Avery's Email

Guess what! Matthew is scared of heights! But we played a lot in my tent at my house at the sail tower. (To Ethan) "What are you looking at two eyes?" Ethan's new name is two eyes because he always looks at everything with both of his eyes. Hey, Ethan said "which"! "Ethan what which are you talking about?" Matthew and I played cars in my tent and went on the top bunk of my bunk bed, even though he was scared. That's why he didn't want to sleep on the top bunk. But that's OK, because I didn't have very much high things. At his house we went to the pool, and our pool is almost done. Actually, do you know what? I'll be right back. I just want to see what is on 25 floor.
Rock climbing Block climbing.

Love,
Avery (and Ethan)

The best memories...

What a whirlwind summer! It's hard to believe school is already starting. We can't wait for next summer to make more Minnesota memories. It really is a special place.

Sleepovers and lunch dates.

Today was a great day. Avery, Ethan and I invited the neighborhood honorary grandpa over for lunch and Monopoly today and we had a little comic relief to help us forget about the heat. Avery expanded his knowledge of the game with the idea of mortgaging his properties in order to play longer. Unfortunately for them, mom still won.

Ethan's babbling accidentally let a real live word slip today. I was feeding him and Avery was making a lot of racket and I sternly said, "Avery, stop it!" And ETHAN said, "OK" so clearly that Avery and I rolled on the bed laughing at how strange it was that Ethan could talk. It gave us a good sample of what it actually will be like when he learns those first words.

Avery is having his first sleepover tonight with his friend Matthew that he actually met when we lived in Ellendale--which seems like eons ago. It's a pretty big step. He really is growing up so fast. We had a pillow fight, ate popcorn, drank tang and the boys stayed up until 10:10. They were pretty excited. The best part is, they went to bed without a hitch (so far anyways).

Tomorrows project: Road trip #3-Driving him home to Dubai.

We hope you are having a good day. We miss you guys!

Homesickness and other things that urk me.

Today I have been a little homesick. The heat and traffic are getting to be a little much for all of us. The worse part is that our cell phones have been predictably unpredictable. I will wait all day for that window of time to call our parents and it will say "No network available" "Network busy" or "Out of Service". Today I actually got a "No funds available" and learned that our cell phone is a pre-paid plan. If our phone is in our window and the breeze is blowing toward the lagoon (Seriously) our phone will ring and let us know that someone is calling. In order to talk to that person, we need to go down 33 levels to the building entrance where we can get service sometimes. So yes. It is inconvenient. But as in any developing country, "They are working on it" can mean anywhere from 1 week to 1 year. For now, we will use email and wait for our land line to be hooked up.

If you would like to *brighten* our day please leave us some comments or send us an email. Avery laughs big belly laughs at every email he gets. We are a little behind at responding to them right now, but he's read (and re-read) every one he's received.

Food for thought

We finally got our gas connected and I attempted to fill my craving and make spaghetti. Only there’s a problem. Jason swears that there was no beef to be found at the supermarket, so I had to substitute with ground Lamb. Seriously, it was bad enough to make me want to be a vegetarian. I kept thinking “Mary had a little lamb…” I just can’t eat personified meat. Don’t worry I comforted myself with Day 25 of unbelievable ice cream. Sorry Uncle Andy, there is definitely ice cream in Dubai. I just hope I don’t bring it all home on my hips next summer!

Schwan's aren't the only people that deliver.

Tip of the day: The guy at the door with the suitcase is not from the cable company.

So it all starts earlier in the day when Jason gets a phone call from our Satellite company while he is driving us home from the hardware store. (Yes we finally did make it.) He decided that since the Olympics are over, we didn’t need the extended sports package he originally chose. So he is busy driving and trying to take all of right exits to avoid the problems you will read about in previous posts and abruptly tells the representative that he has to go.

Enter: A knock on the door. A Fillipino man with a bubbly smile shakes my hand and holds up his suitcase.

Me: “Oh, are you from Showtime.” (Our satellite company)

FM: “Yes, yes. Hello. Hello!”

Me: “Oh, please come in.”

FM: Comes in and sits on our floor and opens his suitcase. Laughs, “Oh your baby, he looks like Buddha!”

Me: “That’s funny, I just said that earlier today.”

FM: Pulls out Lost Season 4 with Chinese letters written on it.

Me: To Jason “Oh, I don’t think this is the cable guy.”

So we’ve met the friendly door to door pirated video guy. Don’t worry, we didn’t buy any. Though I was tempted. 80 dirhams for the pre-release season of my favorite series. That would really help me pass the time when my favorite entertainer goes to school. But judging from the amount of time I actually have the television on now, I don’t think it will be necessary.

Next on Survivor Dubai:

Your mission: Survive two weeks of orientation, obtain your driver’s license, and fight through your first bouts of traffic jams.

Your reward: One night stay at the 5 star Kapinski Hotel in Ajman.

We splurged a little this weekend and traveled about 20 minutes to Ajman and stayed in the most beautiful hotel I’ve ever seen. It is the off season here so places are really affordable right now. We had an ocean view, and the first thing Jason and Avery saw was a Camel walking on the white sand beaches. It was like a mirage as when they went down to the beach to get a closer look, it was gone. We weren’t sure if it was someone’s pet, or if it just came over from the wild.

It was quite a bit cooler on the Gulf than in the concrete jungle we live in. It was really soothing to be by the water and in the fresh air. Ethan and I spent our time in the kiddie pool that was covered with a tent, so you were still outside, but it was just big enough to block the sun’s direct rays from hitting you. Ethan is like a little fish. He likes it in the water. Jason and Avery divided their time going from the pool to the beach. They even saw a Sting Ray in the water! I’m glad I wasn’t there for that. I had fun playing “pirate/coast guard” with Avery in the pool. He is really becoming a strong swimmer.

It was nice to get a taste of what life can be like in Dubai once you get past the sand storms and intense heat. Other expats have compared it to arriving in Minnesota during a blizzard in January. They say in October it cools down and it really is "quite lovely" for about seven months. There is so much here that I want to explore, but we are limited with Ethan. Hopefully, we can just hunker down for one more month and then be free to check out the parks and museums.

Hey mom I got my driver's license!

As you will see in my previous post, our transportation situation was not ideal. So, taking matters into his own hands Jason got his Drivers License! We’ve rented a car for this month to get our feet wet. We are in a bright blue Toyota Corolla. We actually stand out quite a bit in it. It seems like everyone here drives a white Land Cruiser, or a beefy version thereof. I’ve even taken out our car with my International Drivers license I got from AAA before I left. I feel so much better attacking the roundabouts and traffic jam mess in a rental. So far I’ve taken us (the kids) to Avery’s international school and to the grocery store that is about 5 blocks away. And Jason thought I’d never use it.

Traffic can be pretty nasty here. Last night we set out to get a few parts from the hardware store. We soon realized that night time is not the most efficient time to run errands. After a ½ an hour of driving we figured we were probably not even on the right road so we started to head home. Well…about an 1 ½ later we arrive. We seriously just drove around for 2 hours. (Not by choice believe me) without accomplishing ANYTHING. So that was a little maddening. Jason really was a good sport. The bad news is that we burned our first tank of gas this week. The good news is that it was only 13 dollars to fill it up.

Getting Around

Taking a taxi in Dubai is an experience in itself. You’re never quite sure if it will be a good one or a bad one, or if any type of seatbelts or speed limits will be involved. Many times when you ask how long a person has been living in Dubai, they will say “One week” or “Two weeks”. At first, I was like “Oh that’s nice. We’re new too.” Now I’m like…Ok take us to Sharjah please, and we can get another cab there. The “Oh we can figure it out together” Minnesota nice has quickly worn off.

Even though most cabs are metered, the routes chosen are not uniform. It is not uncommon for a trip that costs 20 dirhams one way, to be 60 dirhams on the way back. An extra hour to reach a destination is not unheard of, or even uncommon. There are a few cabbie culture shocks that I have experienced this week.

#1 Riding in a cab is a privilege not a service.

#2 Since Rule #1 applies, you will pay for time you spend in the cab regardless of the English, Arabic, or lack of reading ability that any cab driver may have/have not that delays your trip.

#3 If the cab driver does not know where he is going he will listen to anyone (other cab drivers, cell phone calls, people on the street) but you.

#4 If the cab driver gets you lost, you will still pay for the time you spend in the cab, afterall riding in the cab IS a privilege.

Time in Dubai

If you are ever wondering what time it is in Dubai, or anywhere else in the world for that matter...this website is useful. http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/city.html?n=776
I use it often to see what DAY it is here as I cannot get used to Sunday being the first day of the work week. I also use it to see what time it is back home. Subtracting nine hours is harder than it sounds!