Winter Break

One of the many blessings of living out here in the sandbox is the fact that there is a three week break off of school during the winter. This couldn't come at a better time as I entered my last month of pregnancy and can enjoy rest and time spent with Shawn. Shawn also finished up his semester of school (in which he did very well and I am very proud of him), so we both have this time to enjoy each other without a schedule. Although we have taken this time to rest and get the house ready for baby, we also have been “tourist,” doing the things around where we live that we haven't had a chance to do. It also helps that the weather is perfect, in the 70's! Here are a few of the things we have done so far... but there is more to come :)

Dubai/Global Village: (December 16th)

Towards the beginning of break, one of Shawn's mom's friends happened to be in Duabi on a trip, so we had the opportunity to visit her. We have been doing some airport runs, taking people to the airport for their winter trips and making some extra money, and so were already headed that way in the morning. We met her at her hotel and had a lovely big breakfast. We were then going to bring her to the old souqs, but it was Friday and amazingly it started to rain. We then thought about bringing her to the mall, but decided that was too touristy. Instead, we decided to bring her back to Al Ain. Her tour group was going to Dubai and Abu Dhabi, so we thought it would be nice to show her another place that was less of a tourist trap and a little more cultural. After swinging by the flat, we drove out to the mountain here and then took her to lunch at one of our favorite local places. It was a beautiful day with great views from the mountain. We even ate outside on the patio for lunch. We had to bring her back to her hotel after lunch because her group was going on a desert safari, so we headed to a place called Global Village in Dubai afterwards. It is a little like Epcot, in that it represents places around the world, just on a much smaller scale. You walk through different “shops” around the world filled with gifts and food. Some places were really well done, such as Africa. That section had beautiful handcrafted things from Africa as well as people working there from different countries such as Kenya. Other places were not as impressive, selling clothing that could be from anywhere in the world and nothing specific to thar country. There was also a part with rides, like the fair, but I didn't ride any (I wonder why not!). We had fun walking around, but were also tired after a long (but fun) day so headed home to bed!

 

Visiting with a friend

 

 

Global Village 

The Zoo: (December 20th)

Not far down the road from our flat is the Al Ain Zoo, so another day over break we made our way there. It was another lovely day with clear skies, and he headed out early to get started. I must say I was impressed by the zoo. It is very large, and the animals have good enclosures, not small cages. There were many desert animals, some of which I had never seen before, as well as familiar animals such as lions and tigers. There was a family in front of us that was frustrating though. The father, a local, started throwing rocks into some of the animal cages to get them to move, such as the tiger that was lying in the shade. It made me so mad, eventually we just had to go a different way so I would be near the family anymore. Another nice things about the zoo were the prices. Back home, tourist places are always outrageous. You may spend $10 on a hotdog for lunch. At this zoo, all the food and drinks were reasonably priced. We were able to eat a nice lunch outside for a very decent price. I even got a slushie :). Some of our favorite animals were the monkeys and the penguins. The penguins were putting on a show, swimming and jumping everywhere! We definitely will be bringing baby Casey there! After the zoo we were going to go see The Life of Pi at the movies, but we had a little bump in the road. We had about an hour, so we decided to head home before the movie. Shawn has been having trouble with his teeth, so when we went home he decided to clean them out before we left. While cleaning, he hit an exposed nerve and was in so much pain I thought he wouldn't even make it to the doctor. He was able to drive, and was injected with Novocaine and a shot in his bottom when we got there! They scheduled him for a root canal a few days later, and soon we were back on track and off to the movie. We both had read the book, and thought the movie was well done. Even with a little bump in the road, it was a great day!

 

They have camel rides at the zoo! 

 

Fun penguins

 

Shawn made a friend

 

 Jebel Hafeet: (December 30th)

Jebel is part of a mountain range in the UAE, and is the highest mountain in that range. It is not huge compared to other mountains around the world, but to see it rise up in the desert is pretty impressive. The road leading up to the top of the mountain is considered one of the top ten drives in the world, as it winds up in horseshoe turns. We took one morning to drive to the top and take in the views. They are quite stunning. After the drive, we headed to the bottom of the mountain to a place called the Green Mubazzarah. This is a beautiful green park nestled right at the base of the mountains, and includes a natural hot spring. We drove around taking in the sites before stopping to dip our feet in the spring water. I knew they were called hot springs, but I wasn't prepared for how warm the water actually was. After the dip, we found a beautiful shady spot for our picnic and enjoyed a meal together. Again, it was a beautiful day with no clouds, and I almost fell asleep for a nap on our blanket. Can't wait to take little man there for a family picnic soon!

 

On top of the mountain

 

 

Picnic time

 

Hot springs

 

Our picnic spot

 Out and About:

We also have used our time to just do small things out and about. We went to see The Hobbit in theaters as well as spent a day shopping for baby at the mall. We spent one day taking a walk at a park near our home and ran into our friends while there. This ended with a nice snack at Starbucks together after our walk. We have eaten out a few times and even ordered in... and we have more fun things planned. We will of course be going to see Les Miserables (the movie) when it comes out here in a few days and we have another trip planned for Dubai to see the indoor ski resort. There are a few museums and parks we want to check out here, and of course more rest before our big adventure!

 

Starbucks with friends

 

Walk in the park

 

Shopping for baby

 

Walk in the park

Christmas in the Desert

We have had an amazing opportunity to celebrate Christmas this year in a completely different environment. Even though we are away from family and the weather is... well quite nice in my mind, we have found ways to make this time special. 

The first event was something called Carols in the Desert (December 7). A couple that are good friends of ours invited me along. Unfortunately, Shawn was unable to go because it was the last week of school for him and he had projects and exams to do. We had an adventure driving out to find it, but we were very happy that we did. Out in the middle of the sand dunes, hundreds of people gathered to celebrate. Everyone brought their own food and spread out blankets/chairs. There was hot cocoa, carols, and lights. It was really something to walk through the sand and hear pockets of voices all singing the same songs and celebrating the holiday together. My friend Shon even went for a walk and met some local Emiratis sitting on the dunes watching. Although many people camped out in the dunes, we headed home and I slept in my own bed!

 

Shon, Jenia, and I

During the last week of school I decided to host a Christmas party for my co-workers. (December 10) I thought it would be nice to get together outside of work. We had a great time! The girls all came over and we had desserts to munch on. I made these cute melted snowman cookies I found on Pinterest. We spent the night chatting, and then played the gift exchange game I know as White Elephant. The game is played where you can steal gifts others have opened. Shawn ended up with a floating fountain that looks like a mug.... which he stole from me. Because he stole my gift at the end of the game, I opened the last gift and it was... a shisha (you may call it a hookah). Everyone was laughing and wished they had picked that gift, and Shawn was excited because he knew he would get to have it. He tried it out the next day! 

 Snowman cookies

 

Shawn and his shisha

A few days later we hosted another similar get together with our close friends that live in the same complex as we do. (December 13) Again, we had an array of yummy sweets including snowman cookies, and we played the White Elephant game. It was another fun time with lots of laughter as Shawn ended up with a small purse. It was very practical as it had a package of tissues in it (there is usually no toilet paper in the bathrooms) and it became mine. I ended up with a nice Abu Dhabi coffee mug. It was another pleasant evening with our extended family here before they all headed of on their winter adventures. 

 

The crew

 Shawn and his new purse :)

Christmas Eve was a great desert experience. Our church hosted a get together in the dunes, next to one of the largest dunes I have seen yet. We all brought food potluck style and set up tables and blankets. When everyone arrived, groups of people began to climb the dune. With 3 weeks to go before my due date I thought... why not. At least I got my exercise for the day. It was a challenge, but worth it when we got to the top. We enjoyed an amazing sunset from on top of the desert before heading down to eat and visit with friends. A group of children from the church acted out the story of Jesus' birth as it was read after a bonfire had been lit. It was cute, and a couple of Emirati locals came down to sit and watch. This was followed by Christmas carols, but we didn't stay long because I had Christmas cookies to bake! We headed home and made a ton of Christmas cookies, some of which to be left out for Santa. We also have been cat sitting, so we headed next door for some kitty cuddles before heading to bed! 

 

Locals dune bashing

 

View from up top

 

View from the bottom

 

Making cookies

 

Ready for Santa

 

Kitty we are watching

 

 Christmas morning Santa came and Shawn and I exchanged gifts. He got an Armani wallet and I got a new bag. We also got some other things such as games to play together and candy in our stockings. We kept it a low key Christmas this year because we were more focused on our coming bundle of joy! After Christmas together we finished getting food ready and headed over to some friends for another Christmas celebration. I made a veggie wreath dish I found on Pinterest that turned out very yummy, and of course more snowmen cookies. We ate and made new friends, and then there was another round of White Elephant. There were some funny gifts; such as onion goggles, a scooter, and the teddy bear Shawn brought. Shawn and I both stole our gifts, and I ended up with some Body Shop lotion and he got some nice classic books. After the game, we were introduced to Christmas crackers. You pull them like a wishbone, and they create a loud “crack”. Inside are fun little things like jokes and a hat. It was fun to learn about another tradition from a different part of the world. Overall it was a great Christmas day! 

Santa came!

 

 

Christmas with friends

 

My wreath

 

Christmas crackers! 

We had a great time of Christmas celebrations over here in a different part of the world, and are so excited that every Christmas after this will be spent with our greatest gift... our baby boy!