I won tickets to the Formula 1 race this November. It was held on Yas Island at the Yas Marina circuit. Take note of the yachts that dock to watch it.
Formula One
Thursday, November 17, 2011
School Time
Well school is in full swing, and autumn has brought us some fun activities. My kids are quite the productionists and all of them love to be in the center of attention, so it's been quite a funny year so far. I've never had so many class clowns in one class, but it sure lead to a good amount of laughter everyday!
The students had to present a tradition from either their own culture or another culture of their choosing.
Tradition Presentations
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| This group chose the UAE tradition of boating. They worked all morning before school blowing up that boat :) |
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| The boys are fishing and the girl in the back is doing a traditional dance of the UAE. |
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| And of course Ramadan |
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| My two biggest class clowns chose trick-or-treating...everyone was in stitches. I think one kid actually feel out of his seat laughing :) |
Bobbing for Apples
Breast Cancer Awareness Day
Monday, September 5, 2011
The Burj Khalifa, Gold To Go, and Other Finer Things
To celebrate the Eid holiday (the end of Ramadan), not only did we eat in public, but we also took a trip to Dubai! Thirteen of us decided to take the journey (it's only an hour and a half away) to Dubai. We got a great deal on three bedroom apartments at a five star hotel, so who could resist? Not I!
Please let me first say, that I never knew how much a person eats and drinks in public until they aren't allowed to do it for a month. I'm happy Ramadan is over! Since we left on the first day of Eid, suddenly it seemed that Abu Dhabi had tripled in population and that population was quite adamant about their food. I saw a man drinking a beer at 8am...I guess he had been waiting a long time for that :) We got to the bus station and were greeted by lines that looked like they were straight out of China (ridiculously long with not visible order). Luckily enough, I'm a woman. As much as this is a male dominated culture, women get all the perks! Whether it be on a city bus, with a woman's only section (which means you always get a seat because the men have to squish in the back) or lines at a bus station (there is a separate line for single men....like 300 men long, and then a family line where the women can line up with "taken" men), the "women only" perks abound. The gentlemen in our group were quite grateful for their significant others at this time :) The family line only had about 50 people in it, so we made it on the bus in under 40 minutes. The bus ride was smooth sailing, and after quite a back track in a taxi to our hotel, we arrived at our five star accommodations.
During our stay, we visited malls, went up in the world's tallest building, and enjoyed the infinity pool!
We all had a wonderful time and are excited to go back soon....they have great water parks we are going to try out...apparently you don't have to climb the stairs to get to the top of the slides, you sit in your tube and there is like a jet propulsion that sends you up to the top :)
Please let me first say, that I never knew how much a person eats and drinks in public until they aren't allowed to do it for a month. I'm happy Ramadan is over! Since we left on the first day of Eid, suddenly it seemed that Abu Dhabi had tripled in population and that population was quite adamant about their food. I saw a man drinking a beer at 8am...I guess he had been waiting a long time for that :) We got to the bus station and were greeted by lines that looked like they were straight out of China (ridiculously long with not visible order). Luckily enough, I'm a woman. As much as this is a male dominated culture, women get all the perks! Whether it be on a city bus, with a woman's only section (which means you always get a seat because the men have to squish in the back) or lines at a bus station (there is a separate line for single men....like 300 men long, and then a family line where the women can line up with "taken" men), the "women only" perks abound. The gentlemen in our group were quite grateful for their significant others at this time :) The family line only had about 50 people in it, so we made it on the bus in under 40 minutes. The bus ride was smooth sailing, and after quite a back track in a taxi to our hotel, we arrived at our five star accommodations.
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Bonnington Hotel, Dubai |
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Dubai    Ski in the desert!     |
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A place that sales dark chocolate...it's the little things in life :) The Burj Khalifa (the world's tallest building)    Heading up to the top!  At the top    Dubai at night from the top of the Burj Khalifa      |
Monday, August 22, 2011
From Fish Heads to Ferraris
It has been whirl wind of events and the time has flown by very quickly. The school has kept everyone busy and has also provided several opportunities to take part in more of the "cultural" aspects of Abu Dhabi.
The organization of the school and most of the culture is much different than China. I think Jen and I spent over two hours in the supermarket and most of the words that came out of our mouths were "Wow! They have this here!" or "Do you know how long it took us to find this in China!" So, needless to say, things are much more available to find here. We even visited a teacher store with actual materials today J However, there are still some similarities, such as the amount of cars, the hole-in-the-wall stores, and the logic of some things. I'm coming to find there isn't much logic left anywhere in the world J
School things have been pretty uneventful with meetings and trainings, so I'll focus on the fun happenings.
Lebanese FlowerOur first outing was a dinner at the Lebanese Flower Restaurant. It was delicious and a bountiful feast with vegetables, pita, olives, hummus, dates, fresh fruit juice, and BBQ meat (that wasn't still looking at you J)!
Abu Dhabi Desert
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| Sand! |
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| Letting air out of the tires so we make it through the dunes |
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| "Please don't spit!!" |
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| The start of dune bashing...the part of it that is an easy ride |
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| Allison, Beth, and Kathryn |
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| A little friend |
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| Camel riding |
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| Sand Surfing |
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| The oasis in the middle of nowhere |
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| Henna- plant made |
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| After the black flecks off |
For Information on the Mosque visit (information towards the bottom):
http://www.visitabudhabi.ae/en/what.to.do/mosques.and.other.places.of.worship/sh.zayed.mosque.aspx
http://www.visitabudhabi.ae/en/what.to.do/mosques.and.other.places.of.worship/sh.zayed.mosque.aspx
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| Semi-precious stones inlaid in the marble |
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| Made of white marble and 24K gold sheets |
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| Muslims believe heaven will be a garden, thus when entering the Mosque a garden is depicted. |
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Non-Muslims are not allowed to touch the Koran unless it has been translated. |
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| 3 Million Swarovski crystals |
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| Largest single carpet in the world |
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| Room with the largest carpet (it is for prayer). The carpet is shaved to make "Muslim Management Lines (as per our guide)". These lines tell them where to stand so they are in straight lines. |
Our apartment needed and need several things fixed. Such as our lock (we were locked out for two nights in a row for two hours), our sinks, toilets, and tubs. However, learning to be somewhat handy, I have successfully fixed a leak, a toilet, and caulked a sink. So here are some pictures from the more "inventive" expeditions we have incurred.
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