On Forgetting the Camera

So you may start to notice a pattern whereas I forget to bring my camera at important moments. Or I don't think I will need my camera and then wish I had brought it. Like last Saturday when I shook the First Lady of France's hand. Of course, me not having the camera evokes mixed emotions. The first is "Damn, I wish I had my camera." Then, ever the optimist, I think - well - I don't look so hot today - so better that I'm not having my picture taken.

So to get back to Bernadette (Chirac, Jaques Chirac's wife), she came to Dubai to inaugurate the new French Lycée which was just opened up in January. Since this entire blog entry is about me forgetting my camera - there will be lots of links. Click here to see the school that my children will not go to (having left Dubai before attaining High School age.) The note sent home with the kids invited all the school population - kids, parents, teachers etc... to come see Bernadette and they closed the school down for the occasion (Elementary and HS). Antoine was phsyched to go and I'd never been to a political, PR type event with a big name figure - so I decided to take them... and NOT my camera - I know what Bernadette looks like, I'm not a huge fan and I didn't think I'd get an opportunity to get up close.

Well, whaddya know. There I was, standing around minding my own business, and she literally came up to me and said "Bonjour" and shook my hand. I was under the impression that this was not supposed to be happening - I was expecting a security guy to come and shove me away (they HAD tolds everyone to move away from the area - but it was shady, so I didn't). So I tried to be as discreet as possible and get it over with ASAP. SO, even if I DID have my camera, I wouldn't have asked her to pose with the kids for a snapshot. And thank God a picture of this did not make the Gulf News, because I was really not dressed for the occasion.

Moving on, but to a moment where I did have my camera - Maxime's school play. Tibili, the little boy who didn't want to go to school. It was set in Africa and Maxime played a spider. He had the longest line of anybody and the teacher said he knew all the kids' parts by heart. A future Thespian?

And, last but not least, our weekend getaway to Ras Al Khaimah, emirate on the west coast, where I indeed forgot my Camera. We stayed at the Hilton, went to the Dreamland Water Park, and visited the Dhayah Fort. Now, who needs a camera? Insert images of my family in all those pics and there you have it.

Happy Easter

It's funny how living in a Muslim country makes you want to celebrate Christian religious holidays more intensely than before. So, yesterday we colored eggs to get ready for the Easter Bunny.

I went to the grocery store to get the supplies and the Philippino cashier was oohing and awing (ok if anyone knows how to really spell that, tell me) over the cuteness of it all. She asked me, "why do they symbolize Easter with a rabbit over here." If anyone knows the David Sedaris sketch about the discussion of Easter tradition in a French for foreigners class in Paris, you'll know why I started giggling uncontrollably.

David never really answered the question and all I could think of was the symbolism of "spring, life, babies, doing it like rabbits" but somehow couldn't formulate it appropriately in the time it took Josephine to ring up my purchases. I settled for a shrug and left it at that.

The trick to hunting for Easter eggs here is to get the chocolate ones left in the yard before the sun melts them. My kids were up for the challenge and were outside at 6:30 in their PJs. Ming even got in on the action.

By the time I got downstairs - they had gathered up all the loot and bit into the ears of the chocolate bunnies. We just had enough time to snap a few pics and yell at the kids about eating SOMETHING for breakfast even though they were already full on Chocolate and jellybeans, before Philippe had to go to work.

This afternoon we're going to mass with all the Philippinos (boy those are churchgoing people!!). I figure it's time for the kids to start learning about their Christian heritage, before they start to think they actually ARE Muslim and that "God" is just another way to say "Allah." Tonight we'll have the traditional French Easter meal - lamb, lima beans, more chocolate and of course, Champagne - sorry Allah!!

Discovering Karate

Antoine is taking Karate classes at school. He doesn't want to take Violin lessons anymore. This is a disappointment to me as I love music and it is a big part of my life. I always just assumed my kids would take up the interest as well.

BUT, we're into Karate now. First we had to search Dubai for a place to buy a uniform. After trying several sporting goods stores, I got a tip that we could find one in Karama (a neighborhood of cheap stores and fake designer goods). The search was tedious and just as I was about to give up, we spotted the Karate studio. Following the signs to the back alley stairway that would take me up to the studio, I was thinking "All this for a stupid Karate uniform" and trying to convince Antoine that he could take classes in a t-shirt and sweatpants. The studio looked like something out of a movie about a down and out Karate coach bringing a hopeless kid to glory. 60 Dirhams later, Antoine had his uniform and he wore it till it was time for bed.

Two months later, the school fair is to be the venue for the Karate demonstration. Of course, I forget my camera, but Antoine is ready for the 4:30 meeting at the basketball court. About 15 6-8 year olds line up - all in Karate uniforms in varying shades of white, one girl - and the teacher starts to bark out short, staccato commands. Miraculously, Antoine turns into some sort of little buddha warrior. His concentration is unfazed, his movements clean, precise while his round cheeks turn red under the desert sun. I swear he was the best one in the line up!! How proud was I? Just as proud as I was last year, when his violin teacher raved at how good Antoine was at the violin. Ok - so he enjoys beating up his classmates in a controlled environment while breathing deeply through his nose and yelling out chinese profanities. For now, at least. Maybe one day he'll reconsider the violin, but I'm sure that in any case - I'll be just as proud.

Partial Eclipse

A partial eclipse of the sun was visible today in our part of the world. 7Days, my favorite newspaper these days (they hooked me with the Divorced in Sleep story) warns to protect your eyes while trying to see the eclipse. Their advice - don't look at it through a beer bottle. Ahhhhh, beer bottles - it's been so long since I've actually SEEN one...

Tidbits

While reading the paper can be depressing (Palestinians starving, rate of road deaths in Dubai 1 per day, Bush still president) it can also be very interesting and quite funny. Here are some choice bits from today's 7days (a free daily that magically appears in my gate every morning):
- Syriana WILL be released in Dubai. Government censors have approved with only a few cuts that show labor strife in Dubai. Apparently, in addition to starring my beloved George - it has the appeal of having been shot largely in Dubai. And yes, they censor movies here.
- Protests in Afghanistan after man accused of converting to Christianity was let off for reasons of insanity...
- A list of average IQ scores in all European countries. Apparently if you have an IQ of 95, you're gifted in France, but in Germany - you need to have special tutoring just to stay in school, OUCH!
- And the one I love the most: "Divorced in Sleep" In India, where they practice Muslim family law, a man said "divorce" 3 times while he was sleeping and now he and his wife can't live together anymore. They claim to still love each other and don't want to live apart. What's more is that in order for them to remarry - the woman has to marry someone else, divorce him and THEN she can remarry the man who really loves her but who dreams about divorcing her OUT LOUD. Sounds like the plot of the next Bollywood hit.

What a crazy world we live in!!!

Weekend on the East Coast

We just got back from Fujairah where we spent a weekend with Philippe's folks. Fujairah is an Emirate in the UAE, but it is located on the East coast sandwiched in between parts of Oman.
We visited the Al Bidyah mosque - the oldest in the UAE.
Took a very cautious drive through the Hail Wadi (basically a dried out river bed) where we discovered lush terrassed gardens with Palm trees and lots of vegetables.
And we took advantage of the beach, clear waters and coral reef for snorkeling.

The kids are sleeping it off and I'm about to do the same.

Mardi Gras in Dubai

Every year I regret not being in Louisiana for Mardi Gras. The kids, however, always manage to celebrate at their school. This year, the boys had to come up with their own costumes.
Antoine's was easy, he wore his Karate Kimono (pictures to come later). Maxime's was easy, too - he wore his beloved Cowboy attire given to him by his rancher grandparents.
The trapeze artist in the picture with him is Lucille. 

Desert Morning

What Maxime loves about his new school are the number of outings and cool things they get to do. They go to a city park every Saturday and this morning they organized a trip to the desert. I was lucky enough to be able to accompany them.
We drove 30 minutes outside of Dubai in school buses. Once we were off the highway and a little ways into the desert, we were transferred to 4x4s that took us to the desert camp. The camp was inside a dune circle. It had tents and different areas set up for the kid's activities: camel riding, henna tatoos, dress up, sand surfing and of course lunch. One of the children's father gave a short presentation on dates and had samples to taste. He works for Bateel, a Saudi date producer. Saudi dates are supposedly the best, and those that grow on Mecca soil (sand?) are the most prized by Muslims all over the world. After tasting them - I can see why!
First you learn to ride a camel...
...then you get a scorpion tatoo and bedouin headdress and voila, you're Cheik Maxime.

Maxime's Birthday

Today is Maxime's birthday, but we celebrated on Wednesday. We went to the neighborhood Park, Garhoud Park and lucked out because it wasn't raining. The day before it rained all day and the 2 days after it rained ALL DAY! Amazing - but true.

Anyway, we celebrated with a few friends from school and the next door neighbors. Nationalities included, Lebano-Canadian, French, Iranian, Philippino - and American, of course.

The Women Driving Thing

Just a quick one - on Sunday the big news was that the Saudi Minister of Culture and Information said that there was no federal law in Saudi Arabia prohibiting women from driving. It's a local thing. He kicked off the economic forum with that statement and it was big news. If you're really interested in the legal intricacies check out the article on the Gulf News web site.


In searching for the link I found other articles where King Abdullah said that men were just not ready to give women driver's licenses.

Say Hello to Ming

Maxime's birthday is coming up and I've been promising him a cat since we now live in a house with a yard (the condition upon which owning a cat depended for the last 2 years). Yesterday was the open house for Feline Friends - a non-profit affair that rescues cats and puts them up for adoption.
We went and picked out Ming, a 4 month old, calico tabby that had been hit by a car.

After about 3 descriptions in front of the cat's cages, I stopped reading them out loud because they were too depressing and Antoine wanted to take home ALL the cats.

Anyway - we made an excellent choice because Ming is a lap cat - that's all she wants to do is sit on someone's lap and be cuddled.

The kids are thrilled and can't wait to get home to play. I never thought I'd be taking pictures of cats and posting them on the web - but here I am!! I promise there won't be too many.

Something Cool

So, everyone says, "Dubai is all about the money and the shopping and there is no cultural life there." Well, maybe not everyone - but let's say it's the ones who don't ask if women can drive here. BTW - women can drive here and they do it alot better than the men do - but I'm digressing.

Well, as I usually like to bring out the exception to the well accepted preconceived notion - here is a link to a really cool cultural thing in Dubai (OK there IS some money involved - but it's for a good cause).

The thing is called the Camel Caravan - check it out: http://www.camelcaravan.ae/dubai/page6a.asp

These camels are all over the city. There is one on the side of the highway on our route to school. The kids and I call him Camel Dan, and he helps us know when we have to turn off the highway. The big sign that says "GO THIS WAY, ANNE" doesn't seem to do the trick.

The above picture was taken at Festival City when I looked at a house there last October.

I like how the camel is providing shade for the street cleaner on a break. It's kind of like in the real desert - or at least like in Lawrence of Arabia. Ok, well not exactly.

Antoine and Maxime at Safa Park on the Web

Thursday was a holiday - Muslim New Year- so we went to the park. It's a cool park - kind of reminds me of Piedmont Park in Atlanta, nice green expanses with views of the city skyline. The spider web was a nice reminder of the boy's Parisian neighborhood park for the boys.
The waterfall just to remind us that we're in the desert.

How to Read this Blog

So today is the day I put my blog online. I've been keeping notes for the last 3 weeks, so I'm dumping all that today. No pictures - I'm not yet to that level of fancy.

So if you're courageous enough - you can read the entries below. Start from the bottom - it'll make more sense.

Today is overcast and muggy. Very un-desert like. My hair is frizzing up like it did when I was in the 7th grade in Louisiana and all my "friends" called me Bush.

Funny ad in the paper "REEM Automobile - driving a better deal." Am I the only one who finds that ironic?

January 24, 2006 - We're In!

So, it's been a while. We got our stuff. How did we have all that in our Paris apartment? of course the movers use about 10 sheets of wrapping paper per coffee cup so that tends to add volume. I'll spare the details of inserting our stuff into the house.

Now, our goal is getting into the rythm of our new life. Bringing the kids to school - IN A CAR, grocery shopping IN A CAR, going down the street to get money, milk, the paper - IN A CAR. Living in Paris is really different because of the lack of using the car...(among lots of other things). As we were stuck in traffic the other day (admiring the perfectly manicured landscaping on the interchange with Palm trees, petunias and lots of green grass!), Antoine says, "It's a good thing Papa is here to build the metro." I had to explain that when the metro starts alleviating the traffic - our time will be up here. So traffic jams are part of our Dubai experience and taking the metro is not!

We have a gardener. We kind of don't have a choice in the matter. Rahim showed up one day, explained to me in gesture that he is a gardener and that for 200 dirhams he could take care of our yard. I thought it was worth it for him to give it a good weeding, cut the grass, get rid of the dead tree and get it ready for me to plant some flowers and enjoy gardening. Turns out, the price is for the month (and i negotiated it down - how embarassing). So now he comes every day. I buy flowers - he plants them. He's funny. Today he came with a leather, fake fur-lined aviator cap with ear flaps and everything. He wore it the whole time. The first day came, he had one of those red and white checkered scarfs on his head. This is the thing with headgear here: people fool with them ALL THE TIME. Everytime I looked out the window to see what he was doing, he had it in a different configuration on his head, across his shoulders, around his neck, back around his head. That would aggravate the Pee out of me. I have to say the aviator ear flaps come with strings that let you tie them up if you're feeling a little too warm.

January 16, 2006 - Calm After the Storm

OK - it's WORSE than leaving your windows open during a sudden rain. The sand blows in and covers EVERYTHING. And it's not sand, it's like sand powder. Lesson learned. The upside is that I got to inspect every crook and cranny of the house while getting the sand out of them and have a very complete inventory of "things to do."

Writing the date on today's entry I realize - it's my birthday!! Usually, I anticipate my b-day like a kid. But this year it caught me by surprise. As a present, I had a very normal, calm morning. Dropped the kids off at school, picked up the paper on the way home, turned on the sprinkler and sat down to email, work and a cup of coffee. BLISS!

So enough about me - what about where I live? Choice of headlines from the "Gulf News" Newspaper:

• Sa'ad Kuwait Emir as Jaber dies (Top story, happened yesterday)
• Pakistan - String of protests erupt over US airstrike - apparently (purported) CIA bombed Peshawar trying to get Al Qaida guy - killed civilians. That's the first paragraph. The second relates the Paki pres saying "that's what you get for harbouring terrorists" - sweet guy!! 10k people protested.
• Other topics regularly treated are Soccar (front page), Labor issues in Dubai, real estate
  

The brand new mosque down the street finally went into business. I boast that it's the prettiest in Dubai cause it has red lights on top of the minarets for the airplanes (we're very near the airport). Seriously, it IS a very pretty mosque.

January 14, 2006 - First Day of School

Who's more nervous, the kids or the mama? The "new kids in school" have arrived and apparently they've been expected. It's a very short school day today. Still no internet - none at home and the hotspots I've picked up don't seem to work. Today there is a lot of wind and it's kicking up sand, creating a very bizarre kind of light. I realized that, as in more tropical climates, you may be surprised by a sudden rain with your windows open or the laundry out to dry - in Dubai - it's the sudden sand storm that will have you moaning "Oh, I left the upstairs windows open and our laundry out to dry."

FRIDAY, January 13, 2006 - Weekend!!

In the UAE and in general in this part of the world, the weekend is on Friday. Businesses usually close Thursday afternoon and all day Friday. But, as in the US - retail is another story. The shops are open and this is good for us cause we need to buy a houseful of stuff. While we were in a shopping center, the "call to prayer," a somewhat mournful singing/cry came over the loudspeaker. We looked around and decided that it wasn't very effective because no one seemed to be praying. Rugs for the kids - big, shaggy, hip colors, towels for the bath, canisters for the kitchen and LAWN furniture!! The weather is very nice this time of year, and since the house is empty - we want to have a table and chairs in the yard next Friday to enjoy it while we can. It'll soon be too hot to even LOOK outside.

January 12, 2006 - The Day That Almost Wasn't

Philippe called me from his office where he went in jeans and t-shirt (friday wear, but here it's wednesday or thursday wear - whatever) to tell me that today is THURSDAY and not FRIDAY!!!!!!!! Somehow with the jet lag, the sleepless night and everything - we lost (gained?) a day somewhere. So - thank God it's Thursday. We had been counting down the days to the first day at school for the kids and now we have to add a day. Antoine is fine, by the way. I think it was a case of too much travel and diet/climate change.

January 9, 2006 - First Day in Do Buy

To document my family's move to Dubai, I started a blog and this is my first entry which i'm writing off line - National Mourning + holiday = no getting internet till Saturday earliest. My neighbors did not have the courtesy of getting a decent WIFI antenna either. So who knows when this'll get posted.
So, with the exception of a table, four chairs and a bed in 3 of the 5 bedrooms - the house is empty.
We arrived at 2 am local time this morning and woke up around 10. Went shopping - that's what you do in "do buy." The kitchen is stocked. The kids begged to go to the pool all day and poor things got dragged through a shopping mall instead. Antoine showed his discontent by vomiting on me. Not an easy thing to manage with a limited amount of towels on hand.