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.