Category Archives: Al Ain Second Year
Just sitting on the couch on a Monday night…
It’s 8 p.m., and I just said bye to Shannan. The next time I’ll see her we’ll be in Germany (she’s meeting up with Joe and me for Christmas). Cannot flipping tell all of you how excited I am right now.
Before she left my place, we chatted about our next trip (Bahrain in February) and googled images of where we think we’ll go for spring break (Spain), and basically made a New Year’s Resolution we think we can keep: Never go on a trip before booking the one after that. At the rate we’re going, we’ll have as many trips in a year as we do months. I’m good with that.
Since I’ll be busy the next few days finishing things up here, I wanted to pop in and wish all of you Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and all the good stuff in between. I doubt I’ll get a chance to write much while vacationing, so I wanted to make sure my friends and family back ‘home’ know how much I love and miss them, and that despite how happy I am I do so, so, so miss all of you and wish we could do all of this traveling together. Sadly, the dirhams do not stretch indefinitely.
Later this week I’ll be with my man, then we’ll visit my sister, do some touristy stuff, spend Christmas with my relatives in Wedel, then hop on a train (that will also hop on a ferry) and spend New Year’s in Copenhagen, and then we will cry as we head back to our real worlds, which aren’t bad at all; they’re just so far apart. But, I’ll worry about that in January and February — good news is Spring Break is in March, so the time should go by quickly. And then summer break will be right around the corner, and I’ll be back home hugging everyone.
Until then, though, Happy Holidays! And may the new year bring even more love and joy into our lives.
Jambo!
Yesterday morning my cab dodged Dalla Dallas (local busses that sort of look like an old trolley glued to the back of a rusty pickup), donkey carts, rickety bicycles (some loaded with firewood), pedestrians on their way to work, school or prayer, oxen, and, sadly, one too-slow chicken who scrambled its own eggs on her way out of this world. Today, it was my little Hyundai zooming past camels and construction trucks (while SUVs zoomed past me) on my way to work. Oh how quickly my world changes.
Zanzibar, one of the spice islands off the coast of Tanzania, is an amazing place to visit. Yes it’s a poor country, and, yes, not everything is pretty, but oh my goodness what the people lack in currency they have in abundance with the natural wonders of their island — including themselves. This is my second time visiting a coastal region of Africa, and I’m in awe, once again, of what little I was lucky enough to see.
In just four days I swam in warm, turquoise water, fed tortoises, flirted with Red Colobus monkeys, which exist no where else in the world (except maybe zoos), learned a little Swahili from the locals, walked through ancient alleyways constructed out of coral stone, slept soundly tucked under the veil of a mosquito net, as well as all the other vacationy stuff I like to do — especially when lounging on a surprisingly comfortable chair made out of rope. Ooooh, and I learned a new way to steep hibiscus tea — my friends are in for a treat the next time they visit (if I find hibiscus tea bags).
I have so much more to share about the island, but I think pictures will tell the story better than I can, so here you go. Do know that I am now on a mission to visit as many African countries as I can while living so close to this part of the world — while also fitting in my Asian and European adventures. Aaargh there’s so much world, so little time.
And a few more to leave you with.
In this lil corner of the globe…
We’re all stuffed and thankful for another year of bonding with folk from all over the world. My lovely neighbors and I had our second Thanksgiving party where we all share a little bit of where we come from while thanking the powers that be for our time here. Our Thanksgiving buffet included all the normal stuff (except cranberry sauce — we forgot about that one) plus European, Asian, Indian, and Arabic foods. Above is just one of the tables of food in the hallway — there were four, plus all the stuff we had in our apartments.
The weekend prior we threw a baby shower for a friend, and the weekend after next we’ll celebrate Ashley’s birthday. At all of these events you’ll see people from different faiths and cultures laughing, dancing and loving life together. When we talk politics it isn’t about this politician versus that politician; it’s about how we move on from the nastiness that takes place within all of our borders, and how we wish normal folk were running the world, so there’d be more people breaking bread than ruining lives.
Random party shot in Ashley’s living room; women bonding over crafts and chocolate in my living room — kitchens and living rooms are totally where global decisions should be made.
We’re all also extra cheery right now because this is the time of year where everything gets just a little bit easier. Many of us are traveling next week since we get 5 days off for National Day, and then two weeks after that we teachers are on a two-week Winter Break.
Our students have finished off their trimester projects and wowed us with their presentations. Mine held a career fair, and I was so very proud of each and every one of them. Teenagers — everywhere — continue to give me hope … even when they’re driving me crazy.
It’s now dinner time on my version of a Sunday, so time for me to warm up some leftovers and watch the moon rise from my balcony — oh AND appreciate all the National Day lights and decorations. The medical center right next to my balcony has blinged out with a humungous flag and star lights: makes sipping tea or grape juice even more fun.
Until the next time, sending you lots of love and warm wishes from my laptop to yours.
Happy Flag Day, Birthdays and halloween!
Yesterday was a big day for the UAE. Flag Day kicks off the countdown to National Day, so throughout the next few weeks patriotic decorations will be popping up all over the place. It’s a festive time where Emirates can show off their pride. My school purchased a boatload of cakes and arranged them in flag formation. We also had a variety of celebrations throughout the day. Needless to say the girls had fun, and it was an easy day. I always love watching kids be kids — regardless of how old they are. My girls blew up a bunch of balloons and then released them. It was beautiful — if only my phone could’ve captured it on time.
To see cool pics about Flag Day throughout the country, click here
Today is my daughter’s birthday, and in a few hours she and the rest of my family (Kyle is in town since his birthday was on Tuesday) will get together for a nice family dinner. Of course I wish I was there, but I’m glad they’re celebrating together like they should. It makes me proud of who they are, and I know they’ll have a great time. In another year or so I’ll be back to celebrating holidays alongside them again — and we may just have to buy a whole bunch of cakes too!
Last week I had fun in Abu Dhabi with friends. We dressed up and did halloween our way, which can only mean a good time. The weekend before that Abu Dhabi friends came to Al Ain where another good time was had. Basically, we’re all keeping each other happy and busy so that none of us gets too homesick, especially now that it’s fall. Luckily, we can also get our pumpkin spice fix at Starbucks, so all is right with the world.
Work will be winding down soon as well. I have another two weeks of actual teaching, and then it’s just review and presentation time. We get 5 days off first week of December, so a beach trip on an African island is booked. I’ll surprise you all with photos when we get there. I’m so excited about this.
Two weeks after our little beach trip, and I’m on my way to Germany to bring in the holidays.
Oh and before that we have a baby shower planned and our apartment complex’s Thanksgiving dinner. Whoop! whoop.
I wish I had more to share with all of you, but it’s pretty much the same. I work during the week, walk or go to the gym at night, sometimes read, sometimes chill with friends, sometimes with netflix or HBO (OMG The Leftovers is fantastic this season), and live the life with friends on the weekends. I’m still missing my family, but also still loving the time I have here.
Next time around I’ll find an Al Ain snippet to share with you. Don’t know what it is yet, but I’ll give you some sort of glimpse into life in the Oasis. Until then, hope all of you back home are doing well.
Grading/grating…
So, I’m sitting here with my latte grading papers (okay taking a break from it now) and stressing over work-related things while missing home terribly. Homesickness, for me, hits harder the second year around. I guess it makes sense since the newness of here has worn off. Don’t feel sorry for me because it’s not all that tough. Yesterday, I had the day off and ate breakfast at Shannan’s, hung out at the pool and ate a Caribbean dinner feast. Today, it’s paper grading, some pool and gym time, more grading/planning and then something yummy for dinner.
I don’t mind spending the weekend home working. I’ve been blessed with many a fun weekends away. Last weekend I got to go to the Dave Mathews concert and then a wine tasting the next day. In between was some pool and chat time with friends. I had a fantastic time. Something tells me next weekend will also be a fun time.
Work has been overwhelming because I had so many classes. I just did not have time during the day to do all that I needed to do. I’d run from one pod to another, losing stuff along the way while papers piled up on my desk. Notice I’m writing this in past tense. Humdullah! A new teacher arrived last week. She’s taking one of my classes, so starting next week I’ll be down to two sections to teach, which means I’ll have only 4 (versus 6) classes a day, minus 31 students to assess. This is the first time since I’ve been here that I’ll have a more manageable load. So, while I’m working hard this weekend catching up on grading and creating better lessons, I’m also excited because I’ll finally have time during the week to focus on what I need to be focusing on. Don’t get me wrong the pressure is still very much on, but now I feel like I can do it without losing my sanity in the process.
That said it is hard not having my family here. I have a lovely group of friends who I love spending time with, and I’m so grateful to have them in my life. But, I’m greedy. I want Joe and the kids here too. Luckily, I get to see them again soon.
Living in two countries is a wonderful experience, and one I wouldn’t change for anything, but it does come at a cost. Time away from family is very, very hard — despite all the amazing, fun things you get to do without them. Luckily, the benefits seem to outweigh that for now — when they no longer do that is when it’ll be time for me to go home. Because of this I can also offer them more than I could before, and the kids are getting their time to grow with mom far away. Mom does her growing here while they do their’s there. It’s a good deal.
I have no idea what the future holds, but I do know that when I move back home I’m going to spend the first few months just inhaling all of it and savoring every moment. You all need to remind me of this when I complain about whatever it is I’ll end up complaining about. Of course as I’ve mentioned in other posts, I’ll also really miss here.
Okay time for me to go back to work, so I can relax at the pool. Hope you folks back home are having a lovely fall. It’s still quite warm over here, but that’s okay because I’ll freeze my bottom off in Germany this Christmas.
bettina without borders 