Our Neighbors

by Cindy

We have some great neighbors! Not only are they our neighbors but they arrived at the same time we did so we got to know each other through all of the crazy things we experienced for the first time last year. They are originally from Turkey but spent the last 10 years in Atlanta, GA. I think their friends in Atlanta spoiled them with Southern hospitality and they are returning the favor on us!

The Thursday before Christmas they invited us over for dinner. Even though they don't celebrate Christmas, they realize that the holiday is a time you spend with friends and family and since we don't have any family around, they wanted to make it a special time with friends. The food was amazing and there was a TON of it - they did justice to the spread we often have at Christmas. I wish I would have taken a picture! It was a Turkish meal with meats, cheeses, veggies, bread and everything else you can think of. Every single bit of it was homemade and our host said she had worked on it, "all day, with a few breaks." I think she was trying to be modest.

In addition to all of the food, they had downloaded Christmas music for the evening and had gifts for us! It was an evening where I was humbled by their hospitality and comforted by their friendship. It really was a great evening with friends and they really are great neighbors.

Christmas Care Package

by Cindy

My dear friend Sabra sent us a sweet care package this week. I told Jeff, "I'm not sharing the Andes mints! Sabra was my friend first so I can make the rules on the distribution of goods." Childish, I know. We were excited to get queso and other goodies. It never gets cold enough here for hot chocolate so we have borrowed a rule from our friend Gloria - hot chocolate is for rainy days. It only rains a few times a year so it works out quite well. Gloria has small children who have grown up here so they don't understand hot chocolate for a cold day. She's compromised and made hot chocolate for a rainy day, I think it's great! For some reason, Sabra included some coal. Jeff and I were really confused because we know that we have been really, really good this year! I'm sure that gift was meant for someone else's care package.

Thanks, Sabra! We love care packages!!

Volvo

by Cindy

When we first arrived in the UAE we purchased a 2009 Volvo S80. It was used, about 4 months, with 10,000 km on it when we got it. Even though the car is fairly new, we have had a couple of instances recently where the battery was dead so we took it into the shop. Over here, you can't just buy batteries at any store like you can in America. There are a few shops but really you have to get them from the dealer. Also, they don't last long. All of our friends have told us, no matter what kind of battery you get, it will last about 18 months. With the heat we have here for six months out of the year, that's really no surprise.

So, after having to jump the car a second time, Jeff and I decided to make a trip to the dealership. We called ahead and they told us that for a new battery, we didn't need an appointment and could just show up. We called twice to verify and got the same story both times so we assumed this was in fact the case but we were still suspicious. The last thing we wanted to do was spend Christmas eve at the car service shop.

We got there and they immediately took our information, went and got the car and checked it out. Jeff and I had time to look around the showroom at the new cars before they came and got us to say the car was ready. He handed us the keys and said, "The battery was weak, we replaced it. It is covered under warranty so you are ready to go." Really? Under warranty? Merry Christmas to us! That's my kind of customer service and my kind of warranty!

Christmas Eve Service

by Cindy

We had a Christmas eve service of carols and a short message. We were able to take some friends with us and had a nice time. Our friends have a son who really enjoyed the singing, and we all think he's ready to join the choir! Also, he was ready with his hand raised each time the pastor asked a question. It was fun and a nice way to celebrate Christmas.

Merry Christmas from The Bakers

We wish you a wonderful Christmas! This is how we celebrate in the UAE!

Season's Greeting from AUS

by Cindy

While we don't celebrate Christmas in the same way here that we do in the USA, we do still celebrate. Here is an e-card we got from our Vice Chancellor of Public Affaris, Salem Al Qasser.

Only in Dubai

by Cindy

Only in Dubai do you get this crazy mix of cultures - we have a huge Christmas tree, the iconic Burj Al Arab, santa and a snow man all in the same place at the same time. I wish I could add the music, too. It was all about baby Jesus, how He came to die, how He's the Saviour of the world and the Messiah. I kept on having to ask myself, am I really hearing and seeing all of this?!?!?!?!?

I saw it and didn't know it!

by Cindy

In my previous post, I mentioned the Gold ATM. That same hotel also has an $11,000,000 Christmas tree. Yep, that's in the millions! I saw the tree and it was beautiful but at the time, I had no idea it was worth so much. Apparently the ornaments are REAL gold and REAL gemstones. Wow. Only in the UAE!

http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2010/12/16/million-christmas-tree-unveiledin-abu-dhabi/

Gold Digger

by Cindy

I bet you don't have a Gold machine in your local hotel!!! Of course, this isn't just any hotel, but still, the machine does actually dispense Gold bars! Eight different selections depending on how large of a piece of gold you would like. Or given the cost of gold, how much you want to spend.

http://money.cnn.com/2010/05/27/news/companies/gold_atm/index.htm

A New Neighbor - Part II

by Cindy

As I mentioned in a previous post, I took some food over to a new neighbor. In doing this, I didn't think it through really well and now I am in a bit of a predicament.

I knew it was highly likely that she would reciprocate the gesture and bring me something that is common in her culture. She did just that today - the rings are a cookie stuffed with dates. The ones with a touch of purple on then are pistachios held together with a pistachio paste. The other ones are pine nuts held together with a pine nut paste. They are all VERY good. It is all food that she had at her wedding.












Now for the predicament...When I took over the apple crisp, I took it in a disposable pan. I should have known better! What should have happened is that I would take her something in my dish and then she would return the dish to me filled with some food from her culture. I didn't think it through really well so now she has brought me something in one of her dishes and I'm not entirely sure how to get her dish back to her! I really don't think that I can give her an empty dish. If I make something else then we are in a cycle of food with me always preparing one more dish than her when the dishes are in the right place. That's not going to work either. I'm going to have to ask around and figure out how to correct my culture faux pas!

A New Neighbor

by Cindy

We have a new neighbor. Well, kind of. We've had the same neighbor for awhile but over this last break, he went home to get married (arranged) so now his wife has joined him. In order to welcome her to her new home, I took some food over. However, you should know that I had to go though a mental checklist before I could show up...does she speak English? Her husband is a professor here at the University, in Jeff's department in fact, but that's no guarantee that she speaks English. He's from Tunisia so he speaks French, Arabic and English....would her husband be opposed to having a Western woman around his wife? I was easily able to figure out all would be okay when he brought her up to campus to meet everyone and show her around.

So, time to cook. I usually go with a traditional American dish - apple crisp. Most people are okay with fruit based dishes and oatmeal and cinnamon are found in many cultures so this usually gets pretty good reviews.

I took it over one day last week and I think freaked her about a bit when I rang her doorbell but she was very receptive once I told her why I was there. She invited me in, introduced ourselves, and we looked at some of her wedding photos. She doesn't have the photographer photos yet but her uncle gave her a book of snapshots before she left Tunisia to move here. It was a nice visit, about 45 minutes, and we agreed to have tea/coffee in the coming days. She really wants to practice her English with me. She's lived in Montreal and taught Marketing there but that was all in French. She hopes to be able to teach here but English is her third language and her weakest so she needs to practice. I think it's better than many people here but she's quite critical of herself.

I was able to invite her to a Christmas brunch on Monday so that should be fun. One of the ladies on campus is a Master Chef and she holds cooking classes for us every other week. This coming week, she's preparing a typical Christmas Finnish meal. I'm delighted that my new neighbor will be able to join me, meet many other people here on campus and (possibly) have one of her first experiences with Christmas.

Ladies Only

by Cindy

I've mentioned before that some things here are really nice because they have a "women only" section. At the grocery store, they have a priority line for ladies.























Another place we have ladies only is at the pool. I have to admit, I really like this one. I can go to the pool, get a little bit of sun, read my book and not be bothered.

Eggs

by Cindy

Our eggs here are usually really orange in color. I'm told that's because we have "free range" chickens vs. grain fed chickens. I bought some different kinds of eggs and you really can tell the difference in color. I don't eat eggs often enough to tell a difference in taste but Jeff says there is no difference.

Texas Everywhere

by Cindy

We see Texas stuff everywhere. Sometimes is makes sense and sometimes it seems strange. This one is normal. It is funny to me mostly because when I lived in Texas I didn't notice it; but here, it immediately stands out. I wonder if other people in the store know what "Texas Toast" really is? Do they get it?

This one was in Prague. Since I was taking a picture I thought I would let you know that those from Kentucky are being represented, too. I'm not sure what "Grander Texas Grander" is supposed to mean? Maybe "Everything is bigger in Texas!"?

And finally, what's more Texas than this? We can always find it at the large Indian grocery store and today I found it at the store I shop at each week. I little scoop of home, even if it is $8.95 USD!

Toilet

by Cindy

When we were back in America this summer we got all kinds of questions. Oddly enough, many people wanted to know about our "sanitation." I am glad to report that we have really nice public bathrooms here. They almost always have an attendant and are almost always cleaned after each person. This is at one of the malls.



































I think we are all accustomed to automatic flushing toilets, hand dryers, etc. but today I saw a new one for a bathroom. This is a trash can that has a sensor on it and will open automatically for you to dispense your trash. The green light was for opening and the red light started flashing when it was closing.

































And yes, I know it is random that I am taking pictures in the bathroom. But I thought it was kind of random that people wanted to know about our toilets.

Prague-ing

We recently concluded the Eid Al-Adha holiday here in the UAE. It's a Muslim holiday that commemorates Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son. Since Christians really don't celebrate Eid, mostly it's just fall break for us.

So Cindy and I went to Prague, Czech Republic for a week with a couple we know from here. Prague was great. The city has a lot of history, a lot of great architecture, gorgeous cathedrals, and imposing castles. It's really a lot like being in Paris or Vienna. It was super-easy to get around speaking English and there was a lot to see and do.

While we were there, we went to the ballet, the opera, the symphony, and to a jazz club. During the day, we checked out Prague Castle, the Charles Bridge, the Museum of Communism, the Old Town Square, the Jewish Quarter, the Veletrizni Palace (home to the Museum of Modern Art) and Wenceslas Square. We had a great hotel, the Iron Gate, just a couple of blocks from the Old Town Square. We loved the food, the people, and the city. Let us know if you want details about the trip.

Here are a couple of pictures to check out. There are more on Cindy's facebook page if you want to look there.

Happy (Islamic) New Year!

by Cindy

We have had several holidays lately, the most recent being the Islamic New Year. What is a bit confusing about the holidays is that they are almost all based on the Islamic calendar which is more lunar based (but not the same thing as a lunar calendar) than solar based, like the US calendar. From a practical point, it can be quite confusing because you never really know when a holiday will start. At the University, we have set days we will take off but most other schools wait until the night before to announce the holiday. For instance, this week students will get either Tuesday or Wednesday off, depending on the observation of the new moon. A few weeks ago we were trying to plan a lunch for this Wednesday and people could only tentatively commit. "If the kids are out of school then I can't come but if they have school on Wednesday then I can come." It is weird like that, you just don't know until the day of or really the night before.

Here are a few sentences from Wikipedia about the Islamic calendar:

The Islamic calendar, however, is based on a different set of conventions. Each month has either 29 or 30 days, but usually in no discernible order. Traditionally, the first day of each month is the day (beginning at sunset) of the first sighting of the hilal shortly after sunset. If the hilal is not observed immediately after the 29th day of a month (either because clouds block its view or because the western sky is still too bright when the moon sets...), then the day that begins at that sunset is the 30th. Such a sighting has to be made by one or more trustworthy men testifying before a committee of Muslim leaders. Determining the most likely day that the hilal could be observed was a motivation for Muslim interest in astronomy, which put Islam in the forefront of that science for many centuries.

This traditional practice is still followed in the overwhelming majority of Muslim countries. Each Islamic State proceeds with its own monthly observation of the new moon (or, failing that, awaits the completion of 30 days) before declaring the beginning of a new month on its territory. But, the lunar crescent becomes visible only some 15–18 hours after the conjunction, and only subject to the existence of a number of favourable conditions relative to weather, time, geographic location, as well as various astronomical parameters. Given the fact that the moon sets progressively later than the sun as one goes West, Western Muslim countries are likely to observe the new moon one day earlier than Eastern Muslim countries. Due to the interplay of all these factors, the beginning of each month differs from one Muslim country to another, and the information provided by the calendar in any country does not extend beyond the current month.

At any rate, Happy (Islamic) New Year!

Dinner in Dubai

by Cindy


We went to dinner with some friends and since the weather has finally cooled, we got to sit outside. This was our view:
























The Burj Dubai (the tallest building in the world) is part of a large development including a huge shopping mall, restaurants, housing and this beautiful water show. It is similar to the show at the Bellagio if you have ever seen that in Las Vegas. Ours runs every 30 minutes for about 10 minutes each time but it is a different show each time. It really is beautiful and a nice way to spend an evening.

National Day - December 2nd

by Cindy

National (Independence) Day is a big deal here. The country is only 39 years old but they love to celebrate. They decoarte cars, the kids dress up in costumes, fireworks, the whole thing. I know a few people who really love July 4th but this whole country loves their Independence Day. Here are some pics of cars that have been decorated. It's not like people in this country drive clunkers, either.

Thanksgiving Part II

by Cindy

We were fortunate to get to attend two Thanksgiving Dinners over this past weekend. This particular dinner was mostly people from church but we had a fair amount of people who were non-American and experiencing their first Thanksgiving ever. It was fun, and sometimes harder than you think, to explain our food and why we like it all so much.