Falling behind

To our few but faithful readers (hi Mom), we know you are anxious to hear about China, and we are anxious to write about it. As to be expected, the more experiences we have to blog about the less time we have for blogging.

So, here’s a teaser of entries to come:
1. Beijing, of course
2. Christmas caroling in the desert
3. Going postal
4. The storm of the century

Stay tuned…

Back in the classroom

When we arrived in Abu Dhabi back in August, I didn't anticipate that I would soon wear a khandoora (the traditional male Bedouin dress that all Emiratis wear in the UAE) to work. But I found myself doing so about a week ago at the university where I recently accepted an adjunct position teaching English composition and Global Awareness (basically ancient civ). It was National Day celebrations (this is the UAE's equivalent of 4th of July), and I decided to participate with other faculty in showing appreciation for the Bedouin culture by wearing Emirati garb during the day's festivities. I have to admit that I felt a bit ridiculous, but I welcomed the opportunity to interact with the students outside of the classroom.












All in all, the day went very well, marked by giggling female students asking to take my picture (not with me, just OF me), my first participation in traditional Bedouin dancing (unfortunately, I wasn't able to get any pics of me dancing), and attendance of an Arabic poetry reading (still working on my Arabic so I understood virtually nothing, but it was beautiful nonetheless).

Such an experience exceeded anything I had imagined upon arrival in the UAE. I initially came with Shannon to Abu Dhabi with the hope that I would be able to experience the people and culture of the Gulf region here in the ME, but that has proved to be difficult because of the significant social barriers which have emerged over the last few decades between the Emiratis and everyone else. Consequently, most here in AD rarely have interactions with Emiratis beyond anything other than casual workplace conversations, and many can't even claim to have experienced that. We've met people who have lived here for upwards of 2-3 years without having more than a one-minute conversation with an Emirati. So, when I found out that I would be able to teach and interact with young Emiratis in a sustained and meaningful way, I was thrilled.

So far, my time in the classroom has been extremely valuable, as I have experienced both the rewards and challenges that come with teaching in the UAE. Interestingly enough, most classes are taught in English with only a few, like Islamic history, taught in Arabic. Moreover, the sections I have been assigned are part of an intensive term where 20 weeks of material is taught over a period of 9 weeks. Though they have the same number of in-class hours, the students have much less time overall to process the material. This coupled with a relatively weak public school system has made for an interesting few weeks. I'll try to keep you posted.

A foodie in the UAE: Thanksgiving

Having lived on the East Coast for 7 years before moving overseas, it is not a new experience for us to be away from our families for Thanksgiving, but it was a new experience to live in a place where no one else celebrates it. We were fortunate that this year Thanksgiving coincided with an Islamic holiday, and we were both given the day off from work (as part of a 10-day government holiday, our second in three months!), so we spent the day in the usual Thanksgiving-day frenzy of cooking and cleaning, preparing for both our first major holiday out of the states and our first dinner party in our new home. Four expat friends came over, two of whom (an Australian and a Frenchman) had never experienced Thanksgiving before. It was fun presenting the dishes to them and explaining how I make cornbread stuffing and cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie. I spent the past two weeks making countless trips to four different supermarkets trying to piece together the ingredients for each of these dishes. Each discovery was a small triumph and pulling off an entire traditional meal a victory! I am thankful that we were able to fill our home with friends and copious amounts of good food, and am once again reminded that these gifts come from God, no matter where we are.

I forgot to take pictures once dinner was on the table, but here are a few pre-dinner shots:

There is our first real dining room table; thanks IKEA.

There's Sam, hard at work :)

 

There she is, fresh out of the oven.