I was quite anxious to reach Dubai but managed to patiently sit the 14 hour journey watching as many of the inflight movies as possible. Once arriving in the land of sand it soon became apparent who were new joiners to Emirates as we were all greeted and guided through the airport by the Marhaba greeting team. Very nice as that meant no waiting in line at passport control..love it!!
Tiredness soon turned to anxious excitment as I chatted to Nichola and Raylene, also new Emirates crew about what we expected next. Next was a few general paperwork things and the collection of our passports from the Emirates HR representitive in order to get our UAE residence visa. No turning back now!! Then we were given a brown envelope with our new land line telephone number and a 3 letter code depicting what building would be our new residence. Hoping desperately to get somewhere on the famous Sheikh Zayed Road I was to learn I wasn't so fortunate and was placed somewhere called Al Fattan Building about 20 mins from SZR (Sheikh Zayed Road). Bummer!!
As it turned out it wasn't so bad..or so I kept telling myself. After the bus dropped me off at my new accomodation I was signed in by building security and taken to my new abode. HUGE was the first thought that crossed my mind. Empty but HUGE!!.
I soon discovered I had 2 flatmates. Charlene (Australian) who was currently home on leave and Valerie (Canadian) who was dashing out on a flight. My and Val's first interaction was a quick exchange of information followed by her giving me a quick run down on where the nearest supermarket was. Then suitcase in one hand she yelled "I'll leave the door to my room open, help yourself to the internet, you'll need it!" as she whirled out the door not to be seen for the next 3 days. I was officially in Dubai...on my own!!
Not sure where to start. Should I unpack?? Should I venture out and see my new surroundings?? I decided to do what any grown girl does...called Mum. Still very perplexed as what to do and knowing calling home would probably cost me my first born I hung up the phone and realised again...I'm in Dubai...crazy!!
Determined to stay awake so I didn't disrupt my sleep pattern I sifted through the paperwork we had been issued with and looked at the names of people in my class (known as abinitio) for training. Noticing I had 2 friends in my class, well aqauintances I had met online while researching the whole Emirates transition I felt a whole lot better.
I don't know what I managed to do all day but I managed to waste the whole day simply by exploring the building, unpacking my welcome pack (filled with staples to get me by for the next day or 2) and looking at my suitcase trying to get the motivation to unpack. I decided to prepare my clothes for the next day. The first day of training, pickup 6am!!
So the first night in my new apartment in my new bed, I'm going to try to sleep. Good night.
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