Religion...(eek!)

I haven't talked much about religion (and I wont) but I do want to give you a glimpse of what it's like living in a predominately Muslim country.

There are many, many mosques here- I would say close to 1 per city block.  Muslims pray 5 times a day and the call to prayer is broadcast for all to hear before each of those prayer times.  I actually enjoy hearing the call to prayer; it's very soothing.  No matter where I am or what I'm doing, it reminds me to stop and give thanks and reflect.  As a Christian in the U.S. it was the norm for me to be going, going all the time and not even think about taking a break and praying.  

At every school here in the UAE, even our kids' school, there is an assembly in the morning before class starts.  The students are lined up by homeroom.  They do a few easy exercises, sing the national anthem (in Arabic, of course),  and have some type of reading or demonstration.  At my school they do a few readings/songs from the Koran and sometimes have a competition of memorized passages (I think...it's all in Arabic, so I'm not sure.)

We have met many, many Muslims, including native Emirates and Muslims from other countries, like Jordan, Egypt, and Lebanon.  They are wonderful people; everyone has been very welcoming and gracious.  A teacher at my school, who is from Jordan, invited me for tea and gave me a gift on my first day.  I am so thankful that I have been well received as an American in my school.  It makes me wonder if things would be the same for them if the roles were reversed.  In the U.S., would we be as welcoming to people from the UAE and other Muslim countries in our communities and schools?  

Don't worry, I am not about to convert or anything, but I will say that our experience with Islam has been nothing but positive here.  I know there are many Americans who have prejudices, but I ask you to remember that people are people; we all need love and acceptance.  There are groups in every culture that do not represent the majority, which leads to misconceptions of beliefs.

I know I may be going out on a limb here with this topic, but hope you can understand what I'm trying to say.  The UAE follows a policy of tolerance of all religions and I am thankful to have the freedom to have this opportunity and still believe what I choose to believe.  We thank you for your thoughts and prayers and are happy to answer any questions you may have about anything and everything.      

P.S.  Pictures are coming.  I promise!

Top 10 List

Week two of school is complete.  I can't say it was a good week with my students but I am now accepting that it is what it is.  I cannot compare my school experience here with anything I've ever seen or heard of in the United States.  It's just different.  Back home I totally took for granted the fact that my students spoke/wrote/understood English.  The language and cultural differences make my job very difficult.  That being said there are many good things happening at my school.  Our test scores are some of the best in the country and I will do my best to make sure that my students are learning and achieving to that standard.

The kids had a good week and are really enjoying school!  They've made lots of new friends and like their teachers.  They are going to a school with an American curriculum and are also learning Arabic- they teach me new words everyday!  Mark is helping coach an American football team of men and is happy to have something to do other than play house-husband/chauffeur.

The main reason for this post it to give you a top 10 list of things we love about the UAE:
(in no particular order)

10.)  THE FOOD... the variety and prices of food are amazing here!  And you can have anything delivered for free- including pizza of course, McDonalds, Burger King, KFC, Arabic, Indian, and Chinese places, our new favorite- The Chicken Hut- and pretty much any establishment that serves food.  Why cook?

9.)  THE WEATHER...Everyday is sunny and hot.  I never have to check the weather forecast to see what to wear.  We can swim year round.  Al Ain is not humid like Abu Dhabi was (think SC in late July times 100) and even if it's over 100 degrees it doesn't feel that bad.  The winter will be in the 70's and 80's.  No snow, no bone-chilling cold winds or rain.  I will not miss the cold.  And if we do, we can just head to an ice skating rink or Ski Dubai to get our fix.

8.)  FAMILY LIFE...This is a culture that loves children and values family time.  We work shorter hours so that we can spend more time with our families.  There are so many activities that cater to children, which I will get to shortly.  We are able to spend time together everyday; we actually sit down and eat dinner together, which was a rarity in the last few years.

7.)  ACTIVITIES...There are so many things to do here!  Al Ain has a great zoo, water park, mountain, amusement park, and each mall has its own Chuck-e-Cheese type place with games and rides for the kids,.  There are bowling alleys, movie theatres, and ice skating rinks in the malls as well.  Not to mention that both Abu Dhabi and Dubai are just over an hour away and offer more to do than I could list here.

6.)  OUR NEW HOME...It's been great (but a little stressful) to be able to start from scratch and furnish/decorate our house.  It's a fresh start for us.  We are also in a great location; we are just around the corner from the kids' school and about 10 minutes from mine. We are very centrally located to anything and everything.

5.)  NEW FRIENDS...I know I've mentioned it before but the building that we live in has 21 other families (Western teachers like me) so there are MANY kids to play with and friends for us to socialize with just right down the hall.  I can't tell you what a blessing it has been for us and I have a feeling we are making lifetime friends.

4.)  THE RUGBY CLUB...This is a fabulous place for Expats like us to socialize.  It has a pool, gym, restaurant, and bar all looking out onto huge rugby fields.  There are rugby games to watch several nights a week, live music, bouncy castles and other activities for the kids.  There's also a soccer and basketball league that the kids can play in.

3.)  CUSTOMER SERVICE...Everywhere we go, from the mall to the gas station we are well taken care of (okay, maybe a little spoiled.)  There is someone to pump your gas and clean your wind shield, carry your purchases to your car, and take your tray/trash at the mall food court or any fast food restaurant.  Delivery of anything is almost always free (be it food or furniture.)

2.)  GAS PRICES... There is only one oil company, called Abu Dhabi Nation Oil Company (ADNOC,) so every gas station has the same price, which means there is no need to pay attention to who has the cheapest gas on a given day.  Gas here is 1.35 durhams per liter.  That's about $1.47 per gallon.  Need I say more?

1.)  THE INTERNET...I know the Internet is everywhere but we are so thankful that we have very good access/speed to be able to Skype with and call friends and family back in the U.S.  It's nice to be able to check Facebook and feel connected with what's going on, even if we are 7,000 miles away.  What did we ever do without it?

I apologize as I have been bad about taking pictures this week.  I will do better for my next post!

We love you and miss you all!    
         

Settling In

Whew!  What a week!  I made it through my first week teaching in a boys' school.  My fourth grade boys are so adorable and sweet INDIVIDUALLY.  But when you put 30 of them in a class it is absolutely wild!  I have two different groups for a little over 2 hours (three 45 minute periods) each with a 45 minute break in the middle.  It's exhausting keeping them under control because after all, they are boys and we all know that "boys will be boys."  The silver lining is that they go home at 1:15 and I am home by 2:00 almost every day.  The schedule is wonderful!

The kids are going to an international private school here with an American curriculum.  In addition to the American subjects, they will also be learning Arabic at school, and Griffen has already taught us several words.  The first week for them was a little disorganized but we are hoping it will only get better.  They both knew several kids in their class (other new teachers' kids) so that helped.

Here they are, excited to have new, rolling book-bags for school!

We are settling into our new home.  We don't have a lot of furniture yet but we have the basics: beds, a sofa, and appliances and we will fill in the rest as we go.  We are finally learning our way around Al Ain.  We can actually make it to most places we need to go without looking at the map!  This city is set up using roundabouts at most intersections rather than traffic lights so the first few days driving were a little scary until we figured out the "roundabout etiquette."  It actually does make it much easier and faster to get places.       

Griffen in his big bed.  He loves The Lion King and had to have the bedspread!

Olivia has a big bed as well.  Hers is Minnie Mouse.  I know it's hard to tell from the picture.

Our bed- couldn't get the whole room in the picture.

Combo washer/drier.  Pretty amazing.

'Cooker' (oven) and water dispenser.  Fridge is behind me.

The outside of our building.  There are 22 flats (all are families, which has been wonderful.)

Enjoying a deliciously lunch at The Bedaya, a big meeting for all teachers at the beginning of the year.  One girl is from Arizona, the other is from Ireland.  We've made friends from all over the world.

Thought you'd all like to know that they do have oreos here...even caramel and strawberry filled varieties.

And pringles!  They even have ketchup flavored ones...haven't tried those yet.  Not sure if I want to.

It's the end of our weekend...back to school we go tomorrow.  Thank you for your prayers this week!  We definitely felt them!  Hope you all have a great week!

Much love to you all!!!

Greetings from Al Ain!

Today we officially moved from Abu Dhabi to Al Ain, the city we will be living in.  We are staying at a hotel for the next week or so while we work on getting our house ready to move into.  We have been trying to really enjoy our last few weeks before school starts and have been seeing the sites. We love Abu Dhabi!

Here are several pictures of our latest adventures.

                                Tour of Sheik Zayed Mosque (one of the largest in the world.)  

No words can describe the size and grandeur of this place.  It is the size of 5 football fields and can hold over 40,000 worshippers.  

The mosque was huge and beautifully decorated with real gems, semi-precious stones and gold.  All of the surfaces, including side walks are covered in marble.

The main prayer hall holds the world's largest chandelier.  Absolutely breathtaking!

 In order to enter the mosque, is customary for all women to wear a robe (abaya) and head scarf (shayla) to show respect.

  

We also visited the central souk (like a market) in Abu Dhabi.  

The kids really wanted to buy their own camel like this guy above.  

But they settled for a much smaller one.

We also visited the Fishmarket Restaurant right on the marina at our hotel in Abu Dhabi.  We were able to pick out our fresh fish, shrimp, and vegetables to be cooked to your specifications.   

The kids loved it!

And we did too!

School starts next Sunday (remember we work Sunday to Thursday) for the kids and me so we will be frantically shopping and working to get our house set up by then.  We may or may not have our internet set up so bear with us.  

Thank you for your thoughts and prayers as we make this next transition.  I will update as soon as possible.