We spent the weekend at this awesome resort - Atlantis - The Palm - on the Palm Jumeriah in Dubai. This resort is at the tip of the palm tree island in Dubai. It's a "sister" resort to the one in the Bahamas. We scored a good deal on the weekend here! The best thing about Atlantis is that you get access to their water park, the aquarium, and their private beach. It's great!
We did the aquarium the first night we got there and had dinner at this fancy steakhouse. And since I am cheap - I gasped when I saw the prices! It reminded me of the time when Jennifer and I were just driving around looking for a place to eat and we decided to drop into Taste of Texas. And we were not sure what it was like - and the price was unknown! All we could do was laugh! But we stayed and ate there! So the Sea Fire Steakhouse was awesome. The steak was so tender, juicy, and perfect! I can still taste it! Atlantis breeds their own cattle (a mix between European and Japanese cattle). It was nice to enjoy a good steak and a cold beer! And of course my family too!
The next morning we woke up (we actually got to sleep in thanks to the hotel curtains and no sunlight) ate breakfast and headed to the water park - Aquaventure! We stayed there until it closed at sunset. They have all sorts of kid slides in this one area where the kids can splash around, play in water, and get soaked from the buckets that drop tons of water. We took the kids with us on the river that winds around the park. They have the double tubes where one side is actually sealed in and so they have like a seat to sit in. Perfect for young kids! We even went on the rapids - the kids thought that was cool!
There is also a section called Ziggurat where all the bigger slides are located. And of course there is a height restriction. Everyone has to be 48" tall. And of course Cole isn't quite there! And he was not happy! All he wanted to do was ride this one slide ride where you end up going through a tunnel in the shark tank! Caralyn didn't seem to really care that she couldn't do it. And Jennifer and I HAD to do it! It was rather cool! The bad thing was that it is all in the dark until you get into the tunnel. So I'm not sure it wouldn't have scared the kids - but Cole was angry the whole time we were there!
Once Cole got back to the kid part - he was good to go! We ate lunch at Shark Bites and had decent park food - and reasonably priced too! You can even get BBQ food outside there and smoke some sheesha. And get beer at the park too!
We saw all sorts of bathing suite attire too! Lots of speedos! For sure it was the European tourists there wearing those! And the women - from string bikinis to burkinis!
After spending the day at the water park we showered and headed to TBJ for dinner. TBJ - The Burger Joint. They had the best burgers! And of course the kids were cranky from too much fun in the sun but we managed to make it through dinner! Cole really liked his burger too! And we all slept good after that day!
Our last day at Atlantis we headed to the beach. It was nice, quiet, and clean! The only downside - well two things - were no waves and jellyfish. There are no waves because we're on the inside of the palm island and so it's just still water with some ripples every now and then. When we got there we noticed the jellyfish sign and sure enough spotted on in the water! And we even caught one in a bucket an hour later! The water was very clear so it was easy to see the stingers! The kids enjoyed playing in the sand. The water was rather cold, so no one went too far out! After a few hours, we headed to play in the pool! And the pool was packed with people! But there is so much room that you don't realize how many people are there. Cole swam all over and loved it. Caralyn was still reluctant but had a blast. So of course we knew the meltdowns would come when we had to go back to the room to shower and check out.
Before we left Dubai - we had to eat lunch! And we decided to give another Mexican restaurant a try. El Chico - it was real - REAL - Mexican food! We enjoyed sitting outside in the nice breezy air and enjoyed good food! And we even got a free dessert! Now getting to El Chico was quite interesting. One thing I can not get used to is people who work at an establishment and CAN'T give you good directions! As if they don't realize where they work. Or someone says, "sorry - I'm new here," like they can't pass the phone to someone who might have a clue. So we get some really shady directions but FINALLY an hour later get to the general location. Well we were a few blocks west and you can only go left! To go right, you u-turn and go back to the main road, then left down again! So we do this twice, and finally decide to just park. But where to park it's all high rise residential buildings and hotels. So we stop to ask a security guard (they have these "security guards" at any place it seems - even hospitals!) and he was like in the public parking - never could figure out where that was! Finally he asks us how long we'd be here and we told him just to eat and then we're heading back to Al Ain. He must have felt sorry for us, because he let us park in "his" building in some reserved parking. And it did feel funny parking there in our ever-so-fancy Nissan Sunny! But it did the job and we had a great lunch!
Then we headed back to Al Ain. But it can never - EVER - be just driving home and no stops. We see this camel racetrack looking area. And we hurry to pull off because it looks like they're racing but they're in packs and the camels in packs have these blanket like saddle things that all match. So we take some photos and they shout "hello" to us as they ride on by! We see these other SUV/truck vehicles following some groups and so finally I stopped to ask on of the guys in his SUV. He was telling me that the day before they had some camel races, and then this day they were out training the camels. And even more fascinating was that some of the camels didn't have a jockey or trainer but a fake one. It was cool.
Finally - after another stop - we were home! Straight to bed for the kids and we were exhausted! Jennifer, unfortunately, had to get back out and get some new henna for a wedding! Her first Emirati wedding! Her principal is getting married tonight. She was a gussied up and headed out with the women. I really wanted to go but we could never get a clear answer if I could go. The weddings apparently are really only for women. The guys all stay outside and hang out, dance, eat, and I'm sure drink tea! They NEVER see the women inside. No men go inside except the groom, and only after they all sheyla up, and maybe the fathers. Jennifer will have to give some details for the next blog! And no pics taken either! It's very different than what we're used to but it's their culture and their ways! What an opportunity to get to go to an Emirati wedding though!
So our trimester is winding down. We've been going strong since January 8th with no days off. And in this school culture - that's a very long time! BUT since I'm at a cycle 3 (high school - and my school is actually grade 6 through 12) school we start our two weeks of finals on Sunday. And it's typical for the kids to stop coming to school since they need time to stay home and "study" before exams! So today it appeared that the 12th graders stopped coming and my 11th grade class only had about 8 kids yesterday and today. We got out early today - at 1:05. So I can only assume tomorrow very few kids will show up. And Wednesday and Thursday there will probably - INSHALLAH - be no kids around! So then our lovely half-days can begin! We're supposed to have some staff meeting where they (not sure who they is - principal?) are going to address why our evaluations were so low. And this was for all the teachers - not just the LT's. It's very VERY interesting to go from an "exceeds expectations" type teacher for 10 years and then go to "pre-foundational". Couldn't be that they just grade you on a portfolio and you aren't even there to justify anything. And they give you the portfolio guidelines a day before it's due. But it's just one of those "only in the UAE" moments. And I don't let it get me down. Rumor has it that by the end of year they will rate everyone as being a great teacher and it shows what growth we have all had and makes the "powers that be" look great. It's a sham! But I still get paid!
We also purchased a vehicle this week. We're rocking the streets of the UAE in a minivan! A Kia Carnival! It's about 7 years old but only has 42,000 miles. Even better - we only paid about $6000 USD. And no loan too! So that is even better! The kids think it's cool to have a minivan! I think they just like their individual seats now! We names the car - Khalifa. Khalifa the Kia!
This week, since attendance was so low with my 11th graders, I had some very interesting conversations about soooo many topics with a few of my kids. It's moments like these where you see them as a person, less as the rebellious student that they really are most of the time! The topic of multiple wives came up somehow. One of my students father's has 4 wives and each one has had roughly 10-12 kids. So he has like 40 siblings. Wild. And they all live in a few villas in some compound. He has like 8 of his brothers at my school. Another kid claims to have 50 uncles. His grandfather had more than 4 wives (which I thought Islam only allowed up to 4 but not sure exactly) and tons of sons. This family has wasta - clout - it's a very well known family name. Another kids then jokes, "how can a man have so many wives - he'd be very busy!"
Another topic, just today, was the idea of giving a dowry to the bride. A student explained to me that it shows that he wants to care for her. He proceeded to tell me he isn't just going to use her only he, without realizing it or caring, used a profane word to explain it to me. He didn't even skip a beat. But he said that if a man divorces a woman, the woman can ask for money to divorce. And then he was telling me that if an Emirati man marries an Emirati woman, then they get 1 million dirhams from the government to build a new home. I am going to ask our neighbor to see if this is true or what. He did throw a WALLAH at the end (which is like swear to God) but then again, they say wallah in every other sentence.
Tonight Jennifer and I faced some new challenges with Cole and Caralyn. They were doing their "world culture day" project. And it took everything we had to not tell them every little thing to do, no matter how crazy their poster was looking! Cole had more organization with his poster, but enjoyed smearing the marker around the poster board. Caralyn just writes and then when she runs out of room, she just put the remaining letters and words where ever she thinks they should go. What an experience. But we have to remind each other they are only 5 yrs old!
Well now that I have carpel tunnel issues - I'm khallas for this blog entry! Check out the cool photos! Especially the project ones!
NEMO!
We did the aquarium the first night we got there and had dinner at this fancy steakhouse. And since I am cheap - I gasped when I saw the prices! It reminded me of the time when Jennifer and I were just driving around looking for a place to eat and we decided to drop into Taste of Texas. And we were not sure what it was like - and the price was unknown! All we could do was laugh! But we stayed and ate there! So the Sea Fire Steakhouse was awesome. The steak was so tender, juicy, and perfect! I can still taste it! Atlantis breeds their own cattle (a mix between European and Japanese cattle). It was nice to enjoy a good steak and a cold beer! And of course my family too!
The next morning we woke up (we actually got to sleep in thanks to the hotel curtains and no sunlight) ate breakfast and headed to the water park - Aquaventure! We stayed there until it closed at sunset. They have all sorts of kid slides in this one area where the kids can splash around, play in water, and get soaked from the buckets that drop tons of water. We took the kids with us on the river that winds around the park. They have the double tubes where one side is actually sealed in and so they have like a seat to sit in. Perfect for young kids! We even went on the rapids - the kids thought that was cool!
There is also a section called Ziggurat where all the bigger slides are located. And of course there is a height restriction. Everyone has to be 48" tall. And of course Cole isn't quite there! And he was not happy! All he wanted to do was ride this one slide ride where you end up going through a tunnel in the shark tank! Caralyn didn't seem to really care that she couldn't do it. And Jennifer and I HAD to do it! It was rather cool! The bad thing was that it is all in the dark until you get into the tunnel. So I'm not sure it wouldn't have scared the kids - but Cole was angry the whole time we were there!
Once Cole got back to the kid part - he was good to go! We ate lunch at Shark Bites and had decent park food - and reasonably priced too! You can even get BBQ food outside there and smoke some sheesha. And get beer at the park too!
We saw all sorts of bathing suite attire too! Lots of speedos! For sure it was the European tourists there wearing those! And the women - from string bikinis to burkinis!
After spending the day at the water park we showered and headed to TBJ for dinner. TBJ - The Burger Joint. They had the best burgers! And of course the kids were cranky from too much fun in the sun but we managed to make it through dinner! Cole really liked his burger too! And we all slept good after that day!
Our last day at Atlantis we headed to the beach. It was nice, quiet, and clean! The only downside - well two things - were no waves and jellyfish. There are no waves because we're on the inside of the palm island and so it's just still water with some ripples every now and then. When we got there we noticed the jellyfish sign and sure enough spotted on in the water! And we even caught one in a bucket an hour later! The water was very clear so it was easy to see the stingers! The kids enjoyed playing in the sand. The water was rather cold, so no one went too far out! After a few hours, we headed to play in the pool! And the pool was packed with people! But there is so much room that you don't realize how many people are there. Cole swam all over and loved it. Caralyn was still reluctant but had a blast. So of course we knew the meltdowns would come when we had to go back to the room to shower and check out.
Before we left Dubai - we had to eat lunch! And we decided to give another Mexican restaurant a try. El Chico - it was real - REAL - Mexican food! We enjoyed sitting outside in the nice breezy air and enjoyed good food! And we even got a free dessert! Now getting to El Chico was quite interesting. One thing I can not get used to is people who work at an establishment and CAN'T give you good directions! As if they don't realize where they work. Or someone says, "sorry - I'm new here," like they can't pass the phone to someone who might have a clue. So we get some really shady directions but FINALLY an hour later get to the general location. Well we were a few blocks west and you can only go left! To go right, you u-turn and go back to the main road, then left down again! So we do this twice, and finally decide to just park. But where to park it's all high rise residential buildings and hotels. So we stop to ask a security guard (they have these "security guards" at any place it seems - even hospitals!) and he was like in the public parking - never could figure out where that was! Finally he asks us how long we'd be here and we told him just to eat and then we're heading back to Al Ain. He must have felt sorry for us, because he let us park in "his" building in some reserved parking. And it did feel funny parking there in our ever-so-fancy Nissan Sunny! But it did the job and we had a great lunch!
Then we headed back to Al Ain. But it can never - EVER - be just driving home and no stops. We see this camel racetrack looking area. And we hurry to pull off because it looks like they're racing but they're in packs and the camels in packs have these blanket like saddle things that all match. So we take some photos and they shout "hello" to us as they ride on by! We see these other SUV/truck vehicles following some groups and so finally I stopped to ask on of the guys in his SUV. He was telling me that the day before they had some camel races, and then this day they were out training the camels. And even more fascinating was that some of the camels didn't have a jockey or trainer but a fake one. It was cool.
Finally - after another stop - we were home! Straight to bed for the kids and we were exhausted! Jennifer, unfortunately, had to get back out and get some new henna for a wedding! Her first Emirati wedding! Her principal is getting married tonight. She was a gussied up and headed out with the women. I really wanted to go but we could never get a clear answer if I could go. The weddings apparently are really only for women. The guys all stay outside and hang out, dance, eat, and I'm sure drink tea! They NEVER see the women inside. No men go inside except the groom, and only after they all sheyla up, and maybe the fathers. Jennifer will have to give some details for the next blog! And no pics taken either! It's very different than what we're used to but it's their culture and their ways! What an opportunity to get to go to an Emirati wedding though!
So our trimester is winding down. We've been going strong since January 8th with no days off. And in this school culture - that's a very long time! BUT since I'm at a cycle 3 (high school - and my school is actually grade 6 through 12) school we start our two weeks of finals on Sunday. And it's typical for the kids to stop coming to school since they need time to stay home and "study" before exams! So today it appeared that the 12th graders stopped coming and my 11th grade class only had about 8 kids yesterday and today. We got out early today - at 1:05. So I can only assume tomorrow very few kids will show up. And Wednesday and Thursday there will probably - INSHALLAH - be no kids around! So then our lovely half-days can begin! We're supposed to have some staff meeting where they (not sure who they is - principal?) are going to address why our evaluations were so low. And this was for all the teachers - not just the LT's. It's very VERY interesting to go from an "exceeds expectations" type teacher for 10 years and then go to "pre-foundational". Couldn't be that they just grade you on a portfolio and you aren't even there to justify anything. And they give you the portfolio guidelines a day before it's due. But it's just one of those "only in the UAE" moments. And I don't let it get me down. Rumor has it that by the end of year they will rate everyone as being a great teacher and it shows what growth we have all had and makes the "powers that be" look great. It's a sham! But I still get paid!
We also purchased a vehicle this week. We're rocking the streets of the UAE in a minivan! A Kia Carnival! It's about 7 years old but only has 42,000 miles. Even better - we only paid about $6000 USD. And no loan too! So that is even better! The kids think it's cool to have a minivan! I think they just like their individual seats now! We names the car - Khalifa. Khalifa the Kia!
This week, since attendance was so low with my 11th graders, I had some very interesting conversations about soooo many topics with a few of my kids. It's moments like these where you see them as a person, less as the rebellious student that they really are most of the time! The topic of multiple wives came up somehow. One of my students father's has 4 wives and each one has had roughly 10-12 kids. So he has like 40 siblings. Wild. And they all live in a few villas in some compound. He has like 8 of his brothers at my school. Another kid claims to have 50 uncles. His grandfather had more than 4 wives (which I thought Islam only allowed up to 4 but not sure exactly) and tons of sons. This family has wasta - clout - it's a very well known family name. Another kids then jokes, "how can a man have so many wives - he'd be very busy!"
Another topic, just today, was the idea of giving a dowry to the bride. A student explained to me that it shows that he wants to care for her. He proceeded to tell me he isn't just going to use her only he, without realizing it or caring, used a profane word to explain it to me. He didn't even skip a beat. But he said that if a man divorces a woman, the woman can ask for money to divorce. And then he was telling me that if an Emirati man marries an Emirati woman, then they get 1 million dirhams from the government to build a new home. I am going to ask our neighbor to see if this is true or what. He did throw a WALLAH at the end (which is like swear to God) but then again, they say wallah in every other sentence.
Tonight Jennifer and I faced some new challenges with Cole and Caralyn. They were doing their "world culture day" project. And it took everything we had to not tell them every little thing to do, no matter how crazy their poster was looking! Cole had more organization with his poster, but enjoyed smearing the marker around the poster board. Caralyn just writes and then when she runs out of room, she just put the remaining letters and words where ever she thinks they should go. What an experience. But we have to remind each other they are only 5 yrs old!
Well now that I have carpel tunnel issues - I'm khallas for this blog entry! Check out the cool photos! Especially the project ones!
Last week - we went old school with punishment. He hated it.
It was nice to sit and watch the animals in the aquarium. Too bad 5yr olds don't appreciate sitting and watching them. They see the Arabic cushions as trampolines!
In the front lobby of Atlantis there is this really cool sculpture. It has over 300 individual glass blown pieces all put together like fire coming out of water.
Our view of the Arabian Gulf!
Our room! Those brown doors close too. It just separates the bathroom from the sleeping area. Interesting. At one point Caralyn was fussing at Cole peeing in the sink. Only it wasn't the sink - it was the bidet. I guess the faucet looked more like the sink than what we have in our villa. Too funny!
Aquarium view when we come out of the elevator and head to the restaurants or water park.
Each section of the aquarium has some artifacts (or replicas?) of some lost culture...never did find out what culture that disappeared mysteriously.
Awesome photo!
NEMO!
Think these are Maine lobsters?
The Sea Fire Steakhouse
If you can read this - it tells you all about their beef selection.
I found it interesting you can get a slush and make it like a margarita! In the UAE!
This is us in the shark tunnel! You can even go snorkeling in the shark tank!
Cole's pouty face!
He was sooo upset he couldn't go in the shark tunnel!
I was going to do this slide - but the line was too long.
At the end you go through the shark tank too.
The burkinis!
Check out his dress.
Think he's singing LMFAO in his head?
So these girls were just dragging each other through the water!
They were all laughing the whole time.
Surprised they actually smiled after the long day we had!
So comfortable watching his cartoons with his stingray from the boutique!
Just one of the cool rotunda murals
This is the Royal Pool. It's like 4 ft all over. Very nice! The raised area in the back right is for young kids - it's like 8 inches deep. And of course Caralyn wanted to play in that!
What is up with her pose!?!?!?
Adorable!!!
This is the center piece on the round about near El Chico.
You think they would have used this as a landmark. Nope.
Some translation issues I guess.
If you look closely to the camel in the back you can see the fake jockey in yellow on his back. The fake on even has a shirt - #12!
This group had some issues! The poor camel just plops down to let the guy get on him.
This past Saturday was very hazy/sandy. Not sure what exactly the issue was.
Guess a cold front.
Khalifa the Kia!
Cole's South Africa project for World Culture Day at their school on Thursday.
Caralyn is dancing with the Jordan group apparently!
Caralyn's Syria project. Interesting.
This is Caralyn's recycle project. They used items we saved and created something. She make something to keep her supplies in. Each container holds something specific.
Cole made a robot for his recycle project. It also holds school supplies on the side and the front trays from some cookies - holds snacks if you have them! He wanted to just add, and add, and add more things! We cut him off at this point! He would say, "well this trash is useless, lets use this!" Guess he understood the word useless that week!
Whew...what a post! Too many photos! I have taken over 3,000 photos over the last 6-7 months! Guess I'm putting my camera to good use! But we'll have a lifetime of memories to look at! And speaking of memories - this week Jennifer and I will celebrate our ten year anniversary! TEN YEARS! Hard to believe that in 10 years, we've bought a house, had to children at one time, and moved to a foreign country in the Middle East! We're definitely making memories!
Stay Tuned...
No comments:
Post a Comment