Dream Palace Hotel--My home from April 15 until July 26, 2014

Dream Palace Hotel wasn't like the penthouse, but still it was in the Cornish District of Ajman.  There were stores and a lot of people.  It was about 2-3 blocks from the Sea.  I got to live with free utilities, free internet, fully furnished one bedroom with a hall (sitting room) with a small kitchen and one bathroom, free parking, and free maid service for about $1,362 a month.  Not bad, when you think of all the amenities.  I think it would be similar to Twin Cities or New York without the utilities, but not positive on that.

This was my living room.

Spring Break 2014----April 1-April 15

Who was Matar?  He was an angel.  He pretty much kept me from sleeping in my car after one week.  He felt terrible that in his country a woman had to sleep in her car because of the school's injustice.  I told him, it was okay, and that I can "rough it" until school starts again.

He wouldn't hear of it.  He said to me, "We are great friends, and I want to help you." 

I told him, "I can never pay you back, unless you just give me like 1,000 dirhams."  He told me to go to Al Ansari Exchange, much like Western Union, and pick up the money he gave me.  I found out that through his act of kindness, when I was much in need, he gave me like 5,000 dirhams.  I cried and cried. 

I told him, "This is not fair!  I can never pay you back.  This is 1/2 of my monthly salary."  He told me that he did it for God.  We stayed good friends and he even offered to marry me, even though he already had a wife, but because I couldn't take him away from his family life, I declined his offer.  I am and always will be a monogamous person. 

With that money he insisted that I spend a week in a 5-Star hotel, but I told him, no, I will find a place where I can stay for a month.  So, I booked a hotel apartment for a month at the Dream Palace Hotel in Ajman, UAE.

Here the story continues.

Spring Break 2014

Well, Spring Break 2014 wasn't so bad as you may think.  Yes, I did not actually have a place to stay, and I did spend most of my days in a car, but still it was like "roughing it" in the UAE.  How many can actually say they got to experience that?

Okay, so my first day of Spring Break I wanted to stay at the Beach.  You know bask in the sunlight on a warm sunny beach.  So I scoped the www.booking.com for cheaper "on the coast" prices.  I found the Ramada Beach Hotel in Ajman had a double room, ocean view for only 350 dirhams.  That is a little under $100 plus tax.  Wow!! It couldn't get any better.

So, I go to check in to my hotel the first night.  I walk into reception.  Such a beautiful hotel right on the beach!  I get to the desk and they say, "Sorry, Miss.  Your booking was cancelled." 

I said, "Why?"  They responded that there was an issue with my card.  You see on booking.com, you don't actually have to have balance on a card to book a room, just you have to have a credit card, because they are not supposed to charge you until you stay at your hotel or check in. 

So, I said, "What am I supposed to do now?" 

They said, "Well we can take you as a 'walk-in' customer and give you a better room.  We really think you will like it."  I inquired about the cost of this new room and was told it would be about 500 dirhams.  So, I agreed, and they brought me into the elevator to another elevator and with a key and magnetic card we went all the way upstairs.  That is right!  I got to stay in one of the penthouse rooms for only a little over $100.  Wow!!!   I put the pictures here. 

So, I invited my friends up for a party.  It was not a huge party just we ate dinner and one of my friends, Khalifa pretended that he was a prince of the Penthouse!  He was hilarious!  That night was the best of the week to come.  Until I met Matar. 

January, February, March 2014

As I was happy to be home and returning back to school, something was haunting me.  Let me go back before I left for the my American Adventure of December 2013.

       So you would think that I have been through enough, but you don't even know what was underlying all the rest of this issue.  Before I left for the break, the school landed a bombshell on me saying that I had to pay my own accommodation.  Now, in America, that is not a big deal, but as an expat, all of us know that as a teacher, most schools have to either provide accommodation allowance or in most cases accommodation. 

 

I told the school, "No, you promised when you brought me to Dubai that my accommodation would be provided, and you have thus provided it since July 2013, what is the change?  They said there was a change in policy and that I would pay my accommodation without giving me an allowance and they would reimburse me.  I told them, "This is unacceptable!  You are still shorting me my accommodation allowance, or my salary of almost $1,000 a month-if I accept these terms, which I will not accept."  I said, "Now I will go to America and enjoy my vacation, which I deserve, and when I get back I will expect this issue to be resolved."



 

Okay so now I get back in January 2014, and I run to the office the first week of school to ask them did they resolve this issue.  The accountant says, "There is still no approval."  I told them this was okay, knowing we were just back from break, but that I would check next week.  Every week of January, at the end of each week, they told me the same thing.

 

In February, I had now a month and a half, before they would withdraw 10,000 dirhams from my bank account without paying me accommodation allowance in order to have those funds withdrawn. So, again every weekend before going home on Thursday night (Weekends in the Middle East are Friday and Saturday) I would ask the same question, "Has the issue been resolved?"  They had said no, that we will check on Sunday. 

 

So, I go in on Sunday, the last week of February-funds are supposed to be withdrawn on March 15, 2013- and ask again this same question.  Of course I add a little bit, "I need a bank statement of all the payments you have made me for my lawyer and my accountant, as I have to get my taxes prepared."  I wanted to put a little pressure on them.  They said to me, they will be ready on Sunday, and they should have my housing situation approved. I said I will come in on Sunday for sure and it better be approved or there will be problems for both the school and myself.

 

So the weekend passed and I asked again on Sunday.  They said, "No, housing was not approved!"  

 

I said, "What?  This is not acceptable!  How do you expect me to come up with 10,000 dirhams by March 15?  You have not paid any of my accommodation allowance.  The accountant had said he was sorry for the inconvenience.  I was dumbfounded!  I told them this is not fair and it is unacceptable.  You wait to tell me this the end of February?  What are you crazy?  You expect me to pay my whole salary just for the rent?  I will not!  I am going to the Ministry of Education!"

 

So, the next day, I went to the Ministry of Education-They deal strictly with public schools.  Then I went to the KHDA-Which is a branch of M of E, but for private schools.  KHDA told me that this issue was not a "school complaint" but a "contract complaint" that I needed to go to the Ministry of Labor.  So I drove all the way back to the Ministry of Labor to find that the offices had closed.  The very next day, I marched back in there and told them the situation.  They called the school and set up a hearing date, for the next day.

 

The school sent the KG Supervisor, to attend to the matter.  I was able to get my checks cancelled, so that no money was withdrawn, and that I had only until the end of March to vacate my apartment or pay a penalty at the school.  At the end of April 2014, I would receive my accommodation allowance. 

 

I feel I got the "short end of the stick" as the hearing was all in Arabic and even asking for a translator, the legal authority replied, "Sorry this is an Arabic speaking country, you will have to wait for me to translate for you."

 

So, I moved out the end of March 2014, without a home, as I could not afford anything in Dubai.  Plus it was spring break for two weeks and everything was expensive.  I lived in my car for one week sleeping at ENOC and ADNOC petrol stations with my car.  I would swim at Jumeirah Beach, shower and clean myself at the Masjids at the petrol stations, and eat and sleep and go the bathroom at the 24-hour petrol stations.

 

I could not ask any family for money, after what happened at Christmas, so I decided to do that for the 2 weeks, trying to also look for places to stay.  What happened next?  Tomorrow I will try to finish this story.  For now, it is midnight here and time to go to bed.  I have work in the morning. Good Night My Readers of Mimi's Memoirs!

 

 

 



 

Getting Back Home December 31, 2013

Well, I had gotten back and despite my Christmas was ruined, I still felt relieved to be back in Dubai.  I got through to customs and through passport control.  The lines were pretty short, and I talked to the immigration officer and said to him, "I am so happy to be home!"

He looked at me strangely and said, "Home?  But you are from America!" 

I said, "Yeah, you are right.  But this place is like my home.  I feel more at peace and more welcomed here than I do in America.  You have no idea what I have been through the past 15 days. The past 15 days which were supposed to be love-filled and happy.  But they weren't." 

He just said, "Uhuh!  Okay, you are a teacher!  That explains a lot."  Poor guy, he is just doing his job.   He then said, "Okay, go back home, Yallah!"  I walked as if I owned the airport.  This felt like home.

I called the friend who was supposed to pick me up and he had decided that he would go out with his friends and left me stranded at 7:30 pm on New Year's Eve.  That was sort of a "buzz kill" but I called dear old Osama and he delightfully came to pick me up from the airport.  I could have taken a taxi home, the issue was that Osama had my key, as he was being an old pal, and was looking over my apartment while I was gone for two weeks to make sure it remained safe.

So, he had to drive through all the Burj Khalifa firework display traffic, taking him 4 hours to reach me, normally it would have taken him about 30 minutes.   But he was VIP and was able to get through the road barriers to retrieve me.  He dropped me off at my apartment at 11:45 pm.  I went upstairs and from my balcony, I could see the middle half of the Burj Khalifa light up the sky!  Yes, I spent New Years 2014 alone.  But I was home, and I was happy to be home.

 

Wow!! Christmas in Chicago Airport! Part 2

Okay, so now I am back from my trip to see my daughter.  I mailed a box of Christmas presents to my other children.  I stay in a hotel Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and the next day that followed.  I had enough to get pizza and some Chinese Food, which also makes great leftovers. 

On December 28, 2013, I decide that I have $100 in my pocket.  I can stay one more night and have $40 left to live on, or go to the airport and be able to eat at McDonalds and Starbucks, the only restaurants outside the gates.  So, I camp out again December 28-December 30 in Terminal 3, Chicago ORD. 

December 30, was the most interesting of the days in the airport.  There was this guy.  He was tattooed, pierced, and had all his gadgets with him. He was dressed in Camos.  He had an Ipad, IPhone, Cassette Player, and like an Ipod.  He asked me if he could use the outlets next to me to charge his gadgets.  I told him, "My name is not written there, so go ahead." 

Picture this:  I am disgusting!  I haven't showered in two days except to wash my hair in the sink in the terminal ladies room.  I have tried to clean my body with hand wipes.  Really I feel gross.  I have doused myself with perfume, just so that I can smell decent.  I am sitting, now with my coat, three layers of clothing, a huge suitcase half empty-it was full of gifts that I brought home for my family from Dubai-my ipad and my Verizon Samsung flip phone from Wal-Mart. 

There is a chair between this guy who appears intoxicated with all his gadgets and myself.  I see this other weirdo guy wandering around about 50 years old with longer blonde hair.  He has two scarves around his neck.  One that is green and one that is maroon.  They are beautiful scarves.  His jeans are ripped, but they appear to be designer jeans. He is also wearing this Sheep Skin Coat. He has gold earrings in both ears and a two-toned gold rings on all his fingers. 

I see this weirdo guy getting angry because the outlets are not working a little distance away.  I am thinking, "Mimi, mind your own business!  This is not your issue. This is Chicago!"  No, I don't listen to myself. 

Thinking the two of them are together, I tell the guy sitting closely to me, "Tell your buddy that he can come over here and charge his phone." 

The guy sitting next to me says, "This guy is not with me." 

I said, "Oh!  I thought he was with you, because you guys are kind of dressed the same."

He was curious, so he got up and went over to see who this guy who looked like him.  All of a sudden, they both hugged each other.  They did know each other.  He brought the weirdo over to meet me and this guy sat next to me.  They were talking and laughing and seemed happy to find each other. 

The one next to me said, "Thanks for letting me charge my phone and computer here." 

I said, "It's a free world!" I went ahead to continue listen to my music.  Thinking, I need to try to sleep.  It wasn't going to happen that night.

The two strangers sitting adjacent to me said, "What is your name Cutie?" 

I said, "I am Marissa.  What is your name?"

The one in Camos said, "My name is Randy."

The other one said, "My name is Jabe.  Jabe Holmes." 

I said, "Nice to meet you Jabe Holmes.  I am Marissa Green." 

He said to me, "Do you mind if I use your suitcase for a theater experience?  I want to watch a movie on my computer.  How about Die Hard 3?" 

I said, "Be my guest."  He then, as the movie was running, started talking about how he was friends with Donald Trump and that he was this famous guitarist and musician back in the day.  He wrote songs, but people told him that his music was beautiful, but his lyrics were too personal.  He also told me he played the piano, and that Chicago was his home.  He asked me if I have ever been to the Palmer House.  I told him I hadn't.  He asked me if I had seen other parts of Chicago.  I told him I had only been inside the airport terminals and some hotels.  I told him my adventure to Chicago, how I was staying in the airport and some hotels and how I was not able to spend Christmas in my family's home. 

I told him, I had about $10 to my name. I found out that Jabe was actually 72 years old.  He said he had his own jet, and that he was just spending the holidays feeding the poor and getting away from the city to hang out in Terminal 3.  He kept me up all night.  We talked until morning.  Then he said, when the sun comes up, I will take you into Chicago to see the city.  Would you like that?

Okay, most of you are probably saying, "Oh My God! Tell me you didn't say yes!  Tell me you were not crazy enough to see the city with this guy you don't know."  Yeah I am crazy.  Plus I was tired, and I was supposed to fly out the next day.  So, I thought, "This trip cannot get any worse.  He knows I don't have money, so he will not be trying to scam me out of anything." So the next day, I check my bags in, and he paid for my trip on the train, and we went downtown. 

Oh My God!  I have never been to Chicago ever!  There were Christmas decorations everywhere!  Huge trumpets and elves shooting out of buildings.  Christmas tinsel decorating the lamp posts.  It was so beautiful!  It was very cold outside, but I did not seem to mind it, I was taken in by the holiday cheer.  We first went into this building to stay inside from the cold.  He talked to some people he knew.  Then we started walking toward the Palmer Hotel.  It was amazing!  This old hotel.  He took me up to the grand ballroom.  Inlaid golden walls, mirror tiles on the ceiling, golden and deep red curtains on the stage and there among it all was a Baby Grand Piano. 

He told me to sit down and play.  I said, "I haven't played in a long time. I am rusty." He told me it was okay.  He wanted to see my talent.  I said, "Okay." I played one of my own pieces, that I have written myself.

He said that is pretty good.  Then he asked if he could play his pieces.  This man who I maybe thought was just lonely and wanted to have some company in Chicago, he was a musician from an era or another. He played the piano as if he was a concert pianist.  I was very pleased.  He sang a song he made for his mother, and another about a girl he once loved. 

We then went to this other building to get his rings shined and cleaned.  We were both kind of hungry and we tried out this little cafeteria restaurant next to the jeweler repair shop.  It was like a little Cajun restaurant.  I ordered the Catfish dinner and he had Fried Chicken.  We ate our dinner and he had brought wine along, which we had bought at Target prior to going to the jeweler.  We popped the cork and he shared a glass with the restaurant's owner.  They started talking and they knew each other too.  Maybe he was this celebrity, before my time.

At first, I think that he would have tried to scam me in some way or another, but after our afternoon, I think he realized I was not the type of person he wanted to hurt.  I was too kind, too pure of heart.  He gave me his telephone number, put me back on the train and I rode back to the airport to finally take my flight back home to Dubai.
 

Wow!! Christmas in Chicago!! Part 1

Well, this is either a story that will make you laugh or make you cry.. so I apologize that this adventure in my memoirs is not something so inspirational.

It has been five years since I have returned home.  I admit I made a lot of mistakes, but my reasons for returning this year, were to mend bridges.  You know how many soldiers who finish early, go home for the holidays, unannounced and everyone welcomes them home?  They can be gone for years, some are missing in action.  Well, for some reason I thought this a great opportunity to do the same.

I did give my parents an idea that I might make it home, but I don't think they believed me. At the last minute, I was able to purchase a plane ticket to go home, to my hometown Willmar, Minnesota.

Now, my daughter lives there with my family, as I am teaching overseas, and because of my life's misfortunes, she has been living there for the past two years.  So, I told her that I was coming home and that we would surprise her grandma and grandpa when I showed up at their door.

Well, I could have flown into Minneapolis and have gotten a car, but I thought it would be better to save a few hundred dollars and fly into Chicago and rent a car and drive 8 hours.  At least I could visit with whom I wanted when I wanted.

So, I told my bank here in Dubai that I would be leaving the country from December 15 to December 31, and to please not freeze my bank account. They said everything was duly noted.  I had about $1,000 to spend after I had booked all my hotels and such. I paid for the rental car in advance, and would pay for hotels if needed.  I was to drive down and see my other children in Missouri as well this trip.  I was so excited to see all my family.  I jumped on my plane on December 15, with much anticipation.  However, that anticipation turned into regret when I would reach Chicago.

After landing in Chicago, I go to the ATM and make sure my funds are still available.  As I see that they are there, I withdraw $200 from the machine. I go outside and froze my backside quickly.

The weather was freezing when I arrived.  I had booked a hotel, it was inexpensive.  I just needed a place to crash after a 24 hour flight, so I took a cab to the hotel, as I could not find the shuttle.  I get into the cab and realize my phone isn't working, so I put it down.  It is my brand new Samsung Galaxy 4 phone.  I take off my gloves and ask to use the cabby's phone to check the name of the hotel.  We drive off and I go to check in.  I forget my phone in the cab, he collects my bags from the trunk and I struggle the bags up the stairs and to my room.  The hotel has no elevator.  I go to connect to the internet and find my phone is missing.. I search and search and then realize I left it in the cab.  The Hotel shuttle bus takes me back to the airport.

Picture this.  I have no coat on, I am in sandals and it is -15 degrees Fahrenheit outside. I don't care that I am freezing, I go back to the airport to find the cabby driver.  He is nowhere to be found.  They cannot track him because I paid in cash instead of credit. I have lost my phone, all my contacts, all my numbers and friends back home.  I was pretty devastated.

I go back to the room and cry, get out my ipad and try to find a way to contact my friend Osama, who is the best friend a girl could have back in Dubai.  He did not answer or find messages on his email until 2 days later.  Well, I think I will get a phone at like Walmart, put in a couple of minutes, find his number, maybe in an email or something and call him.

The next day, I took a cab to Walmart, with $200 in my pocket.  Taxi's are expensive in Chicago. I went to buy a phone and my card did not work.  I said, huh?  What do you mean it does not work, I have $1,000 in my account.  They said, sorry, it is being declined.  I did not understand.  I went to the ATM machine and sure enough only $180 is available. At first I panic, but know that Osama would probably send me money and not to worry about it until later.

 I had to go pick up my car. I get to the rental place and I give them my credit card.  They said we require a card with a name on it.  I said the name is inside the card, like with a chip.  They refused and said okay, then we need a $350 deposit credit or $500 deposit cash.  I said, "I don't understand, I prepaid for the car. It does not say I have to pay extra."  They said either pay it or don't get the car.

I don't know what to do but wreck the surprise and call my dad.  Those who have read Mimi's Memoirs know how much my father means to me. I thought under the circumstances he would understand and help me out, knowing why I came home as I explained it to him on the phone (Dollar Rental's line)

He said because you did not let us know you were coming, and now you need money, well you better go back to Dubai because you are not welcome here.  I was literally crying on the phone.  My mascara was smearing, I was a wreck.  I cancelled the reservation, and the money would be reimbursed in 5 working days. Where would I go?  What would I do?

The hotel had cost $65, the cab had cost $60, and food that night, another $20.  I thought I have $60 left, I cannot stay in a hotel, I guess I have to go back to the airport.  So, the hotel shuttle took me back to Terminal 3.  I would stay there for two nights, and then my friend, Jasim said he would send me $400.  I was so happy, now I could find a way to go home and visit my older daughter. So the first trip to Western Union, they said that I had to contact the sender, I was able to take the rest of the $180 available balance off my bank card, in order to have a little more cash, to stay in the hotel after the 2nd night.

There was some mix up and my friend sent it to the wrong state. I had to go back to the hotel empty handed.  Then I stayed another night in the hotel, and my friend said he fixed the problem, also I had new money on my card from the Dollar Rent-A-Car place's reimbursement, so I was able to get a phone and wait for the money to be sent, as the second day I went into the western union and they say that it has not been changed.  So I now have a phone, so I call my friend, Jasim-that is his name- and he argues with me, that he did tell them the correct state of Illinois .   He said he would change it, so I spent another $100 waiting in the cab for him to change it.  He comes back and tells me the place is closed, that I will have to wait until tomorrow. I end up paying the cab $150 for cab fare.

So, then I find the money has come back on the card, so I book a greyhound bus and go see my eldest daughter, with or without my parents' consent.   They also email me the day I booked the bus and say that I can come home and stay with them, but have to leave before Christmas.  My parents are well-to-do, they have a 5,000 square foot home on a lake.

They said the reason I have to leave is that they have room for my sisters, but I am not welcome for Christmas.  So, on December 21, I arrive home, visit a couple of days. Hug my daughter, kiss her and on December 23, I get back on the bus and arrive back in Chicago, now I can get the money and stay the three nights in a hotel, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, alone in Chicago, 800 miles from home.