Exploring the Desert

So, since I last wrote, I have been on a desert safari. (pictures below). I wanted to make sure I  mentioned this, because it's a typical Middle East tourist activity, and it's the thing you have to check off your list when you live/visit here. It was a little sketchy (of course), but it was great! We scheduled a man from the company to pick us up at our apartments, and he picked us up in this modified or insulated kind of SUV. We paid him our money while we were driving to our unknown location (shady), and then after a while, we started to wonder, where exactly are we going? We have received no details. But don't worry, guys, people do this safari stuff all the time, and DO NOT expect details or an itinerary to be given in this country. Ever. Unfortunately, no one here cares whether you know what activities will happen when, etc.

Anyway, we were driving into the desert of Dubai with a strange man who was playing Pit Bull music videos on the dashboard TV. (I thought about Dad who says he could be Pit Bull because Pit Bull doesn't do any dance moves, only hand movements-I think you should consider a career move, Dad. The market's probably open for some Pit Bull replacements).
Needless to say, we arrived, and the man had to let all or most of the air out of his tires, so that he could ride through the sand. Then he started speeding through the desert, over the sand dunes, which were sometimes like sand cliffs, and spinning around really fast. I had to hold tightly to the cup holder because we would be popped out of our seat, and the car almost tipped over a few times. Bear in mind, the whole time, Pit Bull music videos were playing. Very odd juxtaposition.

Then we arrived at the little "village". There was a string of camels that we rode around for basically 2 minutes. Kind of cool, but lame that they just walked us in a circle. The camels were HUGE, and it was so scary to get off because they knelt down very abruptly. The man dropped us off mega early (with no details given or itinerary shown), so we just walked into the mini company-made village and tried on Arabic clothing, got henna, and got snacks. We had a reserved table where we sat on pillows and everything, but it was about 3 hours until the actual meal was given and entertainment was started. Eventually, we had a buffet line for appetizers, and then it wasn't for another hour until the food came! We went up and checked to see if it was ready so much, the man who was in charge came to us and said he'd let us know when it was coming so that we could be the first in line. (how embarrassing).

The first entertainer was a dervish dancer I believe they're called. Or dancing dervish. It's the person who wears a skirt with a design and spins around in a circle the entire time. It was amazing. This man spun for about 10 minutes, and while he was doing that, he was moving and balancing these 5 baskets with designs on them that fit into each other. The next thing was the same guy, but he was inside of a puppet which had two heads, and it was supposed to look like two men fighting. He walked around in a circle on the stage, and one of his heads fell off by accident. The best part about that little show.
The last entertainer was also amazing! It was a professional bellydancer who did a bunch of different routines. She was fabulous, and it made you feel like you were back in time in the deserts of old, watching this kind of thing as you sit on your pillow and eat your food with your hands. All in all, it was a good day but a little long, and the desert is absolutely beautiful. When the sun sets and bleeds its orange color over everything, it's seems so soft and romantic. I hope to go back to explore the desert again someday. And if any visitors come, I will definitely take you there!

Eid Mubarek

The time has now come for our first vacation!!! We get 9 days off of work, and today was our last day before break. (Our weekend is Friday and Saturday in case you were unaware). This break is for Eid Al Adha which could be kind of compared to our Christmas, I guess. They make cards and bring in food and wear traditional clothing, etc. When you want to wish someone to have a good Eid, you say "Eid Mubarek". My lovely students taught me that. This morning, when all of the classes line up together for what we call "assembly", a woman sang some words from the Koran, and some year 8 girls did a little traditional dance for us in their traditional attire. I sat and watched and thought, "Yes, I am so glad I came here. You can't get this kind of cultural experience anywhere in Lanc!"

So, we started our day. I'm so glad it's break, because I'm getting a little tired, and the kids were starting to get to me. Why, oh why, can you not finish your homework? It was three questions. Literally. They respond, "I was too busy." I respond, "You're 8. What could you possibly be doing?" Needless to say, I can be a little sarcastic. I should probably consider toning that down.

I wanted it to be an easy day because we had a party later, so we played Shape Sudoku for part of math class because we're learning shapes, and we read books, etc. At 10, we had our party. I do not think I've ever eaten so much in my life. And if you know me, that's REALLY saying something. Each child brought something in. They brought things like: cases of dunkin donuts, pizzas, bags of chocolates, cookie tins, hot dogs, juice, chips. Anything you've ever wanted in your wildest dreams was there. There was a TON of stuff left over. We ate our way through that 40 minute period and watched Arthur and the Magic School Bus. I've introduced it to them, and they love it. So, the rest of the day wasn't super productive, but we did have another spelling test (Yes!) and did some reading groups. In another blog, I can give you an outline of what my day looks like. It probably doesn't look like what you'd find in a NORMAL school. This school is a little ridiculous. But, I digress.

I added some pictures of my class. In the waving one, you can see all of the food. It's crazy. And you can see kind of what my classroom looks like. In the other ones, the students were grouping shapes and making prefixes. I also added a video of shape drawing that we did one day. Enjoy! And Eid Mubarek!

Abu Dhabi

Well, it has been quite a while, hasn't it? Forgive my delay in posting. I was just too busy having a good time, I suppose (said smugly).

So, last weekend, my good friends and I headed off to explore the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. It felt so strange to say, "Oh hey, I'll just be heading to Abu Dhabi for the weekend, no biggie." It's weird that it's so close to where I live now! We rented a car, and my flatmate drove us because she had just recently received her UAE license. Just to let you know, she is from Britain, so she is now learning to drive on the wrong side of the road (for her) in a country where traffic rules are not followed. People do not care if they cut you off and almost kill you/maim you. It's survival of the fittest on these roads. But, we survived, and headed to a 5 star hotel called Aloft, which was only 250 dirhams apiece (about 70 bucks). Super cheap. Of course that price would eventually change...

Here, there is this big thing about brunches. You pay a certain amount of money (about 250 dirhams or so) and you go to a "brunch" which could be during the day like 12-4 or night like 7-11. Obviously no one has looked up the meaning of brunch. We've been to about 4 of them now. You get unlimited food and drinks for the price you pay, and then sometimes there's a dance floor after, or you go on to another place for the rest of the evening. It is the weirdest feeling to hear rap music booming on a dance floor at 3 in the afternoon. Not unwelcome, but weird. So, to continue, we went to a brunch at this hotel, and ordered drinks and had lots and lots of food. It was about 200 d's apiece, so at the end, when we're feeling a little more (lighthearted shall we say?) we said to the man, "Oh, just charge it to the room! No problem!" That became kind of our motto for the weekend. "We have to pay this. Wellllll charge it to room 920!" It's like we said it, and our bill would magical disappear in front of our eyes. Not the case. It's quite laughable when you go to get your bill at the end of your stay, and it comes to about 500 dirhams more than the original price. Oh well. It was all for the experience. (I'll be eating my words instead of food this month, I think).

The next day, we went to do the most incredible thing ever. We went to what was basically a party island. It was called Al Maya Island, and we paid 100 dirhams for the whole day. They drove us on a boat to the island for about 30 minutes, and the views were absolutely gorgeous. No clouds in the sky and perfect blue water. It was amazing. I hadn't yet been on a boat since I'd been here, so I was very happy. We get to the island, and they have a beach, a HUGE swimming pool, a dance floor, an outdoor bar, and an indoor bar, and a whole space for cushioned lay-out chairs. We spent the day from 1:30-6 or7. It was lovely. We met lots of new people, went swimming in the ocean, were allowed to bring cups and bottles into the pool, laid out, etc. I haven't had such a good time in a long while. (I've included a photo).

After that we headed home, and once we got off of the boat, we were offered a ride home from two guys who had a huge SUV. There was about 9 girls and 1 boy in our group, and my friends were like, "Sure! Why not?" And my father doesn't seem to think this, but I AM THE SENSIBLE ONE at these times, and I said, "Girls, this car is parked in what seems to be the exact scene from Taken. We're not going in there. There are mini trailers around here. They will take us, and we will die. But, my words were not heeded, and my friends are infamous for their peer pressure. (Dad, don't worry, there was a man with us who was our friend, and who was an ex-Marine.) Once, we get in, I see that all of the seats are covered in plastic. Great. Good. Now the evidence of our deaths can be hidden. I tried to explain this to my good old pals, but they were not worried in the slightest. It was fine in the end. As you can see, I've survived! But, I wouldn't do that again in a hurry. Plus I had to ride with my neck bent at a 90 degree angle because there were too many of us. After that, we just went out and danced the night away (my dream). Hilariously enough, one of my friends was meeting someone there. When he came, she did not speak to him. (This was a young attractive guy). Instead she preferred the company of an crusty, old, fat man named Curtis on the dance floor. Curtis is the best name he could have had, right? But she came around in the end.

Sorry, this is dragging on, but here's my last bit. On our last day, we went to see the Grand Mosque! Absolutely breathtaking. We had to wear abayas, which were RIDICULOUS. (See facebook). The abayas were a little Amishy, but hey I'm getting back to my roots, I suppose. The mosque was gigantic, and we just went in and walked around the whole main room (which apparently contains the largest carpet in the world). I attached some photos for your viewing pleasure.

In conclusion, Abu Dhabi was nice, but not like Dubai AT ALL. It's very low key, hardly any traffic, taxi drivers knew what they were doing (I was flabbergasted), and not flashy. Think of Harrisburg vs. New York City. Dubai is more my style, but it was nice to visit Abu Dhabi and see what the rest of the UAE has to offer. More adventures to come!

Explanation: I found this at a mall in Abu Dhabi. You know you're in the Middle East when...this is offered as a viable option for a jogging outfit.