The Art of NOT KNOWING

First I want to say,
 I apologize. 
I am so sorry that when you write a comment or ask a question on a FB page or on this blog, I may giggle or sigh or think about what great changes are ahead of you. 

They are still ahead of me as well and I have been here two years. 

The experience of not knowing:

when you will hear about your flight
receive your visa, 
the hotel experience, 
your school placement and grade level
the materials
the technology in the school
the food
furniture
housing
and on
and on
and on

is just the introduction of the art of Not Knowing. 

Personally, I am a planner, at least in my head. I have several versions of how things might play out, because I don't like surprises, good and bad, but especially bad. Of course, I don't know anyone who does like bad surprises. 

This is the land of surprises. 
For example: I just moved from the Western Region into the city. 
To get my clearance from the Western Region, I had to get my account for water and electricity and my "cable" and Internet transferred. 
So two days ago, I was thinking...
hmmm....
I am not on the island, so where could I go here (in AD) to get my ADDC (water and electric) account turned off?
Hmmm... the main office, they should be able to do it. 
A friend tells me the main office of ADDC is close to Etisalat Main office so I should be able to get it done together ... right? 

A friend and I arrived at the Etisalat main branch about 15 minutes til 9, on the first day of Ramadan. 
We wonder if we have to get a parking slip out of the machine to park. We walk up to the ticket dispenser and start inserting dirhams. They go in, but it won't print a ticket. We cover our eyes and part of the screen from the already scorching sun and read that parking is free til 9 am. 

So we vote to see what we can get done in the building before 9. We walk in and find that they will not open until 9 and there is already a line to go up the escalator (they have them everywhere here) to the service desks upstairs. 

My friend only needs to pay a bill, so she goes back out to pay the parking and get a ticket for the dashboard. Long story short, she stood in the heat for more than 10 minutes to find out that the machine would only print out a ticket at 9:01 since parking was free til 9. The security guard told her  they had nearly a 100  tickets written the day before, shortly after 9 am. She was hot and fussy by the time she went in the building to pay her bill. 

While I waited in the line for the escalator, I asked one of the guards at the information desk if the ADDC building was close by. He gave me directions to one that was behind the Gold Souk, which is not close by. I asked again if there was one closer, and the answer was the same. 

This is when I pulled out my new I-phone and started looking for myself. I could find the website, but when I clicked on the map, it said government buildings were blocked on the map. Hmmm, not surprised... so I sent a text to the friend who said they were close. 

She called and gave me directions a few blocks away after looking it up on her laptop. So 20 minutes later, as I was #2 on the ticket queue  for service, and it went quickly, we were on our way. 

We found the Main ADDC building, parked, used our same ticket as it was still good, and walked inside. At the front desk we explain what we need to do, and the man directs us to the branch behind the Gold Souk. 
Hmmm ... ok, I should have trusted and gone there instead of being insistent. (not always the case) 

We drive to the Gold Souk area (remember there are no street addresses (yet) just landmarks), find the building and go in. 

After we have waited in line for a short time I start to explain my situation and what I need to do, the man calls a woman over, because apparently he has trouble understanding me, and I repeat the situation to her. She states I need to call the toll free number and tell them what I need and then they will process it and will take 2 days to get my clearance letter. I will need a statement from my bank so they can refund my deposit. Then I can go to the branch closest to me to get the letter and my receipt for the deposit return to my bank. 
Just to be a bit ornery, because they were both quite rude in the way they spoke to me (which rarely happens here) I asked her to write the phone number down. You see, she expected me to pull out my "mobile" and put it in when she said it, but my battery was almost gone from using it to look up places on the maps app. 
She then stated any text messages I have received from them will have the toll free number on it. The only problem is that in the western region they do not do things like they do in the city and I haven't had any texts from them. 
The kicker is that people in the city have no idea where Delma Island is or how things are done anywhere outside the city, so they don't believe you when you tell them. 
She scowled at me when I said I haven't had any texts from ADDC. 
She finally finds a piece of copy paper and writes the number down and underlines it 3 times for emphasis. I thank her politely and let her know how much I appreciate her help and we leave. 

It is now nearly noon. I feel a sense of accomplishment to get two things done in one day. 
I was happy the cable transfer went as well as it did and I called the toll free number and took care of it as my friend drove us back to the towers where I live. 

So, no, it doesn't get easier after you get here, you just acclimate to it. I am now accustomed to Not Knowing what will happen, and I try my best not to second guess, prepare worst case scenario responses and just 

ROLL WITH IT!

If I can do it, you can too... or you can choose, as many do, to go home.