1st Flying Roster :)

Received my first flying roster :)
Sorry that I have not been writing lately, it has been a rollercoaster time and I don't even find time for myself.

So I will operate my first "suppy" flight on 13 January 2013!!!! First flight will be to Cairo in Egypt. Second flight will be a 26hour layover in Paris; France!!!!!! (other turnaround flights include Iran, Kuweit, Sri-Lanka to mention a few)
Have a lot of turnarounds, but second layover will be Singapore on the 31st of January .... I am very excited for this journey to kick off! I am exhausted of training every day. I trained on Christmas day and had to train on the previous Saturday. Started with Service Training, and although other people have told me that it's easy and chilled, I am finding it quite hard and a lot of info to remember.

At the same time my fiancé is visiting from South Africa, and I don't want to be in class everyday :P want to spend as much time with him as possible and it's not always possible. I come back home from training college then I have e-learnings to do and also home based assignments and studying. Guess how I am spending my new years?? Studying....
We get the day off and the coming weekend I don't have any training... Want to make the most of the time as my fiancé is going back to SA on Sunday :(

GMT Training done & Received my Emirates Uniform

 

 

 

 

 

 

So how excited am I today???? I finally received my Emirates Uniform today :):) AND I also passed my GMT (Group Medical Training) today, so I am done with it!!

It has been a really been a difficult week for me as I struggled with GMT, although I got 90% in my exam today, it wasn't easy at all. I prefer SEP over GMT any day!!

I also received my Residence Visa, got my passport back and received my Travel bag and Emirates ID Card :)
So overall, been a good day. It's also weekend for me now, and the love of my life will be landing in Dubai on Saturday morning 8am
I probably won't see him too often while he is here, but I have a nice day planned for us on Saturday.

GMT was all about First Aid/Response. We did a lot of "role play" and it was difficult because most of the medical conditions have more or less the same signs and symptoms which makes it tricky.

Our trainers were okay, I preferred the SEP trainers a lot better though.

Below is a picture of the Travel Bag:

Blog update and some pics :)

The Hall

The Kitchen

Dining Area

Living Room

My room - day of arrival

Since I am not sure when I will have the time again, I am going to post some pictures from my apartment in Sarab in Nad Al Shiba, our batch, and when we did the Ditching on Thursday 13 December :)

Swimming pool

I have had a wonderfully chilled weekend so far, coming to an end now, as I have training again tomorrow. It's 15:42pm in Dubai at this exact moment, a bit chilly and I am still planning on going to the gym a bit later :) have to keep in shape!


Our Batch #2149

 

First 2/3 Weeks of SEP training

It's been such a hard 2/3 weeks... but I survived it :) I started with SEP training and just completed my last week :)

I got 100% for my fist exam, which was hard, but not as hard as the last exam which I wrote yesterday....
I can finally say I am done with SEP, I passed ALL my exams, and practical assessments. Got 100% for one exam yesterday, 95% for the second and 97% for the 3rd one. I am very pleased to announce that I can now operate on the A380 and the Boeing 777 baby!!!

Our trainers were really amazing, and I had the privilege of having the one trainer which is also from South Africa. They surprised our group yesterday with some nice snacks and drinks so we all had a little farewell party. I will never forget this time in my life, even though it's hard and being away from home doesn't make anything easy, it's still an experience which many people can only dream about.

We did the ditching yesterday, the water temperature is set as cold as the ocean's :) so they really do create this world of reality for us... We also had to "evacuate" out of the A380 upper deck so went down the slides, which was also an amazing experience.

I have my first weekend off in a long time. Planning on tanning by the pool today with this one friend I made who also lives in the same block and then later on plan on just watching some movies and relaxing. We start our GMT training early on Sunday morning, which will be another week and we will also receive our official Emirates Uniform next week Thursday :):) can't wait!!

Oh!!! and my fiancé is coming to visit next weekend, 7 more days to go, am really so excited to have him here in Dubai with me!!



Little message from our Trainers, Ella and Sarah:

It's hard to adjust to this new life

It's hard for me to adjust to my new life in Dubai.... It's really harder than I thought it would be... I just have to be strong and get through this adjustment time.

I had severe back pain 2 days ago... Think it was due to stress and maybe not sleeping right. I could hardly sit or walk so I had to go to the EK Clinic, luckily they really helped me fast and I had to get a Voltaren Injection and they also gave me some pain medication...

I feel much better today, and I just hope I don't get it again, because it will be a problem if I need to fly and have that happen to me. They say I must try strengthen my lower back muscles by doing some Pilates... don't know where I'm going to find a class out here in the desert lol, but will see if there is a gym in the city that has classes over a weekend...

We did our uniform fitting on Tuesday I think. It was really nice... I can't wait to get all the goodies and have my first flight. I hope I will look nice in the uniform :)

In 21 days I will see my Fiance :):) excited much?? It's the hardest part, not being able to see him... we can Skype at least, makes it a bit easier...

The Emirates Simulators are FANTASTIC... they really can create any situation possible using the simulators. It creates the whole experience!! Training is hard, we have SEP exams on Wednesday and Thursday, so have to study this weekend!

The Simulator(s)

Hi guys and girls!!

It's been such an emotional week and last few days. I survived my first week in Dubai, but it has not been easy. I have been home-sick quite a few times, but I hope it will get better and easier as the days pass.

Today was my second "off" day as it was our weekend, however we had to "work" today as well... We visited the Mosque which is a Moslem Church here in Dubai. It gave us some info about the Religion and was very informative. I was just very tired, so almost fell asleep a few times :P

I couldn't even work on my laptop the last few days, as I have been waiting for a plug adapter. My one friend from South Africa joined Emirates yesterday, so she brought a plug for me. After the Mosque I went back to Emirates Head Quarters because I needed to complete a few assignments and after that I went to visit my friend in Razooki building in Al Nahda 2.

On Thursday night I went out for the first time since I arrived in Dubai. We were a big group and went to Barasti's - it is a beach club near the Marina... awesome vibe, almost like a party in Ibiza :)

Below are some pictures of the last few days:

The Mosque

Barasti's

 

View from Barasti's Club

 

Emirates Doll at Emirates Shop, I want one!!

 

 

 

Hello Dubai!!!

Hi everyone!!

So finally I get time to write about my experience so far... I have been so busy! It's about 22:45 here in Dubai, and I am dead tired.  I have been tired since I got to Dubai, and there is only a 2 hour difference between South Africa and Dubai.

I am in the desert alright! Landed at 23:30 on Friday night, checked in into my apartment at 3:30am and turns out I live with 2 other South African girls. The other girl joined on Saturday morning....

We just completed our medicals today, it took 2 days of long waiting but now it's done. Hope I pass it lol.

Anyways we received our manuals today as well, it's so big, I really don't know how they expect us to learn all of it in 6 weeks, but one thing is for sure, they will keep us busy for the 6 weeks. I think next week we will fit our uniforms as well, excited!!

I will post some pics of my accommodation soon promise!!

Here are some photos on the day I left for Dubai:

My Engagement

So, I thought I had to at least blog about my engagement a little bit! Me and my Fiance, have been dating for 3 years now. The day before our 3 year anniv. mark, he proposed to me!

He arranged with a photographer to do a "couple shoot" with us and he told me that it was for the purpose of me having some nice pictures to take with when I move to Dubai.

So, it was on a Monday, and I really just was not in the mood for a photoshoot, because it was on a Monday, I mean who would be in the mood right?

Anyways, I decided that I can just suck it up, it was for a good cause after all. We went to this location - Nature Reserve just outside of Pretoria. The sun was setting in the back and while we were busy posing for the photographer, Tristan went down on one knee, and opened up this metal heart, inside were Roses and between the roses was the ring - so beautiful!! It's feminine, delicate, sparkling and breathtaking!!

Of course I said yes, I have been waiting for this moment forever, I DREAMED about it!!

Here are some pictures and the Ring of course:

The Stunning Ring

Just before the proposal :)

 

Memories

 

 

e-Ticket, e-Visa & Accommodation Details

5 Days before I leave to U.A.E and Ticket, Visa and Accommodation details received...Finally!!

So the days are counting down and I received my final travel documents. I was really, really hoping I wouldn't get accommodation in the middle of the Desert, but guess what? That's exactly what happened!!

I will be living in the Sarab Building, Block 5 in Nad Al Shiba - aka the middle of the Desert!!

It is going to be so much fun, and definitely a challenge for me, as I am so used to living in the City, where things are happening. Now, I will be isolated a bit. However from what I gather, it's some of the newest buildings of Emirates and there is a nice Gym, steam bath's and Pool. Also I think the Lobby has free internet facilities.

There's also busses every 10-15 minutes which travels into the city which is about 35-45 min drive.

I have been allocated the Master Bedroom :D isn't that something to be positive about?! I must say, if it wasn't for that then I would have been feeling a little sad for not getting the accommodation in the City.
I will get the biggest room in the apartment and also en-suite bathroom :)

I bought my luggage this weekend, and the big pack will commence tomorrow.. I will probably pack, and re-pack my bags several times just to make sure I can get the most out of the bag space.

ALSO, I have awesome news!! I got engaged on Monday after dating for 3 years... it was one of the best moments in my life!! I must say, what an awesome year 2012 has been so far. It started off slow, but it's ending on such a big high!

That's it for now, I will post some more soon :)

Emirates Airline Commercial Video

Hi everyone*

Check out this video "Emirates Airline Commercial"
It's so beautiful!

http://youtu.be/OAmcT0AIfcA

I logged onto my Portal just now and it says they are busy preparing my accommodation arrangements and that it will be made available to me shortly.

I can't wait to find out!!

Newest Destinations Emirates Fly To

Hi everyone!

Emirates opened up new destinations early this year, here a few of them with some pictures:

Adelaide, Australia

Lyon, France

 

 Phuket, Thailand

 

Warsaw, Poland

 

Erbil, Iraq

Washington, United States

Barcelona, Spain

Lisbon, Portugal

Harare, Zimbabwe

Lusaka, Zambia

Dallas, United States

 

Seattle, United States

Dublin, Ireland

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Tripoli, Libya

 

So amazing hey?! I would like to go to Dublin, Rio de Janeiro,

Dallas and Barcelona! I can't wait to hopefully go to all these amazing destinations soon :)

 

Just finished working my Notice Period

Must say, one of the best feelings ever!! I finished working my notice period today. After 8/9 weeks of working at this place, I am very happy to close the chapter.

 

 

If it wasn't for getting in with Emirates, then I seriously don't know how I would have been happy at this place. Everything is so unpleasant, the people are sarcastic, and the environment is depressing.

 

 

Now, I can just focus on the next 20 days that I have left in my beautiful country. So, tomorrow I plan on sleeping in, and lying in front of the TV for the rest of the day... Ofcourse with my adorable dogs!!

 

 

And for tonight, I plan on getting Super-Size McD's takeaways, watch Homeland and spend the rest of the night with the love of my life :D

It will be pure bliss!!

 

 

 

 

On Saturday, I have to go to Home Affairs to obtain a copy of my Birth Certificate as I can't find the original anywhere.
Also have to get the OPG Teeth X-Ray done, and go to my bank to find out if I can link my current bank account with my new bank account in Dubai.

So, busy weekend ahead!

The Countdown has begun :):)

In 26 Days, I will be living in a different country, and not just any country!! DUBAI!!

Here are a few fun facts about Dubai
Don’t believe all that travel brochure guff about it having a “warm climate, ideal for sunbathing.” Even the most seasoned sunbather will be unable to spend more than 5 minutes on the beach during the height of summer without being barbecued. Oh, and the humidity often reaches 100%, which in layman’s terms means the maximum amount of water the air can possibly carry while still being air.

2. Less than 20% of the population are actually locals

Exponential immigration has led to the local, Emirati population almost being drowned out. It’s easy for them to feel like strangers in their own land when nearly everyone else hails from a completely different culture. However, everyone gets along as well as they should, with an extremely low crime rate (violent crime is almost unheard of) and little social strife.

3. The population has doubled since 1995

In 1995, the population of the city stood at a bit under 700,000. Now the figure is at around 1.4 million even despite some decline because of the recession. It’s no surprise then that touring around Dubai can sometimes feel like you are inspecting a giant building site, as developers rush to get apartment blocks completed on time to house all the newcomers.

4. It has the world’s best malls

America perhaps invented the mall, but it was Dubai that set the standard. Malls in Dubai are extremely luxurious affairs, with unsullied leather sofas, marble floors, beautiful fountains, and restrooms rivalling those of 5 star hotels. Some even house fake streets in a pastiche of some colourful Renaissance era town, complete with dummy Parisian lampposts. It’s a fact learnt after traversing the world that humans only ever really want something when it isn’t real.

5. It has the world’s most ambitious, well, everything

Tallest Man-Made Structure? Yep. Tallest Hotel? Yep. Biggest Mall? Yep. World’s biggest Aquarium? Yep. Second largest man-made Marina? Yep. It has even broken the record for being the city with the largest number of people named Mohammed.

6. In 1968, there were reportedly only 13 cars in the whole city.

…A reported (if perhaps unverifiable) fact that many residents wish today was still true, as many spend up to 3 hours a day in pile-ups. The problem is so bad, that even double decker roads have been introduced.

7. In 1991, there was 1 skyscraper in the city. Now there are around 400.

Dubai’s Prestigious World Trade Centre cuts a lonely figure, sitting at one end of Sheikh Zayed Road, now the main artery of the city. This road has now been transformed into a majestic Skyscraper Avenue with structures both sides, including the Burj Dubai, the tallest building in the world and as lofty as two Empire State Buildings on top of each other – no joke. The finale of King Kong might have been a bit more impressive if it was filmed in Dubai, wouldn’t it?

The pain of Vaccinations

"Everywhere is walking distance, if you have the time"

I can't believe it, I have 39 days left in my country. It is all becoming a reality for me now, and I am so excited for my new journey.

On Friday night I finally went for my travel vaccinations. It surely wasn't the best day for having needles punched into my arm! In total, I had 6 different vaccinations done, in 3 injections.
From the first injection I could feel my arm becoming useless. It feels as if a WWE wrestler punched me on my arm.

To make things worse, me and my boyfriend wanted to go out to dinner that night and also have a few drinks. Nooo the nurse then told me I can't drink any alcohol that night because I will get sick from having the injections done.
So that idea got scrapped, and I drank Virgin Cocktails the whole night.

I had no idea the pain I would continue to feel in my arm. The next morning I could hardly lift my arm off the bed. Today is the second day and it's still sore, but at least getting better.

Apparently for the next 10 days I will experience severe headaches and also have glands swelling up...

Did you know that Dubai International Airport has it's own Terminal building just dedicated to Emirates?

"Terminal 3"

With its great dining, spectacular views, fabulous shopping and world-class lounges, Emirates Terminal 3 is set to herald a new era in air travel. Passengers can shop, relax, treat themselves to spa treatments or just carry on business as usual in the comfort of designer lounges that boast fully equipped business centres and fine dining.
That sounds amazing doesn't it? I am so excited to be landing in Dubai soon!

61 Days ,,,

There's not many days left for me in South Africa, as I will soon embark on my new journey to Dubai UAE.
I am very excited and believe that I will be successful from here onwards, not only in my personal life, but also on a career level.

I haven't even started with my vaccinations, and I need to try get all of them done, before I travel to Dubai as I think it can be quite expensive to get it all done there.

Also, I decided to resign a bit sooner than initially thought. I will resign on the 11th of October, and my last day at work will be the 25th. That means smiles all round.



I also started looking at luggage this weekend, I don't want to spend too much on that as Emirates will be giving me luggage once I start working for them, and as soon as I start to fly, I will soon be able to buy any luggage I want, from any country I want!!

Will also move out of the apartment on the 3rd of November, then will stay at my mom's place until I fly 2 weeks later.
It gives me some time to sort out all the things as I do not want to be rushed.
Also begun with a list of things I need to remember to pack. The packing will be frustrating as I only have 50kg to play with.

What to take, and what to leave...