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!

Kids Who Stare at Goats

Our Adventures in Oman

This past weekend we ventured out of the country for the first time since we arrived.  We traveled by car to Oman, the country just East and South of the UAE.  It is about a 2 hour drive, and our resort was on the coast of Oman just outside Dibba in a little cove called Zighy Bay.  Paradise was waiting, but alas we got lost on the journey.  And when you are "lost" in the desert, it is not the "Augusto is too proud to stop at the gas station and ask" kind of lost.  It is LOST.  As in, dirt roads, no road signs AT ALL, no civilization, no other cars. The roads are totally unmarked, and if you consult your navigation system it cheerfully advises you that you are driving in the middle of nothing, not even on a road.  However, much like California (only reversed), if you continue to drive East you will eventually hit the Gulf of Oman and you can go from there.  So, we weren't too worried (although the dead camel by the side of the road did give me pause), and soon reconnected with our course. 

In order to access Zighy Bay, you can either parasail, speedboat, or take your car over a steep dirt mountain pass.  We opted for the speedboat.  We departed from Dibba Port, which was filled with old traditional Dhows (large transport boats), and the moment we left the port all you could see was the Gulf and mountains.  

We cruised taking in the beautiful mountains for about 15 minutes, when we rounded a rock formation into a stunning cove.  Set against the mountains was our resort, Zighy Bay.  It is difficult to explain the beauty, because it is so sparse and almost barren, but the organic, untouched mountains are spectacular.  Our room was set right on the soft sand beach, complete with it's own pool, and the resort is the only civilization in the cove.  The tiny figure in the picture below (taken from directly in front of our room) is Caroline

We were lucky to be joined by some wonderful friends we have made here - the Bryant Family.  Emily, Deric, Blake (9), Olivia (7), Luke (5) and Lilly (1).  The children quickly formed a beach posse, and went native.  They played in the surf, sand and pool for hours and hours, enjoying the largely deserted resort.  They kayaked out around the cove and snorkeled, seeing a school of Angel fish, two Squids, Sea Snakes, a giant Ray, and all kind of other critters.  The cove is densely populated with wild goats, and the kids had a blast feeding the very friendly four legged friends.



We spent a long, luxurious and relaxing weekend, and we were all sad to leave.  Feeling adventurous, we opted for the 4X4 mountain trek on the way out, and wound our way on dirt switchbacks up and over the mountain.  It was nail biting, but stunning. 



Coming from the urban sprawl of Dubai, this little part of Oman was simply heavenly.  As always, we think of each of you when we travel, and in a very real way you are always on our adventures with us! 

My So Called Arabian Life

Lest you all think that I am only living the glamorous life, I will share with you some of the things that are uniquely different, and usually challenging, about living here in Dubai.  For those of you who are only interested in the exciting parts of our life - this is not for you.  You can skip this entry and continue on to our Oman trip (coming soon).  Here it is, the good, the bad, and the bizarre:

TELEVISION
Sure, we have American TV here.  I've particularly enjoyed re-watching the first season of House in completely random order.  I also have been able to catch up on some classics like "Keeping up with the Kardashians" and "Leave it to Llamas", and Augusto's favorite, "Dating in the Dark".  Oh - and the Bachelor is pretty current.  I love that Andrew Firestone.  You can get a device called a Slingbox, which will somehow magically (or through technology, unclear) forward your American TV here.  We don't have that yet.  You can also watch Soccer on 8 channels.  At all times.  Or, you can watch Arabic movies, which invariably involve some sort of deal with a very flamboyantly dressed devil which results in everyone breaking into song and dance.  If you are looking for an education, sometimes you can find an American movie on, but then the Arabic subtitles on the top and the French and Chinese subtitles below largely obscure the action.

GROCERIES
There are some very nice British markets - like Waitrose and Choithram - in which we can get many things we are used to having back home, plus other goodies like pickled gherkins.  Not sure what those are, but they take up almost an entire aisle in Waitrose, so they must be good.  The part of shopping that I find most challenging is that almost all of the grocery stores are located within a mall.  So, you park your car in the mall, grocery shop, and then push your cart back through the mall to your car.  Would be much easier if the floors weren't heavily waxed, causing inexperienced mall cart drivers to lose control of their purchases and crash into cellular phone carts in the middle of the mall (I'm just saying).  There is one "American" market called Safestway (not SAFEway) where you can pay 25DHS (or the equivalent of roughly $8) for Cheerios.  Trust me, it's worth it.  However, nowhere in the UAE seems to have Goldfish crackers.  My very kind friend from Texas actually gifted me a Costco sized goldfish box that she smuggled all the way from America.  I love her.

DRIVING
Too bad I didn't get licensed by Nascar before arriving.  Driving here is hazardous for many reasons.  1)All it takes for expats from many countries to get a license is an eye test.  2) They are CONSTANTLY changing the roads, and everything is under construction - so that exit ramp that you took yesterday may be totally gone, and the only warning is a single cone 5 feet before the exit.  This causes a lot of very rapid lane changing on everyone's part. 3) 50% of the people drive like either their asses are on fire and they need to get to water, or someone in the front seat of their car is in immediate danger of giving birth and they don't want to stain their leather.  I'm talking FAST!  And they weave in and out of the other 50% of the people who drive about 40 mph on the freeway.  All in all, it's pretty scary.  I'm surviving using skills I learned while skiing - the person in FRONT of you is totally in charge, and they may swerve, stop, flail or crash at any moment, so watch out! 

SERVICE
The service industry here is insane.  Everyone wants to help you, because it is their job to do so.  Perfect example is the mall - there are three guys wearing vests telling you where to park.  There are three guys who run up to you and ask to wash your car for you while you shop.  I have been asked if I need assistance pushing my cart through the grocery and retrieving items from the shelves.  Then, your groceries are bagged for you and someone wants to push the cart out to your car and unload it.  After a few near misses with the waxed floor (see above), I now allow them to do so.  They don't expect tips, although of course they are appreciated. At first, not wanting to impose on everyone - I acted like a three year old - "I CAN DO IT MYSELF!".  Then, I realized that these are truly jobs, and it's somewhat offensive to the people doing them to refuse help.  The groundskeeper at our house was completely scandalized when I strolled out in my very own backyard, fired up the bbq, and started scrubbing off the grill, while wearing my bikini (it was HOT people!) and having a beer.  He let out a strangled "MA'AM!!!" and tried to relieve me of the scrubber while not looking at me in my bathing suit - so he ended up backing up towards me and waving his hands behind his back. I also love that they deliver the dry cleaning.  I know - we have that service at home - but here the list of things you can have dry cleaned includes your Dishdasha, Gathra, Salwar Suit, Safari Suit (you know how dirty those safaris can be),  or your Salwar Khamis. 

WEATHER
Have we mentioned that it is hot here? 

BILLS
Paying bills is definitely different. You don't write checks and mail them, nor can you go on-line to pay them.  For cable (because I have to see what happens to Kim and Khloe) you have to pay at the mall (are you seeing a theme here?).  For electricity and water, you get to pay at the gas station.  For gas, we're not sure.  We got a bill but don't know how to pay it.  Last time the "gas guy" knocked on our door and said "Gas Guy. Your bill 350 dirhams.  You pay now." So we did.  Best not to take chances.  We're kind of hoping he comes around again, so they don't turn off our gas.  You also pay for a service contract on your home, so if anything goes wrong you call the service company.  They will then send anywhere from 8-10 men over to look at the problem.  Literally, they stand around and look at it.  After much deliberation they formulate a plan.  Sometimes, it's a good plan.  Sometimes it involves things like trying to tie two 12 foot step ladders together using string to make a 24 foot step ladder to try to reach the ceiling of the villa.

THE PHONES
Let's just say I feel very blonde when it comes to this little piece of technology I should have mastered back in the 1970's. All the phone numbers are different lenghts, different prefixes, and completely confound me.  Here are some examples:  Augusto is 55-454-0173. Home is 4-444-6656.  My friend Karen is 50-925-6419.  Sometimes you need to dial +971 beforehand, but I can't find a key with a "+" on my landline phone.  I have absolutely no idea what my own cell phone number is.  How does that happen?   So, if I never call you, it's because I really can't figure out how. 


Nevertheless, it is these little differences that make living here exciting.  We are still having a wonderful time, the kids love school, and all is well.  Thinking of everyone daily!!

Dinner with Expats

So, the dinner party here takes on a whole new meaning!  First, I have to say we probably have a fuller social calendar here than we do in the states, because since everyone is from somewhere else they are all eager to make new friends. This weekend alone we have three dinner parties - and the dinner party here is quite the social event.

On Thursday (the beginning of our weekend) we had a fantastic night with our new friends from Texas - new Expats to Dubai just like us. They have 4 beautiful children - three girls aged 9, 7 and 1 and one (very outnumbered but adorable) boy age 5.  They had us over to their lovely house in Emirates Hills - a new housing community and one of the greener areas in Dubai.  The kids had a FABULOUS time running wild in their huge pool and yard, eating nuggets and ice cream, playing Moxie girls and soldiers, and watching a movie.  All 5 of them (the baby was sleeping) get along famously, and they are like a little desert posse already. We ate homemade mexican food (which you can't get here in restaurants) and had a special Texas drink called Summer Beer, which rivals my house specialty of the Iced Tea drink, and WOW do those sneak up on you!  I'll make y'all a big pitcher when I get home.  A great night all around!

On Friday we were invited to another home on the Palm owned by our friends - he is the president of Atlantis Dubai - which makes for a splendid dinner party.  Their home is beautiful - set for entertaining - and he used all the hotel resources (including furniture from the hotel) to pull out all the stops.  Upon arriving the staff greeted us with fresh juices, champagne and cold towels.  We then proceeded to the back yard, which was fully decorated in arabian style with lanterns and torches all over the beach and a beautiful arabic dining area with pillows, drapes and flowers everywhere. You could kayak, fish, swim or innertube off the beach - all assisted by a full staff of Atlantis employees.  The chefs at Atlantis cooked an amazing dinner of lamb, short ribs, local fish and salads, topped off with the most amazing assortment of pasteries.  But the best part was the guest list!  We met (and thorougly enjoyed) the Vice President/Incoming President of Maldives and his family - his wife, daughter, and son in law (from Cupertino, CA!) and their children.  They, of course, were the guests of honor - but were the most fun, easy going people and such a pleasure to hang out with.  The other guests were their neighbors - a German appliance importer who looked like the Big Lebowski and was the seriously the funniest person I have ever met.  I now have lots of German cultural tidbits like "Did you know it's not a real Weinerschnitzel unless it's as big as a toilet?" or "I try to teach my boys - if it's free, eat all you can.  Free food is not to be taken lightly.  No really, stuff it in.  Get some whipped cream on that ice cream".

It is truly a marvelous experience to sit at a dinner table with people from all over the world and laugh at the things that all draw us together - children, expat life, and, well, weinerschnitzel.  It brings it home that at the bottom of things - hoteliers, bankers, toaster salesmen and presidents are just people.  

Tomorrow night we are hosting Augusto's team (6 bankers, their wives and families) for Italian night.  I'm cooking pasta.  Yes, for those of you who have sampled my cooking, I will need your thoughts and prayers.  Wish me luck.  Too bad I don't have the staff at Atlantis at my disposal! 

Next weekend we are taking off for Oman.  We're staying at resort in a beach cove, and you can choose to access it by speedboat or paragliding.  We're going with speedboat.  The weather here is STILL crazy hot - over 100 and 95ish at night. 

We think of home and all our wonderful friends and families there often!  We hope you are all well!