Abu Dhabi - Day 5

Today is Alexander's 11th birthday. We would've loved to be able to go somewhere great like Ferrari World but since it's the holy month of Ramadan things are really low-key during the daytime.

So, we headed out ice skating. We were the only ones there.


































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Hard to see but a lady from the counter helped Cameron the whole time and gave him a mini lesson. Customer Service people are really friendly and call me Madam over and over. It's a little weird but I'm getting used to it. "Excuse me, ma'am....". "Yes, madam. How can I help you madam. No problem madam"











After ice skating we headed home for lunch and to swim (thank goodness for an indoor pool in this weather!). We live about 5 minutes from the ice skating place but it took me 20 minutes to get home. I ended up driving over a bridge and then back again and I got stuck in two different roundabouts going in a full circle before finding my way. Sigh.... I'll get the hang of it the more I drive.

After swimming, we showered and dressed and headed to the store to buy a Garmin GPS. I felt much better after that!

When Brian got home from work we relaxed for a bit before heading out to church.

I was excited to learn there is ONE Catholic Church in Abu Dhabi. It's called St. Joseph's Church.  According to their website, they have 100,000 members and numerous masses in different languages. I found a Children's Mass in English and was thrilled to go. I thought it would be a great way to meet like-minded individuals and be around some Americans.

Not a Bit!! I left in near tears. I was looking for comfort and walked away with another reminder that I am a minority and there aren't a lot of like-minded people. It was crazy packed and different.

The website said it started at 6, but when we got there it was half over and it turns out it starts at 5:45. There were two different masses happening at once in giant rooms across each other in a courtyard and they were packed with East Indians and Phillipinos and maybe 2 other Caucasions. The host tastes different and they don't even shake hands for peace....they just bow to each other with clasped hands. I love the "peace be with you" part of mass, it makes me feel so connected to others. They do another Children's mass on Friday morning and I'll give it another try......

After mass, we decided to head out for Alexanders birthday, He picked Fuddruckers at the mall.

Yep, we are in another country with tons and tons of exotic foods and cool places to eat and he wants to eat American food at the mall.

At 7:00 pm, Muslims "break Iftar". This is breaking fast during Ramadan. So, when we went to the mall in the daytime the other day it was almost empty and lots of stores were closed. At 7:00 everyone comes out and several of the stores open at 8:00 pm (just during Ramadan it's like this). So there were people everywhere.











Cam calls the building behind the mall "the Space Needle". It's like a little piece of home!










Here is a shoe shop window.










There is a cool waterfall in the middle and every now and again it plays music and the water shoots out in rhythm.











Trees are decorated for the holiday time too.









Years ago, Mohammed broke his fast with water and dates before a big meal. Fuddruckers served us water and dates as soon as we sat down before ordering.










Alexander got to pick out some candy as a treat and I tried my best to take a photo of the woman in the traditional dress walking behind him.











Here are some people in different clothes heading to the mall.










Cam loves this car in the wall on the drive home.



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Abu Dhabi - Day 2

We got a slower start today. I was still in pj's when the doorbell intercom rang. It was someone from the compound who was coming by to introduce themselves (and their 8 year old daughter - yeah!) to us. I got Bella up and she stumbled downstairs long enough to say a quick hi. We vowed to come by later after we got moving.

Brian stepped out to finish my driver license, process, UAE ID process and acquire my cell phone. I now have 250 international minutes as part of my plan - yeah!

Meanwhile, we got ready and headed out to make a new friend. The girls hit it off well and the mom seemed great too.

When Brian returned, we headed out for a drive....









The signs are in Arabic and English, which is a good thing.



There are lots of palm looking trees around and most of them are Date Trees. There are net bags to collect the dates.




There are plenty for luxury cars around, but you also see lots of Toyota's and Kia's too.

We drove by the American Community School, where the kids will most likely go. It is a K-12 school and it's huge and looks like a fortress.

Then, we headed to a grocery store called Spinney's. It has several Western items and a handy Pork Section that all the pork items are located in (Muslims can't eat Pork).





Then we headed to Marina Mall, which was HUGE. It had an ice skating rink it:





It had lots of stores and even a replica of the mall.....





You could get lost there!

I even saw a gold bar vending machine....










After we left the mall, we drove down "The Corniche". This is a beautiful area along the water that is under heavy construction (like a lot of the downtown).






I also saw the Emirates Palace, from afar. This is a 7-star hotel.






We eventually headed home for a swim in the pool and play time after dinner. Now it's movie time.

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