It's Only Been 24 Hours??

     On Thursday morning, we had our first meeting with ADEC. For those of you who don't know what that is, it's the Abu Dhabi Education Council, aka, my employer for the next two years. It was funny, because it felt like I had been here for ages since I had already spent so much time with people, but we had only been here a day. I can't speak for everyone, but a few of us were quite nervous for this meeting. As it turns out, there was no need for nerves. All they did was give us some books and have us sign up for bank accounts.  Nothing scary there!

This one has the inside belt, and little balls
line the neckline and wrists.

     Since the meeting was so short, it seemed like the best thing to do for the rest of the day was to shop. So, that is what Maureen, Irma and I did. We trekked back to the Madinat Zayed souk in search of abayas. We were originally going to head to the shops across from the Ponderosa (yes, the steakhouse), because they supposedly have great deals, but we had walked and decided that the souk was far enough in the heat.

No belt, but couldn't resist the colors!

       Now, in case you're wondering, abayas are not flattering. At all, especially on me. So, to that end, I tried on about thirty before I found a couple that I was willing to be seen in out in public. Never, in my wildest dreams, could I ever had imagined a black sheath in so many styles. It is mind boggling and seriously, one was worse than the next. That is until I found the perfect style! They have ones with an inside belt that creates a sort of empire waste look. This is what I will look for from now on. I wound up buying two. One with a belt and one without. I had sworn off ones without, but it's just so pretty, and I have a real hard time passing up anything with the teal/lime green color combo, so I bought it. I was glad to find some, because my friends were real troopers about helping me find nice ones, and it would have stunk to come home empty handed.

     By the time we got home, we were exhausted, so we just enjoyed a nice chit chat and some room service. Who knew shopping could be so tiring?