Procuring a final contract for work in the UAE was an exercise in patience and an all out blind leap-of-faith.
I had been informed early that the departure date would be August 23rd. However, August 23rd came and went and I still did not even have a contract.
After all my paperwork was in, “they” said it would take “two weeks for Security Clearance from the UAE.”
Four weeks later, I had heard nothing. Apparently there’s a pretty significant time of year called Ramadan over in the Middle East. Work is optional during this time; and processing contracts for teachers needed on the first day of school is definitely not a priority.
Panic set in: It was 3 weeks to the start of school in Sequim and I couldn’t wait any longer in order to give my current administration sufficient notice of resignation. I leapt.
I no longer had a job in the USA and I did not have a contract in the UAE.
All my coworkers went back to work and I waited.
And waited…and waited…and waited.
Oh, and made a back up plan to move in with my parents and teach in Idaho. At the age of 42--does this happen?!?!
However, on Saturday, September 9th at 11:08 am, I received an email from ADVETI with an attached contract and a simple question: Can you leave tomorrow? Three hours later my eTicket came through and I was flying out at noon the next day.
This, what I learned later, is typically how most business transactions materialize in the UAE.
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