A Multi-Cultural Mix

It is Tuesday morning here.  I am having the hardest time with this blog. The last two weeks were great. Russell's visit, Easter, the Royal Wedding(fun because I got to watch it with some British friends), a Japanese fund raiser for the Tsunami victims sponsored by the Japanese school here, and even alittle bit of Sweden at the new largest Ikea in the Middle East.
 And then the news yesterday, which is why it is awkward writing this blog.  We woke up to the breaking headlines...Osama bin Laden is dead. Wow. After all these years. I know how we process all of this, as Americans, is personal.  For me, it brought back memories of that day.  Watching the TV, buildings collapsing, people running, falling, crying.  And nightmares.  Even writing this I feel the tears behind my eyes..the lump in my throat. So much sadness. Pain. Grief. Fear.  BUT I must be honest. I'm not jumping up and down over this man's death.  Maybe it is where I live. Surrounded by the lost EVERYWHERE.   There is just too much to do to sit and celebrate death. Too many dying. Too many  without hope.  Sure, I am relieved. And yes, justice has been served. I'm glad. BUT all the partying just feels weird to me.  So that's just me. We all have a hundred reasons for our responses.  And naturally, with Russell living in Kabul and us living here, well, it does make for some interesting days.

Sunrise Service

Russell sharing with friends about his job in Kabul. He did a great job. We are so proud of him. 

Tea and Tiaras- watching the Royal wedding. My friend Pat, from Northern Ireland and London had a poster that said, Love is in the Heir.  

Enjoying a snack at the swedish cafeteria in the new Ikea. 

People wrote their wishes and prayers for tsunami victims and hung them on the bamboo tree .  My friend said they raised  about 20,000 dirhams for the Japanese Red Cross and Red Crescent. (about 5500 dollars) She was so happy. She is from Japan and said "We are way over here. We need to help anyway we can. "  

  

April brings Visitors!

At church last Friday we met Mike. Had been here about 10 days.  We took him with us to the Mesopotamia exhibit. Mike is from Kansas City. Graduated from KState the same year as my Mike!!

This month we also met a young performer from west Africa. He was here for WOMAD.  The World  of Music  Arts and Dance.  He came and did a workshop with the kids. Here he demonstrates the Kousa. or African harp. We got to see him perform at the beach as well.  The group is the African-Celt Sound System.  Irish and Afirican music. AMAZING!!  

Look closely. 3 tired young men. They spent the whole night watching Lord of the Rings. Finally at around 5 am they passed out. 

Our friend Katie Pritz popped into Abu Dhabi on her way home to US from visiting her hubby Kevin in Djakarta.  We had coffee on Pattie's porch and freinds popped in to see her.

So April has been a busy month so far. And Russell is coming on Friday. More pictures to come! 

Surprise!! Sallie is 16!!

Historically, I worked hard to give fun birthday parties for my kids. My friend Cindy and I talked about how we should start a birthday party business.  We never did, but we did have fun with our own kids' birthdays.   One year Russell had big Texas party..with an Alamo cake.  Another year he had a lego party and my friend Rhonda made big lego blocks for the cake.   Ryan had a superhero party and all the kids came as Batman, except his one friend, Josh.  He came as Robin. Made for great pictures. :)  Sallie had a bug party one year and we hid plastic bugs in the park. The kids were all given bug nets and had to hunt for them.   For Robert's first birthday we did a smiley face theme. His cake was big and yellow and happy. :) He also had a Buzz Lightyear Party one year.

So we just finished Sallie's 16th birthday. In her own words.."Best Party Ever, Mom...well, except for maybe my Moosie party when I turned 11."  (We played Dog Dog Moose, and our sweet dog Moose sat in the middle of the circle the whole time. We miss him. )  Anyway, this year Sallie's friends Nadia and Jerusha surprised her at the park.  They invited her friends and she had a blast. Mike and I are having trouble with the fact that our little girl is 16, but other than that we are glad it was a good day for her. Next month Robert turns 13 (NO WAY) and no, I don't have any idea what we will do for his big day. :)

On a side note, summer is here. Ugh. This week we have been hitting 100s. So glad Sallie's day was nice. This evening after I dropped Robert off at church for some teacher training, it started to sprinkle. I rolled down my window just to feel the drops. The  "rain" only managed to make my car filthier but there is hope for  more. Hah.

Been missing Ryan and Russell lately. Russell is coming for Easter but we won't see Ryan until July. The hardest part of living over here......

Off to clean up the kitchen.
More later.

Jason, Josh, Sallie, Emma, Laurie, Emery, Meghan, Nancy and  Kaityn-at Sallie's 5th birthday 

Sri Lanka in the Spring

As sort of a mini spring break, Mike and I went to Sri Lanka with our friends Barry and Pattie last week.  It was a fantastic 4 days.  We stayed at a boutique hotel with only 7 rooms.  Decorated to the nth degree. Tranquil. Green. On the ocean. Coconut palms. Hammocks. Masseuse. Infinity pool. Mouthwatering meals. Yep. Four days of relaxation.  Oh, and elephant rides, too. We really wanted to relax, which is what we did, but we also toured a little bit. Not too much but a little bit. Sri Lanka, formerly Ceylon, until the early 70s, is a beautiful island. Full of tea plantations,  sunny beaches, and smiling faces, it was a fun, beautiful place to visit. We went to a turtle hatchery and to a castle/ plantation home built in 1903.  Time flew by and we are really thinking about a return trip, this time with Sallie and Robert(who are very upset that they were left out... :) oh, and Russell and Ryan were a bit jealous, too....)  Maybe we could go back someday with all the kids. Now that would be a great time. I miss being able to do things with all 6 of us.

If I ever questioned how fast things change, which I really haven't, but if I did..There's no question now.  I kind of wish I hadn't posted my Bahrain blog until the next week. I was shocked to see the Saudi tanks roll into Manama on the news, not even 3 days after we got back from there. Also, since we made so many friends there, many of whom are unhappy with the current government, I was worried for them.  We keep praying for them and for  the people of Libya, and Syria, and Jordan, and Yemen and Japan. It is hard even to turn on the news.

We are feeling the temperatures heating up this week. You can see the fear in people's eyes. Oh no. Here it comes. A couple of days we hit the 100s already.  We are planning to visit the US this summer. It has been two years so we are excited to see our family and friends..and get a break from the high summer temps. Always on the lookout for relief from the heat. :)

Bahrain

The Pearl roundabaout, Manama, Bahrain

On Tuesday, last week, my friend Nadia and I flew to Manama, Bahrain to visit her brother and his family. This was my first time in Bahrain but I hope it was not my last.  I loved meeting several Bahrainis and enjoyed Nadia's family. Great people who love the Lord and made me feel so welcome.  We also got to visit the Bahrain Evangelical Church,  the American Mission Hospital, and several times we drove around the Pearl roundabout where the protesters are camping out until changes are made in Bahrain.

I was surprised at how calm and quiet the city was. From the news it seems like everything is in turmoil there but the truth is..well, it's not.  The Bahraini people are serious about the need for government change but they are not being violent at all.  During the day the roundabout felt more like one unending picnic.  Hani(Nadia's brother) said at night it swells up to 10,000 people,  but during the day it was very quiet.  We also saw several   marches from day to day but again, it felt more like National Day in Abu Dhabi and not really negative at all. I had an opportunity to speak with a young man who goes to the roundabout every evening. I could hear the frustration in his voice as he explained how and why the government needs to do more and make changes. I don't know how things will change but I do know it is important to pray for Bahrain and for all the countries in the Middle East right now.

Nadia and I returned on Thursday night.   It was just in time to make sure Robert was all packed up for another Boy Scout campout early Friday morning.  He had a great time in the mountains on the border of Oman.  His last campout of the year. Apparently they made a Monkey Bridge... :)  

Wednesday, Mike and I are flying to Sri Lanka with Barry and Pattie for a 3 day RnR on the beach. Pictures will be coming soon.!

Educational Opportunities :)

Honestly, since Russell left, I don't know where the time has gone!  On the Friday after he left the youth group at church did the service.  Ushering, Music, Dance, and Sermon.  I knew Sallie was in it but she never really told me what her part was. Mike and I were both surprised when she and her two friends did an interpretive dance with music and sign language. They all looked graceful and it was very good. :)

Other than that, my friend Pattie's mom, Barbara, was here so we did several things with her.  One day we had lunch at the Sorbonne...Abu Dhabi.  'This is quite unique.  We had to have special permission to go on the campus.  Pattie's husband, who was project manager, got us the permission and we had  a nice time eating in France. :) 



We also squeezed in a trip to another educational location just before Barbara left. We went out to Masdar Institute.  A couple of years ago Abu Dhabi was in the news with this Green City, zero carbon footprint, and so on..that they were building.  The project is pretty much dead in the water, but they did finish the institute.  At one time the city would be totally connected by these magnetic cars.  A very futuristic concept. No cars at all in the whole city.  Ok, so they have one building. And the cool cars run you to a parking garage and back.   Not exactly the vision but fun for a morning outing.  We had dear friends who lived here before that worked on that project. It was fun to see it and retell his  "funny" stories about trying to get it built.  Our favorite was about the Mayor of the city, when he was looking at the plans..with no parking places for cars cuz there were no cars allowed in....Yes Yes , all very good. But where do I park my Hummer???  Well, sir, the PRT(magnetic cars) will take you from the garages outside the city to your home, office..whereever. Yes, I know this, but where do I park MY hummer?? I am the Mayor.    Just not getting it, I'm thinking.  But we did have an enjoyable morning.

Inside the PRT...magnetic car

At Masdar they have and Organic food store. 

the PRT

the road for the PRTon the way to and from the parking garage 

 yesterday... we took a trip to EMEG.  This place is fighting tooth and nail to save the oceans and water wildlife around the UAE.  And obviously, as you can see from the above statement,  it is one heck of a fight.  They are doing great things though.  They have fish hatcheries to breed Hammour(Grouper) which is an endangered fish from being a favorite fish dinner here.   They plant Mangrove trees..also in trouble from all the construction along the shoreline, and educate people on what we can do to help.  The kids love it every time we go. It is one of the prettiest places around here. (This trip made me homesick. Last time we went our family was here...made me think of  Don, Laurie, and Josh.)  

Yes, we've been busy. Trying to store up the wonderful cool weather before the heat hits.  Last week we had a few days in the 90s.  I almost hyperventilated thinking the cool weather was gone. Just couldn't catch my breath...:) but it cooled back down. So, I am good for a while longer.          

Five Days

Day 1: Monday:  Russell's ETA 11:20 AM in Dubai.  Russell's actual arrival 2:20pm.  Huh. Not really a big deal except no one could actually tell me when his flight was coming in. Called the airline. Asked  them about the delay. No madam. arrival 11:20 am. in Dubai. Umm..no...my son just told me he is delayed by 3 hours. No madam. Call the airport. They will know. I call. No madam. Arrives 11:20.  I wait two hours thinking by then they will have updated the plane's status. Umm..nope. Still says 11:20 but according to Russell he is still in the Kabul airport.  And so it went. When I finally called at 2pm they guy told me it would land at 1am. And then he told me it had landed at 11:20. Ok, so at this point I am wondering..DOES ANYONE KNOW where this plane is????  At 2:30 Russell texts me that he has landed. Ha ha ha. So he got a driver to Abu Dhabi and we walked in the door at 5pm.  I was so frustrated by the end of that day. Glad the rest of the visit went better, though.

Anwar, Russell, Mike and Aziz discussing current events in Kabul

Day 2: Russell soaked up the warmth.  While Sallie and Robert had piano lessons we walked in the park and caught up on life in Kabul and the news in Abu Dhabi. We even sat on the swings for a bit and laughed about he loved to swing as a baby and Mike would push him sooo high. We decided that even as a baby he loved that adrenalin rush..and pushing himself out there. :) That night we had a birthday party for him, celebrating 23 years!! We invited the families that were in Lebanon with us and it was a nice evening. It is actually easier to have people over now because they can park in the new Central Market Souk next door. So now they can park and come see us!

Day 3: Russell went to the park and and studied Dari. Robert quizzed him with his flash cards. That was fun to watch.Sallie and Russell walked to Starbucks and just hung out for awhile. Then we joined Mike for lunch at a Lebanese restaurant.  (Love spoiling Russell while he is here..all his favorite foods and warm showers and clean laundry that doesn't smell smoky...:)  ) Mike, Sallie and Russell see The King's Speech.

Father and Son ready to go kayaking!

Day 4: Mike and Russell kayaked thru the Mangrove areas around Abu Dhabi.  They had fun and only flipped once. :) We had beautiful weather this week. So glad Thurs. was Mohammed's birthday, big holiday, so Mike and Russell had extra time to hang out. Went for Vietnamese food with the Gardebleds that night.

Day 5: Last Day.Friday.  Church. Lunch at the Mall with friends. True Grit in the afternoon. Dinner at a Mexican restaurant. Home to pack and wait for the 1 am driver to pick Russell up for the airport. Robert tries every time to wait up with him. This time he fell asleep on the couch next to him.  

One of the many blessings we have by living here is the opportunity to have these quick visits with Russell. This was a great week. He soaked up the sun and we soaked up time with our boy. We  missed having Ryan here, but hopefully this summer we will ALL be together. This living on different continents stinks sometimes but maybe we do what we can to make it work.




     

Winter Weather ?

While snowstorms are raging across the US we are battling sandstorms over here.  Sidewalks covered in sand. Sand blowing across the roads. The skyline obscured by sand. No, we aren't having rolling blackouts but we are tired of the sand covering our cars.  The kids are ticked that they are missing the snow days and the slipping down the sidewalks in Carrollton. Oh well. Maybe another time.

Just before the sandstorm blew in, Mike and I took a break in the Empty Quarter. A huge desert about two hours from here. Sallie had a youth retreat and Robert was at a Boy Scout camp out in the same desert.  So with a free Friday night, Mike and I spent the night at a resort-Qasr al Sarab. It was beautiful. Breathtaking. Having lived here for 3 1/2 years means we have seen a lot of desert, but this went on forever and the silence blanketed us. (We are pretty excited about silence since the construction is still going on outside our windows.)   

Sallie's weekend retreat was great. Robert's camping in the desert was a bit more rustic than our experience. Wind blew all night. It was cold. Sand. No pool. No huge round bath tub. No room service. No sleeping bag, He forgot it in the back of the car before they hiked in. (Bet he doesn't do that again. Ugh. )


Today I thought we were done with the sandstorm so I washed my car.  I jumped the gun.  Not two hours later it is all gray again..and spotted, too. I drove under some window washers. Sigh. .  Maybe tomorrow the weather will clear, here and in Texas!.

   

A Visitor from Home

Oh goody. More construction out our bedroom window. 

All I can say is I'm glad Colleen did not stay another night.  The day after my dear friend got on the plane back to Jordan, the construction barricades went up in front of our building and out came the bulldozer and the back hoe!  That night, from 12 to 5 am the pounding and banging began. And today is Day 4.  Since the building out my window was finished it has been so nice..but here we go again!!

Tea at Emirates's palace

Al Ain Palace Museum

Sallie, Sophia and Joey walking thru the Oasis in Al Ain

But Colleen's visit was fun!  We went to tea at Emirate's Palace with three other friends. She saw the gold ATM machine(put in money, out comes gold) and walked thru the exhibition of all the museums coming to Abu Dhabi. Didn't get to the Grand Mosque but she took pictures as we drove by on our way to Al Ain.  There she saw Sheikh Zayed's  palace where he received visitors in the early years as ruler of Al Ain-from 1937-1966. We also went to the Oasis, walked thru all the palm trees and then had lunch at a park near by.  



Fortunately, the rain held off.( That was frustrating. We get rain maybe twice a year and it comes when we have a guest! ugh.)   Colleen also got to go to a birthday party with Sallie and me while she was here.  My friend Huda, Egyptian but lived here all her life, has a daughter who turned 10. We had a party for her and Colleen joined us. It was so fun. Ingie is darling and she loved having all of us there to celebrate. When we came out it was raining but Mike picked us up.  I managed to slip and nearly break my back FIRST, but he showed up before I could fall a second time. Granite sidewalks are not the best for walking on in the rain.  Colleen's visit was fun. It's nice to have someone come from home and it's nice that she lives close. No jet lag. :) Our countries share some similar things..like crazy driving and circular reasoning but  they have fun differences, too.
I'm pretty sure when we drove up to the airport in Amman last summer I didn't say, "Wow. Even the airport looks like a mall."
Hope she comes back soon. Or maybe we will take Sallie and Robert to Jordan. The rest of the family is anxious to see Petra, so maybe that will be next.

A New Year

We just finished our fourth Christmas holidays in Abu Dhabi.  Hard to believe it's been that long. Ryan stayed for nearly 3 weeks, but Russell only had a couple days with us. Still we made the best of it and thoroughly enjoyed our time together. I think in the years ahead there will be a couple of stories that are repeated around the family dinner table.

On Thurs. Jan. 6, Ryan checked Russell's flight info. "Oh Mom! Russell gets in tonight at 8". "ÖK, I thought it was Friday, but I will call your dad."  ...Guess where this is going? Yep. Mike, Ryan and I drove to Dubai after work, only to discover that we arrived a day early to get our boy.  Ryan's face was priceless as we stood under the TV screens and I asked him if he happened to notice on the info the words...NEXT DAY.  Mike's face..not so priceless. So yes, we were anxious to see Russell. So anxious that we got there a day early. :)  But in order to not make the drive a total loss we drove to the hotel by Burj al Arab(sailboat hotel), ordered coffee and enjoyed watching the Burj turn colors.  On Friday, the Kenneys picked Russell up at the airport. They were in Dubai for the day. Whew. We were glad. By the way, we hadn't checked the airline either..so not only were we there on the wrong night, but we were in the wrong terminal.  Next time Mike will make sure Russell sends the info to him directly. Oops.

On Sat. we went to a coffee place by the beach.  We sat outside in the gorgeous weather and Ryan taught us a card game.  He doesn't play a lot of cards but his local friends here taught him this game. It's an Arabic game which is a lot like Spades but the trump changes. After I dealt I looked at Ryan on my left waiting for him to bid. He said it was Russell's turn, who was sitting on my right.  Apparently he learned to go counterclockwise. It really is an Arabic card game. But the best part is that after two hours of playing the score was 0 to 0.  Two hours and we didn't get anywhere....  

Robert  had fun over the holidays riding bikes with his friend, Evan, and playing his new video games with his buddies. Sallie and her friends sang in the International Carol Sing, had a Christmas party, went to the Youth For Christ Christmas conference-Desert Challenge, and hung out.

Next week we have a friend coming to see us from Jordan.   That will be fun. We will show her the sights.

Happy 2011.

 

Pix and Gifts

 

 Robert and Jared prepared for their evening debut as shepherds in the Christmas Walk presented by our church for the community. Costumes easy to come by over here....Just walk to the neighborhood store. Mike joined the Wise Men for this year's Walk. Obviously type casting. Looks very wise to me.

The toddler Jesus ready to receive the gifts from the Magi. Although only two and a half, after the first few groups walked thru he would receive his gifts with a great big thank you.  He then bade them farewell with a hearty..Thank you for coming!!

           

Sallie and Robert and I waited for Russell to come thru Dubai last night. He was on his way to Texas. Here Sallie looks at the Dancing fountains, and Robert poses under Burj Khalifa.

We took presents to Russell and decorated the hotel room to surprise him.

Ready for Christmas. Sallie named the snowman..Robert Frost. Frosty is just too boring.

We were blessed to have a short visit with Russell last night. Mike couldn't go due to work commitments but the kids and I enjoyed our time with him.. In fact, he is now in the air heading to Newark from London, and then on to Dallas. In 5 days, Ryan will be here.  I'm sure I will have more to write about Christmas. We'll see if I actually do it.
There is one last thing I want to incluede, though. My friend, Pattie, was in a taxi the other day.  Her taxi driver was Pakistani.  She asked him how he was doing. His answer..Ït is very hard here. I work hard all day to make the quota(her word not his).   It is very hard. I want to go home but if I go home it is hard for 10. If I stay here it is hard for 1 but if I go home, it is easy for me and hard for 10.  I stay so it is better for the 10. They go to school. It is good for them.      When Pattie gave him a generous tip, she looked him in the eye and said, "This is for the 1..not the 10. Go and have a good meal." He left with what might have been watery eyes..and Pattie walked away reminded of what is really important this season.


         

It's December!

Mike has been at his new job for a month now. Everyday I find myself thanking God for His provision. During my walks in the park every morning, I find myself smiling that we don't have to leave.  At the park on Mondays with my homeschooling friends, I find myself just looking around the group so glad I won't be saying goodbye. Last night our small group from church had a spontaneous Christmas Party and I found myself full of thankfullness for their love and support through the recent craziness. ( I also find myself urgently praying for our other friends here who are going thru the same thing. )

On December 2nd, the UAE turned 39 years old.  To celebrate(not just the holiday itself but also that we got to be HERE for it)  I invited our friends in walking distance to come over for chili and cornbread.  Has to be walking distance cuz no sane person drives on that day.  It's like a 6 hour long parade with no rules all over the city. We had fun watching the crazy cars go by and the kids had fun coating everyone in canned snow and silly string.    

One of our favorites, but by no means the fanciest.

Those of us who love Christmas are glad that the UAE decorates with their flags colors...and the lights stays up all December.

Having chili before heading out to the Corniche to watch the fun. Sallie's friend  making the peace sign. :) Ligia from Mexico originally, and Pat from Northern Ireland gave my chili two thumbs up. 

This morning, the rest of the family is still snoozing. The light is just coming thru the living room windows. The tree is up. I have candles in the windows...and beautiful Christmas music playing as I write. Russell will fly thru Dubai on Tues. and we will hug his neck for a few hours before he ventures to the US. Ryan arrives on Dec. 20th to be with us.  Christmas is coming, for sure.  Every year it sneaks up, but this year I find myself more thoughtful...really contemplating Christ's reason for coming. His birth, His sacrifice and His love.  Maybe, after 36 years as a follower of Jesus Christ, I am finally understanding alittle bit better how much it cost Him to be born to die. For me. A sinner saved by His grace. Forever grateful.
The reason to celebrate.