It’s hard to believe it, but I don’t have a home. As I’ve posted recently I decided to leave Dubai and see a little bit of the world, at least a little bit more than I’ve seen so far. Well, tonight I am in the Dubai airport, sitting near a Starbucks and sipping a soy latte just trying to get my mind wrapped around leaving the city that I called home for seven years, permanently.

When I decided to leave in the beginning of the year I knew that this day would eventually come, so I’m not regretting leaving. It was time that I left and I feel good about what I have planned for the next year. What I wasn’t ready for was that I was going to have to say good-bye to so many friends and students. Each time I found a note that told me they are going to miss me, a little piece of my determination slipped away. Each time I shook someone’s hand and told them I was on my way, I couldn’t help feeling a little bad. Then the mere fact of the logistics of leaving kind of made me feel… for lack of proper word, hollow. The school has a process that each faculty must go through each department and facilities to verify that we are cleared to leave. The finality of getting my visa canceled along with the ‘check list’ just seemed harsh.

Looking back at my time at AUD I can actually say it I loved being here. The fact that this was my first teaching job made it probably a little harder on me than it did to others, but I wouldn’t change being here for anything. The students were so sweet and fun to be around, I think I’ll miss them the most. When I got to Dubai it was growing so much. Everywhere I went there were cranes on tops of windowless buildings, sidewalks were dirt, and it seemed that the university was the center point of the area I was in. Now, seven years later, the school is dwarfed by dozens of 100-storey buildings on three of it’s sides. There’s a metro, new malls, and luxury is everywhere. If you know me, you know that I am as far from luxury as anyone can be, so I progressively felt more left out as the years went by. Regardless how I felt, it was remarkable to see a city grow like Dubai did.

Now with the ‘Dubai door closing,’ I’m turning my attention to the future. Not much has changed since I last left a post. I am still going to Goa, India for three months, with an expectation of staying for an additional three months. The thing that will stop me from staying six months will probably be determined by if I can get an extension for my visa. I’ve been told that it isn’t hard at all, so I’m kind of planning on six months for now. My goal is to use my time to focus on web design and learning some programming languages like jQuery. Just recently though, I have thought about doing some day trips around India, so I’ll probably be traveling around as well.

The future looks so good right now. :)