Back in Holland, Adriaan and I used to play the card game “klaverjassen” with my parents a lot. So about a month and a half ago he decided to post something on facebook to see if there where other Dutchies in Dubai who wanted to play the game. Apparently it still is a popular game and this weekend we had the second klaverjas afternoon in Dubai, it was great fun and of course a great way to meet new people.
After being here for about 3 months, more and more we are finding are way here. Getting used to driving around, meeting new people, me starting a new job (more of my new job in another post) and trying to get used to the heat.
I don’t get lost in the supermarket most of the time, there are places I can drive without navigation, although I still need to make some U-turns here and there ;-). We are still very happy with our move to Dubai, every time I drive towards this amazing skyline I realize I really live in Dubai! What an opportunity, great freedom and a whole new world to experience.
Adriaan and I are looking forward to a lot more great experiences during the coming (hot) months! I will try to post more of our live and adventures on my blog.
I got my UAE drivers license about two weeks ago! For me as a Dutch girl it was pretty easy, just went to the RTA (road and transport authority) with a stack of paperwork (including a letter of no objection from my husband aka sponsor) and payed 420 dirham (around 105 euro) and got my license. This also answers a question I was asked a lot when we told people that we were moving to Dubai; are women allowed to drive in the UAE? Yes we are!
After driving a couple of times with Adriaan to some nearby destinations, today was the first day I drove on my own (Adriaan was working obviously). I had to be at a meeting in downtown, I didn’t get lost, only got honked at 4 times ;-) and arrived at my destination!
We’ve got our apartment all set up now, our furniture has survived the long journey on the container ship, and we’ve added some extras from IKEA. So, time for some good old home insurance.Getting it though, was quite an interesting experience.
Insurance company A:
Applied online for a call-back twice: twice no-one called back.
Called customer service twice for a call-back: got called back once, about home loans.
Called customer service again: advised to go to a branch.
Went to a branch: advised to call customer service.
Result: no insurance.
Then, after a friend’s recommendation, we tried Insurance company B:
Called costumer service: not even 10 minutes later our home was insured.
Somehow, I feel both are very typical for Dubai. You can easily get lost in a bureaucratic maze here, but it is equally easy to get things done very fast.
Last week on the radio we heard a commercial about a calligraphy exhibition. Because we both like the art we have seen made from Arabic writing we thought it would be a nice way to spend Saturday morning. After some research we found out it was hosted at the Wafi Mall, downtown Dubai.
It was a small but nice exhibition with a lot of different types of calligraphy, some beautiful illustrated pages from the holy Quran, but also some very modern illustrations.
One I especially liked was this one, the origin and translation are below the picture.
Narjes Noureddine (UAE), “If glory was easy, everyone could have reached and got it.” Verses from the poetry of HH Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum (2017).
During the winter there is this theme park called Global Village, we went there about a month ago and we had great fun. Unfortunately due to heavy rain we had to leave earlier than we would have liked. Next winter we will visit again for sure to see the rest of the village.
It closes during the summer due to the temperatures here. It was an amazing great experience, most of it is shopping, somewhat themed in the different countries. We noticed that the most elaborate lands were Arabic, and Indian. The European part was a bit underdeveloped, some stuff with London and Paris on it, but nothing to make it really feel like we were in Europe.
During the evening they have pretty lights everywhere, unfortunately not so many pictures because of the rain.
Time flies, so it has been a while since my last update. I have a lot of stories I want to tell, so the coming week I will finish some drafts and que them. But for now, enjoy our view at the fountain and Burj Khalifa from last sunday at the Dubai Mall where we had brunch.We had an extra day off because of Isra wal Mi’raj.
After the visa run, the next step would be getting the residence-visa medical check-up and handing over my bio metrics for the EID (Emirates ID). So last Sunday Adriaan drove me to the Al Karama Medical Fitness Express Services Center to get my blood tested for HIV and have a chest x-ray taken. Through this service, expatriates who are over the age of eighteen years can obtain a medical check-up certificate. This certificate is a necessary requirement to apply for or renew a residence visa.
The P.R.O. officer arranged all the paperwork, so with a lot of forms, 135 dhs, my passport, and some pictures in my bag I went to the first desk. Here they check your papers, attach your pictures to the forms and give you your number. With this number you proceed to the first waiting area. When your number comes up on the screen you can walk over to the next desk. From here on women and men are separated. They check your papers again en they give you the option to pick up the papers in a couple of days or have them send over to you. They have to end up at the P.R.O. officer of Adriaan his work anyway, so we decided to have them sent. After paying the 135 dhs and getting more pieces of paper attached to my form I was allowed to proceed to waiting room number 2.
Here there was another registration desk where they took some of my papers, stamped the other part and they send me in to the room where they were doing the blood tests. They hand you over a small test tube and tell you to wait in line (again). Some nurse checks your name, number and sticks a needle in you. Luckily for me I had a very skilled nurse (no bruising or marks after!) They test you for HIV with this test. For some people they also test for hepatitis B and syphilis, it depends on your occupation and country of origin.
Next it was back to the waiting room for my chest x-ray, but first another form. Stating that I was sure I wasn’t pregnant, because of the radiation. To really make sure you had to fill out the first day of your last period and sign everything. Then on to the changing room, removing your bra and jacket for the x-ray, which was over in 30 seconds, getting changed again and then you are free to go. With the chest x-ray they are screening to detect pulmonary tuberculosis (Tbc). In a couple of days the test results will be send to the P.R.O. officer and I’m one step closer to getting my residence visa.
One of things mandatory in the UAE is to have an Emirates ID. So after the medical check, just on the other side of the street was the Identity Authority. Another desk, another number and another waiting room. After 45 minutes it was my turn. They take every possible fingerprint they can, your fingers together, every finger individually, your palm, the side of your palm. When I was in the process it made me think about a couple of years ago back in Holland. They made it mandatory to have the print of your thumb registered for your passport. There was a lot of commotion about that, that would not even be possible here. It is mandatory, so you just follow the officials, you don’t have or get a say in the process. After they took another picture (without glasses) I was done for the day.
All the official steps have been taken. Now I just have to wait and in a week or so I will be the proud owner of a residence visa and a Emirates ID. At least for 2 years and then I have to go through the process again.
So when I arrived at Dubai International airport I just got the standard visa on arrival. This will allow me to spend 90 days in the UAE.*
A great way to start, but of course the plan is to get a resident visa. In the UAE you have to have a sponsor to get this type of visa. For Adriaan the company he works for is his sponsor, so he registered for an employment Visa. Married couples can sponsor each other for a residence visa in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, and the rest of the UAE. This means that Adriaan will be my sponsor. Everything for his visa and emirates ID had to be finished before I could apply for my visa.
Luckily for us, the company Adriaan works for, FPI (Future Pipe Industries), helps us out with everything. So the process is going pretty smoothly. The P.R.O.** is arranging all the paperwork and fees, we just have to go past several institutions to get the required stamps, medical check and fingerprinting done. He filed for my visa and within a couple of days I got my temporary visa. With this 2 month valid temporary visa I could go ahead and get my checks for the final visa. Except for one little detail: I had to “switch” visa, my visa on arrival had to be changed to this temporary residence visa, so I had to leave and re-enter the UAE. It is a pretty common thing here, most spouses do this, it is the “easiest” way; the so called visa run. After asking around a bit, the best place to do this run would be at Hatta, Oman.
So on Saturday we left for the border at around half past 10. After a 2 hour drive we got to the border. We payed the exit fee of 35 dirham (dhs) per person (about 9 euro) and left the UAE. Then it is only another 7 kilometer drive to the border with Oman. Before we got to the border we had to pass another check. Adriaan had to get out of the car, a police officer checked the trunk of the car and we were handed over a piece of paper which stated that there were 2 people in the car. Or so we think, it was completely in Arabic, so we could not read it ;-).
Next we parked the car at the border checkpoint in Oman and went inside the building. After waiting for over 15 minutes somebody told us we first had to fill out a form stating our personal information and the kind of visa we would like for Oman. So we filled out everything and went back in the line. After another 15-20 minutes waiting in line it was our turn. The officer discarded the form (why we had to fill it out.... who knows), stamped an entry and exit visa in our passports, we payed 100 dhs (about 25 euro) and we could head back to the UAE border.
So we drove back the 7 kilometer and went inside the building of the UAE border. After they took my picture I got the entry stamp on the printout of my visa and we could head home again. It may sound like a pretty strange story, but the visa-run is a pretty normal thing to do here. The next step will be a medical check and fingerprinting for my Emirates ID.
Riding through Sharjah (an emirate above Dubai) we went trough some amazing mountains, see the picture below.
* For several countries (Netherlands being one of them) your passport will be stamped with a multiple entry 90-days visit visa that's valid for 6 months from the date of issue, and for a stay of 90 days in total. Source: emirates.com
**PRO (public relations officer): Based in the Human Resource Department, the Public Relations Officer (P.R.O.) role is to undertake all the activities for official submission / collection of application approval and timely processing of various legal documents.
Sorry for the delay with this post, we have had some crazy couple of weeks. I’ll try to keep posting new posts more often ;-).
I can’t believe it has already has been over 3 weeks since I left Holland. The days and weeks have just flown by. A lot of things have happened, or didn't happen, there has been a lot of sun and even some rain. We actually got rained on walking back from the metro station one night, and even got completely soaked coming back form Global Village. But let’s start at the beginning.....
I have had an amazingly flight, being used to flying with some cheaper airlines, flying with emirates has been really wonderful. Enough space for your legs, nice meal and every hour or so, drinks and snacks were offered.The plane landed around midnight at DXB, Dubai International Airport. After taking a bus for over 30 minutes (because we landed at a far, far away lane) we got to the gate. When you walk through the airport you realize you are definitely some where in Arabia, everywhere you look their are people women dressed in black abaya and men in white thobe. The first time in Dubai last September I was really surprised about all the different types and different ways to were the traditional clothing.
After spending an hour in line waiting for the passport check, luckily they opened another desk. The randomly selected some people who could stand in line there, including me, and from there on everything went very smoothly and after 3 weeks I was reunited with my husband. The next week we spent in a hotel near Dubai WTC which was next to a metro stop. This gave me the opportunity to use the metro to get to Dubai Mall and have a look around.
We used the weekend to look at an apartment and arranging things with the bank. For the first time ever Adriaan cashed in a cheque and wrote several to pay for the rent for the upcoming year. The next week between Adriaan his work were spent moving to the apartment, getting everything fixed; some temporary furniture (our stuff will arrive halfway through April), water delivery, gas delivery, internet (what would you do without it), buying groceries, getting a car lease, arranging my resident visa, etc.
We have also starting enjoying the Dubai life, everything is opened until midnight so going out to diner, walking around, having brunches (lovely friday tradition), shopping and just having fun. We also started trying to get fit again, we have a gym in the apartment with all the equipment you need. Adriaan has also started swimming in the mornings before work and will start with waterpolo again pretty soon.
There are so many more stories to tell, this is a just a small summary. I will try to post more detailed stories in the coming weeks.
Finally, after all the preparations, today I’m leaving! The morning started typically dutch; it was pooring with rain, hardly any shelter on the platform at the station and gushes of wind every other second. And ofcourse a 15 minute delay…….
But I made it, after a cup of goodbye coffee with my best friend Marije I’m ready to go. Marije also wanted to make sure I was really leaving…. ;-).
Everything went pretty smooth; checking in my heavy luggage (only 27kg), ofcourse my hand luggage was the one who had to be sent through extra checks and had to be swiped, but within 25 minutes everything was finished. Ready for some lunch and waiting until boarding. So at the moment I’m working on this post near the gates and boarding will begin shortly.
About six months ago we started our adventure: moving to Dubai! It’s been an amazing ride, for me it started with my first visit ever to Dubai in September 2016. And now it’s only 2 more days until my move, my flight leaves Tuesday hopefully at 14:30.
The last couple of days have been crazy, helping a friend decorate a nursery, trying to sell a lot of stuff from the same friend at a garage sale, having drinks with other friends and in a couple of hours having lunch with my family. At this moment I’m enjoying a grand latte, while writing this blogpost.
I think it’s needles to say that I’m really looking forward to the move, being together with Adriaan again (who moved 3 weeks ago to start arranging things) and to have a first a look at our potential appartment. Adriaan has been really bussy getting an ID, a bankaccount, a drivers license and looking at appartments. Meanwhile I have been busy getting rid of our last stuff, cancelling insurance, changing from 3 bankaccounts to 1, handing in the keys of our appartment in Zwolle and seeing friends and family for the “last time”.
For the last month I have been living with my parents in the small village called Wapse in Drenthe. Living at home with my parents again has been great, lovely, easy, cheap, but it has also been strange. I left home to live on my own 15 years ago when I started studying at Twente University. Since then my parents have moved, so everything is kind of different being back home. I don’t have to think about cooking, cleaning, grocceries, having no one to talk to or being home alone. I really loved being back home for 5 weeks, being close to my parents before the move, but it is also going to be nice to live on my own, or our own ;-), again. But mom and dad, thanks a lot for the last couple of weeks!
Now it is time to start packing, doing my last bit of laundry and handing in my car keys to my dad, who will sell our beloved twingo.
My next post will be either from the airport or from Dubai.
A couple of weeks ago somebody asked me if I was planning to start a blog.... The reason behind this question is our upcoming move from Zwolle, the Netherlands, to Dubai.
So I started thinking about this; a blog seems like a great way to keep people updated on our plans, adventures, amazing stories and every interesting detail. But do I have the motivation to keep up blogging, are there really people interested in my stories? I’ve been thinking about this for a couple days, and came to the following conclusion: let’s just try. So here goes, my first ever post as a blogger!
Time will tell if I will keep this up, and if anybody is interested.
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