We arrived here around 8 pm on the 31st after a 13 hour and 15 minute flight on Etihad airlines out of Chicago. Audrey was the high time sleep winner, and Gracie was the high time party pooper. Brittany came in last on the sleep scale and first on the patience scale (no surprise there) due to her sitting next to Gracie and trying to pacify her and keep here from crying too much and kicking the seat in front of her too much. All things considered, Brittany and I agreed that both girls did really well (Audrey especially - no breakdowns, no complaining) considering the fact that it was a long 24 hours for both of them of driving to Chicago, dropping off Lilly (our cat), waiting with Dad and Mom for our flight, and then the flight itself. We were very pleased with the service on Etihad - pretty typical of an international carrier if you've been on one.
All of our bags made it just fine (thankfully), and we were met at the Abu Dhabi airport by a couple of my new co-workers who were life-savers in quickly getting us through and around the airport. Brittany and the girls headed off to the hotel (more on that in a minute) while one of my co-workers and I set out to find Lilly in cargo. After over 2 hours of waiting (bureaucracy again.... Oh, and the UAE vet was out at the local mosque saying his evening prayer when we arrived at his airport office, so we had to wait on that as well), we finally were able to pick up Lilly. We dropped her off at our villa with a bowl of food and water and a sand litter box I made up (she had yellow eyes and crossed legs.... I don't think she did either thing in her kennel the whole flight), and then I went to meet the girls at the hotel.
The first two nights we stayed at a really nice hotel. After two nights there, we moved into our villa.
Our villa is about 2K square feet, with three bedrooms, a kitchen, living room, and dining room. I think most of you saw pics of it on e-mail. It's about a 30 minute commute for me from door-to-door, and we're about 20-30 minutes from downtown depending on traffic. So far it's a pretty good setup for us and I think Brittany is happy with it (which is all that really matters as far as the housing thing goes).
Driving here isn't quite the nightmare that we were led to believe. When it's busy, there's about as much traffic as you'd see in Dallas or Chicago. What's different is the aggressiveness of the drivers. On a 60 mph highway, you'll see everything from people going to speed limit to guys pushing 150mph (the rarity). Generally, the trucks are doing the speed limit, the mass of cars are doing 70-80, and every now and then you'll get dusted off by someone in the 100+ mph range. If someone is in the far left lane doing the speed limit (Dad) and there's a Ferrari hauling the mail (Tip), he'll end up on the guy's bumper flashing his lights until he gets over. If you think of it as the autobahn, it works out pretty well. I actually really enjoy driving here, because you have to be both defensive and aggressive. Mom will hate it. Bottom line - we've driven all over the place as a family, and with the exception of the ridiculous road / highway layout and procedures (turn circles - thank you British), I actually feel comfortable with the idea of Brittany and the girls driving around town once we can get another car.
The heat isn't too bad yet. Right now it feels like Phoenix with humidity. Kind of like the driving situation, we were prepared for the worst, so it wasn't a huge shock. Audrey's first words when we stepped out of the terminal into the hot / humid night air were "I love this place! It's hot and I get to weat up-sleeves!" Really, you just don't want to be outside doing any physical activities (other than at the pool) between 1 and 3 pm. Other than that, it isn't too bad. It's going to get hotter over the next couple of months, so more to follow...
As to the location / city / things to do: We're still exploring around (obviously), but we're really enjoying it so far. It is an amazing diversity of people / cultures here, as well as a huge stratification of wealth. Lamb is as common as ground beef; my first day I had to go to the downtown office to get a bunch of briefings, so for lunch I went to the nearby mall (just like our indoor malls, only huger and with tons of high-end shops), and I ate in the foodcourt. I passed on the McDonalds and KFC and went for the Iranian grilled lamb instead. Yes, I now like mall food courts again. And yes, all the locals were eating KFC and McDonalds (no wonder they hate us...). Anyway, we're still exploring, but from what we've seen so far, we're really enjoying the experience (Brittany and the girls seem to be really enjoying it, so I'm thankful for that).
Lastly, as for the people, it's been a very good experience. I was worried about how we'd be dealt with on a personal level in just street interaction with the local Emirates as well as a lot of the middle eastern expats. So far, it's been beyond good. Everyone here has been super friendly. On the third or fourth night here, I took Brittany and the girls to the same downtown mall where I ate lunch so that Brittany could walk around and get the feel for the local people in a non-business / non-military environment. Almost across the board, every woman wearing a sheyla and abaya (headscarf and robe) would smile at her (if she didn't have a face covering on) and would say hello. Gracie is a HUGE HUGE hit here. We were at the grocery store and an Emirate or Saudi family was there (still having a hard time telling the difference) and one of the older daughters or younger wives of the group (still having a hard time with that one as well....) picked up Gracie and kissed her all over her face and started tickling her and pinching her cheeks and going on and on in broken English / Arabic about how adorable she was. I think it's her big curls, cute face, and constant smile, but I'm biased. Bottom line - I told Gracie to stay in line or daddy's getting a brand new herd of camels in trade for her. Kidding.
Thanks for sharing the first impressions. After a while it's easy to take for granted the things that struck you as different in those first couple of weeks - but they're the things that make me feel like I get to share the experience!
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