Miss Polly

For the first part of this term, Charlotte has been looking at nursery rhymes as their theme at school. As an end to the unit, they had a nursery rhyme dress up day where the children dressed up, did a parade and then lots of fun activities.

I was hoping she would choose something easy like Jill (grab a bucket and you are done) and dreaded her deciding on a sheep or something equally difficult- costumes are not that easy to source here! Thankfully she went with the rhyme Miss Polly, her only dilemma was whether to be Miss Polly or the Doctor. She changed her mind daily before finally settling on Miss Polly at 7pm the night before.

 

 

 

Vossy has nothing on us!

The kids have been doing Aus-kick (AFL skills) every Friday now for a few weeks. It is only a short season due to the weather… they play from mid September through till the end of February. At first Lachie wasn’t so sure but now he looks forward to it and enjoys it. Charlotte also joins in for most of the drills but by the time they play the game at the end she has had enough and tends to be kicking a footy with her friend Claire totally oblivious to the game going on.

A few ‘action’ shots…

 

 

The kids see snow!

Yes I will admit it does seem strange that the first time my children experience snow it is while living in the desert! But it is a great way to see it! All fresh powder and after a couple of hours you can leave and defrost in the 39 degree heat… perfect!

Last saturday we took the kids to Ski Dubai which is located in one of the Dubai malls. It is an indoor ski/ snow park. You can ski, snowboard or just play in the snow in the lovely minus 3 degree setting. It even has a quad chair lift and a couple of cafes inside! For the real skiers/snowboarders among you… it has 5 runs (one being a black run) with the longest being 400 meters, like everything in Dubai it has to be the biggest in the world. And this ones claim to fame is the 3000 square meters snow park which is the largest indoor snow park.

Both the children had been looking forward to it for a couple of weeks (it has been a great bribe!) and were so excited once we got there. They looked so cute all rugged up as we went in. Of course they were greeted by a big dressed up bear which Lachie loved and Charlotte immediately ran from… my brave little princess! Once inside they had a fabulous time playing in the snow, tobagganing, sledging and sliding down in the tubes. charlotte found the little tubes early on and stayed their most of the time. Sliding down, then dragging the tube back up to go again. Most of the time she was the only one on the slope and had the attendant’s undivided attention. Lachie climbed to the top of the tobbaggan run (where you have to lie down on your back) as soon as we got there then shyed away from it and headed to the little tubes with Charlotte. But once he got his confidence he progressed to the big tubes and then to the tobaggan and we couldnt get him off! After a couple of hours they were both exhausted!!

We were most impressed with the facilities and the way it is run.The cost of your ticket includes ski jacket, ski pants, socks and ski boots. you needed your own gloves and beanies. the kids also were provided a helmet which all kids under 13 must wear… a good thing too as we lost count of the number of times Charlotte knocked her head! The only downfall to the day was our camera ran out of battery! We did get a few photos and small videos but we shall just have to return and do it again!

What makes a local?

Have only been here just over a year, it feels strange when people at school corner you to ask questions, in some ways I feel like I am still working things out myself! But to people who are just arriving, a year seems like a long time! And in some ways I do feel like a local:

* It is 39 degrees and 98% humidity today and I find myself saying how nice it is now the heat has gone!

* I know the weekend is Thursday/Friday and have stopped planning things for Saturday night! I must say the week seems to go very quickly when Tuesday is hump day!

* The camels on the side of the road no longer get a second glance.

* I could ace any defensive driving course in the world! When driving here I have learnt that indicators are optional, the white lines on the road seem to be a suggestion only, you can stop in the middle of a roundabout if you feel the need to chat and you can overtake on the shoulder doing 160km/hour while talking on a mobile with 3 kids playing on the front seat… nothing I see here on the roads surprises me anymore!

* I think in terms of Dirham’s and noticed when I was back in Australia I converted Aussie prices back to the dirham.

* I am use to being called ‘Madam’ at least 10 times a day

* I no longer feel guilty putting everything in the rubbish bin! But I do wish they would get recycling here at some stage… Clint is working on it!

Fujariah

Although the official Eid date hadn’t been announced, the public holidays had been so we headed off for the weekend to Fujariah.

Fujariah is one of the 7 emirates and unlike the others that are all desert, Fujariah is almost totally mountainous. It is also the only emirate on the Gulf of Oman, the others all border the Persian Gulf (there’s todays geography lesson). The drive up was great, we didn’t go the most direct way as we had to stop in Dubai at the bike shop (yes, I know you are all surprised by that one), but once we hit Fujariah the mountains, although not green they made a nice change from the desert. We also went past the UAE version of Mt Rushmore… apparently patriotic vandalism is ok.

We stayed at the JAL beach resort just outside Dibba (Daba to the Omanians). As the name suggests it is run by the Japanese airline and seems to do a lot of fly in golf holidays from Japan. Personally I am still trying to work out why people would subject themselves to a game of golf in this heat! Apart from check-in where they gave us the wrong room, the hotel was great and the staff fantastic! They were so friendly and helpful and the kids had a ball. It’s the first time Lachie and Charlotte have really been into kids club (they had one specially for 3-6 year olds), whenever we went to pick them up they claimed they were not hungry or ready to go. So Clint and I were lucky enough to steal some time to ourselves in a place where vodka is cheaper than a milkshake! We spent the weekend relaxing and the kids did a lot of swimming in the numerous pools. Lachie also enjoyed the small ocean  water park, although he wasnt to sure about having to wear the life jacket to swim out there.

Photos:

Top- hotel from the pier, Lachie and Clint head out to play in the ocean

Middle- in the pool

Bottom- musical hat game

We woke up Sunday morning to find Ramadan was over and it was time to celebrate Eid. Apparently the U.A.E moon sighting committee went up in their plane, saw the moon and made the announcement at 8:15pm Saturday night (nothing like leaving it till the last minute). Although the hotel was already great, we noticed a difference with the end of Ramadan immediately: music in the lift, hallways, tunes pumping by the pool, pool bar open and outside dining to name a few.

The kids also loved the breakfast buffet, no surprises there once the kids discovered the numerous chocolate items on offer. They ate so much they actually refused ice-cream when it was offered (yep, ice-cream at breakfast time… and they wonder why diabetes is a problem.)  For a hotel that was booked out, it is so well designed you don’t feel crowded at all. All the rooms overlook the Indian Ocean/ Gulf of Oman and the buildings are only 3 or 4 stories (unlike the monstrous Dubai hotels), when the kids were in bed we were able to sit out on the balcony overlooking the pool and listen to the waves crashing in… very peaceful!

When we left the resort, we drove back through the town of Fujariah which is apparently the safest city in the U. A.E, I think that may have something to do with the public lashings you can still witness in the city centre on Fridays for minor offences. The drive along the coast and mountains to the Oman border was lovely but the kids didn’t get much out of it, but a sing a long to the Wiggles kept them occupied.

Hopefully we will get ourselves organised for a few more weekend escapes so we can explore a bit more of what the UAE has to offer.

To Eid or not to Eid

We have been  (and still are) in the holly month of Ramadan. Which is a little like lent for Muslims but they take it seriously. They fast between sunrise and sunset… yep no food or drink in this heat- I wish I had that kind of willpower! I do feel for the poor labourers though who still work outside in the sun all day. It also means a million more road accidents early in the morning as most of the drivers have been up all night and just before sunset as they all hurry to be at home for the breaking of the fast. So it’s best to avoid the roads at those times.

It is slightly like living in a parallel universe to the locals for the month. They are up eating and shopping (yep shops are open till 2am for the month) all night and then sleep for most of the day. While we obviously stick to our normal routine. It makes grocery shopping after school drop off wonderful as there is hardly anyone there! School and work hours are also reduced so in theory (although it hasn’t really happened that many times) Clint should be home early afternoon.

However, unlike the Christian Easter that follows lent where you can look up the dates for the next 50 years. Eid (which follows Ramadan) is also set by the moon but not by a mathematical equation. Nope the wise men somewhere over here watch the moon till its right one night, then they spread the word and Eid begins.

Clint gets 2 days off for Eid (public holidays) and the kids get 3, we were hoping to go away but without set dates it makes it rather hard to book anywhere! Lastminute.com has a very real meaning in this country! Looks like it should fall next week sometime so we shall see….

End of Summer… well holidays anyway!

It is crazy to think it is already September, Lachie is about to start grade one and Charlotte will join him at ‘big’ school in FS1. They are both looking forward to it… probably not quite as much as I am some days!

The kids and I have just returned from 8 weeks in Australia with Clint joining us for the last 10 days. The flight to Brisbane was pretty good. I have to admit the thought of flying 17 hours (21 hours travel time) by myself with the 2 kids was a little daunting at first. Especially as poor Lachie gets travel sick, but he is a champion vomiter (better not be a bulimic in training), he tells me he feels ill, vomits in the bag, wipes his mouth and is all good again! The kids were great, didn’t whinge about carrying their bags and slept from Singapore to Brisbane. Mum and Dad were there to meet us at the airport, not sure who was more excited; them or the kids.

We invaded Mum and Dads house for the 8 weeks, apart from 2 trips to Campwin Beach to see Clint’s family. My sister Jacqueline was also in Brisbane for a couple of weeks as it was also summer holidays in Japan, her 3 children and mine had a lovely time together playing through numerous parks in Brisbane and inventing all kinds of games.

We also caught up with lots of other friends and family and were able to meet a few babies born in our absence. Between catching up, a weekend at the Gold Coast and shopping the time went all too fast and before we knew it Clint was on his way over for the last 10 days.

Clint missed the kids for the first 6 and a half weeks, thank goodness for skype! But he was kept busy with work and he raced the London triathlon the first weekend in July so a quick trip to the UK broke the time up nicely.  He also had a mate visit for a week- followed by a week of liver detox!

The flight back was alot easier then going over. Not only was Clint there but 2 friends and their kids were also on the same flight. One family seated directly behind us and the other 3 rows in front so the kids were easily occupied. We arrived at midnight to a balmy 35 degrees, and it was lovely to get home and crawl into our own beds. The kids had a great sleep and although tired yesterday afternoon no real jet-lag.

Clint went back to work today, he doesn’t really feel as if he has had a break as the 10 days he was there we did lots of running around. But not long till Eid so we can relax then! The kids don’t start school till Sunday so we have a few days around the house. They are easily amused as they have had 2 months without all their toys. We are heading back to seashore villas (where we use to live) this afternoon for a play and a swim. Hopefully the 8 weeks break hasn’t affected their swimming ability!

I am now the proud owner of an apple mac book pro. So as soon as I work out how to download the photos I will add some of our holidays!

Quick Update

It has been a crazy couple of weeks over here! A few months ago there was a change in our housing allowance, as we wanted to stay with all the friends we have made we first thought we would stay in the same compound and move to a 2 bedroom villa instead. However as all the companies passed on the changes a group of us decided to move out together. Clint told them our plans at work one Thursday and they said not a problem but you need to move out by next week as the empty villas go back to the owner then. hmmm We dealt with that but then on the Sunday were told we could stay for a month and they would move other people around. All good…. then Clint was told Thursday afternoon we needed to move out the next day or stay for 12 months at the price way over our allowance! So last weekend we moved into temporary accommodation- we are still in the same street but only have unpacked a couple of things, the rest is in boxes as we can only stay here for 3 weeks anyway. So my days are currently filled looking for villas with the other ladies. Mind you with no TV, Internet and all my books in boxes I have a very clean house and lots of time!!!

Charlotte has settled well into school and now loves her school days and her teacher.  Although she has told me it would be more fun if she and I went shopping instead of to school!

Lachie can’t get enough of school and bounds out of the house in the morning. He is still doing karate once a week and we are now swimming lots again which is nice. When we move (actually out of the street) he will miss his friend Jasmine as the 2 spend every waking moment outside of school together. But we will have lots of play dates!

It was Clint’s birthday earlier this week and he managed to have lunch with 2 other guys who share his birthday! Last week also saw the boys head off to the one day international day night cricket match here. The boys decked out in the green and gold complete with traditional head dress, I think it was the first time for them all to attend a dry cricket match! Luckily Australia one.  Now he has his new bike he is staring to train again, he is aiming for the London triathlon in July while the kids and I are in Australia.

At present my days are filled with looking for villas and borrowing peoples Internet and of course lots of gossiping and laughs with the girls. We get the paper delivered each day and that also provides loads of entertainment! Yesterday we learnt that girls in Saudi Arabia can’t play sport cause it may cause them to loose their virginity! Also at the moment they are trying to stop the speeding with 40 new speed cameras, however the set the cameras at 160km/hr, so you only get booked if you are doing at least 60km over the limit…. yep that should fix the problem!

We are still enjoying it over here, despite the current accommodation headache. We are looking forward to coming to Australia in July/August to see everyone and escape the heat. Today is a balmy 46 degrees and we haven’t got to summer yet!

Sand, sand and more sand!

I know we live in the dessert but the last week has been crazy! We have had 6 continuous days of sand storms, which means the kids haven’t been able to play outside and even with the doors and windows closed there is a constant layer of sand in the house. On the plus I could now sand board down my front stairs and every time you went outside you got a free skin exfoliation.

2 days ago the sand was joined by rain. Which was a weird combination and not good for the car! But the rain eventually cleared the sand and we were left with the first thunder and lightening storm we have had while in Abu Dhabi it was great! Mind you it also meant flooded roads and lots of traffic problems.

On the plus side it gave Lachie a perfect opportunity to fly his kite in the street.

Mama and Papa

We have just returned from dropping Mum and Dad at the airport to fly back to Brisbane (via a few stops). They have been here for 2 weeks and the time has gone so quickly.

While they were here Clint and I headed off to Dubai for 3 nights without the kids. It was wonderful- sleeping in, relaxing and wait for it… eating dinner after 6pm at night! The Dubai shopping festival was on so we were able to explore some of the malls and grab a few bargains while enjoying the break.

Mum and Dad had a hit and miss with the tourist attractions. The day they went to the grand mosque the tour was not on beacuse of some VIP group. The day we went to the womens cultural centre, it was open but all the local handicraft ladies were at an exhbition at Sharjah (antoher emirate), we went to go to the old palace to find it had recently been bulldozed… luckily the heritage centre at the breakwater was open for business!

However the real tourist attractions for them did not disappoint. Lachie learnt to ride his bike without training wheels the first day they were here, mastered the use of the break on his scooter and enjoyed showing off his new found reading skills every day. Charlotte loved having them here and while Lachs was at school she had them to herself and they complied by reading her numerous stories, playing games watching her ride and generally entertaining her.  Although I know they will miss us, I am sure Mum and Dad will enjoy not having to play a million boardgames a day! And we will miss them, I guess it’s back to cleaning my own house and raising my own children next week!!!

Lachie is already counting down the sleeps (150) till we will see them again in July.