Getting my feet wet

Something new for me this weekend was getting my feet wet in the Persian Gulf.

My sister-in-law Danielle arranged for a play date for Grover, a sweetheart of a dog that provides for me great substitute fur therapy.  We drove out to Yas Island (just north of the main city area of Abu Dhabi ... if you have looked up Ferrari World, you'll know of what I'm writing), and met up with a fun dog by the name of Archie, and his owners.

Once again, street names and numbers being a novelty in this area of the world, we followed the directions given ... something along the lines of "take Yas Island West, turn right at the roundabout, go past the villas on the left, turn left at the palace, and you'll see our white suv off the side of the road".  You then proceed to drive onto the sand and the beach.  (Not all beaches are drive-on, but in this less developed area, a smattering of cars on this long beach.)

In this video you will see Grover, who had a blast playing in the water and on the beach with his new friend Archie.  You'll also see the extent of the waves in this area of the Persian Gulf. Very mellow.

There are lovely beaches with sand, especially in the Corniche area of Abu Dhabi (that we will visit when it cools down just a bit more).  This beautiful beach was different -- it was more of a dense mud consistency. As you walk out, your feet (with or without flip flops) stick to the mud a bit.  Not bad or uncomfortable, just different. You get out to the water, and it is wonderfully warm. Quite soothing in temperature.  Light blue for many feet, as it is shallow for many yards. A little further out, a lovely dark turquoise color.  You can see islands in the distance, no doubt owned by sheiks or their families.  Small clusters of mangrove trees, and many many sea shells lying about.

(Thanks, Shana, for the sunscreen!)

Voting at the Embassy

Found out through my brother that on October 16, 2012, American expats could go to the US Embassy in Abu Dhabi between the hours of 1 p.m. and 4 p.m., and vote in the 2012 presidential election.

Conveniently, that day I was at the Najah (pronounced nah-JAH) education exhibition, and that was a short distance from the US Embassy. So in the afternoon, I hopped in a taxi and went the mile or two to the embassy.  I got there before the line was really long.  Passport in hand, they let a couple of people in at a time.

Phones off.
Bags through a screener (think TSA at airport).
Step through a metal detector.
Then spread your arms and have a wand trace you.
Bags are held at the security station.

You walk to the next building, and there you fill out write-in ballots.
If you have your absentee ballot, you can turn it in.
The Embassy mails all of them free of charge.

I didn't receive my absentee ballot before I left the U.S., so used the write-in ballot.

Many staff working were working in the lobby-type area, asking mine and many people's questions. Very patient, and quite friendly.

I'm so glad I took the time to go do this.
There was just something special about going to an Embassy and having the opportunity to vote from so far away. A connection to home, and different sort of patriotic feeling.

Yup, they hand out "I voted" stickers, just like at home.
Wore mine when I went back to the education exhibition ... got some odd looks, as most probably had no idea that Americans were voting at the embassy, and they therefore wondered what the heck I had voted for.

Have to share that I do not miss the gluttony of political ads during this time. Prefer the tv news and newspaper stories, where the mud slinging is edited out.

Now I wait along with other Americans to see what the final result will be.

Oktoberfest in the Middle East

So, you have to keep in mind that the UAE -- including Abu Dhabi -- has a majority population of Expats. People are from all over the world, coming to the UAE to work. Different businesses, including hospitals, colleges and universities, oil industry, construction, airlines, hotels, and more.

Which then helps to explain how I ended up an Oktoberfest party in Abu Dhabi.

A couple of weeks ago, colleagues of Tom's and Danielle's reserved a table at the Hiltonia's Oktoberfest party, and were kind enough to extend their invitation to me as well.  Nightly through October, the hotel (and several others, in fact) throw this party.  Complete with German food, German beer, a German band, a beer stein holding contest (try holding your arm straight out and hold a traditional-size stein of beer for any length of time), and a bit of German dancing and singing.

Some folks were dressed in traditional German outfits (the pinafore type dress for women and lederhosen for men) ... it was a warm and muggy night, so I didn't envy the wearing of lederhosen.

We attended this toward the end of my second week here. I ended up sitting and chatting for a couple of hours with some very lovely and interesting people.  One couple hails from Canada; he works in the oil industry; they have been in the UAE for about five years, and are about to move to Bangkok for a new and different contract of employment.  Another couple is from the States, and spent several years in Saudi Arabia and are now in Abu Dhabi.  This introduced me to people who have made it a way of life to live for a few years in one place, and then as opportunities arise, move onto another international city and live there for a few years. As they shared areas of the country they have explored while living here (camping on the dunes, camel beauty pageants, driving to Oman which is reportedly quite beautiful with mountains and shoreline), you could see that they love immersing themselves in the culture and discovering all kinds of treasures within a country.

Being Muslim, pork is not popular with the UAE nationals. But it is with Expats. When pork is served, it is separated from all other foods being served. At this Oktoberfest, there were nice walled canopies with potato salads, red cabbage, sauerkraut, desserts, and I forget what else.  And so many different kinds of pork -- but all pork products were isolated in one tent.  Same for grocery stores -- the pork is in a separate room.  Expats are just grateful you can buy pork ... think about all the different items that include pork in the States, and imagine not having that.

It was a fun evening.

A few photos

While we were out on our walk, I took a few other photos.

Here's another view of the villa compound where we live.

The wall you see surrounds a sheik's villa and compound. In the background, you see four white spires. Those are the spires of the Grand Mosque.  It's several miles away, just to give perspective. I want to go check that out very soon; it's striking from the outside, and supposed to be incredible on the inside.

This shot shows the sheik's villa (nope, don't know which sheik ... there are HUGE villas and compounds not far from here as well) ... Eric's bike is on the left, and you can see (if you squint, or if you can enlarge this photo), a couple of people just past the bike; well, the top of their heads. They are down next to the water, fishing for Hammour (a speciality around here and quite tasty).

And this is just an elongated shadow of me.
Artsy? Goofy?
At this point it's bed time and I'm punchy, so including it for kicks :-)

Perspectives

It's the end of our weekend here in Abu Dhabi (Sunday, October 20th).  I am starting to adjust to the whole 'Fridays and Saturdays are the weekend' concept. I have moments where I wonder, when I am back home after this contract, will the adjustment of going back to Saturday-Sunday weekends be easy?  Probably. But you still wonder.

A reflection on my work here ... back home, as a dean of student services, your direct contact with students is constant. That has been my world for 11 years (as a dean), and more than double that amount of time if you add up all my years in higher education. As a dean, that contact included/includes (if I'm on a leave of absence, just what is the correct tense for that verb?) both stellar student leaders, and students who made some really interesting choices that brought them to my attention, and not in a good way.

With that being said, here in Abu Dhabi I currently see students throughout the day, but I am not interacting with them directly. And I see students as I visit our campus sites, and as I walk through the college where our management offices are located.  I have to say, I miss the interaction with my (yes, "my") student leaders (that's a shout-out to ASOCC!) ... but I am not missing the crazy moments and dealing with really challenging students, at least not right now.

I kind of knew I needed a break from that part of the position. It's a mix of emotions when it comes to that part of the job. It's great to help a student see things differently and turn themselves around and succeed. It's frustrating when it's a wild battle with a student over their behavior and choices. So right now, when I overhear the students talking to one of our lead teachers or managers about a complaint or about their own behavior, while I have the inclination to respond and jump in that fray, I  have to say I am enjoying not having to do that on a regular basis.  The position I'm in is helping me let go and not get in the middle of that intensity, and instead support and empower the teachers, staff and managers to handle those moments. (And they handle those situations well.)

Speaking of perspectives, had a minor emotional meltdown Friday morning.   The good news is that it had been several days since I  had been weepy.  That's progress. Technology is great when it works. Sometimes the home internet connection is not as consistent as I'm used to, and skype calls are choppy, with 3-5 second delays in sentences.  You combine that with a Friday morning, and weekends being when I miss Tim and the pups and home the most, well, it's a bit of a perfect storm.  But as Tim reminded me, being able to skype a couple of times a day even if it isn't perfect, and being able to email, beats having to wait for weeks for a letter in the mail. (Not to knock hand written notes, but "yay" for instant communication when you are 8400 or so miles away from home!)

And, thanks to Tim generating some good ideas, I will start getting out more, see some sights, even if it's on my own.  I have fun running around doing errands with Tom and Danielle, as they purchase items for the villa, and sharing meals and hanging out. We all agree we need to add in some fun things to the necessary tasks.  This afternoon (about 5 p.m.), Tom and Eric and I and Grover (their pup) took a walk, just outside the villa compound. (I struggle with the word "compound", but that's what the complexes are called here.)  There is a separate gate for a sheik's villa (our villa, times 5) that's on the compound, but the security guys are lovely about letting us walk in and out of that gate, as it is really convenient.

Obviously, we are facing west (sunset and all !).  This is a waterway coming inland, that flows past our compound. What you see is a grove of mangrove trees; the government is protecting them, and encouraging their growth.  Funny things, mangroves; my brother explained to me that they grow in salt water, their roots grow up, and they are nourished by the dew.  Beyond the mangroves, is the Gulf.  I want to go hang out on the beaches along the Gulf sometime soon. (Lovely chairs and umbrellas you can rent.) Reportedly some beautiful beaches.  So, sharing my view ... my perspective on a Saturday afternoon here in Abu Dhabi.

and now a note from our sponsor(s)

Okay. Honesty. Right up front.
This post is not going to include much about me or Abu Dhabi.

It's about Tim and a big ol' favor we have for you.

If you could, take a couple of minutes and check out this website:
http://tmgtextures.com/

This is Tim's big new adventure.  After 17 years he is closing up Gothic Moon Productions, and he's going to focus on this.  For years he has wanted to use his vast collection of photographs and make them available to designers (and anyone else who is interested).  He, and our good friends Tina and Jon, have combined their energies and talents into a new endeavor.

And this is just the start; the photo collection will continually expand and evolve.

If you enjoy what you see (even if you'll never purchase any of the photos but just enjoy looking at the world through their eyes), or if you get the kick I do out of Amanda's blog (Tim's sister), then please consider signing up for an account. It's free. And if you do Facebook, "liking" it would be fantabulous (okay, I'm feeling punchy tonight).  There's nothing as effective as word of mouth and social media these days, and I want to help Tim get a kick start.

The title of this blog ... well, I wouldn't be here if not for the support of Tim, as well as Tina and Jon ... so in a way, yeah, my sponsors.

And hey, the sooner their site and business takes off, the more often Tim can come and visit and take a whole bunch of photos here in the Gulf Region! Woo-hoo!

Yup, got to meet a Sheik

Yesterday (October 16, 2012) I attended Najah, an annual education exhibition here in Abu Dhabi.  I'd say there were about a hundred different colleges, universities, academies, and institutes that were sharing information about their academic programs.

Schools from the Abu Dhabi area were well represented.  Employers who educate and train employees were there as well (military branches, Etihad airlines).  There are several universities  from around the world that have campuses in Abu Dhabi, and then there were clusters of institutions from the U.S. that were recruiting international students.  This included UC Irvine and Portland State University, to name a couple. What was missing were any community colleges ... I'll have to bring that notion back to OCC with the tag "opportunity" stamped on it.

Students, mostly from secondary schools, came with their schools or classes and families, to check out their future options. This is a three-day event, and one of the days, or at least part of one of the days (I know, I'm pushing it with my grammar), it's just female students visiting the exhibition.  (Remember, gender segregation is a cultural norm here, especially in the schools and in the mosques and prayer rooms.)

On the first day of the exhibition, for the opening there is a red-carpet ribbon cutting.  Sheik Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, is the one who cuts that ribbon.  He then takes the time to visit many of booths, and speak briefly with various representatives.

I've mentioned my marvelous associate director. And with her experience, she knows lots of people and is well connected in education.  And God bless her, she made sure he stopped at the Al Rowdah booth; she introduced me to him, we shook hands, and we spoke briefly with him about Al Rowdah Academy.

Now picture this ... and no pun is intended here ... like any political or national figure, he has a bit of an entourage.  Not huge, but noticeable.  And there are press to document that a Sheik, and in this case a Sheik who is a minister, is at an event. So as we were talking to His Excellency, cameras all around us taking a bunch of photos.  Kind of hoped we'd be in the paper and I could include a link, but no such luck :-)

What I did take was a photo of the red carpet.  They are into hospitality here.

If you have been to a conference or convention, you are familiar with the Exhibitors that are part of those events.  Most of the ones I have attended have very simple booths. Usually pvc pipe and curtains. Once in awhile something elaborate.  ACTVET, my parent organization so to speak (see one of my first blog posts), had a large area that included booths for all of its entities.  Those booths were on the outside rim (picture a big circle, maybe 25' across.  In the middle area behind the booths was a seating area. Four comfy white leather chairs and a coffee table. Arabic coffee, hot milk with saffron, and chocolate covered dates.  Tried a taste of all.  I'm not a coffee drinker, and probably never will be, but was fun to taste Arabic coffee.  Strong stuff.  And the hot milk with saffron was simply fun.  Chocolate covered dates is something I will need to bring home with me ... yummy.

And there was a second floor, with stairs leading up to it, in the ACTVET "booth", complete with another seating area.

Here is a photo of our booth; you can get a sense of the size of ACTVET's space, and see the 2nd floor to the right.

Well, must run.  I have a Skype date with Tim.  (Gotta love Skype ... it's allowing us to talk at the beginning and end of each day.)

PS -- sorry for some typos.  As I glance through some of the posts, I wince, because I realize I haven't used spell-check.  I can't blame it on the jet lag, because that is done (for now, until the next flight and get all wonky again).

Literally half way around the world

Have you looked at a globe recently?

Before I left, Tim and I talked about me going "half way around the world". I had meant to find a globe before I left Califorania to see if this was true.  My nephew Eric has a globe in his play room (cool room, with big soft bean bags, all kinds of computer and board games).  I noticed the globe this morning before leaving for work, and took a look.  Yup. Half-way across the world is actually accurate.

The UAE (and possibly other areas of the Gulf Region) is such a mixed environment. You have the Bedouin history of the region, and camel racing is still a big event.  Then you have some malls that are on steroids (the Gucci end of things).  Last night I went with Tom and Danielle to Ikea (fairly new to Abu Dhabi) for a few more house things. I was happy to get lightbulbs, a small rug, and a few other doo-dads for my bedroom.  Picked up some frames, because Tim is going to print out some of his photographs and mail them off to me.  I have empty walls, and it will be great to have some of his work to look at every day.

A couple of days before that, we went to the Pottery Barn that just opened in Abu Dhabi (I think there is one in Dubai). Excited to get some lamps; sometimes the big bright bulb in the middle of the ceiling is handy, sometimes too bright.  (Sconces in the house are on Danielle's list of things to get eventually ... lots to do when you have to buy everything, and you have moved a whole bunch of your U.S. belongings overseas.)

Because the Al Rowdah Academy has sites all over the UAE, I will have the opportunity to see much more of the country than I might have if I was working at a one-campus university or college. 

Sheiks have enormous properties here.  Whether within or outside of the city, their fences goes for blocks in the city, sometimes miles outside the city.  From what I understand, there can be several homes on the property, as families stay together.  Relationships, and especially families, are highly (and I mean highly) valued here.

Partly because Al Rowdah is currently partnering with Kaplan International out of the UK, and partially because there is some left-over British influence here, I am picking up some English words I never knew before.

Bespoke (custom made; made to order)

Absconded (decamp; bolt)

Invigilate (to keep watch ... think placement tests)

Seconded ... now with this one, for those of us familiar with parlimentary procedure, a specific pronounciation and usage will come to mind.  Here, someone can be seconded ... pronounced seh-CON-ded ... meaning they have been moved from one academy / institute / college to another.

Now I need to start learning more Arabic words, and how to spell them (in English). Getting close to knowing a couple of common phrases.

That's probably enough random thoughts for one post!

Mountains and the Gulf of Oman

On Wednesday (October 10, 2012), Shaikha, Linda and I spent the day visiting two other Al Rowdah campuses.  The lovely Ramuz was our driver again, taking great care of us.

Our first stop was Sharjah, a city just north of Dubai. About an hour or hour and a half north from Abu Dhabi.  Fortunately, we were against traffic, otherwise the time can be much longer. (Much the same principle as our rush hour traffic at home in Calfornia.)  The map shows Sharjah as being on the waterfront, but in reality it's on the inland side of the highway.  Sharjah hosts both male and female students. Males have their classes and hang-out areas upstairs, females on the first floor. Another site that has even more potential for growth, if we can get the staff in.  For some positions, it is critical to hire people whose native language is Arabic, with first priority to have someone who is Emirati. Remember, we are talking about getting the skills and experience increased so that the in the longer term the UAE is not dependent upon non-UAE help.  Culturally, in the UAE separation of genders is important. Certainly less distracting for the fist-time college students :-)

At both sites this day, I was once again so impressed with the energy and commitment of the staff. (Here, the word "staff" encompasses everyone, including teachers.)

Our second site was Fujairah, which is northwest of Abu Dhabi. Fujairah (pronounced foo-jare-uh ... with a soft "j" sound) sits on the Gulf of Oman. (maps, people, maps!)

Before Fujairah, we stopped in Sharjah for a bit to eat mid-afternoon, because we had a ways to go by car, and Fujairah classes are being held in the late afternoons and evenings because that is when we have space at this site. (Four higher education entities sharing buildings.)  Shaikha chose a lovely cafe, with a delicious range of options, from chef and ceasar salads, to club and cheese sandwiches, to fish entrees.

Driving to Fujairah, you encounter a mountain range that is quite huge.  Rows of mountain tops; in shadow they are hued in purple, and in sunlight a range of grays and browns. Not a lot of vegetation, but striking nonetheless. Reminded me a bit of the mountains up highway 395 in California, and a wide expanse of them.

We arrived in Fujairah a little early, so we drove to the edge to see the Gulf of Oman. Beautiful clear skies, big cargo ships in the distance, dark blue water.  Absolutely lovely.  Apparently it is growing as a tourist destination, and during the good-weather months of November through April it can be hard to get a hotel room, and I could see why.

The ride back (again, I'll start taking my camera with me!), we returned through those same mountains. Except now the sun was beginning to set.  As we came out of the mountain region and back down into the sea-level and sand, there were still some significant single mountains scattered around. The sun looked gigantic, and such an amazing color of deep orange. I am sure it's from the sand that must be moving through the air at all times; whatever the cause, we all took a moment to appreciate the beauty as the sun set behind a singular mountain.

Once the sun was down, I peppered Shaikha with more questions about the country and the culture.  I learned more about the five prayers a day, the timing of those, and how you manage five prayer times a day when travelling.  One way I noticed is the use of a "lay-by", or rest area, which might have gas, fast food, and either a designated prayer room if not a smaller mosque.  I learned that the sign for "Endurance Village" is a sign post for endurance races with horses; there are competitions around the Gulf Region and Middle East, and riders and their horses go for hours and hours. I will have to learn even more about this, as I am guessing this goes back into the Beduoin (spelling? ... another thing to check) history of the nation.

I am beginning to learn of many different events that occur here, like the Abu Dhabi  international film festival, the Formula 1 race, camel racing, and the Dubai Global Village exhibition, all coming up in the next month or so.

Tonight (Friday, October 12th) I am joining Tom and Danielle at an Expat Oktoberfest party. I haven't met but a couple of people yet from outside of work, so another kind of new adventure.

SIDE NOTE ... if there are things I am not talking about in these posts that you want to know or learn about, or if you want me to write more about some things, let me know!

A room with a view

Today is Friday, October 12th, which means it is the weekend here in the UAE. Tom and Danielle took Eric to a swim meet in Dubai, leaving early this morning.  Eric is a good swimmer; very fast.  I think it was Monday evening (maybe Sunday? honestly, finding it a bit challenging to keep the days of the week straight, with the Friday-Saturday weekend and me always wanting to remember what time it is back home) ... anyway, let's say it was Monday evening ... Tom and Eric and I went to Officer's City to swim laps.  Officer's City is a large building that includes a hotel, restaurants, Olympic size lap pool, a shooting range, fitness rooms and classes, and probably more. It's geared toward those in the UAE military, but anyone can pay to use the facilities.  It's not too far from where we are living. (We are costing out if we want to share a family membership or not, because the pool is nice and swimming laps feels great.)  Next time, I would like to take a few more minutes and view the displays they have, documenting the military history of the UAE (cool photos, uniforms on display, that sort of thing).

So, here is a photo of our villa, from the front. (People live in apartments or villas here, and instead of a condo complex you will hear it referred to as a compound.)

In this compound, there are four and five bedroom villas; ours is a five bedroom. We just have neighbors to the right, and not on our left; that helps with noise from neighbors.

Just around the corner (to the left of our villa) is a compound recreational area. A couple of workout rooms (one for ladies, one for 'gents'), a small indoor pool, a larger outdoor pool (maybe 25 yards, which would be handy for early morning laps), a couple of tennis courts, a shaded play area (slides, swings, etc.), and grass area.  It overlooks an large inlet area from the Gulf.

After doing the treadmill for a bit, I walked around. I had my camera with me at that point, and took some pictures of signs to show Tim. (He has a new web-based business, and photos of all kinds for designers and anyone else interested.)  We have security here, and my taking photos of signs got their attention. They asked if I live here, and left me alone after that. Glad we have security, and glad they are taking their jobs seriously, but it was a sort of odd feeling knowing that I had raised some sort of suspicion in their eyes ... if you are visiting any sort of government building, ask permission to take photos. Absolutely don't take photos of military buildings. That's not where we are living, but got an idea of the looks Tim gets from other people when he is taking photos of things that "normal" tourists do not (like brick walls and road signs).

Here is a photo of the main entrance of our villa compound, if you are exiting:

It is kept nicely landscaped.

And not too shabby a view; this is the backyard, from my bedroom window; new tile and sod:

I will take more photos as I explore the area, and share some on the blog over time.

K.

Sand dunes and camels

As Al Rowdah Academy has the nine different campuses (I think I said ten last time, which is what someone told me... but I added up the campuses on our list and right now, nine), and as the director I will be visiting them every couple of weeks.  They are spread out across the country -- eastern, northern, and western.

Yesterday, Tuesday October 9th we went to Al Ain. That's pronounced about how it looks, al-ane. It's on the eastern side of the UAE (pretty much due-east of Abu Dhabi), on the border of Oman. (Will again suggest pulling up a map of the UAE!)  It's about a one to one-and-a-half hour drive from Abu Dhabi. Al Rowdah has two campuses there, each with different educational programs. (One is health science, the other has a mix of programs such as fashion design, jewelry design, IT, and human resources.)  I have yet to meet anyone working that isn't passionate about the work they are doing for students.

Ever since yesterday's drive I have been eager to share the view along the way. I would be disappointed that I didn't have my camera with me if I didn't know I will make this trip many times over the next year or so; and I now have an idea of photos I want to take.  And I notice sites and views and different shots that Tim will enjoy taking when he visits in February.

We started out in the morning.  We = myself, Shaikha (pronounced shake-uh, Al Rowdah assistant director and an amazing resource for both work as well as the history and culture of the UAE), Linda from Kaplan International, and our wonderful drive Ramuz (pronounced rah-muz).

The UAE has lots of sand.  LOTS. Around the Abu Dhabi area, I would describe it as yellow-ish in color. Along the road to Al Ain you see miles of sand and dunes; these are not the largest dunes or the ones that are the draw for four-wheeling and camel rides, although you do see four-wheel tracks and camel tracks beyond the wire fencing.  And yes, saw my first camels. The first one I noticed was hanging out in a penned area with a horse. Along the way and every now and again you see other fenced or penned areas with two to four camels. For whatever reason, seeing them made me smile. Perhaps because they are one of the quintessential symbols of this desert region, and they are just, well, fun.

As you get closer to Al Ain, the sand begins to change color. It becomes much more orange, and the dunes adjacent to the roadway just before you enter the city area are just a little larger. They make this entrance into the city.  They are smooth from gentle winds, with some curved shapes that are picturesque.

And surpringly (to me) in the distance -- just a bit further east -- are some very large mountains. Apparently on top one of them is a hotel, reportedly with an amazing view. They look rugged and rocky, with little vegetation. Maybe a bit like the mountains along the Owens Valley and highway 395 in California.

Al Ain has a very different feel to it than Abu Dhabi. Abu Dhabi is most definitely an energetic city, and in many ways is fast paced. Al Ain feels much more suburban. There were housing areas we drove by that reminded me of the older sections of Scottsdale, in style and color and natural rock and arid plantlife in front yards. Other areas are what is becoming "typical" UAE architecture ... yes, I promise to take photos!!  The people I met love living there, stating that it is indeed a slower paced life there.

It was toward the end of the day when we headed back to Abu Dhabi. The sun was beginning to set; that beautiful time of day where the sun is hitting things horizontally with that golden hue.  Near Al Ain, those orange colored dunes were radiant with the evening sunlight on them. At that time of day, umber might be a better description of the sand in that area.

Driving along, I saw signs for "Farm Access". The farms grow vegetables, such as cucumbers, tomatoes and eggplant. All farms are required to grow palm trees.  And farms are being encouraged to grow organically.

Palm trees were planted years ago when the highways were built.  Sheik Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan was the architect behind the uniting of the emirates. I look foward to reading more about the history of the area and about him in particular; he sounds like he was a visionary.  And he remains so very highly regarded, much like our founding fathers, but with even more of a sense of the word "father" for the Emirati. He required then and it is required now, that trees planted between the two sides of the highways, and along the sides of the highways.  On the road to Al Ain, it's mostly palm trees.  Where they draw their irrigation from I forgot to ask. (There are rubber tubes feeding water to the palm trees, for miles and miles.  Actually, that would be kilometers and kilometers.)

By the way, the word Sheik is pronounced "shake".

Round and round you go

As I mentioned previously, navigating your way around the UAE is an interesting experience. I think I gasped much more frequently as a passenger in Rome, Italy as far as the actual driving goes.  But I want to share an example of directions from where I am living to where I am working:

3D2D

- more info »

Mangrove Village - Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates

	1. Head north
		200 m
	2. Turn right toward 3rd St
		500 m
	3. Turn left onto 3rd St Go through 1 roundabout
		600 m
	4. At the roundabout, take the 3rd exit onto 2nd St
		180 m
	5. Take the ramp onto 30th St/​Al Khaleej Al Arabi St
		1.7 km
	6. Continue onto Airport Rd/​E 20
		5.5 km
	7. Take the exit toward 16th St
		220 m
	8. Keep right at the fork and merge onto 16th St Continue to follow شارع - ١٦‎ Go through 3 roundabouts
		6.5 km
	9. At the roundabout, take the 1st exit onto 33
		1.1 km
	10. At the roundabout, take the 2nd exit onto 34th St
		1.3 km
	11. At the roundabout, take the 1st exit
		96 m
	12. Turn left
		1.4 km
	13. Turn right
		33 m
	14. Take the 1st right Go through 1 roundabout
		800 m
	15. At the roundabout, take the 2nd exit
		400 m
	16. At the roundabout, take the 1st exit Go through 1 roundabout Destination will be on the right
		1.3 km

Might have to record a video driving through one of these roundabouts to truly and literally give a picture of these three-lane loop arounds.  And signs that show which of the four exits on the roundabout you take to get to where. I have to admit they are intimidating me a little less (keep in mind, I am still only travelling as a passenger!), and the trip back and forth (exit signage, exits and entrances) is beginning to feel more familiar. I am carpooling most days with my sister-in-law Danielle, and we've agreed that in no longer than a month I will try the driving ... good practice, and I need to use my reserved parking space once in awhile!!