Monday, April 30, 2007

Here Come the Troops..Just in Time!




Above - Saying 'farewell' to our mates.




Above - Superwomen, getting ready to fly 16 hours with 4 kids, if only she new what lay ahead on the flight!!




Above - As you can see, B3 has had a difficult time so far adjusting to the UAE lifestyle..not.





Above - B2 met this local boy, Saeed, at the market. The boys dad had just bought three goats (stuffed into the boot in the background).


Above - At the local Souk, freshest produce in all of UAE, great place to shop and explore.


Above - Huge variety and different foods at our local bakery.



Above - So happy to be finally all back together after 3 months at separate corners of the world. Relaxing in the villa on the 'better late than never' furniture.




Above - Chilling out in the pool, a daily event.



Above - Camel in the street near market, just as pretty from any angle i guess.


Wow, what an roller-coaster ride over the last month it has been! We've had everything from me losing the plot and wanting to call it quits at the eleventh hour, resulting in calls to home at 3am complaining about how unworkable this place and my job is; to the rest of the family finishing a holiday in wet Queensland, packing the remainder of the house and flying solo over to the UAE; to adjusting to a new lifestyle and home and school and, well..that's about it, but most importantly, being back together again as a family and doing the normal stuff like listening to the kids argue, bed time stories, holding my wife, the occasional family dinner etc etc.


Let's start off from the last blogg post. Firstly, i had been here for another 3weeks without the family after a pretty full-on week back home, but the week was long enough to realise how good life at home was, so i reluctantly came back to the UAE without the family and work was even more full on than before. Stupid hours, countless problems with clients and staff, hassles organising our villa and just about everything for that matter and i very quickly found myself really disliking the idea of moving the family here. A couple of calls home, and FS and i decided that I'd slog it out till they got here, then play it week by week, try to last the first month and see how i felt then. I had to cancel my flight back to Australia though (i was meant to go back to help bring FS and boys over here), because if i i got on the plane back, there was no way i would have come back here, i was in a dark place, really.


Finally anyway, i got the villa organised, no furniture though, i leased a 4x4 Pajero for FS, drove to Abu Dhabi and booked a lovely hotel for their arrival. The flight came in at 12.30am, i got there at 12.25am, but just in time none the less. FS and boys came out to the terminal by about 1am. "OHHH MY GOD", i was stoked to see them, but jeez, they were a motley looking crew.


B2 threw up on me, no joke!, but can't complain because he looked so ill, had not slept at all on the flight and had been throwing up on FS the whole way. As had B1 by the way, and B4 was not too far behind. B3 held the ship together and was a natural flyer, charming the hosties no doubt. Even FS came in for special attention, with blood sugar levels dropping right down, and having to lay on the floor of the plane mid flight. Pretty blonde hosty dripping honey into her mouth to raise her blood sugars levels. (Raised my blood levels i tell you, picturing the blonde hosty, and FS and dripping honey), but i get distracted.


So after all that, we then had the struggle of fitting the luggage into the car, so after 15 hours flying and being sick, we're finally together as a family, but loaded under piles of luggage whilst i get us lost going to the hotel. At least i got to show FS some of the UAE (even it it was pitch black). And by the way, B2 is by now, still throwing up in the new car! Poor little sod.


We finally arrived at the Marfraq Hotel Resort and slept.


Next morning, we had the huge buffet breakfast, then went swimming in the pool, whilst the guys told me all about their Queensland holiday.


The drive to Al Ain, (about an hour and half) later that day was a good intro for the troops. We saw plenty of sand and sand hills and camel farms and date palms, whilst all squashed up under the luggage again!


Arrived in Al Ain and i started pointing out all the attractions and points of the town, but realised this was a whole bunch to take in so i shut up, for a change, and just waited for questions. We drove straight to the villa, and the boys and FS were stoked with the facilities and villa, Feuww!


We had no furniture, except for a couple of blow up mattresses i borrowed from a neighbour, and a fridge and stove i have bought a few days earlier, so it was straight to the shopping centre. I tried to go the long way so as to throw FS off any scent of where the shopping malls were. (didn't work, she latched onto a map from another expat and now knows all the quick ways to every shopping centre (all 2 of them) in Al Ain. We bought some pillows and a cot for B4 and some staples to tie the boys over, went to dinner and then back to the villa by 9.30pm where we all just crashed out.


I had to be back at work the next day, so reluctantly left the family, concerned about how they'd go without me, the leader of the tribe, the hunter, the experienced UAE family rep, the one who could speak some lingo, the one who dragged them over here. How could they possibly cope without me??


I got home that evening to an empty house (not just because we still had no furniture, but FS and B1,2,34 were not there either!! Oh my god, they've been kidnapped by local tribesman and are living high in the Jebels (mountains). I ran back outside, ready to call the cops and get a search party ready!! But first, what this coming down the drive? There's at least 15 kids, some were mine, an Indian lady, a couple of Sth Africans, a Scot, a Pom, a Canadian lady and FS...all in the swimming togs carry towels, on their way back from the pool, laughing and having a 'gay ol' gad about' (not that there's anything wrong with that). The boys called out to me, and all the pother kids yelled out, "hi uncle nick!!". FS and I later cackled ourselves at the fact that we were now aunty FS and uncle nick to all these kids..very funny.


So any way, FS had no hassles adapting and was quickly shown the many ropes by the other women in the village. the boys had already met heaps of kids that they'd be going to school with the next week, and were having a blast.


So in the last week, we finally have some furniture arrived, but the place is a lovely big size and needs more to fill it if we could bother, although the boys lost there indoor squash court when we pout the lounge and TV stuff in (they were using the walls as a pingpong /squash court when empty.


B1 and 2 have started school, and are really enjoying it. Starts at 7.30am and they finish at 1.30pm, although both complain that they aren't allowed outside as part of school rule if it is above 40c. FS does plenty of shopping and has had some funny experiences with B3 stripping off and the locals a bit shocked. Despite some fevers, all seem healthy now. It really feels like we've been here for ages already, but we're still playing it day by day and week by week, because the job is still full of headaches and not really enjoyable, although i hope i can tough it out at least a little longer so we can do lots of exploring and camping and off roading etc of the UAE. FS loves reading the printed off emails she gets from you guys. We really miss our fiends and family, but are looking forward to telling you all about our travels and adventures over the next.....while.