Jennifer went to her principal's wedding. Here's the scoop:
My first Emirati wedding was interesting. It was on a Monday night and did not start until 8:30. We went as a group of teachers so as to not stand out. Yeah right. Got my dress and shoes for about $50. Very reasonable. Straightened my hair and had a co-worker do my make-up. I did not bring one ounce of make-up into this country. We left our house about 8:30 and arrived at the wedding hall about 8:50ish. That was a chore in and of itself. Of course no one really knew how to get to the hall. One teacher told me it was by a mosque. Okay. There is a mosque just about on every corner here. So that was not very helpful. Using facebook we were able to get directions to the place. Back to the story. So we get there and we enter into this small convention center. Many women in abayas. Not a man in sight. The men stay outside next to the wedding hall all night. We sat down and there was some sort of custard, pudding, and other light food on the table. For the next two hours we would be entertained by belly dancers and other short dances. There were many chances to have tea, coffee, dates, and chocolate throughout the night. Some meat came out wrapped in a pita to eat. There was chicken, turkey and some other unidentifiable meat. I ate the turkey and the chicken. Very tasty. The next course was several parts of the goat on a bed of rice and chickpeas. We even had the head and his teeth were facing me. I left the table to go and visit over teachers. At 10:30 the bride came in and began her 15 minute walk from the back to the front of the facility. She would very slowly walk and stop for looks from the crowd. She finally made it to the front of the stage and sat upon this huge sleigh life contraption. She sat there and we were able to go onto the stage area and greet her. We had to walk down this catwalk to get to her. The catwalk seemed like it could barely hold the 100 people standing there. We quickly said hi and got off but not before we heard a crackle sound. At 11 the groom came in with her dad and brothers walking him down the aisle. They sat for a little bit and then cut a cake. The cake was orange and white, our school colors. Gross. But after the groom came in we left but not before we stopped for a photo. Oh yeah, there was no dancing. Except for the entertainment while we were waiting for the bride to come. I got home about 11:30 and had to go to work the next day. We were all dragging. My principal will be out for a month due to the marriage. She has already been out for about a week. Before she left she was presented with a necklace and earring set from a very fancy jewelry store here. Plus some oud and perfumes. We each donated some money towards it. You will never see the ceremony because that is done behind closed doors but maybe with a witness or two. We are able to partake only in the celebration part. Glad I was able to see and experience this at least once in my life. It is so different than a US wedding. The women kept on their abayas and maybe only 10 girls had pageant like dresses on. They may have been family or bridesmaid type girls. Not sure. Another teacher is getting married in May so there may be another wedding in my future. Inshallah!!
Jennifer and her co-workers at her principal's wedding
Just a random photo!
Last Thursday - Manor Hall (the kids' school) had their World Culture Day. They had various booths and performances. You could walk around, sample food from all over the world, dance, and enjoy good company!
Cole and Rowan hanging out - waiting for their siblings to perform!
Caralyn and some of her classmates performed a Jordanian dance.
Just like home!
All the kids kept talking about was getting icecream from the icecream truck!
The UAE booth had an awesome area! They brought in sand and made it like a desert! They had a fire going where you can hang out, and they have a ton of food! They did some performances but as luck would have it we missed it because Caralyn had to go to the bathroom and it couldn't wait! We thought we'd get to see it earlier because they announced it but it was prayer time and so all the men stopped and prayed right there in the grass. It was neat to watch it. The gentleman in the pic above invited me to join him, but I decided I'd sit back and watch. And Cole really wanted to join them.
Caralyn and Camden! Cam doesn't smile.
Love this pic! This girl, Mouza, just loves playing around with Cole.
I think Cole has met his match!
Jennifer and Kim - her coworker.
One interesting thing was in front of the lead guy - there was a pillow that was just in the area where you could sit and relax. They put the pillow upright in front of him. Not sure why. Wanted to ask - but restroom called!
At the USA booth you could walk the red carpet in front of the HOLLYWOOD sign!
Cole and some friends.
Some Jordanian dancers. They had quite a crowd!
See the guy in the yellow vest? There are quite a few of them all over this place. All they do is watch the grass to make sure no one gets on it. And if someone does, they blow this whistle! It's loud and annoying when you hear two or three every 2 minutes or so. And it's even more crazy when folks are on the grass taking a photo, and they get mad when the whistle is blown for them to get off. One guy started yelling at the vest guy. It's like - hello - rules are posted at the gate!
I thought this was REALLY random. The Eifel Tower.
And why would this be here in Al Ain?
Cole was finding his "inner-peace" I guess.
I know he had to be getting some crazy looks!
And Caralyn just laid out!
And it wouldn't be a real UAE location without the Sheikhs!
After the Al Ain Paradise visit we headed to Al Ain Mall to eat dinner at the new Papa Johns Pizza! It was great! And we even had entertainment! There was a stage and some clown came on to do a show/games with kids. And of course - Cole wants to go on stage! So he gets picked! They go down the line asking the kids what their name is and they also ask Cole what country he is from - since it's obvious he's not from the UAE or the region. He says, "TEXAS!" Just like a Texan! So they have 5 girls and 5 boys. Each person has a balloon tied around their leg with a regular baloon off of it. When the music is playing you just dance around. When the music stopped, you were to run and pop a balloon on the oposite team! Girls vs Boys! Cole was all over the place - with dancing AND popping the balloon. When it got down to the last 3 there was one girl and two boys - Cole being one of them. And one clown said he was out - we never did figure out why. One can assume I suppose!
The next day we took the kids to a park. They each got to bring a friend. Well this happened after Cole already told Moyid he could go! Caralyn brought Cene. They had a good time! It was perfect weather too!
A UAE bayou....of course - almost 100% dry!
Not sure why - but I am so excited to watch the dates as they grow. I saw the end where they sag down. And most of them are in nets so if they fall off the stem they can still be used. I am guessing there are companies who tend to these. Every few days I'm going to go to the same date palm and photograph this process! Can't wait!
Arab Idol! Haven't seen it yet - but I'm sure it's all in Arabic!
So with all the wind around lately - the sand just comes right in by the door! We swept it up and today there is already another pile. But finally the wind stopped.
We're counting the days until our next break! And our first set of visitors are arriving on the 24th!!! We're excited!!!
Stay Tuned...
