So, today is the last day of Ramadan. Tomorrow is Eid "eed". This is the celebration of Ramadan being over.
It is explained better here: what is Eid?
As a non-Muslim, this means that I can now eat and drink in public and restaurants will be open during the day. Also the traffic will apparently change. Right now, the roads are empty close to 6:30 pm because Iftar is at 7 (breaking of the Ramadan fast) so hungry Muslims all over the city are anxious to eat and are home or somewhere getting ready to eat.
Also, people have told me to be aware of cranky people around late afternoon because they are all so hungry. Honestly, I haven't noticed this. I wonder if it's worse during the beginning of Ramadan, as opposed to near the end when you are used to it?
The Muslim calendar depends on the moon.
So, the end of Ramadan is determined by when the new moon is sighted to cross the horizon. There is a "New Moon Committee" in Abu Dhabi and they monitor when the new moon is seen "by the naked eye" to cross the horizon. Once the new moon is seen, the following day is considered Eid.
Because things are so out of the norm during Ramadan, lots of expats (what I'm now called as someone who is residing in a country that I am not a legal residence of) go on vacation and there are less people here.
It feels like there are tons of people here, so I can't imagine lots more.
We'll see how different the next few days are. I've been without a Mocha in the afternoon for a couple weeks now. I supposed I'm free of the dependency.....do I stay off or resume? I'll have to try a Starbucks here just for curiosity......
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Showing posts with label Ramadan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ramadan. Show all posts
Monday, August 29, 2011
Friday, August 26, 2011
Grand Mosque Visit....Take 1
My day never seems non-stop busy, really. But, when I start to put it all down here it sounds like it is.
Here's Bella looking adorable with her hair pulled back, I hope she does this for school this year, instead of the wild Amazonian hairstyle she went with last year (the I'm too tired to brush my hair in the morning look).
We decided to try a new fruit today: Snake Fruit or Salak. Found a neat website about fruit species and it tells you more about it here: Fruit Species
It comes from Indonesia. It is easy to open and the skin peels right off. It shouldn't look like this though. It was rotten and smelled nasty.
We opened another one and it looked better. It has three big garlic-clove-looking things in it with a an inedible pit in each one. Bella and I tried a bite.
We both decided we didn't like it. Smells awful, tastes soury.
We went to a place called the Abu Dhabi Co-o Society. I thought ....ooh a Food Co-op. Um, no. More like some food mixed with Walmart quality clothes and some toys. The kids told me to take a picture of the Giant Cabbage heads though.
Then, we came home for a swim and lunch before heading out for our big event of the day: The Grand Mosque.
It's a "must-see" thing to do in Abu Dhabi. Today is Friday (Brian's first weekend day) and it is the Holy Day for Muslims (like our Sunday) and have I mentioned that it's Ramadan (the holiest time of year for Muslims)?
So...we checked the Internet (which I should know by now is NOT a reliable source of information for times) and it said there are guided tours on Fridays at 5 pm (it listed other times too and EVEN mentioned that the morning tours don't happen during Ramadan).
I thought, great! I wanna go, let's check it out. So......off we went.
You drive about 10 minutes from our house and see this AMAZING building. It is like a palace of white, rising to the sky. Incredible.
There were a few people around the outside area.
We read ahead of time that you need to dress conservatively and women should cover their arms and wear skirts to the ankles and cover your head. Men shouldn't wear shorts.
Bella donned a cute gold scarf that my mom's cousin Marina gave me as a gift for just such an occasion.
I decided to wear a Red dress with a purple scarf over my head and big sunglasses. (obviously not an attention-getting outfit or anything..). Looking back, I may have appeared as Victoria Beckham's Fat Sister. I walked quickly, with my head held high like I was supposed to be there and on a mission. People tend to leave you alone when you do this.
As we walked closer in, there were lots more people....ummm... Muslim men. Maybe one or two Muslim women.
Everyone was staring at us...ummm...me.
Awkward.
We got to one area where there was security and the gentleman said "women only this way" (usually there is a separate women's and men's mosque so I figured he was directing me to that)
Brian asked where the tour was held and the security guard explained that there are no tours on Fridays in Ramadan. (Duh....ignorant American)
Brian tried to explain that the website said there was. We were told again that there isn't.
This is us leaving.....
It is moments like this that I'm glad I don't understand those around me because I'm sure the looks and whispers weren't good.
We'll try again tomorrow.
Then Brian took the kids swimming and I relaxed with a few magazines....ahhh touch of home (so glad my trashy entertainment mags get delivered here)
We decided to venture out to dinner at Mondo Pizzeria, a place Brian has visited before. They are located at the Country Club and they deliver.
It was fantastic. (my dish was at least) We were the only ones there and had three or four waiters helping us. Great service. I'm getting used to being called Madam ("Mah-Dom") a lot.
I forgot to take a picture of my main entree but it was a seafood dish with lobster, scallop, squid, Sea Bass, Prawn, Mussel and Hammour (local Amazing-melt-in-your-mouth fish).
I finished with a little mousse....(dark chocolate, white chocolate and milk chocolate). Glad I had four people to share it with.
The bill was 500 dhs before tip. That would be $150. So, there's our big night out for the month. Ouch!
Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Here's Bella looking adorable with her hair pulled back, I hope she does this for school this year, instead of the wild Amazonian hairstyle she went with last year (the I'm too tired to brush my hair in the morning look).
We decided to try a new fruit today: Snake Fruit or Salak. Found a neat website about fruit species and it tells you more about it here: Fruit Species
It comes from Indonesia. It is easy to open and the skin peels right off. It shouldn't look like this though. It was rotten and smelled nasty.
We opened another one and it looked better. It has three big garlic-clove-looking things in it with a an inedible pit in each one. Bella and I tried a bite.
We both decided we didn't like it. Smells awful, tastes soury.
We went to a place called the Abu Dhabi Co-o Society. I thought ....ooh a Food Co-op. Um, no. More like some food mixed with Walmart quality clothes and some toys. The kids told me to take a picture of the Giant Cabbage heads though.
Then, we came home for a swim and lunch before heading out for our big event of the day: The Grand Mosque.
It's a "must-see" thing to do in Abu Dhabi. Today is Friday (Brian's first weekend day) and it is the Holy Day for Muslims (like our Sunday) and have I mentioned that it's Ramadan (the holiest time of year for Muslims)?
So...we checked the Internet (which I should know by now is NOT a reliable source of information for times) and it said there are guided tours on Fridays at 5 pm (it listed other times too and EVEN mentioned that the morning tours don't happen during Ramadan).
I thought, great! I wanna go, let's check it out. So......off we went.
You drive about 10 minutes from our house and see this AMAZING building. It is like a palace of white, rising to the sky. Incredible.
There were a few people around the outside area.
We read ahead of time that you need to dress conservatively and women should cover their arms and wear skirts to the ankles and cover your head. Men shouldn't wear shorts.
Bella donned a cute gold scarf that my mom's cousin Marina gave me as a gift for just such an occasion.
I decided to wear a Red dress with a purple scarf over my head and big sunglasses. (obviously not an attention-getting outfit or anything..). Looking back, I may have appeared as Victoria Beckham's Fat Sister. I walked quickly, with my head held high like I was supposed to be there and on a mission. People tend to leave you alone when you do this.
As we walked closer in, there were lots more people....ummm... Muslim men. Maybe one or two Muslim women.
Everyone was staring at us...ummm...me.
Awkward.
We got to one area where there was security and the gentleman said "women only this way" (usually there is a separate women's and men's mosque so I figured he was directing me to that)
Brian asked where the tour was held and the security guard explained that there are no tours on Fridays in Ramadan. (Duh....ignorant American)
Brian tried to explain that the website said there was. We were told again that there isn't.
This is us leaving.....
It is moments like this that I'm glad I don't understand those around me because I'm sure the looks and whispers weren't good.
We'll try again tomorrow.
Then Brian took the kids swimming and I relaxed with a few magazines....ahhh touch of home (so glad my trashy entertainment mags get delivered here)
We decided to venture out to dinner at Mondo Pizzeria, a place Brian has visited before. They are located at the Country Club and they deliver.
It was fantastic. (my dish was at least) We were the only ones there and had three or four waiters helping us. Great service. I'm getting used to being called Madam ("Mah-Dom") a lot.
I forgot to take a picture of my main entree but it was a seafood dish with lobster, scallop, squid, Sea Bass, Prawn, Mussel and Hammour (local Amazing-melt-in-your-mouth fish).
I finished with a little mousse....(dark chocolate, white chocolate and milk chocolate). Glad I had four people to share it with.
The bill was 500 dhs before tip. That would be $150. So, there's our big night out for the month. Ouch!
Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Sunday, August 21, 2011
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.
-
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.
Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
So, we headed out ice skating. We were the only ones there.
-
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.
Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Abu Dhabi - Day 4
We've acquired an unwanted pet gecko. Supposedly they don't bite and they catch spiders so I'm leaving it alone.
Jet Lag caught up with us today. Cam woke me up (from a cruddy sleep on a cruddy mattress) at 7:30 am to nurse (yes, he still nurses and no I don't mind and no I haven't tried to wean him with all the changes going on in our life).
We followed with breakfast and a nap.
I woke up again and started feeling antsy to get out of the house but the big kids were sleeping and did so until I woke them at 12:30 pm. We were all feeling sleepy and slow moving.
Decided to head out to check out the gym. There are only a few choices with childcare (they call them a "creche"). We went to the gigantic and all-encompassing Abu Dhabi Country Club.
Services offered:
Nail Salon
Men's haircuts
Pizza place
Fine dining
Kids sports club
Fitness Classes (4 separate rooms)
Indoor pool
Outdoor pool
Squash courts
Wind Tunnel (??)
Steam rooms
Sauna
Gym (co-Ed)
Separate women's only gym
Another restaurant
Creche
The basic gym price just for me isn't bad at $130-ish per month vs the entire family for almost $500. But, the childcare is another 10 dhs ($4) per hour. The nail salon prices are great at $13 for a basic pedicure and on up. You can get a day pass for fitness classes or to use the pool so we'll probably just get a Membership for me and bring the kids now and again for other stuff.
Then, we drove a few minutes across town to go bowling. It was huge with 40 lanes and totally empty because of Ramadan. It cost only 60 dhs ($15) for shoes for 5 people and one game.
It was at a huge facility called Zayed Sports City. It really was like a little city. It had a giant "football field" (soccer) and other smaller football fields, an ice skating rink, bowling alley, gym and more. Everything is so overwhelming and big and there's so much to look at when we drive around.
Then, we headed home for swimming, dinner and another movie night.
Here are a few pics of our complex too.
It looks like the entrance to an office complex.
No garage - just a carport with the rental car in it. A little nervous about where all our stuff is gonna go....
Here's the front of the clubhouse, three doors down from our place.
Clubhouse lobby.
Indoor play area upstairs in the clubhouse.
The pool and hot tub. Water temps vary everyday. Sometimes the pool is warmer than the hot tub and the hot tub jets shoot up rather than from the back. It was like an ice cold enema the first time I turned them on - surprise!
The kids being silly in a "triple bunk bed".
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Jet Lag caught up with us today. Cam woke me up (from a cruddy sleep on a cruddy mattress) at 7:30 am to nurse (yes, he still nurses and no I don't mind and no I haven't tried to wean him with all the changes going on in our life).
We followed with breakfast and a nap.
I woke up again and started feeling antsy to get out of the house but the big kids were sleeping and did so until I woke them at 12:30 pm. We were all feeling sleepy and slow moving.
Decided to head out to check out the gym. There are only a few choices with childcare (they call them a "creche"). We went to the gigantic and all-encompassing Abu Dhabi Country Club.
Services offered:
Nail Salon
Men's haircuts
Pizza place
Fine dining
Kids sports club
Fitness Classes (4 separate rooms)
Indoor pool
Outdoor pool
Squash courts
Wind Tunnel (??)
Steam rooms
Sauna
Gym (co-Ed)
Separate women's only gym
Another restaurant
Creche
The basic gym price just for me isn't bad at $130-ish per month vs the entire family for almost $500. But, the childcare is another 10 dhs ($4) per hour. The nail salon prices are great at $13 for a basic pedicure and on up. You can get a day pass for fitness classes or to use the pool so we'll probably just get a Membership for me and bring the kids now and again for other stuff.
Then, we drove a few minutes across town to go bowling. It was huge with 40 lanes and totally empty because of Ramadan. It cost only 60 dhs ($15) for shoes for 5 people and one game.
It was at a huge facility called Zayed Sports City. It really was like a little city. It had a giant "football field" (soccer) and other smaller football fields, an ice skating rink, bowling alley, gym and more. Everything is so overwhelming and big and there's so much to look at when we drive around.
Then, we headed home for swimming, dinner and another movie night.
Here are a few pics of our complex too.
It looks like the entrance to an office complex.
No garage - just a carport with the rental car in it. A little nervous about where all our stuff is gonna go....
Here's the front of the clubhouse, three doors down from our place.
Clubhouse lobby.
Indoor play area upstairs in the clubhouse.
The pool and hot tub. Water temps vary everyday. Sometimes the pool is warmer than the hot tub and the hot tub jets shoot up rather than from the back. It was like an ice cold enema the first time I turned them on - surprise!
The kids being silly in a "triple bunk bed".
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Abu Dhabi - Day 1
I was up around 9 and enjoyed a typical breakfast of Fage yogurt before checking emails, making a to do list and planning the day.
Brian pointed out some of the security measures of the house and by the time the kids were up I was ready to go.
Brian made pancakes for them and we were out the door by 10:30.
We walked down the street a few steps to the compound's clubhouse. It has a pool, hot tub, gym area (like a hotel) and a fun play area with a couple indoor little tykes climb-on toys for Cameron. After a brief tour, it was time to head out.
First stop.....The US Embassy. It is about 10 minutes from the house and there are signs posted that it is against the law to take pictures anywhere in the embassy rd area.
The embassy is nice and there are several levels of security. We met a few people, found where I can pick up various bits of information, borrow movies or books and saw the gift shop (handmade AD magnets and jewelry, US candy and snacks and alcohol). I picked up some Cab-Sauvignon and a bottle of vodka.
I started the process for my AD license and ID and met Brian's boss' wife (who will get me the name of her housecleaner, will introduce me to a few SAHM with young kids and have our family out to dinner).
Brian drove us around a little to show us a few things And we headed to Mushrif Mall where a wonderful grocery store is located (LuLu's Hypermarket). It was a little overwhelming and I look forward to going on my own to take more time there. It was sorta like a Super Target. There are toys, clothes, household goods and TONS of food. Everything had Arabic and English writing on it. Lots and lots of new foods and some things I recognized with different names. I bought a few new things to try (date-flavored milk, quail, couple other things). It was overwhelming to think about the prices so I honestly just grabbed a few different items. Brian was there to help out, of course.
Here is what I bought for 446 dirhams or $121.50.....
We walked around the mall a bit too. It is really new and not aa lot is open, but it looks promising. I saw this in one area, but didn't look too close to see what it was. The signs around talk about the moon phases.
There is also a large Sparky's on the top floor, which looks like chuck e cheese.
Since it is Ramadan, we can't eat or drink or even chew gum in public before dusk. We headed home around 2:30 for lunch. After lunch, the kids decided to go for a swim. I took Alexander to the house of a kid he has been communicating with via email (his parents work at the embassy and his mom is going to be Brian's admin person in his office).
Brian, the kids and I all headed down to the pool and they are all swimming away while I finish up here.
Later we will head to another (Walmart-like) store and a place to get my cell phone plan set up.
I am hoping to stay up until 8-ish. I hear the best way to get used to the time difference is to wake up and go to sleep at the right times, not nap and spend time in the daylight. So far, so good.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Brian pointed out some of the security measures of the house and by the time the kids were up I was ready to go.
Brian made pancakes for them and we were out the door by 10:30.
We walked down the street a few steps to the compound's clubhouse. It has a pool, hot tub, gym area (like a hotel) and a fun play area with a couple indoor little tykes climb-on toys for Cameron. After a brief tour, it was time to head out.
First stop.....The US Embassy. It is about 10 minutes from the house and there are signs posted that it is against the law to take pictures anywhere in the embassy rd area.
The embassy is nice and there are several levels of security. We met a few people, found where I can pick up various bits of information, borrow movies or books and saw the gift shop (handmade AD magnets and jewelry, US candy and snacks and alcohol). I picked up some Cab-Sauvignon and a bottle of vodka.
I started the process for my AD license and ID and met Brian's boss' wife (who will get me the name of her housecleaner, will introduce me to a few SAHM with young kids and have our family out to dinner).
Brian drove us around a little to show us a few things And we headed to Mushrif Mall where a wonderful grocery store is located (LuLu's Hypermarket). It was a little overwhelming and I look forward to going on my own to take more time there. It was sorta like a Super Target. There are toys, clothes, household goods and TONS of food. Everything had Arabic and English writing on it. Lots and lots of new foods and some things I recognized with different names. I bought a few new things to try (date-flavored milk, quail, couple other things). It was overwhelming to think about the prices so I honestly just grabbed a few different items. Brian was there to help out, of course.
Here is what I bought for 446 dirhams or $121.50.....
We walked around the mall a bit too. It is really new and not aa lot is open, but it looks promising. I saw this in one area, but didn't look too close to see what it was. The signs around talk about the moon phases.
There is also a large Sparky's on the top floor, which looks like chuck e cheese.
Since it is Ramadan, we can't eat or drink or even chew gum in public before dusk. We headed home around 2:30 for lunch. After lunch, the kids decided to go for a swim. I took Alexander to the house of a kid he has been communicating with via email (his parents work at the embassy and his mom is going to be Brian's admin person in his office).
Brian, the kids and I all headed down to the pool and they are all swimming away while I finish up here.
Later we will head to another (Walmart-like) store and a place to get my cell phone plan set up.
I am hoping to stay up until 8-ish. I hear the best way to get used to the time difference is to wake up and go to sleep at the right times, not nap and spend time in the daylight. So far, so good.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
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