Jo and the kids arrived safely on Wednesday evening. It was great to see them, although I was disappointed to learn this evening that as they came out of arrivals they were more interested in seeing who had won the bet about which t-shirt I would be wearing (Henry apparently, am I that predictable!?).
Prior to their arrival I'd had a productive day. I finally had the excellent news that my residency visa had arrived (there was never any doubt it would be approved but it was a relief to see the piece of paper in my passport), together with my Emirates ID card, and Health Insurance card.
Having these documents is a critical milestone as it means I can sign a contract for our accommodation, get a driving license and (importantly) an alcohol license, amongst other things.
It also means I can open a bank account, so once I'd picked the documents up from the office I headed to the nearest bank to do this. As I am becoming used to, this was another scenario where I had to take a numbered ticket (I wish I owned the company which makes these ticket dispensers) and sit in the waiting area until it was my turn. Once I got to the front of the queue it was a straightforward process and I am now waiting for a call to tell me that my cards and chequebook are ready to be delivered.
I also hoped to get my driving license that afternoon, but I found out that I needed to get my UK license translated into Arabic before I could do this. Thankfully the office assistant knew somewhere to get this done later in the afternoon, so that job was parked (pardon the pun) until Thursday.
Once I had shown Jo and the kids our temporary home I took them out for some tea. I was quite pleased with myself that I was able to show off my local knowledge and my navigation skills by directing the taxi driver to a diner (Johnny Rockets) I had noticed when I had been at the Grand Prix circuit on Tuesday evening. My pride was rather punctured when Jo ordered a beer that she had been desperately looking forward to, and they of course informed her that they didn't serve alcohol. School boy error! Anyway, thankfully the meal itself was very nice.
That was Wednesday in a nutshell. Brief update on Thursday coming soon, including thrilling news about driving licenses, school uniforms and dental treatment. Bet you can't wait.
As always, thanks for reading.
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2 comments:
seriously...I can't wait :-) . Loving your blogs and living the dream with you and your family. So happy for you that things are falling nicely into place :-)
Brilliant post as usual - love being able to follow your adventure on these blogs! I can relate to some of it too - like the first time I could drive somewhere here without needing the Sat Nav!!
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