Back to the Desert

I may still be shakin' the dust outta my hair and blinking sand from my eyes, but man did I have a terrific time camping in the desert this weekend.

I rallied up a group of teachers and made it a plan to head out to the tallest dune in the UAE. Like many records kept, this is both official yet contested, some say the tallest dune is neighboring the one we were on, but for my books, I'm checking this destination off the list.

I tried to hike up the steep side of the dune, but I only made it 3/4 up, and then ran back down. However, there were a few that made it up all the way.  Here's Milad (foreground) and Sherah (back) conquering the one-step-forward-two-steps-back challenge up the hill.

Determined to get to the top, I thought of an alternative way by taking a cue from my momma. I chatted up one of the dudes in a dune buggy and made a friend. Wouldn't you know it, but Ahmed offered me a ride and we skirted around the dunes, up the back side over winding peaks, and popped up to the top!  It was quite the view and an excellent drive.

 

 

The sandy action didn't stop there, we caravaned back down the road (and it is the road as it's the only tarmac for miles and miles) and Blair staked out a spot to call home for the evening. After pitching our tents and getting the fire going, we climbed up a high dune and watched the last of the sun set.

Although I promised a peaceful evening away from city lights and traffic noise, my word was quickly made mud as a noisy four-wheeler spotted our fire and found us up on the dune. With a friendly wave and a smile, I hopped another ride and surfed over the sands again.  Our driver Mohammed was part mad-man part Formal One driver (maybe one in the same?) and showcased his manic moves on the sides of the dunes. We were at 60 degree angles and still on four wheels.  I'm not quite sure how those physics work out, but I'll just take it as a fun time.

Within thirty minutes of the sun setting behind the dunes, the stars were out and then suddenly a mess of ATVs were all around us. None of these stopped, but they too showed off their driving skills and popped wheelies and chased each other across the dunes.

Finally, we headed back to the fire, cooked some veggies and settled in for the night. Milad settled in a little more than others and snuggled his whole body into the warm sand.  Buried alive and loving it!

The next morning we woke to the sunrise and enjoyed the quiet. Then we piled back in the cars and hightailed back to showers and sand-free living.  What a relaxing weekend, and we're doing it again for the winter solstice in late December.

My First Visitors in Madinat Zayed

As you may know, Madinet Zayed is here. Jill and Molly get mad credit for coming ALL THE WAY from Abu Dhabi to visit me in the boonedocks of the UAE.

Photo by Molly

Being the fab hostess that I am, I took them on a tour of the town and I even saw some new sights. Including the bumper cars at the giant park in town.  Whoo, party city!

 Which also boasted some lovely flowers that matched Molly's outfit.  Perfect.

Later we skdaddled outta town and headed south to the real desert for sunset.

Jill had her camera ready in case any snakes were to attack, that way people would believe us (for the record, none did, bummer).

The sand is really soft and looks lovely in any light, but especially at dusk.

 

 

We found a spot that suited our fancy about 100 yards away from the tarmac, plopped down our chairs and called it home for the night.

 Photo by Jill, fire by me

 Thanks for coming out to see me girls!  We'll do it again this weekend!

Gifts

As it happens, people like to be my friend even in far away places like Abu Dhabi. Some woo me with just their company, and others like to throw in some presents. I'm not complaining, here are some of my favorites...

First up, Jill, my gal pal extraordinaire amazed me with this lovely hand-embrodiered dish towel. It's fantastic stuff, it's red too, to match my kitchen.


The script reads, "Insh'Allah", which means "God willing". To those of you that might not be familiar with Arabic language or Islamic culture, this is the tag-on phase to anything refered to in the future.

For example, during the teacher prep days at the beginning of school I ask my principal, "So the students come on Sunday?" She replies, "Yes Sunday, but Wednesday, ish'allah." Meaning, that hopefully none of the kids would show up for another week so we didn't have to start before the end of the Muslim holiday.

Another example, "So we get paid on the 28th of every month?" To which the payroll dude replies, "Ish'Allah."

Or, "Let's go camping this weekend!" "Ish'Allah!"

Everything gets its tag.

Another gift was some fish!
There's this guy that works at the travel agency at the mall across the street from my apartment building. He is quite taken with myself and another teacher, mostly in part because we are Western ladies, go figurah.

I get this call two weeks ago on Thursday (my last day of school for the week).
Hello?
"Hello! Miss Frances, how are you?!"
"I'm fine, thank you. Who's this?"
"Ali! Where are you, at home or at work?"
"I'm home now."
"Okay, you like fish? I bring you fish."
"Yeah, I like fish."
"Okay, five minutes, five minutes. I come."
"Ummmm, okay!"

So Ali comes by and pulls out about 15 pounds of baked and seasoned fish that he requested to be prepared for us at the fish market. It was delicious, if not boney. Mmm.


Then, it happened again last week. This time it was about three times as much, with crabs, shrimp, and calimari (not as good as my Aunt Maria's and Uncle Paul's at the Daily Catch in Boston though). Behold!


Photo courtesy of Blair Hoover, our host for the evening.

There was waaaaaaaay too much food. So the weekend goes by, and Blair and I spent the afternoon crackin' the shells open, pullin' the meaty bits out, and throwing it in a pot with lots of veggies. Two pints of cream and some salt and pepper later, we had delicious seafood stew. It was bangin'!

There are more presents, but I haven't taken pictures of those yet. As a teaser, I will mention that these include balloons, roses, tape, tires, motor oil, and grease. And no, it's not my debut as roller derby chicken car princess, you'll just have to wait and see.

Chez Moi

Finally, here is the most happenin' place in town, the New Teachers' Apartment Building behind City Mall. We're kinda a big deal around here.


I'm on the fourth floor to the left. When I ordered my dining room set from a local shop, the owner filled out a form for the delivery, so I asked, "Oh, you need my address still?!" "No," Omran replied, "You're new teacher. We know where you live." Such is life in a tiny town, it's toeing a skinny line between awesome and creepy.

I painted my apartment. I'm still waiting on a delivery of furniture to filly out the empty spaces, but it's starting to feel like my place.

My living room and dining room. I've had some dinner parties, but I can't really hang out just to watch the tv. Call me my mother's daughter, it's okay.


My bedroom in blue! I love it. Super serene and calming at the end or beginning of any day.
My office/guest room, it's my favorite room in the apartment. I think in part because it's my size (small) and it has a million colors in it, just like me! (erg, what?)


Now that I've got color, it's low lighting, plants, and wall interest up next on the decor list. Sway sway...little little as the locals say.