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!

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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Abu Dhabi - Day 6

We started our day with a visit to the kids' school. It's called the American Community School or ACS.



The school is KG1-12 (Preschool to 12th grade). We applied over a month or so ago and both kids had to take an Assessment at their old school (essay and online test). Alexander passed no problem and we were told that Bella had to retest. I tried to not worry about it until today when it was time for her test.

The test was scheduled for 10 am so we had to leave the villa at 9:20 to allow for enough time to get downtown. We got there, parked and got through the security gate for our visitor badge. The campus is huge with separate buildings for Primary, Middle and High School. There are separate offices for each area too.

We got Bella check in with the counselor and I offered up a barrage of questions after she got settled in for her test.....

What can I do to assure she will get in? (nothing)
Does it matter that her brother will be here? (no)
Does it matter that I'll be an involved parent? (no)
What if she doesn't pass, is there something we can work with?
They will look at her grades, school reports and the whole test. If she struggles in one area, they can work with her and provide extra help. If she struggles in two or more, she won't be accepted. ARGH
We should know in 2-7 days.
If she doesn't pass.....we will have one week before school starts to find a school, register and hope she gets into that one.

Trying hard to NOT think about something until I have to.
There is another option, GEMS Academy that I've heard great things about for Elementary, but the idea of two kids in different schools and in a foreign country - ack!

While Bella was at her test, Brian, Alexander, Cameron and I checked out the area and came across a great Home store called "The One".




In case I need a huge chandelier or silver horse head I'm covered.



Or a gigantic silver chandelier for the dining room.

There were a few things I liked there actually, just nothing I needed (except a hand towel holder).

After we picked up Bella, Brian headed to work and I took the kids to meet a couple gals and their kids at a little restaurant (one of the few open during Ramadan in the daytime). One gal is from our development and she has an 8 year old daughter (3 days older than Bella and going into 3rd grade at ACS) and a 2 yo son (almost a full year younger than a Cam), The other gal was a friend of hers with 2 girls going to ACS (2nd grade and 6th grade). I got along well with her and her oldest is really into soccer like my kids so we'll figure out the athletics thing together.

So, one of these gals is East Indian and the other is Filipino. They are both
American and only speak English. But they aren't "Caucasian". They talked about the perceptions of people in AD because of it. People who have maids/nannies (lots of people) usually hire Filipino's or other Asian Nationalities so people have assumed that's what they are. Their kids are mixed so it looks like they could be caring for someone else's kids. One said she is very conscious about it and tries to "dress-up" when she goes out and about so people don't think she's the help. I thought I had things to worry about........

After lunch, we headed to another mall to check it out. Big, pretty, lots of stores and coffee places. Nothing special.

Then I got gas for the first time. Everything is full-service and gas is about $1.80 a gallon. Granted it's in liters and you pay with dirhams. It cost me 90 dirhams to fill up and I was almost on empty. That's about $25 for a full tank!

Then, it was home to swim and have a little snack before dinner. Remember how I mentioned the Dragon Fruit the other day?

















It was yummy. Bella loved it and so did I. Can had a nibble and Alexander wouldn't touch it. It tastes like a mixture of Jikama and something juicy??

Then Brian came home and we had dinner.

I read about an activity going on that I wanted to check out. Here is the advertisement:

Ramadan and EID Festival
This popular show combines a consumer show with traditional celebration. The event showcases family-friendly consumer goods, unique gifts, Arabic food, toys & games, as well as traditional song and dance.

Sounds great right?

We got there at the time it stated online and it of course started an hour later than the Internet stated. So we played in the lobby of the HUGE convention center.















Then the Festival opened up and this is what I walked into:






Ummm...lets keep looking...






Look it's pictures of the founding Sheik and Spongebob????

Wait, theres more culture around the corner....





Celebrate your love of the Sheik or....Hannah Montana???

What other feasts for the eyes await??









There was Spongebog crap everywhere! It was so bizarre! There was also outstanding flea market grade toys and cheap purses and tacky clothes. Somehow people were walking around with BAGS of stuff. I bought one thing....







Kidding. I bought a box of frankincense chunks for our Oud burner (if thats what its called).





There were a few neat shops with pretty abayas or tea sets and TONS of jewelry (looks fancy but by the price, must be fake).

Alexander got a yummy corn snack while he waited for Bella and I to buy our frankincense chunks. It was corn kernels in lemon juice, butter and salt. So yummy!

We didn't spend much time there, but down the hall was this really fun activity for the kids that was sponsored by some AD Financial group in an effort to make people (especially kids) more active.









































The kids had a blast and didn't want to leave. We will probably go back for the football "soccer" thing again on Thursday night.

Then, we stopped for some snacks on the way out.





Can you see the people in traditional clothes in the background?






This is just a potato that has been sliced round and round and fried with seasoning on it. It seemed like American Fair Food.

When we got home, I found this:







The gecko is having babies in my house somewhere. This thing is the size of a quarter!

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