Happy Birthday, Jesus – We love you!

Day 5 - Tuesday, December 25^th - Christmas Day

Christmas in a predominately Muslim country was a very different experience and a time to really make me stop and think.  Even though there is a large presence of Christianity there, it still just felt different. Andrea said she had heard that in the last couple of years they were seeing more and more Christmas presence in the UAE since ADEC teachers had arrived.  We saw lots of Christmas trees, store fronts decorated in Christmas and winter scenes, Santas in every shape and size, lights and decorations, all things Christmas except for the most important - a manger scene.  It made me think about the people and wonder if they knew my Jesus and the real reason for celebrating Christmas. Sadly, a large majority of them do not.  It also made me realize the joy, peace and promise that we have as Christians. 

 

Andrea opened her gifts and we thanked her for ours – two plane tickets to the UAE to see your Baby Girl is pretty special.  Thank you Andrea – we love you!!!

We dressed and headed over to Nicole’s to cook Christmas dinner.  Nicole and Andrea had found everything we needed or could improvise with so we spent a couple of hours of preparing and cooking.  Our menu: ButterBall Turkey, Old-fashioned Cornbread Dressing with Gravy, Broccoli Casserole, Green Bean Casserole, Sweet Potato Souffle, Pasta Salad, Rolls and Chocolate Pecan Pie.  While it all had a very good flavor and we enjoyed our dinner immensely, it just didn’t taste like it did at home.

We spent time eating, opening gifts, playing with Ethan, reminiscing and just relaxing.  Ethan is so darn cute and has such a cute personality. 

Andrea, Ethan, Nicole at Nicole's Apartment

After we left Nicole's, we made a brief stop at Al Ain Mall.  There was a Santa and Sleigh and an ice skating rink. The kids were so cute ice skating but I don't think they had a clue who Santa was.  Look at the little "ice skating walkers"- if we had those in the US, I might try ice skating myself. LOL

After we got home, we made more calls home to family and friends – we were 9 hours ahead so as our Christmas Day was winding down, Christmas Day was just beginning in the US.

Scenes of Christmas around town:

Christmas Eve - All about Town and Getting Ready for our SPECIAL Day

Day 4 - Monday, December 24^th

Day 3 and a little “hiccup” on our journey – I woke up with a major headache.  I thought “Oh no, this can’t be a migraine!”  After some caffeine, Tylenol, a little protein, a short nap, more caffeine and Advil, I took a shower and off we go – a little ole headache can’t keep a girl down when she’s on vacation. LOL

We went to visit Nicole and Baby Ethan.  Nicole is another teacher that Andrea met before she moved to the UAE and we are having Christmas dinner with her.  Have you ever seen such cuteness as this?  Ethan was the cutest and was so happy.  He loves Andrea and he warmed up to me pretty quickly. 

 

Nicole had told us he was not so keen on men but he was interested in Randy.  He would play with Randy from a distance and he would let Randy hold him for about 2 or 3 minutes.  We all decided if Randy was around for a little while, Ethan would certainly have a new friend.  What baby doesn’t love Randy? He’s like the “Baby Whisperer”.

Nicole had bought a Butterball Turkey for Christmas dinner so I did all the prep work for her so the next morning all she had to do was put it in the oven.  She said she didn’t realize the process and was so glad I came to help.  (She was quite grossed out with the prep work.) We talked about the rest of the menu and made sure we had everything.  One of the things that she had requested that I bring was vanilla extract (you can’t find it over there).  She was making a Chocolate Pecan Pie – Yummy.

After our visit, we headed to the mall for some last minute shopping for Christmas and in search of measuring spoons.  We looked everywhere – it’s another one of those things – if you see it, buy it even if you don’t think you need it because when you do need it, you can’t find it.  That seems to be the case with food also.

We had dinner at a nice Lebanese Restaurant, Zaytinya.  Randy had Schwarma (kind of like a wrap with flat bread with meat, fermented vegetables, some kind of white sauce and french fries); Andrea and I had Chicken Kabobs with Saffron Rice. The rice was the best ever – it had a great flavor – even Andrea liked it and that’s saying a lot.  The portions are huge so we almost always shared two entrees.

Schwarma

Chicken Kabob with Saffron Rice

Here’s my version of a mini-schwarma minus the things I didn’t want on it. J

Since Andrea doesn’t have an oven, we went to her friend, Christine’s apartment to bake the cornbread for our Old-fashion Cornbread Dressing for Christmas dinner.  Everything is different here – it has different flavor, different texture.  I had my reservations when I saw the cornmeal – let’s just say it wasn’t Martha White Self-rising.  But I gave it a noble attempt.  I made the first batch and put it in the oven.  Everything is in metric and Celsius so I had to figure out how to convert all the measurements and the temperature for baking.  Let’s just say lots of guessing and hoping. And no iron skillet to bake it in. The first batch was golden brown but flat.   So I made a second batch and added to baking powder and it was the same.  Both batches had a good flavor but a different texture.   We’ll see tomorrow when it’s time to bake the dressing.

 We headed home to finish wrapping those last minute gifts and to call family and friends back home to say “Merry Christmas”.    

Off to the Zoo and Other Places

Day 3 - Sunday, December 23rd

I’m still on US time – I’m awake at 6:00am; up at 7:00am. Got my coffee and my Coke; curled up on the sofa with my Kindle for a little “Me Time”. 

I shower at 9:00am; am ready to go by 10:00am, just waiting on my little sleeping beauty to wake up so we can hit the road.  We have a light breakfast of fresh fruit and biscuits. 

Here’s a cute conversation between Andrea and myself. I’m your typical tourist ready to go and do! LOL

C – “What are we doing today?”

A – “Does it matter?”

C – “I didn’t fly 7,000 miles to sit here.”

A – “Don’t lie – you flew 7,000 miles to see me.” (She’s so cute)

C – “Yes, you’re right but I can see you when we are out so let's go!"

Today we are heading to the Al Ain Zoo.  The weather was perfect.  This is our first experience with local people not following the “get in line and wait your turn” mentality.  A lady with 3 small children wanted to break in front of us when we were buying our tickets but ticket taker told her we were first.  She even tried to hand him money and he still told her she had to wait until after us.  She seemed a little shocked and taken back that he would not let her in front of us. She stood right there until we got our tickets and then she just barged right in front of the people behind us.

 There were a lot of different exhibits - nocturnal house, bird house, reptile, apes, big cats, giraffes, rhinos, and more.  Also, plenty of green public spaces for picnics, playgrounds, a cafeteria and a train tour of the wildlife area, giraffe feeding, camel riding, bird show and petting zoo.  We felt like kids and the cost was only 15 dirhams (about $4 US).  And best of all, the weather was perfect – low 70’s.

Sculpture - I thought this was neat!

Sign in front of zoo  "Birthdays are happier at Al Ain Zoo"

There was a mosque at the zoo and this was the first time we heard the Call to Prayer.  I’ll write more about this later.

Afterwards we went to Abela (Andrea’s favorite grocery store and it’s near her apartment).  We picked up a few things that we needed for Christmas dinner. Look at the produce.

After a short nap, we met Andrea’s friend, Mrs. Jones for dinner at Chili’s.  Mrs. Jones has been in Al Ain for 3 years now.  She is actually how Andrea learned about the teaching opportunities in the UAE.  We thoroughly enjoyed our visit with her – it was interesting hearing about her experiences. 

Today's History Lesson:

Dress & Etiquette

• Most Emirate males prefer to wear a kandura, an ankle-length white tunic woven from wool or cotton
• Most Emirati women wear an abaya, a black over-garment covering most parts of the body.  Some women also wear a sheyla to cover their faces.
• I did notice that even though the women were covered in their abayas, they loved their shoes, their purses and their make-up.  Over the top and expensive!!!!!!!!!!
• UAE encourages above-shoulder-below-knees dressing style for its expatriate population, especially in malls, but apart from some highly public places, western style dressing is tolerated in almost all places, especially in the emirates of Abu-Dhabi and Dubai, where the expat number is extremely high.
• Andrea does not have to wear an abaya to teach but she does have to be covered from shoulders to wrists to ankles.  Typically she wears a long skirt or dress and cardigan.

Homes

• The homes are beautiful and huge
• All with ornate concrete walls around them – 10 – 15 feet high
• Arches over gates mirror arches over front doorway
• Some “compounds” have 2 or 3 homes in them with a smaller home in back for servants
• Children live with parents after they marry; usually up until they have 2 or 3 children and then they build a home within the walls of their parent’s home
• They can borrow up to 2 million dirhams to build a home without interest and take as long as necessary to pay it off.
  
  
  

  

  Home near Andrea's school

  
  

  

  Home near Andrea's Apartment

  
  

  

  
  

Not for the Faint of Heart and Zoom, Zoom, Zoom

Andrea had told us about the traffic when she first went to Abu Dhabi. She said the taxi drivers were insane and she had more than one wild ride in a taxi but she said, “Really, Mom, you can’t describe it. You have to experience it!” And she is right!!! If you can imagine the traffic on Interstate 285 in Atlanta and the traffic on the Beltway in Washington DC on steroids times one million, you may have a small picture of the insanity of the drivers in the UAE. They are the most patient people and the most laid-back until they are behind the wheel of a vehicle and then watch out – they love to go fast and they love their horns. There would definitely be major road rage in the US but not in the UAE – it’s one of the craziest things I have ever seen.

 

When the traffic light turns from green to red, the horns start blowing. You have to be ready to hit the gas and go. When traffic lights are changing from green to red, they blink off and on for a few seconds; then turn yellow; then turn red. You certainly want to stop because as soon as it turns green on the other side, the traffic is already moving and you don’t want to get hit. If you run a red light, there is a 500 dirham fine.

 

If you are speeding, cameras take a picture of your tag, your car and the intersection. You will receive a ticket in the mail or if it is a rental car, it will show on your monthly statement. Or you may get a text message. Andrea got a ticket coming home from Abu Dhabi. We noticed on the road to Dubai, people knew where the camera boxes were and would speed up and slow down accordingly. I guess they think “guilty only if caught.”

 

Because they love to drive fast, it’s just an unwritten rule that you should always leave the left lane open. If you happen to be in that lane, you better move over or get run over. The driver will his flash lights incessantly until you move over and then he just zooms past you (after he’s blown his horn at you.)
 

It’s interesting to watch drivers at stop signs. Andrea says stop signs are only “suggestions” – more like a “Yield” sign. It’s crazy!

 

It’s illegal to have bumper stickers. Andrea’s friend had an “I love Canada” sticker and was stopped by police. She was told it was against the law – showed her in "his" book. She apologized and he was nice enough not to give her a ticket.

 

Gas is $1.72 dirham per liter (I think it’s a little less than $2 a gallon). The attendant pumps for you and washes your windshield. You must pay cash, no bank cards. Reminds me of when I was growing up in south Georgia! :-)

 

You can see every imaginable, expensive car in the world – Porsche, Bentley, Mercedes, Lamborghini, Ferrari, Rolls Royce. I think every local person owns an SUV and the windows are all tinted very dark.

 

A little bit about the taxis: The white taxis are privately owned. The silver taxis are regulated by the government and have a yellow light on top. The teachers were recommended to use the silver taxis since they were regulated by the government. The silver taxis with the pink light on top are Ladies Taxis – these are driven by women. Andrea has a little girl in her class who is dropped off and picked up every day by a “Pink” taxi – Ladies taxi.

Our First Day in the Sand Box

Day 2 - Saturday, December 22^nd

Oh my tired, aching body – I slept until noon – catching up on the lost sleep from the flight over.  It’s really quiet in Andrea’s apartment building – almost all the teachers have gone home for the holidays or are taking the opportunity to travel to other countries.

Andrea wanted me to cook an American breakfast -Oscar Mayer Bacon, Eggs, Grits (from the USA). The egg yolks are dark orange and each egg was stamped.  Cooking on her cook top was a challenge because the flame was so high - hard to control the heat.  While our breakfast had a good flavor, it didn't taste like home.

Andrea was anxious to show us around Al Ain so we dressed and headed out.  We didn’t know what to expect but I realized I needed a notebook and should journal these next two weeks. I will have to say that Al Ain was not what I expected.  I had expected desert like we saw in our text books in middle school.  On the contrary, it was very pretty – green tree-lined medians and beautiful, blooming flowers - petunias, marigolds, salvia - throughout the city.

The traffic was insane. There are very few red light intersections like in the US.  Instead there are round-abouts – vehicles continuously move in a circle with 4 exits or roads to exit.  Almost all of the round-abouts are elaborately landscaped/decorated with a theme.  Some people use these as landmarks when giving directions or describing where they live. Andrea seems to have mastered the traffic – she’s a great chauffeur.  I guess being the daughter of the UPS driver and her years of traveling Interstate 285 in Atlanta has helped her with this traffic. I will write about the traffic and the round-abouts later. 

Then we stopped at the grocery store – LuLu’s.  We walked around to see if we could recognize any of our products from home.  Andrea wanted us to see the meat/seafood departments.  The meat department was behind glass but all was marked from what country it was from – Australia, Africa, Britain, etc.  Seafood was displayed on ice – just lying out in the open.  We bought some huge prawns for dinner and headed home.  I cooked Greek-style Shrimp Scampi and oh my goodness, it was yummy.

We spent the evening reading and relaxing and catching up on our talking and giggling time.

Today’s history lesson:
 

A little about the United Arab Emirate

• Located in the Arabian Gulf (they don’t call it Persian Gulf)
• Borders Oman to the east and Saudi Arabia to the south; shares sea borders with Qatar and Iran
• Made up of 7 emirates (like the US is a union of 50 states) – Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Ajman, Fujairah, Ras Al Khaimah, Sharjah, Umm al-Quwain
• Capital city is Abu Dhabi in the Abu Dhabi Emirate
• Became an independent country December 2, 1971

A little about Al Ain – the city where Andrea lives

• Located in the emirate of Abu Dhabi; second largest city in the Abu Dhabi emirate and fourth largest in UAE
• Located inland about an hour from Dubai and about an hour and half from Abu Dhabi
• Also known as Garden City due to its greenery; many oases, parks, tree-lined avenues and
• decorative roundabouts
• Population – approximately 600,000
• Broken into districts – an easy way to orient yourself around the city and get directions;  Just to name a few: Al Mawaiji (where Andrea lives), Al Towayyah (where her school is), Asherej (where her friend Christine lives), Hili (where her friends, Nicole and Elizabeth live), Al Jimi (where one of the malls is)

Currency

• Dirhams and Fils – exchange rate $3.67 US
• Very pretty – looks like monopoly money
• I didn’t even try to figure out how to use it – just depended on Andrea and Randy. Although, it wouldn’t be hard since the amount is written on it and each denomination is a different color.

Leaving on a jet plane...we'll be back in two weeks

This is my attempt to journal our two-week vacation with our daughter, Andrea who teaches in the United Arab Emirates.  She has been in the UAE since August.  We very impressed with how easy it was for her to communicate with the local people in the shops and around town.  Most people speak some English, even if it is broken – it’s usually enough to accomplish whatever you are trying to do.  Andrea is most anxious to learn the Arabic language as much as she can even though it is not required for her to teach.  She teaches completely in English – no Arabic at all.

Andrea teaches Reading, Math and Science in English; Arabic teacher teaches Arabic, Islamic studies, Music, Art and PE.  She has 46 Arabic girls – 23 in the morning and 23 in the afternoon.

Children start to school at age 3.  Boys and girls are in school together through kindergarten and then the schools are separate – all girl schools and all boy schools.  Andrea teaches in an all-girls school.  School is Sunday through Thursday. Friday is the Holy Day.

Day 1 - Thursday, December 20^th  and Friday, December 21^st

Our neighbors dropped us off at the new Atlanta International Terminal – our first time at the new terminal.  Our first impression – very beautiful and modern.  We check our luggage (1 bag for me; 1 bag for Randy; 2 bags for Andrea and she's not even with us but she had given me a long list of things she wanted or needed for me to bring) and get our boarding passes.  We go through security easily and head to the food court – our last meal in the US for two weeks.  We leave ATL at 9:45pm (a little delay waiting for connecting flights).  The first four hours of our flight are pretty rough – high winds and storms along the east coast.  Our flight is 14 hours – broken down that means 2 movies, 2 episodes of Big Bang Theory, 75% of a book read, a long nap, 2 meals and lots of wiggling and we are in Dubai. 

We arrive in Dubai at 8:00pm. After a stop in the restroom to brush my teeth and put on some lipstick (can’t go anywhere without my lipstick), we follow the empty corridor to immigration and wait in a long line for what seems like forever – “Don’t these people know it’s been 4 months since I've seen my Baby Girl!”  We get our pictures taken and passports stamped.  Then we head to baggage claim to pick up our luggage and then out the door to find Andrea – Randy sees her first.  After lots of hugs and kisses, we head to her little car, Kia Rio and stuff the luggage in.  

Our first stop for food – Burger King Drive-in.  We eat in the car as we drive to Al Ain, about an hour and half from Dubai.  It’s non-stop talking all the way.  It’s dark so we really can’t see much of the countryside but were most impressed with the road (just like our interstates here in the US) and street lights all the way from Dubai to Al Ain.

Andrea leases her car.  When it is time for service, she calls the service center.  They pick it up from her apartment, take it for service and then bring it back. How nice is that??? The speed limit on the road from Dubai to Al Ain is 120 kilometers.  If she drives over 115 kilometers, there is a “ding-ding-ding” sound on the car, warning her that she is close to the speed limit.  How annoying is that?  We just ignored it or turned the radio up. LOL

We arrived at her apartment and unloaded the car.  She gave us her bedroom and the queen-size bed.  She took the guest bedroom with a less-than-full bed.  Randy took a shower and headed to bed around 10:00pm. Andrea and I talked until after midnight – mom and daughter catching up after being apart for four months.  Then I took a shower and headed to bed.

She has a very cute apartment – Here are a few details:

• Park underneath; take elevator to first floor; walk across the hall to her apartment – that    was nice
• Beautiful mahogany door – open with key; door knob just for looks – not functional
•  All tile floors; beautiful mahogany doors on every room – even kitchen and each door had a key to lock it
• Den/Dining combination; 2 bedroom; 2 bath; tiny kitchen – laughingly known as a “one-butt kitchen”; Seriously it is the tiniest little thing but as she reminded me most of the time there is only one butt in there LOL
• Kitchen – cook top only; uses propane gas to cook with; Propane truck comes through neighborhood and rings bell (much like the ice cream truck) and you go out and stop him to exchange your tank and pay him – cost $60 dirhams; no more than she cooks, this will probably last her all year
• No oven - She uses toaster oven, microwave, crock pot
• Small refrigerator – about half the size of my side-by-side refrigerator
• No pantry in the kitchen
• No dishwasher – YUCK!!!!
• Water Heater in each room where water is provided – that was nice; we always had hot water and it was HOT!!!!
• Washer/Dryer combo – washes and semi-dries them; hang on drying rack
• Electricity – 110-120 volts; US – 220 volts; We had to use adaptors for all of our appliances and chargers
• No built-in closets – you must buy wardrobe or closet for bedrooms
• No electrical outlets in the bathroom – we used an extension cord from bedroom and pulled into bathroom
• Air Conditioner unit in each room with individual controls