Hip Hip Hooray for National Day!

The UAE is the on the "perpetual holiday" program.  Meaning, everything is cause for a celebration.  Add that to the fact that we celebrate all the American holidays and most of the British ones for good measure, and it pretty much equals a permanent party.  It reminds me a little of college, or maybe Vegas, when you get to the point where you just feel like you CAN'T possibly keep eating and drinking...until the next night.  Instead of the Freshman Fifteen I think I have the Expat Eleven.  And maybe then some.  But no matter, we're having a great time!

The latest entry into the Holiday parade was National Day - celebrated on December 2nd.  National Day denotes the day that the United Arab Emirates was formed - in 1971.  It is a very, very proud day for Emiratis!  In general, the UAE has tremendous national spirit and a great love for the rulers in particular, but for National Day they really pull out all the stops.  Check out the special vehicle flair:

Can you imagine if for the Fourth of July we all airbrushed the President and Vice President on to our cars?  I could turn the Escalade into a big Obama-Mobile, with Biden riding shotgun. 

We got into the spirit and had a National Day party, complete with UAE flags and Sheik flags.  It is still warm enough for a beach day here, so we had friends over for a little snorkeling, swimming and kite flying.  I looked for a UAE flag bikini, but was unsuccessful.  I did get Augusto a really sweet Sheik neckscarf though!  We even decked out our patio with National Day decor!

There were all sorts of events, fireworks and parties.  Even hot air balloon rides!  You can't tell in this picture - but guess what the balloon had painted on the side?  If you guessed The Sheik - you would be correct!

And we must introduce you to someone very important!  Four houses up the frond a new family moved in, and fortunately for everyone - they have a second grader at the American School!  His name is Sam, and he is from London (lots of different Expats end up at the American School).  Both girls adore him, and they spend many happy afternoons between our two houses and on the beach.  I encourage them to play Harry Potter as much as possible, because when Sam says "I am Har-ry Pot-ter" it sounds all adorable and authentic with his accent.  Sadly, he prefers to be Voldemort.  Meet Sam:

We also finally broke down and joined the legions of people who have extended their living space on to the actual beach and made a big purchase that had the girls LITERALLY jumping for joy:

And so yet another holiday was done, and now we look forward to coming home - and celebrating with all of you - our friends and loved ones we miss so dearly!  See you all soon!

Turkey Time

 

Many of you have asked if Thanksgiving is celebrated in Dubai like many other "American" holidays.  The plain answer to that is a resounding "Nope"!  Unlike Halloween,  which many other countries have adopted, Thanksgiving is that lonely holiday that no one is interested in besides those of us in the great US of A.  In fact, most non-expats have never even heard of the holiday.  Case and point:

      

I am leading my 10 little "Brownies" (you know, miniature non full-fledged girl scouts) and decide that it would be fun to tie in a little Native American theme to our Eco-Explorers badge, seeing that it is the week of Thanksgiving. We're permitted to talk about American things since after all, we are the American School.  I planned to dress them as Native Americans and let them choose Native American style names, sit in a pow-wow, the works. So, I whip together some feather headbands, and beaded necklaces, and ceremoniously announce my great idea to 10 sweet round faces.  Blank looks (except of course, on Georgia, who has played this game with Grandma Terry). Hmm.  "Has anyone heard of the Native Americans?" I ask (Georgia shoots her hand up triumphantly, the others look confused).  "Sometimes they are called Indians?" I try again.  Oh yes!  Oh Indians!  We know them!  "I AM Indian!" one little girl shouts.  Yes. True. Really good point there.  Then inspiration strikes - "You know, like Pocahontas?" YES!  We all know Pocahontas.  And then they were 100% with me.  Thank you, good people of Disney for that (warped, historically deficient) common ground. 

My other favorite (Non)Thanksgiving moment was when I walked into the local hotel to pick up the roasted turkeys we had ordered.  Luckily, the hotel industry caters to expats, so they have a whole holiday menu.  Unsure of where to pick up my coveted fowl, I asked the gentleman working at the front desk. "Hello there!  I'm here to pick up my Thanskgiving Dinner?" To which he replies "You are welcome!".  Huh? 

Language barrier conquered, we carted our dinner to the car and trekked to the home of our friends, the Bryants.  In a true testament to that rumored Texas hospitality, the Bryants hosted 17 children and 14 adults on Thanksgiving (hence the two turkeys).  Emily did a fabulous job decorating, and even included her Australian neighbors (who just moved to Dubai from Cambodia).  Our turkeys were thankfully DELICIOUS! However, the "sides" that came with the turkeys were a loose interpretation of edible.  The stuffing was literally dark grey.  I would have taken a picture but I threw it away for fear of contamination.  The "gravy" was actually something that looked like turkey fat mixed with marinara sauce.  Trashed.  Fortunately, Emily had whipped up some scrumptious stuffing, green been casserole and corn casserole, and our other friends had brought broccoli rice casserole, homeade rolls, pies, and the rest of the works! 

So, it's a long answer to a short question.  Do we really have Thanksgiving in Dubai?  No.  Can you make Thanksgiving in Dubai with good friends, good food and good will?  Absolutely.

Happy Holidays Everyone!



Road Trip!

And we're off!

Starting November 11, the children had a full 10 days off of school to celebrate Eid Al Adha - an important religious holiday celebrated by Muslims.  It commemorates the willingness of Abraham to sacrifice his son as an act of obedience to God.  Luckily, God intervened to provide him with a ram to sacrifice instead.  There are many interesting traditions for Eid Al Adha - but the most significant is that families will take great care to nourish and welcome an animal (almost always a goat) into their home for several weeks, and then will slaughter the goat during Eid in rememberance of Abraham's devotion.  So, if you remember from our previous discussions, there are LOTS AND LOTS of goats in Oman.  Well, now there are even MORE goats hanging about - literally hundreds of goats - looking rather chipper and hapless and not so clued in as to what awaits.  Interesting.  But I digress...

So, in true American style - Religious Holiday = Excuse to Travel.  We decided to drive all the way across the Arabian Peninsula to Muscat, the capital city of Oman.  This is about a 5 hour drive, if you don't count the border crossing.  We are traveling with our dear friends and travel companions the Bryant family.  We have 6 children between us.  Let me give you a run down of how that all turns out : 

A) Drive 90 miles. Pass UAE/Omani Border to Exit UAE, drive 20 more miles into Oman.

B) Pass through Checkpoint to Enter Oman, drive 10 more miles.

C)Arrive at Omani Border Control. Wait in line in smelly, burning hot passport office for 30 minutes.

D)Realize that passports needed to be stamped upon exit of UAE. At the Border. 30 miles back.

So, essentially, you need to do three things to exit or enter the UAE or Oman.  We blew past #1 (which had NO signage or explanation - we just thought all those people waiting in line must have not been UAE residents.  Oops, our bad.) Here is a pic of the kids stuck in Oman/UAE purgatory:



After that it was smooth sailing, and there were many interesting things to see on the drive.  The drive is a four lane road with little towns about every 5 miles.  It is entirely different from the urban hustle and glitz of Dubai, and it was fascinating to see small town Arabia in action.  Here are some of the town sights:

Note that Omani headgear is different than Emirati headgear!  They are rather jaunty little brightly colored caps.  And of course, we were not the only ones out enjoying the drive on this fine Eid.  We had many travelling companions on the road:

Muscat is not only the capital of Oman, but one of the most well preserved and oldest cities in the region.  The entire city is built into the rocky coastline, still maintains some of the original forts and an old, authentic Souk - the Muttrah Souk.  We poked around in the Souk and let the kids choose a treasure:

And like anything else in Arabia - there must be plenty of fun in the sun!  More scuba diving, plenty of pool time, and of course the obligitory camel. 

 

And time for friends - Caroline and Blake, Augusto and Deric hit the sea:

While Georgia and Olivia enjoy the pool:

After three days of sun and adventure, we trekked home.  The border crossing was even worse on the way home - we were careful this time not to blow by check points, but it was the equivalent of travelling on the day before Thanksgiving.  Live and learn!  Nonetheless, a fabulous time was had by all!

We can't believe it's almost Thanksgiving and we will be home in exactly a month!  Looking forward to seeing all of you over the holidays!  With much love!!!

Bill and Terry's Excellent Adventure

         

Welcome Grandma and Grandpa!  We are so excited to have our very first visitors!  Grandma Terry and Grandpa Bill arrived for a 10 day visit!  Everyone was thrilled, and poor jetlagged Grandma and Grandpa got sucked down into the Halloween Vortex, which lasted the first four days of their visit! They arrived on October 28 at Casa Sasso Dubai - where the (almost) ripe dates were definitely waiting!

First order of business?  Beachcombing! The girls have been waiting to share all the treasures they find on our beach. 

And of course, since it is Dubai, you must do lots and lots of eating.  Friday Brunch is an Expat tradition - you go and eat for hours and hours every Friday afternoon!  There is live music, activities for the kids, and enough food to stock 10 Vegas style buffets.  We went to the Madinat Jumeirah - a resort right down the beach from the Palm. 

We explored the older areas in Dubai, including the traditional "Souks" the Souks are essentially open air marketplaces, and are located on either side of the Dubai Creek.  We saw the Spice Souk:

 

                                   

Checked out the Textile Souk - where I was much entertained when one of the shopkeepers spied my Dad standing, arms crossed, and tried to convince me that "Big Boss needs Dishdasha".  My Dad disagreed.

                      

You can cross the creek on a traditional Dhow (large boat) or an Abra (small taxi boat). 

We adventured to the city of Al Ain - home to the Wild Animal Park and the Camel Market.  The Camel Market is located in the middle of the desert, and is where camels are bought, sold and traded.  You drive out into the sand and you can check out all the camels and buy camel goods.

We spent one night at the Bab Al Shams - an authentic Arabian resort in the desert- just to get away from Dubai and experience some Arabic traditions.  Everyone finally got to ride a camel and witness a display of Falconry.  Falconry is the ancient practice of training Falcons to hunt prey.  The trained falcons are tame, but they have to wear masks at all times or they become very agitated. 

                                 



Our adventurous Grandparents departed, not for home, but for a Safari in Kenya!  We had a wonderful time on their visit, and we hope we gave them at least a little time to relax!  Love to all at home!

This is Halloween! This is...Halloween?

Halloween in the Sasso household may actually eclipse Christmas in enthusiasm and importance.  We really get behind the holiday as a whole - it's our favorite! Of course, we knew that the rest of the world doesn't necessarily share our enthusiasm for the creepy and the candy - so we were curious to see what the celebrations would bring. 

Being that we are at the "American" school, there were plenty of fantastic events and parties, so we certainly weren't deprived!  The children had celebrations in their classrooms and were allowed to wear their costumes - Caroline was Hermione from Harry Potter, and Georgia was a Swan (yes, I admit the costume looks a little like a Vegas showgirl, but that's our Georgia - lots of flair).  The school also had a "Trick or Treat" night - since most areas in Dubai will not play host to trick or treating (somthing about witchcraft or demons being bad).  The parents all set up and decorated tables all around the school yard, and on the Friday before Halloween the kids "trick or treated" around the school.  This, it turns out, was a fantastic treat for our kids, as they collected all their goods, scarfed down a bunch of junk, and then spent the remainder of the event chasing their friends around the field like berserk monkeys.  We capped off the celebration on the actual day by Trick or Treating in an area called "The Meadows" - a beautiful development with a fair share of Expats, and therefore a more willingness to get behind this bizarre American phenomenon.  Here is G and some of her classmates:

And Caroline with her class.  Note the Harry Potter phenomenon - two Hermiones, two Harrys and one Voldemort.  And there are only 15 kids in the class:

But there were certainly things that were slighly off about this particular Halloween.  The holiday has found its way into into other cultures, but to varying degrees and with different interpretations.  So here you have it:

THE TOP 5 WAYS HALLOWEEN IS (MIS)UNDERSTOOD IN DUBAI:

1) Halloween should be VERY VERY scary.  As in, axe murderer, bloody decorations, Michael and Freddy scary.  Common costumes sold in the Carrefour (the previously mentioned hideous Wal-Mart/Swap Meet hybrid) included "Faceless Ghoul Murderer" and "Flesh Eating Crypt Keeper".  The mom who brought the "music" for the 2nd Grade party at school must have picked the Slasher Film Classics - so our cookie decorating was punctuated by blood curtling screams, squishy squealching stabbing sounds, and gurgling. Check out this method of handing out candy - it's tough to see but the fence sitter is actually wearing a zombie mask with pointed teeth.  But, since she/he had kit-kats, everyone was game:

2) Face Paint is required for all costumes, regardless of relevancy.  So, you'll see lots of blacked out eyes, bloody lips, white faces - sometimes painted on to kids wearing Princess or Policeman costumes.  Maybe they think everyone is supposed to have died a violent death and has returned to haunt and ask for candy? Hmmm...

3) Unwrapped Candy is perfectly acceptable.  Yep - you have a bag of gummy worms?  Some loose almonds? A few marshmallows?  Sure - go ahead and give them out to trick or treaters.  That's super sanitary.  Oh, and we did also hit someone handing out dixie cups of mystery juice.  Some selections:

4)You must go dressed as something related to "Halloween".  Exapmle: Our British friends showed up to our company party in full face paint (see above) - the family of four was dressed as a Pumpkin, Black Cat, Ghost, and Skeleton.  Even the little one year old (Harry) was completely covered in white face (ghost).  They were floored to find out you could actually dress up as WHATEVER YOU WANTED!  Although I did find it entertaining to see our friend Charles (who is usually quite dapper and Hugh Grant-ish) in full orange face paint with triangle eyes (pumpkin). 

5)Pumpkins can be any shape or size or color.  We ponied up our Dirhams at the school's pumpkin sale, only to find out that we were the recipients of something I would have identified as squash, or maybe a gourd.  I did find some "American" pumpkins (meaning they were actually orange, and somewhat round), and paid an extraordinary ransom for the privilidge.  It was worth it, though, to see our housekeeper Manni's reaction.  She brought it to me and asked "This is not real, no?  It's a toy?" I explained that indeed, that was a real pumpkin, and she could not get over it.  She kept caressing it and saying "So beautiful!".  I think it may still be in her room.  Here are the school's "pumpkins":

The end result?  Everyone had a fantastic Halloween!  And despite the fact that virtually no chocolate was handed out (given the 90 degree heat it is unwise), we called it a success!  Hope everyone had a happy and safe holiday!