First day as a Khaleej Times employee

Carving a niche in UAE’s publishing giant, one task at a time.

Surprised? Unnerved? Excited? What should I have been on my first day as a web journalist for Khaleej Times? I am in the league of the big cats now, that’s all that ran through my mind. One step awry could mean deportation, or a promotion.

It feels good to be back in a newspaper office. Soul-satisfying. Different people, even more diverse thoughts and opinions; this is where I should’ve been all along. And finally I am.

Through the meet and greet in the department, everyone seems willingly helpful. An information overload on the first day, by that I mean new colleagues’ names, software names, usernames and anything else that could have a name. Followed by the dos and don’ts instructed to me, to the hows and whys asked by me, I’m sure this game of ping pong will continue.

What I like most is that people here talk, unlike writing elaborate emails for the smallest of reasons. Unless necessary.

So I’ve started with what I came here to do. It is taking me a little while to learn my way around, but sure looks like I’m getting there. Handling such a big platform, in the UAE as an expat can be a little intimidating. But then I look around and almost everyone’s an expat, which leads to sigh of relief. Something on the lines of “Don’t fear, we’re all expats here!”

Looking back at my first day, I spent half of it with a new employee like me. She is the first person I know from Jammu & Kashmir. The other half nudging my colleagues and editor with possibly stupid questions, but they took heed, which has made the second day look a little less confusing.

I’m convinced that it is one of the few jobs in the world that can make every day interesting. How, you may ask? Refer to Khaleej Times and tell me if you don’t find one thing that interests you.

• UAE