Hehe!

See it? See it?

xo, jill

I didn’t forget.

Way back in February I had a very demanding visitor to entertain. She insisted we visit nearly the entire country during her stay. Well, I did my best and took her northeast to Fujairah.

After spending a bit of time hunting down a camping spot, we ended up just pitching our tent on the beach in the dark. (One of my favorite aspects of the UAE is that you can essentially camp anywhere, as I’m sure you’ve noticed by now). Waking up early in the morning we were treated to a lovely sunrise during breakfast.

We tried to make it out to a popular waterfall in the area, but my car wasn’t up to the off-road challenge. Instead we drove out on a cliff above the waterfall and marveled in disgust at the massive loads of litter covering the landscape. I mean, it was gross. Waterbottles, old shoes, dirty diapers… yuck. While Molly decided to scramble down the cliff to check out the waterfall, my mom and I got to work picking up as much trash as we could fit in my car.

I skipped the litter when taking photos and opted to capture the mountains and vegetation instead of the junk.

On our way back into the city of Fujairah, we stopped by Fujairah Fort. It happened to be closed but we still poked around the outside.

Next we stopped at Fort Hayl. It was smaller than the first but it was open!

My favorite feature of these forts is how sneaky you feel when you discover how to reach the next level. You are standing on the ground floor… and it’s obvious there are more stories above you, but it’s not completely obvious how to get there. Hint: Those sticks in the corner!

I also like the intricate designs around the windows.

And there’s Molly on the roof scouting for enemies in the distance.

xo, jill

Oh dear.

One of my sweetest, chattiest, High School Musical obsessed students proudly came into my classroom the other morning carrying not one, not two, but three love letters. For whom? For me! As I conjured up my flattered teacher voice (ok it wasn’t that difficult) I bent over to give her a hug (yep, we can hug here!). It’s always nice to receive little notes and pictures from students.

Then I began to read the largest piece aloud.

7 months today.

Well I was planning on hosting a giveaway to celebrate surviving 6 months in Abu Dhabi… but well, 6 months sort of snuck up on me at a busy time. So 6+1 months it is!

I have been living in the United Arab Emirates for 7 months. In general, I like it. I’ve met people from all over the world, visited new places, tasted new foods, learned new words, and developed more patience and flexiblity than I ever dreamed possible. Regardless of my experience here [ups and downs], I know that overall I’m shaping a new weltanschauung. That’s exciting.

So to celebrate… One lucky winner will receive my all time favorite UAE novelty snack: Square Crisps!

I absolutely love this novelty snack and my mom will vouch for me. The crisps come in a variety of flavors including ready salted, curry, and salt ‘n’ vinegar to name a few. I think the cashiers at the gas station near my school and the market near my apartment probably know exactly what I’ll buy when I walk in the door. But really, they’re good!

How to enter:

1. Leave a comment anywhere on the blog
2. Tell me the longest length of time you’ve spent away from home
3. Mark your entry with the word “square” in brackets: [square]
4. Limit 3 entries

I will mail you as many packets of Square Crisps that I can fit in a priority mail box. Yum.

Giveaway ends Tuesday April 13th, 2:00pm UAE time.

Woot!

xo, jill

Thank goodness.

Thursdays are almost always wonderful days. How could the last work day of the week be bad?

Take a look at what I see on my way into work. Obviously I was more focused on the driving than the photo taking. I assumed everyone would prefer I keep my eyes on the road than properly frame these shots.

I love driving past the Grand Mosque everyday. You certainly don’t have to be Muslim to appreciate its splendor.

The highway out to my school is essentially a road to nowhere. It’s actually the special truck route that is intended to keep the trucks off the more populated highways. They are slow movers…

And this is the scenery…

Typically on Thursdays I teach in the afternoon. Both the girls and I are always pretty anxious for the weekend, but we manage. This week, however, was not typical. This Thursday my school hosted a “Play Day” for the students. I’m not exactly sure of the occasion… I was just excited that we were actually given a week’s notice beforehand! [Unlike finding out today that grades were due… today!]

All of the teachers were responsible for organizing a game or craft for the girls. There was a cinema, henna, relay races, necklace making, thumb print stamping, and a make-your-own-play-dough station (that was us!).

I was really impressed by the effort the two teachers in charge of the relay games put into their event. They even dyed the water the appropriate team colors AND wore coordinating outfits. The teams were Red and Green… at certain points all you could hear was: “Akbar!” (“Green!”) “Ahmar!” “Red!” … The funny part was that the mothers who attended the festivities were more competitive than the students… and what cheaters too!

Like I said, Sarah and I ran the play dough station. The students had fun helping us mix in the ingredients and then playing with their creation.

After the party the students disappeared (seriously, I didn’t see anyone put them on the bus… they just kind of dwindled out) while the teachers enjoyed a potluck lunch. It’s always fun (and a bit nerve-wracking) to sample all of the Arab foods the teachers bring. I eat a lot of bread with salty cheese at these gatherings with no complaints!

Since it was a special day Sarah and I were able to leave a bit early. I met up with my friend, Shera, for an early dinner of potato leek soup and muffins before driving out to Al Ain to begin my weekend adventure!

xo, jill

(Thanks to Sarah for all the photos of me in this post… and for taking all of my outfit photos throughout the week!)

Wild card.

Wednesdays are usually pretty good days. I have my girls in the morning and we can often plow through our lessons without too much strife. See the behavior chart:

This day we used the vocabulary from earlier in the week and made city maps. The girls had to include a cinema, supermarket, school, park, restaurant, and a mall. I was very pleased with their focus and the results of their efforts.

Would you be surprised to know that I wore a long skirt and a cardigan?

After school I raced back to my very large and comfortable bed. I’ve come accustomed to long and lovely naps in the afternoon. At first I would have a quick doze on the couch… until I learned that if I get into bed I’ll fall into a deep sleep for at least an hour and often longer. I usually wake up feeling groggy but pleased and I can always fall fast asleep at my proper bedtime.

Originally I had plans to meet a friend for dinner. She makes the savory main meal and I make the sweet dessert. We moved the Wednesday night dinner to Thursday afternoon, but I still needed to make up my dessert. This is why I was baking test batches of cookies earlier in the week. Now I was ready to perfect them.

The evening ended with a quick run to the supermarket to pick up a few items for the weekend.