Al Ain Notebook

2009-08-03T15:07:00.003+04:00

We are safely home!
image credit

Going Home!

2009-07-30T09:11:00.003+04:00

This is my last post from the UAE. We fly tomorrow! And this is the big pack-it-all-up day. Thanks to all who have visited and kept up with us, as well as your really great recent comments. It's been an amazing year and now we are happy to come home.

You can find me here on my new blog, Herland Notebook, once we get settled back home. Add me to your reader! The first weeks are going to be a whirlwind of seeing family and friends, eating foods we are missing, moving back into our house, getting adjusted to the time change (oh joy), as well as getting Eleanor settled. Wish us luck--especially the bit about flying half way around the world with a toddler. See you soon I hope. Bye for now. xx

image credit

I Can't Wait

2009-07-28T21:45:00.001+04:00

I can't wait for that plane to safely land
to see my family
and friends
big and little
run and hug our dog
eat coneys and hometown pizza
and fill my belly at another dozen or so other places
see Eleanor with our families
especially my Mom
and all her cousins
see the Cincinnati skyline
and feel home again
there's the drive to Columbus
under that open Ohio sky
step back into our house
unpack our boxes
like it's Christmas
but keep things simple
go to the grocery store
and fill up our cart
with so many of the foods I am missing
say hi to neighbors
and walk the neighborhood
go to the library
and check out a ridiculous amount of books
see more friends
take a drive
play around in the backyard
look forward to Fall
and the colors and smell of it
I missed that last year
hope for rain I haven't seen or
felt for many months
anxious for book group to start
to watch new movies we missed
excited about sewing and a new creative space
to see Eleanor in her room playing again

and to fill our house of remembrances
of this special year

A Year in Photos

2009-07-27T08:56:00.001+04:00

I wanted to pull together a handful of favorite photos from this year. This is alot of pictures I know! Many have Eleanor and I've realized I like to see people mark the landscape of a place in pictures. I hope to have some of these framed in our house and others put into a special album.

It Goes Fast

2009-07-26T10:12:00.001+04:00

I'm all nostalgic lately. Knowing your are leaving a place does that I think. I've been pausing and paying more attention to the Call to Prayer again when I hear it. I am savouring the foods we are eating more. I am taking many mental pictures as I walk away from a place for the last time. We are saying goodbye to friends. But I am happy that we fly in 5 days!

Here is baby girl above at 20 months when we arrived last September....she already had a thing for dates our first week here. She was still pudgy and had lots of "baby" in her.

And now almost a year later at 2.5 years old this morning....

...She's shot up in height, got more hair (a ponytail even!), sings many songs, knows her ABCs, is more fearless, and has a greater love of books and reading. She just isn't a baby anymore. I have been really impressed with how well she has adapted to her new surroundings here. She's had so many friends. And I know she'll do great coming back home.

I know she is not going to remember a great deal, if anything, of this time abroad in the UAE, but hopefully I've taken enough photos so that she'll be able to see her little self halfway across the world at such a young age. I'm hoping it'll give her an extra dose of curiousity and interest in the world, it's people and other cultures. I hope she'll think her parents were adventurous and brave - and years down the road be as brave herself, well, as brave as her Mama can handle.

We Love Watermelon!

2009-07-16T20:21:00.008+04:00

well, actually I'm not a fan, but girlie really likes it.

Looking at these photos made me realize it's not just Michael that she's looks so much like. It's my Mom too and that's so cool to see.

Another reason to smile today - it was really fun to see Eleanor featured on one of my favorite blogs ohdeedoh!

Covering

2009-07-14T20:31:00.002+04:00

We really enjoyed our trip to Abu Dhabi this past weekend including visiting the Grand Mosque. We only have a little over 2 weeks left in the UAE at this point so we are trying to get in some last minute daytrips and adventures in.

I wanted to write more about wearing the abeya and hijaab while we visited the mosque. When you come upon the mosque, all women are directed to an area and handed an abeya (black gown) and hijaab (head scarf). Men will be asked to wear a dishdasha (white traditional robe) if they are wearing shorts.

I have to say this was one of highlight of the visit for me. I have been curious as to what it would feel like to wear this traditional dress of the Gulf. I have already had some people mentioned being surprised by me covering knowing what a strong feminist I am. Of course covering for less than a couple hours as a tourist and out of respect is much different than this being part of my life.

Some observations with respect - I enjoyed wearing the hijaab. I find it can be very beautiful when chosen to be worn to show one's faith. I just wish I had pins or a "bonnet" that many women wear underneath to keep it secure and tight as it kept shifting. The abeya on the other hand I did not like as much. Maybe because mine was too long so that was awkward and it wasn't comfortable in the heat. At all.

Eleanor found it interesting at first that I was wearing a "new dress" and wanted to wear one too, but then the newness of it wore off quickly and I just blended into the background. It's just the normal state of things to her at this point to see women covered--maybe you can see none of their face, just their eyes or their face is open. This photo was taken when we first arrived to Al Ain and were at the zoo. From day one Eleanor never showed any interest or apprehension. You might assume that a covered woman might take up a quiet space but here in the UAE, Emirati women take great pride and have great status they wield.

As a feminist when I was younger I used to distain women being covered. And it's not always my favorite thing to see. I realize now that it's hard for me as a Westerner and Christian to fully understand what it means to wear the hijaab. We can only view it from our own cultural lens. I do strongly believe that it should be a choice however and it's upsetting to know in certain countries (Saudi Arabia, Iran) women must be covered and other countries, including the UAE, women cover partly out of social obligation or pressure, even though they will swear up and down it is their choice.

One of the things I have disliked the most in being in this country has been the stares I have received as an uncovered Western woman. The laborers, generally from India and Pakistan, make up the majority of the population here. When I say STARE it's something I have never experienced before. It is blatant and unflinching, often not ending until you are out of sight. I have gotten very angry at times and thought - "didn't your Mama teach you not to stare?!?!" I definitely have dressed more conservatively here that's for sure and learned to ignore it.

They don't stare at the Emirati or Muslim women in the same way, so I have come to see how it has "protected" them in many ways. It's just annoying that the women have had to cover and be responsible in some ways for these men's stares and attention. Michael told me that decades ago you would not have found women covering to this extent, it's just been since foreign labor has been brought into the area.

I mentioned the heat. I will say that while it has been very hot in Al Ain (generally 115-120 degrees lately) we have nothing on Abu Dhabi or Dubai during the summer months as they have high humidity coupled with the high temperatures. It's unbearable. Thanksfully after we wandered outside the mosque and grounds, the inside was wonderfully air conditioned as I was dying underneath the abeya.

Wow, I wrote alot. And I could easily write more. I mention some negative things here but I had a very positive experience covering at the mosque. If you have read this entire post, good for you! I am going to be doing a little giveaway in the next week, so do check back.

The Grand Mosque, Abu Dhabi

2009-07-12T09:30:00.004+04:00

This weekend we had the opportunity to visit the spectacular Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi (otherwize known as the Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan Mosque). It's grand in size and in loveliness. It is one of very few mosques in the UAE that is open to non-Muslims and only during special hours.

Although not fully completed, the mosque is one of the largest in the world and apparently can accomodate 30,000 worshippers at one time.

We felt very welcomed at the mosque. There were many children, Westerners, non-Muslim visitors and Muslims alike. I'm glad we didn't leave the country without this visit.

The mosque is surrounded and full of beautiful white Italian marble with inlaid floral patterns, 24-carat gold-plated chandeliers with thousands of Swarovski crystals, and the main prayer hall also features the world’s largest hand-woven Persian carpet.

All who visit the mosque must be properly dressed and women are supplied an abeya (black gown) and hijaab (head scarf) to wear. I enjoyed this aspect of our visit as I have been curious what it feels like to wear this dress of the Gulf. I'll write more of this in another post.

I have no idea what I was talking to Eleanor about here, but her face cracks me up. She was very good in the mosque and very interested in everything around her. Maybe here I was telling her to use her "secret" voice which she took very seriously in between bouts of happy squeals.

Every direction there was something beautiful to take in, including up high which had Eleanor fascinated.

One of my favorite areas of the mosque was this beautiful room....

This is a nice video that shows much of the interior of the mosque.

My photographs do not do the mosque justice and lighting was tricky in the dim quiet of the large spaces. All photos here are my own with exception to the first and second.

6 Happy

2009-07-02T17:13:00.005+04:00

Heidi was tagged and listed 6 uninteresting things that make her happy. I felt like jumping in as well. I think it's the little things, don't you?

sending and receiving letters and cards, especially with photos
cherry coke
burning satsuma from Body Shop
cupcakes
a clean organized house
coneys

I'm so not surprised that half of this list is food!

Isn't this party garland pretty? This is one of the many things I'd like to learn to make/sew when I start learning this fall and it looks easy peasy. I think one would be pretty hanging in Eleanor's room or perhaps even our dining room :)

Lately

2009-06-29T23:57:00.006+04:00

I have been loving....
::lots of swimming with girlie and having matching red toes
::indulging in my first real tan in years (which for me means I'm not ghost white)
::taking naps
::Eleanor continuing to tell me happy birthday almost a week later :)
::making lists--from things we still want to do here to things we need to do moving back into our house in Columbus to books to get at the library when we get home (!)
::reading Belong to Me by Marisa de los Santos
::getting back into shape
::reading the ohdeedoh blog - wow

Happy Birthday to Me!

2009-06-24T08:19:00.001+04:00

I love birthdays. I really really do. It's hard to believe I'm 33 years old today! Years are zipping by quicker and quicker which is kinda scary but I feel really blessed for all I have. We are heading off for a day in Dubai to celebrate. I'm sure I'll treat myself to a couple things to top off the pretty awesome first ever pedicure I got last week :)

How cute is this birthday celebration candle "kid"!! It's my birthday BUT I have really wanted to get one of these for Eleanor when I saw it last year some time and was inspired to order it this week. I love the idea of getting this candle out year after year for her birthday and love the retro nostalgia of it.

I'm going to make sure to call my Mama today too. Since becoming a mother, I almost feel like this is as much her day as mine. Mom, wish we weren't so far apart, but we'll be home in just over 5 weeks from now! yay!

Happy Father's Day

2009-06-22T13:03:00.004+04:00

Hope you all had a good Father's Day. We took Michael to dinner and told him we loved him a million more times than we usually do. Other than that is was a pretty cool low key day spent together.

Since I am thousands of miles away from my dad, we sent "Boppy" an e-card layered with photos and "coupons" redeemable for things like funny stories about camels, lots of hugs and kisses, silly faces, a yummy treat and all the other things we can't wait to do when we see him and our family. We also called him and it was sweet to hear him smiling over the phone lines.

And Michael's dad.... We wish Eleanor could have met you. We love and miss you.

photo found here

A is for Arabia

2009-06-19T10:39:00.004+04:00

Yesterday we came across and bought my favorite picture book we have seen here. A is for Arabia written by Julia Johnson and illustrated by Emily Styles is a wonderful picture book to introduce children to Arabia and poetry. From the publisher Stacey International: "This is a journey through Arabia from A to Z, accompanied along the way by charming illustrations and witty rhymes."

It's an excellent introduction to new cultural vocabulary for children and a good remembrance for us of words and memories we have had this year...from the obvious C is for camel, F is for fort, M is for mosque, and S is for souq to lesser known words that have meant something to us like D is for dhow (boat), J is for jebel (mountain), U is for umm (mother), and Y is for "yallah" (one of the few arabic words I know and we use with Eleanor meaning "hurry up," often heard at the playground :) I cannot recommend this book more.

Contradictions

2009-06-18T22:43:00.008+04:00

I saw this photo over on blue milk. The Fallen Princess series is an interesting one but this is the image that really hit me. As a feminist there is alot of gender hoo-ha that annoys me with the whole Disney princess stuff especially as I see Eleanor become more and more interested. At the same time there is a pure magic and nostalgia that I feel when I watch Sleeping Beauty or Snow White!

Photographer Dina Goldstein decided to re-imagine their outcomes. "I began to imagine Disney's perfect princesses juxtaposed with real issues that were affecting women around me," she says, "such as illness, addiction and self-image issues." Genius and heartbreaking.

What does happen to those princesses after they marry their prince?

Motherhood is so complex--amazing and beautiful, but major complex.

2009-06-14T09:59:00.004+04:00

I love a good tag/meme so thought I would jump on one Katie just did. I agree with her that I like the shorter ones best! Please jump into the mix if you like and let me know.

4 Things I'm Looking Forward To
::returning home to the US in August (I could make a whole list on just this)
::having another baby
::starting book group in late August
::getting my first ever pedicure this week!

4 Things I did Yesterday
::Eleanor and I went swimming - great we've been able to swim 9 months out of the year here
::worked out
::wrote a couple letter home
::hosted friends and their kiddos for dinner

4 Things I wish I Could Do
::win the lottery
::see family that will be visiting in Ohio before we return home
::sew (going to start learning when we get home!)
::get into a good yoga routine

4 TV Shows I Watch
::LOST
::Grey's Anatomy
::Ugly Betty
::What Not to Wear

4 Places I'd Like to Travel
::Italy
::Hawaii
::British Columbia
::NYC (how I have never been there before I have no idea)

4 Places I've Lived
::Cincinnati, Ohio
::London, England (if a summer counts)
::Columbus, Ohio
::Al Ain, United Arab Emirates

And a Quiet Old Lady Who was Whispering "Hush"

2009-06-09T18:21:00.004+04:00

Isn't this pretty? I just got it from the amazing etsy shop of Aunty Cookie whose site I have been eyeing for awhile now. I think I will put it up on our finished third floor--a quiet space that is adults-only (not in the sexy way, but in the way of quiet and hush ;) where I'd like to write letters, read, chill on the computer, learn to sew (quilting would be so sweet) and overall chill after a busy full day with kiddos.

Camels!

2009-06-08T13:19:00.007+04:00

Today was a real treat. We not only had fun playing over at a friend's but they literally had about a dozen or so camels camped out right in front of their villa! Apparently their landlord is hosting a wedding this week and holding them there for the time being. I got some nice beauty shots of one particular fellow who was friendly and I know Eleanor and her best kiddo friends had fun seeing them.

Here's me being totally naive. When Marisa told me that the camels were there for a wedding I thought, "hmmmm. That's nice...." thinking of them as part of the festivities. Well, sure....but it's the eating part of the festivities! duh. Camels have been used historically and currently as transportation, racing, milking and yes, for their meat. While I have tried camel milk, I'll pass on the camel meat.

We are going to miss Marisa and her family. They are our only American friends (from PA) here and are heading off for the US for the summer in a just few weeks--a month before we head home. I hope we'll be able to join up our families state-side at some point in the next couple years.

I need to post some photos that show Eleanor "smiling" when I ask if she will. It's funny sometimes to see the expressions she makes :)

Book Babble and Singing

2009-06-08T07:45:00.001+04:00

One of my favorite things in the whole wide world is when Eleanor goes off on her own and starts to read to herself. It's funny listening to her book babble--a pre-literacy skill too didn't you know. I had to grab the camera this morning, as well as take some videos. Her songs also been a favorite thing to record. I don't want to forget how she sings now in that cute toddler voice while it's here.

Her favorite song now is May There Always Be Sunshine by Jim Gill, which we have to sing before we go to bed every night. It's taken from a Russian folk song and after you get the basic chorus you just have kids keep adding the things you'd like there to always be. The first chorus is:

May there always be sunshine; may there always be blue skies; may there always be Mama, may there always be me.

We like to often add books, all kinds of animals, naps, hugs, Dada, family, Grandma, friends.....

Favorite books of girlie right now include: It's My Birthday by Helen Oxenbury (who doesn't love a book where a kiddo and his animal friends bring together incredients to make a cake! I do.), Hamish the Highland Cow by Natalie Russell (gifted to us by our Scottish friends before they left, including a stuffed Hamish himself!) and The Very Quiet Click Beetle by Eric Carle. The book pictured here is What Shall We Do With the Boo Hoo Baby? by Cressida Cowell.

The Towers of Jahli Fort

2009-06-07T15:31:00.005+04:00

Just some shots I snapped yesterday when we went for a quick visit to Jahli Fort. It is just around the corner from us situated on the edge of our favorite Jahli Park. I think it's the best fort in town. It was about 110 yesterday though so we only stayed for about half an hour. There is a great information center there though to take a break in the air conditioning.

This fort has several towers and at least one you can go up inside and climb several stories. Eleanor kept calling it a castle and was pretty adament it was a castle and not a fort. Thank you very much.

The Glorious Date

2009-06-06T09:00:00.006+04:00

After visiting the Oasis yesterday and marveling with Eleanor over the dates growing in the trees (you also see them on every tree around town, lining all the streets), I wanted to learn a little more about dates and confirm some of what I've heard from people here about them. They are a pretty amazing fruit when you think that they grow as a food in desert oases when almost nothing else does.

1. Dates are of high nutritional value. They are full of calcium, folic acid, potassium, protein, fiber, vitamin b6 and many other vitamins, as well as sugar which makes they taste like candy to me.

2. Dates are incredibly filling. It's amazing how one or two small dates can satiate your hunger. They are apparently used abundantly in the holy month of Ramadan when Muslims fast from dawn to dusk especially to open their fast with a date. They are seen to ward off obesity as they are greatly filling and ward off hunger, HOWEVER, these little dates have huge caloric content so they could have the opposite affect if one is not careful ;).

3. Dates are known for great health benefits to include: prevent cancer (Bedouin Arabs show an extremely low incidence rate of cancer), lower obesity, great calcium contributes to strong bones, cures constipation, etc.

4. Dates are attributed to easing child birth (!) as the ripe fruit contains a substance that urges uterine spasms and increases contractions especially in the time of delivery. The article I read talked about the benefits to eat during pregnancy but I've heard from local women that one should not eat them during pregnancy. They are also ideal for breast-feeding mothers.

I will miss eating fresh dates here but I know when we get home I will be able to find dates to buy and this makes me happy. I also think I'll bring a bunch with us home with us as well. All Eleanor has been saying the last couple days is "dates go in my belly" as she points them out to us. :)

information via this website

Three is the Magic Number

2009-06-05T19:16:00.015+04:00

I am stealing this post title from a friend's recent post as I have had this song in my head the last several days since she posted. Have you listened to Elizabeth Mitchell? If you have kiddos under 5 and haven't you must must go to the library, get it from Amazon--whatever, it's just too good. I think I would listen to her even if I didn't have a kiddo. Anyway, this song has been in my head and has been a thought of mine lately as I continue to enjoy this year abroad with lots of family time with Michael, girlie and I.

Today we spent part of the late afternoon at Al Ain Oasis. I've blogged about this beautiful place many times but I can't help it. I love to go there. Today was magic for many reasons.

1. The oasis is a cooler place to go during the hotter summer months here. You feel the cool underneath the canopy of date palms and that alone is a reason to visit.

2. The dates have been growing this last month or so and you can see them high up in the trees in all their glory. When we came in September it was the end of the season, so it's neat to see them up there growing away. I never had a date before this year and I have to say I will miss eating fresh dates terribly. They are so good!

Eleanor was fascinated looking up at the dates. She is always asking to eat them.

3. Eleanor digs this place. She must feel like she's in a jungle with trees to climb, brush to bust through, funny curved sticks that become trumpets....

The slanted based palms are the easiest to climb but note to self - flip flops are not the best things to wear when doing so! Watch out! Eleanor thought this was quite funny while I was happy I regained balance and didn't slap our faces down the trunk! yikes!

4. The oasis has an ancient falaj irrigation system. During our very first trip to the oasis in September when we arrived we had a great time splashing and cooling off in the water that was flowing through it. I captured this treasured photo below from that first visit....

...but then ever since this first visit many many months ago, we've barely seen a lick of water, just empty irrigation or occassional water under areas we can't access. Today I heard the water rushing and was so excited to come upon water gushing through an area of the oasis! It was so cooling and wonderful I can't even begin to describe how awesome it was.

5. After almost a year of having my fancy DSLR camera I am STILL learning to use it. It can be downright frustrating some days when I can't get the settings right. Plus toddlers have to be the most challenging subjects to shoot! I could use automatic more but it's not the same quality and I hate flash!

Anyway, today was one of those days when the natural lighting was premo and my camera settings worked out pretty much and there was magic I captured.

So induldge me in this post with many many photos. I can see several of these framed up in our house when we get home (we fly 8 weeks exactly from today!). I love that Eleanor has these photos of this time here in the UAE to look back on when she was a wee one.

The Book of the Week

2009-06-05T13:05:00.007+04:00

I wanted to share a great picture book we checked out today at the library-- The Swirling Hijaab by Na'imh bint Robert and Nilesh Mistry. It's a wonderful depiction of a little arab girl playing in many different ways with her mother's hijaab. With a swirl of her hand she uses the hijaab as tent, a ship's sail, tea party, warrior queen's cloak (like this depiction of girl power!), blanket, nomad's baggage, etc. It's a wonderful multicultural book that has been published in 20 dual languages (English always present). This image is the Urdu edition rather than the Arabic edition I have just ordered for home. This will be another great add to our collection for Eleanor to have representing her time here in the Middle East.

The Swirling Hijaab reminds me of a another picture book I love - My Mother's Sari by Sandhya Rao. This is a stunning book as well that is a personal favorite that I highly recommend. From School Libary Journal: "A simple text celebrates a childs connection with her mothers sari, a stretch of cloth that is long like a train and that fills the air with color when I dance and sing. A blue sari is a river; a patterned one is a place to hide with her friends. Best of all, the youngster wraps herself in the vivid cloth because she loves how it makes her dream. The endpapers demonstrate how to wrap the garment. Full-spread illustrations capture the colors and textures of the fabrics and the little girls wide-eyed playfulness and love of her mothers attire."

Catching Up

2009-06-03T10:55:00.006+04:00

I haven't been snapping any pictures lately. I went into my folders to see when was the last time and gasped to realize it's been over a month and a half! eeek. How did that happen? So I snapped some of girlie today and thought I would share a few - I'm sure my Mom will appreciate this. Girlie was sick for a few days, so it's extra great to see her eating, smiling, and being silly again.

On a sad note, we said goodbye to a few great friends this past week. This is the time of year many expats start to take off for summer holidays back to their home countries or wherever they fancy to see family and escape the heat. Most friends are leaving end of June, but sadly our little friend Maddy (and baby sis Ailsa) and her mom, Lorraine, took off for Scotland. We will miss them. I promised Lorraine that sometime in the next 10 years (being realistic!) we'll come visit them in Scotland. This is one of the hard things about expat living - saying goodbye on many fronts....

We'll miss you! xx

Hey

2009-05-21T16:00:00.005+04:00

So, how are you guys? It's been another blog break over here.....and I realized I haven't even pick up my camera in over a month! Terrible. It has been hot hot here though with temps usually around 105-110 degrees and honestly not alot of outdoor time (and picture snapping) save late afternoons at the pool and the park in the evening. I can't even imagine what the heat is going to be like in a few more weeks.

This weekend, starting today, we are....

--celebrating Michael's birthday
--heading to the beach in Ajman tomorrow morning
--lounging and reading while sunbathing
--eating at our favorite Indian Restaurant, Marsala Craft, on the Al Quasba Canal
--going to the Central Souq in Sharjah
--returning to Al Ain and going for a stroll in the Al Ain Oasis and take some beauty shots of the date palms as the dates are starting to grow plentifully. I'm already thinking how much I am going to miss eating the delicious fresh dates here.

I'm reading a really good book right now - Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout. The book contains thirteen connected stories -- I loved short stories. What are you reading now? Do you have any short story collections to recommend?

Have a great weekend! xx

Happy Mother's Day!

2009-05-10T00:01:00.001+04:00

Of course I am thinking of our Moms today on Mother's Day. This is one of my favorite photos of my Mama with Eleanor taken last August right before we left. I know she is pretty anxious to see girlie again. I love that their hair is the same color here and forgot how much girlie used to squeeze up her whole sweet face when she gave kisses :)

My mom was right there with me and Michael when Eleanor came into the world. It was pretty special having her there. Love you, Mom.