10 Questions: Molly

My dear friend Molly is no stranger to adventure and travel, or my blog. Today she’s sharing her experiences living abroad.

Here’s Molly’s 10 Questions:

1. Current address:
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

2. Previous address(es):
Washington State, USA; Angers, France; Buea, Cameroon; Schladming, Austria; Carnforth, England

3. I landed here because…
There were layoffs in my school district and doors kept opening. I found this teaching job online and thought, “Hmm this sounds interesting.” The interview was an hour away on a day I could make it. It just all worked out. I never thought I’d come here. I saw Abu Dhabi and thought it was Addis Ababa in Ethiopia!

4. The best part of living abroad is…
meeting people from all over the world. Abu Dhabi has so many expats that you always have the opportunity to meet people from new and diverse places.

5. The most difficult part of living abroad is…
Missing my family and that things you think are going to be simple…are not. It always requires ten extra steps to get whatever you are trying to do accomplished. You want to make one recipe, you have to go to five different grocery stores! And don’t even get me started on all the ridiculous stamps you have to get… [referring to doing anything official in UAE]

6. Before living here (abroad), I never realized…
how kind and welcoming the Arab culture is. I have had the opportunity to get to know a very kind Emirati family who has taken me in and been a great support. I’ve also realized that the stuff you hear about on the news means so much more when there’s a face to go with it. For example, the uprisings in Egypt mean so much more when your Egyptian co-workers are talking about relatives back home. In addition, I never realized how thankful I am for what I had on a systemic level. For example, how much collective bargaining has done for my profession. Lastly, I’ve realized that when you are far away from home your friends become your family.

7. An addition to my day to day vocabulary is…
“Too much” – to mean a lot or so much, “Wallah” – to mean, “really!” or “really?”, “Same-same” to mean the same, “Keen” – from Canadian friends, “Washroom” instead of bathroom or restroom.

8. Three words to describe my host country are…
patriotic, up and coming, eclectic

9. If I could live anywhere (hometown excluded) I’d choose…
For the long term -Bellingham, Washington or Missoula, Montana –
For the short term – A little mountain town in the Alps

10. A traveler or expat (famous or not) I admire is…
Colin Angus, the first person to circumnavigate the world using only manpower. What he did was so incredible! I read his book, Beyond the Horizon, over a year ago and I’m still thinking about the challenges he faced and his perseverance.

Thanks for sharing with us! You can visit Molly at her blog, My Suitcase Heart.

xo, jill