Character Day at School

Part of our teaching is to introduce reading. Today was Our Favorite Character dress up day. 

We read stories and had loads of fun. Cinderella, Snow White, Woody Wood Pecker, Goldilocks, Tom and Jerry, Little Miss Muffet, and many others roamed the halls. 

The teachers: The Old Lady Who Lived in a Shoe, The Wicked Witch of the East, Fancy Nancy and Goldilocks

Along came Mrs. Frizzle from the Magic School Bus and Recycle Princess.  When the princess had the microphone she told the kids she was not Garage Man, she was a Recycling Princess and what that meant. I loved it!

The girls drew scenes on butcher block paper from books that we had read as a class. I was really proud of their artwork. I brought many of the books back from the States with me. Two favorites were Posey Prefers Pink and Fancy Nancy. 

A princess wearing a Tommy and Jerry head. 

Poor Guy

We passed a camel traveling along side us on the road to school. He was crammed into a small pick-up but he managed to look all around to see what was happening. I tried to catch a frontal picture of his face but the sun was behind his head. 

We see camels all the time on the road. 

 

We crossed over to the other side to get away from the sun but he didn't turn toward us. They love to look around. If they are in a pick-up with sides, they crane their necks to see above the top. 

The Abaya

Say what you will, I love wearing an abaya. They are slimming, can be made of silk or polyester, which means low maintenance, and comfortable. You can also see, kids are the same the world over. 

Grocery Stores

Groceries in Al Ain

There are many unusual fruits available. One called a durian, looks like a large spiked helmet. They say it smells like hell but tastes like heaven. I haven't found anyone willing to split one with me. I've only found them whole in the supermarkets and they are way too big for one person.

Another large fruit is the jackfruit. I have not had a chance to try either one. I can't imagine the size of the trees.

I took the opportunity to place my apples next to a solitary durian fruit. There are normally only a few for sale. Once I find someone to split one with me, I'll let you know how it tastes.

The picture is fuzzy but you can see the size of the jackfruit.

An entire section is dedicated to rice. Most of it is
Basmati from different countries. I prefer Jasmine and there are a couple of bags tucked away at the end. 

 You want a big bag? How about 20 KG.

You can buy fresh milk in the refrigerated section or package milk on the shelves. When we lived in England that was also an option.

 Canned milk on the shelves.

 Beans and banana flowers at the fresh produce section. Not sure how to eat the banana flowers.

Beans (plus a very long bean), gooseberries, and sugar cane.

 I'm not sure how to cook or eat these.

The pepper aisle. 

Taxis at the Dubai Mall

You don't need a car in the UAE. Taxis are everywhere and very inexpensive. We took a taxi from Abu Dhabi to Al Ain which is a 90 mile trip and it cost us around $60 for the entire trip. Below is a short video of waiting in line at the Dubai Mall for a taxi to take us back to the hotel. The line was at least a city block long, and the taxis were queued up in rows.


Try to see the beginning and end of the line.


There were men organizing the whole system of loading people into the cabs and signalling them to drive off. Then the next wave of taxis would move forward. It went quickly and moved efficiently.

Global Village

Outside Dubai's city limits is Global Village. It's open from fall through spring, when the weather outside is cool enough for walking. You will find souks from different parts of the world. Each country brings goods from their countries to sell. Many of the countries provide shows for the crowds to watch such as Africa and troops of dancers performing to drums.


Africa was one of my favorite places to visit. They offered hand made bowls, carved African animals, hand made sandals, baskets, and lots of other unique items. Turkey offered the best baklava around and souks of jewelry. If you want a Persian rug, Global Village is the place to go. Egypt was a favorite with its scrolls of hieroglyphs and pictures of gods. Palestine had different perfumes.

Egypt. Notice the hieroglyphs. 

Egypt

When you first come through the gates, it looks like a traditional fair with balloons and food stalls. 

Spices for sale

One of my favorite things was smelling all the spices for sale. The aroma wafted outside and you could smell the spice stalls long before seeing them. That is a cake made of layered spices in the middle. Notice the seller's scabbard and belt.

One of the souks in the African building. They aren't visible here but there were many hand carved bowls, masks and safari animals. 
They had giraffes as tall as a person. 

View of the Ferris Wheel and buildings. We rode the Ferris Wheel at night searching for Dubai's city lights. We were too far away but the red lights from the city could be seen. We figured red light rays were brighter than white. 

Global Village at night. The nights are very busy in the UAE. It's not unusual for things to be open till midnight. 

Sand Storms

Road from Al Ain to Abu Dhabi

The sky gets dark and the wind kicks up, but it's waves of sand that come rolling in. It lasts about as long as a rain storm and leaves the ground covered in orange sand. The trees stay coated in a layer of sand. I've often wondered how they manage photosynthesis.

Out and about in the Malls

Candy tree at the Dubai Mall. 

They make the best caramel corn on the premises. It comes in different varieties such as pecan, cashew, almond, or plain caramel corn that is served warm. The last time I was there, a large family was buying out the store, literally. We waited fifteen minutes while the staff scooped up the corn into bucket after bucket.  We calculated they spent over a thousand dollars on caramel corn. 

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is very modern. It celebrated its 40th birthday this year. It has ultra-modern buildings, such as the Burg Khalifa, and excellent shopping.  

The Aquarium inside the Dubai Mall. is a must see.  

Shark swimming overhead in the tunnel. 

The Emirate women wear abayas when they are out of the house.  This is a shop selling different fashions. I wear an abaya to school. 

Boy toys parked in front of the Dubai Mall. The bottom of the Burg Khalifa sits in the background.

Gold, gold, gold. It's expensive here too. 

Living room display. 

Portrait shop. 

Incense burners. You'll smell incense burning in the stores and malls.

Long gowns. 

Head scarves. Many of the women wear a different scarf everyday.

Tailor shop making men's robes.

I took this picture because the little boys look precious in their robes. 

Indian markets in old Dubai

The UAE is now 90% expats. They have hired people from other countries to do jobs such as construction work, cleaning, doctoring, teaching, technology etc...

The streets are filled with Indian men milling about. It reminds me of the neighborhoods in New York City where people gather on the streets to visit. They are very respectful and private. We visited an Indian market area in old Dubai where the streets were very narrow and the goods were displayed out in the open.

Narrow corridor that is the shopping area 

Food offerings for the gods. 

Fresh flowers laced together as offerings to the gods. Used for celebrations? There were many on display throughout the market.

A little out of focus but this picture shows the three main dieties: Jesus on the right, Allah on the left, and Ganesha, the elephant Lord of Success.

Al Ain

Life in the Oasis

Al Ain is a small city in the middle of the UAE, on the Oman border. An oasis, it's lush with trees and flowers. The city is recognized as one of the greenest areas in Arabia. Fruit trees, attended by a gardener everyday, fill my backyard. Birds chirping is a familiar sound in the morning. We also have feral cats that pass through, no doubt keeping their eyes on the prey flying overhead.


Below are local pictures and some of the archaeological sites in the city. One of the things that struck me about being inside one of the ancient structures was the significant drop in temperature, something extremely important here in the desert. Temperatures got up to 135 last summer, so you can see why indigenous people cover from head to toe.

Hot water running off the mountain. They thought the water would be cool but got a toasty surprise. 

Al Ain Historical building

Al Ain Historical fort

Inside the fort where it is much cooler than the soaring temps out. 

Covered parking lots. Jebel Hafeet, a naked mountain, looms in the background.

Camel crossing on the way to school. We look forward to seeing the camels everyday.