The Week In Review...

Well this week has brought with it some great things!  Some adventures!  Some excitement!  So we got another rental car - the 4th one - after I was backing out at the mall and hit a pole!  Luckily we opted for the full insurance so we only had to pay for the police report which is standard here anyway.  And we really liked that car too!  In a week we'll have it back! 

We started hearing rumors (or rumours) that government teachers are getting a raise.  And this raise is across the board too!  If you are an Emirati teacher, you will supposedly get $15,000 AED (dirhams) which is about $4,000 USD at month more. All others are supposedly getting $5000 AED (dirhams) which is a little under $1400 USD a month.  So if that is the case - we'll be super excited!  But as rumors can turn up to be false - who knows!

This week we had the parent/teacher night at the kids' school.  And as usual we know what to expect.  Cole has difficulty focusing at the end of the day and during any down time. And he is high, academically speaking.  He always participates and has lots of questions.  His teacher mentioned that it would be awesome if there was some gifted type of environment for him to be in.  She said she will start to do some challenging things for him and see how it goes.  And as we talk to her everyday, we know the behavior side of thins.  But she has lots of patience!  And Caralyn's teacher said she is not worried about Caralyn anymore now that she's comfortable and is starting to ask for help when she needs it.  Caralyn does not voluntarily answer questions.  She does work well with several of the kids, but is more likely to go with the flow instead of being the leader.  Academically she is fine which is good since they are in grade 1 which is American curriculum grade 1.  So she is really coming out of her shell and her spelling is really improving just in the last 4 or 5 weeks!  So we're trucking along with learning! 

We're having some minor things done in our villa too!  We're moving our washing machine out of the kitchen and into the maid's quarters which is now our laundry room.  And the guy, Tony, is drilling a hole and hooking up the drain to sink that we never use and so everything will be in our place!  Then we'll look at getting curtains in the other rooms that don't have any yet. 

And we are more than excited about traveling back to the states for Christmas!  We kept watching the prices and we were trying to get a decent price on tickets without a long layover with two five year olds and not in a location where we'd have to worry about any winter weather.  We found a flight from Dubai to Houston - NO STOPS!  And originally it was going to cost $8400!  WOW!  But we saved $2600 by waiting and one night I just happened to check it out and BAM!  So the song, "I'll be home for Christmas" has a whole new meaning to it! 

Scavenger hunt!  Last night while at the Rugby club I was getting a piece of food out of my tooth and the tooth just came right out.  I luckily realized it and just put it back on.  This is the tooth that I just had the root canal on and had a temporary crown put on while we wait for the real one to come from the lab.  Well today after church, I was eating a snack and didn't think to take out the tooth while I ate and I swallowed it!  So in the next day or so, maybe we'll find it!  Back to the dentist tomorrow! 

This week Jennifer had a parent meeting.  The girls left at 11:00 and the parents(moms)were allowed to come from 12-2:30 pm.  Moms started coming about 11:30 and were only worried about how their girls were doing not really behaviors.  They wanted to know where the girls were compared to other girls in the class.  They wanted to know how their daughter could get to the top reading group.  She was able to discuss some behavior concerns but many moms were not that interested.  There of course was a language problem and a few moms would help translate.  She did find out that one girl's uncle lives in Oregon.  The girl wants an American friend.  Jennifer gave her cell number to the mom and hopes they call to set up a play date.  There will also be a big Eid party on Thursday.  Henna will be available for teachers to get that day.  The other teachers kept telling her that it will be okay to bring Cole and Caralyn.  They will dote over American kids.  She will decide if she will bring them or not.  Inshallah!

Al Ain - Town Centre

Angela's HENNA - before the scraping off...

Angela's HENNA after....Caralyn and Jennifer will be getting some this week!

Caralyn and some friends making pumpkins for Halloween.  The far left one is a local kid and I was having a hard time explaining to him what a witch was....Check out Caralyn's pose too!

This reminds me of my sister - Caralyn's saying - "get away from me!"

Chalk...the whole street enjoyed it!

Caralyn and two of her new girlfriends...she loves having girl time where they do her hair and such.

We take turn cooking with a few folks here...we had homemade pot roast and mashed potatoes.

KFC - Even the cartoon characters wear burgas...

I love my camera and taking unique pics - this was a praying mantis across the way - and I've never seen one up close....awesome! 

So.....this was car #3 - first one was from Abu Dhabi, so when we moved to Al Ain we rented one here.  Then we were hit in a parking lot and then we got this one.  And the DAY WE GOT IT, we were at the mall changing the electricity into our name, and I was in a hurry to leave and get to my dental appointment and was trying to make sure I did not hit some man who couldn't seem to figure out how to walk by and CRUNCH - hit a pole. Even more interesting was that I had to actually call the police, fill out a police report to get the car repaired.  And then to actually explain on the phone what a "pole" is.  Then when he comes with his lights and horn and starts taking pics, of course, everyone stops to check it out.  And I know they were puzzled because there was no other car involved.  It was some good entertainment! 

Come Emiratis hanging out at Starbucks.

@ Church - Friday School!

Halloween party @ Al Ain Rugby Club

Dusk...Al Ain Town Centre

Cole's new haircut - he wanted a buzz!

Love this photo...

Loved this photo - so this guy is making, by hand of course, the tassel thing that they wear with their thawb - or kandura. 

Candy floss - cotton candy as we know it! 

Get this - and if you lived here you'd expect it - but what these Emirati folks do at this pizza place near my dentist is just drive up, and lay on the horn until a pizza world worker comes out and takes their order and then they drive off.  Then they come back to pick up their order, and do you think they actually get out of their car to get it?  Of course not - they lay on the horn again - and wait for it to be brought out to them.