Flashback...

So today it's been 5 months since I arrived in Dubai. It's gone really fast, and I can't believe how quickly I started referring to my flat as "home". Of course, Australia will always be HOME home, but I guess for ease I might as well have 'Home 1' and 'Home 2'. While here I do want to learn more about this country and the Emirati people. One awesome wish of mine is to make friends with a local girl my own age. I know this is probably very unlikely, but you just never know. I've joined a few social groups online which organise events for ladies only, so maybe I might just make a new local friend here.

Here's the first photo ever of me in Dubai. I took this in the car on the way from the airport to my apartment building. How tired/shellshocked do I look! Haha...


On arrival I was extremely tired (only slept 3 hours of the 12 hour flight, and had been awake all night for days before leaving) and the driving scared me. (I'm used to it now but still ALWAYS wear my seatbelt in cars/buses) I snapped this photo right before we got onto Sheikh Zayed Road.



Despite my jetlag, I was still pretty excited to get my first glimpse of Burj Khalifa. Nothing like a giant wonder of architecture to wake you up from a jetlag-induced coma.



After spending the eary hours of the day unpacking & getting settled in, I ventured outside to find a store to purchase some food & bottle water. After dropping this off in the flat, I made my way to the Metro station (luckily for me, right near my building)



bought a Nol card and visited my first shopping mall, Mall of the Emirates. There I bought a few things for the apartment and a mobile phone. Later, some of my new colleagues said they didn't go outside until their flatmates got home and were amazed I was brave enough to do it. Guess I'm not such a chicken after all... :P

Argh!

Having some serious freak-out time at the moment!!!

Have realised I have a shade ovr 3 weeks until I'm on a plane and out of here.

SO much to do before then. I have no idea what I'm even taking with me. What DOES one take when moving to a new country?

Clothes, obviously. My quilt cover & photos so it feels like home. A supply of makeup & toiletries to last me until I get paid properly again.

My computer, some DVDs, a couple of my favourite books.

I need to buy a Nintendo DS as I've been using my sister's. Totally addicted to this game called the 'Legendary Starfy', it's so cute!!!

Obviously the DS is not a priority, but oh well.

Less worried about the money situation, I have about $500 saved to live off plus $200 in my Paypal from selling my:) old stuff on Ebay. My last 2 pays from work will go to my credit cards and a couple of my car payments so I don't need to worry about them for awhile.

Need to buy other things such as: new jeans, some new bras, some flat black shoes for training (I only have heels)

Question: I have my awesome zebra strappy heels, totally impractical but do I take them????

Moresoon, including a pic of my awesome vintage dress from ebay that I 'stole' for $18!!!!

Panda Panda

Not too much happening at the moment. I've been busy with work, as Easter is traditionally a busy time for people travelling. I was lucky enough to get a trip to Adelaide, with enough time to visit my grandparents' house for dinner.

While in Adelaide I also went with one of the other crew to the zoo to see new pandas which have moved there from China. Funi & WangWang are very cute, Funi is clearly the 'people panda', showing off a lot for the crowds.

At the moment my medical checks and so forth won't happen until mid-month, due to Easter break and getting an available doctor around my flying schedule. I would rather not call in sick from work as a) it's not really right and b) if I don't fly I don't get paid

That's pretty much it for now. Sold a few more things on eBay which is nice, as these shoes, bags etc are going to nice new homes. Be sure to check the link in my previous posts as I will add some more items soon.

A couple of readers have left comments asking if I have flight attendant experience. Yes, flying 4 years on both jets and commuter planes, with economy & business class experience plus a supervisor position.

Progress...

So I officially got the call from Emirates Recruitment, advising me to attend the medical checks and provide certain other documents to them to enable the visa processing to begin.

Thus far, I have made appointments and am attending my first one later on this afternoon. This one is for the eye doctor. Well, firstly, my optometrist, so he can tell me if I need to see the eye specialist or not. Basically, I have had a certain eye condition since birth, so far it has not impeded me in any way and I have passed 3 medical tests to Australian aviation standard. The visit is pretty much to certify that I do not have the 'unacceptable' form of the condition and to get documentation to that effect.

Following on from that, if all goes well later in the month I'll have my last wisdom tooth removed at the same time as getting the dental exam forms done and then the general check-up by my GP and the blood tests/injections. (I am not looking forward to those!)

In other news, the clothing/possessions cull is going along fairly well. My ebay earnings have hit just under $200 which of course will either being going right onto the credit card, or into the fund for paying for all these required medical tests.

On the fun front, my Bali trip is getting closer. I had considered not going to save the money, but it is my friend's wedding after all, and a short relaxing holiday is probably a good thing for me to do before I head off overseas for the intensive training/settling in period in Dubai.

I'll be listing some more shoes and so forth in the next few days, so why not have a look at my Ebay listings :)
Ebay Sales