Relaxing and testing...

Ok... I'm going to try to write about more than one day!

Tuesday: This was a lovely, restful day. Shawn and I slept until 10:20 and barely made it to breakfast, which closes at 10:30. We headed back to our room with the intention of cleaning up our stuff, but ended up in bed watching TV and napping until 3:00. We then got up and went to the pool. The pool is really nice, and surprisingly the water is much cooler than I thought it would be. We bumped into a friend we made named Shon, and decided to meet up later for dinner. Here are a few pics of the pool and view from there:

And here is the ballroom at the hotel:

After the pool we went to clean ourselves up, shower, and headed to meet Shon at a restaurant here at the restaurant. Our goal was not to leave the hotel all day. Yet, when we found out it was 175 AED () per person, we all decided to head to the mall. The mall was very crowded, as usual, and most places were very full. We didn't want to wait long so we settled on Fudruckers and a little bit of home for dinner. Then we headed straight back to the hotel. Shawn and I cleaned up the room and did our laundry in the bathtub to save money. There is even a line on the wall that comes out so you can hang the clothing up to dry! There are a few pics below. We then laid down in bed to watch TV. I had medical testing the next day, so I wanted to try to get to bed a little earlier.

Wednesday: Up for breakfast, a little more rest, and then ready for my medical exam. They sent buses in shifts to pick us up. I was in the last group (grouped alphabetically by first name) and we left about 11:30ish. This bus was nicer with working AC and we drove through more of the city so I got to see a little more. When we arrived it was a bit chaotic. I guess it is a government health place, not sure but there were other people there besides our huge group of teachers. First they handed us back our passports and work visas and handed us a number. We were brought into a waiting room where we had to wait for our number to be called. This took forever because we were on what was called the normal track and there was also a fast track for other people, so their numbers would jump ahead of ours. I chatted and made new friends during the wait. I was also close to one of the last ones called. Once called, we went to the desk where they took down info from our passports and visas and also took our picture. We were then sent to the next station to have our blood pressure, height, and weight taken. My weight was in kg so I had no idea how much I weighed haha.

The next station was a doctors visit. I told her I was pregnant and she wrote down that I was excused from the chest x-ray station until after the baby is born. She quickly checked my skin on my chest and back and that was it. Other people said the doctor listened to their heart and stuff, but mine just checked all my boxes and sent me on my way. I guess because I was close to last she was done! He next station was the blood draw. This station also took forever waiting. There wasn't a clear system of order. I think I was the last one to get y blood drawn. The guy was nice and it went quickly... which is good because that is my least favorite part! Then there was the urine sample.

The “female toilet” had two sinks open to the hallway and then a door to the actual toilet. While two of us were waiting, two Emerati men walked up and motioned their hands that they needed to use the sinks. They then proceeded to wash their hands, face, and then feet. They stuck their feet up there and scrubbed away, making a big mess. We had no idea what was going on. When they finished they walked into the hallway and pulled out their prayer rug. We then realized they were cleaning for prayer. It was the first time I saw the call to prayer that close. They prayed, bowing their heads to their mats, rolled their mats up, and were on their way.

After the urine sample, I got to by-pass the x-ray and headed to the fingerprint scan. They scanned all my fingers and palms. I handed my passport back to the agency, and was sent back to the bus. On the bus ride back, I got to talk to a British Muslin woman. It was interesting to hear her view on things, like being a Muslim in a non-Islamic world such as England and what the prayer meant to her. She was very nice and happy to share information with us.

When I got back to the hotel, I ate some lunch in my room and then settled in for the evening. It was already after 4. Shawn had met some friends and they decided to have a boys bowling night. He left a round 6, so I had the evening. I made some phone calls, worked on my blogs, ate some food we have in the room, and settled in for the evening in bed with a good movie. Shawn had a fun time bowling and made some more new friends. All in all a good evening (besides being starving at 1am and eating salad, bread, and Nutella haha).