and you SHEIK it all about...

Above - Cottage Gardens in Moreton. The English country side has so many desirable places.

Above - Obligatory photo at the gates to Buckingham Palace.

Above - Hyde Park, London, Rose garden.


Above - Harrods - Before leaving for the UK, FS gave me a very clear instruction, "enjoy yourself, but make sure you get me something from Harrods". I couldn't understand why she was upset with the 'underwater seadoo' i got in the sports section?

Above - Bath, a truly beautiful place.

Above - Arlington Row, 15th Century homes, still lived in today. The doors are tiny, about 5 foot high only.

Above - Sheik 'Abdul Zach.

Above - Sheik Mohamed Ozzy, unlike the other boys who really only 'dress-up' in the Dish Dash, B2 loves it and wears it everywhere, all the time.

Sheik 'Bad Ass' Archie, don't tick this Sheik off.

Above - Sheik of all things cute.

Above - A meeting of the higher rulers in Al Ain, to discuss unfair bedtimes, reduced pocket money and excessive vegetables at dinner. They hope to pass a decree abolishing the above mentioned.

Above - 3 wise men????

Hello and welcome back to our little blog detailing some of our adventures and experiences. We are still without Internet at home so you need to persevere with nick (me) writing these little accounts for at least another week or two, plus, when we have access from home, we hope to keep the blogs a little more regular, plus the added advantage that you'll hear more about the family adventures and less of my dribble.

All well over here, we have had a few interesting weeks of late including a quick trip to the UK, Oman and the boys deciding to convert to Islam, (not really, they just enjoy wearing the Dish Dash).

Regarding the Arabic dress; B2 had been desperate to get himself some of the local traditional clothing since arriving. Of all of us, he has really taken to the language and loves responding in Arabic. FS took the boys down to get fitted for their 'dresses' (never thought I'd write that so comfortably), the man fitting them made sure they had the Al Ain / Oman styled cloth and head wear, as each tribe / region has it's own variation on the style. The head wear is important as it signifies age and standing in the community. For example, B1 got the black rope with 4 x tassels on the back, whilst B4 just got the little head warmer. Anyway, they all looked very cute and handsome, but B2 refuses to wear anything else now. As soon as he is back from school, he jumps straight into the dress and head wear, very funny. He has even objected to wearing his usual Havianna thongs and wants to get the trendy Arabian styled sandal to compliment his traditional wears.

I had to exit the country a couple of weeks back because my visit Visa had expired again, so i took the opportunity to head to the UK for a week. I was lucky to hook up with and old mate, Anthony Druitt and stay at his place in the countryside of England, a lovely little village called Corsham. Ant and his family have been living and working in the UK for a couple of years now and are doing really well. He also makes a great tour guide, having particular interest in the interior design of small village pubs and the ales they serve.

I was so lucky to be able to stay with Ant and see a lot of the country side including Bath, Chipping Camden, Corsham, Bourton on the Water, Moreton, Stonehenge, to name but a few. After 4 or so days of drinking and eating our way through the English country side (not really too much drinking,but it sounds blokey) with Ant, I had to wrap up our tour, and caught the train to London. I stayed in a modest little place in Paddington which was perfect for accessing the tube and buses and also being able to walk to many of the tourist spots such as Hyde Park, Buckingham Palace, Kensington Palace and the Australian War memorial. Whilst i only had a couple of days i manage to get to see lots including the Eye of London, Big Ben and Parliament, St Paul's Cathedral, Piccadilly Circus (great for a night out), the Art Gallery, The Royal Mews and of course Harrods. I was disappointed to run out of time and missed going to Lords. All in all, a great trip, i just know how much FS would fall in love with the place, so i can't wait to get us all back one day.

FS has been looking forward to a white Xmas for as long as i can remember and with the boys this'll be a great experience. Being the tight-arse i am, i suggested we could simply drive to Dubai for the day and watch the Ski slope at the local shopping centre...this idea didn't take off strangely enough. So far, all going well, we're planning on Austria. I've been told very strictly that my week in the UK gives FS unlimited time on the slopes!! My response was that i sacrificed going to the Maldives so i could do a 'reconnaissance mission' for her. The look i received said enough, and i quickly got back to washing the dishes and folding the clothes as i was told. In any case, we have a long , hot summer to get through first, fingers crossed.

We've posted a large detailed map of the world on the living room wall, and we've started to place pins to all the places we want to travel over the coming months. It's very exciting, and having the UAE as a launch pad, we hope we are able to do a really good trip this time next year, but we still play everything here month by month in practical terms.

The boys are about to finish school for the year and will have 10 weeks off during the summer!! Unfortunately for them, most of their mates here will be heading OS for the summer. FS has a number of activities planned, including a bit of school work to make up for all the time they've missed this year with the travelling and difference in school term dates.

I want to make a special mention of a new addition to our family. Little Mia Rose, well done to M and A, and how special is the first little girl on the Courtney side, going to be for all of us. We can't wait to meet her!

Anyway, hope all our mates and families are well, keep the emails coming, we love reading about what you're up to. Cheers.

May Update

Above - Wild Wadi - even the local women, fully dressed in the berka, got into the swing of things. Gotta love the vests on the full dress for a swim, heh!

Above - N and B3 on his new bike

Above - B1 takes on the wave pool at Wild Wadi.

Above - We might be living in the desert, but i was able to sniff out this little gem at Wild Wadi. Fully pitted in the barrel for 12 seconds!!

Above - Family ride at Wild Wadi.

Above - Look out!! Here come the Griswold's to Wild Wadi.

Above - Local kids attract B4 to swim in the springs at Green Muzzabarah.

Above - Boys will be boys, wrestling at the base of Jebel Hafeet.

Hi there sports fans...it's been a jammed packed couple of weeks for the tourists in the UAE. We've tackled the traffic and construction of Dubai to get to Wild Wadi and spend the day pitted in deep barrels and sliding down thrilling rides (most of which jet you upwards with high propulsion jets while sitting in a rubber-tube). we travelled there in convoy with our neighbours and their kids, so we basically didn't see B1 and 2 until the end of the day or they wanted something to eat. The kids had a great time and the queues were very small by comparison to other theme parks. FS seeked out the thrill rides, NS chased the barrels of the wave pool (thought he was surfing Southy on a low tide March weekend), although the rules prohibited standing up, it was so good! B3 loved the pirate maze and water park area with cannons and slides and B4 enjoyed the wave pool beach area and family ride slides.

The boys all finally got some new bikes, so now they can keep up with the other village kids and if the heat isn't wearing them out, the racing around the village is certainly causing some red faces and heat exhaustion.

Weather is getting hotter, so indoor activities are taking over although in the early morning and evening it is very pleasant. It's funny to see FS discovering some of the frustrating and convoluted ways of the UAE. Funny, because i went through the same thing.

We'll keep you posted over the coming weeks.

Hi to all and sundry. We miss you all, feel like we've been gone for years already, but all having a good time of it.

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.

I'm Back...Back in the USSR - i mean UAE!!!

Above - Our villa.
Above - Taking sheesha with workmate and his wife.

Above - Tennis courts at village.

Above - Pool at Villa.

Above - Welcome home Dad!! Best feeling in the world.

G'day, (mmm, feels good saying / writing that).

It's been a few weeks since my last post, but as most would probably know, it's official, we're off to the UAE for a year.

Things finally came to head in the last 2 days of my initial stint, and agreements were put into place and signed off, meaning i was committing to a one year deal to move the family to the UAE. Funny thing about all of this is that my last week in the UAE was one of my worst, with so many frustrations and difficult people to deal with, it would have been very easy to walk away from the whole thing then and there. Ive been very conscious of the big picture though, and lets be frank...these opportunities don't come by every day, and this, in the worst case, is a great chance to have the whole family experience something so different from home (not better in my opinion, but different), and this experience will hopefully really broaden the kids minds and attitudes to the world and what we have back home. It has certainly done that for me over the last 3 months.

So anyway, my last week included silly hours again, dumping my existing luggage at someones house so i could travel back with empty cases, for the return reload and as usual the long flight back home. Time couldn't go faster enough for me, i was so amped to see the kids and FS.

The customs officers must have seen my excitement, and i got the speedy checks and scans and then straight through to the arrivals section. B1 saw me first and bolted under the restraining ropes to grab me for a huge cuddle. I was then crashed tackled by B2 and B3!! what a feeling, it was so good to hold the boys. Other than a couple of "daddy" screams, none of us really even talked for the first minute, just cuddled. With the other passengers cuing up behind us, we moved done the walkway...for a second i thought i saw Rebecca Harris (TV host of Hello:Goodbye, she'd have done a great show with us!!ha ha) As i came to the end of the walkway, i saw B4. He was standing, had lovely blonde hair( i now offically have the least amount of hair in my tribe) and took 2 or 3 wobbly steps towards me. Of all the boys, he had changed the most. With B1,2,3 on my back i picked up B4, and whilst my little dady's boy was a bit shy(showing his anger at me for leaving him for so long i think) for about 3 seconds, he then latched on really tightly, (and didn't let go until i flew out a week later). I now had B1,2,3,&4 hanging off me and FS was now coming in for the long overdue hugs and kisses. How good is this!!

Nothing beats the feeling of coming home, doesn't matter whether it's been a 3 month stint, a week or even just a day at the office!

So i was at home for a week, and besides the long awaited catch ups with FS, we had to organise moving out of our house, transferring all our utilities, post, etc, moving the boys out of school, including transfer letters, meeting with teachers, holding a garage sale, transporting stuff to Vinnies, tip runs, engaging real estate agents for renting the house, catching-up with other family and friends, convincing my directors that all was cool, meeting another work fella to design a new system to take back with me, having dad in hospital for surgery, moving in with the in-laws for a couple of days and generally getting over some severe jet lag. Yes, a full week for all.

Someone once told me that jet lag sits somewhere in the brain next to depression or one of it's close relatives like anxiety. I can't argue, I've been very nervous about the whole move, (especially once i had returned to Aust), particularly with the family involved. It almost seems ludicrous to leave the nth beaches of Sydney, a great job, house, schools and family and friends to move to the desert where temps get up to 50 degrees, we know basically no-one, work six days /week, for a job fraught with hassles. Writing it sounds even more ludicrous.

BUT, even with all of this, i just have to refer to the top paragraph of this blogg and remember that as long as we are all together, this is a great opportunity to experience the world, learn a tonne of stuff, make new friends from around the world, do some travelling, maybe make a bit of money (i think FS's itinerary has already had this spent though). i mean, why does any Aussie travel? Because we're an intrigued people and eager to learn and see more about the world. I've said it a lot lately to myself, "nothing beats home, but home will always be there".

Anyway, I'm now back in the UAE, while FS and boys travel to Queensland for a holiday. They'll all be here in 2 weeks and i can't wait to start our adventure together!!

What's News?

Above - Site meeting in the middle of the desert.

Above - Al Ain Sports stadium.

Above - Despite 60 minutes report, not everyone in the UAE lives in luxury. this house was about 1.5metres tall smack bang in the middle of the desert. the guy living here is a pump operator at one of the wells.

Above - Danger!!, watch out for loose camels, looks like this guy is taking them out for a walk.

Above - Al Ain score a penalty and the local team crowd are stoked!

Above - Better behave or you'll be blasted by this over sized water cannon used for crowd control.

Above - Would you like a tea while you watch the game Mr.?

Never a dull moment in the UAE....well perhaps not, but many a day feels like 'ground-hog-day", so i guess if you're first day wasn't dull, neither will be the next.

FS called to say there had been a 60 minutes report abut living in the UAE, particularly Dubai. I have not seen the report obviously, but can assure you, that unless you love sitting in traffic 2-3 hours a day and also want a frantic pace to you're life, Dubai is not so fantastic, but the UAE as a whole is a great place to come a visit and although i have only been here a couple of months, i think it would be a great place to live for a couple of years too.

I have said it before and will say it again. Given the option, i would live and work in Al Ain any day over Dubai. The money is the same, the cost of living is half and there is a real community atmosphere. It is kind of like the Plateau at home, only on a massive scale, without the beaches, double the temperature, people drive at 140km, no retirement village, it is flat as a tack, and unfortunately there are bugger all chicks walking around in bikinis or the 'special ones' from Southy beach. So really, it is nothing like home, is it?

Quick shout out to some good friends with new additions to their tribes. Sean and Gemma and Shane and Karen...well done to all.

My departure from the UAE, has been postponed by a week due to an excessive workload and list of priorities that arrived this week. I started a new role here for the third time. the rest of the term felt like a holiday compared to this one and i am very tired from all of the hours up to date. So I was gutted with the delay!! I went from a 4 day count down to an 11 day count down! Any way it is down to 8 now, and i can't wait. Things are looking positive to sign up for a longer term gig, but the number one rule i have learnt here...action speaks louder than words, and until i have a signed contract, and etickets in my hand and the deposit paid on the villa, it isn't a done deal. things can take 6 months to organise and agree upon here, and then just as they are...there is another change.

Went t the soccer (football) last week. Al Ain were playing ??? in the President's Cup at the the Al Ain Sports Stadium. Walked ion the gates (entry is free), past the huge water cannon trucks and armed police and security, (it looks like someone travelled to Europe and said"i want one of those and one of those and a that". Why they would need these i don't know, although the Arabs are very passionate about their Footy. Anyway, because i am a blue eyes, i was ushered to the VIP section (the important Sheiks and Arabs go to the VVIP section). We sat in a beautiful stadium, saw the pre-game fireworks, were served free drinks all night including tea (no alchol obviously), and then at half time i followed the crowd inside the stadium area for a free hot dinner and drinks and desert. Brooky Oval would have been mayhem at the thought of a free pie, let alone a smorgasbord of cakes, springrolls and other assorted goodies, but these guys were all calm and civil and there was plenty to go around. Anyway, Al Ain won on a penalty shot.

Nothing else too new to talk about, although it is getting hotter here now. My Arabic is much better, but it still takes plenty of hand gesturing and the like to get through to some of my team. I feel comfortable enough to break out into some impromptu singing every now and then (as anyone from work would testify, this can be often and sounds great!!) (the bouncers and other patrons from the local R'ry may disagree though).

Maah as salaama Habibis

More Ramblings

Above - Al Ain Zoo, African Savanna.
Above - A Jaguar, or is it a leopard? Big Cat either way.

Above - Grizzly Adams.

Above - Hmmmm, a Hummer. Very common in UAE.

Above - Scorpion in an palm oasis, these too are common.

Above - My new landscaper's ute, i was going to pose like a 'biker-slag' on the bonnet, but thought better of it. Besides, its not really mine!

OK avid readers, sorry it's been a while since the last post, can't imagine how you've all gotten through your lives without an update from the UAE, but here we are again. Only 17 days, 12 hours and 38 minutes until i arrive home. Who's counting though heh?? I am very settled in Al Ain now, and have quite a fondness for much of the town / city, but nothing compares to home, and at the end of the day there is still so much uncertainty on whether I'll be staying on, that this is weighing quite heavily on me and making home more and more attractive all the time. We all know the story, basically I'll be stoked to stay here for a year or so if the family are here and everything is bedded down, contract wise. Despite this stuff dragging out since last November, the long term gig seems just as far away now in terms of things being settled, so to cut out the uncertainty on the home front, I've given the deal until March to be finalised, so all parties can move forward. That means the next few weeks are pretty hectic!!

So, other than the usual work stuff, I've managed to squeeze in a couple of runs along the Wadis, been to the gym once or twice to "work through the obvious pain, making sure the 'guns' are on display at all times". Not being a gym person, this has caused some issues the following day, to the point of hardly being able to lift my arms; can you imagine playing the daily charade game in this state!!!

Went to the Al Ain Zoo last Friday. I can honestly say this this is a great zoo, with plenty of movement and active animals. The displays / cages (depending on your animal activism stance) are really good and the flat layout is much easier to walk around than Taronga for example. There are some nice parks inside the zoo and those blow up slides etc too. For an adult the cost is 10dhs ($3 Aus) and kids are only 5 dhs each. Same story though, walking around a zoo by yourself is fine to a point, but a little lonely. (bring out the violins). Some of the displays, you look down from above. The wall is only about 1 metre high, this gives you a great vantage point to see the animals moving around their enclosures, but when you consider there is absolutely no stopping access to anyone game enough, or unlucky enough to have a kid fall into the enclosure, your heart starts to miss a few beats when you see a small kid leaning over the rail, past his tippy toes to get a better look.

I was going to make some notes about the cars and driving in the UAE, but this is a blog all to itself. There is no simple way to sum up the experience of driving in the UAE, so i'll save this for another blog one day.

One of the runs i went for was with the AA Hash house harriers. The motto of this world wide runners group is that they "are drinkers with a running problem". This is the first HHH group I've been apart of, they are great people, know how to have a good time and whilst the run is a part of it, the drink and camaraderie is certainly the focus. The group is made up of mainly Aussies, Poms, Canadians and Brits. I may have already mentioned this previously, but every expat i have met in the UAE (Al Ain), is here as a university lecturer or working in the hospitals. Al Ain is also the education city of the emirates. So if your a teacher, lecturer or involved in hospitals, you'd have little trouble landing a job here, and doing very well for yourself, or at least living a different experience. Most people also seem to have been here for at least 10 or more years.

Bragging rights - Here's to B1 for smashing an unbeaten partnership of 76 runs from 6 overs at cricket last weekend. Very proud dad here mate. And to B2 for being elected into the SGC (student group council), very proud dad again. B3 for still calling out to 'daaaaad' at every plane to fly over-head(lucky we don't live near Mascot), and B4 for trying to crawl through the computer monitor to see me when talking on skype. But most of all to FS who has not 'lost it' at me yet for leaving all behind to pursue this crazy gig, and keeping it all together at home, (don't mind the broken windows, doors and 6 foot high lawns).

Will try to send another Blog within the week. Cheers to all.

One Month Update

Above - NS on one of the hundreds of themed R/A's in Al Ain. This one, surprise, is called the Zoo R/A, at the entrance to the Al Ain Zoo.
Above - In case we forgot this this is a desert, a sand dune for you. These babies are massive and really need to be seen to be put into scale. If only i had a piece of cardboard for sand-surfing.


Above - Some of my colleagues; never sure if their laughing at me or with me?? Good people all the same!

Above - Wadi (creek bed), running through a valley.

Above - Desert Flowers, due to recent rains, some areas are really beautiful.

Above - Desert Grasses, in seed and flower, very similar to the native Australian grasses. Again, the picture doesn't capture how good this looked for real.

Above - Lots of rock. This valley was huge and indicative of some of the out of the way places to see near Al Ain. the valleys are full of fossils and crystallised rocks too.

Above - That's right, suck the gut in now take the picture. NS and more rocks.

Rightyoh, just over one month into it now. Not much else to report on since the last post, other than work and work. Despite the long days, it's hard to actually get much done sometimes. I've had so many conversations where I'm sounding out words as single syllables, drawing pictures and gesturing, that I'm now looking for the international charades tournament to arrive in the UAE.

Funny thing; i was told how well i speak English by a Bangladeshi fella the other day. He was amazed how well i could speak this particular language and then asked me to say something to him Australian!! Strewth, dunno what he's flamin talkin about, found myself saying seeya soon after g'day and got out there quicker than i could down a schooey.

I was asked to play tennis by another Aussie last Thursday evening. He works for a 'rival' company, but i had called him when i heard he was in town. Good bloke. Turns out the tennis was against a couple of Kiwis, a Pom and a Scot. The Scot had never played tennis, one of the kiwis rolled his ankle entering the court, the other kiwi was in Al Ain to play rugby, but couldn't keep the ball in the fenced court and the Pom, was a pretty good player. So, it took all of 1 game for this to be all worked out, and once the first bead of sweat was raised, it was racquet's down and open the beers. These tasted great and we had some good laughs. The others had been in the UAE from 5 months to 12 years and each had some funny stories and experiences to share with me, more importantly, if it turns out we (the family and me) stay here longer, they have some good tips on dealing with the array of Ministries you need to deal with here.

Friday being the day off, i hooked up with the Emirates Natural History Group again. The hike this day was through a Wadi reserve at the rear of Jebel Hafeet. This area until only 5 years ago had been a farming area for local goat herders. Recognising the significance and scale of the area, the local ministry were in two minds. Build a golf course or fence the area for regeneration. The golfer in me immediately saw the potential to build a Tiger Woods Golf (the playstation game) styled course with elevated tees and hideously hard rough and OOB areas. But reality is, this is a really unspoilt beautiful area. given, the UAE doesn't have much of this, the right decision has been made to keep as a sanctuary with only limited foot traffic.

The recent rains over Xmas has seen an explosion of native plants taking a semi foot hold through the rocky and harsh conditions. The Wadi running through the middle of this huge valley, had several pockets of wild grasses and flowers in full bloom. There were several Ghaff trees maintaining there presence also. The Wadi is framed either side by massive jutting rock faces up to about 400metres high. It's easy to find lots of fossils and crystallised rocks through the areas also. Whilst the hike was hardly very demanding, physically speaking, it was again, good to get out and see more of areas that not many of the locals even know about. We had to 4x4 into the area, so this was kind of cool too.

I am now counting every day until i can get home to see the kids and FS. Should be home in Mid March, and i am hopeful that by then i will have some certainty as to what the long term holds, regarding a move to the UAE or not.