I hate to whine, but I must! They always say the second day after a brutal beating of your body is worse than the first day after. Very correct in my case, for sure. I woke up Sunday morning and felt as if I had been hit by a truck. I had bruises all up and down my arms as well as on the lower half of my legs. Still yet, I was thrilled I had been a part of something so fun!
Sunday I took a group of students to a math competition. My grade 3 girls just had fun but didn't win anything. However, my grade 5 girls won 2nd place. For all the trouble our boys give us, our girls make up for it because they are really good and bright. Our boys are bright as well, but 'active'.
On Monday Stuart took his boys to their competition. His grade 3 boys won 1st place, but his 4th and 5th graders didn't win anything. We were both very proud of our students. This was the first year all of the schools in Al Ain participated in a competition like this. The local people are really competitive so a test of their academics is no different to them than a sporting competition.
Monday night we went to rugby practice. Although my team has no more games, other than the Dubai 7s, which I am not a part of, we are still training for matches to come in the new year. My left knee was still a bit sore but I pushed myself, especially when someone else who was injured more than me kept pushing herself. I couldn't quit. It's not in my blood. For as much as I used to hate it when my parents would push us, especially when it came to exercise, it has paid off big time. I am not sure I will ever 'give up' when it comes to something I put my mind to. It's the grit that was created in me from the time I was a small child.
At any rate, I suppose I don't need to tell you that walking down the stairs at school on Tuesday was a bit miserable, and Wednesday was even worse. It got so bad that I decided to go to the doctor. Since the doctor visits only cost about $13 no matter what they do, I decided it would be worth it.
After X-rays it was confirmed that I have arthritis in my knees and then the doctor referred me to an orthopedic doctor. I will see him on December 7. I don't think he will say anything other than I shouldn't be playing rugby and I need to lose weight, but rather be safe than sorry.
The up side to my visit was she gave me two days signed off from work. So I stayed home on Wednesday and Thursday.
Wednesday evening I was sitting in the living room and I can hear Jack reading his library book from school. Up until now he has only been reading the books his teacher assigns from the Reading A to Z program they use at his school. But it is official, he has read his first real book and with precision. It's amazing to hear your child read their first book with ease, slowly but with ease. We are so proud of him.
Thursday was actually Jack's and Millie's National Day celebrations at their schools. Since I was home I decided to go to their celebrations; first Millie's then Jack's.
Here they are in their national colors.
When I got to Millie's school the children were in the school hall sitting in a circle. They stood up, sang the UAE national anthem, each class showed what they had made in celebration of the 43rd National Day, and then they had food.
Millie and her friend, Sophie, ate a big piece of Arabic bread, while others choked on cupcakes and other sweets.
Millie posed with her teacher, Ms. Maria who is from Venezuela. She is so sweet and was Jack's teacher at the beginning of last year before she went on maternity leave. She says Millie is excellent in shook and listens to the teachers, doing what they say. At least she obeys someone in her life.
This is Jack's friend, Tua, from New Zealand. They are in the same class, and actually the same size!
Jack's celebration involved a falcon exhibition. It is a big sport here. Falcons represent wealth.
After the celebrations were over and the kids were stuffed with carbs, we headed to try to get our car registrations renewed. Sadly, we waited for about 20 minutes and no one moved so we decided we would do it another day.
We went to the grocery store to buy the rest of the food we needed for our Thanksgiving celebration we were having on Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. We think we should get Thanksgiving off of work as well, but not many see it that way over here.
We chilled the rest of Thursday evening because we knew Friday would be a big day.
Friday morning I woke up just after 5 am to walk. Jack was up and decided he wanted to go with me. Usually my walks are boring and I end up trying to think of things to occupy my brain, but not when Jack goes with me. He has a thousand questions and a thousand comments about life. The time flew and I was really glad he went with me. I don't think any of us spend enough time just talking to our kids.
After our walk we called my oldest brother and then Grammie and Pop. While we were wrapping up our conversation with Grammie and Pop, Jack pulled another tooth. He know looks like a Jack-o-lantern, as Pop pointed out.
Stuart finished up the meal preparation and we headed to the Turners house for our Thanksgiving.
We had a South African, some Irish, some English, some Kiwis and of course some Americans, at our Thanksgiving celebration. We were in charge of one of the turkeys, ham, Brussels sprouts, leaks, and Stuart felt the need for gravy as well.
After dinner and children settled for a movie, the adults went to the back porch and smoked shisha. It goes in a water pipe and is flavored. We had grape, strawberry and bubble gum. It's way more glamorous than smoking a cigarette, but just as potent. Needless to say, it's a Middle East experience I can pass on in the future. It is a huge social thing here. There are many restaurants that sell it on their menu.
Saturday we lounged around until the kids were beyond stir crazy. We ended up going to the mall and letting Jack and Millie play at Fun Farm for an hour. We got a Starbucks and walked around the mall, drilling at the televisions on sale. We currently have a 32 inch tv that we want to replace with a bigger one. In due time we will upgrade, I suppose. For now we are saving our money for our trip to Australia which is just 3 short weeks away.
A great week and weekend, yet again.
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