Apparently the rainy season has started here. We have had a couple overnight thunderstorms with a bit of rain. We had a big windstorm this morning and it has just started to rain.

We had soccer again this morning. The reality of being the only girl is hitting Zoe. She was the last to be picked and they won't pass the ball to her. She is frustrated and annoyed and knows it is because they are 7 year old boys. It doesn't seem to be affecting her enthusiasm. Chase seems to be enjoying being the biggest in his group. He shows of his speed and helps the younger ones get to where they are supposed to be.

We are looking forward to a 2 day week next week and then another long holiday (not vacation time). Tuesday in UAE National Day and it is followed by the second Eid. We will be off for a week and a half. We decided not to go away on vacation and will be turtle-sitting for our neighbour.

Getting ready for Christmas

I know it is way early, and in Canada I would definitely not do this - but we went to our neighbourhood supermarket and they had Christmas trees and decorations. One thing that we have learned here is to buy things when they are available because they don't last long and when they're gone, they're gone - kind of like Costco!
We got a 6 foot tree (obviously artificial), lights, ornaments and various other decorations. The kids and I could hardly wait to get home to put them up.
For the past several days, the kids have been making presents and wrapping them up. We already have over a dozen presents under the tree.

It seems funny that we were on our way home from soccer when we went to the store. They have been playing Saturday mornings for the last few weeks - once the weather got cool enough. It is not quite the same as Zoe played in Penticton because there are no uniforms or teams. There are about 16 kids in her age group and at the end of the practice they divide into teams for a scrimmage based on the colour of shirt they happen to be wearing . I wasn't able to get too much information beforehand - so we were not prepared for the fact that Zoe is the only girl in her age group. At first she was concerned but she agreed to play for the day anyway. Now she has so much fun that she can hardly wait to get back each week. The boys don't talk to her - typical 7 year old boys, but they don't exclude her either. She actually holds her own very well and is probably about the middle of the pack talent wise. Where she really shines is the effort she puts in and the speed at which she races down the field. Another difference from Penticton is that parents are allowed to cheer and coach from the sidelines - and the scrimmages are really quite exciting so there is lots to cheer about.
Chase got off to a slower start. He was placed in the beginner group (and he expected to be playing with Zoe) because he really has no experience. He appears to be about the oldest in his group and they spend most of the time running and doing ball handling. Fortunately, after the second week he made a friend and now he looks forward to going too.
Although the weather has cooled down considerably, it is still in the low 30's every day. They get pretty warm playing, but it is ideal weather for sitting on the sidelines.

A relaxing day out

Last weekend we got together a large group of people (adults and kids) and went to the Al Sahra Resort for lunch. It is a tourist destination - out in the desert with buildings made to look like rustic Arabic buildings with Majlis areas and firepits set out all around the large property. It is actually quite beautiful and we had the most relaxing time. The buffet included traditional Arabic food and a scrumptious dessert bar. Because we were a large group with children, we were given our own room. Lunch entertainment included belly dancing and acrobats. When the performers weren't busy, they took the kids for face painting, drawing activities and played with them in another huge room. After lunch, we went and sat outside in the Majlis (traditionally this is a sitting area, usually with cushions on the ground but we had sofas, where the men sit around and discuss ????) No one minded that we sat there all afternoon and chatted. The kids ran around the desert and played. There were some tiny shops selling carpets, jewelry, clothing and nic nacs and tourist trinkets. The highlight of the day was the camel rides! The kids went on several times and I even got on one. When Chase got on we were struck with how big they really are. The camel standing up and especially getting back down are the spooky parts - especially considering how tall they are. I'll post photos soon.

Fujairah Road Trip

We actually spent Halloween day sightseeing. The drive to Fujairah is just over 100 kilometers. We had a vague idea of where we were going so we programmed the GPS and hoped for the best. The weather was sunny and warm (34) and the traffic was light!

Our first unexpected stop was Masafi - a large souk with huge open roadside shop after shop of carpets. There were some beautiful silk Persian rugs and runners of all sizes and cheesy touristy rugs. We ended up with 2 cushion covers instead! Part of the fun of the souk is negotiating the price. The first shop we stopped at wanted 200 dhs per cushion cover. We ended up paying 165 for both - and he threw in a coaster! Moving passed the carpets, the souks sell plants. We bought a beautiful hibiscus with orange and yellow flowers. So far we have had a new flower almost every day. It is still too hot to put it outside, so we are keeping it in our dining room. The next items were fruits and vegetables. We ate some delicious green citrus fruit that tasted like oranges and bought some sort of a beverage that we drank out of the shell. I think it must have been coconut milk. The man literally cut it off the tree and opened it for us.

Talk about a small world, we bumped into the principal and several teachers from the kid's school at the souk! After walking along for the equivalent of several blocks, we decided to stop shopping - there were several more shops on both sides of the highway - and get back on the road.

Wildlife along the roadside included camels and goats. We stopped to have a picnic and were joined by 3 very friendly (and hungry) goats. We saw several signs warning of camel crossing, but the ones we saw were all in the distance.

Fujairah is on the other side of the mountains. Apparently they are the result of an underground volcano thousands of years ago. The road was a beautiful modern highway. After passing through the mountains, we reached the coastline. It was very refreshing to see small villages with no highrises! We made a stop at the beach and collected shells from the Gulf. Chase even found a clam shell that was still closed. We found a couple starfish and several crabs, but decided to leave them rather than try and keep them as pets. Just when we decided to leave the beach, we noticed 2 gentleman walking along giving horse rides down the beach. Of course we couldn't make Zoe miss that opportunity. Chase even enjoyed a ride.

Thanks to everyone who lets us know you are reading and enjoying our blog. It's great to hear that you are out there and haven't forgotten about us.

Halloween

Halloween was a little different this year. There was absolutely no mention of the holiday at the kid's school. A few stores had a very limited selection of costumes, but the day basically came and went without any acknowledgement.
We actually spent the day of Halloween touring the Emirate of Fujairah - but that is another post. The next morning, we had a candy hunt inspired by the Easter bunny. The kids loved it, especially since they got to have candy for breakfast.
We were invited to a family Halloween party at the home of friends of aquaintances of ours in the afternoon. They live in Sharjah. Have I ever mentioned Sharjah traffic? It was bumper to bumper at 1:00 on a Saturday afternoon! When I say bumper to bumper, I mean that there is less than 2 feet between vehicles and people still push their way in - very stressful. Anyway, after driving like this for over half an hour (and getting only a few miles) we made a wrong turn and ended up on the road back to Dubai. Since we were quite late for the party and still had no idea where we were going and couldn't get a hold of anyone, we gave up and came home. We went over to another friend's home who lives in our building and the kids got to show off their costumes.