SagaUnscripted: An Expat Family and Their Adventures

Lighting at the Emirates Palace, Abu Dhabi

2013-05-23T11:40:00.000-06:00

There are many things to notice in the details of a palace, and I do not have the slightest clue about the basics of decorating or architecture. However, something that caught my eye the most at Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi were the light fixtures.

The ones in this passageway were some of the more simple.

Several forms of lamps in an almost feathery or palm frond pattern were scattered throughout the decor of the building:

Some had more intricate bases or metal work:

And the sometimes muted and sometimes highly polished gold in every area accented by cut glass or jewels also appeared in the light fixtures.

It was as if the gold picked up the light and reflected it back with a more subtle glow.

Seen in Abu Dhabi 9

2013-05-21T10:00:00.000-06:00

Asafoetida... yes, I had to look it up. Perhaps some interesting things about this ground up perennial herb resin are that it has a nickname of "devil's dung" and supposedly "reduces the growth of indigenous microflora in the gut, reducing flatulence^.^"

Piroshki

2013-05-16T00:15:00.001-06:00

Since almost every nationality in the world can be found in Abu Dhabi, I've learned just as much or more about other cultures as I have the Emirate one. Annnnd, since one of the best parts of any new culture is figuring out how they cook, I was very excited when my friend from Uzbekistan taught me how to make piroshki:

A simple mixture of either yogurt or cream with flour, is the base for the dough. Egg or baking powder can be used for leavening and a dash of salt for flavor... and that's it. Mix it until it isn't sticky, (we didn't even measure, just started with about two cups of yogurt and added flour until it was soft, but easy to handle without sticking to fingers.) If you'd like to see the recipe in Russian, check it out here... This is the one approved by my friend, anyhow. Some English ones in .pdf can be found here.

For the filling, anything can be used, but since meat can be very expensive, one traditional filling is pumpkin. We chopped onion very fine and cooked it in butter until transparent and then added grated pumpkin. To this mixture we added sugar to taste and let it cook down until very soft. Apple is another popular filling that I might have to try later. I had never tried savory onion and pumpkin also mixed with sugar, but it was a really nice flavor.

Stuffing the pumpkin inside of the circles of dough, pinching the seams closed and then frying them reminded me of making pupusas in Guatemala...

They were delicious!

Cloud Seeding: Scientific Rainmakers in the Desert

2013-05-09T01:45:00.000-06:00

If you've never heard of cloud seeding, it's basically shooting frozen air or chemicals into the atmosphere to enhance the weather conditions, like rain. This is practiced in Abu Dhabi leading to about a week of rainy days. I'm not so sure of the long-term effects from something like this, but since I can't control that, we just enjoyed having the rain while it lasted!

Look, there's actually water on the side of the road! This picture taken entering Dubai with Ibn Battuta Mall visible in the background.

Visit to Ghayathi in the Western Region of Abu Dhabi

2013-05-02T01:37:00.000-06:00

Ghayathi is about a 2.5 hour drive from Abu Dhabi, and further from the city in a more country, desert setting.

We saw a tent outside of a big fancy home with a satellite on one side and water/sink hooked up on the other.

Like all of Abu Dhabi, pictures of the leaders abound.

There was quite a bit of structured green places in Ghayathi.

We've heard there are more camel and horse stables around here also... and Talia is really interested in finding those!

Seen In Abu Dhabi 8

2013-04-25T23:49:00.001-06:00

A Bedouin tent outside of a big, fancy home in Ghayathi, Abu Dhabi's desert region. Going to the desert is a way to connect with nature over the weekend for many families in this region. It was interesting to see the satellite dish and sink hooked up outside of the tent, though.

Kids Unscripted; Chapter 15

2013-04-18T05:24:00.000-06:00

Talia: "Purple and grape rhyme when you look at them, just not when you say them."
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Talia: "My eyes are getting tired. They make me feel like there's a half-onion laying around somewhere."
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Talia: "I want to be a thing-maker when I get big."
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Talia: "Elias, you're my favorite brother!"
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Talia: "Is this vitamin good for if you accidentally eat a bug?"
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Talia: "Mommy, I don't think my brain is working right. I tried to turn on my dreams last night and they would baaarrrely work!"
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Me: "Talia, where is your plate?"
Talia: "Sitting patiently on the table waiting for something to fill it up!"
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Talia: "Mama, you're my favorite thing to play with."
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Me: "Talia, what do you think we should make for breakfast?"
Talia: "Scrambled egg and peanut butter sandwiches!"
Me: "All together? Ewwwwww!"
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Talia: "What if you had a voice like a tum-nimmy song?"
Me: "What is a 'tum-nimmy'?"
Talia: "It's a special kind of mouse song."
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Elias: "Waaaaaah"
Ben: "Why's Elias crying?"
Talia: "I put his shoes on his hands..."
Elias: "WAAAAAAHHH"
Ben: "Now why is he crying?"
Talia: "Because I took the shoes OFF of his hands... and that just doesn't make sense!"
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{Note: Angry Bird stuffed animals are a big thing in the U.A.E. So I told Talia what they were and she said:}
Talia: "I want the play the 'birdy get out of the rubberband' game!"
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Talia: "Sometimes 'helpers' make things even harder, don't they?"
Me: "Haha, how did you figure that out!"
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Elias' 16-month-old guide to understanding his talk:

"Balala" = "Banana"
"booboo" = "I have a dirty diaper..."
"Biaper" = "diaper"
"BITE" = "I think I'm going to die if I don't get food in my mouth right NOW!"
"tay-too" = "thank you"
"boom" = "broom"
"tee-koh" = "tickle"
"dedos" = Spanish for "fingers" or "toes"
"ish" = "shoes"
"down!" = this can mean "up" or "down" depending on where he is at the moment.
"uh!" = "up"
"Dada" = "Papi" (and we've never called him anything else, so I'm not sure why he's saying 'Dada...')
"dis" = "this"
"Pahpah" = "Pawpaw"
"ow-sigh" = "outside"
"beh" = "bear"
"nai-nai" = "night-night"

Then there are words like: "bye bye, Mama, wow and Talia" that don't need any translation.
He understands exponentially more than he says at this point in time. I have a feeling it won't be long before he is talking my ears off just as much as his older sister.

Sandstorms, Lightning Shows and Earthquakes

2013-04-11T05:00:00.000-06:00

This week has held quite a bit of crazy climate.

What started as a breeze, turned into a strong wind which then became a full-blown sandstorm.

The wind then blew in some rain apparently and a friend of ours caught this photo of an excellent lightning show:

Then, an earthquake in Iran caused many of the really tall buildings (65 stories etc.) get evacuated temporarily. Emirates247.com reported:

The UAE’s National Center Of Meteorology and Seismology (NCMS) spoke to Emirates 24|7 confirming the same, saying: “An earthquake has struck South of Iran measuring 6.2. The tremors were felt in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah because of its epicentre.”

Iran had several casualties from the earthquake.

Thankfully, no tsunami on the gulf is expected as a result.

Desert Taxi

2013-04-04T11:25:00.001-06:00

Dancing Elephants

2013-03-28T01:36:00.001-06:00

Talia drew these elephants wearing high heels (she didn't get that idea from me) and dancing in the water.

"They are scaring the crocodile away" she said, "but the duck can stay to play and splash around."

Seen in Abu Dhabi 7

2013-03-13T23:03:00.002-06:00

Have you ever seen pomegranate molasses?

International experiences at the park in Abu Dhabi: Who Needs the Same Language to Play?

2013-03-12T02:04:00.001-06:00

Abu Dhabi is an awesome place for a blending of an estimated 200 cultures and languages. This is always evident to me at the parks and playgrounds.

I recently saw this in action: A little girl about Talia's age was jabbering away in a language I couldn't figure out. My best guess would be Russian... She didn't speak any English and Talia didn't understand a word she said either- But they were still communicating! It was fun to watch them communicate in 'kid language' jumping up and down and laughing at each other and pointing at stuff and running and chasing without knowing the same words! When we had to leave Talia waved and said "bye" and the girl waved and responded.

Who needs to speak the same language to play and have fun!? Apparently, not children.

Kids Unscripted; Chapter 14

2013-03-07T17:45:00.000-06:00

Talia: (to Ben with her play food set) "Would you like a big tonk of icecream on a cone?"
Ben: "What's a 'tonk?'"
Talia: "A big 'ole scoop!"
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Talia: "Why don't they make high-toed shoes instead of just high heeled shoes?
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Me: (to Ben as we are driving back from Dubai) "I wonder if Elias is hungry..."
Elias: "BIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITE!"
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Talia: "I'm an 'iguala!"
Me: "What's an 'iguala'?'"
Talia: "It's like an iguana and a koala at the same time!"
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Ben: (to Talia) "I wonder what you'll look like when you're 25..."
Talia: "I guess you'll just have to wait and find out because I don't know either."
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Me: (to Talia) "Do you want some spicy pasta?"
Talia: "No, because it might make me catch on fire!"
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Me: (to Elias) "Do you want to sit up here?"
Elias: "DOWN!"
Me: (later) "Do you want to go up stairs?"
Elias: "DOWN!"
Me: "What's the opposite of 'up,' Elias?"
Elias: "DOWN!"
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Talia: "I want to use all of the colors of the alphabet!"
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Talia: "When I was little, I had surgery and the doctor took out the bad chimney so it wouldn't mess up the good one."
Ben: "Chimney!? Do you mean 'kidney'?"
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Talia: "I'm going to draw this with 'pork dots.'"
Me: "What are 'pork dots'?"
Talia: "Like polka dots, but with little pigs everywhere!"
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Me: "What are you drawing, Talia?"
Talia: "Something fuzzy-armed and toady-eyed!"
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Ben: "Talia, are you made out of questions?"
Talia: "No, I'm made out of a little piece of my Mommy, a little piece of my Papi and dirt."
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Talia: "Why doesn't a toad have a neck?"
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Talia: "Mommy, do we have some sort of telescope bone, like behind our eyes or something?"
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Talia: "This lotion smells yummy! But I guess I won't eat it since it's not a food like mashed potatoes or something..."
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Talia: "Do a lot of people have straight hair?"
Me: "Yes."
Talia: "Do a lot of people have curly hair?"
Me: "Yes."
Talia: "Well, I guess that just means there are a lot of people..."
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Me: "Talia, how much soup do you want?"
Talia: "Enough so that I don't have too much..."

Abu Dhabi International Triathlon 2013

2013-03-02T03:36:00.000-06:00

The beach has been blocked off for a couple of weeks now in preparation for something big... but I wasn't sure what. Today, we found out, it was for the Abu Dhabi International Triathlon.

Aileen took this photo of the cultural dance at the finish line of the triathlon, making it a unique Abu Dhabi experience.

Beach Days in the Arabian Gulf

2013-02-28T10:44:00.000-06:00

Beautiful spring like temperatures combined with the fact that we live a block from what is here called the Arabian Gulf, have meant we've been able to enjoy a lot of beach days lately! This is the same gulf that we can see people para sailing while we eat supper sometimes.

Talia really loves the water.

Right now, Elias' favorite part is the sand.

These guys have the job of raking the beach. It's hard to be excited about a job that seems to be pretty futile.

Round and Round the Zabeel Park...

2013-02-21T07:54:00.000-06:00

About once a month we visit the neighboring city of Dubai. It's about a 2 hour drive with lots of desert to look at, 120-140 kilometer per hour speed limits, on a 4 lane road with constantly weaving traffic. I do not envy Ben's preference to drive! Dubai, once we get there is in a tumultuous state of road construction, but will be very nice when finished.

Parks in the Emirates are a wonderful thing to experience this time of year, as the average temperatures have been in the range of the beautiful early spring temperatures of the States. Parks are also ranging in size from small ungated swing sets to humongous landscaped areas with multiple entrances with a fee. We were invited to visit a park in Dubai that had at least 6 separate entrances. Another couple who lives in Dubai went with us, and we had a map, so we felt prepared. We were supposed to find the 5th gate and meet our friends close to the entrance. So we drove there with a map, and found the gate... but there was no obvious way to get the car to the gate! We looped around twice, and finally had to ask a park maintenance truck guy how to get there. He tried to explain in limited English, then gave up and told us to follow him. Then, the guy who works at the park, also went the obvious way and couldn't enter either... so we followed him around again and finally, finally found the entrance. Then we got a call: they had moved to gate 1. Mercifully, instead of looping around for another hour, our friend just drove over and guided us there.

Once inside, though, it was a huge place full of families picnicking, kids riding 4 wheeled bicycles and lots of other things. Supposedly this park has a ton of things, according to this website with information about it:

"The main features include a 45-metre high Panoramic Tower, Technology Zone that comprises technological interactive displays, Space Maze, which is an electronic maze, Sports Area including sports courts and clubhouse, Barcode Garden, which includes hi-tech displays and water features, and Alternative Energy Zone featuring interactive displays on alternative energy such as solar, wind, geo-thermal tidal, etc. The park also consists of a lake provided with water cascades, wave machine, geyser, boat hiring, laser projection on water screen in the lake, and a lakeside restaurant, and skate park." Other features include the Mega Bowl amphitheatre with a seating capacity of 2,000, for group wedding parties, and services required for different types of performances; Imax Theatre with a seating capacity of 450, associated with retail and food and beverages facilities; BMX trail, adventure play area, and adventure golf; function plaza for special occasions such as launching a new product, small special markets and parties; as well as road train, water gardens and water features, retail and food and beverages outlets, exhibition building, coffee shop and other amenity buildings."

I think my favorite part, though, was the time spent in the car with friends as we were trying to find the place and then with the friends we met at the park. Ben's quote from Spain was echoed several times through this trip as well: "At least we're all together!"

Seen in Abu Dhabi 6

2013-02-14T06:37:00.000-06:00

An interesting spice:

Kids Unscripted; Chapter 13

2013-02-08T06:29:00.001-06:00

Talia: "Guess what, I learned how to clean my mouth with just a napkin! A dry one!"
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Talia: "Mommy, I took a bite and it made my back hurt!"
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Talia: "I'm going to throw the Kleenex in the fire... I wonder what color it will turn!?"
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Talia: (after getting licked by the puppy) "Now I'm just sitting here with a licked nose!"
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Talia: "I picked up that rock and the ants growled at me so I ran away!"
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Talia: "I'm like a line (shape) now, so I'm more like a grasshopper. Elias is like a ball, so he's more like a ladybug."
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Talia: "You can't make a present for yourself, you have to make it for someone else!"
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Talia: "Sometimes tangles are like two snakes fighting!"
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Talia: "Does your brain hold your hairs in?"
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Talia: "When you stop growing, it's like when an elevator gets to the top, you can't go up anymore."
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Ben: (to Talia) "What are you digging in your nose for? Are you looking for gold?"
Talia: "No, I'm looking for raisins!"
Ben: *GAG*
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Talia: (to me) "Are you concentrating the whole house?"
Me: "Do you mean 'cleaning?'"
Talia: "Yes!"
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Talia: (holding two sticks and pretending they are a violin/fiddle... and then giving one to Elias)
"Here Elias, you play a little music-tar"
Me: "What's a music-tar?"
Talia: "A type of gui-tar that hasn't been invented yet."
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Talia: "Mommy... my spring roll is slowly turning into a salad on my plate. I think I need a fork...

Loss: Coping With Death From Abroad

2013-01-31T16:41:00.000-06:00

One of the hard parts of living so far from family is never knowing when will be the last time you see someone alive. Health and youth are not immune to accidents. Age and infirmity do not necessarily rush death. But what if you do have an idea that it's the last time?

We've just experienced both the expected and the unexpected within a week.

When we visited this winter break, one of the challenges was knowing how to balance the hope for recovery from a very grave illness with the reality of what normally happens: death.We accepted reality and still held on to hope... which produces another challenge: When someone has made a monumental impact on your life, it's hard to balance wanting to squeeze all of the time with them possible and just letting things flow naturally so that the last bit of normalcy can create memories to savor.

But then, we lost another family member first, unexpectedly. And we were sad. And we were thankful we had visited just a month or so ago. And we were thankful we DID have so many great memories of both people.

Living an international life makes room for many different memories and relationships. We're glad that we have the base of strong family relationships in the States of people who genuinely want the best for us and, though they miss us, are also happy that we are able to experience so many things. We are also glad that we are living our dreams now instead of waiting for everyone to be gone and then be left with less experience and energy to go abroad... but it is a two-edged decision. Being abroad helps you appreciate family more, which means you miss them more, pack more into the tangible moments you get and that the distance softens any would-be irritating qualities. It's not as easy to take people for granted this way. We're grateful for such a strong family bond. We're grateful for all of the new people we've been able to meet. We hate to be away when the family is coping with death. There is always this tenuous relationship between loving and letting go for both sides.

While Ben was discussing if he would go back for the funeral, he weighed the expense with the experience and ended with the thought: "what's money, anyways, if you can't use it as a tribute to the relationships in life." Because really, that's the point. The formative relationships we had with family enrich every experience we have now.

Life abroad highlights the ups and downs: You have to love hard when you get the chance and appreciate the chances you get.

Jet Lag and Waffles

2013-01-24T17:15:00.002-06:00

Jet lag is serious business when you're flying 10 hours into the future with a baby deeply rooted into a routine sleeping schedule. What this means for us is that Elias wakes up at 2 in the morning yelling "Bite! Bite!" and wanting to run around and play.

So what do you do when it's 2 AM and you can't sleep and everyone's hungry?

Make waffles!

Talia seems to be the one least affected by jet lag at the moment... perhaps it comes from tapping into her night owl tendencies and going to bed at supper rather than earlier:

If nothing else, I've learned how spoiled I was with a baby on a routine. Supposedly it takes a day for every hour you are off schedule to adjust back to routine, so we've got a good week left to try out this theory. I've also learned how much I love this recipe for waffles:

1 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
2 eggs
1 3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup oil
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup wheat germ OR wheat bran OR quick oats OR fruit OR whatever (I used quick oats.)

Mix up and can be used for pancakes or waffles. Double recipe for more than 4 people.

*Disclaimer* Waffles, though delicious, do not aid in remedying jet lag. They do produce symptoms of slight "swelling" of the midsection if consumed often enough. Especially slathered in real butter and local honey. You should try them anyway.

Kids Unscripted: Chapter 12

2013-01-17T22:24:00.000-06:00

Talia: "What happens if the road curves and you keep going straight?"
Me: "I think you should ask Papi, he did that one time..." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Talia: "One way to make a baby have fun is to skip while holding her!" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Talia: "That burp just grabbed some gas from my tummy and threw it out!
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Talia: "Do you know of a vacuum cleaner that flies when you hold the handle?"
Me: "Hmmm, nooo, not yet..."
Talia: "It's probably in a tornado..."
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Aunt Chel: "Talia, do you want to help make peach cobbler?"
Talia: "Yes, I want to make peach toddler!"
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Talia: "What would happen if you were in Abu Dhabi and you got the juice from a pear and you put it in a plate and you took it outside?"
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Talia: "What would happen if you took something too tiny to see, stretched it out and stuffed something small inside it and closed it up and then smashed it?"
Temaw:(what she calls her grandma) "Maybe nuclear fusion!?!?"
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Talia: "(Aunt Chel) has (stuffed) lions and tigers and zebras in her room, so I shut the door really fast so they wouldn't get out!"
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Talia: " Babies need two seatbelts, but big kids only need one.... but really big people probably need three."
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Elias: "Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh!"
Talia: "Elias, when you don't get your way you're supposed to say 'Oh, well!'"
Me: LOL!

NOT Seen in Abu Dhabi...

2013-01-10T22:28:00.000-06:00

Visiting the States for winter break has allowed us some memories that we wouldn't have had in Abu Dhabi... like: wearing mouse ear muffs in cold weather!

Finding snails to feed the chickens:

Playing with the snowman that her grandma put in the freezer when it snowed while we were out of town.

We are really enjoying all of the different-ness of the weather and environment and soaking up memories to take back with us.

Seen in Abu Dhabi; 5

2013-01-03T06:55:00.000-06:00

The Corniche part of Abu Dhabi is designed for bikes of all kinds. You can rent four-wheeled bikes, trikes, bicycles with covered carts pulled behind for small children to ride in and I'm sure there's more. However, these are restricted to the path built for them so that the parks are safer for pedestrians and small children.

Winter Break 2013: Distance Heightens Appreciation of Family

2012-12-28T11:02:00.003-06:00

Ben's teaching position get's three breaks: summer, spring and winter. For the summer break, since we hadn't been in Abu Dhabi very long, we just took a short trip up to Spain and Portugal. We planned to spend winter in Abu Dhabi, enjoying the 70 degree temperatures and then visit the States in the summer.

If you know anything about plans, then you know that it is best to hold them loosely and be willing to adapt to new circumstances. A phone call from home about a serious family illness changed our plans and had us on a 29 hour traveling spree to the U.S. When it comes to priorities and plans, family is more important. It's nice to be able to make that decision at the last minute and manage to visit so far away. I recognize how much of a blessing that is this time- if it had happened at another time we might not have been able to come. Really, though the sickess is not the best reason to come, it provided an opportunity to show our family how much we love and value them. They are worth a trip home at the last minute if needed.

While we are here we are soaking up the cold, rainy temperatures to bring back and remember in the desert. Otherwise annoying, drizzly drives are appreciated and filed away for searing, humid days and family is cherished. Homecooking and REAL hugs are savored. Would we appreciate family and drizzly days as much if we didn't live so far away? I wish I could say we would be as grateful, but it's invariable that human nature would have us taking things for granted in the way our tendency for survival drums down the high emotions with mundane normalcy... So perhaps living so far away is helping us to appreciate them more. Right now, we are thankful.

Kids Unscripted; Chapter 11

2012-12-27T06:25:00.000-06:00

Talia: (drawing) "I'm going to make more than one ant so that he doesn't get lonesome."
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Talia: "Dates are like God's candy!"
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Talia: (to Elias, who refuses ANYTHING that remotely resembles baby food) "Don't cry if you can't get it when you didn't want it!"
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Talia: (looking at a rare Happy Meal of fries and chicken nuggets.) "Um, mommy, that's only junk food. Can I have a cucumber, please?"
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Talia: "Can you tell me a story about a brown and white rabbit named 'potato?'"
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Talia: "That's not bell pepper, it's the smiley faced kind."
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Talia: (after seeing the silly string on the sidewalk from the 41st anniversary of the U.A.E.) "Thread you use to sew must be called serious string."
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Talia: "Mommy, do they use a really big marker to make the stripes on the road?"
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Talia: "Mommy, you're a really good potato head doctor!"
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Me: (to Elias) "Here's some water."
Elias: (points from the water to his mouth.)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Talia: "I was trying to read that book while I was sleeping, but it was hard 'cuz my eyes were closed." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Talia: "When I have just one ear plugged up, I feel like a boat that's going to tip over." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Talia: "Mommy, do you know what ribs are like? They are like a bowl that is cut in half and then turned around!" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~