The convention to kick off the new year.

Emerati teachers. A real mix of cultures but so exciting and I went up and talked to some. They were extremely nice.

Service before the convention. Yummy croisants and juice.

Break time, sandwiches and coffee. A huge exhibition center in Abu Dhabi. We had to be up at 4:00 to get ready, 5 to eat and leave at 6 am. Long tiring day

The hall where they fed us. There were about 15 stations set up with tons of food. It was amazing. And of course servers to make sure there was nothing you lacked. It's the same at the hotel when we eat. the second your plate is empty they take it away. They even refold your napkin if you lay it beside your plate to go get more food. They bring drinks and cappacinos to you and anything you want, you just have to say so and it's there. I'm getting quite spoiled.

The convention was actually the day before the new school year started, I was just excited to show off my boys. They had several speakers, and we were given little ear phones that we listened to for translation. They gave us lots to eat. It was pretty cool.

First day of school

How cute are they??? Of course the first day of school was chaotic. I was told I'd probably not have more than one or two kids if any showed up. well since they started the new school reform they've been advertising for parents to be sure their children came to school starting the first day. I had ten show up. I walked them to my classroom which I had not seen yet. There were exactly ten desks but two were broken. No chairs but I had a desk and computer table. When I went to pull my teachers chair out, it fell apart. So....., even though I was told I may not stay in that room, I had them help me put up posters and then I read to them. We played Simon says and did some writing. It was a long day. Today I had about 14 and also had my second class, which for some reason I didn't get yesterday. My first group is pretty good. The second one, not so much, at least not yet. The problem is not being able to start out with rules and procedures like all the experts tell you to do, because you don't know if you will have this class, room or even school. Some of the teachers went to their schools the first day and they didn't have a place for them. Some teachers were moved to a different school the night before. We will be on an old schedule for the next week then start the new reform schedule which is based on the curriculum and structure from New South Wales. the day will be longer and we'll have four 45 minute periods with the students, but one of them I think will end up being silent reading for 2o and prayer for 15. them not me. :)

The boys were not bad at all. They don't do well without structure...duh...because today I let them draw and play when the Arabic teacher walked out and didn't take them with him. I think it was a failure to communicate. There is actually a sleep room for the teachers if they want to take a nap. I think some of them will be in for a rude awakening soon.

Anyway, I like my school, my collegues and the students. Once I fix up my room, now that they understand how important it is for me to stay in one room, it will be good. Just gotta keep the little buggers busy.

Some of my boys speak and understand pretty well. One reads quite well phonetically, but I'm not sure about understanding because of limited vocabulary. Most understand, sit down, come, say, and a few other words. a couple don't understand anything, but they're catching on fast. this is going to be one wild ride, but fun and rewarding.

Camel Souk

This is the camel souk. It is apparently the last remaining souk in the world. Don't know the accuracy of that statement. They are kept in pens and fed hay and given water. Camels are a good business here and can cost a lot of money. They also sell sheep, goats and cows here. We didn't get spit on or bitten, but they do growl really loudly.

Pucker up!

Yet another Mall

I don't know what that crazy pastor is up to but the Islamic people I have met here have all been kind, gentle and as helpful as they could be. I wish more people could experience the culture here. I guess every country has their fanatics.

The Bawadi Mall is my second favorite now. Lots of great stores and if my littles were here it would be fun for them. Check out Fun City. You are seeing a roller coaster and rides, a ski slope and a Krispy Kreme and Pizza Hut.

Random pictures

Here are some random signs. The labour camp is for construction workers and the two signs are at the Palms Resort Golf club. I thought it was funny.

This is a shisha restaurant we went to last night. The food was good and we ate outside with fans and mist blowing on us. Most people come here to smoke shisha which is flavored tobacco, but they don't inhale. It smells nice and I'm sure we'll try it sometime, we skipped it last night. We started eating at 10:00 pm. late night

This is my new view from my room. The last one was a bit smelly but this one is very nice.


This is the golf course that Wesley will probably join. It's an all grass course and is supposed to be nice.

Tomorrow I'm going to attempt to hire a truck in Abu Dhabi to move the things I already bought from a person who is moving. They will be stored in an empty villa until we get our apartments. It's so hard to get anything done here, but eventually it all works out. The driving was hair raising at times, but I'll get used to it. You just need a fast car and a lot of patience!

Holy Day

Since it was the holy day and my internet wouldn't work I was forced to lie about the pool and room. I just vegged and snacked. today the internet is working and I will get out and about looking for a golf course for Wesley, a laundry place for me, and maybe rent a car at some point. Tomorrow is our "monday" so I will try to meet my principal and hopefully get keys to the apt. We have a meeting today with the ADEC person here in Al Ain. Would be nice if our money was coming and keys- inshallah

For those of you who are teachers, you know what we're feeling like now, knowing school starts on the 12th and we have no idea where our school is, what we will actually be teaching and no way to prepare. That probably is the most stressful, but I just keep telling myself, it'll all work out.

Hoping the visas will be done soon too so I can get the rest of my immediate family over here!

More pictures of Al Ain to come.

One step closer

We arrived in our new "hometown" Al Ain this afternoon around four. Our luggage arrived a little bit after. The poor people at the hotel had everyone scrambling to get all of our luggage to our rooms and make sure we were all comfortable and happy. We expect to be here for a week at least but maybe less. Inshallah



I bought some furniture today and will have to go back to Abu Dhabi to get it delivered. It was furniture someone leaving Abu Dhabi was selling. Still have to buy a stove, washer and a few other items.



Here is the new hotel. It's actually quite a bit older and less "opulent" than the other one, but still very nice and comfortable as you will see. there is a huge pool and for two days, (it's the weekend here) we will have nothing to do. I know, it's a dirty job, but someone has to do it.
Pictures won't load, they may be too big. Just picture a nice resort.

More apartment

Center courtyard, powder room and bathroom. I'm thinking the grass will be green once the temperatures are no longer in the hundreds.

Two bedroom.

The apartment

Kitchen and living room.

the outside

More to come.

Some experiences

Ramadan as you may have guessed is an interesting time for us. Yesterday on the way to look at villas in Al Ain, which come to find out we can't get, we stopped off at a gas station/mosque for the Islamic men on the bus to get off and pray. It only took five minutes, but I thought it made the day interesting.

Today, as I was waiting for the dr. to get back from breaking his fast, I walked around the block to find somewhere to eat also, and saw a restaurant I recognized. At first I hesitated to go in because I was a woman alone, but finally after sweating up and down a few blocks I went in. I sat in the back at a long table, near the wall. Later an Arabic woman came and sat down next to me to eat. These were cafeteria style tables and the food was a buffet so you pick what you want. I had some salads, and bread and some schwarma chicken. I recognized most of those and knew they were safe. The woman beside me spoke to me in broken English and pushed her bowl toward me to taste. I said, "chicken"? and she said, "same, same,". People here are extremely friendly, and I didn't want to be rude so I fished out a squiggly piece of something and chewed quickly and smiled. It was actually pretty good and did taste like chicken, but the shape had me worried so I pulled the waiter aside later to ask what it was. He said lamb and pointed to his thigh and then said, stomach. I knew it. I had eaten lamb meat in intestines. Surprisingly I kept it down. It really didn't even taste like lamb. So a new experience for me and a great example of the friendliness of the people here.

Of course, I was very hungry. My poor stomach just doesn't know what to make of this new diet.

So, when I get back I find out we're leaving this hotel on Thursday and moving to one in Al Ain, where we will be presented with our keys to our apartment. So much for finding your own accomodations, but actually the apts are okay, and I think as long as we don't shout it about, the dogs are good to go. We'll have four days to furnish the apartment then out we go.

The pictures wouldn't download so I'll try later.

Bazaar at the Expo center

Just so you know, I'm not being deprived. They make an excellent cappacino in the restaurant here. I have only gotten to Starbucks once because it doesn't open until 7:30 and who wants to drink esspresso then?? This is a Turkish? type dancer at the bazaar.

This is one entrance to the bazaar and there's another one on the opposite side

This woman is making perfume. They burn different kinds of wood then add perfumed oils. By the time I left I was feeling a little quesy.

This little boy was having fun at the amusement park part of the bazaar. Like a little fair.

This was a booth of bling. Lots and lots of bling there.

One of the many cloth booths. Very beautiful. This bazaar is very similar to the Christmas markets in Belgium and England. I bet you're wondering what I bought. Cheap shoes and some toys for my students.

Today, I'm going to exercise at the gym again and then hang at the pool. We're desperate to look for houses, but they haven't moved us to Al Ain yet and I don't really want to rent a car and drive. Maybe we'll go tomorrow. Today we may also try to find the teacher store. And for those of you reading this who don't already know, my brother has had his manuscript accepted at a publishing company so within the year should be an official publised author. Way to go Glenn!

and more mosque

What you see here is the place where the women go for their cleansing before going to pray in the Mosque. These are the guides who took us around the mosque and gave us so much information. Then they did a question and answer session. Yes, someone did ask what the men wear under the dishdasha/kandoura. As always excuse my spelling. I will leave the answer a mystery for now. The next picture is of the ceiling. You will see leaves and flowers. On the floor directly below, are identical leaves and flowers on the rug. Both the ceiling and the floor were made by two different people at different times, but somehow the measurements were so exact that it's a mirror image. Very cool. there's so much more to tell, but it's probably boring for you if you weren't there experiencing it. I can't wait to go with Wesley and any other visitors we get....hint hint.

More mosque

The chandelier is Swarvski crystal.

There's more to come, but I'm tired and I still need to shop. May I just add, I wish they had adopted the no smoking rule here like everywhere else. Oh well, change comes slowly, well, except for here apparently. Good night all, I'll add more tomorrow. It's our "Saturday"