Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Does Santa come to the U.A.E?

Above - Yes, i guess Santa does know where the UAE is. Mrs Claus was able to confuse Santa somehow about how many gifts he could fit into his sleigh. Convinced that it would be a reasonable amount, Santa was most surprised when he saw the huge pile to be distributed to villa 148 only. At least the kids left a cold beer and shortbread biccy out for him and some carrots and water for the 'reincamels'.


Above - Chillin in the desert after another evening of 'sundowners' and dune bashing.



Above - Chillin this time in the natural spring waters of Jebel Haffet.




Above - Nan and Pop came to visit and loved the Dhow rides on Dubai creek. Pop particularly was enthralled with the craftmanship that goes into the boats.



Above - Just like Aussie's fibbing about their pet kangaroos and koalas at home. We were able to convince Nan that we had to take the Camel to go shopping. Nan and FS head to town for a coffee.


Above - Nan and NS at Fossil Valley. No this place was not named after the visit of Nan and Pop.

Above - After watching B1 go around on the rugby pitch, B2 seized his chance and was a standout for the Al Ain under 8's.



Above - B2 breaking away again.



Above - B1 running it up against the Dubai Exiles team during the Abu Dhabi International Rugby Tournament.



Above - B1 playing for the AAESS soccer team. They thought they were plaing for Argentinia. Indian twins Melvin and Kelvin were good players, but we just liked yelling out their names together.


Above - BBQ with some neighbours; Clive, Noriko, Marcia, FS and B3.



Above - B3 and Kindy pal, Lotte.



Above - B4 at Snoopy Island, Fujairah.



Above - Fishermen heading out on the Gulf of Oman sunrise, Fujairah.



Above - Snoopy Island and beach. The breakwall just needs a little right-hander peeling off it for this to be the most perfect place in the UAE.



Above - Heading out for a banana boat ride. NS, Russell, Jenae, B2 and FS. Hardly any of us could walk after this. The boat driver cranked the 230HP engines to full bore and went mad, gotta love the safety over here.



Above - Sunrise over our camp at Sandy Beach, Fujairah.
G'day, and a belated Merry Xmas to all. We sent a bunch of xmas cards to all, so we hope these arrived on time or at least at all. Looking back at the last blog, it seems so long ago, and so much has happened over the last few months. We've had more rugby tournaments for the kids, a couple of birthdays, a visit from Nan and Pop, the kids were kicked out of school, we bought a new car, being camping again, had another local Muslim custom of Eid Al Adha (different to the last of Eid Al Fater), Xmas has been and gone, today is new year's eve and soon FS's oldies will arrive. Amougst all of this, we've almost finilised the residency visas for FS and the boys and yes...i've been doing a little bit of work too.
Next week will mark 1 year since i moved here; it's hard to believe that a simple 1 week assignment, turned into a 3month gig and then somehow, into establishing a business here and staying for this long. I never thought we'd stay longer than a year, and despite there being no guarentees in this part of the world we think we'll give it another year. Our logic...we've been through the hardest parts of dealing with all the beauracracies and paper work and other barriers, so let's hang around and enjoy another year, en shala.
So anyway, the summary for the last 3 months goes something like this - B1 and B2 got stuck right into their rugby and for a few weeks we were travelling every weekend to parts of the country to play 5 games a day type tournaments. Unfortunatly, the under 12's got a hiding in every match, coming up against much bigger and stronger teams. B2's team did really well, just missing the finals of a few occassions. The expat community is really very large when you consider the small % that would actually play in such tournments, yet the turnouts were massive.
B2 celebrated his 8th birthday during November. Convinced as we are that he has some perculiur ways about him, he was adamant that the only presents he wanted included a camel, a falcon and a few thousand dirhams...yeh right. A couple of turtles and and an aquarium later, we now have Jaws and Nipper as part of our travelling circus family.
We were all excited when nan and pop came to visit for a week. It was really nice to sit and catchup on all the family news and events from home; stuff that never really comes up in phone conversations or emails, like how i'm still their favourite child and the others were adopted anyway.
N and P were spewing that the week they chose to come, the pool was closed for maintenanace, the golf course was closed for upgrades and apparently during their cruise before coming here the entire country of Libya was closed for repairs also. Despite only being in town for a week, we managed to squeeze an enormous amount in. BBQs and drinks in the desert on sunset, dinners at the top of Jebel Hafeet, visits to the Gold Souk where P was chastised for not purchasing gold bars in N's honour, 4x4ing in Oman to see the fossil valley, wadi's (bullet casings found at one site left us looking into the mountains for rogue snippers) and more souks, there were camel rides and a visit to the Madinat resort in Dubai where a simple 'greasing' of the valet drivers hand opened up a world of exculsive resturants, arber rides and site tours normally reserved for the famous and good-looking, and of course time with the grandkids where our 'delightful' boys were able to demonstrate their familarity with N and P's company by rumbling, swearing and generally carrying on. We even let N and P have a day to themsleves to explore Al Ain in a taxi. They walked home from town, apparently too scared to experiance driving the streets of the UAE in a 1970's nissan with no seatbelts and Pakistan driver displaying the license of a red headed Scot's man??
Setting up a business here has been a huge challenge. It takes 2 days to register and obtain a business operating license in Australia. In the UAE, recent data from the Ministry of Commerce suggests that at best case it can be done in 68 days in the UAE. I took about 6 months, this includes opening a bank account (5 minutes anywhere else in the wolrd) 2 months here. I only received my visa card last week after opening the account in September. Consequently, starting a business here means my own and those of my family Visas needs to go through the company. A visa is the key to nearly everything here, without it, you may as well be from Mars. So understandbly, we were delighted when i recieved my visa in November (11 months after being here) and we have nearly crossed the line with FS and the boys now too. But not before the school insisted we remove the boys (B1,2 and 3) from school as they were not registered with the Ministry of Education etc etc. You can imagine the boys were devastated by this...not, but luckily we were able to manage a period of stay with the MoE, and look set to be right for the start of 2008 year, en shala.
You may remember the story about my car being over-run by beefed up Hummers and Range Rovers whilst travelling the highways. Well, my gaining the visa meant we could buy our own car here. Ahah!!, my chance to get some protection on the road and some style and extra grunt also. But what's this...FS decides she doesn't like the clour of her 2007 V6 Fuel injected, beefy- rear-ended Pajero she drives to her daily coffee and chats. No, she needs a more powerful and later model car that is coloured to match her new shoes. So yes folks, i am still risking life and limb everyday driving the shitty Lancer that requires Barny Rubble type motions to gain extra speed entering a round about to duel with the oversized SUVs boring down on me. FS in the meantime has upgraded to the Limited Edition 2008 Yank Tank Dodge Durango with a 5.7Litre Hemi V8 engine and personalised driver settings. I wonder if the visa means i can exercise the right to take an extra wife or two?
Just before Xmas, the Muslim culture celebrated Eid Al Adha. As all of the significant dates of the Muslim Culture are based around the moon, this is celebrated at different times throughout every year. Traditionally, Eid Al Adha, is celebrate 70 days after Eid Al Fater. A sheep or goat is sacrificed to signify the reinactment of Mohamoud's sacrifice of same when his son was born (this is my own very loose understanding of this event, not to be used as an exact interpretation in any major assignments or trivial pursuit questions please). This is also the time when so many muslims make their pilgramige to Meca (in Saudi Arabia). It is said that all Muslims should visit Meca at least once in their lifetime to ensure a good after-life. One thing for sure, on the official day of Eid Al Adha every ute, truck, boot and sunroof had a goat in it heading to a family feast.
We chose to go camping over this weekend over to the eastern seaboard of Fujairah. Camping on the beach just outside of Dibba, we were blown away by the absolutely amazing snorkeling over coral reefs and an island called Snoopy Island. Fair dinkum, the coral itself was really good, but the marine life was nothing short of fantastic. Small reef sharks, turtles, eels, urchins and the most amazingly coloured fish. The morning sunrises were wonderful...thanks to B4 for waking us to see these. We took a ride on a banana boat whilst away too. B3, our resident daredevil was with us as well as a couple of mates from New Zealand, heh bro, we went camping with. This was going to be fun, hopefully he would throw a few wild turns and send us catapulting into the sea a couple of times. Finally the boat cranks up, he's got two 115HP engines on the back, but surely he'll only use 1 of these? By the way, where is the spotter, i only see a driver? Before we know it, we are gripping the straps with every ounce of strength we have. Baiting the driver to go faster is FS waving her hand in the air like a cowgirl. B3 is hating it! The second engine kicks in, FS lowers her hand and grips the handles questioning her own wisdom at this previous baiting, B3 might be crying, i don't remember, check with him. First throw into the sea and B3 can't climb into the boat quick enough, leaving just 4 of us on the banana. The driver takes this as a challenge as he cranks the boat to full bore, he is not even watching to see if we fall off!!!, what the...now he's making a call on his mobile phone, probably telling his mates about these dam tourists he is using as shark burly. B3 is now smiling, looking back at our faces no doubt. None-the-less, we make it back to shore alive and to be honest stoked on such a thrill.
A week after Eid, is Xmas. We celebrated at home having the same ridiculously early start as every year (part of the fun), but with no family to go visit during the day, we are able to relax at home over a big cook-up breakfast and take a few cold beers with our neighbours (the christian ones that is). We had a great little party later that evening with all the expats living in our village and even a pop in by the big guy (santa) himself. Most of the expats have to work Xmas day here, as it is not recognised, but the kids are at least on school holidays for end of year break.
B1 celebrated his 11th birthday yesterday by having a few of his mates stay over and terrorise the village girls. And with that, we have pretty much brought you up to speed with our little adventure here. Wait a minute, i forgot to mention that FS and i celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary in December (yes, if you do the maths of 10 years marriage and an 11 year old son, you will realise we had an immaculate conception). Now some would go on to say you get less for murder...not me, i know how lucky i am, FS tells me everyday.
Happy New Year to all, we miss you all greatly, but hopefully the blogs will bridge the gap a little and we are planning a trip home to Oz in one way or another during 2008. See you then!




















Monday, October 15, 2007

Ramadan Mubarak!!

Above - The sun is setting, we'll just get over this next dune and set up camp...oh no! we're bogged up to axles.
Above - Just prior to getting bogged, we thought we'd found a nice little spot to camp. Suddenly we're being chased by a rogue camel, stamping it's hooves and barking camel spit at us. Was quite funny when we were finally out of reach.

Above - Roasted marshmallows, a camping favorite anywhere in the world.



Above - Dad said if i could do 20 push-ups I'd be allowed to sand board tomorrow, but this dam sand keeps getting in my mouth

Above - Ahh, the serenity. Can you hear that...nup, because the desert at night is the world's most quiet place.

Above - But Zach...won't dad notice 3 of his beers missing?


Above - B2 looking for another thrill; after scaling the sand dunes a few times, the quadriceps and calf muscles were burning..not half as much as the sand burns we got when falling off on a down hill run though.

Above - NS in full flight. Threw the shirt off, put on the boardies and pretended the sand dune was a 300ft wave. Note to self...at high speeds, sand burn is even greater and really hurts, put shirt on next time.

Above - Even though i only did 15 push-ups, B1 and B2 took me down the sand dunes.

Above - B1 about to drop in.

Above - B4 turned 2 this month and had a few mates over for a party.

Above - "Yes dad, this may be my best side, but the ball is coming and you're on the field, and i can't find my mounthguard in my pocket either...you're so embarrassing sometimes"

Above - B3 makes some repairs to his bike.

Above - Party time again for the girls!

Above - O.K, so our backline needs some work.

Above - "You tired?", "Yeh, must be these crazy long hair do's we're sporting now".

Above - "Ohhh Mum, how am i meant to look cool on the Coast of Oman wearing these floaties?"

Above - B1 and B2 swimming in sea off Oman coastline.
Happy Eid Mubarak to all of of our Muslim friends. We now have shirts that read, 'we survived Al Ain in Summer', and ' We survived Ramadan in the Middle East'. Ramadan is essentially the holiest month in the Muslim calender and the Koran mandates that fasting and other personnel sacrifices are followed as part of a cleansing and holiness process. Some say it is the scorching away of impurities the body and soul may have. None the less, it was another great experience to see how others live and go about their days and understand a little more about other cultures and traditions. Whilst we aren't forced to fast, it is still against the law to consume water, or foods or smoke in public from sun-up until Iftar (sundown), so this means all of the shops are essentially closed during daylight hours and the world comes alive at night, firstly for Iftar, the breaking of the fast, usually with dates and water and other traditional foods that get the metabolism going again, and then large feasting later in the evening. The working hours are shortened to about 5-6 hours a day (which was great!), and most of the locals sleep during the day to pass the time of fasting. Ramadan is concluded at the time of Eid and the equivalent to a Christian's 'Xmas', is enjoyed with loads of celebrations and a couple of days off work. Of course, even a public holiday is a little complicated over here...the timing of Eid (and all religious events) is based upon the moons. So until the official word is given, (usually only on the night it is sighted), no body knows when the holiday will begin. En shala.
So anyway, i find myself on the Dubai /Al Ain highway, I've checked my revision mirrors a dozen times, because I'm just about to overtake the 3 cars in front of me. The speed limit is 120km, I'll have to floor the tin-can Mitsubishi lancer I'm driving to get to about 125km and overtake these guys. OK, i can see for at least 2 km behind me and no-one is in sight or coming at breakneck speed behind me, but i still want to get this over with, you see too many accidents on the roads here to spend time in the fast lane. The CD player has the fine tunes of INXS going, I'm comfortable, things are going to be fine for this pass. Right, got past the first one, a 300,000dhs ($100,000)Ranger Rover, with a camel sticking it's head out the sunroof, I'd take a photo, but I'm now at the 125km mark, the steering wheel is starting to wobble a little, and i need to concentrate on getting past these guys before someone comes up from ......oh bugger, I'm distracted by the flashing lights of a black Hummer H3 careering down the highway, flashing his lights because I'm not doing the required 200km he needs me to, in order to keep out of his way. Before i know it, all i can see in my mirror is the shiny silver grill and the plated inscription of H3 in my rear-view mirror. If i press any harder on the accelerator, my steel capped boot is likely to go through the floor, the lancer is screaming at 12,000 revs and steam is starting to ooze from under the bonnet. For a second i think of the lovely new supercharged V6 Pajero FS is probably driving at 55km/hour on her way to a leisurely coffee with the other expat women; but I'm distracted from the thought of how handy that car would be right now, because i now have the Hummer trying to negotiate the 25cm between me and the centre median guard rail. I guess he wants me to move over, but i can't, because the Porche (yes, i am the only person in all of the UAE not driving a European performance or sports car) next to me will neither speed up nor slow down to let me in. I can't even give him a pleading look, because of the dark tinted windows he has. I have to get everything i can out of this car as quickly as possible. Shut down the A/C from notch 4 to zero. A sweat bead forms instantly on my brow; time seems to stand still as it trickles off my head, down my neck and negotiates it's way through the mass of chest hair, it stalls at the bellybutton, where through an 'osmosis like' process it is captured. Press skip on the CD player, time to lose INXS and swap it for, The Cure. 'Killing an Arab', is the first song to play. It seems to be just enough inspiration to this fine piece of machinery I'm driving, and at breakneck speed, I'm able to just nudge ahead of the Porche, enough to sway my lancer across his path and open the gap large enough for the H3 hummer to scream past me. He blasts a shot of his horn which is loud enough to send a crack down my passenger side window, and i in return give him a friendly wave and wish him well for his day.
On a fun note, we've done a couple more trips to Oman, which is really a wonderful place and is full of so many interesting wadi's and awe inspiring mountain ranges. We finally got our trip to Sohar (our first trip we ended up heading to Salhala 1,200 kms the wrong direction), and went swimming in the sea off the Oman coast. Their was enough wind swell for the B1, B2 and B3 to catch some bodysurfing.
A planned camping trip to Nizwa in Oman with some friends over the Eid weekend was cancelled, but we decided to head it alone to the sand dunes for a camp out. This was really the first bit of 4x4 driving since being here, and we had a ball. It seemed we had the entire desert to ourselves, that is until we found a great little patch of sand to camp and as we unloaded ourselves from the car, a rogue camel came charging over the hills, snorting and carrying on. If it wasn't so frightening, it would have been an absolute cack. I'd rev the car, he'd stamp his foot and snort. A real desert showdown, which he finally won, and we looked elsewhere.
We eventually found the perfect spot, nestled amongst some giant dunes, perfect for sand boarding. Deciding to move the car just a bit closer to unload the gear, we just sunk. In fact, it was only the chaise that held us 'afloat'. Rather than panic (B1 and B2 thought it hilarious to get out and let me know that the car was about to tip over), FS got the video camera and filmed the whole process (which was funny on watching it back), we unloaded the car and made camp. Desert camping is a great experience and a roaring fire and marshmallows just top it off. A 'tops' weekend for sure, the highlight of the sandboarding was definitely FS who launched down a gigantic dune at breakneck speed, (B2 had just re-waxed the bottom of the board for extra slip), I was sure when she hit the first grass clump, this would slow or stop her...no, she went airborne, landed and kept going, finally crashing into the tents below in a ball of flying sand. A funniest home video if ever, and yes, it is all on video camera.
In other news, B1 has caught the Rugby bug after staring in his first game for the AAA under 12's. Whilst a more experienced Abu Dhabi outfit won the day, the AAA organisers and volunteers do a wonderful job and the kids have a blast. B2 is staring in the under 8's team and play their first game next week. NS took out the inaugural Oyoun Village Golf Tournament by one shot, just happy to play golf again after 12 months off. The weather has cooled considerably to the low 40s and high 30s but in all seriousness, this is just beautiful from what we experienced earlier. B3 loves school and even pulls out the occasional Arabic word in conversations now. B4 turned 2 last week and loved his birthday get-together with his mates and FS continues to keep it all together and moving for her 5 favorite boys.

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Check Out My New Berka



Above - After rampant displays of flesh and thread-bare clothing, the UAE ministry for Fashion, has insisted FS wear her 'Berka' at all times.

Above - Too Cute, first day of school (nursery) for B3.

Above - B3 and B4 getting ready for the first day apart from each other. Note B3 school uniform includes sandals.

Above - Night out dancing; who wants to be the centre of attention on the dance floor?

Above - Give NS a bit more hair on top, and you're transported back to 1991, and still in lurrrv.

Above - I'm a Leo, love long walks on the beach, socialising with friends...oops, sorry, thought this was the 'singles' pages.

Above - Question: What do you get when you put an Aussie in charge of an Iraqi, 2 x Lebanese, 3 x Filipinos, 5 x Indians and 500X Bangladeshi, Pakistan and Sudanese? Answer: Lots of badly pronounced G'day's.

Above - Children's City Dubai.

Above - B1 and B2 on dowh boat at night.

Above - Dinner on Dubai Creek restaurant.

Above - Watch out Shirvo, B3 makes us run races every night.

Above - FS browsing the shops in Oman.

Above - NS asking for directions in Oman desert township, answers roughly translated as, "check out the dickhead in his singlet and funny boardies, ha ha ha, we love it when lost tourists come to town".

Above - Night time soccer and dinner at the Muzzabarah.

Above - FS with a wooden camel and Arab.
Once again friends and fans, we apologise for the delay between posts. Such is life here, "en shala", it'll happen one day and when God "wills it". Lots of photos attached to this blog, just to give you a taste of things over the last month. They say a picture tells a thousand words, so i guess i need write little here.
Quick summary though starts with a great trip to Dubai a few weeks back. We went to Children's City, which is pretty much exactly the same as the 'Questacon' in Canberra. An interactive Museum of sorts, all hands-on, which we all enjoyed and learned lots through. I should add that this was preceded by a trip to Ikea (a must for any westerners looking for something to decorate their homes with more familiar items, and guaranteed to last maybe 3 months. We even had a breakfast bowl come in a pack with a 'screw and nut', just to confuse us!), and a trip to Toys R Us (the fluffy toys are life size polar bears and elephants, no kidding, such is the scale of everything in this crazy city). After CC, we went down to the wharfs and caught a dowh (small traditional wooden boat, powered by a spluttering diesel engine, has no sides or railings and negotiates the Dubai creek amongst another 200 dowhs and other water traffic, you ca imagine FS was very relaxed with B3 and B4 on board??), jumped off on the other side of the creek and wandered through the souks looking at and bartering with the local sellers. The smells and noises and heat here are amazing, they're not good, they're not bad, just so varied that you really know you are along way from home, experiencing something so different. After a few purchases, we went to dinner, caught another dowh back and eventually drove home late that night. Great day!
We made another trip into Oman, and whilst our Arabic is getting better we were trying to read the road signs to take us the 90km to Sohar, we ended up on the road to Salala, only 1300km away!(obviously we know just enough to get us lost or in trouble). None the less we got to see miles and miles and miles and miles of flat desert; the boys were riveted as you can imagine, not. We ended up puling over, collecting some Oman desert sand in an Arabic Coca Cola bottle, and turning around to head back to Al Ain. Family bonding inside the car when it is 55c outside and you're lost...give it a go!
The month of August also saw FS and i have our birthdays and i was stoked with a new carver skateboard; I remember unwrapping it, then it was wisked away by the boys to go riding, they tell me it is very good. FS got a lovely new 'Berka' with a peacock design. I think for xmas she is hoping for the brass face plate as the matching accessory often worn by other local women.
We are so lucky where we live, we really have a good network of new friends over here and the facilities in the village are great. The summer was made only bearable for FS and the boys (13 weeks of school holidays), because of this. Of course, we've had some good laughs with each other and our shared "experiences" of adapting to the UAE life, and there is also a very good networked community of expats through out the whole region. One of the best nights so far has been the launch of the new Al Ain Rugby Club. Donated by one of the Sheiks to the club, the new club house is simply spectacular and the opening night was a great night with plenty of dancing and drinking and laughs for the grown-ups. If they didn't know us before hand, everyone new FS and NS after our dancing to the Grease Mega Mix and plenty of solo encores also.
School has finally gone back and B3 could not have been more excited about waking every morning, jumping in the shower, changing to his 'school uniform' and strapping his backpack on. After 13 weeks of cabin fever, FS has never been so excited eitherfor school to return. B3 has started nursery (kindy equivalent), but they have to wear the uniforms, and of course he loves the idea of going to school with his big brothers. Whilst a little less excited (i think we managed a grunt from one of them), B1 and B2 are back and enjoying seeing their friends and playing again.
B1 and B2 are starting their international rugby careers, (they are telling people they have been recruited from Australia to play here) this week, after FS finally conceded to let them play.
Ramadan starts this week, this is the period of fasting for the Muslims. During day time they are not to consume water or food as well as some other sacrifices. Come night time, they feast and socialise. This period sees all shops and most activity come to a complete halt during daylight hours, with all businesses working reduced hours and most people at home sleeping. The wealthy people often supply tents and stalls of food supplies to the less fortunate during this period also, as a way of giving. Prayers are still conducted 5 times a day, with all Muslims attending the mosques for these. Even as non-Muslims, people are required to adhere by the rules of Ramadan, so this is going to be an interesting experience.
Whilst we still never really know if we'll be here for only another 5 minutes or a year or more, this is part of the 'bobbing process' of being here and we are becoming more relaxed with this part of living here, although it makes any planning harder to do, there are still plenty more experiences we want to live and see, so for the time being it's all zen yeni, alsalam habibi's, shukra jazeelan.