Eid Mubarak!!

Finally - after 7 straight weeks with no days off (other than one sick day that totally doesn't count) - we had our first school break!!  The dates of the break were hotly contested - when all religious holidays are based on the lunar calendar (and apparently, some important guy's mood come decision time), dates for vacations can become a little confusing.  We were all hoping the Eid holiday would begin on a Sunday - which it did - and allow us to take an entire week off of school - which didn't happen.  We ended up being required to return to work on Wednesday and Thursday (still during the official Eid holiday, mind you) to finish off the week.  Most teachers had a very small number of students on the first day back.  I, personally, saw six of my fifty-three students on Wednesday.  On Thursday, one student in our entire school showed up for the day.  This was the case in nearly all schools in Al Ain.  Some lucky teachers (such as myself) were allowed to use these days to work in our classrooms.  Others were not so lucky and had to spend the day in blah meetings that we all despise but nobody says anything about it because you know you will look like the jackass of the group if you are the one to speak up about their complete lack of necessity  =)

Enough about the shortened vacation - what did we do while we were off!?  Jeremy and I had grandiose expectations and a number of exotic plans in mind.....but we decided to skip those and just enjoy ourselves wherever we happened to end up.

Our first destination was our local, yet famous, Al Ain zoo.  Little did we know that this gem is only 5 minutes from our flat.  We loaded into the car, got Dalila all settled in, and BOOM - we were there!  Great start to the Eid weekend!  We chose to visit our zoo in the early evening, hoping the weather would cool down nicely while there (sorry to the people back in Idaho enduring a high temp of 35 degrees and snow.  I promise I won't brag anymore about the 90 degree weather here =) ).  The zoo was packed!  But we still had a terrific time.  They have SO many animals - and all of them were active and fun to watch.

Dalila enjoying one of the first animals we saw....and pretending the sun was too bright...?

 One of the highlights for me was seeing a cute little kitten down in one of the habitats in the Big Cat area....only to find out they weren't actually trying to be humorous by placing this tiny little house cat on display.  I looked to the left of the little kitten to see the official dweller of the habitat, a huge crocodile, waiting patiently in his pond...... Good thing kitty decided to climb the tall tree, and hopefully wander away to safety!  Here is a clip of one of the crocodiles enjoying his dinner (not the one with the darling little feline visitor, thank goodness!).

I HAD to see the giraffes too - and we stood to watch them for a very pleasant twenty minutes straight.  The best part here was when the wee little baby giraffe wandered over to snack with the older members of his family.  Absolutely adorable!!  Check out the fantastic picture Jeremy managed to snap of the giraffes bending down to snag another delicious bite:

Next, we headed over to Abu Dhabi to visit the newly renovated Corniche Beach.  I was somewhat hesitant here because I hate changing in those beach changing rooms and driving around for the rest of the day with a lovely coat of sand on every belonging we choose to bring along.  I was extremely happy with the way that our little day plan turned out, though.  Dalila had SO much fun!  She was happy for almost an hour straight charging into the waves from the beach, picking up handfuls of sand to dramatically throw as hard as she can (but usually succeeding in miraculously flipping it ALL into her hair), and destroying other kids' sand castles.  Yep - she has a little bit of a wicked streak.  Usually, the parents who were really doing the construction of the castles would wave me off when I tried to save their beautiful work from Godzilla Baby - saying "she fine, she fine."  So I know there were no hard feelings.

The beach itself was perfect!  We paid 10AED apiece (about $3.50 US) to enter the closed-off portion with restaurants and well-maintained facilities.  The price was well worth it, and Dalila was free!  We liked it so much that we're headed back today - this time in the evening to enjoy some of the free festivities focused on the F-1 races this weekend in Abu Dhabi.

(Normally - this is where I would post some adorable pictures of Dalila throwing sand and practicing her Godzilla moves on unsuspecting sand castles, but I forgot the camera.....in my purse....which was just sitting in the car the whole time.  Yay, Amanda.)

Halloween in Al Ain

Many of us in the states express annoyance with the early Halloween displays (often put up as soon as August now).  Since moving to the U.A.E., however, I've realized just how much I miss the prolonged holiday planning that so many have come to despise state-side.  Jeremy and I were so excited with even the tiniest Halloween display we managed to come across while out shopping.  One cute little bakery in a mall in Abu Dhabi had a Halloween cupcake feature and it's employees were actually dressed up!!! We were so excited that passers-by were probably concerned for our well-being....

As difficult as it was to find Halloween items for sale, locating Halloween celebrations to take part in was MUCH easier.  Our local rugby club, frequented most often by Western expats like ourselves along with people from Australia, Canada, Europe...etc., held a Halloween celebration aimed at making all of us feel at home.  There were the traditional Halloween activities like bobbing for apples, costume contests, and lots of candy.  Dalila dressed up in her kitty costume (consisting of an ADORABLE leopard print tutu that I bought on the 4th of July back in Idaho and HAD to squish into the luggage to bring along, kitty ears, and whiskers expertly applied by Daddy), and proceeded to sashay around the rugby field and stands swinging her hips to work her costume to its fullest.  She was absolutely darling and she knew it!  Later in the evening, she confidently strutted up to a group of teenage girls, plunked down on the grass next to them, and snagged a fry off of one of their plates like they were her old buddies. The girls loved her and assured me that my apologies for her food thievery were quite unnecessary.

She was SOO happy with that sucker that she didn't need any other candy all night!!!

A very common scene - walking away from the playground area that is just a little too big for her.  But at least she has her popcorn!!

What a good girl!!  Eating an apple when candy is everywhere!

Dalila's new pals - the group of teenage girls whose food she confiscated.

After the rugby club party, Mommy and Daddy got to have our first date with a baby sitter since arriving in our new overseas home.  We attended the Danat Hotel Halloween Pool Party and had an absolute blast.  The pools were beautiful, and I have no idea where they found all of the awesome Halloween decorations, but I was quite jealous.  I was a tiny bit nervous about my costume, a cute little leopard print dress and Lila's leopard kitty ears, paired with some killer black heels that were probably way too expensive.  Walking around here in clothing that exposes any skin garners a number of glances from the locals.  But upon arrival at the party, I knew that Western dress was certainly acceptable.  YEESH!!  There were some skimpy dresses on display.  I was downright modest in my costume choice!!  The party was a great way to feel at home and experience Halloween with other people who miss holidays at home as much as we do.

A football (soccer) player and a mama kitty

Amanda and best buddy Kari, enjoying the pool party.

Finally, the big night came and Lila was ready for some trick-or-treating.  We went to a local neighborhood here called The Village that is kind of like a compound of sorts.  This was the best example of a good, old-fashioned, Western Halloween that we saw.  Trick-or-treaters were EVERYWHERE!!  It was so much like my neighborhood growing up that I instantly felt a surge of nostalgia.  Remember when strolling through your neighborhood to trick-or-treat was totally safe?  Kids over the age of ten could go on their own and their parents wouldn't have to fear for their safety?  That's what Halloween in The Village was like.  And this is not just a neighborhood for Westerners.  There is a large number of Emirati people living there as well - many of whom actually came out to admire all the costumes, and some even gave out candy!  (This may not sound like much, but Halloween is non-existent in the Arabic world - so this is a pretty big deal!)  Dalila had a wonderful time and received so many compliments on her little tutu (combined with her hip-swiveling skills) that I'm sure confidence will not be a problem for her.

Posing for Daddy - pre-whiskers.

A shot of our friends' street before the real crowds came along.

The happy little trick-or-treater

This was at the fourth place we stopped for candy - Lila decided she needed a rest and the curb looked comfy.

......but this camp chair at the next stop was REALLY comfy!

Saying trick-or-treat ("Teets!!") with Daddy.

COOLEST costume of the night - a homemade camel, operated by three little girls and navigated by their Dad!

A good shot of the crowd on our friends' street.

Dalila sharing her candy with Mommy - what a sweetheart!

What a pleasant surprise to see so many fun, home-like things where they were not at all expected.  Thanksgiving will be a bit more difficult, being a purely American holiday, but Christmas is sure to be an even bigger experience for us.  In fact, we've already gotten our Christmas tree.....