About the Job

The reaction I have been getting when telling people that I am going to work in the desert is overwhelmingly positive. People have been saying ‘to get it done while you are young’ and ‘you will have a blast, it is a great country’. A few people have warned me about getting my hands cut off for stealing. But I don’t steal (check my CRB police check) so it will be fine.

I also have been asked a lot of questions about what exactly I will be doing and what the package will be like. I will try and answer these questions now.

1. I will be flying over around mid-August. I do not have my ticket yet but I am assured that it will arrive in my Hotmail inbox a week before departure.

2. I do not have to pay for my ticket and it is not my responsibility to sort it out. The ticket is part of a very generous package that also includes accommodation, medical, non-cosmetic (damn) dental, a furniture allowance and a return air-fare home.

3. The salary is pretty much the same as what I am earning at the moment. The difference is that it is TAX-FREE. This means I will get all my money in the bank as there will be no pension payments, no student loan (although I do need to see about that before I leave) and no national insurance deductions. Coupled with the rent saving this should mean I have around double in my bank after pay-day. (ABU DHABI DOOOO)

4. I have not started to learn Arabic yet minus a few key phrases for thank you, hello and goodbye. I really would love to learn but I am still teaching full time at the moment and think it will be better when immersed in the language when I move. (I will be conscious of not being a ‘Brits Abroad’ stereotype though, and will have a few polite phrases ready.

5. I do have a few worries, I will address these in the next post (they warrant a post of their own)

6. There is no war going on and it is a very safe country.

7. You are allowed to drink, but not allowed to be drunk on the streets.

8. The horror stories of people getting put in prison for holding hands or kissing in public are true. But, just by looking at the statistics, this is extremely rare. The Great-British-Media-Moral-Panic makes it out to be front-page news whenever it happens. I have seen about 3 in the last 5 years.

9. I will be teaching English to Emirati students and other students of Arabic decent in a local school, not a private one.

I think that covers most of it. Any more questions – use the comment section.

Go on, it will make my day.