A Day in the Life of an International Consultant

October 30, 2009 | no comments

by Becky Grappo, IECA Member, United Arab Emirates

Blogging from Abu Dhabi, along the shores of the Arabian (or Persian) Gulf

I’m taking a break while waiting for my next appointment, and asked myself where I could go to chill out, work on my computer, get a quick bite to eat, and feel at home? Starbucks! I drove up and down the gridded, modern streets of Abu Dhabi until I found the reliable green logo that welcomed me “home.” I’m now enjoying wireless on my laptop with my Etisalat (Emirati phone company) USB modem, have had my sandwich and Frappuccino, and am listening to American Oldies on the music system (right now it’s playing “You Talk Too Much” which is an old song that reminded me of someone I knew!). Life is good!

But that’s about all that was familiar today. It started with an early departure from Dubai and a straight shot, one hour drive down highway E11. I finally found the general location of my 9:30 appointment with an American educational NGO operating here in the region. The American director came out of her office to retrieve me from the sea of cars in the parking lot of the local college, as I was close but not really there. I described my location, and we agreed to find each other under the shade of the date trees outside the mosque located in the parking lot. Ten minutes later when we still hadn’t connected, we realized that saying “under the dates by the mosque” was like saying “by Dunkin’ Donuts on a street corner in Boston”! They’re everywhere!

After a successful meeting with the NGO, I needed to find the location of the next meeting. My American counterpart generously offered for me to follow her, and good thing, for I never would have found this school tucked away on side streets with no street names I could discern. I was thrilled to find parking under a shade tree and set off to enter the school. Only the front entrance again deluded me—I wandered around an entire huge city block looking for the entrance, all while walking in the 100 degree in heat in shoes that weren’t made for walking! I was not quite as cheerful once I made my way inside…the heat just zapped me.

But once inside, my meeting with this local international school that offers an American curriculum was delightful. I found the headmistress of the school to be warm, friendly, engaging, and obviously passionately committed to her students. She used the word “love” in relationship to her students multiple times. Her main advisor is her daughter, who earned her Ph.D. in education at Boston University, and I found her to be very attuned to the latest best practices in education. The third person I met with was the special education teacher, trained in Lebanon, who was also very committed to her students. We discussed a student I am working with, and we all agreed on the plan of action. We also discussed professional collaboration, and I pointed to the IECA materials that I had presented to them about “Working with Students with Learning Disabilities” as well as the brochure about IECA’s Principles of Good Practice. I told them of my personal belief about the importance of collaboration, pointing out—with pride—my association with a group of collaborative professionals in the U.S.

I left satisfied that I had made new allies.

Next up: a meeting with parents of a struggling teen. Just as in the U.S., a difficult conversation awaits me regarding a serious situation. I think I might need another cup of ‘joe’ before I venture back out into the heat—both metaphorically and literally.

Just another day in the life of an IECA consultant…