A modest gift.

The very sweet staff at my school gave me a very lovely going-away gift: an abaya!

It’s not an abaya I would have selected for myself (too jazzy), but I think that makes it more authentic.

Now I have a little piece of Emirati style to bring home with me.

xo, jill

Thanks to Sarah for the photos!

Too much baby kitty.

During our first year in Abu Dhabi, Molly and I became involved with Feline Friends, a group that aims to aid and reduce the stray cat population. Stray kitties are a major problem here. Not so much because they are bothersome to people, but because they are sick, starving, and suffering on the street.

We mainly volunteered by trapping female cats for sterilization. We called our efforts: “Operation Too Much Baby Kitty.” Did you know that by spaying one female cat you are preventing at least 27 kittens from being born? (or 45 at the most!)* To us, it felt like a very worthy cause.

We continued to trap cats during the beginning of our second year. Unfortunately, at a certain point our task shifted away from trapping for sterilization purposes and towards trapping to euthanize. It’s really really difficult to trap an injured and dying cat. It’s like they know what you are up to. After too many emotional outings laying on our bellies in dirty parking lots and trying to drag cats from under cars, we had to say enough. Shortly thereafter the trapping to sterilize procedures changed and we were no longer able to participate.

Volunteering with Feline Friends definitely provided Molly and I with some lasting memories. She can even give me directions based on “where we trapped that cat, that one time.”

We affectionately called this one “Slutty Kitty.” She had A LOT of babies before we could get to her.

If you’re having any cat related issues, please contact Feline Friends. Especially before you resort to dumping your kitty on the street.

If you’re curious about how cat trapping works, I wrote a blog post for FF a few years ago here.

xo, jill

*I asked a few vets and did the math myself. It’s more detailed in my FF post.

Thanks to Sarah for the photos.

“No go!”

It’s been one month since I left my classroom, and to be honest, I don’t miss it. I’m looking forward to job satisfaction in the future but right now I feel pretty content. This is probably the best time in my life (as well as the best conditions) to be unemployed, and I’m pretty happy to just enjoy it.

During my last few days of school my students began to shower me with notes and love. Common themes were “I love you.” “No go America.” and simply, “No go.”

I was bombarded by Post-It notes.

“I love you, Ms. Jill but you go to the America. Ms. Jill come for me please Ms. Jill I love you so much and you the princess.”

Written backwards Arabic style: “I love you Ms. Jill no go I love you no go.”

They couldn’t change my mind, but it was still pretty sweet.

xo, jill

For giants.

Before I moved to Abu Dhabi I watched many video clips of the city. Over and over again I kept seeing the same giant statues. The coffee pot and canon stood out the most. I assumed that when I arrived in Abu Dhabi I’d recognize and regularly see these icons of the city. But nope. Not really.

For whatever reason, I’m rarely in the statues’ neighborhood. So, the other day on our way to Butt Sweet House, Mike and I popped into the park to check them out.

Covering for food / Incense burnerPerfume dropper / Dallah or coffee pot
Everyone’s favorite, the giant canon

I like to think that if Abu Dhabi had its own Monopoly game, these statues would be the pieces.

The park itself looked like it had seen better days. Many of the tiles were missing and there were only a few other visitors there with us. I think perhaps Abu Dhabi is turning to it’s newer and fancier icons, like Emirates Palace, the Grand Mosque, or the Formula One track.

xo, jill