Unbelievable

12/13 Part 2
Well, being as there is no affordable/good place out in MZ to get breakfast, Rebecca and I ventured into the city this morning to get breakfast at my favorite restaurant, Jones the Grocer.  I can't get enough of this place, I just wish it was located in MZ.  After breakfast, we trolled around the Mushrif Mall and then back "home" aka Al Whada Mall until it was time for us to head to the hotel to meet the safari people.  While we were sitting having a bun and juice, I saw my HoF walk by.  It was strange to see people I actually know here, and kind of cool at the same time.  
So, at the hotel, we hopped into a local man's SUV to head out to the desert.  I had no clue what I was in for, but let me tell you something, I fell in love with this country even more after the most amazing night of my life.  Before we made a stop at a camel farm, we stopped on the side of the road to let some air out of the tires.  When we arrived at the camel farm, we got out of the cars (mind you there are about 20 cars total) took pictures, pet the camels, I kissed one (I wanted to, but not a quickly as she moved, she turned her nose right into my lips), we looked around and then the guys called us back into the SUVs.  Little did we know we were stating to Dune Bash!  I cannot even begin to describe how freakin cool this was!  Imagine going over a cliff of sand SIDEWAYS!!!  Our driver was totally awesome, he did not follow the path the other SUVs were making, he made his own, while making us scream!  I was thrilled with his driving skills, at one point he was talking on his phone, bashing down the side of the dune, and steering with one hand!  He probably could have done it blindfolded if he wanted, he told us after joking it was his first day, that he had been doing this for 8 years.  We stopped halfway to our campsite to cool the cars off, take more pictures and take in the breathtaking scenery before being called back into the SUVs to start round 2 of dune bashing.  Our driver was amazing, did I say that already?!?! Even his music which was a mix of current songs mixed with Arabic verses was awesome and made the bashing that much better.  We arrived at the campsite and had the chance to ride a camel, which was slightly scary as they are such tall creatures!  Having them stand up, you are thrust forward and when they sit back down, you are thrust forward again.  
Inside the gated area were tables galore, very traditional, they are close to the ground and you sit on pillows to eat.  The buffet consisted of traditional foods from hummus, veggies, meat and rice.  The flavors were amazing and so was the food!  We were treated to a belly dancer for entertainment and had the option to dress in traditional clothing, get Henna, smoke Shisha (flavored tobacco) and sit and gaze at the stars!  The whole evening was amazing and I am so glad I was finally able to do it.  I can't wait to do it again, actually I just want to dune bash!  
12/14
Camel Festival!  Ok, so let me set the scene for you if I can.  When we first moved out to MZ, we ventured out to the Tilal Liwa Hotel.  This hotel literally sits in the middle of the desert, surrounded by nothing.  About a month after being here, we started seeing tents randomly pop up along the road towards the hotel and by the camel race track.  Today, it literally looks like a village!  There are over 25,000 camels along with their owners out here for this festival.  There are several things going on during the day from falconry, camel milking, date packing, camel beauty contests (yup, that happens), dog, camel, and horse races and a classic car show.  We decided to check it out today since it was the first day.  We drove out to the grandstands located halfway to the hotel.  As we pulled up, the police officers that were out there came to our window and told us to go in and check it out (we kind of stick out being as we were literally the only women and we are white).  We stood in the walk way because we didn't know where we could sit, then we were motioned to come with some people that worked for the festival.  We went into what we now know was the VIP section.  We had a translator (very nice Emirate man named Abdullah) who took us around to the camels and explained EVERYTHING there is to know about how they are judged, etc.  We spent lots of time with the black camels as they are the most beautiful.  We were treated to tea and dates before we went to see the camels.  While looking at the camels, we were interviewed by a local TV personality about it being our first time at the festival and what we thought of it.  It was like we were celebrities, we had a photographer following us taking pictures of what we were doing.  After standing in the sun for about 2 hours (and getting burned because I didn't put sunscreen on, sorry mom...), we headed back to our place.  The festival is something to see, if anyone is sticking around for the holiday break, make the trip out to MZ for it, you won't regret it!  I hope you enjoy the pictures, they don't do it justice, but at least you get the picture....

letting out the air in the tires

hehe

that's what we looked like, but more sideways

camel

I have never felt sand so soft

Our driver

amazing food!

our group

I love the black camels!

our guide at the festival

they decorate the camels to make them even more beautiful!

a baby only a few months old!

Such a Quiet School

12/9
Well, this morning I only had 5 students.  Three of these students have been consistently coming to school since after National Day.  Today was slightly different in that I had to take the neighboring teacher's class for English.  It was nice to teach more students and students that weren't mine.  Both the classes together didn't really mix well, the visiting students were good listeners and worked well at their centers, however my students thought it was a free for all.  After teaching them English, Amani took both classes for Arabic and Islam. 
12/10
This morning I arrived at school to see a parent pull up to the school with their child, a bus mom go up to that parent and tell him to take his son home.  So, there were no kids today.  I had heard from other teachers that the Cycle One school in Mirfa wouldn't have kids today and usually when that happens, the same goes for our school.  I came prepared today, my laptop, DVDs, and Uno.  We did have a meeting where our principal talked for about 2 hours and never paused to really let the translator translate, so I am not quite sure what the meeting was about.  The only thing I got out of it was that during recess time, the students aren't allowed to run around and have free play with whomever and whatever they want.  Instead they are to have structured play.  EXCUSE ME?!?!?  These kids are made to sit on the carpet and then in a chair ALL day and the one 15 minute break they do get to play, they aren't even allowed to do that, because that makes total sense.  My blood started to boil when this was translated, but I didn't say anything.  They will need to learn that sometimes you may have a really great idea, but it isn't always the best for the kids.  After our holiday break, we will see how this works out.  I was cautioned not to mention to them that I taught PE for this age because then I would be completely in charge of everything for the structured play.  I honestly wouldn't mind it if they would provide proper equipment and the Arabic teachers would be there to translate to the kids.  They lost their PE teacher this year, and that is something they really need.  When I take my kids into playground, which is just for my class in the play area, I take one of those hipity hop balls and kick it for them to chase after and they bring it back to me.  This activity goes on for 20 mins and they never stop.  Boy are they slightly tired after that, and they love it!  We shall see if I decide to let them know I can help with the structured play.  I do however want to help on sports day which apparently we will have in Term 2, at the park in town.  Now THAT I can do, hello Field Day! 
12/11
No kids again today, today was one of the best days of having no kids we have had.  I brought Uno again, and this time we played for a few hours.  It cracks me up how teachers get SO competitive at simple games, it's as if we take on our students' behaviors while playing games.  I also introduced all the EMTs to HEADSUP!  Oh my goodness, did we have a blast!  I have been wanting to play this with them since I arrived, but didn't know the right time or play to bust it out.  Oh my goodness, I can't tell you how much I laughed and to see how into it they all got made me so happy!  We did have another meeting, lots more translation because the translator held the meeting, but still very pointless a day before we go on holiday break.  I also ventured to the Tamm center where you can pay your electricity bills and such.  This was very entertaining, we found out where all the Emirate men work and hang out in Mirfa.  I also discovered that a few mothers of our students work here as well.  It was back to school after that and then we were finally able to go home. 
12/12
LAST DAY!  I can't believe I made it until Holiday Break.  This time went by so quickly, I hope that the rest of the school year does the same.  Today was the best day for a few reasons, one we played HeadsUp for hours, I recorded the best video of one of our teachers falling to the ground while trying to act something out.  You may think it's rude of me to think someone falling is funny, but she tripped on her Abaya and slow motion fell to the ground, she didn't hurt herself, and I almost peed myself I was laughing so hard.  Chauntell was the person guessing that round and she guessed falling, which made us laugh even more!  I saved the video and will be posting it on Facebook.  We also played a few rounds of Uno.  Playing HeadsUp made me miss playing it with the staff at Visitation.  All I had to do was start playing with one or two people and whoever walked into the staff room would join in!  I also miss playing with Daniele in my apartment.  She would come over to watch some TV, fall asleep, then I would wake her up and tell her she needs to go back to her apartment, but she would always ask to play HeadsUp.  We would end up playing for an hour!
We were able to say goodbye to our HoF :(.  We pitched in and got her a camel figurine to remember her time in the UAE as well as remember us and to say thank you for all that she did.  We were made to stay until 12:45 to leave, but as soon as 12:45 hit, we peaced out and hit the road back home! 
12/13
I am sitting on my couch right now, watching a fireplace on my TV while listening to Christmas music.  It is the weirdest feeling to not be in cold weather during the holidays.  I miss the rain and the cold weather.  I have been looking at the weather reports back home and seeing how cold it has been.  I noticed last night that it says rain for tomorrow, I looked at the precipitation and it said 100%, this made me chuckle out loud, only in Washington would it be a 100% precipitation, where as here it would say 100% humidity.  The rest of the day will involve my very first desert safari, filled with dune bashing, traditional food, camel rides, and lots of other things!  Stay tuned for part two of 12/13, in the mean time, enjoy the pictures.

Rebecca orders the coolest things!

SOOO excited for Callie and Scott!  Congrats!

Teachers, we come prepared!

Lamborghini on it's way to the Camel Festival!

Love these two!

My Uno crew (left-Pepper, Center-Chauntell, Right-Nina)

Fog, Fog and More Fog!

12/4
Well as we headed out for work this morning we quickly turned around due to the fact that the road disappeared 2 feet in front of us!  We all congregated at Pepper's flat where we had coffee and tea while discussing various things.  We finally felt good enough to drive around 9:00, we arrived at school only to find there were hardly any children to begin with!  We monitored them while they had recess and then they sent them home.  
12/5
Today is my dad's birthday, the big 70!  I called to video chat with him and sing happy birthday.  Before my alarm went off in the morning I was woken up by a text from Rebecca telling me that she wasn't going to head in right away because the fog was even worse today.  I opened my curtains and discovered I couldn't see the building across the way from me!  I let the girls know that I would attempt to come get them and if it was really bad, we would just come back to my place and wait for it to lift.  This indeed did happen, we watched a bunch of clips from Jimmy Fallon, my new obsession while we watched the fog roll out and literally one minute later rolled in so thick we couldn't see a thing!  We were pretty excited about it, it lasted so long we didn't make the journey in.  By the time we would have arrived at school we would have had to turn right back around and come home.  We also knew that there were only 37 kids TOTAL in school that day.  
12/6
Today was a relaxing day.  I enjoyed some coffee and toast with Rebecca while watching North by Northwest!  She had raved about this movie and since I had never seen it, I watched it with her.  I love old movies, it reminds me of home, my mom always has old movies on.  I made the mistake of venturing to the mall around 5 pm.  HUGE mistake.  Let me walk you through my experience, there were men EVERYWHERE!  That really wasn't the problem, I can ignore the starring, however what I can't ignore is the following.  To make matters worse every store I enter that has anti-theft things at the entrance I set off.  I have determined that it is my phone that sets off those things, not that big of a deal, but when men are already starring at you, the loudest siren in the world does not help!  I was followed from store to store which made me extremely uncomfortable and as a result I didn't get anything I had gone to the mall for.  I had forgotten that Friday evenings are not the optimum time to go out in this town.  I made it to the car wash to get my car washed (my dad would be proud!), it was so dirty, I tipped the guys who were drying it 50% because it was so dirty!  Boy does it look good now!  
12/7
This morning I made my way into Dubai to attend the Dubai International Film Festival.  This was an amazing experience and I am so thankful I was able to go.  I watched 3 movies today (my dream day, I love watching movies).  The first movie was Frozen which I highly recommend.  Before the movie started, the directors came out and talked about the film.  One of the directors did some animation on The Fox and the Hound!  The theater was one of the biggest I have ever seen and the seats were large and comfy!  After the movie, it was off to the next theater which was located in Emirates Mall.  This movie was called Ilo Ilo.  The story was of a Filipino nanny and her relationship with the boy she watched and the family she lived with.  It was very good.  The last movie on the list was one of my favorites.  The movie is called August and had a wonderful cast including Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts.  This was a play that had been turned into a film.  It was AMAZING!  Such a real story with real emotions about a Midwest family in the 90's.  I won't go into much more detail, but when it hits theaters, I see Oscar written all over it!  
12/8
No fog this morning :(.  To offset the fact that there was no fog, I only had 7 kids!  They were so fun to teach because they received lots of one on one attention from me which they crave! The day was great, the meeting after school, not so much.  I am getting really irritated having to sit through meetings that are courses I took in college and also are basic common sense.  Anyway, enjoy the pictures!

And the road is gone!

The building across from me is gone

Tickets to the Dubai International Film Festival

Surprise video chat with my brother!

Being weird with my sister

The directors of Frozen

Advent calendar and two coloring books sent to my Goddaughter via my parents!

 

Just Commit Already!

11/28
Well, today is Thanksgiving, although you would never know it here.  Of course they don't celebrate it, but still I guess I was thinking it would feel a little more like a holiday than it did.  School was canceled today for the American holiday.............JUST KIDDING!  It was actually canceled at 9:30 Wednesday night after Dubai won the bid to host the World Expo in 2020.  Yes, you read that correct, in the year 2020, but we celebrated with a day off today!  I headed to the city relatively early where I went to the mall with Casey and we came back to her apartment where Rebecca joined us.  We headed down to the BBQ pit area of her building where we and about 10 others joined in our very own Thanksgiving celebration.  We had so much GOOD AMERICAN Thanksgiving food, I had 2 plates full, and never the same food on each plate!  Rebecca made an awesome sign for us to hold for a picture to send home.  We sat and talked as the night got later, our conversation got more and more "silly".  I was able to make an appearance in Rebecca's video chat to see her mom and dad, that was fun!  Being so stuffed, it was hard to fall asleep, but it was all worth it. 
11/29
Dubai bound!  This morning we awoke relatively early to hit the open and dead road (everyone sleeps in here) for Dubai.  This was Casey's first time, so we took her to the Dubai Mall.  We shopped until we dropped.  We paused for lunch with my friend Krista who is teaching in Dubai, and Alex joined us for lunch and some shopping as well.  We made our way back to the city where we headed to an Asian influenced restaurant.  It was delicious!  Oh, I forgot to mention the best part of this day, we were in a grocery store in town and I just happened to look up from where Casey was grabbing something and I found LIGHTHOUSE RANCH!  I have been going crazy because the ranch they have in this country sucks!  I flipped out, grabbed a bag of pretzels and opened it in the car on the way back to Casey's apartment, I couldn't wait! 
11/30
This morning we headed to my favorite place on earth here, Jones the Grocer (I can't get enough of this place, probably because it was the first place I ever ate in this country, so it holds a special place in my heart).  After brunch, we headed to another mall to shop until we dropped again.  We came back to Casey's where we got ready to head to the Grand Mosque.  I have never seen anything as spectacular as the Grand Mosque.  We did a tour with a tour guide.  He told us all about the Mosque which was very interesting.  The late Sheikh is buried on site, however you are not allowed to photograph the building he is buried in .  We were there for the evening call to prayer and found out that it is not a recording that is played in over 3,000 mosques in the city, however it is a man who sings the call to prayer each day from behind the wall we were standing in front of.  I thought that was awesome!  We looked at a wall with 99 different names of Allah.  The carpet inside the mosque was hand woven by women from Pakistan and done in 9 different pieces and brought to the mosque to be put together.  It is the largest piece of carpet in the world.  I was lucky enough to be at the mosque during the day light and night time.  It truly is a beautiful place and the people are so welcoming in letting you enter.  After the mosque, we headed to Yas Island for a Mexican Fiesta Buffet.  Yes, you read that right, I have been craving Mexican food since I arrived and we found the mother load of Mexican buffets.  They had delicious food, treats, drinks, and dancing.  We headed back to Casey's after dinner and cheered on Rebecca's school as they played their rivals.  They won, so Rebecca was thrilled!
12/1
This morning, we got ready to head to the Central Souk where we had breakfast at Shakespeare and Co.  I had a delicious mix of eggs and salmon atop an English muffin and a delicious coffee.  This restaurant is adorable and eclectic, I loved it.  Rebecca and I headed home after we returned to Casey's place.  After taking a well deserved nap, we ventured out to the grocery store with Alex and then back home.  Rebecca and I watched a movie (Jobs, don't recommend it) and then I headed back to my place where I slept like a baby.
12/2
National Day!  Today, there were lots of cars driving up and down the main drag spraying silly sting while hanging out of their car windows, revving their engines and pealing out, and celebrating all that is their amazing country.  The amount of pride and love they have for their country is truly awesome and infectious!  Rebecca and I had a Christmas movie marathon, ok not a marathon, but we watched two Christmas movies.  We watched Elf and Polar Express.
12/3
4 kids.......yup, I had just 4 kids today!  I teamed up with another teacher and we taught both classes the letter F and had them make frogs.  It was kind of a pointless day, we shall see how many show up tomorrow, I'm hoping the same amount.  Enjoy the pics!

These guys were so darn happy to be holding this and proud as well!

Thanksgiving!

Prayer clock

Mexican Buffet

99 names for Allah

Fresh shrimp from the Fish Market by my house

Tour Guide

Shakespeare and Co.

Rain and Wind and Flooding, Oh My!

Wednesday 11/20
Well, today it was supposedly back to normal at school.  It was difficult for the kids to get back into the regular routine as well as the teachers.  I had forgotten what my regular schedule even was!  I can't remember anything in particular that happened today.
Thursday 11/21
Well, this morning I was just going about my normal morning routine, stopped to get gas and then went inside the gas station to get some coffee and water.  Good thing I did, I received a message from my HoF telling me that Mirfa (the town I work in) was flooded because it has a torrential downpour!  I had no clue any of this was happening, all I noticed in MZ was that it was super dark.  I also received a text from another teacher who was about 20 mins away from school and decided to turn around and come home because she couldn't see 5 feet in front of her!  Long story short, when it rains here it's a HUGE deal and therefore schools closed and kids went home early.  I had some breakfast and decided I was still going to head into the city to stay with Casey for the weekend.  I must have made it between storms, because once I arrived at my destination it down poured again.  This country is not built to handle rain whatsoever!  People on the highway were driving VERY cautiously which was a relief to me.  Once I arrived, Casey was shortly behind me and we took off to run a couple of errands.  I managed to get my driver's license and Emirates ID.  When I walked into the driver's license place, I strangely heard someone call my name.  The thoughts going through my head at the time were 1) no one knows me here 2) they can't be calling me 3)I'll just ignore it.  Well it turned out to be some I knew, obviously.  It was Brandon and Alex, they had managed to make it between storms as well.  Casey and I went to dinner with a few of the people that we were in the hotel with when we arrived.  It was great seeing everyone again, I felt like it had been so long since I had seen everyone.
Friday 11/22
This morning, Casey and I met Melissa and Rebecca at a cafe close to her house called La Brioche.  i have wanted to go to this place for quite a while now.  The weather had stopped having a tantrum long enough for us to sit outside and have a wonderful brunch.  I had eggs Benedict (my new obsession) which was great.  We sat and chatted about various things, just normal girl talk.  After breakfast, we made our way to the central souk to do some shopping.  This place is beautiful, the architecture is amazing, it looks like you're outside but obviously you are on the inside.  We also made our way "home" aka Al Whada Mall.  This is the mall right next to the hotel we were all put in when we arrived.  Walking through this mall made me feel at home on the other side of the world.  We also went to Jone's the Grocer for dinner, YUMMMM.  I had their pumpkin saffron soup which was amazing.  I can't get enough of this restaurant and I get something different every time I go.
Saturday 11/23
When we woke up in the morning, we tried, but failed to see if any place would deliver coffee and some sort of breakfast.  However because of the location of her apartment, we had no luck.  We quickly made ourselves presentable to the public eye and made our way to Starbucks.  The pastries at Starbucks are larger than life!  They also have square, yes you read that right, square doughnuts.  I left with a turkey and cheese croissant and a toffee nut latte (they have select holiday flavors and last year's red cups).  We had plans to have dinner with the head of our recruiter (Footprints) at 3:30 with other fellow Footprinters.  In the mean time, we wanted to make a quick stop at the mall, key word quick.  It would have been quick if we hadn't missed a turn.  However if we hadn't missed the turn, we would not have seen the coolest National Day car ever!  While getting lost going to the mall, Casey decided to drive like a local, we went up and over a curb because we were going the wrong way, stopped in the middle of the road to see where we needed to go, and honked a few times at drivers who weren't driving properly (you know, because we were driving perfect!).
Dinner with our recruiter was really great.  It really pays to go with a small recruiter, they are much more personal (obviously, they came to the city to do interviews and wanted to get everyone together), and it was great to see Bob who I met at my in person interview and Alison whom I had corresponded with during the summer while submitting documents.  They were kind enough to pay for our amazing dinner as well.  I made my way back to MZ to discover that National Day had thrown up on MZ.  All the lights we drive past every day and night were finally turned on and it looked like Christmas!
Sunday 11/24
School went well, our after school training/meeting was boring....
Monday 11/25
Well, today was ok.  I was told that when it comes closer to National Day, the kids stop showing up.  NOT the case for my class, I guess it's good that they like to come to school, but come on give us a break! ;).  Anyway, it was a good day.  I am teaching them Enter and Exit for the letter E.  I demonstrated my exiting the classroom and entering the classroom and they thought that was the greatest thing ever!  From that day on, they can't wait to show me enter and exit.  After school I was invited with a few other teachers over to the school Nurse's house for food.  HOLY CRAP was it delicious!  We sat on the floor and ate.  We had a delicous spread of veggies, chicken, and a noodle with meat dish.  We sat and conversed for 3 hours.  It was great to get to know her better.  We also had the honor of meeting her daughters and husband.  They were all so excited to have us in their home and to share their food with us.  Even though I didn't get home until late, it was so fun.
Tuesday 11/26
Today was an ok day of teaching, for some reason while they eat breakfast, they turn wild.  They also don't listen either.  Ugh!  Anyway, I made my way home to find out that one of the teacher apartments in the villas had been on fire (electrical strip caught fire) and when the teacher got home he opened the door and smoke billowed out!  Rebecca and I went into the apartment and saw every single room was covered in black soot!  I feel so bad for this teacher, he has only been in his villa for 11 days, he is from my same recruiter and was one of the last ones to get his visa and ticket to come here!  He is remarkably positive and kept saying that the things that were burned are just things.  ADEC is going to help him and hopefully give him another housing allowance.  There is another villa open that he is going to move into, and hopefully they put him up into a hotel for a week until he can figure out furniture.  
Wednesday 11/27
Well, today looked as if it would be a normal day, however I quickly realized that in fact it was not.  My co-teacher was trying her best to talk to me yesterday about something and I think she was trying to be kind enough to warn me that she wouldn't be at school for the second half of our day.  I didn't realize this until today when she told me goodbye and she had her purse with her.  What happened was they took the kids that did performances for National Day around to different places in town to perform again.  After I realized this I was fine.  However for breakfast this morning, my busy bee was super excited that she had brought a doughnut and then quickly crushed when I told her she could not eat it because it contains too much sugar and that was the last thing she needed.  She listened to me and was fine with not eating it until my co-teacher showed up and she explained that I said she couldn't have it.  Amany looked at me and asked why I told her she couldn't have it and I explained it was too much sugar and that the little girl would be bouncing off the walls.  She said she would be fine, I said that was fine as long as she realized she would be off the wall.  Well, of course she didn't care if she had it or not, she was LEAVING!  So, the rest of the day with her was very difficult, but she doesn't do things to be naughty whatsoever, she is just so active, inquisitive, busy, it just enhanced everything.  We spent the afternoon in another teacher's classroom since our lessons had been taught, watching a video on the 7 emirates which was awesome.  When the video made it to Abu Dhabi, my busy bee yelled Ferrari as the camera flew over Ferrari World.  It was the funniest thing I had heard all day, they certainly know their expensive cars here!  Not really though, it is just a large indoor amusement park that I am sure they have been to or want to go to.
Later that evening, Rebecca and I went over to the boys villa to play some trivia.  Well, my team lost, but we managed to keep the record for the fastest buzz in for the answers we did know!  We were all glued to the newspaper sites here to see if Dubai would win the bid to host the 2020 World Expo.  They did win and it was only a matter of time before everyone passed around a message from the Sheik saying school was canceled to celebrate!  This is how this country rolls and it is one thing I will never complain about!  This weekend is going to be insane in the city with celebrations for winning the bid and National Day!  I am so excited to see how this country celebrates their existence as a country, the cars have been amazingly decorated and I can't wait to see more!
Enjoy the pics!

Car decorations on the way to school

Footprints dinner

My kids reading!

Rain and flooding

BEST decoration on a car ever!

Dinner at the school nurses house, they eat on the floor, so cool!

My new best friend!  Yes, that is a light up camel!

Our school nurse, her kids, and the teachers at my school

School nurses kids

My National Day Abaya

You Just Gotta Go With the Flow........

Sunday 11/17
Well, today started out normal as normal can be.  I was told by our translator that some of the kids and ALL the KG2 teachers would be going to the Wedding Hall in town to practice for National Day at about 9.  Not a problem, however I didn't know that they would be practicing from 8:15-9 at the school.  So, since my co-teacher wasn't there, I took my leftover kids and started teaching them English.  Well, that was cut short!  I took my kids into another KG2 classroom to sing our flag song that we made up for the principal.  Keep in mind these KG2 kids are 4 years old, what 4 year old do you know that doesn't need prompting on a song they are going to be signing in front of everyone?!?! 
Apparently our principal wanted JUST the kids to sing, that wasn't going to happen because like I said, they are 4 AND they are just learning English!  Needless to say, the principal left and was upset with what we had been working so hard with our kids on.  Then, come 9, over half the school left!  No Arabic teachers, no principal, the bus moms were no where to be found, just the English teachers, cleaners and the leftover kids.  We had a nice breakfast (I had about 10 kids), and played with the other KG2 classes, just trying to pass the time until it was time to go.  If we had been told all of this was happening before hand, I could have brought stuff for my kids to do (I want to teach them to do the Cha Cha Slide).  We piled into another KG2 teacher's class and watched some Pink Panther cartoons until it was time to go home.  
While sitting in the classroom with the kids, another teacher who teaches KG1 came by with a student who is a known wander.  This doesn't seem abnormal that she had him, however the look of panic on her face and the fact that he had his pants and underwear in his hands were not so normal.  She was looking for one of the bus moms to help her with him, they were nowhere to be found, so I stepped in.  Perhaps it is wrong, but I treat my students like I would if they were my own kids.  I felt embarrassed for him, even though he had a smile on his face and didn't seem to mind.  I asked her what had happened and all she knew is he asked to go to the bathroom and came out in his current state.  She thought his pants and underwear were wet, they in fact weren't, however his socks were (he had taken his shoes off too).  I started to dress him, taking his socks off and putting his shoes back on him.  He was smiley the whole time and Nina was so grateful for my help.  I know for a fact THAT is not written into my contract here!  
After school was over, we had to hang around until 2 even though we didn't have a meeting.  The drive home was stressful, a mini sandstorm was in full effect.  By the time I got home, my upper back was sore from gripping the wheel so hard.  Luckily I knew how to drive in strong winds due to driving back and forth from WA to MT for 4.5 years.  I have experienced strong winds, blizzards, torrential downpours, and blinding sunshine.  
Monday 11/18
Today we had some knowledge of the fact that we were going to go to the Wedding Hall for some soft of practice for National Day.  The leftover kids weren't invited to be there which absolutely broke my heart, but we couldn't do anything about it.  They also apparently wanted us all to wear Abayas, well if I had been told about this, I would have purchased one, but we thought we were celebrating National Day next week, so the one I ordered won't be finished until Thursday.  So we were in charge of watching the leftover kids until the buses came back to take them home and then we were supposed to head to the Wedding Hall.  When we arrived at the Wedding Hall, I about died, I turned the corner and standing by the doors were 3 CAMELS!  I freaked out and happened to be standing by my principal who explained that this was only for KG and that she made this happen.  I was almost paralyzed with excitement!  There were also about 4 beautiful horses whose riders were dressed in traditional Kandoras and were carrying the UAE flags.  I went over to the camels and asked the handlers if I could get a picture with them and he made them lay down on the ground.  I pet them for a bit, I wanted to give them a hug, but they aren't the cleanest animals and I was wearing a nice dress, so I didn't want to get it dirty.  When we entered the hall, there were different tables that represented different things associated with their culture.  There were food tables, Henna, and clothing just to name a few.  We walked around and looked at different things and then everyone made their way outside.  We were standing outside for a while, not knowing what was going on and getting sanded because it was so windy!  All of a sudden, about 4 white SUVs pulled up and several men dressed in Kandoras and some in suits emerged from the vehicles.  They greeted the other men that were there while the kids were prompted to sing the National Anthem of the UAE.  While the men were greeting one another I noticed in the distance another man emerging from an SUV with a FALCON!  The falcon is a national symbol here and I had yet to see one!  I of course freaked out and pointed it out to everyone around me.  We all made our way back into the hall where we were instructed to babysit the kids in the back until they were ready to preform.  I am sorry but this seriously irritated me, I wanted to see what their culture was all about and was being stopped from doing so because they needed someone to watch the kids.  What I did see was beautiful!  The KG2 girls preformed the traditional bride dance, they dressed one of the girls as a bride and the rest did a dance around her, it was beautiful!  I also was able to witness someone very important come into the hall.  As he did so, all the men in the front row stood up and did the traditional nose touch as a sign of respect.  The men touch noses to greet each other as a sign of major respect.  I had never seen this before, but was aware that they do it.  It was very cool to see!  The man sat down and enjoyed the show, we figured out he was a son of one of the Sheikh's sons, but we aren't sure.  Whoever he was, he was majorly important.  After the performances, we were able to leave and go home where I crashed hard for about 5 hours!  
I guess you could say I was stressed from not knowing what was going on and that in turn made me exhausted.  I had the most delicious dinner at Rebecca's.  She cooked salmon in the crock pot (a recipe I gave her).  We had rice and asparagus with it and it was delicious.  We topped off our dinner with the latest episodes of Scandal(amazing show!).
Tuesday 11/19
Well, we knew that today we would be doing the same thing we did yesterday, only this time we would be performing for the mothers.  I loved seeing all of the moms because I like to see how different their Abayas are and it gives me an idea of the kind I want to get.  The performances went very well today, and the leftover kids were able to attend and watch!!  We were also able to leave early as long as we clocked out at the school.  I came home and crashed again.  I was able to chat with Windy and Dylan today also!  Miss everyone back home!  Enjoy the pictures!

Sandstorm

This little doll runs up to me every morning and wraps her arms around me and says "Teacher!"

Our school nurse, she's great!

Beautiful falcon!

The bride, isn't she beautiful!?

All the important men that came, the one with the red head scarf was the really important one