E065 - Navigating Life as an Expat Teacher in Abu Dhabi

James Doran (00:06.318)

So hello and welcome to the Expat Pod. My name is James and I'm joined by Ramya. Ramya, are Canadian and you live in the Middle East, I believe. don't know the exact country, but I'm sure you'll let me know in one second. So if you could please give us an introduction on who you are, where you're from and where you've lived. Absolutely. Hello, I'm Ramya. I'm originally born and raised in Alberta, Canada, but I am currently a teacher expat living in Abu Dhabi.

which is the capital city in the United Arab Emirates. So I've been living out there for almost five years now. And then when I'm not teaching, I'm able to travel on holidays and breaks in between. That's incredible. I'm sure we'll unpack all your journey to the UAE in the next few minutes.

James Doran (00:58.132)

Welcome to one of the podcasts about getting there. Ramiyah, is purely a sense of, first of all, the why. So why did you want to leave your home country and live abroad? What was your kind of main draw to do that? What was it that sent you on your journey? Honestly, I have always wanted to be an international teacher. Since I was eight, that has been my dream. And in my family, I've had a lot of

other expat teachers, traveling nurses in my life. And I've always kind of seen that role model to me to explore the world and seek out those opportunities to travel when you can. So what really drove that dream was in my junior high, I went to French immersion and we went on an exchange trip to Quebec. And that was my first time really stepping outside of my home province and getting to explore.

without my family and I just really fell in love with getting to immerse in another culture, seeing another language. And I just really wanted to carry that forward into my career as well. And growing up, my family is from the Caribbean originally, and I used to travel with my grandmother. She's deaf and I was her aid in the airport. So that got me a couple of nice free trips to the Caribbean for the summer, which was definitely a perk, but...

It also just opened up my world again and made me realize there's so much more to see. That's incredible. And you're right. guess it's quite naive of me. is from a small island, albeit with lots of different, I guess, around the island. But in Canada, it's like you can go east to west and you've got a completely different culture, right? And different languages you mentioned in Quebec. So what was that like knowing that, you know, your country is, you know,

bilingual, at least into it, suppose. It's really cool to be able to have that chance to learn multiple languages. So I grew up in French immersion. I can speak French. I'm not going to say I'm perfectly fluent. It's definitely slipped a little bit, but I'm able to speak French. And then I also am able to speak a little bit of ASL. I took level one certification just again to help my grandmother. And then during the pandemic when everyone is wearing masks and I'm

James Doran (03:14.711)

still kind of working in a classroom setting. It was also really handy to be able to use sign language as a tool to communicate. having that access to different languages is just really great for opening up doors and connecting with different people. So even in UAE, I've tried to learn a little bit of Arabic just to support me in communicating with people there too. That's incredible. And when you were going to the Caribbean, I suppose, was it a French speaking island or was it?

English-speaking island or another language, I don't know if it helped you have in the French background? The Caribbean islands that I went to were Trinidad and St. Vincent. So there is French, there is Spanish and English primarily. But yeah, you'll run into different languages depending on who you go to visit or which side of the family I'm saying hello to. You encounter a couple of languages all at once. That's incredible. So that must have been such a great experience for you growing up then to have that,

huge kind of world as your playground essentially because if you were going every summer either to a different language in your own country or with your grandmother to a different part of the world to be you know immersed in that experience and having to learn different cultures whether it's you mentioned the other languages or even family right so that's such a spark to have in a child when you're so imaginative and you know you're thinking about the future it's yeah I guess

no wonder you're living abroad now and inspiring the next generation of children where you're living. When you then set out, what was the goal for the UAE? What was the purpose for that? What was the reason for choosing that? UAE had never been on my radar, to be honest. I was under the impression that as a black woman, it wouldn't be a safe place for me to go. It would be unwelcoming. I had all sorts of preconceived notions until I really

researched and started to learn about it. But when I was finishing my Bachelor of Education, it was when the pandemic hit. And I distinctly remember when we had our job fair, pretty much all of the school board said, we don't have any funding, we don't have any jobs for you, and now there's a pandemic. So if you want to teach, you're going to have to look elsewhere. And I was honestly quite lucky. I had some other classmates that had already graduated and they were living out in the UAE.

James Doran (05:37.43)

working there and everybody was well aware that I wanted to teach internationally. That was like my number one personality trait. So they contacted me, said, we can put your name in. If you send us your CV, we'll recommend you. And I did that, I think beginning of February and within a week I had an interview and within days I had a contract. So it just kind of fell into place quite naturally that the UAE was a good fit to go and try and teach. So.

Well, that was amazing. So it's quite lucky that you had, your cohort of, I guess, colleagues or fellow students had done that. So when you're applying, did you apply for different companies or schools or were just the one school you were able to apply for? Yeah, I applied to a couple different schools. I used a couple of databases that just kind of you fill in your information and it puts out your resume to a bunch of different open.

schools, but I had emailed directly to this one school because I knew people there. So something I've kind of come across the longer I'm in UAE is it's definitely a very network heavy place. So it doesn't hurt to know somebody there in order to have that, that way in to communicate with people. But there's also lots of different search applications that you can use just to like put out a broad search for the schools there. I guess it's quite popular in life. It's always who you know, not what you know, helps you a lot.

It's very convenient. when you reply, did you choose, are you teaching a certain subject? Are you teaching English second language? Are you teaching primary or early years? What is your kind of niche within the learning sphere? I'm not a teacher as you can tell. No, but you know your stuff. That was actually a really good question. I find a lot of people think that I'm just teaching English as a second language, but I am, I'm a full primary teacher. So I originally was teaching grade two. I've taught grade five.

And next year I'm actually teaching grade four, but I teach all of the general subjects. So English, math, science, history, health, all of that. The only thing that I don't instruct is the specials. So there's specific teachers for physical education, for art, for music, and then Arabic lessons and Islamic lessons are taught by an Arabic speaking teacher.

James Doran (07:55.756)

And are you able to go and sit in those classes to learn yourself? Because that would be quite a good perk of the job, I suppose, if you wanted to learn the language. Sometimes I do kind of sit in the back and try to pick up what the kids are learning or I'll ask my students to help me learn something. So every week we do like an Arabic word of the week and we all kind of practice learning it together. It is a little bit challenging though, because there's such a wide mix of Arabic students. So I'll have a Lebanese student, Moroccan, Egyptian.

Emirati all tell me like four different ways to say one word. And if I'm lucky, I'll remember one of the versions, but it's a slow learning progress. Yeah. Definitely. And then going back before you moved then. So once you'd applied, you got off at the job. What was it then the next kind of role? Was it getting a visa? it, you know, serving all your transcripts? What did you have to do once you kind of start the application process?

been successful. So once I signed the contract, the process for me was attestation of my documents. So your university transcript, your bachelor of education degree, getting a police record check, and then having those all sent to the UAE embassy. In terms of a visa, that's handled by the employer. So once I arrived in the country, I went for a medical treatment, and then the school processes the visa for you.

Okay, so there's no need for you to go to the embassy yourself and get anything signed, biometrics taken, anything? No, thankfully that all kind of happens once you're actually on the ground. The school is able to transport you to and from. It's really nice. They kind of hand held me through the process, which is great in a new country when you don't really know the ropes. Yeah, it was nice to have that support. So as long as you show up with your attested documents or have them mailed to the school, then you're pretty much set. Incredible. And in terms of accommodation, did you...

You said you knew people out there, so they helped you find a place or your school helped you find a place? were you moving into? What was your first place when you arrived? it a hotel? Well, it's actually funny because when I moved again, it was still part of the pandemic. And at the time, the requirements were to quarantine for two weeks. So they initially moved all of us new teachers into a hotel and we pretty much just

James Doran (10:09.438)

lived in there for two weeks until we were cleared to proceed into our own places. But again, fortunately, the school helps to handle with that. So the school that I'm working for provides housing. So they placed me into an apartment. Other schools are a little bit different. You might get a housing allowance or you might be given a couple of options of where you want to live in the city before they place you. But ultimately, it's the employer that helps with housing.

That's incredible. So it's it's literally quite a just Turner. Just show up. Do all the hard stuff you apply being accepted. Now you're basically on a they just tickle the boxes for you and you can turn up so you can do your job. I guess you can do what you're there to do, which is, you know, teach kids and yeah, not worry about all the bureaucratic things, which can often cause a lot of lot of headache. Yeah. So it's quite nice.

Quite a nice journey you've had to kind of walk, not really a journey, quite a nice situation you found yourself in. Yeah, I guess the biggest stress is really just waiting on the embassies to attest your documents and making sure that they get there in time. But once you have your visa and your residence card, you're pretty much smooth sailing from there. So it really is just a matter of testing your patience and then you're good to go. And then your friends who living there, would they give you advice before you left of what to do, what to bring, what to pack?

Yes they did because I had like 50 questions for them so I was asking questions constantly getting ready to make my way over. It was funny some of the like little nuggets they gave that really came in handy or like make sure you bring a shower curtain because in the apartments here they don't really have those things when you move in or just like the

The bedsheet sizing is a little bit different than it is in North America. So you just want to be careful of what you're looking for. Just little tidbits like that were really helpful, but it was, it was again, nice to have those people on the ground to help me get settled at the start. Yeah. We've got a messy first shower if there's no curtain, you just trying to like lean against the wall. It kind of feels like it's hazing. I feel like that's part of the initiation, Wow. Yeah. So that's a very good point because I didn't have that.

James Doran (12:24.524)

Checklist when I moved in I needed to go buy some bedding and I chose the most expensive shop by accident and I was really upset I hope you got like that and sheets or Egyptian cotton. I wish they were even that good quality. It's just Expensive place to buy things and then my friend was like you should do on this place. I was like, I know I didn't have a car. I didn't know is there anything else that you need to do before you move like say you'll buy to your family or You know, what was that like before you left Saturday or take it?

That was really challenging, but I think my family all knew it was coming. They've known I was getting out of here and exploring the world as soon as I could. So it wasn't a teary eyed goodbye. It was more exciting because we all knew I was going on this big adventure. And I'm a little bit spoiled in the sense that I have lots of other cousins, uncles, aunts who are also abroad. So most of the time when I travel, I'm just kind of going on Facebook and saying, who wants to host me this time? Whose couch can I crash on?

I'm always finding opportunities to kind of visit with families. So I'm not a very homesick person, but it also helps that I'm able to connect with somebody somewhere whenever I want to travel. So it was a pretty, pretty easy goodbye, I have to admit, but it's always nice to come home and visit in the summertime. It was really hot there as well. It's very, nice. Even though it's probably not too cold in Alberta, but it's still, it's a bit nicer. manageable.

When I was leaving for the summer it was 50 degrees stepping onto the plane so I was very ready to head out of there. Well on that heat wave I guess we'll go into section two.

James Doran (14:08.174)

So welcome to the podcast all about being there. Ramai, is, first question I ask is what's your first impression of your new country? Because that's usually what people tend to remember quite a lot. So first impressions, definitely very tired. Coming from Canada, was like a 17 hour journey. it's definitely a long ways away to get there. And then definitely the heat hits you first. So I knew I was moving to the desert, but

It really hits you in the face once you're there. And the first couple of weeks I was in a hotel getting to kind of just live in there in quarantine until we were able to branch out. But even just that experience was already such a culture shock. The hospitality there is like very, very high standards, very high quality. So just getting to take a peek into that side of the culture was very interesting. And then once I actually got

into the city and into my own place and kind of had some time to explore on my own. I found that it's very modern, very westernized. So there weren't a lot of unfamiliar things. It's just everything is so much bigger, grander, taller, bigger. So it's definitely a tourist attraction. And you definitely feel that as you're exploring everywhere you go, there's some sort of Guinness world record that they've won or

They're building a new tall building or brand new beach to explore. So it's almost like a New York kind of vibe. feels like the city that never sleeps. So it can be kind of overwhelming in that sense where there's almost too much to do and you don't really know where to look first, but it was fun to be a tourist in a city like that. he mentioning New York? I was thinking Vegas in my head. definitely Vegas too. Vegas wants to be this grand thing. Lots of shows everywhere. minus the casinos.

Yeah, and the alcohol, I guess. Yeah. Although there is alcohol there too, which I didn't expect. what I've kind of learned with time, almost 80 % of the population is expats and a majority of the expats come from the UK and Ireland. So you will find Irish pubs everywhere and there's lots of like expat friendly spots. Obviously you won't find locals there, but there are lots of like elaborate

James Doran (16:26.062)

branches and bars and clubs and that kind of scene if that's your thing. that was another big shock to find what I got there. has it been with the expats? Are you meeting lots of locals? Are you meeting most of the expats? What's the kind of your own social network? I've had a nice mix. At my school, it's a lot of expats. it's a nice

network to have. There's other Canadians there, so I don't feel so lonely. And then I'm also getting to meet like South Africans, Irish teachers, UK teachers, and getting to learn about cultures I've always been so far removed from. But then in terms of meeting Arabic people and local Emirati people, that is something I don't have a big network in, but I do have a couple of Arabic friends now. And as I've been trying to learn the language, it's kind of opening up those opportunities. So

It's nice to have those chances, but you do find that the Arabic population kind of keeps to themselves and the expats kind of keep to themselves. it is kind of like two parallel groups existing in one place. you're building your own Venn diagram of where you might meet in the Arabic lessons you're going to. Yeah. Yeah. I'm finding the beginner level tier right now and we'll work our way up.

And then so obviously you've arrived, you've been there for many years now. How's it been over the years? What's changed in terms of your perception of the country from when you first moved or were about to move to having lived there for a while? What do you think is maybe an unfair stereotype or something which maybe is not true? think the first stereotype that comes to mind would be about safety because even

for myself initially, I thought there's no way I could live there. It wouldn't be safe for me. And I feel like it's hard for people to understand unless they've actually been there, but that's probably the safest place I've ever been. And sometimes you'll see online, there's videos where people will say they could leave their wallet on a coffee table and leave it for hours and come back. It's still in the exact same place. It's very true. It's a very, very safe country. I've never encountered any issues with theft or anything like that.

James Doran (18:41.078)

especially as a woman traveling and often traveling on my own, it's very comforting knowing that I live in a secure place like that. And other than that, I can't really think of any other major stereotypes, but I think living there for almost five years now, what's surprised me the most in terms of culture shock, I would say it's more so in the workplace. There is just a different level of expectation, at least with

teaching, the culture of the students and the expectations of parents are very high because a lot of the parents want their children to be able to succeed internationally. So the standard of education is high and the expectations on teachers is very strong. So that surprised me. It's very like work focused, very high expectations. is it quite long hours then teaching in BUE for you? in the UK, for instance, I've got friends who are teachers and they tell the world home with them quite a lot. So it's quite a lot of

A lot of work during term time, it's, you know, 12, 14 hour days because you teach for eight hours and then you have to go mark papers and lessons. Have you found that the same in the UE in terms of that plus what a parents' evening is like as a second question I suppose? Definitely comes in waves. There's inspections that happen in the schools every two years. And there's like a, there's a ranking system that the education board uses to classify the school. So

In those inspection periods, it's very intense, very, very high expectations. have to dot your I's, cross your T's at all times. And then there's periods of times where it's a little bit more relaxed and you can just fall into your routine. I think it's gotten easier as I've gotten more teaching experience and I'm not having to take as much work home, but it is a challenge for new teachers. think sometimes teachers show up thinking they're just coming to Dubai and they can party and that kind of thing and they don't realize

how much work it's going to take. But once you settle into that routine and kind of know the expectations, it's quite manageable. Completely. Well, that's great to hear. guess it's sort of same at any job though. You go in not knowing what you don't know and then you end up having to get your own process in order once you've been there for years and know how to do your job like a machine. It's probably pretty good. I moving grades, they must be quite annoying because you spend a whole year teaching something to a grade and then

James Doran (21:00.59)

don't stay there a second year, you have to move again. So you got to learn and your whole new curriculum is like, come on, just learn this stuff. you just thinking that I was just thinking in my head, I'm going to be eating those words because next year it is like kind of starting from scratch with a new grade, new curriculum. So it'll, be a challenge, but you know, it keeps things exciting. Don't want to get too, too comfortable. So I'm excited for the challenge.

Is the week a Monday to Friday week where you are or is it different? know some countries they have different weeks, shift it slightly. is it the same to you where you're living in the Middle East? Yeah, it is now. When I first moved there, we worked Sunday to Thursday. And I believe in 2023, at the beginning of the year is when they shifted to a Monday to Friday schedule just because with

governments and international politics. Most countries operate Monday to Friday. So the UAE as a whole shifted to that model just for more international relations, I guess. And then in terms of teaching, what ended up happening once they did that is now on Fridays, we work half days because Friday is the day of prayer. So you only work from eight until 12 and then all the students and Arabic staff are dismissed for prayer time. And then the rest of us just kind of start our weekend early, I guess.

It's kind of a nice shift going back to that Monday to Friday feel and having that half day also helps with the workload and having a little bit of time to rest. That's great to hear. means you get to have that lull or you can do all the life admin maybe in the Friday afternoon before a days to travel or whatever. And then in terms of socialising, you mentioned you got friends from all over the world because of the expat community in

know, Abu Dhabi or Newy. What's it been like in terms of making friends and what has been the main vehicle for that? Was it Facebook groups? Is it meetups? Are there kind of social incentives for you to go and meet new people who've moved there? What was that like when you first moved and are you then, you know, passing it forward that you've been there for a while? I'm definitely passing it forward. I can say pretty confidently in my friend group, I am the planner friend. I'm always scouting out events to go to and

James Doran (23:16.91)

corralling the group and mixing new people in so that they can have some buddies too. most schools will do like a buddy program. So for the new staff, they get assigned a buddy and I always volunteer first to do that for anybody because I'm pretty sociable. So definitely Facebook groups were really handy. WhatsApp groups were really good tools to use. And then Meetup was a really good website or app to use to find like expat events, that kind of thing. And then I also

As a teacher, I'm in teacher groups too, so that was a good networking opportunity and friendships came from that too. yeah, there's always something to do in the city and lots of events that cater to XPath. So it's very easy to find groups once you arrive. then your accommodation, so now you've obviously lived so long, have you moved around a few different times since you've been there? Different compartments? you had different housemates? Have you found that? Was it the spare rooms or was there a...

I know a Facebook group perhaps where people are asking for roommates. What was that like when you first arrived and then to what you're doing now? When I first arrived, I actually had a roommate. one of the other teachers at the school, we shared a villa. So between the two of us, we had a two bedroom, two bathroom house that we shared, which was awesome. And she has since come back to Canada, but I got to come home and I got to MC her wedding. So that was, that was kind of a fun little closure to our time living together.

now I'm living on my own in an apartment. So I've only had to move the one time and I've definitely nested. I'm hopefully not going to have to move anytime soon, but it's been good. Both situations have been awesome. That's incredible. And then in terms of culture and food, so food's quite a popular thing. People love talking about food, about where they live and it's often what people kind of...

miss a lot from home as well. So I'm sure like Tim Hortons is maybe something you've been missing or how has it been adjusting to cuisine? You said it might be a lot of different choices being such a developed kind of part of the world. the options are honestly endless. It's kind of overwhelming. I always store like places I want to go on my Google Maps and it's I don't think I'll ever make it through the whole list because

James Doran (25:33.954)

You add one restaurant and then four more open. And it's just like, I'm never going to have time to get to all of them, but it's really, it's really fun getting to explore the cuisine there because there's so many like Michelin star or like high class, high rank restaurants to try. And there's cuisines from all over the world. So it's, you really have the world at your fingertips in terms of food, in terms of like cultural activities, there's lots of opportunities to explore different traditions and festivals and events for.

all of the kind of Arabic communities that are seen there. So I definitely have a freedom of choice in terms of food. I've gotten lots of different Arabic meals and families within the school are also very welcoming. during Ramadan when they break fast, they'll often invite teachers into their homes and we'll get to try and experience that with them. So I've definitely been very privileged getting to experience those kinds of things. That's a good way to turn Ramadan because it's quite important, obviously,

part of the calendar for in Arabic. what's been, sorry, in Muslim faith, not Arabic, excuse my knowledge there for a second. I was speaking to a guy from Oman who was saying how they're very welcoming in terms of helping you learn about, you know, the traditions of Ramadan and the culture behind it. guess you with your children, they Arabic children or are they from different backgrounds themselves? Is it?

opportunity for you to learn and get involved with it? There's a mix. So I would say about 50 % of my class is usually Arabic students from either the UAE itself or from surrounding regions. And then the other half is usually expat children or like students that like the staff members students are also within the school too. So I always have a pretty eclectic mix in my class, which is awesome because then we all get to learn from each other's cultures.

And we have like international day events, we celebrate National Day for UAE, and then during Ramadan we take time in each of our lessons to make connections to the culture and connections to the tradition. So it's kind of a fun learning opportunity for the kids and for me. So every year I get to learn a little bit more about the culture from them.

James Doran (27:50.078)

Is there anything in terms of when everyone's fasting, do you have to be a bit more cautious, especially half the class of fasting and half maybe aren't? What's the, is there a certain protocol with that? Is something as a teacher you have to be involved with? That's a good question. It shifts a little bit year by year, but the work hours are adjusted. So we work shortened days to allow fasting students to go home and rest. Because they're also waking up like at early hours to eat before they begin their fasting. So

We work shorter days during the month of Ramadan. And then in terms of for the students who are not fasting, they're given designated spaces in the school where they can go and eat behind a closed door, just to be respectful, not to be showing their food in front of the faces of kids who are fasting. And the same for teachers. We kind of have to sneak our snacks in the staff room or eat before you get to the school, that kind of thing, just to be respectful of the space. So it's kind of...

decided school by school, case by case, and every year has looked a little different, but they designate spaces for fasting and non-fasting students. guess the hardest thing is water, right? Because obviously you can't drink whilst you're fasting, which to me is, I had a housemate who's from, he's part of the Egyptian, but he's from Germany and he, fact, he was fasting when we were doing our final year at university. we revising for our exams and...

He was fasting and waking up at like 2 a.m. to drink two liters of water because in the UK we have quite long summers. So the daylight is quite long and I felt really bad. He was so incredibly awestruck at like how committed this person was to his faith to do that. it was yeah, the water bit was just shocked me the most because I didn't, that's the thing I didn't know. I thought I knew what it was but obviously not. And I guess in the UE when heat gets at 50 degrees.

Like that must be really tough for people to deal with. it's really challenging. you know, all of my students don't fast because they're quite young. So I'll have some kids that want to kind of practice or try for the first time. they, they usually kind of have a granola bar or a cup of water by the end of the day. So they're still kind of preparing for what Ramadan really looks like as they get older. But it is such a challenge and especially to see them like in

James Doran (30:06.604)

such hot weather at recess, not being able to bring their water bottle. It's really impressive and incredible to see their commitment to the faith. So it's a challenge for sure. Well, because I guess you've got to also safeguard these children as well. So it's kind of a convict of interest for you. Like, do I offer them water or tell them to drink because they need it? Or, you know, I guess it's a difficult thing for you, the place for you to be in, because maybe the parents want them to fast, you know, they might.

He struggles all the time. I definitely rely strongly on that relationship with the parents and the students. Okay, well, how far are we going with this? Because they are they are still little. So I'm a little worried. But yeah, I guess that's something you've helped as you've been there for longer. guess someone might be listening who wants to live in the UAE. And it's looking to get a job as a teacher might be something they're fearful of because it's knowing what to do in that situation. I think that you had help with when you first arrived, the buddy system.

help you with that or with a school kind of advising you what to do? Yeah, the buddy system was definitely tremendous. I'm really thankful for it. My buddy has now left the school, but I still talk to her every day and I still have questions for her four years later. But the school definitely supports you with that. The Arabic speaking staff, the Muslim staff, they help kind of introduce some of the pillars of the faith and the

the message behind each of their practices and holidays and they kind of guide you through what does it look like? How do you communicate with parents about these things and what are subjects that you might want to avoid or be respectful or things like that? They kind of give you the heads up on what is acceptable when you're communicating with families. So they help to kind of safeguard us in that sense. Amazing. that's the thing that I would be really fearful of just to not do the wrong thing. So having that kind of safety net around you and

must be quite quite lucky thing to have. You mentioned that you travel quite a lot because of your seasonal time with your work. You have a lot of time off because you work so hard when you have time on so you earn the rest. What's been the kind of best thing about living abroad and the travel? So have you managed to go to lot of places in the Middle East or other parts of Asia or even down to Africa? What's been the highlight of that opportunity?

James Doran (32:26.006)

Yes to all three. I've gotten to explore quite a bit of the Middle East. Last December, I did a trip with a friend. went to Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand. So I got to explore a little bit of Asia. And then this year, just on a whim, I decided to book a tour to go on safari in Kenya. So I guess the biggest perk is just the flexibility of when you can travel.

And the proximity, like I'm right smack dab in the middle of Africa, Europe, Asia. So I have access to these continents, which I wouldn't have had access to, or at least as much access to from Canada because it's so far and so much more expensive. So I've had lots of chances to even just on the weekend, take a quick trip to some of the regions close by. And that has definitely opened up my eyes to a whole new world that I never would have thought of. So.

I really love exploring the Middle East especially. Now that I live in the region and I'm more comfortable with it, it's a lot of fun to explore other parts of it. You travel quite a lot by yourself. So what tips might you give people who are following your footsteps of traveling alone, especially as a woman, for instance, it's probably a lot more, it's a lot more apprehension perhaps in doing solo travel, because of all the, you know, bad things that happen in the world. the, I guess the,

hard as a man saying this, but in terms of the level of imbalance there is, what tips would you give other people who want to follow in your footsteps? definitely think research is step number one and just kind of gauging what destination you think you can take on. would say if you've never traveled solo before, maybe start with a road trip, maybe start with taking yourself out to dinner in your own city just to kind of get comfortable with, okay, I'm going out into the public by myself. What is it going to feel like? What's it going to look like?

and then broadening it from there. But I think in moments where I still have hesitation traveling solo, usually I'll do like day trips or group tours so that I'm in a group and I kind of have that safety bubble with me or a tour guide with me to help me get around and get accustomed to the place that I'm in, get comfortable with navigating it. And then you can kind of branch out on your own from there. So there are definitely destinations that...

James Doran (34:41.44)

If your gut is telling you, don't think I can take this on solo, that's when you might want to veer towards group trips or take a friend with you, see if you can organize another way of traveling. But I think you do kind of have to do it scared sometimes. Just make sure you've researched and you're prepared for it. That's a great bit of advice. Thank you for sharing that. Yeah, I'm not the best person to ask.

is there anything else you wish to share about your time living in the UE before we go into the kind of reflection period of our conversation, I suppose? man. I would say if it's a destination you haven't thought of going to before, or you've kind of been hesitant to go there, I would definitely say I highly recommend it. and then in terms of working there, there's always job opportunities. So if that's something that interests you, if you want to look into working as a digital nomad, working as a

teacher expat or working in finance, healthcare. There's lots of opportunities to do that. And then in terms of traveling from there, use it as a great tool to travel to other regions in the Middle East or surrounding area. There's lots of like stopover programs you can do from UAE and affordable flights from there. So I highly recommend you come visit. And if you do check me out, I'll come be your tour guide. Incredible. That's great. I guess we'll go into section three with that.

knowledge of your guide us around the Alps.

James Doran (36:12.302)

So welcome to sections 3 of the podcast which is yet unnamed and has been unnamed for the first what 50 episodes of the podcast but it's essentially a review of your time so Remiah this is my first question to everyone as always if you could go back to when you first moved abroad and give yourself some advice not saying change anything but like give yourself something to think about more perhaps is there anything that comes to mind to go you need to do more of this less of that

or think more about, I don't know, it's up to you to say what you might think of as best. Good question. I think it's very easy as a new expat there to get caught up in the whirlwind of it all and just kind of recognising that you will have time to travel and you don't need to kind of rush things. There's a lot of places I went to, not just to tick the box and say I've been there, but I did very quick trips and I think

Now I'm more into slower travel and kind of settling in one place, taking my time to really explore a region. So I would honestly just say slow down. And even just to make time to explore the UAE in itself, I was able to do a road trip through all of the seven Emirates and kind of see the differences in the cultures of each region. And just taking the time to really explore the new place that you're in, cause that's a destination too, rather than just.

being quick to hop on a plane, taking that time to soak it all in is my number one tip. when you're driving in between the Emirates, is there a long gap of nothingness between some of the places? What was that like? Was it like going to feel like you're in Mad Max? just going to say that it really is just like long stretches of desert. You can see the camels off in the distance, hear the eagles cry. Yeah, some of them are a little bit more sparse. Some of the Emirates are definitely

not as modern, you'll find that they kind of get a bit more conservative the farther out you go from Dubai. But they all have their own magic to them. They're beautiful. You can go hiking, snorkeling, kayaking. There's lots of things to explore outside of just the glitz and glam of Dubai or like the attractions in Abu Dhabi. So I always recommend to people if you're coming to UAE to make time to actually go out to the desert and have that kind of experience too because

James Doran (38:33.134)

It's a whole different world than what you see online. So it's, it's well worth it to explore it all. What's the best like glitz and glamour thing you've seen since living there? man, that's tough. There's, there's been quite a few glamorous moments, but I think, I think the first time that I got to go on a yacht, on a yacht cruise was a really, really fun experience.

And then in Abu Dhabi, there is a presidential palace. And that is still to this day, one of the most beautiful buildings I've ever gotten to see. like seeing the geometric patterns on the inside of the Islamic art style is just like completely breathtaking. And they're a big fan of like gold coated snacks. So I've had like a gold latte, a gold ice cream cone, just like really, really lavish things like that.

Yeah, I'm like, I'd rather have the gold than eat it. But you know, it's a start. It's a start. Just harvest it from the top. Over time, it'll pay for itself. Exactly. It'll pay off. Obviously, in every now and a lot of sports events happening in terms of the being quite an epicenter of world sport. you been to see anything since you've lived there, which is different for you or you've been excited to go watch?

my gosh. I've gotten to go to a couple of football games and I will be very honest, I am not a big football fan. It is very exciting to get to be a part of the crowd and participate in that. And once you're in the crowd, the energy is there. And one of my major highlights was getting to go to the World Expo when it was in Dubai. And they've kept it open since the expo has ended there.

And they were broadcasting a bunch of the World Cup games. So I got to go be a part of the crowd and watch some of the big World Cup matches, which was awesome. I still have not been to a cricket match though, and that's on my wishlist to go and see. So I would like to try and make that happen this year. mean, mine would be the F1. It's the end of the season there. Right. So that's, I'm a F1 fan. So that's my thing. And you have Ferrari World, like the theme box. Yes. Yes. And I've been to F1, but again, I don't really understand it. What?

James Doran (40:43.886)

I just, I don't know, the cars are so fast. I didn't really know what was going on, but you know, it was very fun. Very fun. I know. I know this is shameful. I shouldn't admit this. I'll do better. I'll learn more about it. If you want to strive to survive it, apparently it helps quite a lot. Yes. That's on the list. It's on the list. What advice might you give to someone else who's looking to teach abroad? Not necessarily English second language, but actually like you're doing, which is a full kind of curriculum.

which is probably a lot harder than stories I've heard of my friends teaching English language. It's very difficult, but it seems it's an opportunity to travel more that is a long-term career where I believe you've kind of settled your career there, what advice would you give someone who wants to do an early years teaching abroad? That's tough. Honestly, all you need

to be able to do it is your Bachelor of Education and that can get you pretty far in terms of applying to different schools here. So I think a lot of people feel like there's big barriers in the way and there aren't. It's readily accessible. They're always looking for more teachers. And I feel like the hardest part isn't so much the teaching or the work as long as you know you're there and you're ready to work. That's what's expected. But the hardest part is just

it's a very transient place. I feel like expats are either there for their two year contract or they're there for life and there's no in between. So those hellos and goodbyes come very quickly. And as long as you're ready to take that on, think it's a, it's a great place to work, a great place to settle down for a bit and enjoy that expat life while it's interesting to you. And then when you're ready to move on, that's fine, but you just have to prepare for that. A lot of change. like it's never boring, which is always kind of.

Never it's never a dull moment. I know so I wasn't shaming people who teach second languages For English. No, no, no, we love them. We love them, of course It's a challenge. I'm jealous of their lifestyle at the time because they seem to be just getting paid a lot of money to have an amazing life which I'm sure the work is very hard. I've got some friends who've done it. But yeah, I'm just jealous Aren't we all? Wonderful. I guess is there anything else you would wish to share?

James Doran (43:02.21)

with listeners who are interested in living abroad in general, what advice might you give to someone who just wants to drop everything and move abroad or has been planning to since they young? If you're planning to move abroad, would say do your best to prepare yourself for socializing and putting yourself out there. Make sure that you take full advantage of those opportunities.

Definitely seek out Facebook groups. Definitely look for trips that you can go on with other expats or activities you can do with other people. Use meetups to your advantage. And just build that network because you don't want to just get yourself trapped into that work bubble. It's very easy to get consumed, at least in the UAE. It's a very work-driven place. So making sure you set aside that time for yourself to explore and build your own network of friends is really important. So that's my biggest, biggest piece of advice.

Yeah, it's difficult to make friends, especially as an adult living abroad. Yeah, I struggled at first. Well, I had some very good friends, but only a few. So in terms of if they were busy, then I was screwed. it was very much a situation of I joined sports clubs. That's how I ended up making lot of friends was joining a sports club. Yeah, I want to

When I first moved, joined like eight different gyms because I was like, I need to make friends somehow. And at least I know these people will be consistent. But even with that, it was like after that first year of making all of those friends, 90 % of them moved back to their home country. So it's like, you might have to start from scratch and you need to be kind of willing to number one, be comfortable on your own and enjoy your own company. And number two, be willing to

put in that work to build more friendships over time. have to practice being an extrovert, even if you're not. It's skill to learn. It gets easier with time, I promise. Well, thank you for giving me your time today. I appreciate you all in your summer vacation mode and in your kind of recharge your batteries for the next kind of academic year. So thank you for willing to talk to me for.

James Doran (45:12.43)

an hour or so about your life abroad and your amazing journey to Middle East from Canada and I've really been inspired by you and your kind of passion for it still after nearly 95 years. It's quite a long time to still have that kind of excitement and energy behind it. kudos to you for having that kind of slain going. And if people do want to in UAE or want to find you and ask you those questions, where might they find you?

What's the best way to get in touch? Right now the best way to find me is on Instagram. So you can check out my page, Ramaya Travels. Wonderful. Thank you for joining me and thank you for listening. If you have stayed this long and thank you for doing that. if you have what was always found so interesting, please let us know in the comments and get in touch and we'll see you next time for the Expat Pod.