Haneefa’s Introduction
Hello!
My name is Haneefa and I have chosen the above image because I love to blog in my free time. I moved to the United Arab Emirates almost two years ago and I teach Science in a public desert school. When I was looking into moving, I found very few blogs on life in the UAE, I found this strange because when I lived in Japan everyone I knew had a blog. This lead me to create Black Girl in Abu Dhabi. Honestly, I started blogging to document my life teaching here as well as to help any other teachers that were looking to come out here and teach. You can imagine my surprise when one day I was walking in down town Abu Dhabi and I was approached by a young lady that recognized me from the blog! This was the beginning of something wonderful, I have guided numerous individuals informing them about living and working in the Middle East, I try to paint a positive picture and encourage others to see that the Middle East is not scary/dangerous as many would believe. I have also opened the eyes of many family members and friends to the fact that when the one you love moves to the UAE they will be alright. I have also been lucky enough to have done some restaurant reviews and now I am extending my blog by hosting Q&A chats on twitter.
I am a Grade 7 Science Teacher who is originally from Montreal. I love to travel and I am always looking for the next adventure. My interests in this class include the love that I have for social media and extending that love into the classroom. I am looking at ways to maximize social media use in the class to increase learning.
I am glad to be here and look forward to working with all of you.
Welcome Haneefa!
Hi Haneefa! You’re inspiring me to start blogging again… I love that with blog or Twitter concepts, we don’t have to seek permission, we just need to proceed! Technology really brings people together in the Middle East, in ways unique to this culture. Let’s get together for coffee with Mehdi and anyone else nearby (I live in Oman but spend weekends in the UAE). Nice to meet you. Julia
Hi Julia,
Really nice to meet you! Next time you are in the UAE you will have to let me know.
Great meeting you,
Haneefa
Hi Haneefa, Great to read your intro post. Which site are you blogging on ? Share the link so that I can also share my thoughts as I am also in UAE. Nice to meet you. Mehdia
Hi Mehdia,
I blog at http://www.blackgirlinabudhabi.blogspot.ae.
Hi Haneefa,
Sharing your life experiences while teaching abroad online is an excellent idea. I spent a year working in Abu Dhabi in 2009/2010 and it never crossed my mind to reflect on my experiences on such public medium. I can see why there were more people writing blogs in Japan. Relating the experiences of living in the middle east to a public that is not yet familiar with it or perhaps even frightened by it (thanks to the media!) and refraining from offending the local culture is no easy task. I applaud you.