In case you didn't get the memo, here are the driving rules in AD (written by my very clever friend):
1. There are only two speeds on Abu Dhabi roads - too fast and stationary.
2. When driving at 120km/hour ensure you are 30cm from the car in front and then furiously flash your lights at them, even though it is three solid lanes of traffic and they can't move anywhere.
3. Roundabouts are for parking/picking up/dropping off friends. Everyone knows that, stupid!
4. Never indicate at roundabouts, especially when turning left or doing a u-turn - that would just give other drivers a clue of your intentions.
5. Never choose the correct lane for your exit when going round a roundabout - drivers love it when you suddenly cut across them - it tests their brakes.
6. Never indicate when changing lanes. This also gives people a clue of your intentions.
7. If someone is courteous and lets you in, never thank them - that just shows weakness so more fool them for being nice.
8. Never let in drivers who are indicating that they need to move into your lane so they can turn right. It's fun watching them miss their turning or pull a dangerous maneuver.
9. If you do miss your turn, just reverse, no matter how fast the on-coming traffic - it's their duty to avoid you.
10. Always brake at the last possible moment - then you can see the whites of the other driver's eyes in their rear-view mirror as they widen.
11. When speeding in the slow lane, flash the car in front who is actually going slow. Everyone knows slow cars should be in the middle lane.
12. Slow cars - always drive in the middle lane, forcing other cars to overtake on either side of you.
13. Hard shoulders are designed to help you get past that traffic jam quickly, not for broken down cars/lorries or actual emergencies.
14. When in heavy traffic, a gap of half a car is an invitation.
15. Equally, a red light is more of a request than an order.
16. Your horn is like beautiful music to other drivers, so keep hitting it.
17. Never strap your child in - that wastes valuable seconds in getting to your destination.
18. Speeding through a petrol station as a short cut when trying to get past a traffic jam is legitimate.
19. Never fully concentrate on the road; instead use your journey wisely, eg for texting, chatting on the phone, eating, drinking or reading. In extreme cases, your drive is also a good opportunity for a quick nap.
20. Always open your door and spit when in traffic jams - it is big and it is clever.
21. Finally, one for the pedestrians - always cross the motorway/freeway at its busiest point, when cars are at their fastest. Drivers love the adrenaline rush as you run in front of them and they get to test their driving skills as they try to control that skid.
And on another more serious note...this one not so sarcastic...
Men, want the freedom to beat hit your wife and children without the nagging concern that you might be thrown in jail? You're in luck! All you have to do is move your family to the United Arab Emirates, where the country's highest court just ruled that spousal and child abuse are a-okay, just as long as you are crafty enough to do so without leaving any marks.
The ruling centered around a case where a man had slapped his wife, injuring her lower lip and teeth, and then kicked his 23-year old daughter, this time causing bruises on her right hand and right knee. While in this particular instance, the court found that the man had overstepped his authority, the judges were quick to point out that husbands, in general, do have the right to resort to physical violence with their families.
Here's the deal: A man may legally beat his wife as long as he has first tried other means of punishment and the abuse does not leave behind any markings. Further, he may strike his children for the same reason, provided that they are still young. That's right, in the UAE, it is actually better to hit a defenseless child than one perhaps capable of properly defending themselves. As one might suspect, the justification the court uses to sanction this abhorrent domestic violence is religion, specifically Islam.
A few highlights of my holiday in Sri Lanka but first a few facts about the island:
• Sri Lanka lies only a few degrees north of the Equator, but . . . if you travel due south of the country, the first land you reach is – Antarctica!
• Sri Lanka is slightly smaller than Ireland
• Romantic geographers have compared its outline to “a teardrop falling from the tip of India”. The more practical Dutch likened it to a leg of ham!
• Despite being a small country, Sri Lanka has two separate monsoon seasons – and two inter-monsoon periods! This means there is always good weather somewhere on the island, but you can also get caught out by the rain, but . . .
• The temperature throughout the year remains virtually constant at between 27-30ºC
• Sri Lanka has the dubious distinction of having the highest number of snakebite fatalities, per capita, of any country in the world! We only saw two in a month – big, but harmless.
Mt. Lavinia-Locals catching their dinner
Day ONE! We arrived in Colombo early on Friday morning, having not really slept. Not being impressed with the accommodation options, we had decided to follow some advice we’d found online and look for a place to stay near the beach in Mt. Lavinia. This would apparently be cheap, and also convenient, it cost us a whopping $7/night.It was a pretty basic room. However, after leaving Colombo for a wander about the town, we both realized we were not in a westernized country any longer, with all the soldiers holding rifles and machine guns on every street, it can make one feel a little uneasy. Happily, we arrived in Mt. Lavinia. It is a beautiful little fishing village full of sweet talking teenagers and bright orange sunsets.
Deb and I in our happy place!
Brave, hey?
Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage was set up in 1975 to look after seven orphaned elephants, but the project has grown and there are now over 65 residents making it the world’s largest collection of captive elephants, including those orphaned and abandoned elephants as well as those injured in the wild. The Orphanage has also developed a major breeding program and about one elephant is born here every year.
A highlight of the visit is the afternoon bathing of the elephants when they are all brought down to a lovely river setting and just left to wallow and play in the water. – and the feeding time when the young ones guzzle enormous quantities of milk from oversize baby bottles!
Locals selling their fresh fruits and vegetables roadside
Tea picker in Mackwoods Tea Estate
Sri Lanka is one of the most important tea producers in the world and its hill country is stunning. Colonial towns dot the landscape surrounded by tea plantations. We passed several during your drive in from Kandy, most notably the Blue Field Tea Gardens near Ramboda Falls and the Mackwoods Tea Estate in Labookellie.
Surprisingly however tea was not native to Sri Lanka and was a gift by the British colonists. It was brought from China and planted in the Royal Botanical Gardens in Kandy. It wasn’t until the 1860′s that crop started gaining commercial popularity.
The vegetation is lush and green and the rolling hills make for an awesome site. Pretend you are in jolly old England for a few days. We visited old plantation homes, drank tea and ate baked goods. It doesn’t get any more civilized than this.
In a back alley the local prepares his carrots for the market.
A rainy day, mother and child head home from the market
Monk praying in the Temple of the Holy Tooth Relic
The next day we spent exploring Sri Lankas older history. Inhabited by people since about 500 BC, there is a lot to see. Especially Buddha statues and temples. But the most important of all is the Temple of the Holy Tooth Relic in Kandy! The tooth in this temple is supposed to have been snatched from the Buddhas funeral pyre. It was brought to Sri Lanka in the 4th century AD. The Portuguese claim to have destroyed it in 1560, but this can only have been a replica, as the real relic cannot be destroyed by humans.
The Tooth is kept in eight stupa-like caskets, one smaller than the other, stacked inside of each other, russian matryoshka style.
Outside a Hindu temple a mother waits for her child to get out of school.
Sigiriya
A giant rock in the middle of nowhere. Once it housed a monastery and maybe a fortress. Of the entrance, which used to be through the mouth of a stone lion, only the paws remain.
Some of the paintings on the walls inside are very well preserved
One of Sri Lanka’s most popular tourist destinations is ‘Sigiriya’ – A 5th century rock fortress shaped like a crouching lion and its name aptly derived from the Sinhalese “Singha Giri” or “Lion Rock”. Sigiriya has been recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1982 and is today a tourist favorite, featuring everything from history, culture, art as well as some breathtaking views of nature.
On top of Sigiriya, taking in the breath-taking views.
Oh, how this would not fly in America!
We then spent the day at Nogombo, which we knew was close to the Buena Vista Coral Reef and some of the best snorkelling on the island. It was the busiest resort city we had visited, the long stretch of sand lined with beach bars. Negombo is one Sri Lanka’s most popular spot for independent travelers and backpackers.
paruvas (a large, man-powered catamaran fitted with kurlon dividers)
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Preparing fishing net for the evening fishing trip.
We loved Sri Lanka. It was one of those countries that I actually felt sad leaving. I met inspiring people, saw magnificent sites and enjoyed awesome adventures.
This is an important lesson to remember when you're having a bad day, a bad month, or a shitty year. Things will change: you won't feel this way forever. And anyway, sometimes the hardest lessons to learn are the ones your soul needs most. I believe you can't feel real joy unless you've felt heartache. You can't have a sense of victory unless you know what it means to fail. You can't know what it's like to feel holy until you know what it's like to have felt really messed up. And you can't be birthed again until you've died. * To have died in the emotional sense.― Kelly Cutrone
I ventured onto a random website with quotes about life. I am often inspired and feel, well, lifted and grateful for what I have experienced in life, after reading them. So I decided to use the quotes to help me explain what I have been feeling.
First, the quote above sums up my September. It was a difficult month. People always talk about how you will go through culture shock and want to go home. Well, every time I have traveled I have NEVER experienced this feeling. Then, September arrived! Why is the school complete chaos? Why don't the students act like they do everywhere else in the world? Why is it so difficult to get a book to read in class? Why are we not being told anything that is happening in our school? These are some of the moments when I knew I was for the first time experiencing culture shock. I still loved the city and felt very welcomed and at home here; however, school was a nightmare. I can't even put into words how the situation made me feel. I felt heartache, felt like a failure and was emotionally drained from my students and the (new) staff. But as the quote says-->this will change.
I woke up one day and decided to stop yelling at the students(which I did a lot of, since that is the ONLY way I could make them listen for 1 minute) and try to be patient and understand the way of the school and students. I now pray to God asking for patience and understanding everyday on the way to school. Since the day I started this, **MagIcaLLy**, I feel completely different when entering my classroom; nevertheless, I still have to yell from time to time=). My students are rather humorous and I have enjoyed finding the positive little (very little) things that they are starting to understand. They are learning more English words (they love singing "10 Little Monkeys", saying TIGER, MOUSE and SNAKE-they know I hate all 3, and rapping the color song), following directions better like SIT DOWN-NO HIT-GOOD JOB-POINT-STAND UP, the fighting is SLowLY deteriorating, my runners are finally sitting, my cry babies are smiling, (most) can write their names in English (forwards and backwards!), they place their backpacks in a nice row on the floor and not a pile in front of the door, they can identify their name on their desk, they are blowing into their fist when they want to answer a question not screaming the answer so the teacher 5 doors down can hear, they are not writing on each others kandoras, they are patiently waiting for me to grade their papers and not tackling each other to push their work in my face and yell "MISS", they learned how to say my name after 5 weeks, they now know that if I say "How are you?" they don't repeat "How are you?" instead they say "I'm fine-I'm sleepy-I'm sad-I'm happy!" which is huge in my book! So everyday I try to find these small things that make me say HEY THAT'S PROGRESS!
I am changing. I'm adapting to the situation. Which brings me to my next quote. "The only way that we can live, is if we grow. The only way that we can grow is if we change. The only way that we can change is if we learn. The only way we can learn is if we are exposed. And the only way that we can become exposed is if we throw ourselves out into the open. Do it. Throw yourself."~ C. JoyBell C
**********Moments that bring a smile to my face**********
One must be very specific at explaining what scissors are and are not used for!
TEACHER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!-screaming student trying to get my attention WHATTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!!-me aka screaming teacher
They didn’t expect me to sound like them.They all got big eyes and were completely silent and then we laughed hysterically for a few seconds until the boy whispers “Pencil?” and I whisper “Go.” and the laughing continues!
Why my students are sitting in the pictures below-Anesa-my co-Arabic teacher...She really is lovely and has come to the rescue many times=)
We were filling in an “I’m Special-All About Me” packet. One page read “My name is…”, so I had the boys go around and repeat the phrase and include their name. One of my higher level boys says, “My name is garbage”, as he points to the garbage can. I say “Ohh, do you smell? What do you smell with?” He says, “YES! NOSE!” Then runs up to me, points to me and tries to imitate the way I talk and says in a girlie voice, “My name is Ice Cream.” So I of course I asked why I got the name ice cream. He says “My name is Ice Cream(points to me) WHITE!” bahah I was ecstatic. We have been learning colors for the last couple of weeks and he is associating colors to objects and verbalizing it = One happy teacher named Ice Cream!
Speaking of names-I have gained another interesting name.
Well, I'm not MRS and I usually don't use the words "end" or "you' when writing my name-but hey-at least I got the letter!
My little Abdulla (well 1 of the 7 Abdulla's) was running to the bus. He dodges a few backpacks and big 5th graders to run back to me, grabs my hand, kisses it twice, smiles, says "Good-bye my friend" and runs back to the bus=One happy teacher named Mrs. Ice Cream Enderyou! So cute to hear them speaking English!
My little runaways...look at them sitting...brings a tear to my eye!
Going through the alphabet at calendar, we say the letter-sound-and vocabulary words (if we've covered the letter). We get to the letter M. Ahmed jumps up..."Miss! Letter M. mmmmm(saying the sound and rubbing his stomach) chocolate! Me, please?" Well he did get the letter and sound correct! Award? I think so!
This was supposed to be a group of 3....
Miss Huda, our Arabic principal, enters my classroom; the class greets her with a little chant as they stand. One student Abdulla (a different one from above) emerges from the sea of students with a big grin on his face. Stands at attention in front of her, then goes to shake her hand, pulls her down to kiss her right cheek, goes for the left cheek but she is laughing too hard to except. He is a charmer!
One morning I was taking my class back to the room after assembly. My Arabic co-teacher stops and says, "No. Eat. Come." I get that strange confused look, which I wear almost all day every day, turn my class around and then I see we have decided to hold a random school picnic. Now, this isn't anything to complain about. I just have to laugh that obviously all the parents were informed(All the students had little breakfast treats in their backpacks), and all the Arabic teachers knew( they also had breakfast); however, they forgot to mention it to the other 8 teachers that speak English! But hey, why would they care if it affects 1.5 hours of our day!
My little group of fighters
ONE of my classes relaxing at the school picnic and my little class "healer" on the right =)
We had a fog day, which equals 1/2 a class and a 2 hour late start...only to be dismissed an hour early so the staff can have a party. An Arabic woman literally runs in my room says "BOYS-BUS! School finished!" Ok than! One of our western teachers converted to Muslim. She was given quiet the party and a day off of work. The party contained, a queen tiara, a dozen roses, a gold necklace, confetti shooters, smart board raffle games, chocolate bars, speeches in Arabic, a lot of hooting, hollering, and clapping, a feast and an early release from school. I could get used to this. We were doing the math 8 teacher =8 parties...Watch out, my next blog could be about MY party!
School picnic in the courtyard
Give others the freedom to be themselves. Appreciate the differences between their ways and yours. We may not always see eye to eye but we can do our best to respect that we are all unique in our own way.
Today I awoke grateful that I have been blessed with another day. Despite the hurdles of life(and school), I am grateful to be alive to experience this because I know that everything happens for a reason. Grateful for the wisdom that I have the power to control my thoughts and no one can take this from me. Be grateful for another day to make your life as you wish it to be ♥
Wow, where has the time gone?? I'll have to hit up the Starbucks for cider or a pumpkin latte so it feels like Fall to me. No hunting, no corn maze, no seeing the last of the crops coming out of the ground, no volleyball and football games to scream at, no trip to the pumpkin patch....just SUN & HUMIDITY! Lately, my friends and I have been realizing the temperature difference-the humidity has ended! AMEN! On the way to work we were even a little chilled. However, when we arrived at school the temperature was 98F. ha We are now acclimated!
Maybe my new friends over here will be wanting to have a Halloween party, we'll see.
Well it's Wednesday evening and I'm preparing for my weekend by cleaning my apartment, fun! I had plans on either going to the mall or going shopping but since it's already7 pm and I am in the middle of sweeping one room, mopping another, doing dishes and laundry I think I'll just stay in for the rest of the day! My work weeks go by so fast but my weekends go by faster, just like back home! I spent almost 2 hours today looking at flights home for Christmas. I also spent another 30 minutes looking at hotels for my November break to Sri Lanka. I am SOOO looking forward to it! So in 22 days I will be taking pictures of Colombo & showing you what it's like there!! As of right now I get the weekend plus 3 days off. Last year I guess they ended up giving teachers the weekend plus 5 days, which means 9 days instead of 5 with both weekends tacked on. Maybe they'll let us know a little sooner this year if they intend on giving us the whole week in November. I hear that not many students would come on those 2 days anyway, so why not give us a whole week off!? Hard to say!! It is their second Eid, so look that up if you're wondering why we get time off in the beginning of November. I can't believe it's already October & I really can't believe I am going on nearly 2 months over here! Hopefully the next two go by just as fast so I can be back in the states visiting my family before I know it! It's sort of bittersweet knowing time is going by fast. I look forward to going home to see my family but I am having an absolutely wonderful time here and don't want it to go by so fast. It is funny the time at work feels like it will never end(and its only 4 hours), hard to go to work, hard to teach and connect with the students. But when I get off work here it is not like living in Barrow or Aberdeen....it is like living a permanent vacation. I can walk through huge malls, head to the beach, wander through local shops....things I only do on vacation, not after work on any given day. I could stay here for quiet some time, will just need to find a new job in 2 years. I absolutely LoVe it!
Last Thursday I went out to dinner with a group of girls to what I thought was a French cafe. Turns out it was a Hookah bar and the restaurant menu was huge. It had anything you could think of. I ordered Fattoush, a Lebanese salad comprised of tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, and peppers.For dessert we had Grape flavored shisha.. And surprisingly...I would go back to the La whatever it was called for shisha and food. The atmosphere was great, it was right on the Corniche, it was a good time! Alright, off to the gym for now & then I've got to write my lesson plans when I get home. Nothing like waiting until the last minute to plan for my next week of work(starting Sunday)! :-)
Here are are few points I've found interesting while living in the UAE.
1. My mom is older than this country & I'm almost as old as it is... 2. I'm usually asked if I am from Australia. 3. Kleenex tissues are used as napkins at restaurants. 4. There are no addresses. But my [fake] address is: "Danat Towers, Building B, #1108, Airport Road behind the Holiday Inn." 5. "Church's Chicken" is called "Texas Chicken." Can you infer why?
6. You will be arrested for public intoxication. There is zero tolerance for drunk driving. If you get caught DUI, you will be sentenced to eighty lashes. 7. Donuts are an evening snack, not breakfast, and people hang out at the donuts shop like they do at Starbucks. 8. If you accidentally kill a falcon you pay a fine of 8,000 dollars. 9. Night Life takes place in hotels as they are allowed to freely serve alcohol and A LOT of people are "chillin at the Holiday Inn"! 10. The official/traditional Emirati dress is the BLACK abaya (for women) & WHITE kandura (for men). As you know, I am very monochromatic in my tastes, so I love it! 11. The gas station attendant looks at you weird if you turn off your engine to pump gas. I look at the gas station attendant weird when he tells me it cost $18.00 to fill my car! 12. If you rent any flat or living quarters, the yearly rent must be paid in full in advance. Yes, you have to have that type of money to live here– unless your housing is paid for. Yay. I would have had to pay>>>>$30K in August to move here. 13. Each of the 7 emirates has a different color sand. 14. It is okay to wear sandals for everything. From a business meeting to a day at the beach for both men and women. 15. The front of the public transportation bus is a women only section. The back of the bus is for men only. 16. Al Ain, a city in Abu Dhabi, produces its own thunder clouds and rain. 17. OMG, I work for the government. I am held to a different standard of representation here. I must be very careful with my public image. Tee hee...
These are some of the few things that have caught my attention in the past two months or so. I'm sure there will be more to come.
