On to Sharjah

Every year I tell myself that I’m going to leave the UAE, and every year I end up staying longer. In September I’ll have been here for four years. That was never part of my plan, but…

I’m moving to Sharjah. For those who’ve never heard of it, Sharjah is an Emirate and a city that has really merged with Dubai at this point. It’s slower, not as glamorous and more traditional. Not as rich. I’m going to be working at a nursery run by a Russian Adventist. She was looking for a member of the church to help her, and the pastor contacted me for reasons I don’t entirely know. I’ve been over to visit and speak in person twice. It’s going to be a new experience for me definitely, but I’m assuming God wouldn’t have put this in my path if He didn’t want me there. That’s what I keep telling myself as it starts to heat up and I realize I’ve committed myself to staying here over the summer.

A lot of things worked out well, though. I’m going to be living just across the street from the nursery, so I won’t have to worry much about transportation. I’m pretty sure there’s a mall with a grocery store within walking distance. Sharjah has a lot of cool museums, and it’s right next to Dubai, which I’ve never spent much time in because it’s so much of a hassle in general. And, the bus back to Abu Dhabi is only 30AED ($8.16) and is about two hours long.

Also, I’ll have a chance to practice my Russian. The owner of the nursery is Russian, her two current employees speak Russian, and all of their current students also speak Russian. I don’t know why so many Russians are in Sharjah specifically, but I think this will probably be good for me. Because I’ve been pretty terrible with practicing.

I agreed to work there for 6 months, but as I’m well aware, plans change. I really don’t feel like I can predict where I’ll be by the end of this year. I had a plan, but that’s already been heavily modified, so… Who knows.

Wherever I am, if I’m not semi-fluent in Russian by then, can someone come and kick me?