Wow! Time has flown by and I have now been here for 6 months this week! I can't believe I'm sometimes living this life and feel so fortunate to be given this opportunity. God DOES have a plan for me. I sometimes question my sanity when I'm with my boys, but I think back to the plan. I'm going to backtrack a little to before I left to come home for break. Only highlighting the big parts to make this short and sweet!
On November 10, Symunek and I went to the Ghantoot Racing and Polo Club to watch Pink Polo. This was a Polo game that benefitted breast cancer awareness. It was a huge event and we even ran into a few of our friends randomly. They had a "Best Dressed in Pink" contest so the clothes were very interesting. The club was about 30 minutes outside of Abu Dhabi going towards Dubai. We should've stayed in Dubai that weekend...any excuse to go to Dubai! Polo in Abu Dhabi seems the same except for the fact that the VIP area is full of Emirati men and women dressed in kandooras and abayas...so the fashion is definitely different. The "regular people" stands did have some British people dressed in suits, hats and dresses. I managed to find a purple-pink dress just in time to wear but missed out on wearing a cute hat. Maybe, next year!
On November 10, Symunek and I went to the Ghantoot Racing and Polo Club to watch Pink Polo. This was a Polo game that benefitted breast cancer awareness. It was a huge event and we even ran into a few of our friends randomly. They had a "Best Dressed in Pink" contest so the clothes were very interesting. The club was about 30 minutes outside of Abu Dhabi going towards Dubai. We should've stayed in Dubai that weekend...any excuse to go to Dubai! Polo in Abu Dhabi seems the same except for the fact that the VIP area is full of Emirati men and women dressed in kandooras and abayas...so the fashion is definitely different. The "regular people" stands did have some British people dressed in suits, hats and dresses. I managed to find a purple-pink dress just in time to wear but missed out on wearing a cute hat. Maybe, next year!
The players on the field
Signage to the event
Up close and personal
Stomping of the divots tradition
Symunek, Jen, Khadija, Khaleel, and I stomping the divots during half time.
On November 29, we had a performance for National Day at school. The boys dressed up in scarves, pins, wooden guns, vests and anything you could think of to wear in black, red, green and white. These are the UAE colors and they were extremely proud to wear them. United Arab Emirates is a fairly young country in celebrating 41 years. This is the proudest country I have ever been to. They make National Day a HUGE celebration. When I say HUGE...this is an understatement. First, we got two days off from school (Sunday and Monday). Secondly, they decorate their cars with screen prints of Sheik Zayed and all the glitter and glam of red, green, black and white (see pictures of some of the top cars I saw that weekend). Third, the people of the UAE LOVE their country. I love it as well so I sported some rhinestone UAE flag earrings. The boys sang and danced with their sticks. I was invited to have coffee, tea and dates by the tent with one of my parents. She doesn't speak any English but her smile is incredibly warm. Her son is Bekheet, the one whose Nanny comes with him everyday (even six months later).
Me in my abaya with UAE "Mardi Gras" beads:)
Naser:)
Salem playing in his gutrah
Youseff with his wooden UAE gun
Abdallah:)
Hey there Musallem!
The boys during the presentation for National Day. We made these paper chains during class to show patterns
The tent that was set up for National Day
Another picture of the boys
Awwwww
The older boys singing a traditional song
The older boys doing a dance with their wooden guns
Watching the older boys dance
Another picture of the tent
The UAE flag
The play
The brother came to sit with the boys. This was the most precious little guy in his kandoora. He must have been about two years old.
Passing out balloons for the boys
Playing games
This reminded me of a Mardi Gras float that we used to make at OLQH with the shoebox:)
Some National Day artwork that the boys did
This piece caught my eye...such a great artist!
Camels, palms, and tea!
Burj Khalifa model
Miss Hanna, the art teacher, had tea with us after the program
The'Resa and I at the program
They had jets fly over the town that sprayed UAE colors and made fun patterns. The boys watched the show from the window and kept saying...Look, Miss Angel, look! They wanted to be sure I saw everything!
Cute picture of the boys waving the UAE flag to the jets passing
Symunek and I finally found the Christmas light restaurant! It did have grass out front and the food was delicious and the service phenomenal. The owner served us desserts and coffee at the end of our meal for free.
The 41 lights at the Tilal Liwa Hotel one night when I went to work out
On November 30-December 1, we went to Atlantis in Dubai to celebrate Julie's birthday! This girl knows how to plan and party! We had such a great time and it will be a night I will always remember-Thanks so much JULIE!
The famous arch view from the pool
The shell chandelier at Atlantis
Entrance to Atlantis Hotel Royal Towers
In our room inside of Atlantis
Julie even left us gift bags complete with a thank you for coming and a bottle of Bacardi and a martini glass. Always prepared and southern hospitality at its best!
The view of the "Arabian" Gulf from our balcony
The roses inside the lobby that were dyed for National Day
Atlantis lobby
After we got checked into Atlantis, we took a cab to the Dubai Marina to board our yacht. Julie brought some beverages and snacks and made the experience "first class"
Our yacht for the afternoon
At the front of the Boat...I'm on a boat! Out of all days for it to rain in the desert...it made for a rocky trip! We had to hang on a few times from falling off!
The Birthday Girl, Julie and Symunek
Me in front of the famous Burj Al Arab from the yacht
The view of Burj Al Arab from the yacht
Symunek, Jen and I getting ready in the mirror to go out to Nobu and N'Dulge at Atlantis that night. We got a table on the dance floor and ordered a bottle of Sky that was almost as tall as I was. Yes, that big or short:)
Jen, Me and Symunek at Nobu for Julie's birthday
Symunek and I at N'Dulge
Dolphin Bay
YES! I swam with the dolphins! This was one of the highlights from my adventure! We got this for Julie for her birthday and we had such a wonderful time! I swam with a precious dolphin named Pemberly. I was a little nervous at first when she first came by me and we put out our hands but I became quickly fascinated with her. She was incredibly sweet and so gentle. There were about 8 people in our group with Pemberly plus a trainer. I got to dance with her and give her a little kiss!
Jen, Me and Julie at Dolphin Bay Atlantis
The best kiss of my life...so far:)
Dancing with Pemberly
In the Dubai Mall, they had a Ferrero Rocher Chocolate model of the Burj Khalifa. This was made of golden wrapped chocolates.
A Christmas tree in the Dubai Mall. Surprised to see this in a Muslim country.
Magnolia Bakery National Day Cupcake
Jen and I came back to Abu Dhabi and went Christmas shopping at this souk. It was very nice and had decent prices. I bought camel ornaments for my friends and family and got an arabic name ring for my mother. I had it engraved with Kevin and my Pap's name together. It turned out beautiful! We ate dinner at The Meat Co. This was a nice treat and a delicious steak!
Celebrating National Day with a nice dinner!
The front of the Audi
Audi painted with UAE pride
Range Rover with glitter and UAE crest
One of the banks decorated for National Day (reminds me of looking at Christmas lights at home and got me in the Christmas spirit)
A text from Sheik Mohammed! Wow-how did he get my number? I thought I was extremely special until Jen received the same text:) Sheik Mohammed is the Prime Minister/Vice President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
A huge UAE flag that was flying by Jen's apartment in Abu Dhabi
The next week, Martha and I went to a camel farm to take pictures. The men were very kind to us and invited us for tea. It was beautiful...sunset in the desert with camels and tea. It is always interesting to have tea with the Emiratis. Their is such a huge language barrier but you just do your best to make conservation and find one man who speaks the most and then he translates. These camels are very expensive. One of the teachers told us that her husband sells them and they can cost up to 2 million dirhams!! These are some of the pictures I got:
Baby camels!
The next weekend, we went back to Dubai for the night and Christmas shopped. We went to the movies to see Argo. It was really a great movie. I made this camel for my precious nephew Mason!
Now...heading home for Christmas Break. I left on December 14 and came back on January 2. Such a wonderful trip to be continued in the next post!
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