Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Sunday, June 14, 2009
New Word
We've learned many new words since we've been here. One of my favorites is "shway, shway," Arabic (approximately) meaning "little by little." I actually got a laugh from one of the higher ups at the ministry of foreign affairs when I said it to him on the phone. We were having a bit of difficulty communicating and it made him laugh-definitely lightened the situation.
Our favorite new word is from the little Asian girls that work everywhere. Every time they see us they say "hello, ma'am sir" or "welcome, ma'am sir." It is always said as one word and is obviously a form of respectful address. It's just funny!
Our favorite new word is from the little Asian girls that work everywhere. Every time they see us they say "hello, ma'am sir" or "welcome, ma'am sir." It is always said as one word and is obviously a form of respectful address. It's just funny!
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Hot
Well the temp is 42 degree celsius (108 fahrenheit). I suppose that would be considered HOT.
I really worried about how we would adjust to the temp, but so far I think we are doing really great!! It's 108 in Jun and we still get out a little in the evening-without melting. One of the locals walked to the parking lot with us yesterday and said that "we have two seasons: summer and hell." One, I couldn't believe he used a curse word and two, I can believe I'm still surviving the heat!
I must admit that we do work indoors and I make sure that I go inside in the morning and out only in late afternoon. I never said I was capable of outdoor activity in this heat, because I surely am not.
Yes, I now know what they mean by "but its low humidity." It is 53% humidity and it really "feels like" about 95 F back home. So while YES it is very hot, we are surviving.
I wonder what the situation will be in August.
I really worried about how we would adjust to the temp, but so far I think we are doing really great!! It's 108 in Jun and we still get out a little in the evening-without melting. One of the locals walked to the parking lot with us yesterday and said that "we have two seasons: summer and hell." One, I couldn't believe he used a curse word and two, I can believe I'm still surviving the heat!
I must admit that we do work indoors and I make sure that I go inside in the morning and out only in late afternoon. I never said I was capable of outdoor activity in this heat, because I surely am not.
Yes, I now know what they mean by "but its low humidity." It is 53% humidity and it really "feels like" about 95 F back home. So while YES it is very hot, we are surviving.
I wonder what the situation will be in August.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Roadtrip
It is Memorial Day for us Americans, but just a regular workday for the rest of the UAE, so we decided to take our very first UAE Roadtrip. So with map in hand, Friday morning we left Abu Dhabi for the Northern Emirates.
We really did not know very much about it, just what we heard from locals and a few who've been before us. Some friends told us to go to Sharjah. We hoped it would be a small town-quaint and perhaps a truer example of older traditional Emirati culture. It was very nice and a bit different, but it is really a suburb of Dubai.
In Sharjah we went to the Qanat Al Qasba (Kazbah) where we saw the Eye of the Emirates (big ferris wheel) and took a dhow boat out at sunset. It was very beautiful and very nice outside (after dark). We also went to the the Blue Souk, where hundreds of little shops (about 20x10) sell gold, jewelry, clothing and electronics.
It was all very interesting, but we are not big shoppers. There's really not a lot of things we need. And I really wanted to see some mountains! Up until this point we really had not gone outside the major cities, but we decided to go to the Eastern coast, to the emirate of Fujairah. The map showed well developed roads which turned out to be marked very well also.
We did cross mountains; barren, craggy and rocky. The landscape looked so harsh, but still beautiful. I've never seen mountains like that-perfect for goats, which we saw several of. Soon though we were right on the beach. We drove up the coastline with the ocean on one side and mountains on the other. It was all beautiful and surreal.
We knew there were several resorts there and we found a great one-the Rotana (see the mountains behind the resort). Our stay there was almighty refreshing! Finn Sisu surprised me when he told me we were swimming in the Indian Ocean! I had no idea.
Click for picture: The mountains go right into the sea.
We really did not know very much about it, just what we heard from locals and a few who've been before us. Some friends told us to go to Sharjah. We hoped it would be a small town-quaint and perhaps a truer example of older traditional Emirati culture. It was very nice and a bit different, but it is really a suburb of Dubai.
In Sharjah we went to the Qanat Al Qasba (Kazbah) where we saw the Eye of the Emirates (big ferris wheel) and took a dhow boat out at sunset. It was very beautiful and very nice outside (after dark). We also went to the the Blue Souk, where hundreds of little shops (about 20x10) sell gold, jewelry, clothing and electronics.
It was all very interesting, but we are not big shoppers. There's really not a lot of things we need. And I really wanted to see some mountains! Up until this point we really had not gone outside the major cities, but we decided to go to the Eastern coast, to the emirate of Fujairah. The map showed well developed roads which turned out to be marked very well also.
We did cross mountains; barren, craggy and rocky. The landscape looked so harsh, but still beautiful. I've never seen mountains like that-perfect for goats, which we saw several of. Soon though we were right on the beach. We drove up the coastline with the ocean on one side and mountains on the other. It was all beautiful and surreal.
We knew there were several resorts there and we found a great one-the Rotana (see the mountains behind the resort). Our stay there was almighty refreshing! Finn Sisu surprised me when he told me we were swimming in the Indian Ocean! I had no idea.
Click for picture: The mountains go right into the sea.
Monday, May 4, 2009
A Helping Maid
We have finally gotten our home into some semblance of proper order. Most things have a place and the beds are finally made (just in case you want to come visit). But doing all of that plus cleaning in this very dusty place is just too much. I broke down and did something I said I would not do-I hired a maid (sort of).
We really don't want a full time maid but some help was desperately needed, and much appreciated. I offered a friend's maid a sum of money to come dust, vaccuum, mop and clean bathrooms. She is very shy, so our friend came too and we turned it into an adventure. Maid Tig is very interested in learning about other cultures, especially culinary traditions. So she took a little time out to watch me (and participate) in making traditional Southern dishes: meatloaf and potatoes au gratin.
I fixed iced tea, which is not the norm here, and we had strawberry shortcake for dessert. Miss Tig loved it all. My friend said she wanted to go to the grocery as soon as they left to get all the ingredients to do it all again. She doesn't speak a lot of English so I showed her everything, and demonstrated how to do it all.
She is amazed by Americans, she thinks we are all so very kind and generous. I'd like to believe that most of us are, and hope she never discovers otherwise. I know that my friend treats her well. You do what you can, where you can.
We really don't want a full time maid but some help was desperately needed, and much appreciated. I offered a friend's maid a sum of money to come dust, vaccuum, mop and clean bathrooms. She is very shy, so our friend came too and we turned it into an adventure. Maid Tig is very interested in learning about other cultures, especially culinary traditions. So she took a little time out to watch me (and participate) in making traditional Southern dishes: meatloaf and potatoes au gratin.
I fixed iced tea, which is not the norm here, and we had strawberry shortcake for dessert. Miss Tig loved it all. My friend said she wanted to go to the grocery as soon as they left to get all the ingredients to do it all again. She doesn't speak a lot of English so I showed her everything, and demonstrated how to do it all.
She is amazed by Americans, she thinks we are all so very kind and generous. I'd like to believe that most of us are, and hope she never discovers otherwise. I know that my friend treats her well. You do what you can, where you can.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Wild Wadi
We decided to take advantage of being so close to Dubai and went to the water park at the Burj Al Arab - Wild Wadi.We invited several friends and stayed all day long! As with many things in the Emirates, and Dubai in particular, it was over the top. We reserved a private cabana (an area of 600-800 sq ft). There were loungers, fresh towels, lots of shade and a table and chairs, and we had our own "attendant" who brought us fresh fruit skewers, coconut lolly-pops and anything off the menu.
Our cabana also afforded us private entry onto the lazy river (pictured) which also offered easy access to, umm, the slides. I say that because you ride a slide with jets UP hill to get to the slides that you ride DOWN hill.
We stayed all day long, until after sunset. The Burj after sunset is absolutely gorgeous (see the link above). We were totally exhausted the next day. It was lots of fun.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Laughing Out Loud
We just opened a package that came today and had an absolute riot laughing at the contents. There was a Gumby, a Pokey, a clothespin, a used scrubbing sponge, a straw, 4 toothpicks, kitchen sink nozzle and a medicine cup, among other things. How utterly hilarious!!
I asked my sis-in-law to purchase a few items and ship them to us-I did not expect all of this. I should have known better. During Hallowe'en the adult children stay at home and Mom goes "trick-or-treating" to all our homes. Usually we are last and by the time Mom gets to us the others have taken all the good candy from her bag and left us with rubber bands, rusty nails, dirty pennies and dryer lint (really!).
Love you guys! Thanks for the cards and all the goodies!!
I asked my sis-in-law to purchase a few items and ship them to us-I did not expect all of this. I should have known better. During Hallowe'en the adult children stay at home and Mom goes "trick-or-treating" to all our homes. Usually we are last and by the time Mom gets to us the others have taken all the good candy from her bag and left us with rubber bands, rusty nails, dirty pennies and dryer lint (really!).
Love you guys! Thanks for the cards and all the goodies!!
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