No longer an "illegal alien"!

Whew, we survived!

I say that because getting your passports restamped with tourists visas good for another 30 days is no small feat, apparently.  

It's a good thing we had such a wonderful concierge at the hotel; Harsha was a wealth of information, tips, & good advice. 

I met Harsha via phone when I called downstairs to ask for late checkout. Since Lindsey could not go with us (his passport is currently in some government office being "processed" for his residency visa), we needed to leave him in the hotel. Alrhough it was only 9 am, I wasn't sure how long we'd be gone & Lindsey wouldn't have any wheels. Better to just ensure late check out & it would be one less worry. 

Harsha was a HUGE help. When I explained why we needed late checkout, he immediately told me about where I needed to go to get my passport stamped. Here's what he said:

1. Don't go to the big border control site that pops up when you google "UAE/Oman border". That crossing (30 minutes away by car) is most commonly used by "tourists" which means that you are treated like cattle by government officials who are (generally) unfriendly, impatient, & not helpful. The whole process (four stamps total) will take almost the entire day. 

... Well, nobody has time for that! Kids or no kids!! But good to know since I'd be doing this with 3 kids in tow & I don't speak the language...

2. Use the smaller, little-advertised border crossing (20 minutes away by car) frequented mostly by local farmers & individuals coming into Al Ain for the shopping malls. This border crossing can actually be done from the comforts (read "air conditioning") of your car window as you drive through each gate. With a little luck, you won't have to get out of your car at all (a definite plus!!) "You will have to do things a little differently than the locals," he said, "but the facilities can handle passport tourist visas." There won't be any long lines & the officials are more patient & helpful. (Notice he didn't say anything about "friendly".) Harsha estimated about two hours for the whole process. 

... Awesome!!

3.  Take some cash with you... just in case (he didn't say what "just in case" might entail, & I didn't ask) & you will need a credit card for the fees on the Oman side (different currency). 

4.  Bring your passports (one for each person going across) & your vehicle registration/insurance. 

... Okaaay. I'm in a rental car. But I think it's in the glove box. 

Harsha specifically asked me if the car was mine or a rental. <long pause> This was important & I don't have any idea why.  There must be some issue with rental cars & the Oman border?! Harsha said perhaps the first official would just overlook it since we were essentially doing a u-turn as soon as we crossed into Oman. It could go either way.... But if the official wouldn't let the car across, then we'd have to walk between the checkpoints & control offices. Harsha assured me that it was only a short distance - about 1 kilometer - easily doable. 

So, I paid close attention to his every word, gathered up the kids, kissed Lindsey & met Harsha downstairs so we could confirm my route on the GPS app I planned to use. After I was confident I knew what to expect (more or less), I thanked Harsha & asked where we might grab some breakfast. He immediately ushered us towards the hotel buffet. 

Now, we booked our room using Lindsey's Hilton awards program points. We did not book the rate that included breakfast. I said as much to Harsha. He insisted that I start with a good breakfast for me & the kids. He made a comment about "needing it" (perhaps this should have raised a red flag?) & actually waved us past the attendant, seated us at a table, & brought us a server. 

Harsha is, by far, the most helpful concierge I've ever encountered. I hope everyone meets a Harsha in their lifetime. He genuinely wanted to help people..  to do whatever was in his power to make our life better in whatever way he could. He is a blessing.... truely. 

So with full bellies, we jumped into the car, turned on the talking box, & set off for Oman. 

True to Harsha's word, 20 minutes later we found ourselves in a car queue for the first checkpoint. Cross your fingers.... Here we go. 

We followed the car in front of us to the little window. I handed over my passports, clearly stated I was doing an exit & immediate reentry for tourist visas, & smiled. 

Now, I've never been lucky. I'm not the person that wins the raffle or the door prize. I don't get pulled over by police & let off with only a "warning". Nope, that's not me ... so I wasn't really surprised when the guy in the official uniform asked to see my car registration. 

Nope, not lucky at all. I should have worn better shoes...

He scanned my papers & handed everything back plus an extra paper printed completely in Arabic. Then he waved me on to the next spot 50 yards down the road. 

Hmmmm... Okay. At least "we're in", but still no stamps in our passports.

On to the next! (I guess....)

I drove up to the next window where a guy in the more traditional dress asked for my papers. I gave him our passports & the printed paper. (I swear he threw that paper on the floor... not 20 seconds after the first guy printed it!!) Then he mumbled something, started to hand me back our passports (still no stamps), & waved in the general direction of the road. I was confused so I tried to ask if I should drive on?... Where do I get the exit stamp?

He mumbled a little louder & I swear he said "drive around" & "park". But I didn't see any place TO park, so I asked again. This time he made eye contact in the form of a glare, waved more forcefully, & mumbled "park, park!" a bit more impatiently. 

If THIS is what Harsha meant by helpful & patient, I can't imagine what goes on at the other, bigger border control.....

Okay... I'll park. 

The car in front of me had driven on through the very official looking gates up ahead. No place to park there & my gut said, "don't cross through those gates yet."  .... I've learned to go with my gut. 

There was absolutely NO parking lot near me, just a mixture of sand & asphalt that pretty much makes up the roads around here. Hmmmm.... The closest parking lot looked to be across the way, to the left... I could reach it if I "drove around" to the left & then "parked".

Huh, maybe that's what he meant... alrighty then. 

Except that's not what he meant....

We parked against a curb a little out of the way but near an official looking building with a door marked "Waiting Lounge". Surely this must be it. 

I took the kids inside & met a nice older English gentleman sitting in a back row who took pity on us. We looked lost; it was painfully obvious. 

Turns out, he was there as a guide for another couple doing the exact same thing as us. We were actually standing in the last building in the process, he explained. He wanted to know if we had the other three stamps yet. 

Um, no. 

I told him I was so confused. I explained what we'd done so far & that I honestly didn't know where I was supposed to be at the moment. 

He laughed, then walked us back across the street right up the same booth (different window) where the same traditionally dressed official sat waiting... 

NOW he wanted my passports... 

So, the kids & I stood in the heat (it was now 11:30 am) while he accessed something on his computer, took a phone call, & stamped each passport with the official exit stamp.... one at a time... very slowly. Did I mention the heat?

Than I had to pay him... Cash. 

I asked for a recipt; he glared again, but wrote one out. 

First. Stamp. Done. 

He then told me to walk down to the Oman offices... only 1 km away... & waved me away. I politely asked if I could drive the 1 km, perhaps? 

No such luck. It was almost straight up noon, in full sun, I was in kitten heels, & the kids were already wilting... Perfect conditions for a 0.6 mile walk across sand & asphalt, right?! He pointed us toward the building in the distance with the flags.

Fabulous. Well, the sooner we start, the sooner we can be done. Off we go....

It took us about 20 minutes to walk just over half a mile. I could feel the sweat running down between my shoulder blades & pooling in the waistband of my pants. The bra strap must have been saturated; it was no longer acting as a sweatband. The kids were dragging. Everyone's face was turning red under the blistering sun. Where were the palm trees? What happened to the breeze? Who ordered up 85% humidity today?!

We passed 2 small buildings along the way; twice we got our hopes up. The first was just those beautiful arches I'd seen the local cars breeze through.... & the second was a little guard station with a very sweet man who spoke no English.

It's surprising how much you can convey via hand gestures, physical objects, & simple words. I waved my passports & stated very slowly but clearly that I needed entrance stamps. 

Why do we do that, by the way? "Talk slowly" to someone who speaks another language. Saying something slowly or louder doesn't somehow magically translate it into the language of the party listening so they can now understand us. And yet, we all do it when put in this kind of situation! 

I do think "no" must be the same in just about every language... 

The guard & I smiled at each other a lot. The kids were obviously exhausted & hot. In the end, "Not here, but we were almost there" was the gist of the conversation. He pointed down the road a little further. <sigh>

Finally, we reached the building on the Oman side that housed the officials who had the power of the entry stamp!!! Woohoo!!! I shook the sand out of my heels & headed inside; the kids beat me to the air conditioning. There were bathrooms & a water fountain too. So while the kids splashed water on their faces & lay panting on the bench, I went to the counter on the RIGHT to fill out the paperwork for the entry stamps. 

Stamp, stamp, stamp, stamp & a credit card receipt later ... I was told to walk to the counter on the LEFT to get my exit stamps. 

Four more stamps & a signed slip... Done!

Well.... Almost. Now we had to walk the 1 km back to the UAE border. It was 12:30 pm. 

I rallied the kids, we sucked down a few more sips of water, and off we went back onto the hot sandy road...

... And within 2 minutes, our guardian angel took pity on us. A very sweet local man (who I suspect was one of the guys working inside the Oman border control building) drove up & offered us a ride to the UAE checkpoint. 

Bless him & his dusty bronco... 

What took us 20 minutes to walk before, was a comfortable 5 minute ride now. An added bonus: this man spoke English & Arabic. He was able to help me understand what the officials needed at the guard station in order to leave Oman (that little signed slip from 2 minutes before) & he dropped us off right next to our car & the Waiting Lounge! He wouldn't even take the cash I offered him for his kindness. 

I have great respect for the Oman people because of this ambassador. My limited interaction with him & their officials showed they are a kind gentle people. 

But back to my story... I only have 3 of the 4 necessary stamps. The fourth stamp, however, is the most important. It's THIS stamp that makes the kids & I "legal" again for 30 more days....

So we entered the lounge & took a seat. There were 2 other men in the room, but they appeared to be waiting for the border agent just like us. Hmmmm... Where was everyone? No officials in sight. 

While we waited, the kids found a vending machine. Water & snacks... It might be a long wait; better feed the monkeys. After everyone had their turn with the machine, we settled into our seats to wait. 

I don't know what your family does to pass time, but we like to play word games. Start with the letter "A" & name as many animals/foods/places/things... (whatever)... until no one can think of anything else. Then do the same for the letter "B".... and so on, and so on... 

Or list one thing you learned today that you didn't know yesterday (boy, I could list way more than 1 today!!!) How did you learn it? Etc. 

Or... Well, you get the idea. Often, we will start a game & some idea or thought will take us down a tangent... Which is exactly what happened while we waited. Madeline was trying think of something new she learned when the biggest fly I've ever seen landed on the seat in front of us. I mean this thing was seriously huge. It got us wondering: we have horse flies in TX, could this be a "camel fly" here in the UAE? 

While we debated that... & then which insect doesn't have a mouth after it reaches it's adult stage (we are weird, I know... Just embrace it! Although, we never did figure that one out...) the border officials arrived from wherever border officials go when they leave you waiting. 

A lady in traditional clothing who spoke very few words directly to us but had amazing henna tattoos, made quick work of stamping our passports. 

Four. Stamps.   The holy grail....

We were done. Twenty more minutes by car & we were back at the hotel. Harsha was waiting for us; he has a package of the local dates I had mentioned that I liked from breakfast & wanted to make sure everything went smoothly on our journey. 

I gave him a large cash tip. That man deserved it. It had been almost exactly 2 hours since I had left. He was spot on & although we were hot & tired, the process was pretty much exactly as he had described. 

If our residency visas don't process on the next 30 days, I'll definitely stay at the Hilton & do this again. It will be easier, too, as now I know exactly what to do!!!

One if by land, and two if by sea;

Okay, I'll admit... I'm borrowing a line from Longfellow's poem. And it wasn't by land, exactly... nor was it the British I've been watching for either... I've been anxiously awaiting our air shipment. 

... And it finally arrived in the middle of last week! (I'm late posting. Hey, I've been exhausted with all the school stuff & unpacking!)

Three guys came with 8 trolleys worth of boxes & such. Most importantly, it contained our clothes & the kitchen spices!!

I've never been so happy to lay hands on a frying pan! Plus, no more bland food only spiced with salt & pepper! 

Now I don't want you to think there aren't any spices here. There are loads of spices here. You can even go to the spice dealer and buy fresh, but it's all very expensive. Why buy a ton of spices when you know you sent them in the air shipment?! 

I'm just saying... Gotta be frugal. 

The freight company was great. The guys unpacked everything & hauled off the trash. 

Our clothes are a wrinkled mess, but they are here. Devin's trombone, the gig bag, & the music stand are all accounted for. The girls meticulously counted & sorted their stuffed animals. I'm washing all the dishes... 

Lindsey was excited that he'd have his golf clubs & booked a tee time. Wait, I don't remember seeing golf clubs in the unpacked goodies... & now that you mention it, where are the kids' scooters?

A quick check on the original packing list shows that those items got moved over to the sea shipment. Ug. The packers on the US side wanted to get everything into ONE air container (I DO remember overhearing this discussion) so they "shifted" a few items to the sea container.

Now, we were approved for 5 air containers!! FIVE! The company approved 2 large & 3 small crates for our family. There was plenty of room for whatever we deemed necessary. The movers on the US side made me think I was over packing. Humph! Little did I know they meant overpacking for ONE large crate, apparently! 

I do remember them asking if it would be okay to move the beanbags from air to sea. And I do remember saying "okay"... But they must must have taken that assent to apply to a whole lot more than just the beanbags. As the days go by & I'm putting away the various bits & pieces (I hate unpacking into a new kitchen), I'm noticing things that are missing from the air shipment... some of which is directly listed on the sea shipment (like the golf clubs).  

It kind of makes me mad. Okay, I was pissed! (I've settled down now.) We have been dying for our stuff. It's really hard to live overseas in an apartment with almost nothing! And it's not like you're going to go out and BUY all the things you need when you KNOW you shipped them! 

So, you wait. And you tell yourself it will all be fine. You start saying these little mantras: "It will be okay. Soon, the <inset "air" or "sea" here> shipment will be here. It will all be fine. You can do it!" ... Then you look around at the empty echo of a bright white cave you call home, & you say them again. 

Ha!  "As soon as the air shipment arrives.." Well, I got fooled on that one!   

Hmmmm.... Live & learn, I guess. I just didn't know how much would fit within the size & poundage allowances I was offered. I now know that I could have doubled what I chose to pack in the air (& sea) shipment and I STILL would have been within my allocated limits. 

(Sigh) On the bright side, nothing was damaged in the move. We still don't have any furniture, but we have our toys & games & pots & pans. The kids are enjoying their reminders of home & beginning to arrange their rooms. It's all still on the floor, but at least they've got "stuff" besides their bedrolls. 

So now I'm anxiously awaiting the sea container. I sent an email to the freight company asking if they have an ETA. They were able to confirm that my container is, indeed, on the water enjoying a leisurely ride. It should arrive in Abu Dhabi Port on Oct 9. 

Good gravy, that's a whole month from now! I have a new mantra: I think I can.... I think I can...

So for now, we wait. Again. And just like Paul Revere, I'll be looking for that signal by sea...  Not two lanterns in the tower of Old North Church, however. Times have changed, Mr. Revere; we watch our email. 

Making a run for the border...

We entered the UAE on tourist visas. It's the visa you automatically get stamped into your passport upon entry at the airport. A tourist visa is good for 30 days here in the UAE. 

Let's see... We arrived in the country on August 5th. Thirty days later would be.... 

Ummm...  31 days in Aug... 

non-inclusive... so you have to subtract... that makes 30 days on Sept 4th. 

Yikes! Today is Sept 6th!! Oh. no. 

Actually, I'm not in trouble... Yet. There is a 10 day grace period. 

Lindsey & I realized the kids' & I's visas would be expiring this past week; we had already planned this trip to Oman. We waited until the weekend because I didn't think it would be a good idea to pull them out of school. 

See, all you have to do is get your passport stamped for another 30 day tourist visa. And the simplest way of doing this is to drive across the border between the UAE & Oman. You even have a choice of two places to do this as Oman borders the UAE on two sides!!! 

We chose to go toward Oman via Al Ain because it's only an hour away by car. (The other border is about 4 hours from Abu Dhabi). 

Abu Dhabi, Dubai, & Al Ain are the 3 largest cities in the Abu Dhabi Emirate. They (sorta) make the vertices of a geographic triangle road system between the three cities. Each leg takes about an hour to drive the (approx) 130 km. Al Ain is inland very near the Oman border while Abu Dhabi & Dubai are both on the coast. 

So as it became apparent that our (the kids & I) residence visas were not going to happen this week, we started planning our run to the border...

Lindsey's residence visa is somehere "in the pipeline".  We were hoping his resident visa would clear by the end of the week, but it did not. This means he cannot leave the UAE at this time. Ug. 

Al Ain is the perfect location for this quick passport stamp trip. Here's why:

The really nice thing about Al Ain (other than being an oasis full of really neat stuff to do, including the zoo!) is that it's only 27 miles (33 minutes by car!) to the UAE Border Crossing to Oman. Yea!!! 

That's a big plus for a place that's mostly, well, sand between cities. Lindsey can stay here at the Hilton (thank you, Hilton Honors points) while the kids and I take the drive to the border crossing... stamp out UAE, stamp in Oman. Then u-turn on the other side... stamp out Oman, stamp back in UAE... & voila!! We're good for another 30 days! 

At least, that's the plan. I hear (from the other expats who have done this EXACT routine) that the border crossing could take up to an hour each way. I'm packing snacks & water. I'll let you know tomorrow... 

In the meantime, we are enjoying our Executive Suite here at Al Ain's Hilton ... complete with gold bathroom fixtures & a bidet (that was a tough one to explain to the under 14 crowd!) 

It's very roomy!!!

But as much as the kids would like to claim the king size bed, they will be making due on a fold-away & the couches...

Of course, that is if Devin ever gets off the free internet (remember we still don't have access at the apartment!)

Of course, I'm happy because this hotel includes several resturaunts (& a bar) that serve "grape"! 

I FINALLY got a glass of red!!! In fact, we bought a whole bottle & they let us take it back to the room. 

 Yup, Al Ain.... definitely an oasis! 

First days of school...

Yup, you read the title right... "dayS"...

Here in Abu Dhabi, they like to ease into the school year. There were, essentially, three "first day of school" days. 

On Sunday, we had a half day for just the "brand new" students. (That's us!) There were no academics. The kids got to meet their homeroom teachers, get a tour of the school, have early access to their schedules, & make friends with other never-been-on-campus-before kids. We moms (& some dads) had our own orientation with the elementary administration, counselors & staff. 

Olivia found out she's in Mr. Macdonald's class (he's from Canada, eh!) 

She made a friend who is Scottish but she doesn't know the girl's name. Olivia says she can't understand her because "her accent is really strong!" I'm sure Olivia's friend says the same about Olivia... 

Madeline, in 6th grade, & Devin, in 8th grade, are considered part of the Secondary curriculum. They call their age group "the middle years" but they run on a similar schedule as the high schoolers. Both rotate for each class, take 4 core subjects, 2 foreign languages, plus PE, music, theater, & technology. 

It's a crazy schedule. Core classes meet every other day (a typical block schedule), but electives only meet a couple of times a week, depending.  

They take the meaning of "electives" a bit differently here than your typical US high school. Electives are "extras" to enhance  & broaden the student. So as such, you have any given elective infrequently (with the exception of foreign language). Since it's an 8 day rotating block schedule, I made each kid a calendar. It's the only way I know to keep their classes straight! 

Even poor Olivia has "electives" that rotate over the 8 days! Truly, I've never seen anything like this 8 day schedule. It's going to take some getting used to. 

The other unusual aspect of middle school (at GEMS, at least) is that each kid in secondary is assigned to a "house". It's very "Harry Potter"-ish. 

Since we are the GAA Wildcats, all the "houses" are big cats. Madeline is a Panther & Devin is a Puma. (GAA stands for GEMS American Academy.)

The "houses" have a mix of kids from 6th through 12th grade. And, I believe, once you are assigned to a house, you stay in that house until you graduate. I'm just sorry there wasn't a "sorting ceremony" complete with talking hat! At this point (3 days in), there has been no activities that require the kids to sort by house, but I'm sure it's coming. I can hardly wait to see where this takes them... Quidditch, anyone?!

But, I digress...

By noon, we'd all made new friends (even me!), been inundated with loads of information, & were starving. But, everyone had had a great day. First "first day" done! 

Early to bed, early to rise!

On Monday, we had another half day... 

The second "first day". This time ALL the GEMS students were to arrive on campus. It was basically a repeat of the previous day but without the campus tour. Instead, the secondary kids were given 15 minute "periods" to find most of their classrooms & meet the teachers. 

Locker assignments also went out today. I had gone to ACE hardware for combination locks yesterday, so Devin & Madeline were good to go! 

Meanwhile, I had Secondary orientation. I met a mom of 3 from Barcelona. She was full of good advice ... about GEMS & Abu Dhabi. It was another good day, but still no academics.  Second "first day" done!

Tuesday dawned to the tune of 5:30 am! Today was the first day of academic classes!!! And the first day for my kids to ride the bus! Wow, now THAT's a bus! 

We were so surprised when this drove up in front of the apartment complex. Could this luxury liner be for us? It's a fully equipped GreyHound!!! What happened to the little yellow dog we saw in the parking lot last week? 

But it says GEMS American Academy on the side... & it's labeled Bus 20. Yup, this is our bus!!! There's a driver & a bus monitor. The kids each have bus IDs that the monitor scans as they enter/exit. The bus is also equipped with GPS tracking & CCTV. The kids said they are seated by grade so they are not seated together, but each of them has made a friend on the ride already. 

Here's the down side to taking the bus in Abu Dhabi:

Traffic can be bad... especially morning traffic. In addition, buses & trucks are required to drive in the far right lane & they are required to drive a full 20 km/hr SLOWER than regular traffic. So if the speed limit is 100 km/hr (~62 mph), then the bus can only go 80 km/hr (~50 mph). This means, including stops, it takes over an hour for this bus to make it's route from us to GEMS (5.3 total miles!) Yikes.

That means this huge bus picks up my babies (one of the first stops) at 6:30 AM!!  Whew! That's early... I thought perhaps we were on the largest route with a full load, but Devin says there are still lots of empty seats when they get to school. 

Hmmm.... I'm not sure why we got the mega posh bus.  Maybe there will be more kids next week? I've heard that lots of parents don't even send their kids the first week. (Remember I said they "ease" into the school year around here....) I guess we'll see. 

On the upside, afternoon traffic is not as bad & my kids are one of the first to be dropped off. They only spend about 40 minutes on the bus for the ride home. At least they have comfortable seats... 

So the third "first day" ended well. In fact, the first week ended well. Everyone made the bus to/from without issue, no one got lost in the halls, & each kid has found at least one class they look forward to each week (& one they dread). 

They've only had 3 out of the 8 day rotation so there are classes they haven't set foot in yet.... more "first days" to come... 

Or as they say here.... "Inshallah".... 

Which loosely translates to "God-willing", but in a fatalistic, referring-to-the-future, tongue-in-cheek kind of way... 

Working at the car wash... sorta....

So, it gets a bit dusty around here. And if you drive a car, you are constantly battling a layer of fine grained sand-colored dust ... which will quickly transfer itself to whatever clothing you are wearing. 

Now with all the cars zipping around on these streets (everything from the lowly beat-up Nissan work truck to the family-friendly Honda, and all the way up to the fancier BMWs, Porsches, Lamborghini, & Ferrari) what you'd expect to see, but don't, are car washes. I mean... Not a single one!!! Anywhere!!! 

It got me to wondering.... especially when I started to notice that my rental was WAY duster that the next guy in the parking garage. Hmmmm...

I had seen these little green pods in the various underground carparks, but I hadn't given them much thought. 

Well, it turns out these little gems ARE the car wash! One of the pod guys (can I call him a "pod people" or is that bad form?) approached me in Al Wahda Mall's garage & asked if I would like a wash. My car was by far the dirtiest thing in the garage; it's no wonder he made a bee-line for me as I parked!

So, I asked him how much it would cost. I was prepared for the worst... 50 AED? 100 AED? It was to the point that I'd almost pay anything. However, I was pleasantly surprised!

15 AED. That's it. About $4. WOW! I said "yes!!!"

So he have me my claim ticket & said I could pay him AFTER he finished & the job was inspected for quality. 

They only wash the outside, so I locked the car & left him to it. Thirty minutes later, I returned to a shiny clean car (at least on the outside). 

Awesome! 

IKEA is just "adult" Legos...

Our air shipment is still under lock & key somewhere down at the docks... in Customs. 

It's been 5 weeks since both our air & sea shipments departed our house in Texas. I KNOW our air shipment has been here in Abu Dhabi for two full weeks. I have no idea where our sea shipment is.... 

I like to think our sea container is sipping a fruity drink in the shade of an umbrella on the deck of some oceanliner already on it's way, but who knows? It could still be standing in the "cattle-line" at the departing port, bags in hand, crumpled boarding papers at the ready...

Sigh. 

What I DO know is that we can't continue to live in this state of limbo. I spoke with a man from Australia yesterday who told me that his sea shipment took 3 months. 3 MONTHS??!!  Another man overheard us & said his took 4... Oh dear....

Ok... It's time to pull my head out of the sand. The reality is that we are going to be living in this apartment for a substantial amount of time before our regular furniture arrives. It's time to pick up a few things from IKEA. 

The kids & I are already no stranger to the store. We have, in fact, our favorite parking space. The lady at the cafe knows us by sight & has our 1 AED ice creams at the ready. 

This trip, we picked up a tiny couch, a comfy chair, a bathroom caddy, 2 side tables, & a TV stand. Of course, it's all flat pack. 

Let's face it, IKEA flat pack is just Legos for adults. I mean seriously, I loved Legos as a child. Who didn't?! There's the excitement of opening the package, checking out all the parts, the anticipation of the finished product.... 

I am a read-all-the-instructions-first, check-for-all-the-parts-before-beginning kind of girl. I want it all organized before I start... & I clean up as I go along.  My husband, on the other hand, must have been one of those kids who totally ignored the included piece-by-piece pictorial instructions & just plunged in using the front of the box as a general guide.... open plastic baggies & scattered pieces everywhere. 

I bet he ended up with lopsided, structurally unsound final products too. MY Lego creations were solid, precision-built pieces of art! 

I wonder if there is a correlation between Lego building styles and future career choices? ...  I ended up training as a classical physicist & my husband went the route of computer engineer. Hmmmm....

But back to my IKEA purchases...

Obviously, since my hubby & I have such different approaches to assembly, it's often better for only one or the other of us to work on any given item. Plus, I'm kind of girl-on-a-mission these days; he was happy to let me have a go all by myself. 

So, last night I put together the chair & couch. I did have to have some help holding the sides... & I will admit to putting at least one part on upside down before I quickly discovered my error. But, all in all? Easy peasy!

This morning, I set my sights on the 2 side tables & the bathroom caddy. So, I made myself a cup of tea, popped open the first box, & set about sorting/organizing myself. In no time at all, I had it all done. 

Another successful building project to proudly display! It's just so satisfying. 

I think I'll take a break before tackling the very big TV stand, though. I'm gonna need to clear out some work space.

Yup, Legos for adults....

So 3 kids & a camel walk into a Souk...

After a late start this morning, we drove over to Al Wahda Mall to do some school supply shopping at our favorite superstore, LuLu's. 

It was a long tedious process because the list was so vague no one knew for certain what we needed. The store had a large selection of everything but, when the list calls for "small square graph paper".... Um, how small? There were 4 choices ranging from large to micro. How small is "small"? And, do I get the loose leaf paper or the tablet? In a spiral? Perhaps hole punched... 2 holes or 4? 

We had a similar problem with "binder with lined paper & 5 dividers". Does this mean a five subject spiral notebook or an actual office binder and dividers? And what size? In binders, you can get A4 or A5. In bound or spiral notebooks, you can get A4, A5, or A6.  Regular ruled paper or college ruled paper? And, if it is an actual binder, 2 rings or 4? 

Grrrrr.... Who knew it was going to be this difficult?! I'm pretty sure I at least got the glue sticks right. 

So after such a frustrating morning, we treated ourselves to lunch at the food court. My youngest wanted McDonald's (no surprise). 

I have had numerous friends ask me if the menu is any different from the American one. In truth, it's pretty much the same with the exception of the biscuit (the English muffin reigns supreme here) & the typical regional items (there's no Homestyle Burger, etc). 

But I did notice two other little differences today. There are no "Mightly Kids Meals" ... only one size "kids meal" & they do have a regional "burger" called the McArabia. 

Huh. It doesn't look like more than a double meat burger but with the bun replaced by a pita. I haven't tried it. 

So, with our bellies full of greasy goodness, it was off to a new mall that we've never visited before. Only a short drive away is the World Trade Center Mall & Souk. 

It took us two full cycles around the mall to find one of the entrances to the underground parking. Nothing is labeled very well so we completely missed the sign & garage entrance the first time. 

Parking underground is always an adventure, but a necessity if you don't want to return to a car of molten metal after your excursion. But it's hard for me to remember where I parked each time. (I am over 40 now.) So, I try to use technology rather than relying on my memory.... I take photos of my latest spot. 

Sometimes, the car parks are well labeled & even numbered... & then there's times like this. Two or three rows had this same sign. Oh boy... Cross your fingers. 

Once we found our way inside, I was throughly impressed. The Mall is huge with several familiar stores & several regional ones. It's four stories tall, not counting the parking areas. & it covers more than one city block. But it doesn't "feel" huge when you are walking it. It actually feels... intimate. 

There is no shortage of technology, either, as evidenced by the interactive mall directory. 

All the directories are touch screens! The map at the top has a "you are here" dot. The bottom of the screen works like a file list. You can "search" for a specific store by category or name. In addition, a thin strip in the middle allows you to click on icons for restrooms, escalators, elevators, prayer rooms, parking access elevators, taxi stands, etc. The map will then start at the "you are here" dot & SHOW you (via animation) the closest route to your choice. 

Awesome!!! We could have played with the directory for hours!!! 

I pulled the kids away from the directory & we headed over to the attached Souk. The Souk has more traditional arts, crafts, perfumes, gold, & jewelry. It also has local spice traders. It's an amazing place. 

There are no live camels, but they would have been right at home. I'll definitely come back when I don't have so many little people "helping" me shop.