It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

Here's our sweet Christmas tree this year! It's a 6-foot artificial tree from Ikea, with red garland, red globe ornaments, and lots of old Christmas cards made into ornaments. I've yet to craft a tree topper, but it's on the list. We opted to put the tree on a table to make it seem less scrawny. My Mom sent the Christmas cards, which I trimmed and glittered, then hung with red yard. I think the next 3 "ornaments" are quite fitting for our overseas adventure.

I bought 3 cheap wreaths at Geant, pulled them apart, and added some garland on one to make a centerpiece for the table. I'd like to do the same for the other 2 and hang them above the stockings.

Our Lillian Vernon WELCOME sign lacks anything Christmasy, so I hung a stocking instead.

Since we don't have a fireplace, I decided to hang the stockings up over the opening to the kitchen. The gold bows came from the Geant wreaths. The stockings were only 11 dirhams each at Ikea. If I can find some embroidery thread in this country, I will embroider our names (or at least first initial!) on them.

I'm currently on the lookout for a Santa Claus photo-op for Colin. Fingers crossed....

ugly

UAE National Day

Joe had another 4 day weekend! He is normally off on Friday and Saturday, but this week, he's been home Thursday through Sunday. The United Arab Emirates is celebrating their 39th National Day, which is sort of the equivalent of our Independence Day on the 4th of July. Funny enough, both are to celebrate independence from Britian.

His company gave him the fancy scarf you see above, complete with pictures of the President and Vice President. These pictures are pasted on buildings all over the country.Above is Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum. He is the Vice President & Prime Minister of the UAE, and the reigning ruler of Dubai. This guy is Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al Nahyan, the President of the UAE and ruler of Abu Dhabi. The President and VP are elected by the Supreme Council, which is comprised of the leader of each of the seven emirates. The Prime Minister, or head of the Cabinet, is chosen by the President after "consultation with the Supreme Council." So, the UAE is not a democracy, but relies on the head of each emirate to serve as the voice. (UAE Interact) This is a display in the center of a roundabout in Al Ain. I'm guessing the pitcher symbolizes traditional Arabian coffee. They already had this "39" up when we went to the zoo, and I wondered what it meant. It's all making sense now :)

So, these Emiratis love to celebrate, especially when it comes to their country. The display of national flags on cars, buildings, and in the form of adorning scarves is not unlike the patriotism you'll see in the US on the 4th of July. The main difference I saw here was this: warnings to stay off the roads. This was purely word of mouth, but I hear that motorists will idle on Jumeirah Beach Road, revv their engines until they "explode," screech their tires until they burst, and even wreck their cars on purpose. The painted car windsheilds can't help the safety factor. And all of this is (supposedly) done by people who frown on the consumption of alcoholic beverages.

photo from gulfnews.com
Colin & I stayed in, but Joe did see some crazy tire squealing when he visited Pete & Simone who live just above the beach. Probably the most interesting thing I witnessed were cab drivers from surrounding countries proudly displaying UAE paraphenalia because they really do love the country they live and work in. Yep, I asked 'em.

photo from gulfnews.com

Happy 39th National Day!

Taxi Drama

I was invited to go to a seminar this week put on by Andalene Salveson, owner of a South-African company called Monsters to Munchkins. She had the seminar at Willow Nursery which is about a 20-minute taxi ride from here. Directions in hand, I hailed a cab outside of our building and headed that way.



I should stop here to explain the taxi drivers in Dubai. As I understand it, cab drivers in the U.S. generally know the local roads and can get you places if you tell them the general vicinity. Here, you seriously have to navigate with turn-by-turn directions or you won't make it to your destination. They are somewhat known for their tendency to play dumb so they'll get a higher fare out of you. Also, there is usually a language barrier so you have to be very concise....and often very bossy.



Back to the story...we were riding down Sheikh Zayed Road, which is the equivalent of an interstate at home. When the driver tried to go onto the wrong ramp despite my back seat nagging, I knew we might have a problem.



We made it to an important intersection, and I said "turn left." He made a U-turn.



We finally got back to the intersection and turned left, I said "Turn right on 9C." He ignored me.



When we finally got back to 9C, it was dark out and I couldn't see the Willow Nursery villa anywhere! I asked the driver to pull over so I could call for better directions. Not surprisingly, he didn't listen. He drove right into another villa's driveway. Then the real drama started.



There were a few Emiratis on the porch, men and women. One of the men stood up immediately and came bolting towards my cab. I paid the driver and demanded change, but he casually rolled down his window and started cackling.



"What do you want?" he asked the Emirati.



"This is my house!! I own this house! What are you doing here??" the Emirati screamed as he marched towards us.



"GIVE. ME. MY. CHANGE!! NOOOWW!"



Ok..so I was getting dramatic. The guy was probably drinking, and just trying to give the taxi driver a hard time. Still, a little part of me was fearful.



After a few minutes of this back and forth, I finally got my change, and ran out of the cab.



The women on the porch were yelling...laughing..."Stupid! Stupid!"

I know I was panicking for no reason, but I was already so mad at the taxi driver for completely ignoring my directions, then he put me in a sketchy situation.

In the US, I would have been on the phone with his superiors ensuring he'd be reprimanded. Here....well, no one cares. Except Emiratis that are wondering why the blazes a random taxi has invaded their personal space.

I survived the debacle, and probably had no reason to fret in the first place. Just another reason why it's hard to call another country "home."

Crafty Fun

On Black Friday, I found some super awesome printable cash envelopes at The Digichick...for free! Then, I picked out some pretty (free) digital scrapbook paper at Shabby Princess. After a few hours of Photoshopping the paper into the envelopes, decorating, printing, cutting, and gluing, my masterpiece is complete!!

This "Christmas Cash" envelope is what caught my attention, so I printed out one of these, too!

Here are my beautiful envelopes!

They fit perfectly into my wallet, and I labeled them so retreiving cash is not only easy, it's also stylish :)

Today, I saw this "Countdown to Santa" post at one of my favorite blogs I Can Teach My Child! We need some holiday cheer around here, so Colin and I made our own.

I used two paper plates - one for the face and one for the hat. I let Colin paint the hat red, then tried to get him to put the cotton balls on the hat and Santa's beard, but he wasn't so cooperative.

Then, I used the one piece of green and red paper we had in the apartment (complete with evidence of previous coloring sessions), cut them to 1" wide, and made the chain.

Here's the final product:

I looped the chain so I could hang Santa a little lower. I have a feeling Colin will rip him down before Christmas, but have no fear...I have a whole roll of masking tape left.

We will tear one loop every night before bed so we can count down to Christmas!

I really wanted to make an advent calendar, but haven't found a craft store yet. Next week: a paper nativity scene!

Thanksgiving in Dubai

We celebrated Thanksgiving today (Friday). We planned on buying a duck this year since we don't have a roasting pan, but we found a half turkey at Lulu's, so we brought that home instead. This is the first year I've cooked a turkey for Thanksgiving, and it turned out pretty good!

It was small enough to shove put in the crockpot. I rubbed the skin with sea salt, then poured cranberry sauce all over the top, and let it cook for about 4 hours. Then I put the whole dutch oven into the big oven for another hour and basted it with butter. Yum!


I also made stuffing (Joe's Maw-Maw's recipe), garlic mashed potatoes, gravy, sweet peas, and a lemon pound cake. It actually smelled like Thanksgiving in here :)
Here's my plate. Mmmmmm.

I cut apart some of Colin's 18-month pajamas and made a turkey shirt for the festivities. Here's some pictures of him after Thanksgiving dinner:

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

So Very Grateful

We have so many things to be grateful for this year!

::Joe found a job after two years of searching.

::All 3 of us are together for the holidays.

::My brother made it home safely from Afghanistan....and I'll have a new sister-in-law next year!

::Joe's brother made it home safely from Afghanistan! I'm blessed to have a great sister-in-law and a sweet neice who turned 2 this year.



::I have a loving set of in-laws who would do anything for our family.


::I have parents who have persevered through a devistating diagnosis.
::We have a sweet dog that we had to leave at home, but we're thankful that my brother willingly took her into his home until we get back.

::My baby boy is more beautiful than I ever could have imagined. I'm amazed at all the things he learns, and blessed to have his smile to get me through the tough times.

::And I have a husband that has been by my side, regardless of the trials we may encounter.


Happy Thanksgiving from Dubai!

A Different Kind of Thankful

I just finished reading my friend Brynn's blog, Coconut Water. The post is entitled "Expat Mashochists." Certainly something I can relate to right now.

To give you a little background, Brynn and I have been friends since we were about 13. We went out separate ways in college - she to American University in D.C., and I went to Wesleyan College in Macon. She got further and further away from home...had a summer in Croatia, a semester in Morocco, and a semester in India. I got closer and closer to home...moved to Milledgeville, then back in with my parents for nursing school. Brynn and I met over chips and queso dip at Frontera in the summertime and discuss her worldly adventures.

Towards the end of her time at AU, she met a handsome Brazilian fellow, fell in love, and moved to Brazil...then they got married :) So, she's a total hardcore expat. She made a permanent move to a place where she didn't know the language. I'm kind of an Expat Light. We're here temporarily, and almost everyone speaks English. My admiration for her has grown tremendously since we moved here!

In her most recent blog post, she talks about "volunteering for banishment." People always tell me "I could never move that far away from my family." You know what? I bet you could. I don't possess a super power that enables this be to easy. Joe and I love our families just as much as you love your families.

The difference in our situations? We had a need to fulfill, we saw an opportunity, prayed about it, stepped over the imaginary boundaries we'd created for ourselves, and just kept moving forward.

The pains of separation really set in around Halloween. The pictures of pumpkin patches, carving jack-o-lanterns, and trick or treating made me sad that we wouldn't get to partake in any of those activities this year. 4 days later was my birthday. Then the weather started getting cooler at home. I imagined seeing Colin run around in our back yard, crunching the leaves and chasing Dakota. Now it's the week of Thanksgiving and I'm really feeling the homesickness.

Is it better here than at home? I choose not to ponder that question.

I have moments where I want to, but I refrain. I have moments of satisfaction that I've been resourceful or creative in ways I never would have experienced at home. I have teary moments. I have a tiny human who smiles and makes it all ok. I have a husband who I like to spend time with. I have a desert on one side, a beach on the other, and a list of things to see and do that most people will never experience in their lifetime.

I keep going back to the notion that the right thing isn't always the easiest thing.

This Thanksgiving, I'm grateful for something I've always taken for granted: the chance for the whole family to gather around one table.

I'm thankful that the country we call home allows me to walk around wearing whatever I please, worship wherever I please, kiss my husband wherever I please, and buy a bottle of wine whenever I please. I will no longer gripe about the ban on Sunday alcohol sales.

I'm thankful that family and friends have always been within driving distance. New Jersey, Brownsville, Charlotte, Fayetteville, Murfreesboro, Ft. Walton Beach, Tampa, and Tallahassee don't seem so far away anymore.

I'm thankful for the awesome opportunity to stay home with Colin for these few months.

I won't ask anyone to understand our reasons for moving 8,000 miles away, because I don't think we fully understand, either. However, I hope that our journey will inspire you to look beyond your comfort zone, and experience things that make you really appreciate how much you have waiting for you when you come back home.

Happy Thanksgiving from Dubai!