December at the Beach

Here's a picture from the UAE vs. Manchester City football game here in Abu Dhabi...

The weather here is amazing, now that the humidity is gone, and the sun still remains. We've been in the upper 70's, low 80's with a fabulous breeze nearly every day. Mallori and I purchased bicycles and have been riding frequently to get into shape, and we've become fans of the Abu Dhabi Corniche, a paved boardwalk that runs across the island. It's truly a vast difference between here and winters in Ohio, Virgina, or New York, the other places i've experienced. I definately would recommend a visit here to anyone during this time of year.

We decided to spend my entire Eid vacation here in the UAE, and it was a terrific break from my students and the stress of teaching. Although we had hopes of traveling, we were able to experience Dubai and Al Ain, other cities within a couple hours of Abu Dhabi. We drove up a 1000 meter mountain near Al Ain, towards Oman's border, and it was possibly the steepest hill i've driven up. My little Yaris did a good job getting up that climb. We didn't go quite to the top, as Mal wanted to turn back, wanting to wait until we had a larger or safer vehicle...the yaris is making some weird noises...Either way, it was beautiful.

We spent Dec. 2nd, UAE's National Day in the city at the Corniche, to find quite a show of immaturity as well as flare when it comes to pride of culture. It is a young country, so much hooplah and display is presented to show the 80 percent of the population who are not native that the locals are still proud of who they are. People decorate their cars with anything from stickers or magnets to teddy bears and screen printed 'skins' that cover entire cars with UAE colors and photos. The sheik's photo and that of his late father is posted everywhere, from signs in the city to tatoos on kids faces. People are screaming, honking horns, spraying silly string, and dancing around as if tomorrow won't come, all in celebration of their country's birth 38 years ago. I guess the excitement demonstrated shows pride, however the lack of seatbelts and immaturity of the young people towards each other doesn't show that they care too much about themselves or others. Children were standing through sunroofs, sitting on hoods, jumping in and out of moving cars, sitting in front of the steering wheel, and parents just sit back and enjoy the dilinquents that they are creating, the same misfits I have to teach each day. It reminds me quite of bit of the Puerto Rican Day parade in NYC, except the police in NYC don't turn their heads as they do here. It was many accidents waiting to happen, and we didn't want to wait around to see. We caught a smaller show of fireworks on the way out of town, as well as avoided hours of traffic by leaving early. We're still trying to develop our understanding of what it meants to be Emirati, but that day was probably not a good impression to go by.

Settling in...

It's much cooler now in the desert, as temperatures are only in the 80's during the day and 70's at night...it doesn't feel much like Thanksgiving time, even if we are going to celebrate with other expats this weekend. Many people are leaving town, and though David wanted to try to travel elsewhere, Mallori convinced him that having no money was a good reason not to leave the country. So we'll spend our 10 days without work doing local things or something less expensive than traveling to Egypt, Europe, or India...even it those places are relatively much cheaper than going their from the states.

David Celebrated National Day with his school the other day, and for the first time, he dressed in the local attire. Many people think he's Arab already, but this just made it more interesting. His Arabic is getting better, however, when more than small talk is required, people begin getting curious to where David is 'really' from.

This place is not quite feeling like 'home' yet, but we are doing what we can to make it feel so. We aren't deciding on the length of our stay until after one year of living here, but financially this place is a blessing and answer to several prayers. A recession is very evident back home, but here, more jobs open daily, buildings keep getting built, and people continue to spend money as if tomorrow isn't going to come. People don't worry about 'gas guzzlers' or leaving the A/C on when you leave. They don't even recycle here apart from grass roots initiatives to do so; People have, and very few lack. The poorest people here are here by choice...they are here because they make more money here than they do back home. That's one of the reasons why we're here...America can't afford to hire the teachers they need. People here view America as huge, rich, and powerful...but to whom much is given, much is required...Makes me wonder if we Americans have been good stewards of all we've been blessed with, or if we're beginning to see that fade away. That thought is what makes us even consider staying longer...to ensure that we don't find ourselves in a recession. However, as children of the most high God, we believe that we are provided for...moreso than the birds of the air.

Hopefully we'll be decorating our place a little more, making it as beautiful as our last place in Ohio. We've splurged for a TV, so Mal can enjoy some shows, and David can keep up with the news around the world, and our next purchase may either be a treadmill or workout machine, since our gym membership was declined...another example of discrimination here...not sure whether it's racial or class...but either way, we won't be joining the country club anytime soon. Perhaps a few photos or pieces of art will be our final touches, not to mention the much needed curtains for the living room. Eventually it'll feel more like home, so if or when we decide to stay longer, we will enjoy the place more. On that note, it would be terrific if any of you loved ones would come visit...we're 5 minutes from the AUH airport, and 1 hr. 15 min. from DXB in Dubai...holidays are a hard time for us to be away, but we miss all of you deeply and ask that you would consider it. Anywho, here's a photo of Mr. Dawood (David) with the School Counselor and another shot of he and some students.

A week ago, we went east to the Emirate of Fujeirah, located on the Gulf of Oman It was nice, quiet, and much smaller than the other cities we've been to here in UAE. The sand of the beach is a darker brown, and it's situated between the coast and a rugged range of Mountains, which we drove through to get there. Here are a few photos of the place.

We'll write more later, perhaps when our internet at home is fully functional...we love you and look forward to posts on our blogs from you!

Off roading in Sharjah

Mallori and I ventured into Sharjah last week, another emirate just north of Dubai. It too has large, stunning buildings comprising a gorgeous skyline, however, it also has its flaws. We haven't seen so much trash on beaches til now. It appears that Abu Dhabi and Dubai both are trying to maintain cleanliness to impress the large amounts of expats living there, however, Sharjah does not seem to have the same approach. We drove around 3 'lagoons' that the city is built around, to find that not many people seem to be there or at least not when we went. The other two cities we've been in are overcrowded, with traffic taking up a large part of the trip, but here it was nice. We enjoyed mexican food at a nice italian restaurant (funny, I know), walked a little on the corniche (boardwalk), then drove the rest. I happened to make a wrong turn and ended up on a road that ended into a pile of sand. Instead of backing up, I felt like being a 'man' and doing it my way, in hopes of finding a new way out. We drove around in the sand for a while, and although i'm impressed with my little toyota yaris rental, I eventually had to turn around and go back the way we came...didn't want to get stuck....It was a fun day though.

Al Bahya Kid Park

We took a field trip yesterday to a local petting zoo...somehow we consider it to be educational as the students are supposed to learn about living things and their environments. In the USA, field trips are more serious, with permission forms to be collected and transportation requests to be made...however, here, it's a last minute thing. As long as the kids bring money and show up, they can come...then again, some kids ended up going and the school paid...Collecting money from these kids was interesting too...some of them had more money in their pockets than I did...The trip cost about 2.50 in US Dollars, and for an extra 50 cents, they could ride a donkey for what turned out to be about 30 seconds. Some students enjoyed this educational adventure...others looked at it as a chance to run around in the sun, or abuse the animals that were there. All of them ended up playing more in the sand or on the playground that was nearby than they did studying the animals. The owner kindly informed me that my class was the worst group he has ever had...I could put that on my resume...perhaps it was the juice boxes they threw into the duck pond, or the candy wrappers they tried feeding to the crocodile...or maybe it was them kicking the monkeys that they were supposed to be feeding dates to. Either way, I feel that my school was well represented by these upstanding students. If only the crodile was a little bigger...

Our 'furnished' apartment

Here are some newer pics of our decorating skills. We hope to add more color as the paychecks come in, and perhaps a shower curtain...but at least it's better than before. enjoy!

Progress at Al Hubab

So far, teaching in the Middle East has been a challenging, but unforgettable experience. I spend more time, dancing around, doing charades, and repeating myself with a louder voice than ever before in the US. The word 'no' is "la" in Arabic, and I often find myself saying 'la' no matter where I am...I guess i use it so much in the classroom that it has worked its way into my own vocabulary. I often sound like i'm singing a Christmas carol, as many people have heard me say 'lalalala la, lala la la' I probably look stupid to these kids, but it's fun.

This week, we've worked our way up to the letter H and the Number 13. These kids are understanding more and more, and though they try to sneak off to the bathroom frequently, as kids in the US do the same to get out of class, they are quick to return. I guess they see my class as fun, as i'm teaching them many of the songs kids learn in preschool or younger.

"if you're happy and you know it, clap your hands"

"the wheels on the bus"

"head and shoulders, knees and toes"

and a few more.

I still have a few screamers and criers, as this is likened unto kindergarten in the u.s. and many of these kids aren't used to doing work, yet alone being away from mama. I haven't sent home any 'homework' because one, they can't do it, and two, i hear they won't...most of the time, i guess the nannies do the work for the students...so i just give them a ton of stuff to do during the day to make up for it. So far, i've met several parents, many of which are impressed with their child's ability to speak English (though it's not much yet), some of them wondering why their child is scared of me (because i'm 4 feet taller than them), and a few come just to see what this American is doing in their town...Mothers are more involved in their child's education, and now and then I get a dad or two who come in for show, just to let the school know they are still in charge. It's quite funny seeing one of my criers change in behavior as mom or dad begin to leave...we often have to peal kids off the doorway to get them into the room, or lock them in the classroom to keep them from running home, and many live miles and miles away. I don't bother anymore...i do not need more drama in my room. If kids are screaming, I am more than happy to let them out. However, I have instated a pepsi bottle as my hall pass, for those kids who would like to leave legitimately. So far, no kid has tried to pee in it (thank God).

Today, I had my colleage from the US compliment me on my progress. He wasn't aware of my willingness to sing and get on the floor with the kids, nor did he think my students would be as far along as they are. It felt good to have another educated person tell me that I was doing a great job. However, i'm nothing special...just a caring guy, willing to look past the head coverings or body-length outfits of my students. It doesn't bother me that my job is hard...it makes me work harder. And in the end, God will be praised, because i can't do it without him anyways...he's been more patient with me than many others...so I have no problem showing a little patience and longsuffering to these little Emirates.

New Place

Hello All!!

This is Mallori, finally blogging on here. Thanks to everyone for your love and prayers during my crazy sickness the past few weeks. I'm doing much better!! Thank God. So we're in our apartment, still trying to get things settled, but it's going good thus far. It's been great having a kitchen where we can cook and prepare food, it's been the best part.

David has pretty much been taking care of everything for us, mainly because I've been under the weather, but also because he has way more patience than me when it comes to dealing with the backwardsness (if that's a word) of this city. It is so easy to get stressed out by the way things operate here. So having david deal with most of the issues with our housing and car and banking, etc., has been great. You all really have to give him kudos because he's done a GREAT job with the transition here.

What else, what else? hmmm...

I went for a massage at a philipino spa and I was in pain the entire time and for about 3 days after. Never again will I go there for anything, nails, massage, wax, nothing. It was so painful and at the time I just assumed that that particular massage was suppose to hurt during but I'd feel great afterwards. Not at all, it sucked.

I'm starting to get bored being a stay at home wife. When we were in the hotel, I didn't notice as much, but now being in our apartment, somewhat in the middle of nowhere, I think I need to keep myself occupied with a job. So hopefully in the next month or so I'll be back in school online and possibly working somewhere here. The debate is dealing with the difficulty of where I would work location wise. We live in Khalifa City which is a suburb of Abu Dhabi. Abu dhabi obviously has the most jobs, BUT I cannot and probably will never drive in this city. It's worse than NYC to me. Three people die everyday here due to car accidents. I've seen about 7 accidents so far. So keep us in prayer when it comes to driving. So, with me NOT driving, working depends on how close it is to home and the hours so David can just drive me to and from.

Well, I'm just going on and on now. Hopefully I'll have more info to share and more experiences to write about in the next few days.

Dubai!!!

We finally ventured out of our emirate into our neighbors', the more popular city of Dubai. I have been wanting to visit, because architectually, this town is a photographer's dream! Mallori 'needed' to go because she was out of her Philosophy-Purity all in one cleanser; and there just happens to be a Sephora in Dubai. Well, we get there, spent our day between two malls, which were beautiful by the way, only to learn that this Sephora does not carry what we needed...However, we enjoyed a nice dinner at the Macaroni Grill, with a terrific view of the Dubai Aquarium behind us, which basically is a 3 story fish tank full of amazing marine life. It was better this way, not having to pay 50 dirhams each to walk through it...wow, I sound cheap...However, I wasn't today. To cheer Mal up, I took her to H&M, which we love, bought her a few items, and also bought her a miniature trampoline (not at H&M, but an athletic store around the corner), which is something she wanted in order to begin her new workout routine. Random...However, this was Mallori's favorite part of our day.

My favorite part, was catching the sunset at the Burj Al Arab, one of Dubai's most popular landmarks, and the world's only 7 star hotel. No, I didn't continue the splurging and get us a room there, but we did spend time at the public beach next door. It was our first time stepping foot in the Persian Gulf, or the Arabian Gulf as it's called here. The water was perfect, a terrific ending to our long but eventful day! After having my fill of taking pictures, we spent about 30 minutes collecting sea shells to decorate our new apartment which we move into tomorrow night. The shells have a pinkish hue to them, which matches our bathroom colors...I got to choose blue for our bedroom, so it's only fair that Mal can choose pink for the Bathroom. We're excited to further decorate and make this large but beautiful apartment more like our own. It will be hard though to leave our current home though, the Beach Rotana Hotel, where we've been for almost 2 months. But I think we'll manage.

Anywho, enjoy the photos!!!

Enjoy

The Interior of our new home!

Here's our amazing living room...off to the right is our gorgeous balcony.

















Here is our Bathroom, with tub, shower (though no curtain yet), sink, toilet and bidet...

Here we have our bedroom, facing the Neighbors... We need Curtains!

Here's our Kitchen...though it's modest in size, it has a great view of our neighborhood (though with the glare from my flash, you can't see it too well) and a partial glimpse of our balcony.

We hope to send more pictures as soon as we actually have furniture.

Chaos in Al Samha

My first day of school was totally a unique experience. Thus far, teaching in this country is far different than in the US. Of 80 students, only 25 of my first graders showed up. I was forced to share the class with the Arabic teacher, who knows a very small amount of English, and who had a totally different agenda for the class than I did. For example, I was in the middle of a lesson, when he decided to take the kids on a tour of the school, without communicating this to me. The fact that I will be teaching more than one group of students in a primary school is new to me too, as in the states, teachers are exclusive for their own classes. The building itself is outdated, as I can open the door to my classroom and look out into a courtyard of sand and stagnant mudpuddles that have been there for who knows how long. The windows are covered with blinds that have been here for years, and the resources themselves are limited. The only sign of modern life in this school is the availability of new computers and projectors to use in the classroom, something only a few schools in Columbus had. Unfortunately though, students do not have paper and pencils, which shows that the way of teaching here is lecture and verbal response. I tried teaching the kids, "father Ibrahim" just to get them up and moving, and they acted as if they were going to get into trouble, just for moving.
The teachers and administrators are terrific though, and my colleagues and I get along well...or at least, if they are talking poorly about me, I can't understand it anyways. The school day is much shorter here, as I begin at 715 though the first period is not until 745, and the day ends at 1230. Much different from home. and of course, having this language/cultural barrier, allows for much effective teaching time during the day. As of now, most of the kids can sing their abc's in English, though many of them couldn't tell the letters individually without the music. Also, half of the class knows the term "bathroom" along with "sit, no, and shhhh." Now, getting them to stay in the class and not play in the bathroom (hammom in arabic) will be my challenge for next week. It has been fun to watch kids be pulled away from their parents, as first grade is like our kindergarten in the USA. Having a teacher who doesn't understand them probably makes it harder, but i'm sure we'll adapt. I will try to keep a positive attitude as I trudge through this change in my career.
On a different note, Mallori isn't feeling well again, as the climate change has been hard for her. She spent the day at our apartment yesterday, waiting for the appliances to show up, and the A/C was too much for her, causing her feel worse. As a married man, i'm learning that my wife's sickness always affects me too, even if I don't get sick too. So keep us both in prayer. Tomorrow, we should be getting our couch set delivered, so we'll have somewhere to sit besides the tiled floor. I will post photos soon. Anyways, we miss all of you...feel free to send some luvin.
Til next time, God bless.
D

Iftar at Zayed Grand Mosque

We were invited by some of our Muslim friends to attend Iftar (breaking of the fast) the other night. It was located at on of the largest mosques in the world, named after the founder/first president of Abu Dhabi. Sheik Zayed Mosque is huge, with stunning architecture, beautiful artwork and design, and immaculate when it comes to detail and cleanliness. For a non-muslim, I was very impressed. In America, we spend money on things like athletic arenas, concert halls, or casinos, but here, they put their treasures towards their god and their worship...and we know that this place has its fair share of wealth as evident in this place of prayer.

We began our evening, running behind for Iftar, where as soon as the sun sets, a monotonous call from each mosque in the city pierces through the air, and people begin eating dates and soon after their evening meal. Of course, going to a location where thousands of people were hoping to find a free evening meal is always rushed and crowded, no matter the country. When we arrived, we had to separate. David and Ausif, along with his 3 year old son Zayd went in one direction, and Mallori and the Ladies went the other way (Typical of Muslim countries). On the men's side, the food was gone, we were too late...so we thought...but thankfully we had a very slender child with us, and the police had compassion...they invited us into their tent and we began eating. Mallori and the girls had no problem finding food, as women are still treated with respect when it comes to being protected and provided for, even if they are viewed as inferior.

As for myself, I enjoyed several handfuls of seasoned rice (no eating utensils were left) and experienced my first taste of goat (tastes a little like lamb but was slightly greasier). Deliscious! Being in the police tent, people were strict...we had several men walking around monitoring those who try to sneak out with pockets of leftovers. I felt bad, as this seemed to be the place where the less fortunate go for dinner, though since my employer still hadn't paid us by this time, I was equally as poor. Plus I definately looked the part trying to eat with my hands. Not necessarily a sanitary environment, but i was thankful for my meal and experience.

After eating, I was invited to pray with Ausif. I went into the gorgeous mosque, which has over 80 domes, a thousand pillars with gold plating covering the tops, the worlds largest persian rug (which is about 60 thousand square feet itself), and amazing crystal chandeliers throughout. No wonder this place cost over 2 billion dirhams (about 550 million) to build. I didn't pray with my friend, but I watched as I was fascinated with the committed fervence of each person who prayed, bowing down towards Mecca, all confident that their prayers would be answered. I wonder how many times we Christians have the reverence to actually bow our face to the ground when we talk with the Almighty God, yet alone get on our knees. This happens at least 5 times a day for muslims. God help us to be so faithful. After watching Ausif pray and being convicted in my own faith, we met up with the ladies, where I found my beautiful wife, covered in the full Muslim Abaya covering. She was sooo cute...if only I had my camera...of course, i'm sure i'll send pictures later as she was able to take it home with her, like the shampoos from the hotel (don't worry, we never steal the towels). Hopefully, i'll have the chance to return and take some photos.

Eid Mubarak (blessed and prosperous Eid)

Ramadan is officially over, and we now are in the 3 day period which is similar to Christmas. Muslims around the world have been fasting for the past month, but now they celebrate with gifts, feasts, and vacations. We are looking forward to normacy again when it comes to eating, but i'm sure spirits will be happier here now that people aren't so cranky from not eating. I tell ya, those cabbies aren't too cheerful during the daytime, and they won't dare pick you up if they are about to break their fast...now things should be easier here. We also should be moving into our apartment soon, so more pictures to come!

Please keep us in prayer...

D

Desert Safari

This is one HOT couple...Literally...it's hot in the middle of the desert!

David is a show-off...we should have posted the photo of him nearly falling off at the end of the ride.

She's so cute...and I'm not talking about the Camel! It's much harder to ride one of these than a horse.

These guys drive Crazy, but it was sooo much fun!

Here's David Sitting down to break the Fast with the Locals, just before Iftar

Cell Phones and Nowhereland

Mallori and I bought cell phones today. So far, we are both very confused with the system, and how it all works. Basically, phones here are a prepaid system, though there doesn't seem to be much logic on how the minutes work. In the US, there are contracts, but here it's very confusing...maybe if it was explained in English to us, we'd understand it. The phones we got themselves were the 'free' ones, so basically, they are cheap...It is interesting though to have a number keypad with both ours and Arabic numbers. I am starting to recognize symbols for the Arabic numbers...so that shows signs of learning the language. I'm glad we got these phones, because I learned today that my school placement is about as far as I can get from the city, without being in another emirate. We looked at Google Earth to see the location, and I counted about 20 buildings in the town. It's about half way from Abu Dhabi to Dubai, though in the middle is pretty much in uncivilized territory. Hopefully these assumptions will be wrong once I get out there. This leaves the whole scenario of living in a new light, as we now need to decide if we want to live here in Abu Dhabi, and I commute for a couple hours a day, or if we live just outside the city so I can avoid traffic, cutting my commute drastically. Decisions...Unfortunately, after going to my employer's office to confront them about our frustrating situation, We still will be living in the Hotel at least for another 4 days. If only we would have been staying at the Hilton like the other group...I'd have at least a few free stays earned by now. Anywho, I'll write more later. Gotta spend time with my amazing wife!!!
D

Another room...again.

Life in Abu Dhabi has been an adventure, but more importantly, we are learning important lessons in life. Life is too short to rush through it, without stopping to enjoy. As we have learned, people here take their time with everything...except driving...and from our eyes, we view it as lazy, unprofessional, or even wasteful. However, it's more based on what their priorities are, such as faith and family. A business man here would be okay missing a meeting, if he had to spend more time with his kids, or more time in the mosque praying (which muslims do 5 times each day). At first, I looked at the phrase "In Sh'allah" as a cop-out, a way out if things don't get done..."God willing" is easy to say when you know that no budy will turn around and blame God. Now i'm looking at it as their way to not worry about things, but rather spend time focusing on life around them. Business comes after life...That's how it is.

In America, we are so indoctrinated with the fast food lifestyle...have it your way...and have it now. As a Christian, this shouldn't be our focus, but rather, trusting in Christ for our needs, and making sure we do it by the book...The bible that is...not the Qur'an. However, i'm learning to have a deep respect for Muslims. Many 'non-faithful' Muslims have a deeper faith in their beliefs than some people who boldly profess Christ. Most of those whom I've met have a higher respect for Jesus than many "Christians" even have...which is very scary. No wonder Islam is one of the fastest growing religions in the world...it's a real faith, even if their god may not be real. Imagine Christianity, where a believer would get up at 430 AM to pray, and at noon, stop everything, even if they are in traffic, get out of their and head to the nearest Mosque and pray. Imagine a Christian, who would fast daily, for a month, and better yet, not complain about it. Imagine a Christian, who would spend over a hundred dollars on a stranger, as one young lady did for Mallori, simply to act in faith that this deed would please her God. Just imagine how powerful we believers in Christ would be if we lived this dedicated to our Lord. That's real faith.

I didn't intend to spend time writing all of this on our blog, but it just came out. Today, Mallori and I were asked to move our room in the Hotel...again. It's still a beautiful room, only this time with a better view. We went from floor 8 to 11, and now we can see over the attached mall to the water on the other side. Gorgeous...But of course, our first reaction was to complain...We're tired of moving. Mallori has been living out of a suitcase for over a month, and I for a week less. However, we failed to see how blessed we are. We have been pushed aside by my employers, ignored when we've seeked information about our new home, and it's been pushing our flesh to the limits. Maybe God is using this Arabic phrase to teach us a lesson though. "In Sh' Allah" means "if Allah wills...or if god wills." We've been viewing it as a muslim saying, but just maybe we should lay back and trust God as they do...once again, referring to a different god. We are no longer in McDonalds World...although they and dozens of other American restaurants are within walking distance from us. Maybe we will learn from this experience (and maybe one of you will learn) how to simply enjoy our lives, viewing our relationship with God and Family as more important to the little tasks of the day. Things do get done over here...just not always when we want them to. Who knows...

Anyways, I'm sure you all want cool updates and pictures, so I'll get on with that. The other day, we were able to experience a terrific place: The Fish Market. Here in Abu Dhabi, one could buy seafood of all kinds, however this specific market is a local gem. It's located off the Al Mina peninsula of the city, where several souks and local markets are. A large group of us went and pitched in together to buy a 6kg Hammour, a large local fish with little 'fishy taste.' The market was a large open space with various vendors carrying a wide selection of fish caught in the nearby waters. We saw a variety ranging from Shark, Eel, various fishes i can't pronounce, to lobster and prawn that were the size of lobster. We negotiated the price, walked over to the 'cleaning station' and began to watch a worker mutilate these once beautiful creatures. After the scaling and a few quick cuts (these men do this amazingly fast by the way) I told Mal to turn away because she didn't want to see the next part. She was brave, but quickly squirmed when she saw the man pull the bones and guts right out. The smell of this place was unbelievably strong, as several anorexic cats were sneaking their way into the automatic doors. Around the corner, after having the fish cleaned and gutted, we took the fish to a person who seasoned and cooked the fish in a firey oven. Although it took another 20 minutes or so, we later realized it was worth the wait. Our final meal consisted of 3 kinds of fish, Hammour being the best, rice, salad, and more...Possibly the best seafood i've ever had...No fast food could ever compare to this.

Anyways, Keep us in your prayers. It is very hard to live out of a suitcase, not knowing when your 'move out date' will finally come. I'm not asking that you pray for us to find all of this out, but rather that God will strengthen our faith in this time of waiting, that we would come out stronger and more usable by Him. My hopes are that a Muslim could watch us, and be able to be encouraged by our faith, rather than the other way around. We miss all of you and will definately keep you updated. Tonight, we're going out for a bday of one of my co-workers. Mallori is actually with some ladies as I speak, in a belly-dancing class...Speaking of bellies, i'm off to fill mine. Thanks again, and God bless.

A few random pics

Alright, a few random pics:
Mal, first day of Ramadan in new room, back round is basically construction in Abu Dhabi...there is construction EVERYWHERE!


Hotel bathroom

Hotel bedroom

Exchanged our US $$ to Dirhams. It's still taking us time to figure out the money:)

View from our old hotel room, and again, mainly construction!

Ramadan Kareem

So its Ramadan here, and technically everywhere. But we've never experienced quite like this. Ramadan Kareem is like saying Happy Ramadan or something to that effect. Everyone says it but I'm not sure exactly what it means.

It is somewhat uncomfortable as Christians here during Ramadan. There are plenty of rules that we need to follow in reverence of Ramadan, which lasts about a month. The hijab that we mentioned earlier that was bought for me (Mal) is pictured to the left. I wore it the first day of Ramadan. I'm not required to wear it, but I wanted to out of respect.

We are not allowed to eat, drink, or chum gum in public during the daylight. All restaurants (near us at least) are closed during the day as well, which makes it a little more difficult for us, because we're still in a hotel, which in turn means we can't simply cook and eat in private like many non-Muslims here. So we're pretty much fasting in our own way as well. What surprises me most is that no one drinks any water during the day in this heat, and believe me - it's HOT. They still work, and live life as normal, but with such sacrifice. It's only day 3 and I have major respect for the Muslims here. They're dedication to their faith and their kindness to those who are not of like faith is worthy of respect.

I've quickly gotten use to the prayer calls. I'm not sure how often they are, but I know for sure there is one at 12pm, 4pm, and 7pm daily. I believe there are two more but I'm not sure when they are. You can hear it most anywhere. If we're eating in the mall, or sitting in our hotel room, we're bound to hear it. It sounds like a chant almost, in Arabic. We have no idea what is being said, but it's pretty cool. David and I try to pray whenever we hear it. However, it depends highly on where we are (location wise) at the time.

Well, more about Ramadan to come.

We rode the bus around the city the other day and on our way back we stopped at a random location to eat dinner, it happened to be the night before Ramadan officially started. The streets were packed and people were everywhere. I felt extremely awkward, like we were intruding their space at such a special time. Above is a picture of our first "real" u.a.e meal. I had Kabobs, it came with humus and salad. David had Mutton.

Both dishes were GREAT! The kabobs were spicy to begin with, and anyone who knows me, knows I can't handle spicy foods, but I didn't want to make a scene in the restaurant, so I kept eating and got use to it. David could barely finish half of his Mutton, it's like rice, with meat and some veggies - I'm not sure what it was seasoned with. We didn't really eat the salad...they didn't give us any dressing, we didn't want it dry. Nor did we eat the humus, but I did taste it:) We'll get bolder with our food choices in the weeks to come. We had plenty left over but it had to go to waste - another reason we're excited for our home!

Pampered Limbo

Being between two destinations is never really enjoyable...especially when one does not know the final destination. We have been spending the last week, relaxing in a beautiful 5 star hotel, eating a breakfast buffet made for royalty, and of course, having Agnello wait on us hand and foot...sounds rough right? However, when we travel across the world, expecting more than a vacation, we are still left hanging not knowing what comes next. David often compares this first step of our trip to a vacation, and though He said that these next couple years would be a second honeymoon, Mallori is very much interested in learning where our true home will be.

What has been difficult, is not knowing what is next. We are staying at the hotel now on a day to day basis, as we have learned that the Education Council is very much laid back. "In sh allah" is their favorite motto, or "God willing" and unfortunately, much of the business in this country is ran like this. Organization is rare and communication, even less. Mallori is an extremely detailed, highly visioned person and a class between forces is highly likely. David on the other hand, at first had no problems with this, but even now is starting to wonder if he'll ever have an address to call his own. It is very interesting though to see how stressed our lives must have been in the states, where time actually existed, deadlines were important, and meetings actually began on time...however, the lack of those things have a stressful effect on those who are used to them.

David and Mallori are in a special group of five people, who do not fall under the 'family' section of the larger group, yet are based in Abu Dhabi and are staying at the Rotana Beach Hotel. Most of the people here are going to be located in Al Ain, a smaller city about 90 KM away. The rest of them are people staying in Abu Dhabi, yet have kids, hence the Family title. One lady, who is single and another couple are staying with us here at the hotel, and each are placed in Abu Dhabi. Most of the people in our catagory, are staying at a "hotel apartment" which is around the corner, and is no where near as luxury as where we're at. Many people have mentioned their jealousy of what we have, and several wish they could 'trade' us...In a way, we envy each other, as we are eagerly hoping for a place to call home, one without Agnello knocking on the door each hour, one where we could save money and cook meals instead of paying cash to eat out....which is adding up by the way, both in cash and in poundage...however, Christ tells us in whatever state we are in to be content...And in all honesty, we would not really like to live in the hotel apartment, but rather a nicer place...God's will be done right...

So for now, we will sit here patiently, allowing Agnello to bring David apples and ice daily, fluffing Mallori's pillows in the afternoon, and perhaps change our socks in the evening (mr. deeds)...knowing that God will reward us for our faith in Him. I mean, we really have no right to complain...we have a roof over our heads (beautiful glass designs with crystal chandeliers) we have clothing on our backs (like the soft bath robe left in the bathroom for us, and the soft slippers they leave at our bed sides), and of course food for our bellies (David's been eating veal sausages and waffles, along with rice and fresh squeezed OJ...Mal has had omlettes, fruit pasteries, turkey bacon, and a wide selection of tea with honey)..God truly has been good...So we'll just wait on Him.

The Rotana

So we've been staying at the Rotana Beach Hotel here in Abu Dhabi. It's a beautiful hotel and the service has been excellent. However, we're at the point where we feel the need to lock our hotel room door with a deadbolt and the chain lock, along with our Do Not Disturb Sign! Our housekeeper are a little over-zealous in their work. At least 3 times a day, Angelo, our housekeeper, asks do we need anything. It's not common to us to have a male housekeeper, but either way he's been great. The first few days, we simply smiled and responded accordingly, "yes, 2 towels would be nice", "a few more water bottles", or "no, we're fine, thank you".

Unfortunately, after a few days, his persistence has gotten a little uncomfortable. If we're leaving our hotel room, he often seems to be right there, at our door or very near, with the same questions, "can I do anything for you? do you need more towels, water bottles, ice, apples, etc". If we tell him we're fine, he wants to know when he can clean our room, what items have we used, what time can he get in and he won't take "we don't need anything" for a final answer. We absolutely need to need something...so we usually make up some random thing we can ask for, "yes, another face towel, or another shampoo". Even if we have the do not disturb sign on the door, it means nothing, he knocks, he even comes in. I mean, this is hospitality at its finest I guess.

It's so hard to get direct and say, "no Angelo, we don't need anything". Because he's so sweet, he's so patient and he's simply trying to make sure we're taken care of. It's just gotten to the point to where we rush to our room once we've gotten off the elevator, or look through the peep hole and both ways down the hall before we exit our hotel room. If he sees us walking in or out, we better have our request ready. Even if we have 10 water bottles just sitting on the desk, we can always use another. We use to just leave the chain lock on the door with our do not disturb sign on the door. We assumed it would be enough to get the message that we don't want to be disturbed. But the knocking persists. If he knows we're in there, then we better acknowledge his presence and answer the door.

It's become such a major joke with us, today we laughed so hard because if Mallori tells him we don't need anything, it only means, we don't need anything right now. So he'll come back and hope that David answers, and the same vice versa. Tonight, he came by again and Mallori tried to make it clear that our room was great, we had everything we needed. And he assured her that David NEEDED another face towel. So he gave us three. He tried to peak in and look around for what else we needed. Mallori told him again, that we're great. We have everything we need. He told her, "well, what time do you want me to come tomorrow?" LOL

I'm sure once we're in our "home" we'll miss Angelo!

First week in Abu Dhabi

Hi All!


Well we've arrived in Abu Dhabi! Safe, sound and hot:)

This is our new blog while we're here in Abu Dhabi (and wherever else life takes us).

First we'll start off with our flight on Etihad Airways:

We totally recommend this airline. The staff was GREAT. The plane was large and spacious. The food was surprisingly excellent (only for David, Mal didn't eat the entire 13 hour flight). We sat behind 1st class, so we had a choice for all of our meals. We had a variety of TV shows, movies, games, and other things to keep us busy on individualized screens. There was also a camera that projected our flight departure from in front of the plane. It was different but was a great experience, especially being able to view the mountains below while in flight. The flight was long as expected and we arrived right on time in Abu Dhabi.

Once we arrived at the airport, ADEC (David's employer) met us at the gate and directed us where to go from the plane, customs, baggage, then to our shuttle buses. We were taken to the Rotana Beach Hotel, where we've been since our arrival.

The first day we went to a popular mall here called the Marina Mall which is on an island. While we were at the mall we were looking for a hijab for Mallori to wear during Ramadan. It is not required but she thought it would be appropriate and respectful. We asked a few people where we could find one and didn't have much luck. Finally, Mal saw a few girls in line and they were all wearing hijabs. She asked them where she could find one and they were nice enough to actually walk us to the store. As we were walking they shared that they actually insisted on buying a hijab for Mallori. So to make a long story short, three very nice young ladies bought Mallori a beautiful 350 dirham hijab (about $105).

Our days have basically been filled with sleeping, anticipation, and exploring Abu Dhabi. The people are a mixture of Emirates, Asians, Pakistanis, Australians, Germans, Jordanians, Bengali's, Indians, and a few Americans and Canadians.

We are still waiting to find out where we're living and where David will be working. Tomorrow is David's first full day in orientation, so we're sure we'll have more information end of day tomorrow.

We'll share more thoughts this week. Our first individual impressions, our current thoughts about the city, the heat, the food, etc.

Internet is not as easy to come by for us right now. Our hotel is lovely, but expensive.

However, please follow our blog so you're up to date on what is new with us here in Abu Dhabi.


Peace and Love,

The Steele's