Ma Shaa Alla

Ma Shaa Alla
It literally means "It is God's well", but it is usually used when you see or feel something really good and you are thankful for God for that.


One or two things :) bother me about living here in the UAE, but many things are pretty great too. I just wanted to remember these silly little things too...

I like that people everywhere love to smile at my children and say, "So beautiful, Mashalla."

I like that strangers walking by will stop and help me back into the tight parking spot I'm aiming for, just because.

I like how the parks have expensive golf course quality grass that is meticullasly maintained.

I like how I can taste the grapes at the fruit and veggie souk before I buy them.

I like that the nice man bagging our groceries will carry them for me, even if it's to my flat two blocks away.

I like paying AED 30 ($8) and getting my car vacuumed, washed, and towel dried by 4 guys.

I like that the people are always respectful and polite to me. It's only the other Western Ex-pats that get snooty and impatient sometimes.

I like that I feel safe from crime, even when walking down the street at 11:00 PM.

I like sharing a city with people from so many nationalities.

And now, some pics...

I like that there's a Baskin Robbins on ever other block.

December 2011

Sunny days at the park and beach

Seeing the Burj Khalifa and fountain show at night

Playing in the sand

Cutting out paper snowflakes

All dressed up for a party

Close up of our 4 foot Christmas tree :)

Hand-stitched Arabian tapestry that I'm using as a tree skirt

A little hallway glam

Christmas morning - playing with the new train

Our Christmas tree - Photo by Richard

Christmas day pizza party with friends

Liam and Elizabeth (both 18 months)

Shoni and Catherine (32 weeks pregnant)

Catherine and Richard - Christmas 2011

UAE decorated in lights to celebrate National Day

Having a blast with good friends Julianne and Weston while they visited

For your enjoyment

"Hey, thanks guys!"

Well, I was entertained.

And so were they when I took this picture.

Yesterday

{Elizabeth lovin' the ride}

I jazzed out the door, down the elevator, passed the guard named Abbas, walked a few blocks, and hopped (or rather heaved a huge stroller) onto the bus... and we were on our way.  I was on a mission to visit my friend Kera, do some window shopping, and just get out of the house via public transit. 

I  gave the nice bus man a Dirham coin, which is about 27 U.S. cents, to cover our fare. Not too bad, right?

Then E and I settled into the middle section of the bus, in between the "Ladies Only" seating in the front and men's area in the back. Ya, they're separate. The Lady seats are usually half full while there are always a ton of men, and when the men's seating is full, then they stand in the middle rather than sit with the Ladies. 

Today I stood with them, tending to my stroller and baby inside.  

As we got closer to the center of downtown the bus got more crowded, which meant more men crammed into our shared standing area, all of us maneuvering for a sure grip on a railing nearby.

Then this guy got on. 

He happened to be the only other white person on the entire bus besides baby and I. 

He rudely shoved his way through the people, poking shoulders and smacking his bag into knees. When he reached the first men's seat (which was occupied by a nice-enough-looking Indian man) he told him to move and he took the seat! 

Maybe this guy was going to pass out if he didn't sit down right then, but I think it had more to do with the color of his skin compared to the skin color of the man sitting. 

ewww.

A few people gave him a look or two, but I really hope he saw the grimace that I conjured up for him, because it was a doozie. 

Don't you just hate it when you see examples like this of humans treating other humans badly?

Let's just be kind to each other, okay? :)

Anyway, we did have fun exploring the city - it was a great day out.

The moshing Abaya

Recently, Abu Dhabi hosted the 2009 Formula 1 Grand Prix. Until a few months ago I would have had no idea what that meant. But thanks to the money of the host, Abu Dhabi, they made this event a marketing machine. So, it's car racing. A huge deal in the car racing world. AD did what it does best and inflated the event even more by making the FanZone on the Corniche. This was two weeks of activities and events at this site building up to the Grand Prix itself on November 1, all free of charge. Some of the events included a series of car-related films, and lots of live music, with acts such as Myriam Fares, Soul II Soul and Timbaland. We were invited to crash with our awesome friends who live in AD (thanks Kera and McSean!), and check it out.

First our generous friends treated us to amazing authentic Italian food at a restaurant in the Intercontinental Hotel. Richard and I split a pizza and it tasted just like Italy. These floral arrangements were everywhere in the lobby of the Hotel. Yes, check out the tires.

I stayed up way past my bedtime and we walked over to the Corniche at 11:30 pm to see Timbaland. There were thousands of people out and of every nationality and age. We saw so many babies and kids and an elderly woman sitting on a blanket in the middle of a standing/dancing crowd. We saw teens in their concert (slutty) outfits, and Emirati's singing along to every word. My favorite though is captured in the photo below. My gift to you dear reader. This is a shot of a jumping, screaming, hands-in-the-air mosh crowd - and the hand on the far right is attached to a woman in a traditional abaya and head covering. (the bottom photo is with a flash to bring more clarity to what you are seeing.) Wow. Leave it to Hip Hop I guess.

Priceless.

Abu Dhabi Festival of Thinkers

The Festival of Thinkers is a conference to celebrate thinking and learning, and to welcome well-known thinkers from around the world to share ideas and knowledge. This conference brings in many people including 15 Nobel Prize winners and performers to be a part of the Festival.

Richard scored an invitation for us to go and we were excited to be a part of such a fancy evening, especially since it was held at the Emirates Palace which is the super up-scale hotel that cost 3 billion dollars to build. Monday, November 2, 2009 we attended a Gala Dinner at Emirates Palace from 7:30 to 11:30 pm.

The Dinner was outside, in the warm coastal air, with at least a hundred large tables set with crystal, china, and silver. We ate 4 courses, each an hour apart, so that was a little interesting to be eating the main course at 10pm. But, that is normal here - they stay up and eat late. We drank water and watermelon juice out of heavy crystal goblets made in France with gold stamps on the side. Yousef, the Emirati stting at our table said they cost $350 each. The stage hosted singers, an artist, and many kinds of dancers. My favorite was the Bollywood dancing, so lively and colorful. Oh yeah, and there was an acrobat spinning below that hot air balloon/globe as well as fireworks. That's how they roll out here in AD (Abu Dhabi), extravagance.

Yousef (new aquaintance), Rich, Me

Kera and McSean

While I saved our seats, Yousef the UAE native asked if he could sit down at the table. I said yes, motioning to the seat next to the one I was saving for Richard. Then for the next 15 minutes, I had the most surprizingly nice conversation with Yousef. Surprizing only because after living in the country for 11 months, this was my first conversation with an Emirati man. He was so friendly and outgoing, asking me about myself and my feelings about living in Al Ain. I openly told him my shock at his willingness to talk to me and of how it was a first. How I thought the lack of conversation was because I am a western woman and/or perhaps that they (the Emirati men) are all married. I told him that I live in Al Ain and then he explained to me that he is the normal for Abu Dhabi; not overly out going, and that it is not that I am a woman, or American, but rather that the people in Al Ain are so very traditional and often close-minded. He said that may be the case there, but in Abu Dhabi I would be talking to the locals everyday. Interesting... and promising. Now I kind of want to live in AD so that I can talk to and become friends with the local people. I really do want to get to know the people and culture here, but how can I do that if I never talk to them?

Thanks Yousef, you were hope in a condora.

Texture Study - Abu Dhabi Heritage Village