Hooray for American TV! (I think)

We are now able to watch the Olympics with English commentary. They just aren't the same in Arabic. We can also enjoy both CNN and Fox News, the very same broadcast you may be watching this evening. Now if only the gas man would show up to hook up our stove. Then we'd really be feeling at home. The restaurants around here are great. Tonight we had an authentic Thai cuisine of Pad Thai and Peppered Beef with steamed rice. It was very yummy. It's just that we've been eating out for at least 21 days now and all I want is some homemade spaghetti and garlic toast.

Avery's First Playdate

What began as a random encounter in our apartment elevator, turned into "tea and legos" this afternoon. The glitcher--they only speak Russian. We had a blast smiling and saying "uh-huh" and using our alternative language skills to communicate over tea and chocolates. The kids 7 and 10 had fun chasing Avery around their "flat," putting together a lego dump truck set, and showing off a gold medal the youngest won in a downhill ski race. He is referred to as a "Russian Bear" and has a beautiful golden mullet. Avery was so happy to find a friend two doors down. You'd never know that they couldn't speak a word to each other. Avery wants to go back tomorrow. Afterall, we left with an open invitation..."In the morning, you'll return yah. Why not? Come."

Avery's First Mountain

Avery's first climbing experience with Uncle Jon.

Avery's day at the Amusement Park

Hi Uncle Jon and other people I know,

Today I climbed a Rock Climbing wall. My mom took pictures, but we can't put them on the computer to show you. I went on a plane and i sitted on the front and it went way high up in the air. The plane went up in air , first it went down and then it started to go up in the machine. And...oh..you know what it also did...it ummm. it flew over and off of the machine and it made that sound "ggggggggggggggggggggggg" (finger whipping around and around) and the propeller turned on and there was one propeller on it.

I climbed a rock climbing wall all the way to the top. It was about This is how many feet it was 9000. And I climbed to the top and there was a bell on the top and it said, "Grrrring". It was like a doorbell that you push at the top and it made that light go around a red light that was red. Mom says it was pretty tall.

And the plane that I went on was this many feet 8000. I wasn't scared on the rock climbing wall and as soon as I got to the top, I repelled down and then I went back up to the top. I went on it up and down 9900078 times. They had the same gear as you but not the nice backpack and stuff though. It was a different gear but some of the same. The lock carabeaner was the same color.

The demolition derby, the cars went so fast and I was number49, and they were fast race cars kind of. And they spinnded around and the attachment went to the next one and it spinnded around on the next one and it was like 25 minutes.

I went on a fast train and it went 650mph. And it came off of the railroad track and went back on and it sped up and then it went back off and then it sped up more and then it came back on and sped up again even faster. And then there was this big bump and it flew off the track and then it came back over the tunnel and it went about 6000 feet up in the air.

Love,

Avery

Lost in Translation 2

Avery and I were exploring our neighborhood looking for a place to eat lunch. We stumbled on a delicious Bakery where they made fresh garlic bread-like pastries. The people were very kind and offered to help take our "push-car" up about 25 stairs to the dining area. They were excited to introduce us to the new foods, and Avery and I were both delighted to find new things that we enjoy. We look at the menu and it is mainly in Arabic. There are some words written in English script, but these words mean nothing to me. So we point at the pictures and they happily bring us our food. At the end of our visit I really wanted to know what kind of food I tried so I asked...

Me: "Thank you, the food was delicious. (Hand on belly with thumbs up--a sign I took from our Pakistani server at a previous venue.)

Manager: "Yes. Very Good."

Me: "What kind of food is this?"

Manager: "Cream and Cheese"

Me: "No, I mean type of food is this?"

Manager (Looks confused): "Oh, cream and cheese"

Me: (Start to walk away thinking you win some, you loose some: But really REALLY want to know so I ask a random blue-eyed stranger walking up to the restaurant) "Do you know where is this food from?"

RS: (Shakes head and speaks with a heavy Russian accent) "I speaka no English."

I guess we may never know.

Lost in Translation

Here are some conversations that did not go quite the way I thought they were going.

Pakistani Cabbie says: "Are you from Germany?"

Me: "No, I am from the United States. But I am German. (nervous giggle)"

PC: "Oh...Are there tall buildings in Germany like these?"

Me: "I am from America (US doesn't register many times), my grandmother is German, I have never been to Germany."

Avery: "How many floors does your building have?"

PC: "Are there tall buildings like this in America or only the twin towers?"

Me: "Maybe in New York there are many, but I am from Minnesota. I have never been to New York. There are about 5 tall buildings like this in Minnesota."

Avery: "How many floors does your building have?" (Talking louder)

PC: "Do you see all these tall buildings, very fast these tall buildings, six years these tall buildings."

Avery: "How many floors does your building have?" (Frustration is building)

Me: "OK Avery, sometimes you just have to rephrase your question. (to PC) Do you live in a tall building?"

PC: "Oh yes, 63 floors. That building, 164 floors, very big. Very not safe. My sponsor, he look at that one, he said, 'no I want villa thank you'"

Move over Brad Pitt--there's a new heartthrob in town...

I have come to the conclusion that babies are the most effective tool for closing cultural gaps. We experienced this when we were in Mexico for 10 weeks when Avery was a toddler, and again here in Sharjah another baby works his magic. It could be his incredibly charming smile, enchanting giggle, or just his big chubby cherub cheeks, (No, I'm not biased;))but I have a hunch that EVERYBODY around the world just loves babies. Hanging out with Ethan in Dubai is like being part of a celebrity entourage. People are snapping photos, constantly touching, and oohing/awing over baby Ethan. It really helps you to see that people are not so different here. It helps us to feel safe, even though we are so far from home.

In all honestly, I wasn't sure how to react to the women who wear the full Burka here. I assumed that since they are all covered except for their eyes that you weren't supposed to look at them. So...just to be sure, I did an experiment. I saw a woman at IKEA and I smiled at her and said "Hi." It was like I sent her an encoded message saying, "Yes, it is OK for you to touch my baby," and that is exactly what she did. She went straight for the cheeks. And it's funny...it's worked every time since. I ran into another expat "mum" from Australia who mentioned the same uncertainty. By this time, I already had it figured out...I said, "Oh don't worry about it, they will love your baby."

Thanks for checking in!

Ethan's Tummy Time