A day in the life of a Dubai ESL teacher

Oxford Seminars Teach English Overseas Country Profiles Middle East A day in the life

I am awakened by the now familiar, recurring sound of the morning Muslim "call-to-prayer" that arises with the sun. It is said that every Muslim should be within five minutes of a mosque, and this is certainly true of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). I live in Sharjah, a moderate suburb of Dubai, in a two-bedroom apartment that I share with another teacher. It is rather large, clean, modern, and within half-an-hour to our school where we teach grammar, conversational English, and writing to local high school students.

The students are energetic, enthusiastic, and difficult to control, but are a joy to teach as they have so much energy. They want to learn all about America; its movies, its music, its popular culture. I tell them stories and they are aghast and disbelieving, but they are learning.

A typical day usually entails getting up at 7:00am and teaching until 2:00pm (usually about four or five one-hour classes a day). Most teachers collaborate between classes and discuss work related issues regarding curriculum development, tests, common problems and the possible
solutions to those problems.

After school some teachers go home to nap (as most of the nation seems to do this) as others go to the gym to work out, swim, or lie in the sun. I usually go home to my apartment to sleep for a couple of hours before going to play golf or hockey. I am a member of a local golf course carved out of the desert and a UAE ice-hockey league where we play teams from Abu Dhabi and Al Ain. Recreation and ex-pat life is a welcome distraction from some of the more common disruptions in the UAE ex-pat lifestyle.

Some weekends include an overnight trip into the desert. Climbing the mountains near Ras Al Khaima, watching the Camel Races, shopping in the local gold souks (markets) for cheap gold and textiles, or just bathing in the sunlight of a local beach, are some of the activities one could do. Sporting events include sailing, fishing, swimming, golf, tennis, diving, and yes, even ice-hockey. Some would say that this is a lifestyle that one could get used to.

However, the bureaucracy of the UAE can make even the most patient person upset. Trying to get a drivers license or permission to travel to neighboring countries can take days where it would take hours elsewhere. One gets used to this after some time.

After the sun goes down there are many restaurants (Western and otherwise) where one can eat and drink and wind down. After, I usually go to a pub and have a pint with some of the other ex-pats from the U.K., Ireland, New Zealand and South Africa. I take a cab home, fall asleep and am awakened by the sound of the morning call-to-prayer, happy that it is Friday.