Christmas in February

Most of you know that my Aunt Louyse was supposed to come visit me for Christmas and her flight was cancelled so she couldn't come.

She was here this past week and we had such a blast! It was even better than Christmas would have been.

Here is what we did in pictures:

Aunt Louyse turned 59 while she was in the air and lost 9 hours of her birthday because of the time change. She had her passport stamped on her birthday! Jessie and I (mostly Jessie) made this really good chocolate cake from Bon Apetit)

We made it to the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque where you have to be fully covered to enter. They provide you with an abaya and sheila when you get to the entrance gate.

We made it down to the beach where we sat at a coffee shop. One of the things Aunt Louyse and I both love besides travel is the ocean and the Gulf counts in this as well!

The top of Jebel Hafeet- the tallest mountain in the UAE is right here in Al Ain. It's more like a hill to most Americans it is 1294 meters high.

We went off-roading at our friend's farm. She was having the grand opening of a new tourism branch of her business. Aunt Louyse was braver than me and Jessie she didn't seem to be nervous about it at all!

We made it to the pool and did a ton of shopping and my favorite day of all was Aunt Louyse's second to last day where we got to watch the fountain show at the Dubai Mall. I think I could sit there for hours at a time!

Squatty Potty

Here in the UAE you rarely find homes with bathrooms like we are accustomed to in America. In public places like the malls or our hospital and even in homes for foreigners there are normal toilets. But at local people's homes you will find toilets that are in the ground. To use these bathrooms you have to be a good squatter. That means your thighs better be in good shape, right? Well, not exactly, but it might be a thing you need to learn from the time you are young.

You try:

1. Put your feet flat on the ground.

2. Bend your knees as far as you can as you squat to the ground.

3. Don't fall down and don't pick your feet up off the ground.

This is how most people here are accustomed to using the bathroom.

Trey, Jessie and I were visiting a friend with the "squatty pottys" and we decided to have a little contest to see who was the best squatter.

You be the judge:

I love it when we're cruisin together

Last weekend I went to Abu Dhabi with Trey and Jessie and our friend Ahlam. It was so refreshing to get out of Al Ain for the weekend. I thought I just loved the ocean in America, but it's not true I love the water no matter what country I am in. We spent most of our time down on the Corniche (the road that runs follows the water).

We rode this little guy- I am sure it was not made for the 4 adults we managed to cram into it and so were a lot of other people who passed by us.

We also rode these bikes. A little more appropriate but still... did I need 3 wheels?

Trey and Jessie surprised Ahlam and I with a really fancy dinner at Shangri-La Hotel. We ate at Pearls and Caviar Restaurant and then headed out to a pool/ oceanside bar to hang out for the rest of the night. It was delicious food and a cool atmosphere. The weather this time of year is like summer at home, just warm enough during the day and cooler in the evenings.