Creative Parking

You've heard us talk about parking in Abu Dhabi...Here are some creative Parking ideas...From just today. :) Enjoy.

On the sidewalk...fair game. On the right you see a whole row of cars parked down the middle of the street. Plus a car parked at the entrance. This is why I like my little Honda Civic...So far no scratches. :) Below on the left...double parking in the middle of the street. On the right side you see the mosque courtyard...now a parking lot. Mike's car is the Expedition on the right side sort of golden tan. He pops her into 4 wheel drive and rolls right over the curb. So do about 10 other SUV owners.

These last two shots...notice again...the sidewalk is fair game and the other car in the left picture is parked between the dumpster and the sidewalk..not sure how they got there. Those dumpsters are very heavy. Not shown...a picture of the BMW that was parked on the sidewalk with its front wheels on the street... Wish I'd gotten that shot. :)

Wonder how we'll drive when we are back in the US...that's something to think about. :)

Russell's 20

Russell turned 20 yesterday...Feb. 11. I can't believe we have a 20 year old. All day long memories would hit me. He's loving UT...course, he is...:) and had a great day with all his buddies...but we sure wish we could have been there with him.
Sallie and Robert had a fun day yesterday as well. They went to the desert on a field trip to see the Sheikh's falcons. A friend of ours knows the Sheikh's Falcon Veternarian and he taught the kids as well as showed them some of them. It was quite an experience for them.
So, where was Mom? Well, it was time for my English club with my apt. friends...But we are now changing the name to Eating Club...
Tanja made several dishes from Serbia for us. We laughed and ate and ate and talked. I guess when it's at my place again I will do TexMex or maybe barbecue. Next week we go up to Tejia's house. She is going to make Finnish food for us. Don't know if we will ever do official teaching but we sure are talking A LOT!!! :)
Our friends leave this week for India..We are praying for them. It will be fun to hear about their adventures in person....
Love, Mattie

New Building

Today we held our first service in our new church building. Although Mike and I haven't been here very long, we felt the excitement in the room. There are now 20 different congregations who meet in the Evangelical Community Church with a combined attendance weekly of about 2500 people. Since we moved here we have been meeting in the old half of the building while the new one was being built...and it has been quite cozy. So today was a big day. An extra blessing was that Stuart Briscoe was here to do the first services. It was fun hearing him and it felt like home. Tonight there was a Chinese outreach. The Chinese believers bused in about 500 Chinese workers from the Labour Camps in honor of Chinese New Year. We are praying for a wonderful time of ministry and changed lives.
This week I have also been busy learning my way around Facebook. Poor Ryan has put up with repeated questions and my total lack of computer knowledge...but I think I am getting the hang of it.
Mike and I are so excited that we will have friends from Dallas coming thru in a couple of weeks. We can hardly wait. My friend Marganne will be staying a few extra days. We are anxious to just sit and visit.
Well, it's time to head to bed. I have some pictures of the church services that I will post later. It was a wonderful day.

Japanese Tea and Tacos

I have been trying to blog for a couple of days now. The internet has been kind of funky. Not to mention that I still have to log in in Arabic. I just guess where to type everything...:)

Thursday was really fun. My Japanese friend Junko invited the ladies from the Holiday Tea to join her for coffee at her apt. So about 10am I headed up to the 9th floor. I thought we would drink tea or coffee, chat and then I'd head back down to finish school with Sallie and Robert.... Hah. When I walked into her apt. the first thing I saw was food spread out on the dining room table. She was disappointed that I hadn't brought the kids cuz she made tacos. Yep. My Japanese friend made tacos for her Serbian, Finish, American and Iranian friends. :) Actually I didn't think much about it until I heard Tanja(from Serbia) ask Junko what they were eating and how to fix it. :) Then I noticed that Tejia and Alice were waiting to hear how to eat them as well. I smiled and gave lessons on tacos. You know, it's this kind of stuff that I love. It was so fun. We had Japanese tea and tacos. If Adrian and Diana come and visit us ever I will have him make his famous fajitas for my new friends. A real feast. By the way, we start our English lessons this week. It looks like they all want to meet each week and practice. I pray it is a good time.

Had a sandstorm yesterday. Our first official one. Couldn't see the buildings. The cars look tan now...all of them! :) It kind of reminded me of that scene in Hidalgo where he is outrunning the sand....Lots of things here remind me of Hidalgo. :) Then it sprinkled, by the way.... yuck.

In the picture...it is left to right...Tejia, me, Alice, Junko and Tanja.

Adios,

Mattie

Fujeirah

Last November our friends, Jeff and Mary, asked us if we would be interested in going with them and another family to a Fujeirah, a coastal town in the UAE, in January. January seemed far away but we said, "Sure, that sounds like fun." Only God knew how much we would need to get away this weekend.

We stayed at a hotel called Sandy Beaches. Each family had a bungalow with two bedrooms, a kitchenette and a teeny weensy bathroom. :) It was heavenly. Palm trees and water stretched in front of us, and mountains spread out behind us. ..there was a playground for the kids on the beach, a swimming pool, kayaking, snorkelling and lots of time to relax and laugh. Each bungalow is equipped with a grill so all of our cooking was done outside together. Sort of camping with bathrooms and beds. :) Very low key with just the right amount of sightseeing...the oldest mosque in the UAE..around 1400, a palace fort in the mountains, etc. and then volleyball on the beach, and hanging out.

Saturday morning I took some time by myself and had a long talk with God. So much of the weekend reminded me of my folks...(we used to take weekends with friends and hang out just like that, when I was growing up in Aruba and Bolivia. ) the Supertankers lined up on the horizon, the beauty of the water and being on the beach in January, just being a family together...I kept wanting to call my folks and tell them about it. So instead...I cried a bit and told my Father how grateful I am for such special memories of my mom and dad. And yes, I did mention the timing thing...I probably will think about that for a long time.

It was a refreshing time....the whole weekend was. For all of us. We had a big group play volleyball on the beach...with Mike and Ryan eating sand on a regular basis and me being glad I even hit the ball...:) Some families from Iran even joined in the fun. Mike,Robert and Ryan went kayaking while Sallie and I built sandcastles. Before we left Ryan went snorkelling and saw some beautiful fish. We will try and go back in April for all of us to snorkel...I just could not bring myself to get in the water...a wee bit too cold for me. :)

It was perfect timing...much needed...and we are ready for another week. Thanks for all of your prayers, dear friends. We feel them and could not do this without you. So many of you have sent emails...thank you. We are humbled and feel very loved.

On the journey,

Mattie and Mike, and the Kids

ps. if you send cards..please use the Hill International address...Mike Hildebrand, box 5201, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. in fact for all letters that is the best address... Thanks for everything. We love you.

Mom

It's almost 4 am here. Can't sleep. It's kind of nice cuz the city is so quiet.

I just spent about 30 minutes reading my emails...from the best people in the world. I don't even know how many I have received, but I am saving them to a folder and want to print them out. People have called too. But yesterday the phone was down so most of their messages came to me on voicemail.

I don't really know what to write but I wanted to write something. I keep thinking about my mom and how glad I am that I got to see her in November and hug her one last time and laugh over memories of dad and life together one last time, and cry with her. I called her a lot these last couple of months and I am so glad for that. I remember Kristen Young telling about her Dom. Rep. trip and how their team used a verse, although which one escapes me right now...but they also used the rallying cry...No regrets...as they worked on their site. I'm glad I told mom how much I love her and I'm glad I saw dad in July before we left the US and I hugged him and we visited and laughed and remembered together. No regrets...but you know, I think I still have some..cuz well, I do. But I think we all do no matter how much we try to dot our i's and cross our t's and do it "right". It's just life. I'm so glad that God knows me and loves me anyway. And He is here...in Abu Dhabi hugging me and holding me up....and He uses His children to do it. My treasured family in the US from Bent Tree and Tres Dias and Kansas, Carrollton.Carlsbad and all over and my new family here in the UAE. And my sweet, sweet husband who knows how to make me laugh even when I am soaking his shirt..and my sweet ,sweet kids who hugged just a bit longer and tighter yesterday...or made me laugh all the way from Austin....

(Let me tell you something folks...if anyone thinks you can do this pilgrimage, this journey, alone...Well, just forget it. Who would want to, anyway? Pride and independence...what a bunch of.... nothing.)

I am so blessed by the most wonderful friends and family........It overwhelms me.

I know I am rambling again....maybe this blogging thing isn't a good idea cuz it will be here for the rest of my life....oh well, who cares? Life is way too short to sweat this stuff....

I miss her ya'll. My mama...Nancy Neal Deahl...born Dec.23, 1931 died Jan. 21, 2008. Funny, kind, obsessively clean,faithful, loving and married for 54 years....I love you, Mom. No regrets.

Two Words

I wanted to write this down before the days got away from me. If I wait too long then I forget what I wanted to tell everyone. :) Last nite, I was driving home from an Arab culture class that Mike and I are taking at church(really fun as there are South Africans, Indians, Filipinos, Americans and Germans in it...and we are all learning how to live and work and minister in this culture)...anyway, as I was driving home I actually understood two words in Arabic that were on the radio!!! I had just learned them that morning so it was so fun to hear them and know what they meant!! We have had 4 classes and with each class I realize that this is going to take a long time....a long, long time. It can be discouraging but hearing that on the radio helped me want to stick with it and not give up. At least for now. :) The words, by the way, were Eid Milad...which means Birthday feast...sort of. :) They are the words used to say Happy Birthday...Eid Milad Saeid. So there you go...Arabic 101. :) Love, Mattie

Come on Down...It's a New Car!!!

I am excited to announce the arrival of my new Honda Civic...Yep! Picked it up today. So we are really, really here. Two new cars, a bunch of new furniture and so on. We have arrived.( And some days that scares us to death. :))
Had an unusual thing happen to me today. When I signed on to add to my blog...everything came up in Arabic. The sign in thing...and everything. I screamed. Sure hope this posts in English. :) Now the kids and I are learning Arabic but ummmm, not quite ready to blog in it...or read directions. Wow.
Well, that's all for now....if you would like to read more...go to Sallie's blog...sandymound.blogspot.com...cuz last time I wrote I posted it there. Just can't keep it straight. but I sure do have a fun car! :)

A Big Day

Big news here! Yesterday I became official. I got my UAE license. (Not a word out of you Mark Pearce!)
Mike unexpectedly had the day off....On his way to work he noticed an unreal amount of police cars at every intersection. After he'd been at the jobsite for about an hour a couple of policeman came in and said...You need to close the site and send everyone home. Yes sir. How high....:) So Mike and about 300 employees from the site left. President Bush is in town. Traffic was so snarled that it took about an hour to get to our house..normally a 20 minute drive. My friend Mary has today off as well. Her office building is across from Emirates Palace where the meetings are taking place. She got advance notice though. It would be nice. Mike may have today off as well but he won't know until he gets to the jobsite. He would like today off though...He stayed up from 1:30am to 5am to watch the Cowboyscowboys....lose. He is hurting this morning. :)
Anyway because he was home yesterday we ran to the Dept. of Vehicles Ministry building to get my license. It was actually less confusing than it could have been. There is a separate ladies section where you go in a closed door and everything is handled right there. We were one picture short though...naturally...passport photos are required for everything here and we only had one but needed two. Sigh. So they told us to go 3 buildings down...ha. We walked out the door and laughed...3 buildings..which way? which ones? Asked another guy who pointed us to the right place...or sort of. We decided to walk and then had this hesitation...3 buildings could technically mean three blocks but we kept walking. :) Good news though...it really was just down the street. Went in...two guys standing there taking pictures for a few dirham(this picture thing is a lucrative business around here....) got our photos, walked back, she clipped ALL my paperwork together...I say ALL because it was a stack of stuff, and then I went for my picture in the NEXT office for the license. :) The guy takes my paperwork, tosses it over his shoulder, literally, and then takes my picture. Two minutes later I am out of there with a very official license....Picture isn't bad either. I mean, at least I don't look dead like in my passport picture. :)

So, another day, another item checked off our list. As Mike says....each thing makes us feel more and more entrenched and more entrapped. It's kind of a love hate relationship. :)

Here's to driving legally....:)

Just as I hit publish, Mike's phone rang...He is up and ready to leave for work...Oops, nope...job site is closed again..just letting him know. Another day in the UAE.....

Mattie

Familiar but Different

Some days things can be so different yet so familiar as well. Like on Wednesday when I dropped Sallie off at her Music lesson and then took Robert to the park to play with his friends Ben and Josh. I sat on the park bench and thought about the many park benches I'd sat on in my life while my kids played on the playsets. It made me smile. And then I began talking with a lady next to me....:).... I don't remember her name but I do remember she was from Sudan. We visited for quite awhile. I then began talking with a lady next to me on the other side. She was Chinese...a Chinese Muslim, in fact. Fascinating....I tried to learn her story but she was sketchy with English. Familiar day at the park...but different. :)

Or like today, at church. I've told ya'll how neat it is to worship with so many people from different countries....Well, today Joe asked Mike and me to help with the announcements. Why us? Next week ECC is starting a Perspectives Class...every Tuesday nite until May. So, there we were...pushing Perspectives...very familiar, but in a whole new place. Different. :)

And tonight. We had our Bridge Club. That group of likeminded folks that I told you about who meet every other Friday to encourage and pray for each other. A small group. A lifegroup. A minichurch....familiar...and yet....different. For example, my friend Mary was going to a wedding tonite....the ladies' side of it. The men had their wedding festivities a couple of nites ago. She was heading out the door at 9pm. They will eat at midnite. We prayed for her. That God's love would shine thru her to all the women there. Can't say I had prayed for someone attending an Arab wedding before coming here....:)

Familiar yet different. Perhaps that is what Culture Shock is....not just all the new stuff but all the old stuff that looks different and what do you do with it? Mike has been here 6 months now...and I've been here 5. Some days it feels like yesterday and others it feels like we got here years ago. I think that's part of Culture Shock, too. :) OH, by the way, we were really shocked two days ago when we got 5 parking tickets in the same day. Yep. Apparently January is bonus month for the police and it helps to give lots of tickets. Mind you, we were parked in the same places we have been parking since August. Now that was Culture Shock. :) We thought about protesting them...ha ha ha ha ha.

G'Night All.

Things I learned...

It is Monday morning here. Ryan is back at school. The Fords left on Friday morning. Russell headed back to Texas last nite. I have so many things to write about....but how do I do it? I could be very sad....which I am...or ignore my feelings and just fill everyone in...so I think I will tell you all this way.
Things I learned during our first family Christmas in the UAE:

10. It's beautiful weather here in the winter.
9. Holiday busyness is not limited to the US...I am pooped.
8. Mail...snail mail...feels like a hug, especially during the holidays.
7. I love having a phone that connects me to my family and friends in the US.
6. Being far away from everyone is really hard, especially when they are hurting and you can't be there with them.
5. Friends who come all the way from Bulgaria to spend time with us are worth their weight in gold.
4. Laughing with old friends is priceless, and loving their kids like your own, just can't be beat.
3. Youth pastors never grow up....one day I will share the story of Darren giving Mike a peanut butter face slap...just picture it.
2. Saying goodbye to your oldest boy heading halfway around the world is really really hard...and waking up to a new day with him gone, is even harder.
And the last thing I learned this Christmas is...with God all things are possible...even making a go of it in a strange land....Sandyland.

So there you have it. It was a great Christmas and New Years. Very different but very special. Mike and I loved watching the Ford kids and our kids hang out together. We enjoyed showing our new life to the Fords and having Russell be a part of it. We are blessed.
Happy New Year, Everyone.

Sisters?

Russell's here! The Fords are here! On the 23rd we picked up Russell in Dubai and then last Thursday morning...at 2:35 am. we picked up Pat, Darren, Austin, Jared and Jason at the airport here in Abu Dhabi. It has been non stop chatter and laughter since everyone got here. It also feels a bit surreal to sit in our dining room with our one window, tiny view of the Arabian Gulf...and play spades. Felt normal when we women beat the guys though.....:) Stomped 'em is more like it..... ( I can say that cuz this is MY blog.):)

Yesterday the teenagers...Russell, Ryan, Austin, and Jared headed to Dubai with our church for a weekend retreat called Desert Challenge. It is sponsored by Youth For Christ. I hope they all have fun. Supposed to be a pretty big deal with kids coming in from all over the Gulf Coast...the Arabian Gulf Coast. We toured Emirates Palace and then ate at the new Papa Johns pizza place...topped it off with a blizzard from the new Dairy Queen. :) The Fords are really enjoying our food choices here. :) It's always nice to have treats from the west.

My mother's heart is full up with my boy here. Russell looks great. He was so good about playing the pack mule and hauling all of the stuff from home for Christmas. Robert got a Wii and Russell hauled it in his backpack...along with Ryan's xbox360 and the acoustic guitar(Russell checked that in baggage but still had a load to deal with....). He also brought surprises from friends and they all made the day so very special. A couple of cards brought tears to my eyes...Christmas in the "Hood" was always a special time. But overall we feel so blessed with having him here and knowing how well he is doing. He and Ryan are having fun hanging out and it is especially fun with the Fords here.....

Pat and I had quite a deja vu experience at our little grocer's on Friday...We walked in to buy bread and my friend behind the counter asks..."Sisters??? :) Look same..." We smiled.

Happy New Year everyone.
Mattie

My Friend Kim

Many people close to me know my story...my growing up years in Latin America, becoming a Christian in Aruba, growing in my faith at the University of Texas thru Campus Crusade, meeting Mike on a summer project in Galveston, and so on. Some of these same people know about the friendship with a girl in my college dorm.... She was tough as nails when she moved into our dorm. A partier and a loner at the same time. As the fall semester went into full swing I found her watching me...when I worked the front desk, at breakfast, sitting in the lobby...She intimidated me. Then one nite, during my shift at the front desk, she cornered me. She seemed so tough to me...like she had it all together. Hey, what's up?... Nothing. How are you? ...Can I talk to you a second? ... For the life of me, I couldn't figure out what she would want to say to me.... "Why are you smiling all the time?" I was floored.
And so began my friendship with Kim.
Several weeks later, in October, Kim accepted Christ. She asked me to disciple her and for the next 3 years we spent many, many hours together.... Lots of hard times, we were both growing up, and lots of wonderful times...
As the years passed we didn't get to see each other like we would have wanted but we still were in each others' weddings and celebrated the births of our various children and encouraged each other in the tough times and laughed together in the good ones.
But today is kind of hard for me....I can't be with her...and I so want to be. Her sweet husband Carl passed away in his sleep this morning... I received the email when I woke up. She has family with her and great friends.... I know Kim. She'll stay strong and be there for her twin girls..Brooke and Anna...and she'll find strength and hope in her Saviour. She'll cry when she needs to and she'll find things to smile about and she will cling to Jesus.
It is my privilege to call her friend and sister. She taught me so much about faith thru our years together, and she still is.
But if you wouldn't mind...as you read this blog....please pray for her and for her girls...
Kim and Brooke and Anna.

We'd appreciate it..
Love, Mattie

We spent

It Still Feels Like Christmastime to Me

Wednesday nite the church had their International Carol Sing. 12 different groups got up to sing carols from their homeland. Well, technically..just one carol each(except the westerners were the only ones who kept it to just one song. :)) It was quite an evening with people from Korea, China, Australia, Indonesia, Germany, India, the Phillippines, Canada, the US, Latin America, and a couple of special songs. Mike and I sang with the US group and I also got to sing with the folks from Latin America. We sang Feliz Navidad. :) I kept teasing Jean Page about how many groups sang more than one song...we both decided that the truth was...the westerners were probably the only folks who thought it was too long anyway. :) Anyway, it was a fun evening.

Here are some pictures from our last few days. The trip to the Al Ain, the oasis city, picnic in the park with our new muslim homeschooling friends, the international carol sing...Korea and Latin America, and last but not least...that's me in the hot dog hat at the Ladies Garden Party last week. The two other ladies are also Marthas...Martha, Mattie and Marty. :)

Here are some words from one of the carols we sand at church....Sallie and I had fun singing together...

We know it won't snow in Abu Dhabi,

But we still decorate our Christmas tree,

And you can still feel the magic

From the sand dunes to the sea,

And it still feels like Christmastime to me. ...

The camels standing in the shade,

the traffic shimmers in the haze,

But it still feels like Christmas time to me.

Almost

Merry Christmas.

The Hildebrands

The Office... Party

Last nite we had the Hill End of the Year-Christmas- Holiday Party. It was in a hotel in Dubai. We decided to be brave and drive ourselves instead of taking the company bus from Abu Dhabi. I say 'brave' because driving in Dubai is always an experience, especially when you don't know where you are going. Roads are always changing from the construction and maps are never up to date. Anyway, we got lost. An hour later managed to get to the hotel.
We changed and went down to the foyer/lobby. As we stood outside the closed doors of the ballrom, it felt like the countless office parties we have attended over the years. Drinks being served as people mingled and pretended to be comfortable around 300 strangers. Hoping against hope that someone would stand and talk with us until the doors opened for dinner. It was just like home. Well, almost. Other than the fact that in that room many of the women were covered...and there were people from all over the world standing there waiting to eat. Then the doors opened...it was a blast from the 70s. Lites flashing, 3 filipina women singing on stage...That's the way, uh huh, uh huh I like it....uh huh, uh huh. And more songs from the 70s.
It was Dreamgirls Filipina style. :)
A lovely lady from Pakistan sat next to me. I met her at Lulu Island the first month we were here. We visited all evening. I hope I see her again. Her name is Ferida. The highlight of the evening was this Male dancer from Egypt. He danced something like a Whirling Dervish Turkish dance but not the same....He wore this costume of multilayerd skirts...that he controlled in patterns as he spun in circles...fast...for over 30 minutes....I am not kidding. It was amazing and beautiful. I honestly can't do it justice but didn't have the camera...it figures. After he danced the Supremes came out again and a few couples danced. Then came the belly dancer. We left. :)

As far as office parties go, we had fun. Certainly not run of the mill. We are glad we went.

Today was a ladies luncheon for church. We wore hats. I wore Marganne's hot dog hat and was a big hit. Naturally, I told everyone it was a Turkey frank...trying to be culturally sensitve here. Made a new friend from Texas....Carrollton, Texas. Graduated from RLTurner. Attended TWU. Four kids... Only thing is...she's 12 years younger. :) Oh well. We were on a roll until that part. It was fun visiting with her.

Time for bed. It's been quite a weekend.
Love, Mattie

Tea for 6

I just finished cleaning up from my holiday tea. 4 ladies came from the building. So with Jean and me there were 6 of us. Tanja from Serbia, Teija from Finland, Junko - Japan and Alice from Iran/London. They arrived at 11 and left at 1:30. Each lady brought something to share and we laughed and talked the whole time. We talked about Christmas traditions, our home countries, our children, and lots more. It was so fun. The ladies have asked me to teach them English so after the holiday rush we are going to get together and start lessons. All of us moved into this building in Aug. of this year. Fun, huh? Anyway, during the tea memories of the 'hood' would pop in my head..... Now my 'hood' is a pink skyscraper in downtown Abu Dhabi. Huh. Can't always get my head around that. Thanks for praying for the Tea and all. It was a great time.

We finished our second Arabic lesson. Dhabi, by the way, is pronounced Thabi...that is one of the easy letters we learned. We have now covered the Arabic alphabet...covering it and saying it correctly are two very different things...and then there's remembering the letters...hah. I love the lessons though.

One last thing. An interesting note....Remember the people who fired Mike from the project he was on? Well, they fired their second project director about 6 weeks ago...they now want Mike back. Wow. At this point he's not going. He can't imagine voluntarily returning to that place.
Kind makes our head spin, living here. You just never know.

Sallie's Christmas production was last nite at the church. It was very nice. The lady who teaches these kids really pours into them. They did a good job. On Sat. nite the kids from church will sing at a hotel in the area for their Christmas tree lighting. I should have everyone over after to help eat all the food we have leftover from the tea. :) We'll see. I'm beat.

Thanks for praying!
Love ya!
Mattie

A New Car

Well, victory oh victory. Sunday we finalized the details on our new car and Mike drove it off the lot. I emphasize Mike here as I don't know if I will ever drive that honkin' big thing. It is a 2008 Ford Expedition. Ok, to be fair to Mike he didn't really push the big car, I did. In hopes that many of our wonderful friends and family will be coming to see us...I kept saying we need something to fit in. So we now have something. Problem is we have nowhere to park it. :) Literally. As it is I park in front of construction No Parking zones all the time. As does the rest of the world here...oh well. We pray every nite for a spot. Some people just flat out pull up on the sidewalks. No kidding. It's amazing. I may have already told you about the parking but NOW we have a big car and that demands further discussion. :) It only took 8 weeks or so to buy this car. And by golly we are going to enjoy it. You bet we are. :) We need to buy a little car for me but we are just too tired to start this process again.

So, make this purchase worthwhile and come and see us!!!

It's beginning to feel ...not at all like Christmas...!

Saturday...the day to try and get everything done before 1pm because then everything is closed until 5 or so and then we are too tired to get the rest of it done. Whatever "it" happens to be for that paritcular Sat. Today the errands included....find or fix Ryan's phone, go to Aramex and pick up our first package, and pick up our new car. Yes sirree. No problem. Hah. We ask Sallie for the phone because she had it last(long story) but oops...it is in her purse which she left at the Pages....ok, so, now we have to go to their house...a bit a 15 minute drive get the phone and THEN we can fix it...but wait. When we get in the car...oops. No gas. So, now we get gas, pick up the phone but technically have not started on our errands yet. :)
We arrive at Aramex. Excited to get our first package. We are next in line. Two people behind us. Clerk asks all of us to please sit down...We, like dumb sheep without a shepherd ..all sit down. Ahh yes, you guessed it...New clerk comes in and takes the guy who just walked in off the street. But it gets better. Mike and I, at the counter now with the first clerk, are still waiting because the new guy keeps butting in on our clerk's computer...Meanwhile, out in the car, Ryan...

I told my mother that I needed to write this portion of her blog. She just wouldn't give justice to the pain and humiliation that I suffered in our Honda Accord outside.
"We will only be a minute, you can stay in the car." Good one.
I sank down in the back seat, and turned on my ipod. After the first few songs I realized how truly hot it was inside the car. It was an inferno. As the sweat dripped down my forehead I decided to unlock the car and get out.
BEE BEE BEE BEE HONK HONK HONK BEE BEE HONK. ALARRRMMMM.
How embarrassing. I am now locked inside of Hade's chariot and the alarm is going off. Why did they have to lock the car in the first place? I thought. You'd think after 16 years of living in a world of automobiles I could figure out how to get out of the car without letting the entire city know.
Eventually it shut off, and I sank back into the seat of the Honda Oven. I wait a few more seconds in the blistering heat. And I try again, this time pressing the button in front so the car unlocks, then getting out.
BEEE BEE BEE BEE HONK HONK HONK BEE BEE HONK. ALARRRMMMM.
It simply CAN'T be this difficult. I was at a loss. At this point 3 guys standing outside of the car had officially gotten annoyed at the complete lack of basic knowledge that I had demonstrated by my actions. They came up to the car, knocked on the window, and started speaking whatever language they spoke.
I played the "I'm asleep" card, appearing startled by their intrusion to the 400 degree privacy that I dwelt in, I jerked my head up and simply mouthed the words "I don'tknow what happened." Ha Ha. Yeah Right.
The minutes ticked by, I officially surrendered to the vehicle...and just sat in the backseat. Hoping my parents would come soon. Finally after 30 minutes of hell, my parents showed up. I needed out of the car.

I laughed so hard when Ryan told us. We both heard the alarm and wondered whose car kept going off? Would they please take care of it??? With package in hand and fainting son we headed to the phone store. Ryan was actually with us so he could pick out a new phone...Oops..they are going to fix the old one. Ryan didn't even need to come. :) Oh boy.

I know this is getting long...but to finish off the day. We still have no car. It's not ready yet. And I was so excited to go to Emirates Palace tonite...to see the Christmas tree lighting. Oops. They aren't lighting the tree. Who knows why?
Oh my, What a day. If you could just have seen Ryan's face. I am still laughing.

Thanks to Ryan

When Ryan heard my blog was in crisis he sat down and figured out the problem. It actually turned out NOT to be me causing the problems....So, now you have everything on the right page except for the one time I published on Sallie's. :)

National Day is over. I am so glad we do not live on a main street downtown but on a secondary one. My friend Debbie had loud noise from the cars going by her building until like 3am for 3 nties in a row. Ryan heard from school that 20 people died in car accidents.... With all the blog problems I can't remember if I've said this before but you have never seen anything like this. We are very thankful for the relative return to "normal".

Today we start Arabic lessons. Jean Page and her 3 kids will be joining us. We met the Pages in the summer at the Hone's house. It has been so nice to get to know them better and to have someone here who we feel a connection with from Texas. Although they are rather strong Aggies fans...but nobody is perfect. :) When UT lost to A&M it was a sad day over here. Sallie made a bet with Mr. Page and now she has to wear and Aggie tshirt. I watched it from the airport in Chicago...on my way back to Abu Dhabi. So sad.

I was invited to attend a birthday luncheon for my friend Nadia the other day. We went to a new place...the ShangriLa hotel. It was an amazing brunch. In honor of National Day everything was decorated in flag colors...red, black, white, green. These folks are really really proud to be Emirati.

Sure hope all the kinks are out of this thing.

Love you all,

Mattie

Let me Clarify

There are two blogs that I have written that for some reason...."probably" operator error... are not coming up on the web. So, one of them is on Sallie's blog...sandymound.blogspot.com and the other is on my blog site but in the archives section. So please go there to read the latest news from Sandyland. When Sallie wakes up this morning I will try again with some pictures from National Day activities from last nite. Oh my. It was something.
Please comment if you are able to find the hidden blogs. :)
Mattie