Techie nightmare

Today I received an email. Unfortunately, it wasn't the email I have been anxiously waiting for (the one from the travel agency with my travel documents). Today's email was an update from my recruiter. In it, it informed me that I have finally cleared the security screening and will now be worked on by the Visa agency. Hold on!  I thought that was what I was already waiting for?  I was only waiting for the security screening?  *sigh* Ok, so what does this mean? 
I am now waiting for the Visa to be issued. It can take 1-5 days to process. As soon as this is completed my information will be sent to the travel agency and then my E-ticket will be sent to my E-mail address.
While I've waited for all of this paperwork to finish up, I've met some people on some Facebook group pages. Members of these pages include people in the same situation as myself, and LTs already in place in Abu Dhabi. It has been wonderful to chat to someone who is either in the same boat, or has already progressed through it.

Without their help, I would have never known about a VPN, MagicJack, or unlocking a cell phone. I know, it sounds complicated. I thought I was a pretty good Techie, but these sounded out of my league!  A VPN, or Virtual Private Network, will censor me and not allow access to many websites that are blocked within the UAE. Some of thee websites includes Youtube and Facebook.  What no Facebook???  This will NOT be tolerated! :-)  After paying for a VPN, I downloaded it onto my computer. This allows my computer to have a U.S. ISP address and it will not be blocked while I am in the UAE. I will even be able to access NetFlix.

If you have seen the late night television infomercials, MagicJack is a device a person plugs into their USB hub of their computer and then they will be able to use their computer to make long distance phone calls. This will be awesome!  There are two types on the market today--MagicJack, and MagicJack Plus. They both allow for long distance calls, but the MagicJack plus will also allow you to use an electric plug. I decided to go with the basic one due to its more reasonable cost. Hopefully, that will work out well for me.

Unlocking a cell phone?? I never knew my phone was "locked". Every cell phone uses their own regional providers. For example, Verizon has towers across the U.S. and I can make calls without roaming charges. However, if I travel internationally, my phone will still use the same U.S. sources and I will incur large roaming fees. To fix this, you must have your cell phone unlocked. Some phones can be done by your provider, but some cannot. If you are able to get your phone unlocked, you will then need to purchase a SIM card for the area you will be visiting. This will allow your phone to access the local provider's towers and there will not be any roaming charge. Sounds easy, right?  Well, I can tell you that this is not all that easy sometimes. Many providers do not want to unlock your phones. They lose money afterall. So you will eaither travel as is and hope the fees are within your budget (I've read stories of people receiving their phone bills will several hundred or thousand dollars worth of roaming fees on their bills!), or purchase a new phone when you arrive in the your new country. The UAE has many stores where you cn purchase phones like Tracphone to use pre-paid minutes. At the least, you will know how much you are spending on your phone bill. Oh, another note on cell phones, if you cannot get your smart phone unlocked and decide to travel with it, you must turn off your setting that allows roaming. If you do not, you will be charged roaming fees even if you do not use your phone!!  Even when not making calls, smart phones access data using the local networks.
Some of the technical aspects of international travel can be a little daunting and I am sure I do not know everything. Hopefully, I will learn quickly and I will not be in internet hell.  

Leaving soon? I hope

Well, today all of the new LTs (Licensed Teachers)were sent a new Travel Form to complete. After printing it out I entered my information such as passport number, birth date, etc, and scanned it into my computer. I then uploaded it into my online "Drop Box". Hopefully this means things are getting closer to lift off day!  I do hope so.
The waiting has begun to wear on me. I am not working fulltime, and I am trying to stay busy. However, I have done pretty much everything I could. I am praying the message comes soon that we will leaving.

Scanner--my friend?

Thanks to a teacher from the UAE for a wonderful idea! She said if you scan in your children's picture books, you can input them into a PowerPoint slideshow. Saving these presentations to a thumb drive will eliminate much of the weight can be found in my packed bags. This is a great idea!  I went to the library today and checked out 30 books!  I decided to gather picture books that could be used to teach math concepts. My first book I scanned in is the book entitled "Too many kangaroo things to do". One down, 29 to go. *Smile* I know what the next few days will consist of. I will scan in as many as I can before my flight.

Still here

Well, Here I am, still in Maryland. It has been three weeks of waiting and so far, no exact travel plans. It has been tough. I have repacked, packed, and repacked my luggage. I've also have no fulltime job, and with that, no income coming in. I have subbed a few days at my old school and I have enjoyed being back in the classroom. I am now sure the classroom is where I belong! Subbing has been wonderful, but I am really want my own classroom. I had hoped to already be fully entrenched in the U.A.E., but so far no go.

One drawback in the ongoing wait is I keep picking up things that I think would be great in my classroom. Today I went to the thrift store and found a checkers set. This set is pretty cool. The checkers are three inches across and it comes with a woven (cloth) board. I thought this would be great in my class. However, there is a problem with this. All three of my bags are at the weight limit--50lbs. Just where am I to put all this new stuff I keep picking up? I mean, you can only reconfigure the contents of each bag only so many times. Right? 

Hopefully, this nightmare that is my life will get back on track soon. Myself, and the other new teachers, have been told that we will "possibly" be there at the end of January. With this being the 19th of January, my days in the U.S. should be numbered. I will post again when I hear anything. Pray that it is soon!

Over The Emirates - U.A.E.

Where is the UAE?

For those of you who just don't know where the United Arab Emirates is located, this is a great map!