I remember the day my former coworker and friend Sarah told me she was quitting her university job. After eight years teaching English in South Korea, she was ready to for a new adventure: Oman! Wow, how brave I thought. To be honest, I didn't think this British girl would last that long in the hot desert.
That was over two years ago. Now Sarah is a Middle East veteran, living and working in Abu Dhabi, Unite Arab Emirates. As I sift through the ads for university jobs in the Middle East, I always wonder what it would be like to live and teach over there. Here's what Sarah had to say about it:
Pete: First, how long have you been in the Middle East?
Sarah: I was in Oman first for 18 months and now Abu Dhabi for 6 months.
P: What do you like about teaching English at a university in the UAE?
S: I am lucky to work with a really great team. The other teachers and managers are really supportive and interesting. There are about 100-150 faculty in our department so you can imagine there is a big mix. Our university encourages professional development and has opportunities for research.
The students teach me a lot about their culture and I have learned so much about Islamic traditions and women in Islam and Arabic countries. It has really opened my mind.
These women are going to change the face of their country in the future and it’s exciting to be a part of that. You become close to your students and a class is like a little family. They like a teacher that they can consider as an older sister.
P: What qualifications do you have?
S: MA TESOL, Cert TESOL, BA (hons) Anthropology.
P: What do you find most challenging about teaching there?
S: It is difficult to work inside a restrictive system and a lot of people can’t do it. Things literally work differently here. You either develop a very relaxed attitude and let go of some ideas you feel strongly about or you will not last here.
The students can be less than motivated to study and many have no idea how to properly study. There is little thirst for knowledge or learning for learning’s sake. Students get paid to attend university.
Having said that, things are changing. My female students can be engaged and interested. They are very sheltered though and many do not have much knowledge of current world events or histories or even geography.
P: How about life and the culture there, is it much different?
S: It’s funny sometimes, on the surface, things seem so like home: There are bars, nightclubs, beaches where you can wear bikinis, Waitrose, shopping malls. But then, something can happen to make you remember where you are. You should be mindful to respect the local culture and follow the rules because the penalties can be high.
P: What are your living arrangements like? I heard that if you teach in the Middle East you'll have to live in a bubble on some compound for foreigners.
S: In Oman, I lived in a house on the beach in a local fishing village. After that, I lived in the middle of a date plantation. Oman is spectacular. The Omani’s are friendly and welcoming and genuinely interested in you. If you are lucky enough to become friends with an Omani, you have formed a bond for life. Omanis work in regular jobs, if you lived there, you would be neighbours. Having said that, if you didn’t want to live like a local, you may prefer to live in a foreigner housing area. It’s also possible.
In Abu Dhabi, I live on Reem Island. This is a new development and one of the few areas in which foreigners are allowed to purchase real estate. As such, it is mostly foreigners living here. A few Emiratis live here too though. Emiratis only make up 20% of the entire population of Abu Dhabi.
The other 80% is foreigners: Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Afghan, Lebanese, Nepalese, Jordanian, Palestinian, UK, USA, Canada, NZ, Aus, Brazil… just about every country is represented! It’s a very big mix. Emiratis tend to live in specific areas. They often have large houses as they have large families (something else that is changing) and many men take more than one wife, which means two houses.
~ Abu Dhabi Fast Facts ~
- Country: United Arab Emirates
- Population: Second largest city (capital) of the UAE with over 900,000 inhabitants
- Government: Constitutional Monarchy
- Claim to Fame: Richest City in the World according to Fortune magazine in 2007
- Latest concerts by foreign acts: Rolling Stones, Benny Benassi, The Prodigy
- Official website: Visit Abudhabi
- Unofficial website: Time Out Abu Dhabi
- Costs: liter of gas $.47, cappuccino $4.08, meal in inexpensive restaurant $8.17
[Click here to read Part 2 of Sarah's interview.]