Family Time - Part III

by Cindy

We have spent that last two weeks of our "American Tour" in Lubbock, Texas.  It has been a great time to catch up friends and for Jeff to continue in his research.  We have been blessed by a dear couple who has allowed us to stay with them the entire time.  Their hospitality has no limits and we couldn't be more thankful for them.  They are a blessing to us and Jeff and I always say 'we want to be just like them when we grow up.'

Jeff has been able to work on research, start some new projects and continue to maintain relationships with other faculty at Texas Tech.  Since Jeff is technically still on the faculty at Tech, we have been able to enjoy the Recreation Center and the pool while in town so that's been a bonus for me while he works each day.

I was blessed to have a friend come to town and visit me while in Lubbock.  She's a friend I know from my time in Lubbock so it was a blessing for us to walk down memory lane and also consider the ways we have been blessed and grown since leaving Lubbock.  We are looking forward to her visit to the UAE later this fall and her upcoming wedding in January.  (Jeff and I are especially excited about the wedding - Yosemite Park in January.  We will get a real winter!!)  We have had more coffee, lunches and dinners than we ever expected.  From friends who happen to be in town for the weekend, to friends who moved back to town the weekend we arrived, we have been blessed with catching up with so many people.

While neither one of us have any biological family in Lubbock, we have realized what a wonderful church we had and still have in Lubbock.  The people of Westminster have loved on us even after being gone for two years.  We have certainly felt as though we are among family while in Lubbock.

Emirati Youth Feel the Pressure

by Cindy

Even tough we live 8,000 miles away, we still follow the US news.  In addition, because the UAE is tied so closely with Europe, we follow their news as well.  Many of the social and government issues in America are similar to those in Europe and even those in the UAE.  There was a great article in our UAE paper that touches on many of the social issues that are making headlines in America and Europe:

• Retirement age for women and men
• Women in the work force
• Working for the government vs private sector
• Working hours for the government vs private sector
• The pressure to marry and arranged marriages
• How the government is going to pay pensions

While the article is long, it does a great job of hitting numerous topics.  We think you will enjoy it - Emirati Youth Feel the Pressure.

A Little Bit of Texas

by Cindy

Today a dear friend bought me a gift to take back to the Emirates with me. A key chain with a pair of boots and spurs.  She even bought it from Cavender's!  If I ever lose my keys at school, I think they will find me.  After all, there are not many people in the UAE who know about cowboy boots.

Wings

by Cindy

We can't get two things in the UAE - BBQ and wings.  We've had BBQ twice now and today Jeff and I got our wings.  We don't even have to look at the menu - Potato wedges with cheese, a dozen boneless with mango-habanero sauce and eight boneless with asian zing.  We even got a bonus - the potato wedges now have bacon on them!  We'll take all the pork we can get while in the USA!

Rudy's BBQ

Buffalo Wild Wings

Oklahoma?

by Cindy

We have a rental car for our time in Lubbock.  We were disappointed when we noticed the license plate. Really? Oklahoma? Ugh.

The upside is that the car smells like blueberry muffins.

Hummus

by Cindy

Hummus is apparently a big deal in America.  When we left two years ago you would see if around some but I've seen it more in the few days that we've been back that I ever had before we left.  It really hit me when we got served Forty Spices hummus on an American Airlines flight from Boston to DFW.

We eat hummus all of the time.  Jeff and I have a joke that there is a 100% probability that hummus will be served at every meal we attend on campus (he does teach business statistics after all).  However, our hummus is the plain kind - no red pepper, no garden herb, no forty spices or sun dried tomatoes or what ever else you guys have in it.  We might, very rarely, have garlic in it. And we eat it with bread and only bread, what American's would call "pita" bread. No veggies and not smeared on a sandwich like mayo or mustard.  I guess in our own snobbish way, we are hummus purists.  After all, it originates from the Levant and hummus is a transliteration of حمّص‎.

Family Time - Part II

by Cindy

We are in Midland visiting with Jeff's parents.  There isn't much to do in Midland but Jeff was able to get the BBQ he's been missing.  This place was legit - you pick your meat out of the smoker and pay by the weight.  Jeff picked 1.5 lbs of meat!

Family Time - Part I

by Cindy

We have been fortunate to catch up with Jeff's brother and his family over the past few days.  We have enjoyed the cooler weather in Boston, rain and a day to the beach.  Fortunately the jet lag hasn't been too bad and we have enjoyed hanging out with the kids in the early mornings when we are all awake.

Next stop - Midland, TX to see Jeff's parents.

Mine and Jeff's handiwork

Haddon, 6 yrs

Jeff and I joined the kids at swim lessons

Haley, 10 yrs

Haley, 10 and her brother Hudson, 3 months

Haley decorated Jeff's birthday cake

Living in Dubai is Like Living Without a Past

by Cindy

Here is a fun and short article about Dubai that a friend shared with me.  She was intersted in my comments (along with others) so I've added my brief comments, too.

Article

I like the article. I think it's accurate and for me, I know this is weird, but there is something attractive about "escaping from their culture, who long to forget their history, and who are content to live without the past." I am sure at some point I will again long for those things and desire to return to America. But for now, for me, I really like it here. I like the idea that the city/UAE is re-inventing itself, as are all of the people here, and I enjoy being a part of it.

The trick to all of this of course, is figuring out how to explain this to people who are still in America. They definitely don't get what's attractive about all of this.  

Ramadan

by Cindy

Ramadan has started. We've posted a couple of times about it before so I won't go into the details.  The biggest difference for those of us who don't celebrate is that we can't eat or drink in public between sunrise and sunset.  So, many businesses adjust their hours during Ramadan.  I saw this sign at the mall today:

I'm glad I don't work in a restaurant or cafe!

KFC - UAE Style

by Cindy

Thankfully, we can get fried chicken here.  It's just a good and just as greasy and satisfies the urge when the urge hits.  However, there are so notable, okay major, differences between KFC in America and KFC in the UAE.  Take a look at the photo, can you figure them out?  HINT: You are looking for two things:

Were you able to figure it out?  We get hamburger buns (!) instead of the awesome biscuits you get in America. AND, they don't have mashed potatoes and gravy here, we get rice instead.  At least the chicken tastes good!