Bella's Football Try-outs

Today Isabella had football tryouts.  I drove to where I thought they were (5 minutes from my house) and ended up missing the turn and having to drive over a bridge and 3 miles away before I could make a u-turn and get back to it and then go to three different buildings and talk to 6 different people before coming to the realization that I was in the wrong place and then I couldn't find my phone and then we came home for it and I saw a message about the try-outs being somewhere else and then Bella had taken off her soccer stuff and then I had to make her put it back on and rush to get to it and I was almost out of gas and we were 20 minutes late and it was 6:20 and the kids hadn't eaten dinner.

Yes - it's a GIANT run-on sentence.  But, that's how that hour felt.  Go, go, go, go - rest.

We got to the Zayed Sports City where there were try-outs going on EVERYWHERE.   So many kids from tots on up to teenagers.  I found U-8 because that's what I thought she was.  She is 8 by September 1st - isn't that how it goes?  It was about 25 boys and 1 girl plus Isabella.  I asked if there were different teams for boys and girls and they said there isn't enough interest for the girls.  Bella didn't care.  She was hungry and cranky and just wanted to play soccer.

They explained at the end that they automatically take the kids from the year before and it only leaves 8 open spots after that.

She was awesome.  She totally held her own and the coach's were impressed.  I talked to them afterwards and it turns out - SHE WAS IN THE WRONG AGE GROUP.  Argh!!!

The coach was disappointed because he said he could've used her.  He said she should've tried out for U-10, but he knew that was filled up so recommended she try out with U-13.  I reminded him that she is EIGHT.  He said, no problem.  She'll do great.

Now then, I know Bella is a good soccer player.  She has a real knack for it.  But - good enough to be playing two levels up, no.  Really.  I think she'll be trampled.

But - he said to bring her for the next try-outs (there are two to three try-outs for the team) and he'll introduce us to the U-13 coach.

Wish us luck!

Meanwhile, Cameron and Alexander played soccer on their own and Cameron made a crown of soccer markers:

9-11 in The Middle East

I have been feeling somewhat homesick lately.  It comes and goes in little spurts. 

It was September 11th yesterday and somehow it made me miss my homeland even more.  There were no American Flags lining my streets.  There was no one wearing patriotic clothing.  I didn't see anyone with a reminder pin on.  Nobody had bumper stickers or magnets on their cars about it.  I didn't hear about any kind of memorial event.  I didn't see it on every channel I watch on the television (granted I don't watch tv much because it's hard to wade through the multi-ethnic channels to something I can understand or want to watch).

I did see things on the computer when I turned it on though.  I did get that familiar feeling of sadness mixed with anger mixed with pride for my country that happens around this time.

I have lived here for four weeks now.  I am mostly surrounded by people of another culture, another faith.  I live in a Muslim country.  I am not scared and I don't feel hatred or anger towards the people here, which only adds to my anger at SOME of my own country's citizens for how they blindly treated all muslims following 9-11.  I have felt mostly welcomed here and  I have found people friendly here, in a different kind of way.  Perhaps, polite is a better word. 

As the days were leading up to 9-11, I started having some conflicting emotions.  I wondered if I should leave my house.  It wasn't out of fear, it was out of something else that I can't put my finger on. I think I wasn't sure how people would react to me.  Would they shy from me?  Do I look so American that I would remind them of something?  Would they take pity?  Would they turn their gaze?

It's not supposed to feel like any other day and somehow I knew that if I went out of my bubble here, it would.

My kids left to school in the morning and I left for the gym.  Then I came home and did nothing else.  I felt like I should be watching a documentary, I should be reminded somehow.

But, like all Americans - no matter where we are.  We will never forget.

Movie Time in Abu Dhabi

Brian and I took the kids to see a movie this last weekend.  It was the Smurfs in 3D.  The words were in English but there were Arabic and French subtitles.  I tried to take pictures - but it's a movie theater and it's dark and it was in 3D (maybe I should've held up the glasses to the front of the camera??)

First Day of School

Today the kids started their first day at the American Community School.

The had to wake up at 6:00 a.m. in order to catch the bus.  They both managed to bounce out of bed, eat breakfast, grab their pre-packed lunch (from the night before) out of the fridge and be ready to go with time to spare!  I'm sure this won't last long, but I'll enjoy it while it does!

Since it was the first day, Brian and Cameron and I all walked the kids to the bus stop area.  It was in front of a villa a few doors down.   There are several other Embassy kids who attend ACS and ride the bus.  Bella and Alexander each had a friend there and a few other kids who they had met before.  Both of the kids happen to have PE today so they needed to wear their PE uniform to school:

Isabella - Ready for 3rd Grade

Alexander - Ready for 5th Grade

They got onto the bus without looking back and were off!

Cameron and I quickly worked on a new routine.  I took some time to eat breakfast and catch up on computer stuff for a bit before heading out the door for the gym in our compound.  Cameron played around on my Ipad while I did 3 miles on the treadmill.  I spent 10 minutes trying to find something to watch on the TV there and after flipping through 500 (no exaggeration) multi-ethnic channels, I settled on a Korean Music Channel.  I didn't understand much but enjoyed the videos and the music until a friend and her son popped in to chat with.

After my workout it was back to the villa to clean and do laundry.  Cameron was such a big help.  He likes squirting the cleaner and helping to empty the wash into the dryer.  Then, I decided to bake some cookies for the kids - but didn't have all my ingredients so off we went.

First stop....gas station!   I sat and relaxed while I got full-service.  It cost me 95 dirhams to fill up the whole tank ($25.65) and that was from bone dry empty.

Then we headed off to try a new grocery store I found on my GPS.  It turned out to be a tiny, yucky place that was a little 7-11 and a little flea markety with someone smoking INSIDE the store.  No Thank You.

Instead, we headed to the Abu Dhabi Cooperative Society (which is like a mini-mall place with a grocery store area).  I found my Crisco shortening and a few other items and back home we went.

Cameron helped me bake some yummy Banana Cookies (one of our favorite recipes).  I've been making this recipe for years (but I omit the nuts).  They are more like a muffin texture than your typical cookie texture.  They don't look pretty but they are yummy and addictive!  The kids LOVE them.  Try it out here:  Banana Cookie Recipe

The last batch came out of the oven just as it was time to meet the bus from school. 

The kids had a FANTASTIC day.  Isabella explained that she is already friends with most of the girls in her class and Alexander said he made a new friend.  Bella was bubbling over with excitement about all the new things she learned and Alexander just wanted to get onto the computer to play his game.  They both had a touch of homework to do later, but were excited to show me that they learned how to write their names in Arabic:

Arabic is read Right to Left

Then, Alexander set to work on his homework....a self assessment.  I always enjoy reading these since Alexander tends to very confident in his abilities......(I'm waiting for it to bite him in the butt one of these days)

I love that a favorite book that was read to him was Chicka Chicka Boom Boom and that he has no desire to improve - probably because you can't improve perfection (seriously - the kid has an overabundance of confidence!)

Annoyed about writing?  I wonder what that means?

Love his Catholic School influence with who he wants to meet.

After the kids did homework and showered, it was off to bed!  Hopefully they wake up bright and early tomorrow too!

A stop at the Mall

The home stores here are filled with great things that are designed for big homes.  Bella had fun with this lovely red man.....

I wish our space could accommodate him in the foyer!

New Student Orientation

We went to the school this morning for a New Student Orientation.

W.O.W.









It is a large campus with separate buildings for Elementary School, Middle School and High School.

There is a Main Office with a Secretary and then each Grade Section (Elem., Middle, HS) has its own Principal and Secretary. There are large outdoor play areas and two separate (covered) playground structure areas. The school goes from KG1 (like Pre-K in the States) to 12th grade.










Swimming is a PE activity during the later part of the year and the kids have several extra-curricular activities (including a Swim Team).









Bella has a fantastic teacher named Mr. Fernandez (the first male teacher for either of our kids). The class only has about 22 kids with an aide for 6 hrs a day. There are three 3rd grade classes there. It is a slight ethnic mix with mostly Americans. The turtle pictured above is in Bella's class. She was so excited today that it was hard to make her leave.

Alexander has a great teacher too, named Mrs. O'Shaughnessy and he has about 24 kids in his class with an aide 6 hours a day. There are three 5th grade classes there and they are all connected. Two boys that he met (we went to Al Ain with them last week) are in his class so that's great.

The kids seem excited about some aspects of school starting and I think even Alexander is excited, even though he's trying hard not to show it too much.

The school day is a FULL HOUR longer than their old school. The bus picks them up at 7 am and school starts at 8 and finishes at 3:10. They have a three-day rotating schedule with PE one day, Art one day and Music one day. On PE days they have to wear their PE uniform all day. Otherwise, they wear what they want (within typical school dress guidelines).

They ride a bus with other Embassy kids. It will be weird putting them on a school bus for the first time tomorrow (Maybe I'll finally need those tissues Cecile!).

We had a lengthy parent orientation today and we were both impressed with the school. It all seems top notch. We walked into the Auditorium and there were Mac Pros sitting at everyone's spot with Arabic/English keyboards:









Not sure why it looks green, it wasn't.

There is a fantastic communication system set-up. There is a way to log on through google to the school website and you can access the usual things like grades, calendars, lunch menu (healthy American choices and Ethnic choices each day), newsletter. But, everyone is given an email account and you can access the school directory online and send emails to anyone. They advise doing it this way and not through personal emails since people may have email accounts that aren't recognized by others.

There is also an active PTA.

Tomorrow is Day 1 and I'm hoping it's a fantastic one!!



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Just Driving Around

Felt like driving around today....

One of the things that make driving crazy is there doesn't seem to be a right away. Everyone is fending for themselves and yielding for no one. Even pedestrians run across four lanes of traffic like frogger.




Here is the sign for the roundabout near our house. It has three lanes and no signage for what lane goes where so people shoot from the inner ring to exit. It makes for some pretty defensive driving.

Neat Bldg.

The Corniche. It is only 20 minutes from our house and has bike lanes and walkways running all along the water.

You can rent pedal cars there too.

More construction.

Downtown Abu Dhabi.

Lots of trees. Just different than the kind back home.

mcDonalds truck. Can you see the Arabic writing on it?

Some demo going on

Dunno what this is but looks like a golf ball up there.

These white bus things are everywhere and they carry guys from the work camps to the city.

Mosques are everywhere. I don't hear the call to prayer too often though but I think it happens five times a day.

Some buildings look like they shouldn't be habitable.

More downtown.

Random building.

Talk about public transportation.

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Mini Panic Attack

The day started out great. I hit the gym for a good Body Pump class and tried to submit my application for membership. However, I forgot the copy of my passport, visa and two passport sized photos. So, I submitted half a membership.

After class, I went home to find that no one had left their spot. Brian was still napping off a headache, Kids were all playing the Wii. It's as though they have become brainless slugs who can't find anything to do until Mom suggests something.

We headed off swimming for a bit and then home for lunch.

By now I was antsy and wanted to DO something. I had heard about a new spray park nearby and figured we would try that. I knew it was in a regular park and so Alexander decided to bring his soccer ball to kick around. Somehow he is acclimating to the heat better than me. I was thinking it would be like the little spray parks back home. They are free, in the middle of a park and shoot up water here and there.

This is Abu Dhabi, I should know better.

We got to the park and it was like a HUGE park with lots of different things to see and do in it. There were some fees:










I paid money for the four of us to enter the park, ride the train and see the museum.

We headed in with a big bottle of water in hand, floppy hat for me, soccer ball for Alexander and a stroller for Cameron.

It was over 100 degrees, humid and a little uncomfortable. I thought....this is new and there are things to see and the spray park will be great!

We walked the 1/8th of a mile(ish) to the spray park. I was sweaty and ready to keel over. How is nobody sweating around me?? I might buy an Abaya and just go naked underneath, is that the trick? Good Lord it's hot outside.

So, we get to the spray park and it is clearly not a simple sprinkler place and there is an additional fee:











There were also some rules about swim diapers and proper bathing attire. We were just in clothes that I figured they could run through some sprinklers in and they would dry before you know it. Clearly this wouldn't work.

It did look fun for another day though.
































I had trouble taking pics around the barrier. Clearly a place to eat, have fun and spend a bit of time.

We decided to walk around (what the hell was I thinking??) the park. Besides, I had tickets for a train and museum somewhere.

We walked by a place to rent pedal cars, two or three playground areas, a soccer field, vending machines and more.

Then, we decided to walk the 1/4 mile (?) back to the train stop. I am now sweating buckets, almost done with the water and trying to breathe slowly to enjoy this beautiful (hotter than hell day) outside.

The train ride should provide a nice breeze, right? I'll be fine.

We boarded the train for a trip around the gigantic park. The man asked for our tickets and I handed over all the little Arabic papers I got in the hopes he would take what he needed. He took a few of them and handed back the rest.

We passed lots of fun looking things:





















There were also small amusement park rides (they weren't open though).

The kids were mostly enjoying the ride.











Alexander was mad that I woudn't let him stop and play soccer.











Its a 1000 degrees and he has beads of sweat running down his face from SITTING, but wants to play soccer??

Then he got a little silly:












I started realizing that I was done. I wanted to go home now. I started breathing hard and was pretty sure I was going to pass out from heat exhaustion. Seriously, how is NO ONE bothered by the damn heat around me? Can't they feel their face melting off? I took off my light cover up and bared my shoulders, arms and as much of my chest as I could in an effort to cool down. Please, please let the parking lot be around the corner.

Then, the train stopped at a train stopping area. The driver had driven through the others, why is he stopping here? Any sign of my stroller? No. Any sign of the parking lot? No. I just need my air conditioned car, NOW.

Then, the polite, Arabic-Speaking worker walks over to our car, removes the chain and motions us out. I don't want to get off and I'm confused. He points to the building and to us. So, I ask him if this is the end. He looks at me like I'm speaking another language. I begin motioning like a crazy person..my car? (making turning steering wheel moves) He looks at me with a blank stare. The stroller? (making stroller pushing moves). Nothing. I'm now getting panicky. The end? Where we started? Did we go all around? (now making frantic giant circle motions). NOTHING is working.

Then I wonder if this is the museum and he maybe saw our tickets and was showing us where to go???

So, Alexander takes my hand and says it's fine. Let's just head over here.

Did I mention it was a billion degrees out? What if my train ticket only got me this far? What if I needed to buy more tickets and don't have enough money? What if I pass out from the heat right now? Would anyone do anything? What if this is the museum and it's closed and it's not Air conditioned and then we want to leave and the train isn't here for us and we have to walk on the boiling heat. I don't think the kids know our phone number or Brian's number and I don't think it is in my phone yet and I just want to go home.

I'm now freaking out and obviously starting (clearly in the middle of?) a panic attack. It is a million degrees, sweat is pooling in every crevice and passengers are looking at me funny (and a little concerned). I quickly move to the next family and asked (please God, please God) if they spoke English??

They did. I explained (doing my best to not cry not cry not cry) that I just wanted to get back to my car and it's hot and I want to go to the beginning where we started and I think he's trying to tell us this is the museum and I don't want to go today and I just want to get to my car.

They smiled and agreed it was hot and they were just riding it around too and they said a few words to the man. He nodded, looked at us and gestured back to the train.

I sighed and hoped the parking lot was coming up and I wouldn't pass out. I thanked the English/Arabic speaking family (several times) and took a seat. The train started moving and Alexander asked "If you're so hot, why didn't we just go into that building? It looks like there is food and water and it's probably air conditioned?"

Maybe another day. Now, let's just get home. Bella agreed and Cameron sat there happy as could be looking at all the fun stuff outside the train.

We made it to our car. I didn't pass out. We were 10 minutes from home and all was fine. We'll go back when the weather cools.

I got home and showered before heading out to dinner. We went to a place called Stars and Bars on Yas Island which is where Ferrari World is and an arena and yacht club and hotels and other fun things.











This is next door to the restaurant.










Some of the tables were plexiglass with neat racing stuff underneath and the chairs were like race car chairs.






















The big kids enjoyed foosball while we waited for our food.










The food was delicious. Didn't order drinks though.....CRAZY expensive.









Tried takin a few pics outside but the camera was wonky. Can you make out the giant yacht above though?











Cool building











Cam loved the fountains.

Would you believe I ran into somebody I know? I had a playdate with a gal a few days ago and she, her husband and son walked in as were finishing up. Brian got introduced to the hubby and they talked about getting together for golf. Go figure that in a city of 900K+ that I can run into someone I know two days in a row? It will be fine.

Then, we made a quick stop at Spinney's for some snacks before coming home to crash.











Perfect! Found one of my favorite desserts. Just what I needed.

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