Reunited

I haven't forgotten to post...just haven't had any pictures since my iPhone is being configured (if you will) so that I can use it here. That means that my camera has been gone for few days and the pics I've taken on our Nikkon will remain there until we can find the cord to upload them.

Today, my Swiffer Vac arrived...for those who didn't see my posts of excitement on Facebook.I charged it up as soon as it showed up at the door, and tonight, I swept the whole apartment in less than 5 minutes. Seriously. All 1400 square feet of marble tile...it was marvelous. I'd love to also have a Swiffer WetJet, but that one requires cloths AND liquid, plus mopping isn't as difficult as a broom and dustpan.

Mom, I'd like Swiffer cloths for my birthday, please :) I also started drinking hot tea again this week. Diet Coke here doesn't taste right, Coca-Cola is entirely too sugary to drink regularly, and Joe bought a kettle that boils water in about 2 minutes, so it was only natural. Today I bought some Lipton Rosehip Peach tea at the market. Little did I know that it's formulated to heighten my spirits and lift my mood. I just think it tastes fantastic.

Pool Fun

Colin and I spent this morning swimming in our apartment's pool. We had so much fun. The pool here is great. There is a pool bar which serves as a perfect baby pool since it's about 2ft deep, shaded, and closed from the rest of the pool (no sneaking into the deep end). The area around the bar is also very shallow, so I let Colin venture that way for awhile. This bridge splits the pool in half, so there's plenty more beyond this picture. I think there is also another pool on the other side of the building. Colin & I walked over there and saw some water, but there were lots of adults so we decided to stay at the pool bar :)

He wasn't nearly as shy about the water as I anticipated. The water in the pool bar area is cooler because of the shade, and the rest of the pool is warm.

He mainly just splashed around, but he let me take him into the deep end a few times and seemed to enjoy it.

He wasn't so happy about leaving, so I'm sure we'll be spending lots of time at the pool!

Operation: Entertain Ourselves

Friday, they turned on the gas in our apartment :) That means we were able to cook dinner...on the stove! Our first homemade dinner together was spaghetti and green beans. Made the place start to feel like home. Saturday morning, we walked to the playground that's about a block from our apartment. Thankfully, it's shaded. Colin had fun sliding down the slide with his Dada. There were a couple of guys from the UK kicking around a soccer ball in the field. They were barefoot, and ran around like they were on hot coals. I'm sure the sandy grass felt like hot coals.

Colin thought it would be a good idea to spill his juice all over his shirt on the stroller ride over to the park. Guess he was hot :)

This morning began Operation: Entertain Ourselves while Joe was at work. Couldn't go to the pool or the beach due to lack of baby sunscreen, so we walked to the Dubai Marina Mall which isn't far away (one block past the playground). If we were fortunate, the metro would be open and we could go pretty much anywhere in Dubai. Here's the street entrance:

And the walkway across Sheikh Zayed Rd:

And the Jetsons-like metro station across the street. Unfortunately.... I wish they would open the darn thing so I could get around!! Instead, we walked past the metro and went to the Marina Mall. We just walked around (exercise for Mama) and sat down at Starbucks for Colin to have a snack.

I tried to read the paper, but this is all I could find:

Colin & I ended up having a pleasant day, which made me hopeful! I made Cheaters Chicken & Dumplings for dinner and then we went to the Emirates Mall. I found an Osh Kosh, Gymboree, and several other kids clothing stores. Luckily, I have allllll the clothes Colin needs until it's cold outside or he needs a 4T! This is a picture of the Mall of the Emirates Atrium.

Inside the mall is the famous Ski Dubai. We didn't go in, just took a few pictures from the windows.

How awesome is that?!? You have to wear a snowsuit because it's so cold in there....in Dubai.

Shopping Observations

We went grocery shopping for about the 5th time this week, but this time we went to a place called Waitrose which is a British grocery chain in the Dubai Marina Mall. If you're keeping count, we've been to Geant in Ibn Battuta, Carrefour at the Mall of the Emirates, the Almaya Supermarket on the bottom floor of our building, and now Waitrose. Waitrose is my favorite! It's probably because it's the most organized, clean, and the most "Western." Joe tells me that Geant is the cheapest, but I'm going to have to brave that place again early one morning when it's not packed to the gills.

Anyway, I knew we'd start to miss things that we're used to having at home. Here's some of those things:
- Goldfish crackers
- Wheat thins (actually the only crackers I've seen are Ritz or water crackers)
- Frank's Red Hot sauce
- Yoplait yogurt (we especially miss Dora yogurt)
- Unsweetened applesauce
- Diaper Genie - type contraptions (Enter: accidental panda bear basket from Geant)
- pepperjack cheese
- Swiffers :(
- White Cheddar rice cakes, although you can get them lightly salted which seems to suit Colin just fine)
- A decent office section of any store. I can't find a file box for my Freedom Filer and the paper I've found isn't 3-hole punched
- Cribs without a drop side

And some things that are just different:
- The milk is creamier and isn't kind to the digestive system
- The Diet Coke has a bad aftertaste (Most people say Diet Coke has a bad aftertaste in the US, too, but I would argue)
- Joe says the loaf bread here is an "aquired taste." Maybe it's a different sort of wheat?
- Doritos. The spices aren't the same.
- Eggs. The yolk is orange instead of yellowish gold.

And some of the things I was pleased to find:
- Huggies & Pampers diapers
- Animal crackers without high fructose corn syrup
- Fruits and veggies from the US in the produce section
- Laughing cow cheese
- Athenos & Sabro hummus
- Sargento string cheese
- Organic food
- Take 'n Toss toddler bowls and utensils

They have a separate room that says "Pork for Non-Muslims" in most stores. The strangest things are in there...even Pop-Tarts. Kind of gross, right?

I'm sure there are many more things we'll discover about brands here. I'm amused by the 'Scottonelle' toilet paper. Merger, maybe?

Abu Dhabi: Sightseeing, an Office Visit, & a Medical "Exam"

On Wednesday we made the 50-mile drive from the Dubai Marina to Abu Dhabi. Most of the capitol city looked like this: Stucco buildings with stores on the ground floor. However, some of it looked like this:

A little less clean! We went to Joe's office villas which are just outside of Abu Dhabi on the Dubai side, and those are very clean :)

Here are some sights we saw while driving (note: these pictures were taken with my iPhone while in motion, so please excuse the haphazard photography)

This "fish bowl" building is called HQ by Aldar developments. It's an office complex near Al Raha Beach in Abu Dhabi. Joe said he can see this building from his office.

Here is the best picture I could capture of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. It's the largest mosque in Abu Dhabi and the 8th largest mosque in the world. It's named after the UAE's first President, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan who is also buried there. (Sheikh is an honoristic term that means elder or scholar)

The main road from Dubai to Abu Dhabi is also called Sheikh Zayed ("shake z'eye'-ed"). I took lots of pictures of mosques along the way.

I think the next two pictures are of homes along Sheikh Zayed Rd. I just thought they were pretty :)

These buildings reminded me of the Edgewater Resort in Destin.

The highway bridge ramps have colorful tiling:

The last picture is my worst attempt...this is the Capital Gate building peeking out from behind that palm tree. It holds the Guiness World Record for The World's Furthest Leaning Manmade Tower. It looks like something out of a Dr. Seuss book.

The whole reason that we went to Abu Dhabi was to have my medical exam done to complete the visa process at the Sheikh Khalifa Medical Center. This consisted of a short interview ("Do you have any medical problems? Ok next room for blood please"), a blood draw to test for HIV and probably hepatitis, and a chest xray. I went to the women's waiting area to check in and Joe took Colin to the men's waiting area. (They don't condone gender mingling in public places). The lady told me it was 250 dh or I could pay an extra 100 dh for "fast track." After peering over at the huge room full of women next door, I decided to spring the extra money (less than $30).

They literally rushed me right to the front, I checked in, had my retina scan, and went for my thorough medical interview. Then they put me in front of another room full of women to have my blood drawn and then whisked me over to xray. The receptionist there ushered me into this teeeny changing room and said (over and over) "Only your bra, please. Leave your shirt." I opened the door, went inside, and upon closing the door found a bare-chested woman smiling back at me. Embarassed, I apologized and tried to get back out the door, but she closed the door in front of me and said "No problem! You woman, like me! You not man!" while laughing.

I let her get dressed before I changed, making sure to lock the door when she left. On the back of the door was the funniest sign I have seen in this country so far. It was a stick woman wearing a bra and underwear. There was a huge circle with a line through the underwear and the word NO with about 7 underlines written beside it. Next to each side of the stick lady's bosom were about 4 arrows pointing up and away from her and the words BRA ONLY written in the margins. I was thoroughly amused with this, but Colin had my iPhone so he could watch Elmo, so I couldn't get a picture.

After the xray was done, I went back to the lobby and heard them call #342 back for the retina scan. I would have been #396. Thank goodness for fast track!!

More of Ibn Battuta

On Tuesday we went back to Ibn Battuta for lunch and to look around.
Colin was growing weary of the stroller so he walked around with his Dada.

The most ornate Starbucks I've ever seen.

Debenhams is sort of like Macy's.

I'll have to say, I didn't expect to see Wranglers here.

And if you'd like a pink camel, let us know. I'm not sure if they'll have enough for everyone ;)

Shopping!!

On Sunday, all 3 of us slept until 2pm. Oops! After "breakfast" we packed up Colin and headed to Ikea in the Festival City area of Dubai. I was so excited because, well, who doesn't love Ikea?!? Everyone in Dubai appears to love Ikea. The sheer volume of people in that place was quite impressive. Now I understand why Joe would be so stressed out every time he shopped there.


Moving around inside of a store is really tricky here in the Middle East. Their method of crowd control is quite different than it is in the US. As a generalization, people at home will let you pass by, then go back to what they were doing. Here, people seem kind of oblivious to their fellow shoppers. I got stuck in the middle of a family speaking Arabic and showing each other placemats. I was seriously right in the middle of them and no one would let me out! I had to accidentally undo the velco of my pop-up hamper that was accidentally aimed in their direction and then apologize profusely while I shuffled between two startled women.

The good thing is that we bought a wardrobe, changing table, toy shelf, chair covers, and some other small things, so it was well worth the trip. Colin thought so, too, since I bribed him with ice cream.

Then we came home and had a nice KFC dinner with Pete & Simone, the couple that Joe met when he moved here in March. They are a lovely pair. We won't get to see them for the next two weeks because they are headed to New Zealand to visit with Pete's family.




This morning the Ikea delivery people brought our furniture and put it together for us. Everyone delivers here, it's grand! Colin's room is now pretty much finished, so I thought I'd post some pictures. My cousins (the Haviland Jacksons) sent some great Thomas the Train appliques for the wall so I put those up this morning. I think they turned out pretty great.


This is the other side of the room, with a cheap but efficient changing station, a panda-themed trash bin that I bought by accident at Geant, and the black-out curtains that help Colin sleep 'til 2pm.

Of note, the closets here are really awesome.

For lunch today, we went down to The Walk at Jumeirah Beach Residence in the Marina which is about a block from our apartment. Pete & Simone live in JBR which is oceanfront. We had lunch at El Chico. Who would have thought that you can get sensational Mexican food in the Middle East? (If you look closely, you can see our reflections in the doors) The Walk is really beautiful, and is full of great restaurants and stores.
Tonight we went shopping at Carrefour, another French hypermarket. This one is better than Geant, but a little further away. It's inside the Mall of the Emirates. Having a grocery store inside the mall means that you walk through the mall with your cart full of food. Strange concept, right? You put a dirham into the cart when you pick it up, and when you put it back, you get your dirham back. It's the same concept as Aldi. We stood in line for at least 20-30 minutes to check out, so Colin needed a snack.

While in line I spotted this display of dates, any way you want them. Very popular here, and used to break your fast for Ramadan each night.I'm not sure if this picture does it justice, but the checkout lines here are a serious bottleneck. People pack in like sardines.

I was super happy to find a Carter's in the Emirates mall! AND they are having a sale! Wonder if they take American coupons?!?