Gillian

Gillian’s husband had already been living in Dubai for 18 months when she moved here last October.  She had stayed behind in the UK while her youngest son finished school and continued her career as a teacher.  Although she had visited Dubai during half-term holidays, she was hesitant about making this first move overseas. 
 
“I hate the heat, I don’t like shopping and I can’t play golf,” she remembers saying, but a family holiday in Dubai the Christmas before last finally convinced her that perhaps she could make the city her home.  “But I’ll only come if I can work,” she said.
 
Eight months later she still isn’t working, but is enjoying her new life in Dubai despite this.  Following the advice of a friend who told her to “Say ‘yes’ to everything,” she has so far tried bridge lessons, Pilates, tap dancing, belly dancing, dragon boating, snorkeling, sailing and Arabic lessons, as well as golf, which she once vowed she would never play.  
 
 “There’s a lot on offer here,” she says, “It’s not just coffee mornings and shopping malls.  Dubai is very liberal and it’s an easy place to live.  But you must see more than just Dubai.  Go to Fujairah and cross the mountains and if your husband is feeling really generous enjoy the real beauty of the desert on a visit to the Al Maha resort.”
 
She misses the intellectual challenge and independence her career gave her but is now reluctant to step into full-time teaching, as it would give her little time to socialize or pursue her newfound interests. 
 
“If I did work full-time, when I leave Dubai would I look back and say that I’m glad I had another three years’ teaching?” she wonders. 
 
Her present plan is to take the CELTA course over the summer and start part-time tutoring in English later in the year.  This will give her the flexibility she needs, both to continue her activities in Dubai as well as make regular visits home to her family. 
 
She feels the biggest mistake for a new arrival to make is to stay home and become bored and lonely.  She began by attending the ExpatWoman coffee mornings, made friends with a couple of woman and then gradually got involved with her many activities.  “You’ve got to keep throwing yourself back in,” she says.