Our holiday started on Thursday evening, October 10 and our first stop was family night at the Rugby Club. Jack and Millie love the Rugby Club because there is always something for them to do, typically a bounce house or two. We didn't stay long but did have a delicious Italian meal.
Friday we started the day by going to see a similar apartment to the one we will be living in (fingers crossed). It is going to be plenty of space and is tucked back in the complex. There are plenty of grassy areas for the kids to play and I am sure we will make it our own. We are very excited. Friday evening we headed to the Rugby Club again for a Breast Cancer event. There was plenty for the kids to do. A band played and we had a nice time actually seeing some people we knew.
Saturday morning we got up and headed to the Al Ain Zoo (picture 1). It was lovely, but super hot. The big cats exhibit was 'closed for improvement for our future pleasure'. There were a few exhibits where this was the case. But in spite of that we had a great time feeding the giraffe, watching the spider monkeys, and seeing the baby hippo dip in and out of the water.
Sunday morning we got up to move to our 4th hotel. There were 15 other families that moved to the same hotel on that day as well. The only difference is some of them only found out 2.5 hours before they were to be checked out of their last place. Oops! Someone forgot to inform them of the move. That evening we went to a place called The Curry House. It was a quaint little building that had seating for about 35 people. We went into a little room that had a table and a curtain to let you eat in privacy. It was excellent food and quite cheap. We loved it and we know it will be a place we frequent.
Monday morning Stuart went golfing with his Head of Faculty, Wade. The kids and I met Cathy and her girls for breakfast and then we all headed to Al Ain Mall. We took Jack to Action Zone (not my favorite) to ride rides and play games. Stuart met us at the mall after golf. We had a bite to eat and later in the day we went downtown to the town square(picture 2). It seems this is a bit of a gathering place, surrounded by eateries and tailors. I am not sure how this city supports the number of tailors who are here, but it seems no one is going out of business so I guess they manage. We ended up eating at Bukhara Family Restaurant, which was good but I think we all decided we prefer the Curry House over Bukhara. However, we will probably visit Bukhara again as well.
Tuesday we went to Jebel Hafeet, the second highest peak in the UAE. We just walked around for a bit and took pictures. Then we stopped at Mercure Grand hotel/resort on the way down the mountain to check out the pool. They have deals for those of us just wanting a dip in the pool. Although we didn't swim today, most likely that will be a place we visit for the kids. The picture of the pipe contraptions was taken at the back of the restaurant by the pool at this resort. Smoking shisha is a huge part of the culture. At the bottom of the mountain we went to Green Mubazzarah (not sure of the spelling). It is a green picnic area where there are also warm springs. There are pool houses for men and women (picture 3). There were a ton of people there because Tuesday was Eid. We didn't stay long but vowed we would go back in a month or so when it was cooler. The high today was 99 degrees Fahrenheit. I'm not too sure it cools off much more than that, but we will stay hopeful.
Wednesday we decided to go to Bawadi Mall and see the film Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2. It was the only children's film on so we thought we would give it a try. It was cute and Jack liked it so that was all that mattered. We went to the animal market after that but didn't get out. It's a bit disturbing seeing all of the animals crowded together but it's part of the culture. People pull up in their cars and stuff goats or sheep in the trunk of their car. This week it happens more often than other weeks. There are many, many sheep consumed during the week of Eid. In the evening we decided to have an adult night out. Stuart, Cathy (friend from the UK) and I went to the Rugby Club and ate at the curry buffet. There was also a pub quiz, which was a blast. We were terrible, excluding Stuart. However in the last round we scored the fewest amount of points and apparently that got us a free bottle of wine. So it does pay to be the losers.
Thursday we went to Dubai, our first adventure out of Al Ain. Our first stop was the Dubai Mall where we saw some very familiar sights (Cheesecake Factory,
Garrett's Popcorn, The Gap, ect.). The mall was by far the largest mall I have been in and I'm pretty sure we saw less than half of it.
When we walked in we looked to the left and saw a cascading waterfall with statutes of men diving down the waterfall. It was quite spectacular for a mall. On we walked to the ice skating rink where there were two teams of ice hockey players practicing. That sight entertained Jack for at least 10 minutes. We continued walking around the second floor and ran into the Dubai Mall Aquarium (picture 4). We decided there wasn't a good reason not to go in. It was amazing, and in the middle of a mall. We were taken behind the scenes and shown how the sharks can exist in the tank with other fish without eating all of them. It was a proper aquarium. We saw penguins being fed, a spitting fish, a fish tank with the Finding Nemo characters, as well as many other sea creatures. After the aquarium we headed outside to the fountain show. It was very similar to the Bellagio show in Vegas. Oh, except the fountain was about 3 times the size of the one at the Bellagio. They do not do anything halfway here. While outside watching the fountains we were able to take some pictures of the Burg Khalifa (picture 5) the tallest building in the world. Holy cow! It is huge.
We had great intentions and packed sandwiches for lunch. Our plan was to go to a park and have a picnic. Cathy and her girls went with us as well and had packed a lunch also. However when the Cheesecake Factory calls your name, you must respond. So we did. After a filling lunch we headed to the beach.
We passed two of the beach parking sites but they were full. We finally parked at the third beach parking, which was not close to the main beach site but we still got to play in the water and sand so we didn't care (picture 6). Jack and Millie had some beach toys and started to play in the sand. The rest of us went into the Gulf, yes the Persian Gulf. It was refreshing and a break from the heat. You see the Emirates at the beach, but the women are still dressed in their abayas and head covering, which varies according to their families and those traditions. But the men can wear their boxers in the gulf without any questions. Seems odd to me. I also find it odd that there is a great deal of conservative behavior all around us, but given women on the beach in a bikini, locals come out to stare. More power to them, I suppose. Seems like a double standard to me. But no one asked me.
We woke up on Friday morning without many plans. I got a text from a lady, Gemma, who works at my school, had been in one of the many hotels with us, and whose son, Oscar, has become a buddy to Jack. She invited us over to see their new place and to have dinner. Naturally we accepted and I had the audacity to ask if I could bring over some laundry to do. She didn't hesitate with her 'sure' response. I believe she and her husband will be good friends. They are from Ireland and have two kids. Fechen, pronounced Fehen, is a teacher as well. So our families have a lot in common and can relate to one another's woes. Having a home cooked meal, getting all of our laundry washed (and hanging on an airer, drying), sharing some adult beverages and great conversation, was all a wonderful way to end a holiday.
Saturday we had to go to Abu Dhabi to have our first rental car serviced. We weren't sure when it needed to be serviced so I called earlier in the week. Oops! We were late in getting it serviced. We ended up just droppig it off and getting a different one. Ah the joys of a rental car. A day out in Abu Dhabi wasn't bad at all. Sad part is Gina was still in Goa (that's not sad for her) and we didn't get to see her. We haven't seen her since we left Abu Dhabi 6 weeks ago, but hope once we have a home she will come to visit us. In the meantime we are going to plan a trip back to Abu Dhabi soon to see her.
Our day ended with a 4 hour shopping trip to Ikea. The kids were great up until the end. We bought bedding for the kids, some towels, and a few other things for the house we don't have. Seemed logical enough to us.
We started back to school today, which is the inevitable part of a vacation- it must come to an end. My students were still on holiday mode. However, they are starting to feel more comfortable and starting to at least try to speak more English. Little victories are great!
Highlight of the day? Getting a call from EMT Support at 1:25 pm, while I was teaching might I add, telling me they had read Stuart's heartfelt email he had written last night, expressing our exasperation of the hotel lifestyle (meals out, no washer, kids unsettled, etc.). The lady on the other end told me that we would be moving back to the hotel apartments we were in just a week ago. Here is how the conversation went.
Her: ADEC has approved you to move back to the Asfar hotel apartments.
Me: Oh, that's great! Thanks so much for being our advocate. I know you lived in a hotel for 4 months when you first came here. So you know how it feels. So when will we be moving back there?
Her: Today.
Me: Oh! Wow!
5th hotel, one being occupied by us twice, and we are still smiling. In our nearly 8 weeks here we have accumulated a lot of things, mainly, again, for the house we don't have yet.
The hits keep comin'! Send up prayers right now that we get keys this week. We'll let you know.
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