Another One Bites The Dust!

The last few months there has been lots of talk and gossip about the latest teachers who left.  We call these people “runners”!  Lots of runners lately.  They pack what they can in their suitcases and head to the airport and off they go – probably never to return again – EVER!  When I hear about these people who just abandon their job and leave the country, I never really question why.  I think anyone who is a teacher here can sympathize with the runners.  It is, however, very interesting that people are running during their 2^nd year here.  But again, I sort of get why they left and don’t blame them.  But it does cause an issue for our employer who then has paid rent for the year, electric bills left unpaid, and it seems to take forever to get a new tenant in the place.  And if you are a new teacher moving into a home where the previous tenant just “ran”, you have the hassle of dealing with transferring the water/electric in your name and that’s a whole different blog entry!  I have had the thought, “If Jennifer was okay with us pulling a ‘runner’ then I’d be on the first plane,” but then I remember the things that are keeping us here for our full 2 years: the opportunity to travel, the friends we do have here, and more importantly the end-of-contract bonus pay we get.  We’re talking two months’ salary for each of us when we leave here in July 2012. That’s a nice chunk of change to walk away with, in addition to our summer pay.  So when I consider those reasons I take a deep breath, and walk into the classroom and attempt to do some quality teaching.  And I suspect that when we all return from our travels in January that we will hear of many – MANY – more runners.    Not us though!  Well….not as of now.

The kids have been busy with Rugby – and they LOVE it!  We went to Abu Dhabi a few weekends ago for a rugby tournament. It was the kids’ first game!  They lost all of the games they played.  There was one try (try = goal) which was scored by Cole.  And when the coach gave the kids their medals, he said Caralyn got the most tags (we call them flags like in flag football).  They played every game since there were only 7 in their age bracket for their team.  They were worn out that night! 

We’re counting the down until we go on safari in South Africa!  We can’t wait!!!  We decided to do something “Real Housewives of Atlanta”ish too!  We booked a tour with a highly recommended tour company out of the Langa Township (the oldest Apartheid segregated township).  We’re going to tour the township (which includes a performance from their Happy Feet dance group where these children  dance and beat with their gumboots – which are rain boots to use American folks), and we’re going to have the kids pick up school supplies and other things we think the Happy Feet kids would like.  I think it’ll be good for our kids to do something like this.  And they’ll love it!  Can’t wait! 

And we haven’t even taken our South Africa trip and we’ve booked our spring trip!  When we first got to the UAE, we saw an article on The Maldives and immediately we both wanted to go.  But then we decided to make plans for Europe, Sri Lanka, and South Africa.  Until now.  We decided to do a few Europe stops on the way home next July (last July we were not able to go to Disney Paris since my sister passed away suddenly).  So this spring we’re going to go to Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, and the Maldives!  It’s a 13 day trip and will be amazing I’m sure! 

The next two weeks before our winter break – we’ll be busy with various things.  We’re heading to Global Village in Dubai this weekend.  Global Village is basically a shopping center/flea market set-up with booths representing countries from all over the world.  I think this year they added 16 more countries.  There is a lot of junk as well as some very nice things!  If I could just convince Jennifer to buy some African masks to bring home!  She’s not interested.  We will celebrate National Day here on Sunday.  It’s the UAE’s 41^st birthday!  Well – according to come car decorations we saw on Monday it’s the 41th National Day!  We’ll cruise through town center and check out all the cars and see how patriotic these people are!  I wonder if when their country turns 237 years old they’ll exhibit the same patriotism.   Then we head to Dubai the following weekend to visit Santa and some Christmas festival.  The weekend after that – we head to South Africa!  And when we get back from SA, we’ll have family waiting in Dubai for us!  We’ve missed our family soooo much!  It’ll be a fun break – a busy break – and a well-deserved break. 

Not to bring the mood down – but – this is my first holiday season since my sister died.  While I’m sure it was a whole lot more difficult for my parents, it really seemed normal to me – only because I was not home last Thanksgiving.  We worked Thanksgiving Day and so it was like a normal time of year for me.  Christmas will be the next holiday and we’ll be in South Africa.  I’m sure when my parents are here visiting after Christmas, I will frequently remember the memories I have of my sister visiting me last spring.  I am sure it will be different since she will not be here – but then I smile thinking of when I told her last May that we were not going to be coming home for Christmas in 2012 and then I told her she could always come and visit me.  She said something like, “No thanks! – That flight is too damn long.  I did it once, that’s enough!”  I remember my parents and mother-in-law talking at the airport about how the flight wasn’t bad and then Frannie had this crazy look on her face (after flying 16 hours! – and she was somewhat afraid of flying) and says, “I don’t know what flight y’all were on!”  I think the 2^nd year might be more difficult for me, since I’ll be home again, back in our “normal” setting, and she won’t be around.  Each day that passes, it gets easier to grasp the fact that I have no more siblings, that I am my parents only child, and that I will not see my sister until I pass from this life.  I often wonder what life might have been like if my sister hadn’t died.  But since I can’t change the past, I continue to remember her daily – through Facebook posts from her friends/coworkers who still miss her a lot, when my daughter gets sassy or has an attitude, when my kids talk about her and their memories of her, and pictures!  And I rely on these memories to carry me through and remind myself how much worse it could have been. 

Well – that’s enough for now.

Some car decorations we added to our vehicle - to celebrate the 41st National Day here in the UAE!

 

 

These few pics (above/below) are from the weekend we spent out in the western region of Abu Dhabi.  It's about 3 hours from Al Ain, very small, and quiet.  This hotel, Tilal Liwa, was very nice and quiet.  It was a nice weekend away.  We swam alot, met up with a friend, and visited a camel farm where we got to feed camels. 

 

Jennifer and the kids dressed up for the National Day festivities at their schools. 

 

Stay Tuned...

 

Easy Street...

 

What an easy week!  We were off Sunday for the Eid Al Adha holiday.  And many students decided to stay home on Monday and extend their holiday.  Jennifer was missing several and at my school they actually sent the ones who showed up, home.  Then Jennifer’s last three days there were a few kids out but they continued as normal. Not me.  I taught one class, which we did minimal work with the 7 that showed up.  Then the next day I taught one class with 4 students.  Aside from those two classes – no teaching.  And the kids that did show up were sent home around 11.  Made for an easy week.  I am sure the majority will be back at school and ready to learn tomorrow.  They’ll be back at school, but I’m not convinced they’ll be ready to learn. 

One of the EMTs at my school returned on Thursday from the Hajj (the pilgrimage that all Muslims are supposed to make once in their life if they are able and can afford it).  It was fascinating watching all these other teachers come and greet him shaking hands, cheek kisses, and many hugs.  This is something I’ve never really seen – at least not with any of the EMTs.  They’d say, “Hajj Mubarak” which translates to congratulations on complete thing Hajj. We had a breakfast on Thursday in honor of those who completed the Hajj.  They gave them a nice stand and a new Quran.  There were 8 staff members who were honored.  Some it was not their first time doing the Hajj.

And the breakfast was interesting all on its own. It stated at 10 and of course at 10 they’re putting out table cloths and getting ready when most of us arrived at the canteen (our cafeteria).  Rather than wait until they say they are ready, the guys just start sitting down , tearing open the bags of bread (like pita bread) and falafel, the humus containers, and some other interested container with some bean like substance that reminded me of refried beans.  It was like watching animals who haven’t found food in weeks.  I hate to compare them to animals (as kids here think that is one of the worst things you can do – call them animals) but that’s exactly what it looked like.  I actually tried the falafel which was my first time eating it. It wasn’t bad.  Not something I’ll order often. 

This week we celebrated Halloween in the UAE with the traditional trick-or-treating.  The complex we live in has lots of folks from all over the world.  There are quite a few Americans so trick-or-treating is popular.  The kids were so excited.  They racked up quite a bit of candy. There are some very nice costumes, some very nice homemade costumes, and then some that we were not quite sure what it was.  We did see Slash, a washing machine/dryer/laundry basket trio, a camel with no hump (so I guess it was a horse? Or giraffe?), and lots of cut up people.  It was a great time! 

Yesterday the kids had their first rugby match. It was a scrimmage within the team, but the kids really enjoyed it.  Cole really got into it. He was so proud he was able to get the flag of one of the good kids’ belts.  Caralyn ran with the team but was never really wanting catch a pass and run.  When she was passed the ball, she immediately passed it on like this was an organized game of hot potato!  But it is a huge improvement from when she played soccer at 3 yrs old.  She still enjoys playing – so that is all that matters, right!??!?!  I guess! 

Even though we just returned a week ago from Sri Lanka and enjoyed a vacation away, we’re already counting the days until our next holiday!  We have the Hijra (which is like the Islamic New Year) off in a few weeks.  And then our “winter break” starts like December 13^th.  And we can’t wait to experience Cape Town, South Africa and go on safari!  And then the family comes to visit!  It’ll be an awesome time for sure!

One thing that has been hard to adjust to or just accept is the way the housemaids/nannies are treated in this country – and I’m guessing this region.  It’s appalling how they just leave their housemaids/nannies to do everything – all day.  It’s not really a day job.  For many it’s a job as long as the family is awake.  Some get a day off, some do not.  Some get paid more than others.  I’ve heard that their salary depends on where they’re from.  And some feel like just because they pay a little more than their previous employer did, they’re doing them a favor.  A neighbor was shopping one day with her kids and their nanny. When the clerk at the store was handing the bag she handed it to her housemaid/nanny and I think said something about handing the bag to the “slave” – whatever that word is in Arabic (I forgot).  It’s like – really?!?! And yet these folks walk into the mosque and stand “shoulder-to-shoulder” and “foot-to-foot” to show they’re equal before God. Interesting. 

It has been interesting seeing folks who moved here from other countries (like we did) and see how they’ve embraced aspects of this culture – like their attitude towards housemaids/nannies.  And to be able to afford to hire someone to help in your home is great – but when you begin to treat them poorly – that is not great.  It doesn’t matter that they are still better off here, financially, than they were in their home country.  It doesn’t matter that they willingly accept a job with such a low salary.  It doesn’t matter that they don’t ever say anything to you about the treatment. It doesn’t matter that you might treat them better than their previous employer.  It’s so sad when a housemaid/nanny doesn’t even get her day off for the week – when they work 6 days a week already.  Or when they work from 6am until the family is asleep.  So anyway – back to the topic – I was able to see this contract one American teacher gave to a prospective housemaid/nanny.  Just read through it (look below the pictures – you can see the actual contract) and read some of the language. The most absurd part was the fact that this American woman refers to herself as “Madam”.  Really?  What if your last employer wanted to be called Madam __ instead of Mrs. ___.  What happened to basic human rights?  It’s things like this – I will NOT miss when I move back home in about 8 months.

And while I was typing all of this, Cole was watching Yogi Bear and chewing on his finger nails.  Next thing we know – his tooth falls out!  Finally!  It’s been VERY loose the last few weeks but he’s been too scared to just push it out.  He can’t wait for Caralyn to get home  (she’s at a birthday party) so he can show her! 

Our neighbors ready for trick-or-treating!

This was our first year carving pumpkins.  The kids loved it.

 

So this contract below is the one between an American teacher and her perspective housemaid/nanny.  It's disgusting.

 

Okay - so you don't get penalized for being out sick, but you're going to penalize your housemaid/nanny?  Either she takes a day of her vacation or works on her one day a week she gets off.  And the employer will choose that day?  It's so ridiculous. 

MADAM!  Can't believe it. It's even more interesting that since this prospective housemaid/nanny (that isn't going to go work for her) was to start on the 28th of this month and that when she got paid this first month she was pro-rating the salary since it was two days short of the typical month's work.  Really?!?!  We're talking 73 AED which is about $19USD!  I wish this chick's employer took every little dirham they could when she walked in work a minute late, or was on her phone instead of teaching.  Bring her back to reality. 

 

 

 

The Lanka

Here in the UAE we have just finished a very nice holiday weekend.  The Muslim community celebrated Eid Al Adha and we were off of school for several days over a weekend. 

 

We decided this summer that when we have a break - we'd be travelling!  And so we did!

 

We chose to visit Sri Lanka during this holiday.  It's only a 4 hour plane ride from Dubai.  Close and relatively cheap - although other times of year are much cheaper for Sri Lanka vacations.  But life is short and so is our time in this part of the world. 

 

We arrived in Sri Lanka at like 5AM (after a delay and immigration taking forever to get through).  And it took us about 3 1/2 hours to get to our hotel.  The streets are like downtown streets - small and traffic is bad.  And the driving is horrible.  Supposedly the one highway in this area of the country doesn't have a good exit to where we were staying so we just did the coastal road.  It was interesting.

 

There are quite a few pics!  Enjoy!!! We sure did! 

 

We've never been picked up from the airport with our names on a sign!  Even our own family hasn't done that for us!  But Channa did!  Channa was our driver for this holiday.  One would not dare rent a car and drive themselves. The driving is beyond explainable!  We learned about Channa through some friends of ours who used him last spring when they went to Sri Lanka.  He was awesome!

Random cows periodically on the sides of the streets, in the street, in the median, just about everywhere.  Although - the stray dogs were out of control.  In a 25 minute period I think we counted over 50 dogs roaming the streets of Sri Lanka.

Lots of kids walking to school.  Some didn't even move when we were driving by - they just kept walking as we moved around them. 

A wedding car - they decorate the car for the bride and groom to ride in.  According to Channa sometimes they use their own vehicle or hire one.

Not sure what they were doing - we think the elephant was working - moving branches.

Lots of Buddhist temples around Sri Lanka. 

A church - all the religious buildings were very beautiful.

We really liked how green and lush the landscape was!  I think we've just missed seeing grass and trees so much that we really enjoyed the scenery!

 

 

Love this pic!  This was the logo on all the windows.  And the main souvenir shop was Adam and Eve.  I loved the theme.  

At the Eden Resort & Spa - kids enjoying their welcome drink!

View from our hotel room

View of the beach (and the island) from our hotel room

All Cole wanted to do was color - even if he was naked.

 

We all enjoyed the pool - and the kids LOVED the pool.

The beach by the hotel wasn't that great and they are not safe to really swim in.  So we just walked around.  We beached it later at Hikkaduwa Beach.

Fresh seafood daily!

King coconut trees everywhere! 

Believe it or not - the boy eats. 

lots of squirrels - even though we think they're chipmunks.

The kids enjoyed the balcony

 

The 2nd day we headed to Pinnawala, Sri Lanka to see the elephant orphanage and do a little shopping.  We had to leave the hotel at 5AM to get there in time (since it takes forever to drive anywhere!) for the 9:15 events.  Although there was no bathing in the river since there had been so much rain - the levels were too high.  But we got to do everything else!

 

There were a few checkpoints - never saw anyone stopped at any of them.  Just some police, and some armed military guys. 

 

This was hilarious - no warning signs that there was this road issue - just when you see the car get over in front of you - BAM - danger sign!

Another Buddha statue

These are tuk tuks.  A tuk tuk is like the Sri Lankan version of a taxi.  They don't really go that fast (Channa thought maybe around 35-40 km/h) but they get you where you need to go. 

 

Channa loved the kids - and they loved him!

The entrance to the elephant orphanage in Pinnawala, Sri Lanka

 

Saw several of these flowers around the country in water with lily pad like things.  Great photo!

 

We went to feed the elephants first.  The kids were nervous but Cole got over being scared quickly.  Caralyn - not so much. 

They were very gentle elephants and were adorable!

Love this pic!  It was sort of nasty to feel the air coming from their trunks.

 

There was this area where they have elephants lined up for photos - and they'll even take one of your family with your camera!  For a donation of course!!!

They only sell 10 tickets for the bottle feeding but we gave this guy 200 Sri Lankan Rupees (like $1.50USD) and he let the kids feed the elephant.  Channa had as much fun as the kids! 

It was really cool to see the elephants up close and what appears to be a safe and caring environment.

They enjoyed playing in the water and mud.

BEAUTIFUL!

After the orphanage visit - we walked down to a few shops and to see the river where they bath.  Jennifer noticed a window that said POO PAPER.  So she asked Channa what it was, and he took us in. They make paper from the elephant dung.  WHAT?!?!?!  It was fascinating!  They take the dung and dry it out.  Did you know that the dung is 97% fiber since they are vegetarians.  Then they boil the dried dung to kill any bacteria.  Then dry it out again.  Then mix it with water in some machine and then use this screen like thing you see in the pic above.  That dries and forms a rough sheet of paper.  If they want it to be smooth to write on, they send it through a press.  And sometimes they even add dye to make colored paper. And there you have it - POO PAPER!!! 

 

The river area where they typically let the elephants bath in twice a day. 

Jennifer tried a king coconut drink.  She's wasn't really a fan - she thought it was chilled it would be better. High maintenance.

Not many pics of Jennifer on the elephant - she went about 10 feet and then asked to go back.  She was shaking and terrified!  Cole got off too and then joined Caralyn and I on our elephant.  Caralyn was scared and started to cry, but we kept going and she got over it.  She was nervous the whole time - kept reminded me to hold on to the rope and not sit up straight! 

 

On our way home we see this elderly couple and two porcupines. Yes - porcupines!  They have them on leashes and you can take pics with them!  For a fee of course!  I bartered a little because I'm cheap.  We even bought two quills too!  Caralyn was too afraid to sit in the chair and take a pic!  Cole thought it was awesome - even though he was a little scared about it all!

 

We saw several rice patty fields on our way into the jungle/mountainous areas.

After the elephants and shopping we decided to head back to the hotel since it took forever. We also wanted to see a batik factory.  And Channa stopped at this one and they agreed to take us on a short tour.  This process fascinated me!  And we bought two batik pieces we'll frame and hang in our home back in the states when we move back next summer!  So the batik process is multiple steps.  They take the cotton piece and trace a design that is one a piece of paper.  Then they put one color how ever the artist is designing it.  Then they put melted wax on the areas they don't want the color to be on. The wax prevents the ink from bleeding into other areas. Then when that color is dried, they boil the cotton piece in the water to get the wax off.  Then they put wax back on the different areas and add the next color and so on and so on.  When they finish you have this cotton hand painted fabric with many different layers of colors and such.  It's amazing, really! 

Here is their display to show how it works.  It starts from the top left and across and down.  The bottom left one is the final product. 

After she does the brown on yellow they'll add wax and do the next color and then so on and so on. 

 

The different tanks where they dye the fabrics.

 

We were surprised that there are so many (not as many as the UAE but...) KFC's and Pizza Hut's but we only saw like 3 McDonald's.  Guess McD's hasn't been embraced like the rest of the world!  

 

More Buddha.

 

 

Wedding photos - during breakfast one morning.  The wedding ceremony is typically held in the morning - even during a workday. 

 

It was cool to witness this part!  These traditional Sri Lankan dancers perform the processional.  They do their thing as the guests follow them into the hall where the wedding will take place. Then they come back out and do more dancing and singing and drumming as the wedding part follows them in.  It was awesome to see!

Sri Lankan Rupees.  $1 = 128 Sri Lankan Rupees

The Eden Cafe had themed dinners.  This night was a Tex Mex buffet.  It was actually good.  Much better Mexian food than the UAE's version of Mexican!  The problem I had with the hotel was that the men had to have their legs covered.  I didn't bring any pants so they lend you a sarong (a man-skirt!) to wear.  So I had to wear a skirt but several of the girls/women had skirts so short you almost saw their business.  But rules are rules I guess.  I ended up buying two sarongs though.  They're very comfortable. 

This was on our way to Hikkaduwa - they paint and repair these boats just on the side of the road right off the coast. This area was badly damaged from the tsunami in December of 2004. Very sad to see the homes.

 

On our way to Hikkaduwa we visited a turtle hatchery.  This one is a private hatchery. They depend on their ticket sales and donations.  They buy the eggs from fishermen who dig them up at night after the turtles lay them. 

Above you see the mounds - the eggs are buried in a hole. Something like up to 100 eggs get laid by the turtle.  The numbers tell you how long it takes to hatch.  The letters tell you what time of turtle. GT - green turtle.  HB - horn beaked. 

 

Turtle eggs!  Like soft flexible ping pong balls!

Once they're hatched they stay in this tank for 3-5 days before they release them at night. 98% are males and 2% females. They keep the females for several years to keep them safe.

 

I think this was like their umbilical cord - the large opening one is a day old.  The far right one is three days old.

It was cute - when they laid the turtles on the kids hands and up their arms they just laid there and rested

 

The kids signed their guest book.  It was cute.

The "special needs" tank.  They keep these ones here so they're safe. 

The bottom one you see has no limbs.   

a horn beaked - not nice turtles! 

 

Tsunami damaged building

 

 

 

Not impressed. Jennifer and Caralyn loved their seafood but Cole and I did not like their "fried" chicken which was not fried and had an interesting sauce all over it.

We rode a glass bottom boat to see the coral reef and the fish.  The coral was not the nice colorful amazing stuff you see on TV but was still cool to see.  Lots of colorful fish too!  And we saw two HUGE sea turtles.  Lots of dead coral too - the boat driver said it died back in 1998 from some crazy weather conditions - I guess the water was too hot?!?!

I was a little nervous with the waves being so big and this driver using his foot while he looked for the sea turtles. 

A sea turtle.

 

 

 

Our last day in Sri Lanka we went to buy a few last minute items we wanted.  We took a tuk tuk from the hotel.  The kids even got to drive the tuk tuk down a side road and up to the hotel.

 

 

Lots of fruit stands on the side of the road 

 We headed to the beach to buy some shells that some folks were selling. No shells but we did find a man sitting just outside the fence with a monkey, Johnny, and a cobra.  He played his snake charming music and out comes the cobra. 

Finally - she's not afraid of something!

And at some point the damn cobra gets out.  Not cool.  He did get it back in quickly though. 

It was VERY nice to see rain - hear thunder - and feel the breeze of the storm!  We miss that!

 

The last night there was a fire limbo performance!  They got Cole up on stage to do the limbo holding two fire sticks but he chickened out.

 

Our visa!

The airport in Sri Lanka - very old fashioned! 

Some Buddhist monks

 

Our last Buddha sighting! 

There is this cartoon, Freej, about these elderly ladies living in the Middle East.  Fly Dubai (the Middle East version of Southwest Airlines) uses them for their safety demonstration.

 

WHEW!  We had the best time!  It was very humbling seeing this third world county - even though we stayed at a very nice resort - and just seeing how poor some folks really are.  And they were all so friendly and seemed to enjoy their life.  The saddest part of all this was leaving.  We sat waiting for our plane and saw several people crying.  These were the Sri Lankan folks crying.  One young boy who probably left his parent's home not knowing what lies ahead.  Maybe he's coming to the UAE to be a laborer.  Making very little money but more than he'd make in Sri Lanka.  Or the women who are coming to be cleaners or house-maids.  Wiping their tears.  And seeing these two walled areas with glass walls and people piled in to catch that last glimpse of their loved one who is leaving to make more money to help their family.  Mothers left behind holding babies.  Very sad. Reminds us how blessed we are to be living in a foreign country and enjoy the luxuries the UAE has to offer, to travel around the world (South Africa in December!!!), and make memories most of the world doesn't get to make! 

 

Now - back to reality.  Teaching tomorrow. Ugh.....

 

Stay Tuned...