Thanksgiving....

Thanksgiving is an American holiday. And, if you ever live outside of the US over Thanksgiving, you will understand what I mean when I say... it takes a lot of preparation to recreate the holiday somewhere else.

I started my Thanksgiving preparations a full 2 months ago.

It all started when I spotted a can of pumpkin pack on the bottom shelf in some remote grocery store. Now, you might think Libby's pumpkin pack is no big deal... and, at home, you might or might not pause to consider buying such a thing in September... But, if you live overseas, you will snatch that can up (actually, every single one of said cans) while looking around to make sure no one else is watching. You will then shove those cans in the bottom of your cart being extra careful to cover them so you are not stopped by any other expat wanting to ask where you found it (b/c then you'd have to admit to wiping out the current stock... and maybe even guilted into sharing).

Oh yes... you may not find a single thing on your list for dinner that night in the WHOLE store, but you walk around with this secret little smile because you KNOW you've got the beginnings of pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving already IN YOUR POSSESSION!

And this happens over and over again all through the year, with whatever crazy-to-find item you know you will need for whatever upcoming holidays we have.

But back to THIS Thanksgiving.... I've been collecting items for weeks. Pumpkin pack, canned yams, lime green jello (this was especially hard), cool whip (in the end, my friend, Kristi, scored some from a LuLu's in Mushrif Mall and shared... sweet girl)... Yeah, it becomes this kind of hide and seek game. And you would have thought we were the victors of the Hunger Games each and every time we found an item! Seriously, it gets nuts! This year, we never did find stuffing mix.... which is why Kristi was busy making her own version from scratch late Thursday night.... but I digress....

We had to wait to celebrate until our Friday. First of all, we didn't have the day off (much less the week prior) to prepare. In fact, we had school and work on the Thursday that was the date of America's Thanksgiving. Plus, how can you have Thanksgiving without watching the Macy's Day Parade while cooking?... or have the big football game to watch during the food-induced coma before desserts? The UAE is 10 hours ahead of Texas.... 9 hours ahead of New York (we don't do daylight savings time here). The parade wouldn't start until 7 PM our time... and the Cowboys didn't have kickoff until 2 AM for us! Yikes!!! Even with a late... REALLY late... dinner, it wasn't really a good scenario.

Nope, better to wait until Friday... stay off Facebook.... and enjoy the festivities a calendar day behind.

So, that's what we did.

We made plans with the Shipman family who also live in our apartment complex AND are from the same town as us in Texas.... to do Thanksgiving together on Friday. We split up the menu, decided whose flat we'd use (ie, who actually had the ability to record and replay the all important football game), and started collecting (um, hoarding) food items.

I think we did pretty good.

The menu would have turkey and ham. Rolls, green bean casserole, carrots, mac-n-cheese, sweet potato casserole, corn casserole, mashed potatoes, fruit salad, and stuffing. For dessert, we planned to have pumpkin pies (3 of them), chocolate pie, and apple pie.

We found a turkey (only 12 pounds, but whatever) at Abela's grocery store. I had to go into the secret pork room for a ham, but they didn't have anything with a "bone in".  No Honey-Baked here... no spiral cut... nope. We ended up paying I-don't-want-to-tell-you-how-much for a deli ham. You know, the ones you find in the deli counter where they sell it by the pound (well... kilo, here) sliced for sandwiches?

Yeah, that's the one. They sell it by the kilo. I don't want to talk about it.....

Kristi and I actually had TWO meetings over lunch & tea just to discuss the plan of attack. Seriously, we spent over 2 weeks just looking for paper goods, pots & pans, basters, knives, and decoration supplies. Neither of us brought our traditional Thanksgiving recipes (what WERE we thinking?!) from home, so we both e-mailed friends and family for the "must haves"... the Grandma's famous rolls.... the aunt's lime green jello salad... it just wouldn't be Thanksgiving without them! We could wing it for some things, but others we had to rely on technology to help us. Thank goodness for e-mail, Facebook, and the internet!

I started cooking on Wednesday making pies. I had some problems...

I hate my oven. I mean H A T E !  It's not stable. I have an oven thermometer hanging inside so I can see what the real temperature is because you cannot trust the dial.  Heck, even when the oven warms up to some temperature.. not the one you set, usually... it still fluctuates up to 10 degrees either way during cooking! You just can't trust it. What I didn't realize is that it also has "hot spots"....

So here I am, on Wednesday night screaming at my oven door like some people scream at the referees on TV!  I put three beautiful pumpkin pies in the oven at the same time and started watching the thermometer to "babysit" and make adjustments as necessary. Here's the result.

Those two in the back are NOT chocolate. The damn pies burnt in my oven because of hot spots! Even after rotating them around and moving them ALL to the bottom rack, there was no saving two of the pies. They tasted fine, but looked terrible. Grrrrrr.... all that pumpkin pack gone to waste! Oh, the inhumanity of it all!!!!

I decided to just go to bed and try again tomorrow....

So finally, the day arrived. Thanksgiving Day!

Thanksgiving Day (Thursday) was set aside for making (more) pies and cold salads. Of course, Lindsey had to work the full day and the kids had school. I actually got called to work at the school as a 5th grade teacher, so my morning of pie making had to be moved to the the afternoon.

Plus, Lindsey's co-workers had invited us to a BBQ buffet at the Eastern Mangroves Hotel. It was rumored that turkey would be served (an oddity, for the UAE) as the buffet was being advertised as a "Thanksgiving BBQ". Hmmmmm, I'm intrigued.....

Since neither Lindsey, nor I, have ever been to one of the buffets so famous and popular by the people of the UAE, we were curious and decided to attend.  We weren't disappointed.

Apparently, the hotel puts out this spread every Thursday night around the pool overlooking the Abu Dhabi skyline. The "Thanksgiving" part was the token roasted turkey at one of the stations. But the regular spread includes everything from grilled meats to seafood (hot and cold) to fresh fruits to warm and cold sides to desserts.

Two ice sculptures held the largest selection of cold sea food: mussels, escargot, king crab, oysters on the half shell, shrimp... and more....

There was a sushi station, a soup station, a roasted meat station, fresh breads, salads, fruits....

The salmon came straight off the fire....

There was so much I didn't even sample... a whole Arabic *& Indian foods section... I can't even describe it. It's a four hour dinner event. You need all four hours if you want to sample even just a spoonful of each.... I didn't even try. But I can say that their turkey both looked and tasted fantastic. Well done, Eastern Mangroves... well done!!!

We came home late and I got up early to start my portion of the menu. The pies were all done, so I sent the kids over to deliver them to the Shipman's...

We borrowed the wagon & this is the result. I laugh that the pies got an armed escort... they WERE the coveted pumpkin, after all....!

... & let's not forget Doris' lime green jello salad! That stuff needs to be under lock & key! Yum!

We used that same wagon to transport all the hot dishes packed in towels (to keep them warm). It was a challenge to keep the kids (and the dads) out of the dishes while we completed the last of the preparations at Kristi's flat.

Finally, we said the prayer and the adults got to go first in line! The kids screamed "UNFAIR!" while waiting in line for their turn....

I think we did good.... It sure smelled good and tasted better! Kristi even found cranberry sauce in the can! Bless her little-southern heart!!!

After the food, the kids went down to the beach to play a little local football while we watched a very disappointing Cowboys game. We started the San Francisco game thinking it might cheer us up when the internet went out. The local internet provider, Etisalat, was down... again. Basically, it held long enough to watch the Cowboys and that was it! We were all thankful for that, at least.

In the end, we had a great Thanksgiving. The day was beautiful, the friendships warm, the food delicious, the dessert tasty, and the kids happy. It might have been a bit unconventional, but it's the message and sentiment behind the activity that really counts.

We are soooo thankful for all our many blessings.

So, now it's the day after, the day after... Lindsey is already back at work, the kids are doing homework, I'm running my dishwasher cycle again (3 hours each time) and washing a huge pile of towels and laundry (the spin cycle sounds like a jet engine ready for take off in there), I am once again reminded that the real blessings aren't found in wealth and position... or material belongings... not even in pumpkin pie or fudge....

The real blessings are those that we seat around us at our Thanksgiving tables.. both literally and figuratively...

Happy Thanksgiving, Y'all!!!!

Car Shopping... and Formula 1

So, we only have the one rental car. And, I've been the chauffeur long enough. Lindsey and I were both so "over" the shared vehicle experience. It was time to get a second set of wheels.....

But what to get?

Should we just get another rental for the next year or should we actually consider buying a vehicle? Something that can hold the whole family or just a little commuter thing for Lindsey to drive? And if we buy, do we go used or new? Plus, how hard is it to have your own vehicle? Up keep, insurance, etc... how does all THAT work?

Lots of questions.... I started asking around.
Lindsey checked with our current car rental company & started checking on dubizzle...

In then end, we decided to at least go look at a few of the cars up for sale online. Maybe we would buy? We ARE here for another 12 months. What we'd pay in rental fees for another rental car would be equal or more than what we could buy a little used number for... so, why not at least look around a bit? What do we have to lose?

Plus.... Lindsey LOVES to car shop.... ug.

Turns out, buying any car... new or used... is a bit of an experience, in and of, itself.

Rumor has it that some Emirati here doesn't like the "look" of car lots. He must be pretty high up, too. The rumor is that he decided that there would be no automobile lots inside the city. He didn't like them; he didn't want them; so there are none.

Period.

You won't find a "car lot"  or "dealership" (like we'd expect in the states) anywhere INSIDE the city. They've been banished to the outskirts... in the dessert! There are businesses in the city for the major car brands: Mercedes, Ferrari, Bentley, VW, Honda, Nissan, etc, but they are more like "samples" and often only the "top of the line" car is on display... the one and only model with all the bells & whistles! There may be a few cars onsite, but most of the store is empty. And by "store" I want you to picture a little shop housed at the bottom of a high-rise building limited to 2000 square feet or less.... You are welcome, however, to order whatever you want for delivery... at a hefty fee, of course.

Some dealerships (the local BMW, for instance) does have an off-site storage area where they keep limited stock. They actually had a stand alone building (but most of it was for doing automotive repairs). The whole "store" is really more like a BMW approved auto REPAIR shop rather than a dealer.

And sometimes there is a "secret" underground storage lot that will house a limited stock.  I've heard of these underground lots, but I've never actually been to one...

So, Lindsey finally decided that our best bet would be to look online and find cars listed by dubizzle... it's actually used by both individuals AND the dealerships for listing cars!

Lindsey also decided we'd probably go with a used 2-seater. He really just wanted a little car that could take him to and from work. But, with this is mind, why not get something fun?

So, that's how we spent a weekend in both Abu Dhabi and Dubai looking at convertible Porche Boxsters.

First, we tried to see what Abu Dhabi had to offer. There were several Boxsters of various ages listed around town. We decided to see the one located in MotorWorld first.

MotorWorld is legendary in these parts.... well, at least to expats. It's kind of one of those places you go to just to check it off your "Yup, been there" list.  Here's how best to describe it. Think of sand.... lots and lots of sand... surrounded by a really tall wall... then drop 6 rows of stripmall style buildings inside. All the buildings are identical. Each building houses 11-15 independently owned used car "dealerships" (for lack of a better word). The cars are all parked (um, packed), like Tetris game pieces, in the limited space in front of each store. Some stores have a few cars inside their limited building space....

We were looking for a specific Boxster, reportedly located somewhere at MotorWorld. The online ad had pictures of the car and a phone number. The guy on the phone just said it was "on the lot" but couldn't tell us the name of the dealership! LOL!

Needle in a hay stack! Seriously!!

We saw lots of crazy things.....

But we did finally find the Boxster.... and it was in awful shape. The exterior looked great (those were the only photos online and now we knew why!), but the interior was shredded.... literally. We didn't even drive the car.

None of the other people in Abu Dhabi who we called about their cars would call us back, so we decided to go to Dubai to see a car or two listed there. Here's the ONE "touristy" shot I got for the day... The Burj Khalifa. Shot from our moving car... as we sped past it on the highway....

Turns out, the whole car shopping experience in Dubai is pretty close to our experience in Abu Dhabi.  It wasn't quite MotorWorld, but it was close!

We met the guy at a mall (big surprise) and he drove us to a dirt lot... no lie! The car was listed as being sold by a "dealership", but the guy took us to a "pay by the hour" car lot! I couldn't make this stuff up. Obviously, he was an "independent" dealership!

This was the first Boxster we were out to test drive with kids in tow, so Devin's eyes lit up when he laid eyes on it. He jumped right into the passenger seat ready for the test drive.  We had to kick him out so the salesmen could ride shotgun with Lindsey.

The car looked... okay. It definitely needed work on the ragtop and the clutch. When we asked the guy for the service records, he sorta paused. Then he claimed that we could download them from "the website".  Uh huh.... It was a very disappointing day.

In the end, we didn't do anything that weekend other than learn some of the ropes to finding used cars and how to test drive them. We also learned that some of the online descriptions were a bit... optimistic... in their wording. It would be later in the week before we could try again.

So, I was bit surprised when Lindsey called me to take him to test drive another Boxster near his work in Abu Dhabi with a day or two. Lindsey had managed to get ahold of one of the guys who never answered over the weekend. Turns out, he listed his work number on the website. He works AT the Porsche "dealership" in town. He is selling one of HIS personal cars so he can buy another one. Apparently, his wife draws the line at four.... (Men and their obsession with automobiles!)

So, I drove Lindsey to the meeting place near the Fairmont hotel, the test drive went well, the service history was perfect, the negotiations went even better, and a handshake sealed the deal. We would just need to pay in cash & the guy offered to walk us through the title, insurance, & plates part. Awesome!

I should remind you we don't have a local bank. We knew we'd need a day or two to get the money together. The guy agreed to hold the car.

So now, all we had to do was get the cash... I had noticed that Citibank has ATMs here in Abu Dhabi.  It's the ONLY bank that I recognize from the States; everything else is local to the Middle East. We have Citibank credit cards. We figured we could get a cash advance. We just weren't sure about our limits. Lindsey called the number on the back of the card, explained the situation, got confirmation & instructions, and off we headed to the downtown branch... the ONLY branch with a teller counter.  And according to the 24 hour call center, the only way to get a cash advance is via a teller at a full service bank location.

Guess what? The downtown branch can't do cash advances... No, really. It's a full bank. It's their ONLY full bank branch in Abu Dhabi... but they don't actually offer all the services.  Getting a cash advance is not provided...

What?! Only in the UAE....

After a very heated phone call with the the 24 hour call center, a rather tense discussion with the manager, and some hair pulling, we left the bank... still with no cash in hand.

As it turns out, our only option (for such a short time frame) was to go to the ATMs and pull cash. But, there is an AED/day/card limit here in the UAE. In addition to that, we ran into the somewhat baffling issue of finding ATMs that were empty! Over the course of two days, we used over 5 credit cards and 8 ATMs to pull the necessary cash. Frustrating? Absolutely! It really was pretty funny. I mean, it's laugh or cry....

So, FINALLY we had cash in hand and Lindsey called the guy to meet us. It took another 2 days to get the insurance, title, and new plates. Which is a WHOLE other experience.  Who knew, but the insurance is tied to the car. Which means when you sell the car, the insurance goes with the car. Lindsey had to have the insurance switched over from the guy's name to Lindsey's name. That took a whole day... even though the whole process is done online. THEN new plates had to be created b/c they no longer fit the UAE inspection... even though they DID pass the same inspection only one month ago.

The only thing consistent in this country is the inconsistencies....

Lindsey finally had his very own wheels... a "new to him" Porsche Boxster. It needs a good deep clean, but it runs like a dream.... just in time for the big Formula 1 weekend...

We didn't have tickets to any of the 4 days of F1 festivities, so we made our own fun...

But, we were out on a date in Lindsey's Boxster when the big fireworks display went off on the last night. We sorta felt like it was just for us... in celebration of our car buying success...

Flat Stanley Comes to Visit Abu Dhabi....

We had a visitor not too long ago. Flat Stanley!!!!

Now, for anyone not familiar with the concept of "Flat Stanley", here's the Cliff Notes version via the Wiki page:

"Stanley Lambchop and his younger brother Arthur are given a big bulletin board by their father to display pictures and posters. He hangs it on the wall over Stanley's bed. During the night the board falls from the wall, flattening Stanley in his sleep. He survives and makes the best of his altered state, and soon he is entering locked rooms by sliding under the door, and playing with his younger brother by being used as a kite. One special advantage is that Flat Stanley can now visit his friends by being mailed in an envelope. Stanley even helps catch some art museum thieves by posing as a painting on the wall. Eventually, Stanley is tired of being flat and Arthur changes him back to his proper shape with a bicycle pump."

Flat Stanley has become a literacy & geography tool in the classroom. Kids can write letters to friends & family in other cities, states, (and in our case) countries as a way to both address literacy AND learn about the world around them.

Stanley was sent to us via our friend, Milo, in Texas. Milo's letter asked that we take Stanley with us around town while we did our everyday activities. We then would write a letter back to Milo and his class telling about Stanley's visit and all about our little corner of the world. We had a great time... It's taken me forever to finally post about it because I wanted to mail a package back to Milo when we returned Stanley before I actually wrote the blog. I finally posted the "package" this week. I warn you, however, it's a long and complicated tale.... Here's the whole story starting with my letter back to Milo after Stanley's stay...

Dear Milo
We were so happy to have Stanley visit us for the past couple of weeks. We had several great adventures that I’m going to let Stanley tell you about in his own words. But before I turn this letter over to him, there’s a few things I wanted to say about Abu Dhabi and where we currently live.
Mr. Williams’ job has taken him to some very exciting places and that is the reason we are here in what is known to the rest of the world as “the Middle East”.

We are pretty far away from you right now. I’d say about half a world away! 

The UAE, or United Arab Emirates, is the little (almost) heart shaped piece of land just to the right of Saudi Arabia and above Yemen and Oman. We are a WHOLE ocean (North Atlantic Ocean) and a WHOLE continent (Africa)... plus a little more... away from Texas right now. In fact, we are 10 hours ahead of you! So, it’s possible that you are reading this and it’s already tomorrow where I am!!

The UAE is a country divided into 7 sections (the 7 emirates). Abu Dhabi is both the name of an Emirate and the name of a city. In fact, Abu Dhabi (the emirate) is the largest emirate AND Abu Dhabi (the city) happens to be the capital of the UAE. The president and ruler of the UAE is Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan and he lives in a big palace here on an island.

In Arabic culture, your name is followed by the name of your father. So, in the case of the UAE president, “Al Nahyan” is his family name, “Zayed” was his father’s first name, and his name is “Khalifa”... the “bin” part kind of means “of”. Following this pattern, your name would be: Milo of Tom Nynas. Cool, huh! (I bet your dad thinks so!!)

Anyways, enough about geography... I’m going to let Stanley tell you all about his adventures with us. He’s been a great houseguest and travel companion. We are emailing this letter to you so you’ll have it time for your class presentation, but I’ll be placing a copy with Stanley and also mailing it back to you. The mail is just so slow here that I wanted you to have it in time. Be looking for Stanley soon... He’s bringing some of his own souvenirs with him.

Lots of love, Pamela Williams

... now... here's Stanley's letter, written himself....

Dear Milo...
Stanley here, and boy am I excited to tell you about the UAE. I’ve had some great adventures in my stay here. Thank you SO much for sending me to the Williams’ apartment.
Hey, did I tell you they live in an apartment? ... ON THE BEACH! Yeah, it’s pretty cool. I’ll show you the beach pictures later.

When I first arrived, the Williams’ children (Devin, Madeline, & Olivia) had to go to school. They have school Sunday through Thursday! It’s kinda weird getting used to getting up for school on a Sunday, but we did okay.

They ride a big bus to school. It’s yellow, but different than the one your school uses. It looks more like one of the buses you ride in to go from city to city. You know, a big city bus?! But this one is still yellow... REALLY BIG & yellow...

Oh, and they have to wear uniforms to school! Every day! They said they didn’t really like them at first, but now it’s fine. I guess when everyone at school is also wearing a uniform, you just get used to it... especially the tie. And, since I was wearing a tie, I decided to go to school with them. I mean, I was almost in the same uniform.. button down collared shirt (just red instead of blue), blue trousers, and a tie!!! Yippie! Off we go!

They attend an American school in Abu Dhabi called Gems American Academy.
It’s a really big building and you can look it up online if you want to see more about it. It’s a private school, which means that everyone has to pay to go to the school. In fact, all the schools in the UAE are private. No one gets to go to school just because they are old enough to go.... Their moms and dads have to fill out an application and pay fees for each student. The Williams’ school takes kids from preschool to high school all in the same building! 

They have students from over 60 different countries that all attend this school. It was pretty amazing to see everyone. I got to sit through a Chemistry class and the kids were as interested in me as I was about them. One of the kids even wrote my name in Arabic for me! I had a great time! 

But, school is school, you know....

And pretty soon, the day was over. The Williams’ kids have a pretty similar school day to the kids back home. They start the day with a national anthem, go to classes, have lunch, go to more classes, have recess & PE... then go home or have after-school activities. Devin plays soccer with a local team (but not for the school), and Madeline & Olivia are taking golf lessons. Pretty typical stuff.....

So, on Monday, when Mrs. Williams gave me the option of going back to school with the kids or going grocery shopping with her, I chose to go shopping...
Hey, I’m on vacation!!! I’m not supposed to be in school everyday!
We had a nice breakfast together and then drove Mr. Williams to his office. 

I got to ride in his pocket so I could see everything from the front seat. Since the Williams’ live in an apartment complex, they have to park in the basement garage. It’s a huge room full of parking spaces. We had to take the elevator down from the 8th floor to the basement. They only have one car, so Mrs. Williams spends a lot of time being a chauffeur.

    

Driving in the UAE is NUTS! We all wore our seat belts! People drive way too fast, don’t always use their blinkers when changing lanes, and they honk their horns a lot... especially at Mrs. Williams. She won’t drive faster than the allowed speed limit. But, the drive is an interesting one. We saw this disc shaped office building and a mosque.. which is a kind of church. 

We dropped Mr. Williams off at his office. It’s located IN a shopping mall! There are lots of malls here. As a matter of fact, everything is located in a mall. They don’t have individual buildings for just one store here in the UAE like you do in Texas. (That means they don’t have drive thru either! YIKES!) The grocery store, the meat market, the school uniform store, the hair salon, the toy store, ... even the kids’ play areas (like Shenanigan’s)... all of it is located inside a mall. Mr. Williams’ office building is attached to a mall. It’s definitely different!

And while we are talking about stores, I should tell you about the kinds of stores you find here. You can pretty much find all the major clothing and shoe store brands in the malls. Keds, Nike, Addias, Clarks, GAP, Levi’s, etc. There are also names I’ve never seen... like H&M (clothing) & Carrefour (groceries).... and that’s where Mrs. Williams took me to first. We went grocery shopping at Carrefour....

The grocery store is pretty big but looks like a regular grocery store... well, except for a few differences.

First, the fish section is pretty big and has actual fish ... like with the scales and eyes still on it! And, it’s a pretty smelly part of the grocery store....

Nearby, is the fresh spices section.. and it was just as big.. but it smelled a whole lot better! 

There was also a section on dates and other fresh and dried fruits. Plus a huge section of olives from all over the world. The workers will let you taste anything before you buy it. I tried several of the olives and decided that I like the black olives from Lebanon and the green olives stuffed with lemon slices. (I know, it sounds weird, but it’s really good!)

When it was time to pay, Mrs. Williams pulled out some weird looking money. I’ve never seen Dirhams which is the money used in the UAE. Their money consists of paper bills and coins. They don’t have “dollars”, they have “dirhams”. And they don’t have “cents”, they have “fils”. Their money is written in Arabic on one side and English on the other. Mrs. Williams said she is enclosing some UAE money in the letter she’s sending back to you... so look for it in the mail in the next few weeks. 

While I was in town, the Williams’ took me to several restaurants. You can find lots of your favorites.... Like McDonald’s and Church’s Chicken (although they changed the name to Texas Chicken!!) 

And, then there are lots of fancier places to eat too. I got to go to an Italian place called “andiamo!” that is on the first floor of the apartment building where they live. It just opened and they have this really yummy (and beautiful) dessert. It’s called tiramisu.

My favorite part of the whole dessert was the sugar sitting on top of the cake. That’s a sugar circle on top!!

Probably the funniest thing about eating out in the UAE is that you have to ask the waiters for ice in your drink. And, you have to tell them you DON’T want a slice of fresh lemon in your coke!

Finally, Thursday arrived and the Williams’ kids were out of school for the weekend. It feels weird having a weekend that is Friday and Saturday... especially since everyone goes to church here on Friday.... But, again, I guess you just get used to it! We spent the first part of the weekend at the Emirates Park Zoo. 

It’s the zoo located here in the desert on the edge of Abu Dhabi (the city). There were lions, tigers, and bears (oh my!), and elephants, camels, seals, and monkeys.

In one section, there were all the different kinds of goats that can be found in the UAE, Oman, Saudi Arabia, & Yemen. This one little black goat was very clever and figured out how to get of out his enclosure. We were feeding him grass from the zookeepers, but he tried to eat me, instead!

You could feed a lot of the animals, including the giraffes.

We had a lot of fun right up until the very end. Madeline was trying to get a picture of this cute little pigmy monkey when ALL OF A SUDDEN it PEED on her!!! We were all laughing so hard... well, except for Madeline. She was pretty mad at that little monkey. We didn’t get a picture... and Mrs. Williams had to get out the hand sanitizer. 

On Saturday, Mr. & Mrs. Williams had bought tickets to the Taste of Abu Dhabi. It’s a big food festival held on Yas Island (one of many islands in Abu Dhabi). It was also Devin’s birthday... so first.... We had birthday pancakes...

and a rather flat (like me!) birthday cake.... 

Devin’s mom and dad gave him a Ripstick and the kids all played on the landing outside their front door. All the apartments open into the middle of the building. There’s an atrium at the bottom with square planters full of flowers, trees, and water fountains.

In the summer, the temperatures are over 110 degrees Fahrenheit in the UAE. Wow, that’s really hot! I’m so glad you didn’t send me to visit until their “fall”, almost “winter”. We’ve had really good weather: Blue skies and temperatures in the 70s and 80s. The Williams’ kids were wearing shorts and t-shirts when not in their school uniforms!

After lunch we, packed up and went to du Arena for the festival. Devin really wanted to take his Ripstick, but we were all glad he didn’t when we found out the festival was in a big grassy field! 

The Taste of Abu Dhabi had loads of good food to try. I’d heard of some of them (beef stew and crab cakes), but then I’d never had camel cookies! 

We even got to see a sultan and a camel dancing!!! It was very funny.... 

After we stuffed ourselves with ice cream, smoothies, lots of different meats and cheeses... plus cokes and fresh squeezed juices, we decided to go home and finish the day with a walk on the beach. 

The sun is going down pretty early now that the “winter months” are approaching. It gets dark at 5:30 pm! Since the Williams’ apartment is on the beach, we drove back home and headed to the water. It was a very nice sunset. 

I had a great time visiting the UAE and the Williams family. I hope to see you soon. Be looking for me to arrive in a package in the next few weeks. I will have some surprises for you and your classmates!

See you soon, Milo! 
Stanley 


.... Because I had no idea how to send these letters via snail mail and Milo's class presentation was only a few days away, I contacted Milo's mom and emailed her a .pdf copy with the promise that I'd figure it out (eventually) and then I'd send Flat Stanley back to them.  

Thank goodness for technology!!! 

So, the kids and I (here in Abu Dhabi) set about to create one heck of a care package to accompany Stanley back to Texas. We shopped for prepackaged, souvenir sized arabic treats, local flavors of chips, gum & candies... We also collected the 1 Dirham coins so we could send one back for every kid in Milo's class. I threw in a couple of "I love UAE" balloons & a wristband.... added a CD we got from the Taste of Abu Dhabi and a map of one of the local malls (written in English & Arabic). It was an epic package!

Meanwhile, I started asking around about how to mail a package from the UAE. Most people didn't know. They've never really tried to SEND packages... they mostly have RECEIVED packages only... Furthermore, what limited mail that they did receive has come to them via their offices.  Hmmmmm...

Remember this is a predominately expat community. Almost everyone I know is here because their husband/wife/son/daughter/parent is working for a company in Abu Dhabi. They are here on a tourist visa (30 days) or an employment visa (usually 12 months) & the UAE has some crazy special rules for living here. The biggest one is that you must be employed by some entity. You can't rent a villa, flat, or townhouse without a letter of employment from your company. To get a local bank account, you have to have a "letter of recommendation and introduction" from your employer.  Almost everything centers around your employment.... Basically, this means you get fired, you get deported. 

No job, no visa.

So back to the mail issues..... 
Most people send and receive mail (letters) via their company's mail system. This is to say that most companies have some sort of courier system in place for mail.  You can certainly order things (packages) and have them sent to you via a system called "desert cart" (it's the local Amazon at crazy expensive prices), but even they have their own courier service directly from the airport. 

We do have a post office here in Abu Dhabi. There are three, I believe. At least I found 3 listed when I googled. Most people I spoke with had never been to one. I wasn't even 100% sure that the local post office would do business with me. So after school on Thursday (it was a half day anyway), I took the kids & the package and we set off for the big post office downtown. If any of the 3 branches could help me, I figured it would be the largest one in the heart of the city. 

I was wrong.

As it turns out, the post office here only RECEIVES packages (if you have a PO Box with them.... which is a WHOLE other story!); they don't mail them.  I had to use a courier service (like Fedex, DHL, UPS, etc.) I ended up at Aramex because, well.... it was the closest courier to the downtown PO where I at. FedEx and the like are all at the airport. <sigh>

When I arrived at Aramex, they first question as I handed over the box was, "What are the contents?" As soon as I said, "chips, bubble gum, arabic sweets.... ", the man started to hand me back the package. I was confused. He said, "Sorry, no food items allowed.

Really? They are all prepackaged... and some of them come from Oman and Saudi Arabia... I didn't open them...

"Well," I thought, "okay, I'll just open the package, remove the food and send everything else..." So I did just that. 

I asked for a mailing pouch. The man at the counter then watched as I opened Milo's fabulous care package and removed the contents. As I started to place each non-food item in the pouch,  the man inspected each one and "approved" them. He would not "approve" the coins I was sending for Milo's class. Apparently, you can't send cash either..... 

All that was left was Flat Stanley, himself, the letters he and I wrote, a map of a mall, some balloons, a wristband, and a CD. 

That's it!!!

Then they charged me 280 AED to mail this pitiful care package... (that's almost $100!)

I'm so disappointed .... and a bit miffed.

Needless to say, MILO will be the ONLY person we mail a package to from Abu Dhabi.

Flat Stanley is finally on his way back home. Whew! It was an adventure from beginning to end!

Devin turns 14!

It's been an incredible couple of weeks. Flat Stanley is visiting (more about him in another post), the annual Taste of Abu Dhabi festival came to Yas Island, the kids had their first 3-way school conferences, & Devin had a birthday. 

Wow! 

Devin is now 14 years old. I don't know how that's possible! I can still picture him toddling (rather quickly) naked through the house after bath while I tried to catch him for PJs. 

But, it's true. He's 14. 

He woke up to these birthday pancakes & a Ripstik Mini. He inhaled breakfast & dressed quickly so he could try it outside on the landing. 

Within only a few minutes, he had worked it out & was zipping all around our level. He & the girls spent the rest of the morning outside with the Ripstik, skates, & scooters. 

Around lunchtime, we had the kids load up for a trip to Yas Island to attend the annual Taste of Abu Dhabi festival. We took Flat Stanley along too... 

Over 20 restraunts & 50 vendors were onsite at du Arena to provide samples of their products/services/food. It's probably not the "first choice" for a 14 year old's birthday destination, but Devin was a good sport about it.  

The Food Network channel hosted live cooking demonstrations complete with audience participation. There was also a stage with live & DJ music plus a "kids cooking" area. 

The whole affair had a kind of carnival/circus vibe at times... All through the crowd, there were people on stilts, jugglers, even cartoon characters (like this Sultan & camel dancing for onlookers). 

We tried some new foods...

(There is no "camel" in these cookies... ) and enjoyed some familiar ones (ice cream, smoothies, shrimp & crab cakes, steak medallions, fresh squeezed juices, etc). After 2 or 3 hours, however, the kids were beat. 

We returned to the flat & decided to end the day with a walk along our beachfront promenade. (Devin wanted to ride his Ripstik some more... LOL!)

The weather has turned really pleasant so it's a nice way to enjoy the sunset. 

All in all, I'd say it was one of the best days we've had in a long while. I'm glad, too, because I wasn't sure if we were going to be able to make Devin's birthday memorable & fun ... being that he was so far from all his TX friends. 

Halloween

Well, do not let it be said that the UAE doesn't "do" non-Arabic holidays... 

Although there are no falling leaves in reds, browns, & oranges, the temperature has dropped below 100 degrees & pumpkins were spotted in the grocery stores. 

The kids' school held a Harvest Festival to rival any back in the states... 

Olivia's grade used a farm theme to decorate their booth. All that cardboard was once the boxes that housed our mattresses for the sea shipment. I think the ladies did a great job recycling it into a barn complete with animals!  The festival lasted from 5-7 pm on the soccer pitch (AstroTurf) behind the school. Every grade had a booth where kids played a game to receive a candy/toy prize. Our booth did sack races, of course.

It was a fun night & I enjoyed seeing all the costumes. 

We left a little early to grab dinner at our local cafe, Cafe Firenze (Italian). They had crafted desserts to match the Halloween theme... brains & eyeballs!!!

We hosted a Jack-o-lantern Carving Party at our flat on Halloween day; it IS a tradition for us, afterall. But finding an affordable pumpkin proved impossible. ALL foods (except dates) are imported, but pumpkins fell into the "speciality foods" price category. At over 130 AED per pumpkin, we knew we had to find an alternative squash/fruit to carve. 

Enter the lowly watermelon....

Watermelons are imported from much closer countries & therefore fall back into the "reasonable" price ranges. We picked up a fairly large, round-ish one for around 13 AED. Whew! The Shipman family came over to carve with us...

I think they turned out pretty good! We used battery operated Christmas lights to light them. 

All in all, it was a good -- if slightly unconventional -- Halloween. The complex threw a Halloween party on the beach:

I can honestly say it was my first experience with a skeleton on a palm tree...

The kids went door to door in the apartment complex (a totally exhausting exercise reminecent of a Quest game at Great Wolf Lodge) & ended up with a small, but respectable candy stash. 

So, all in all, the UAE is proving to be closer to home, holiday-wise, than I thought possible. 

Heck, even Christmas decorations are already up in a lot of the stores!