A Note About Authentication

I am not sure why document authentication presents such a difficulty for so many of my fellow US LTs, but it is. So I'm going to break down my authentication process thus far. Perhaps it'll help.

First and foremost, GET STARTED EARLY!
If you haven't got your passport, get your pennies together (currently $140 plus the cost of passport photos - get extras, as they're multi-purpose when travelling) and get down to the post office today. Seriously, today. Passports can take 6-10 weeks to process (though it's never taken mine that long), and with a thousand or a million other people applying for their passports as well, why on earth would you wait?

Now. I only had two documents to authenticate: my teaching certificate and my Masters degree. I started the process on 28 February and just got back my last stamp and seal today. That's a month and a week. And I am fortunate to have the essential forms and formats already in my files, and to live in my state's capital city. That and paying for overnight mail in both directions cut my time down significantly. But here's the breakdown:

• Had copies of my 2 certs made, added a note stating "This is an authentic copy of the original document", took copies - and originals for notary to compare - to a notary public (found at your local bank often enough). I signed the copy in front of the notary, who notarised my signature. 2 hours finding a notary and figuring out exactly what was needed, 2 minutes to get the stamp, seal and signature. No fee.
• walked my 2 notarised documents into the Secretary of State's office. I called them first to make sure I knew what to do and where to go. (If you're not 100% sure what to do, always call first!) Requested a "foreign use stamp", got an authentication of notary for international use (nobody actually has a foreign use stamp, regardless of what Teach Away advised). 20 minutes, $2 per document. Sometimes it's good to live in South Carolina.
• Mailed notarised, authenticated documents to the US Department of State with an attached form/cover sheet found on the State Dept website. Elected to pay for express mail (overnight shipping) in both directions. $8 per document, plus $18 per express mail envelope. Took a full month to receive documents back from the State Department with signature and seal affixed.
• Mailed notarised, authenticate documents to the UAE Embassy. Also enclosed a letter (emailed to me) from my university declaring its accreditation. For extra assurance, I also printed off a copy of the accreditation record from the CHEA website. Again with the express mail cost. This step cost $30 per document, plus mail fees. Time: one week. 

If you have documents of identification (marriage certificates, birth certificates, adoption certificates, or other miscellaneous items (divorce & letter from ex-spouse permitting child to leave the country, death certificate for your child's other parent, etc), those documents follow a slightly different authentication process - basically, you have to get them directly from your State, not get notarised copies (the copy sent from your records dept will be notarised or whatever already), and carry on from there. These documents will take longer to get, and if they're from other states or countries, you must get them authenticated at the Secretary of State for the state (or equivalent for country) of the document's origin. (Certificates can be notarised anywhere.) 

Key item: Photocopies must be notarised and authenticated in the same state. And a notary will only do an in-person notarisation (because he's authenticating your signature, which he/she can't do unless you're signing it in front of them). So do what you can locally.

I think that's all I have for today. Other than a small celebration that I have all my paperwork completed now. And another celebration that it was far less effort-intensive than the stuff I had to do for my UK work visa. 

So I'm going to work. Happy paperchase, everyone!

One Day.

Well, so I completed my paperwork. The part I could do, at least. I made copies, had them notarized (at a bank - that's where the notaries are!), and had them stamped by the SC Secretary of State. The copies cost 50 cents, the notary was free, the seal from the Secretary of State cost $2 each. I have only 2 documents that need to be authenticated: my teaching certificate and my Masters degree. This makes everything easier...and cheaper.

By noon (inclusive of about 2.5 hours chasing from one government building to another before I discovered I just needed to go to a bank to find a notary) I was done. I went to the post office, got a money order for $16 to authenticate my documents at the State Department, and paid to have everything overnighted (both there and back) to DC.

It may take 3 weeks for the State Department to process my request and send my bits of paper back...so that I can send them to DC again, this time to the UAE Embassy. This mailing back and forth will take a bit of time, but I should have everything in order by the end of March. And really, the first half of my authentication process only took one day.

That is pretty stellar, and quite an improvement from the several weeks horror stories I heard from last year's applicants. One of the perks of living in a state capital.

***

Later this week I am actually going to start packing. I have 2 suitcases. They are the ones I bought when I moved to the UK (speaking of which, I turn green with envy each time I read the Teach Away discussion threads created for UK/Ireland applicants. I want to meet up with everyone in London too! /whinge) and are pretty massive. Also they're excellent for packing. And wheeling through airports. Well, wheeling up to the check-in desk, at least. Sturdy too. And I have stuff that I'm pretty determined to take with me that I shan't be needing before I go (my boots - which I really won't need until Christmastime, when I plan to go to London - a few bits of clothes that don't currently fit but which I love too much to give up, personal records), so why not store it away in my luggage?

But that's for later. For now, it's all about the paperwork.

Also reading books.

And studying Arabic a bit.

And detoxing.

And going to the gym.

And doing facebooky stuff.

Stop.

from October 2010

Today I got an email that put a bit of a damper on things.

Dear Amy,
Thank you for your continued interest in the  public school teaching positions in Abu Dhabi.
As discussed, we are happy to extend an in-person invitation to you based on your pre-screen telephone call, experience, and credentials. We have, however, been updated by the Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC) with regards to their current needs for January 2011. This will be a smaller mid-year intake of teachers, which does not include secondary English teachers.
That said, we will be holding our next interview sessions, for a start date of August 2011, early in 2011. These interviews will be for a large intake of approximately 1000 teachers, both primary and secondary, set to begin work in September of 2011. We will be inviting you to those interview sessions once details have been arranged.
Again, thank you for your continued interest in this very exciting educational reform. The success of this reform initiative will rely on the experience, enthusiasm and dedication of teachers like you. With that in mind, tell your friends and colleagues about Teach Away and these exciting and lucrative teaching positions!
We look forward to speaking with you soon.
Sincerely,
L--
Teach Away Inc.

Yeah.




When I think logically (not my strongest suit, it must be said), I have to admit that it'll be far easier to get everything sorted to go over to the UAE next September instead of in January. I'll have almost a year to save up some money, rather than a couple of weeks (and those weeks include Christmas, remember). I'll have more time to collect and numerously certify the vast assortment of paperwork. I'll be able to dip my toe back in the teaching field (through subbing, I hope) for several months before I go.

Maybe I'll even get skinny.

Maybe.

And when I sent in that original application, back in August, I didn't expect anything to happen until next year anyway. I just got caught up in the possibilities when Teach Away contacted me so quickly. So now I can take my life off hold and go about the business of being a responsible adult again. It will be good to make responsible decisions again.

For awhile.

On Culture Shock...On Time

from October 2010

A lot of people say a lot of things about culture shock. And, I mean, why not add my .02 to the collection? I probably haven't got anything new to add, but I think I'll still talk about it.

First, my lovelies, it is muy importante to understand that the UAE is a Middle Eastern country. (What? I hear you ask, Really? No need to be snarky, people!) What this means is that the culture of the UAE is not time-oriented. It is people-oriented, even event-oriented. Time, timeliness, and silly little things like deadlines are pretty much of least importance, rather than most.

Guys. Seriously. WRITE THAT DOWN. The UAE is a people-oriented, rather than time-oriented culture. Now copy it out 100 or 1 million (or 1 dozen) times until the concept sinks in. Then practice your waiting skills. Because honey, you will wait. A lot. Like right now, when you will have to wait for the rest of this post, as I am at work in my Western time-oriented job, and I have to go punch a time clock two minutes ago.

There. I'm back. As a people-oriented rather than time-oriented person, I missed my scheduled break, in which I was going to write more of this post, and make it about more than just the time issue, but there you go. I was busy chatting with customers, so didn't take my break at the scheduled time, so missed it altogether (because I am still in a time-oriented culture, friends) and now have to blog after work. Which is what I'm doing now. Hello!

Anyhow. Back to the people vs time thing. As I read notes and discussions and other blogs, I'm finding that so-called culture shock is really more of a time shock than anything.

Full Disclosure: I've never lived, worked, or even travelled in the Middle East, let alone the UAE. But I have lived, worked, and travelled in other people-oriented cultures.

Thailand - laid-back, we'll get there when we get there, don't worry, it's okay. Jamaica - almost off the charts in its laid-back approach to life (island time ftw!) Even Ireland, though a Western European country, is more relaxed about time and schedules and things like that. Italy - well, we all know about Italy, don't we? Siesta country is good country; I support the siesta. Actually, even London, where I most recently lived and worked for a year, was less uptight about schedules and times than we are in the majority of the US.

London still falls under the Western time-oriented culture umbrella, though. Dang Protestant work ethic.

I feel at least slightly mentally prepared for the people orientation of the UAE (where, if someone comes into your classroom mid-lesson, you stop and help the person; there is no come back later) in that it is my psychological preference (according to the Myers-Briggs personality test, which you can take in essence here) and a good portion of my international experience.

A number of teacher blogs (see list, right) talk about the frustration with time, solid answers, definite times, schedules, approximate dates, time, deadlines, and time. Also time. Especially wasted time spent waiting for things that may or may not happen.

So let's talk about time.

The best and easiest solution to the culture/time shock is to always bring something to do. An eReader is dead handy when you don't know how long you'll be waiting. A camera or a sketchpad or a quilting block might also work.

Next, start practicing now for weeks of exercises in futility. My recommendation: hang out at the DMV. Better, pretend you're in 1985 and do everything without the modern conveniences of wifi and computers and mobile phones and all the rest. Try reading this page with a super-slow 1990s dial-up modem. Write a letter. Cook meals from scratch without the pleasure of a Kitchen Aid, a microwave, or a reliable stove. Camp. Do these things not because the UAE is backwards, or behind, or not modern (oh boy, are they modern!) or anything so ridiculous. Do these things instead because they will give you a new and more relevant concept of time. Then, for a real glimpse into how time is used in the UAE, repave the sidewalk in front of your house, using a herringbone pattern of different coloured bricks, by hand, stopping daily at around 1, for a couple of hours, then knocking off entirely at 4 or 5. Start in front of your door. Leave piles of things wherever you like, regardless of convenience for people like the postman or your children, etc.

Because some things, like personal convenience, are not of premiere importance. In fact, personal convenience comes way down the list in Middle Eastern culture. Again, not because they're somehow backwards or unworldly (seriously, have you seen Dubai?), but because as a culture they have different priorities. And your personal schedule? It's really no one's priority but your own.

I don't think I can emphasise that one enough.

There's a phrase I'm reading quite often: schway schway. It means slowly slowly, or like the water, or something like that. In essence it means, don't worry, it'll all work out, chill.

This is an important concept for all of us Westerners to bear in mind as we go through the process of interviewing and hiring and starting to work in Abu Dhabi. Just chill. Do what you can, then trust that it'll all work out. Because one way or another, it will.

Promise.

Just Say No

from September 2010

No swearing. That's what I learned today - it's considered particularly disrespectful. Not just "How rude!" as it is in the US. So.......I'm going to stop swearing forthwith. To me it's just another word, a word with a little more oomph than, like, darn, but I'll just have to be more creative, and perhaps metaphorical in my expressions of displeasure. Actually, that could be fun.

Back in the day, when I was teaching The Bad Kids (at alternative school; thugs and gangsters for the win!), my best and most popular lesson was the swearing lesson* - in which I taught my students creative alternatives for swearing. Since their English was gutter English at best, that was always exciting.





*Please note: the swearing always came from them, not me. I am a professional, after all!

Preparation

from September 2010

If Abu Dhabi governmental red tape is anything like South Carolina governmental red tape, I consider today's ordeal to be training for the future. It took me 4 trips to three buildings, including the insufficiently labeled Federal Building downtown, where, God bless their efficient hearts, it took longer for me to go through security (3 minutes) than to process my request for a new social security card (2 minutes). And about $10 of gas. And about 4 or 5 hours of my life.

Doing what, you ask?

Getting a SC state driver's license. And in case you think this really isn't that big a deal, I got my Texas license in about 30 minutes, one trip, one building, done and done.

I have rarely been so bothered by governmental inefficiency as I was today. But then, that's South Carolina. It's like living in a different universe, living here. I cannot wait to leave!

(Also, on a more TEFL-related note, I got an email yesterday saying IPIs will be in early November. Woo. Now I just wait. And do background checks, and pare down my belongings...but mainly wait.)