Enjoying the cool weather while we have it

I am enjoying the beautiful weather while we have it.

Saving indoor activities (malls, Netflix) for the summer when there is no hanging around outside due to extreme heat.

It has been in the 70's mostly.  With lows between 55-59 degrees. Today (according to the internet) it was 79 degrees.

I swim laps in the mornings or evenings, and if there is a breeze then I grab a sweatshirt for when I get out of the pool … I know I know, it’s not the cold of Iowa (Dad) or Washington D.C. (Annie) … but as I have mentioned before, it’s all relative.  (No pun intended after mentioning my dad and sister!)

Today I ran a few errands.  For the NASPA national conference, I am putting a little package o’ goodies for the NASPA Foundation’s Silent Auction.  I wanted to price dates (nut-stuffed and chocolate covered), purchase a hand-made item from Sougha (a Khalifa Fund project, which supports women Emiratis with their craft business; gorgeous items!), and identify a couple of other items I can put together for the auction. Hoping that items from the UAE will be of interest for people.

I’ve decided to wait to go up in the Marina Mall Towers (or whichever high-level view) until Tim is here. He helps me through moments of heights anxiety J  I want to see the view from higher up; just don’t want to scare strangers if I start to get to anxious.

One of my errands was to find a jewelers and a tailor that someone had told me about.  I’ve talked about directions and finding things here. Today was no different.  I didn’t got lost … I knew where I was. But for the life of me I could not find this particular tailor. (“Go down 3^rd to the end, do a u-turn, make the first right, tailor is in the pink building behind a bank.”)  Tried u-turns a couple of times, to no avail.  Maybe my sister-in-law can help me find it. That, or I’ll go with a tailor I can find (there are many of them), randomly selected and fingers crossed.  I did finally see the jewelers I was told about, but by then they were closed.  (My pearls became un-strung; need someone to re-string them now.)

What I was successful at today was having a late breakfast on an outside patio of a restaurant near the Marina Mall.  La Boulanger. Finally figured out where you park to get to it.  

The tallest towers in the background -- just below them is the Central Souk that I've mentioned.  The giant flag pole is on Lulu Island (not sure what's on the island or how you get to it ... you can see canopies of a sort and I guess you get there by boat).

Even sitting in the sun (I need a decent sun hat!), it was lovely. Not too hot because of a cool breeze.  Here are pics of the Corniche and the breakwater.

Something about the sunsets here

There is something about the sunsets here.

When the sun sets, it looks larger than any other time I've seen.

And the colors are brilliant. Deep oranges, sometimes various shades of orange.

And the sun sets quickly. Once it gets near the horizon, it seems to slip beyond our view more quickly than I've noticed other places in the world.

Here are photos from the other day, as we were heading down the E11 from Dubai to Abu Dhabi. The photos really don't do the sunset justice, and and of course it would be better if the photos weren't taken from the car :-)   But you get the idea!

A few hours roaming in The Mall of the Emirates (Dubai)

Woo-hoo, it's a three-day weekend!

Thursday, 24th January was the Prophet's birthday, giving schools and government agencies (and probably a lot of businesses outside of retail and tourist) the day off.

For his spring break in February, my nephew Eric is going on a school ski trip to Switzerland.  So parents organized some practice ski time for the 24th at Ski Dubai (at Mall of the Emirates).  I decided to tag along ... not to ski, but to go out and about.

My brother Tom enjoyed the skiing as well, and my sister-in-law Danielle and I did our own thing wandering about for the afternoon.

We got to the mall around Noon. There are many restaurant options.  A good food court (some I would deem gourmet for a food court with a variety of ethnic foods, plus fast food like McDonalds which also seems to be taking over the world!), coffee shops (yes, including Starbucks, which also seems to be taking over the world!), casual open-area restaurants (CPK, Chili's, and others that are unique to me and are more regional), and a few sit-down restaurants. I decided to splurge and I chose a sit-down Lebanese restaurant that overlooks Ski Dubai.

This is a straight-on shot. The ski lift and the slope on the left go quite a way up to toward the left. You might enjoy going on to googlemaps.com and typing "mall of the emirates", and then zoom in. You'll see a large silver section that is sort of a "L" shape. That's Ski Dubai. If you get the chance to look at it at ground level, it goes up high above the mall.

They do ski lessons, too.

At the restaurant I enjoyed some Shanglish, and some Hummus with meat and pine nuts. The hummus was different than I'd had before; this was very creamy and thick.  Good, just different. Some warm puffed-up pita bread, and a large plate of vegetables. And Jalab to drink ... Jalab is not to everyone's taste. It's a combination of date juice and rose water, with some pine nuts thrown in for good measure. I think it's quite fun and tasty.

After that I wandered in and out of stores. I do prefer to explore stores that I am not familiar with (versus Guess and The Body Shop and H&M, etc. ... nothing against them, just prefer stores unique to me).

I took a photo of a very pretty glass done that is over the center of the fashion section of the mall. (Another section is geared toward home products.)

And facing the other way, with more of the mall in view, for scale.

Later I sat down for a cup of hot chocolate (it's really not a good thing for me if I go with caffeine later in the day!), read from my kindle, and watched people stroll by. A huge variety of people, so fun people watching. And many different languages.

Oh! Almost forgot. While this photo is not going to be clear enough to read, this is a sign at the mall's entrances.  It matches what is in the mall's brochure that you can pick up, that includes store names, map, and behavioral guidelines. Yes, that is a visual sample of a suggested conservative dress.  Things to know should you visit some places in the UAE.

To quote the Courtesy Policy listed in the Mall of the Emirates Guide:

• "Please wear conservative clothing. We advise avoiding showing your shoulders and knees."

• "No kissing or overt displays of affection"

• "No smoking in the mall"

• "No consumption of alcohol in the mall"

• "No dangerous activities, i.e.  sport games, rollerblading or skateboarding"

Always thought this type of stop light was a good idea

We've all sat an intersections, in the left turn lane, waiting for the green arrow.

And if we are wanting to do a u-turn, you hope fervently that the person behind you doesn't press the accelerator to hard and fast, before you can make it obvious that you are maneuvering your vehicle around the island and tight turn.  If there are a couple of left turn lanes next to each other, I've always thought it would be a good idea to somehow let people know that you are doing a u-turn, not a left turn.

As I wandered via car the other day ... well, I didn't mean to wander ... I was headed to Yas Island for a visit to Ace Hardware for a couple of things. (Right next to Ikea.)  I came in from a different road that I have before, and it took me several wrong turns and then finally a correct turn before I got to Ace.

One of those wrong turns took me to a spot where you can do a u-turn to get yourself in the other direction. It's for u-turns only.

Maybe there are lights like these in other places, but it was a new one for me, and I got a total kick out of it. All three are u-turn lights (red, yellow, green):

And if you want to see a few other signs (Tim will be posting some of these on TMGTextures) for kicks and giggles, here you go ...

This one lets you know there is a roundabout coming up. This one is in our villa compound.

Here's an example of a roundabout sign off a major road. The exit sign lets you know where the different roundabout exits/branches will take you. 

And in our complex, a sign asking people to not honk their horns.  MOST people abide by it MOST of the time :-)

Standing room only in a church

Here in Abu Dhabi, I've been to St. Andrew's church (Anglican) a couple of times. To me it's physically a nice size and comfortable and I've enjoyed the sermons.

Last Friday I decided to check out St. Joseph's (Catholic), to see if I liked it more than St. Andrew'sf, as I seek a "home" church while in the UAE. I was raised Catholic, and as much as the various Christian churches might not want to admit it, there are common elements to Catholic and Protestant services, so both feel familiar to me.

Two things struck me when I attended Mass on Friday morning. Both surprising, but both not positive.

First the negative surprise. I know that Mary the Mother of Jesus is revered and prayed to in the Catholic church, and she is seen as an intercessor; I just don't remember a Catholic Mass being 95% about Mary.  What threw me through a loop, however, wasn't my need to focus on honoring and praying to Jesus ... it was when I had to hold in a gasp when the Priest said -- and I quote -- "I don't know why the Pentacostals and Protestants hate Mary." (emphasis not mine)  Wow!  Hate? Really? Not prayed to, and not revered at the same level as Catholicism, but I've never met a Protestant (or Pentacostal) that hates Mary. (Hello! The Mother of God. Who's going to hate her?)

[Plus the whole other point in that absurd statement by the priest, who also separated out Pentacostals and Protestants ... if you believe in Jesus as our Savior and Son of God = you are Christian. Last I checked, both Pentacostals and Protestants had a firm belief in Jesus.]

After that one sentence about hating Mary, I'll be sticking with St. Andrew's when I go to church here in Abu Dhabi.

Second, and more importantly, is putting this erroneous and surprising statement aside ... what a beautiful thing to witness the positive impact these churches have within the Abu Dhabi community.  St. Joseph's seats several hundred people. Somewhere around 600-700 people if I'm taking a guess (not great with visually quantifying a number). [I am basing this guess by visualizing the Robert B. Moore Theatre at Orange Coast College, which holds just over 900 people, in individual seats.] 

This is a church that has long wooden pews, with people sitting snuggly next to each other. And the thing that struck me was the number of people that were standing along the sides, and outside the doors. Literally standing room only.  And it wasn't just this service.  I arrived a little early, not knowing the logistics. I could see that the earlier service was standing room only.  And there were lines of people waiting for the 9 a.m. service, ready and eager to get in.    

With those numbers and the standing room only -- to see such a spiritual need being met was profound to witness.

A note that is really here nor there, but is an possibly interesting detail: I stood out like a sore thumb. I was easily the only blonde, if not one of the only Caucasians in sight. My fellow worshippers were Southeast Asian.  No one made me feel out of place, but when you are the minority in a room, you notice.

If you look at their website, St. Joseph's holds 22 Masses Friday through Sunday, in several languages. And throughout the month, they hold additional monthly Masses in several different languages.  And I know that St. Andrew's shares their building by hosting other congregations (somewhere I heard it was 40), in a variety of languages.  The Evangelical Community Church around the corner hosts 30 other congregations.

What a beautiful thing that the UAE supports this out-in-the-open Christian worship, as it is a country with an official religion of Islam.  Stories I hear, this (allowing Christian churches to be physically and spiritually present) is absolutely not happening in other Islamic and Middle Eastern countries.

One more thing for me to not take for granted, whether here in Abu Dhabi or at home in the States. The ability to purposefully and without fear, enter a place of Christian worship.  Another thing to be thankful for in any given day.

Golf Championship in Abu Dhabi

Saturday, January 19, 2013 "adventure"

Usually, the only time I have watched golf is if I need noise in the background during a nap, or if I'm hanging out with my Dad and he has a golf tournament on.

I have nothing against golf, just has never interested me. Miniature golf maybe. That's low pressure and can be entertaining.

But I'm Abu Dhabi, right? And committed to trying new things. Seeing things that are here. And now.  And I've never been to a pro golf tournament, ever.

So I get this email from Etihad Airlines, letting me know that if I flash my Etihad Guest member card, I can get in for free.  Hmmm. The cost (no VIP package or that sort of thing) is only 50 Dhirham (calculator / conversion time!). And it's not far from where I'm living.  Why not?!  

I put on my new UV-resistant shirt from REI (I have probably mentioned that the sun is intense here, even in cooler weather) ... definitely a good purchase, because it sure seemed to help. Grabbed a baseball cap (glad I did), and drove on over to the Abu Dhabi Golf Club.

Side note about driving: I lean toward following my intuition. I had looked at a map before I left the villa, but wasn't 100% sure of the route I decided upon.  At one turn my gut said "this way!", when visually it didn't seem quite right.  Lo and behold, my gut was right, and I found the place. (The map makes it look so easy to find ... hah!)  I had thought about taking a taxi, and if I were to go again I probably would, because I ended up parking down this main street. I'm not a good judge of distance, but let's call it .75 miles. Heck, a little more exercise is good for me. 

Back to golf. I had listened to the radio, and favorites Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy were already out of the tournament after yesterday.

I don't know if all pro golf tournaments have fun zones, but this one does. All kinds of games for kids and families, some physical activity and some golf related. One booth featured Abu Dhabi information.  One Emirati gentleman was writing names in Arabic. Here is "Kate" in Arabic:

Falcons are a big thing here, always have been. 

(Another side note: someone told me that the red/white checkered head covering is the "casual" dress; otherwise, you see white.)

If your a golf fan, here are a couple of photos of the scoreboard (done by hand by volunteers), and the course.  Near the holes, volunteers hold up "quite please" and "no cameras please" signs when someone is putting.

After checking out the "fun zone" (other vendors as well, such as Gourmet Abu Dhabi which is in February, magazine "Hello! Middle East", along with food and drink vendors ... alcohol served, as it was definitely an Expat crowd) -- I walked along part of the course.  If you are like me and know nothing of how this works, pairs of golfers start at different times at the 1st hole, and proceed from there. A program tells you who is starting when, and with whom.  I stumbled upon the 18th hole, and players Liang Wen-Chong (China) and Joel Sjoholm (Sweden). Watched them play that through.  I wasn't near one of those volunteers with a "no camera" sign (as you can see from the shot I was a ways back), so took advantage.  Liang is on the left in a yellow shirt, and Joel is in white on the right. Nope, I don't remember their score.

Glad I went. It was a beautiful day out, and something new and different (to me) to explore.  Afterward, treated myself to an outside patio seat at the Souk near the villa, and enjoyed some munchies at the Japanese restaurant.

Oh ... I'm be a little judgmental here and show a photo under the title of "things that are just wrong." Now, I'm just hoping I don't have to apologize to any friends or family that have the same pair:

(If you wore red to the golf tournament on Saturday, you got in free. Hence the woman to his right in all red.)

Haiti: and I thought the UAE internet connection was frustrating

Tim is in Haiti.

Our friend Jon has visited Haiti several times now. I'll have to ask him how many times he has gone there. On an annual basis, he has gone with a group that assists with some construction in the city of Hinche. (google map time!)

This year, someone from the usual team couldn't go, and Jon asked Tim if he wanted to come along.  The answer was yes.

They left on January 14th, and will fly back on the 20th.
Los Angeles to Miami to Port au Prince, and back the same route.

From Port au Prince, a 2.5 to 3 hour drive across the country to get to Hinche.

Welding helmet in hand, Tim is doing welding all day on a building.

So, I had a feeling that his being in the middle of the Haiti, or close to the middle (a theme for the Muellers right now, being in the middle of places), might prove to be an internet and Skype challenge. And I was not wrong.

So far we've had about 7 minutes of a decent enough connection to chat. The other days, immediate connect and disconnect, a couple of garbled sentences, a five second delay so we end up talking over each other, or the call not going through at all.

Jon has been able to Skype a little with Tina (also our friend, his wife), but also having connection issues. But Jon also has been able to text Tina a little. So, thanks Tina for being an intermediary in getting messages to Tim for me, through Jon!

Now I seem to need Skype time with Tim like a junkie needs a fix. My day is just not the same if I don't manage to connect at least once with Tim via Skype. We are both looking forward to catching up again after he gets back to California.

To further explain the title of this blog, the UAE internet is decent, but it is not what we have in the U.S.  I realize I have a good thing going with U.S. internet. Our UAE/US Skype calls have their frustrating moments, once in awhile cutting us off, or getting to only talk and not use the video.  After Tim's adventure to Haiti I can now live with the UAE internet much more easily!

And I look forward to hearing details from Tim about the Haiti trip ... with a few short minutes I've learned that there are about 35 people on this trip, many are medical personnel. That they are sleeping on cots, and that showers are quick.  The shower water is in a container on the roof, and you get whatever temperature it is. That makes the warmth of Haiti a good thing.

I imagine Tim will share some details on his blog on TMGTextures too!

Every day things are a kick too

It's been a few days since my last post. I had a flurry of them last week.

This past weekend, I didn't end up checking off any of my to-do-in-Abu-Dhabi list. But it was a pleasant weekend nonetheless, and I guess I must have needed an I-just-live-here weekend because that is what worked for me.

But that also left me wondering what to write about. Part of me assumes (I know, dangerous to do) that people want to hear about unique things, not every day things.

And for some it is probably far more exciting to have me paint pictures with words and share actual photographs, as I go on Abu Dhabi "excursions". I place the quotes there because there are grander excursions such as dune-bashing (4x4's up and down and across dunes) and helicopter tours and going up in the highest building in the world (Burj Khalifa, Dubai; actually do not know how high a visitor can go up).

And then I realized that it is indeed unique that I experienced certain things this past weekend:
~ playing cribbage with Helen, online and half way across the world
~ openly attending a Christian church service in an Islamic country smack-dab in the middle of the Middle East
~ watching a Pastor make a card / magic trick part of his sermon (it's my second time at St. Andrew's Anglican Church, and the pastor is quite engaging)
~ swimming laps in the pool, with a view of the Persian Gulf (or at least an inlet from the Persian Gulf)
~ wandering around Marina Mall for no particular reason and getting completely turned around until I find a clear skylight that leads me to the base of the tower, so that I can catch back up with Tom, Danielle and Eric
~ picking food items out of the grocery deli counter, having to decide which stuffed olives to enjoy, selecting a cheese flavored with blueberries, and later enjoying those and other goodies with a glass of wine
~ and enjoying such snacks with my brother, and sister in law, and nephew (the food, not the wine, with my nephew!) in a villa in Abu Dhabi

Dune-bashing would be fun, but I hesitate only for love of my lower back health ;-)
A helicopter ride would provide magnificent views, but no sure I am yet ready (if I ever will be) about taking that kind of ride
And if you know me and heights, going up into the tallest building in the world is not happening.

But I do have my list of things to do and to check out and I will be checking items off ("ticking them off" if I use the local and UK way of saying it), taking photos, and sharing what I see and experience. Have a list going for this coming weekend :-)

Thanks for reading!  You have no idea how it helps me to feel and be connected to my friend and family, to write these and have them read.

Playing with dolls

As a gift, when I was home in California over Christmas, I received a doll. 

Curious? It's a Dammit Doll.

Thank you Ramona and Efren!

It's a sturdy stuffed doll, with this stitched to its chest:


The idea is to whack the dickens out of something (not someone!) when you are frustrated, as you can't hurt the doll.  If you cannot read the tiny photo:
"Whenever things don't go so well, and you want to hit the wall and yell, here's a little dammit doll, that you can't do without. Just grasp it firmly by the leg and find a place to slam it. And as you whack the stuffing out yell 'dammit! dammit! dammit!' " (looks like it's available on www.dammitdolls.com and Amazon and other sites)

I brought it back to Abu Dhabi with me, and I took it into work ... a) for show and tell, b) to possibly use, and c) for a reminder of friends at home.  Two of my staff are working on a beast of a report (we've lost count of the hours and hours both of them have put into this thing), and today the deadline was moved up drastically.  So I tucked this under my arm (I didn't need to go walking by Security and other staff and have them wonder why I had was carrying something that is obviously a doll, and at first glance you might think is some sort of voodoo doll!) and handed it over to the team working on the report.

I may never get the doll back :-0

They also send their thanks to Ramona and Efren.  Perhaps I should buy stock in this, because I understand they are all ordering dammit dolls of their own.

The pups

I miss my pups. Okay, not as much as I miss Tim. But maybe close :-)

Now a note about home California.

Our girl, Suki, thinks the guest bed in our front bedroom is hers. She tolerates people sleeping in the bed, and instantly commandeers it when they leave.  If your visiting solo and leave the bedroom door open, she will climb up on the bed and curl up on the other side.

It's why we keep a blanket over the duvet; it's easier to keep washing the blanket of fur.

There have been times that Suki has protested absences by bunching up blankets and sheets and pillows. Tim and I will come home from being out and about and check the guest and master bedrooms, to see if she has undone a bed. It's seriously the only furniture she ever gets up on. Suki likes her comfort. And we've had to replace a few sets of sheets if she has been particularly frustrated or lonely.

Shortly after I left for Abu Dhabi in October, there was quite a display. Looks like she is nesting. (The photo is a little dark, but you'll get the idea.)

And Suki LOVES her stuffed animals.

I assure you, not a posed photo. Sleep puppy.

Suki also loves her (yes, "her") small leather couch that is at Gothic Moon.  Didn't have heart to tell her it was not hers.  And she will crowd right up on the couch with you, or take right back over once you get up from it.  

Now, keep in mind that I was gone, then home, and then left again. Tim is closing up Gothic Moon so he can focus on his new adventure (TMG Textures ... let me know if you need the website address again!), which means he and Tina are packing up books and office supplies and anything else not being purchased by others. Change and puppies not usually a comfortable mix for the wee beasties.  I don't think Suki believes us yet that the couch is coming home for her ... but have you seen anything quite this pathetic in awhile?

Now, in full disclosure, Tim did put the teddy bear under her leg. But frankly I was surprised that he had to, because we have a number of photos of her lying on or hanging on to a stuffed animal. This bear's right ear has seen better days, because Suki's brother Taicho likes to rip the small parts and tags off of any stuffed animal they get ... that's before he proudly de-stuffs them.

Wish they could understand that I'll be home for good in less than a year.

I must share that when they cruise by Tim when we are skyping, they seem quite happy. But these moments on film (guess that's a by-gone phrase, but it sounds better than "these moments on an sd card"), well, they are both heartbreaking and very funny, simultaneously.

The Grand Mosque

The Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi is impressive just driving by it. Up close or from a distance, it is difficult not to stare and take in the sight of it.  It is not the largest mosque in the world, but it is very, very, big. Being strikingly white, with its tall minarets and large domes, it grabs your attention and your awe.  At night, it is lit up.  The shape and size become a familiar landmark, but by day and by night it looks distinctively different; beautiful by daylight and beautiful with its night lighting.

Here's a link if you want to get more details (and if you google it, lots of sites have information and photos).  It's named in honor of the founding father/first president of the UAE, Sheikh Zayed.      http://www.szgmc.ae/en/

Visiting the Grand Mosque is a must-do when exploring Abu Dhabi. And love going into cathedrals and churches when I travel.

I ventured there on Saturday, January 5th in the afternoon.  I need to go back and do the tour; I got distracted walking around on my own and missed the mid-afternoon guided tour.  Plus, I realized too late that my camera batteries didn't have enough charge, ... but I did manage to get some photos of the mosque nonetheless.  And while the weather is cooler this time of year, it was a bit roasty when in the sun, especially in the courtyard and while wearing an abaya; so maybe the early morning or late afternoon tour!

When you enter, there is a sign that establishes appropriate clothing for men and women (the Mosque's website also lists this). As a woman, if you are not already wearing one, an abaya is provided for you.  When you go into the mosque itself, shoes come off. (There are many shelves for shoes to be placed.)  Socks are okay, as are bare feet.  The abaya and the no-shoes are part of Islamic practice when in a mosque and/or when praying.

So many things (vast majority it seems) are made out of marble here.  The Grand Mosque is no exception.  The artistry on this building is quite amazing.

Here is a photo of inlaid marble in different colors:

The flower was easily the size of a large dinner plate.  Other flowers included the colors of blue and of red.

Here is a photo in which I attempt to capture the scale of the place; I am standing in the middle of the mosque at this point:

And I stand on a far end of the mosque (with people for some scope / perspective):

The white pillars (you can see a couple closer up on the right) also have an inlay design in them.

The courtyard you enter:

You can see teeny tiny people at the far side of the courtyard ... I mentioned that it is BIG!  To the right are reflecting pools, and landscaped grounds surround the mosque over several acres.  If you type in "Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nayhan Mosque, Abu Dhabi" in google maps, you can pull up a shot that shows the mosque -- another view to ginormous scale.

And some carvings on the inside (various layers and designs), and outside:

Sheer artistry and craftsmanship.

Some statistics from the website visitabudhabi.ae/en/
"This architectural work of art is one the world’s largest mosques, with a capacity for an astonishing 41,000 worshippers. It features 82 domes, over a 1,000 columns, 24 carat gold gilded chandeliers and the world's largest hand knotted carpet. The main prayer hall is dominated by one of the world’s largest chandeliers –10 metres in diameter, 15 metres in height and weighing twelve tonnes. The mosque's first ceremony was the funeral of its namesake, Sheikh Zayed, who is buried at the site."
(http://visitabudhabi.ae/en/what.to.see/attractions/sheikh.zayed.grand.mosque.aspx )

And a photo I just enjoyed lining up and want to share:

Playing Tourist

I feel that I am both resident and tourist here in Abu Dhabi.  Perhaps it is fact, not just how I feel.

I work here, live here, have the residency visa in my passport, have a bank account and an Emirates id card and driver's license.  Makes me resident.

But I've not visited here before, and I'm here for 15 months (fyi, short in comparison to most contracts and people that come to work here). Makes me a tourist.

So I have decided to start working down my list of things to see and do here in Abu Dhabi.

Yesterday afternoon (Friday, January 4th) I ventured over to Abu Dhabi's Heritage Village.  It's not a large venue, but in a smaller space it captures the essence of the Bedouin lifestyle.  Heritage Village sits across the Corniche beach.  Not to distract from the point of this blog (to share about Heritage Village itself), here is a photo from Heritage Village of part of the Corniche. A contrast to the Heritage Village buildings and grounds, and a contrast to the jet skis showing off just off the Heritage Village beach.

I've mentioned camels and how they make me smile. Well, turns out that they have a camel at Heritage Village. Saw it and smiled immediately. They are such a kick. You can pose with this camel, or even ride it around for a few minutes. I didn't go for it yesterday, as my lower back was feeling achy and watching the camel walk around, looks like you sway quite a bit; but hopefully another time while I am here in the UAE.  I don't know if all camels are as talkative as this one was. Lots of braying (best word I can describe). I think his handler might egg him on a bit, as it makes the camel all the more engaging.  And I kept hearing this squeaking noise.  Turns out it was the camel. He was moving his lower jaw back and forth, and when going one direction, it seemed the sound was his teeth rubbing together.  I am not sure who I was more enamored with, the camel, or the handler who had such a classic Bedouin look to him:

Heritage Village has tents that are used in the desert. They are made up of burlap sides, and cloth (ceiling/roof) made out of goat and camel hair.

There are also stone buildings, and building with walls and roofs made up of palm branches.

There isn't much parking right next to Heritage Village, so I parked in a lot a quarter to half mile away.  The sun was starting to go down, and I captured some great colors.

I've mentioned the malls here. This is the Marina Mall (right near Heritage Village ... again, a contrast!), which is a large one.  As much as heights give me pause, I need to go up in Marina Mall tower at some point and get a look at the scenery from high above.  The breakwater area and small harbor is protected by levees made up of giant boulders.  The Gulf is behind the mall, as well as off to my right, in this photo.

Gradual shifts and adjustments

This one is a bit out of order. I meant to post this before I left for California for Christmas. I had written it as a draft, got distracted by packing, and then forgot to post it before I hopped (not literally hopped, that would have raised security folks' eyebrows) on a plane home.

In re-reading this before I hit "publish", I realize that this post perfectly echoes a conversation Tim and I just had this evening. (My evening, his morning!) That it is so easy to be reflecting on the past, and planning for the future, that the present slips by in a flash. I recognize that we are both being challenged -- while looking forward to visits and my eventual homecoming -- to live in the present, and enjoy each day, if not each hour, for what it has to offer.

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As you know from reading my posts over these past couple of months, it has been a bit of a roller coaster as far as the emotional adjustment of being so far away from home.

Getting to Washington D.C. for a visit and having the opportunity to spend a little time with Tim helped immensely. Was a bit like getting a fix, spending time with the person I am closest to in the world.

The other night, when my brother and I were at a play, he ran into some colleagues. ("The Woman in Black" -- excellent production.)  Part of my brother's conversation was about the unique experience of helping develop systems and infrastructures in this country, whether hospitals or education or elsewhere.   To make a positive impact, help a country work toward a future where they don't need all of us Expats. "Where else would you get this opportunity?" my brother said.

Where else indeed? Am sure there are some other places, but not to the extent and enthusiasm with which the UAE is moving forward. There are books and websites that show the UAE just 40-50 years ago ... the differences are staggering.

I needed to hear that conversation.  Between longing for home and having just had a week where I wondered if you can indeed manage the sometimes overwhelming workload, I needed the reminder of why I said yes to this job and took this leap ... to be challenged and to make a difference. Certainly am being challenged in many ways.

My blog post title here mentions gradual shifts and adjustments. I knew there was a good shift when I had to determine who was going to be manager of Al Rowdah while I was home in California, as both my Associate Director and I were scheduled to be out on vacation. (Or "leave" as it is called here.) And I found myself caring a lot about who would take care of Al Rowdah while I'm gone.  Any one of the Al Rowdah management team would do an excellent job; they are absolutely great and I've known that since my first day.

While I am sure it will be hard to leave home and Tim and the pups at the end of my two weeks in December, I find myself actually looking forward ... to finishing Al Rowdah's initial accreditation report as the Institute of Applied Technology seeks American accreditation for its higher education academies (the IAT high schools are already accredited), and to other significant projects.  A month ago I wasn't sure I could make it the whole of 2013, and now I feel that I can.

Helps that Tim will visit Abu Dhabi in February, and meet me in March for the NASPA national conference, and we are planning trips/visits for after that. I don't have the same level of doubt or hesitation I did even a week or two ago.

Now, part of me almost feels like I'm cheating by feeling this way ... as if by feeling comfortable here and feeling like I can dig into the job with more emotional commitment, I am cheating on people at home to some degree. Probably sounds weird. But I recognize that it's not good, or constructive, for me to focus on what I miss, and that I need to live in the moment and embrace the experience to which I said yes, and to where God so distinctly led me.

Christmas in California ... celebrating our 25th anniversary

For our 25th anniversary, Tim and I spent a night out in Riverside, California at the Mission Inn. As hoped for and expected, we had a lovely time.

We went out early and had lunch out on the patio; cool and sunny day.  At the entrance stand two giant nutcrackers, with moving arms.

We had a beautiful room up on the 4th floor with interesting mission architectural features, overlooking the Spanish patio. Here is a view from our doorway at night with the lights:

 

 

And a photo of the Mission Inn lobby.  The place is packed in the evenings, with people coming to view the lights and decor.

Christmas in California ... a trip to the beach

Well, I obviously took a break from my laptop over the past couple of weeks. Cannot apologize for it, because it would not be heartfelt.  I spent the last two weeks at home in California, and am so glad that I had requested this particular time off when I negotiated my contract.  Was the fix I needed after my first 2 and a half months in Abu Dhabi.  Not that Abu Dhabi isn't proving to be a very good experience ... but as you know from reading some of my blog posts, I miss home.

Tim and I had a great couple of weeks. We intentionally didn't pack every day with activities. We didn't want the two weeks to fly by in a blur, and we had the leisurely pace we hoped for.

When I got home, Tim had the Christmas tree and garland up, which was so nice to come home to.  Picking me up at the airport, Tim brought the pups with him. There was an initial "yippee you're home" greeting, and then that excitement was over. Suki and Taicho did stick pretty close to me while I was home, though.  Great fur therapy.

It was fun for me to experience cool and rainy weather.  Rumor has it that it rains about 20 minutes a year (yes, a year) in Abu Dhabi. And it was about two weeks into my arrival in Abu Dhabi before I saw a cloud.  (Nope, no exaggeration.)  Now, at this time of year, there are clouds and cooler breezes.

On this trip hope, on one of the non-rainy days, Tim and I took Suki and Taicho down to Laguna Beach. They enjoy walking and running on the beach and don't mind getting hit by waves.  Here is Taicho doing his mountain goat imitation ... Suki chose not to climb up as high:

And a little live action (30 seconds worth, if you need to measure out your time here):

What I don't have video or photo of, is me getting caught by a wave while walking with Taicho. Once my shoes and pants were soaked through, we just stayed in the waves for the fun of it. Taicho likes checking out the tidal pools, usually captivated by any little crabs crawling about. Only saw sea urchins that day though, so he and Suki focused on the smaller birds.  Have to be careful, because if they really want to chase after one, you've got to hold on tight to their leashes and be braced so you don't literally get dragged along.