

When it comes time for us to move on we will have a big garage sale and move on to the next appointment with a couple of suitcases – and I guess we will do it all over again. The community in Vanuatu benefitted greatly from our rampant consumerism and the community here will also. Our attitude is that it is all just stuff – stuff that has made our life comfortable, memories from trips we have made to different countries and objects of art we will keep to tell our grandchildren (I live in hope!) about in the future.

Our accommodation was as much as we needed – a bedroom for us and one for guests that might come along - it was more than we had banked on. We have lived very comfortably and the people who have visited us have commented on the homeliness of the apartment. I have watched as the newer people in the contract have arrived and most have been very satisfied with their allocation. There are always some who expect far more than reasonable and they are the people whose cup is always half empty. Here are some pics of our home – you can see for yourself it is adequate and comfortable. We are grateful and very happy!